The axe connected with Ra's "knee", smashing through whatever material the Watcher was made out of and causing a bright red, viscous fluid to spew from the wound. The Watcher let out a howl of pain and surprise, before Lei Shen felt a massive blow hit him full-force in the chest – Ra had smashed him with his fist.
Lei Shen flew off of Ra's leg, flying several feet into the wall, where he smashed into it with a sickening thud, before collapsing to the floor of the room. Moaning in pain, he struggled to re-adjust to his surroundings as he peered around. The room appeared to be spinning and his whole body rebelled in agony.
Seething, Ra leaned down and ripped a hideous chunk of "skin" off of his wound, where the axe had torn some of it free. He threw it towards the wall, where it connected with a metallic thud before sliding to rest near the prone body of the mogu who had dared assault him.
"You...have made a grave mistake, little one." Ra scowled in anger, raising a hand to the ceiling. "I wield the power of storms themselves. And I will not hesitate to use them upon those who wish to harm me or stop my mission here!"
Lei Shen drew himself to his hands and knees in time to see Ra send a massive blue jolt his way, which smashed into him at full blast, causing him to fall back to the ground, screaming. The pain was as if a thousand knives were being plunged into his skin, over and over again. Gritting his teeth as he convulsed from the intensity of the pain, Lei Shen rolled onto his back, wheezing. Peering about, he saw the "skin" plate from his assault on the Watcher lying off to the side, the viscous coating it. About the size of his chest, Lei Shen mustered all of his strength and crawled weakly towards the plate. With his axe presumably still embedded in Ra's leg, he had no way to defend himself – and without something to fight back, he was doomed.
Reaching the skin plate, Lei Shen reached out and grasped some of the red fluid. Suddenly, he felt the radiating pain in his body decrease ever so slightly. It was as if he had applied a salve to wounds – the pain was still there, but numbed ever so slightly. Raising his head weakly, he grabbed the plate and pulled it towards him, before his face collapsed into the side of the plate coated in the fluid – and he began to lap at it with his tongue. If it could numb his pain in small doses, imagine what it could do in large doses...
The fluid had no taste as far as he could tell, but he sucked down as much of it as he could – and indeed, Lei Shen felt the pain starting to leave his body. His ribs, which were definitely broken before, felt as if there was some magical force setting them back into place. His skin, which smelled of seared flesh, presumably from the lightning strike made by Ra, began to cool. Finally having the energy to stand, Lei Shen grabbed the skin plate and held it in front of him like a shield, facing definitely towards Ra's direction.
"Impressive, little one." mused the Watcher as he peered at the mogu's now standing form, "I see you have utilized the power of my blood to recuperate. A pity it will do nothing for you in the long term."
Before he could react, a bolt of lightning smashed into his right shoulder, causing him to howl in pain and drop to one knee. Everything in Lei Shen's body told him to drop the plate and fall to the ground, but his mind urged him forward. You can defeat him! The hideous smell of burnt flesh returned, but Lei Shen ignored it. Another bolt hit into his left shoulder now – the searing pain now covering both sides of his body – but Lei Shen held strong. Gritting his teeth and sweating, he let out a mighty war-cry and got to his feet. "Face me as a warrior, false god! Or hide like a coward be-behind your parlor tricks!"
"Raaah! Perish, arrogant one! " Ra yelled in frustration, before curling the fingers on both hands and letting out a blast of lightning energy toward the Mogu.
Bracing himself, Lei Shen felt the lightning smash into the skin plate he held – but it did not break or disintegrate. It shuddered violently in his hands – but it stood stable. It must be that his body reacts against the lightning...his mind raced as he panted heavily, spittle flying from his mouth.
It is now or never, Lei Shen! Go!
The voice urged him on. With every joint in his body wracked with pain, Lei Shen forced his legs forward towards Ra, slowly.
The Watcher growled in surprise. Of course! He had used his body's Armour plating against him. "You are smart, little one, but not smart enough! The storms – all of them – bow to me! You can do nothing against me that will see you emerge the victor here." Ra tired of his intrusion. With a smirk, he held his hands out, one hovering over the other, as a massive orb of lightning began to build up in the space between them. This attack had slain thousands of mantid fliers during the ancient wars – a single mortal would prove no match against it.
The blast of lightning smashed into the plate he held in front of him – causing Lei Shen and the plate to shake violently, as though standing against the storms themselves. The plate held, but Lei Shen felt that a single miscalculation on his part would result in his incineration. As he tried to urge himself forward, he found that the sheer power of the lightning – which was being sustained against his shield by Ra – was blocking him from doing anything. Worse still, his arms began to ache and protest against holding the plate against such force, and he knew that if even if he did nothing, he would still die. His arms began to slowly push back, the plate growing closer and closer to his chest.
I...cannot hold it... his mind cried out, as he pushed all of his joints as hard as he could, barely being able to keep the stream of lightning from destroying him.
Use your inner will, Lei Shen! If you succeed here, the Gods themselves will be with you! Do you wish to fall now, on the apex of your ascension? Do you wish to perish and let him continue to blaspheme against Them?!
Panting with rage, Lei Shen knew the voice was right. He could not fall here – he was so close! All he had to do was defeat this usurper and the strength to unify his people, the strength to speak for the Gods was his. A primal growl began to echo from his heart – this was not a mere war cry, but something much, much more. It built in him like a thunderstorm built until he felt it ready to unleash. The anger, rage, hope, fear, violence, doubt and pride was all coalesced into this one final burst of supernatural strength. If it worked, he would win. If it did not, he would die. It was now or never.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH! FALL BEFORE THE TRUE SPEAKER OF THE GODS, FALSE ONE!" he cried, his voice not sounding like his own. Just after his declaration, he pushed upon the plate with all of his might – and it began to move towards Ra, in his favor. Slowly but surely, the plate slid forward as the lightning blast began to curve upwards and downwards, harmlessly hitting the floor – but he knew that it was beginning to turn back upon the Watcher. Seething with rage, he let out one final inhuman cry and threw the plate forward.
The lightning blast arced upward before reflecting back upon Ra, striking him in the leg wound that Lei Shen had inflicted. Ra let out a cry of pain as lightning flew up and down his body, small pops of energy blasting visibly ontop of his body. Lei Shen felt a faint mist of the red fluid hit him on the face – clearly, his reversal of fortunes had injured the Watcher. The lightning blast ceased as Ra began to convulse and he fell to the floor with a sickening crash, causing the entire room to vibrate.
Lei Shen dropped the plate he held and collapsed to his hands and knees. He had done it – he had destroyed this false god – but at what price? His body was ravaged with pain. Burns dotted his shoulders and even with the fluid's healing, he felt as though he had been set upon by a herd of trampling mushan. Peering up, however, he saw his opponent had suffered worse.
Ra lay upon the platform that Lei Shen had came in on, prone and motionless. His clothes had been burned off – save for his boots, a small section of his pants and shirt – and hideous wounds covered his chest and face, a long, thin scar running across his right eye. Sparks flew from his body as the lightning began to dissipate from the room.
Getting to his feet slowly, Lei Shen cautiously moved towards the prone Watcher. He spied something glowing upon his chest – the lightning strike had burned an outline through the Watcher's clothing. It was crystalline in shape and rested in his upper chest cavity. Sparks flew from it as Lei Shen grew closer and closer. Peering at it, he realized that this may be where the power of the storms came from – this crystal. Something within him told him that the crystal was the key.
Looking about the room, Lei Shen stumbled over to where his axe lay prone and grasped it, returning to the prone form of Ra. Using all of his remaining strength, he clambered up the size of the Watcher's chest and sat atop him, staring into the still open but vacant and dead-looking eyes of a false god.
"Now..." Lei Shen panted, spitting blood from his mouth as he did so, "The power to unify my people will belong with a true servant of the Gods.." With a harsh cry, he buried the axe into the spot where the crystal outline was, causing more fluid to spray everywhere – but Ra made no sound and did not react. Hand trembling, he reached into the chest cavity where he had opened it – inside felt as though it were a maze of snakes and silkworms, all giving him a slight sting as he fumbled around. Finally, his hand grasped the edge of the crystal – and a jolt of electricity arced into his arm as he let out a mighty roar and pulled the crystal free of Ra's body.
The crystal was deep blue, the colour of the water – and was about the size of Lei Shen's palm. It sparkled and crackled with energy as he held it, but curiously it did not harm him. Sliding himself to the floor, he stumbled towards the door that Ra had gestured to earlier, but fell to his knees before making it halfway there. Peering down at the crystal, Lei Shen knew that this was the key to the power of the storms themselves – but how would he be able to utilize it?
Put it into your chest. You must do what the false god did. You know this...
The voice echoed in his head. Bury the crystal in his chest? Would he even survive that? And even then, would it work?
"...I have no choice." he said aloud to no one in particular. "I...I will succeed at this or die trying. That...that was my oath." Drawing a deep, harsh breath, he held the crystal up to his chest before pulling away with his hand and drawing back, ramming the crystal into his chest, just below his heart.
The pain was instantaneous. Lightning crackled and flew everywhere inside Lei Shen's body – every joint, every bone crackled and roared with the pressure of electricity – as he felt his feet leave the floor, the lightning acting as a conduit for him. He wanted to scream, but had no energy to as the lightning filled his mouth when he opened it. The pain grew even more intense – he was not sure if he could survive. Just as his eyes began to close, he heard the wind – or at least, he thought it was the wind – in his ear.
You are worthy of our control..
You are not as the other one was...
Your strength is unquestioned. We bow to you, mortal.
The voices echoed in his mind for a long time as he screamed inwardly, the lightning continuing to blast at his body – it was as if every storm known to history was being redirected through his body at the same time.
Just as the voices seemed to cease echoing, the lightning stopped and Lei Shen fell to the floor – the room going black as he felt his body connect with the room.