The gaseous Urstnir of Napdid drifted above the still oblivious Wolsoff and began to swirl ominously. 

If it weren't for the cloud's purple appearance I would have almost mistaken it for a storm cloud. The hair on my arms stood on end as if signalling the beginning of an incredibly powerful attack. I looked around at the others in the Initiate room, and they all looked on edge as well. 

THe Urstnir of Napdid was said to be one of the strongest beings around, and we were about to get a first-hand account of what that actually meant. 

Power crackled throughout the gaseous cloud, ripples of lightning streaking from one side to the other. Wolsoff finally noticed the growing threat above him, but by then it was far too late for them to be able to do anything about the impending danger. 

The Urstnir of Napdid unleashed a storm of lightning the likes of which I had never seen before. The bolts came down hard and fast all over the arena, so even if Wolsoff had managed to have the good sense to try to avoid the attack there would have been no where to run to. 

Each lightning bolt was massive and thick, striking the ground with such force that even the manna resistant flooring cracked and buckled under the strain of the impacts. 

Wolsoff was struck by a bolt almost immediately. The electrical impact sent him to his knees, he was down but not out. 

The saying goes that lightning never strikes the same place twice. Really, that's just a matter of chance. The Earth is a pretty big place, and there aren't that many grounded lightning strikes, so for lightning to strike the same patch of it in rapid succession is a pretty out-there thing to happen. 

The battle arena was small. There was a whole lot of lightning striking. 

A second bolt his Wolsoff, just as they were trying to get back to their feet. It knocked them down to their knees again. 

A third, Wolsoff was bent over, breathing heavily. 

A fourth, this one stronger than any of the others that had come before it, and Wolsoff was sprawled across the ground, still struggling. 

A fifth. The last lighting bolt to strike the ground was also the last to strike Wolsoff, and it knocked the alien out completely. 

Packing that much power, it was much less surprising as to how The Urstnir of Napdid was able to take out entire armies in a matter of moments. The gaseous cloud from another universe had struck with power, ferocity and without mercy until his enemy had been dealt with utterly and completely. 

"The victor of this bout was the Urstnir of Napdid!" Belana announced, before whisking the two into the medical bay with a flash of light. 

"I think… I'm going to go talk to the Urstnir of Nadpid, if that's okay with you two," I said to my alien companions. 

"You have business with the cloud?" Akash asked, leaning forward to get a better look at me. 

"Not exactly," I replied, "I just want to know if the rumours about them coming from another universe is true. The concept of the multiverse is something of which I know frighteningly little, so I'd like a chance to get to know some more." 

Akash grunted and leant back into his beanbag. 

"I hope that you find the answers you are looking for, Jacob Lyre," Yr'Arl said as I stood. 

The cloud had been teleported into the medical bay alongside everyone else, but considering how easily they had dispatched their opponent and their esoteric gaseous nature, they had elected to leave already and had begun drifting their way back to the rest of the initiates. 

WIth a small burst of propulsion I was able to intercept the Urstnir of Napdid. 

"Hey, do you mind if we have a chat for a moment?" I asked the floating cloud. 

It didn't move at all, but somehow I got the impression that its attention had suddenly become focused on me.

"What could we have to talk about, human," the gaseous alien said, not trying to hide its disdain for my species. 

Even when they came from a different universe entirely, it seemed making friends was always going to be a struggle thanks to the species that I belonged to. 

"I had heard that you hail from a different universe entirely," I said, "I was wondering if you could tell me a bit more about that, the multiverse has always been of particular interest to me." 

"I'm sure it has, human," The Urstnir of Nadpid sneered, "No doubt you wish to lead your armies across the Chasm to take every universe in the Helioptad." 

The being had mentioned the Chasm, that alone surely meant that they had been through a similar experience to me. Though I'd never heard of the Helioptad before, whatever that was. 

"You… know about the Chasm?" I asked, my voice now a hushed whisper. 

"Indeed I do, though how a simple human like you has gained knowledge of such a place is beyond me," The cloud replied. 

It was now or never. I was going to have to take the plunge. If the Urstnir of Napdid knew about the Chasm that meant they had to have died in one universe to be reborn in this one. They were the only one that might understand what I was going through. 

"Because… Because I've been there too. I died in one life… went to the Chasm… and was reborn here," I admitted. 

The Urstnir of Napdid reared back, its gaseous body pushed up against the ceiling until it was a thin layer of mist as far away from me as it could get. 

"Stay… Stay away from me, human," The Urstnir of Napdid hissed, "Talk to me again about this topic and I will choke the air from your lungs quicker than you could understand." 

The cloud trickled away, drifting back toward the rest of the initiates, before consolidating back over one of the bean bags. 

<Well, that wasn't the result that I had expected,> BB said, sounding just as confused as I felt. 

It hadn't been the result I had been expecting either.