This is not true of non-waste spark systems. The basics are the same for both. Voltage flowing through the primary windings of the coil creates a magnetic field. When this voltage is abruptly interupted, the magnetic field collapses and induces a much higher voltage in the secondary windings. This is the spark plug voltage and it is a circuit that flows through the coil, the spark plug(s) the engine and back to the coil. It does not flow to or through the battery.
Here's a schematic to help.
http://www.sentex.net/~mwandel/cannon/sparky.html