Chapter 35: Storm-Forged and Battle-Born The Raijin Awakens
The sewer tunnel roared with electricity.
Elliot wasn't running anymore — he was surging. Every step sent violent arcs of blue lightning snapping off his skin, dancing along the damp walls, making every pipe hum like a struck tuning fork. Water puddles sizzled beneath his feet as his Neural Boost — now fully locked into the Raijin Protocol — crackled with untamed fury.
He wasn't a malfunction.
He was a living thunderstorm.
Nova led the way — her bioluminescent suit still flickering with residual static, the neon lines on her ribs and thighs flaring every time Elliot's Boost spat out another wave of raw electricity.
"Rookie," Nova growled, her voice tight as her suit pulsed again from another stray bolt, "if you shock me one more time—"
"I'm NOT DOING IT ON PURPOSE!" Elliot shouted, blue lightning snapping from his fingertips to the metal pipes above.
The System buzzed louder than ever — now practically glitching in Elliot's head.
---
[New Mission: Tame the Storm or Die Trying]
Objective: Survive Nova's combat training and learn to control the Raijin Protocol.
Bonus: Unlock your first Raijin ability.
Failure: Total neural overload… or getting stabbed by Nova.
---
Kain, the cybernetic ripperdoc who'd unleashed the Raijin Protocol from Elliot's Boost, chuckled from behind. His chrome fingers twitched, surgical tools still sparking. "Oh, you two are electric together."
Nova shot him a glare. "Say one more word, Kain, and I'll turn you into scrap."
The System chimed.
---
[Misquote Mode Activated]
Quote: "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to… shock everyone around you."
— Harvey Dent… probably.
---
Elliot twitched. "WHY does it keep doing this?"
Nova didn't stop running. "I think your System is having a breakdown."
Kain grinned. "Nah — it's just keeping up with you."
The tunnel rumbled behind them — not from Elliot this time — but from the factions still hunting them through the sewers.
The Chrome Reapers stormed through the entrance — plasma rifles crackling, red optics glowing — led by Rend, the towering metal-armored beast of a man still smoking from Elliot's last EMP blast.
"You can't run forever, lightning boy!" Rend roared, his plasma blade flaring to life.
The Spire Syndicate flanked them — silent, deadly, their glowing implants humming as they synchronized their plasma pistols.
But the real problem?
The Ashen Blades.
Cyber-assassins clad in matte-black armor with glowing red slits for eyes, each wielding plasma katanas that hummed with vibrating energy. They didn't shout. They didn't taunt.
They just charged.
Nova's blade ignited in a flash of violet light. "We need to move."
Elliot's Boost snapped again — a pulse of blue lightning spiraling through the air and frying a nearby Reaper's weapon mid-shot. The plasma rifle detonated in his hands, sending the cyborg merc crashing into the tunnel wall.
Elliot blinked at his still-crackling hand. "I didn't even aim—"
The System buzzed.
---
[Achievement Unlocked: Collateral Damage King: Sewer Edition]
Reward: +3 Combat Reflex.
Penalty: More factions now want you extra dead.
---
Nova didn't break stride. "You need to control it — not let it control you."
Elliot panted, his Boost still flaring. "It's like… trying to hold a thunderstorm in a coffee cup!"
The System chimed.
---
[Pro Tip: Be the storm, not the drizzle.]
— Confucius… or some guy on Twitter.
---
Nova blinked. "Did your System just call you a drizzle?"
"YES, NOVA — IT DID."
Kain howled with laughter. "You're gonna fry a city block at this rate."
The Ashen Blades struck first.
One merc moved at inhuman speed — a plasma katana slicing through the air — aimed straight for Elliot's throat.
Elliot's Boost exploded.
A shockwave of raw lightning erupted from his body — not just stopping the sword — but disintegrating it mid-swing.
The Ashen Blade merc stumbled back, his katana a smoking ruin.
Nova's eyes widened. "Did you just EMP his sword?"
Kain grinned. "Oh, he's more than an EMP now."
The System buzzed.
---
[New Ability Unlocked: Raijin's Wrath]
Effect: Automatically discharges a burst of lightning to disrupt tech within 10 feet.
Cooldown: Unstable — triggers when Elliot's Boost hits a critical level.
---
Elliot blinked. "I didn't even know I could do that."
Nova spun, slicing her blade across another Ashen Blade's chest in a flash of violet, sending him crumpling to the ground. "Then learn fast."
The Chrome Reapers opened fire — plasma blasts screaming through the tunnel.
Elliot's Boost flared again.
Another shockwave erupted — frying the bolts mid-air and sending arcs of blue lightning crawling along the tunnel walls.
Kain whistled. "He's a walking blackout."
The System chimed.
---
[Misquote Mode Activated]
Quote: "It's not the volts that kill you — it's the amps."
— Nikola Tesla… or your high school science teacher.
---
Elliot's eye twitched. "System, PLEASE STOP."
Nova ducked another plasma shot. "You need to shut this down before it shuts you down."
Kain kicked open a hidden grate in the tunnel — a narrow shaft leading down into what looked like an abandoned train station below.
"Training's at the hideout," Kain said, grinning. "Unless you wanna light up the whole city first."
The System buzzed again.
---
[New Mission: Into the Storm]
Objective: Reach Nova's hideout and begin Raijin Protocol training.
Bonus: Don't collapse the sewer tunnels.
Hidden Reward: Unlock your next Raijin ability.
---
Nova grabbed Elliot's wrist — sending another snap of static through her suit — the glowing lines along her waist and hips flaring hard.
Her voice cracked. "If you shock me again—"
"I'M TRYING NOT TO—"
They dove into the shaft — the Chrome Reapers and Ashen Blades still storming after them — and landed in a dark, abandoned subway station.
The air was thick with dust, graffiti glowing faintly under blacklight, and broken neon signs flickering on the cracked walls.
Nova's glowing eyes burned into Elliot's. "We train. Now."
Elliot panted, electricity still crawling up his arms. "Or what?"
Kain chuckled from the shadows. "Or you don't just become the storm…"
He stepped forward, his cybernetic hand twitching.
"You destroy everything in its path."
And behind them — with three factions hunting them —
The countdown to mastering the Raijin Protocol had officially begun.