Chapter 39: Raijin Unbound When Lightning Becomes War
The subway station was no longer a battleground.
It was a supernova.
Elliot stood at the heart of it — a human storm, raw blue lightning spiraling off his skin, twisting and snapping through the air like a living creature. The Raijin Protocol wasn't just active — it was feral.
Electricity didn't simply lash out anymore.
It coiled. It hunted. It waited.
The storm wasn't something that happened to him — it was something that happened because of him.
And Nova?
She wasn't giving him a second to breathe.
Her bioluminescent suit flared wildly — the neon lines along her ribs, waist, and thighs pulsing hard every time Elliot's Boost snapped. The broken feedback loop between them wasn't gone — it was mutating.
Every time his storm flared, her suit reacted — surging brighter, syncing with the rhythm of his power, like the storm was trying to pull her in again.
And Nova wasn't having it.
Her voice was a roar. "Again, rookie!"
She charged — energy blade glowing violet — and slashed for Elliot's neck.
His Boost exploded.
But this time, Elliot didn't just lash out with an uncontrolled wave of lightning.
He pulled the storm inward.
The electricity crackling around him snapped back into his arms, coiling like glowing chains, and in one violent surge —
He forged a Raijin's Lance in the air, a spear of pure energy burning white-hot in his palm.
The lance collided with Nova's blade.
The shockwave didn't just blast them apart — it detonated the nearest train car, melting steel and sending molten debris flying across the station.
Kain, leaning against a wall, his cybernetic arm shielding his face from the heat, howled with laughter. "Ohhh yeah — he's definitely gonna break something."
The System buzzed so hard in Elliot's head, it sounded like a broken speaker about to explode.
---
[New Mission: Stormbringer — The Wrath of Raijin]
Objective: Push your Boost past 250% and unlock Raijin's Tempest.
Bonus: Don't electrocute Nova… again.
Failure: Neural collapse… or turning the subway into a smoking crater.
---
Elliot panted, his Boost flaring brighter — thicker now — the storm around him growing into a violent halo of electricity.
"I can't hold this much power!"
Nova wiped the dust from her blade. "Then you die."
Kain grinned. "She's so supportive."
The System chimed.
---
[Pro Tip: If you're going through hell, bring lightning.]
— Winston Churchill… probably.
---
Elliot's eye twitched. "Shut up."
But before Nova could strike again —
The tunnel exploded.
The sound of shattering concrete and plasma blasts echoed through the subway, and in the next heartbeat —
The Chrome Reapers stormed in — red optics glowing, plasma rifles hissing with heat.
"Found you, spark boy," Rend growled — his gunmetal body still smoking from their last fight. His plasma blade flared, the edge glowing white-hot.
The Spire Syndicate wasn't far behind — a sleek squad of mercs with glowing green implants, their plasma weapons buzzing in unison as they fanned out along the platform.
And then —
The Ashen Blades emerged from the shadows.
Cyber-assassins cloaked in matte-black armor, plasma katanas humming softly, their glowing red visors scanning Elliot like a predator stalking prey.
Nova's blade hissed louder. "They want the Raijin Protocol."
Kain chuckled. "Looks like you're popular."
The System buzzed — glitching so hard its voice echoed.
---
[New Mission: Storm the Gates of Hell]
Objective: Hold off all three factions and push your Boost to its limit.
Bonus: Unleash Raijin's Tempest.
Failure: Death, capture… or blowing up Nova's hideout.
---
Elliot's Boost hit 230% — the storm around him now blindingly bright, static crackling off his body in long, violent tendrils of lightning.
Nova didn't flinch. "Control it, rookie."
Elliot growled. "I'm trying—"
The Chrome Reapers fired first.
A wave of plasma blasts screamed through the tunnel.
Elliot didn't dodge.
He reacted.
His Boost erupted — a violent pulse of blue lightning frying the plasma bolts mid-air.
The blasts detonated before they could reach him — the explosion sending metal debris flying across the platform.
Nova slashed through two Reapers, her blade leaving glowing violet arcs in the air as their cybernetic limbs short-circuited from the feedback.
The Spire Syndicate charged — their rifles glowing green — and Elliot's Boost snapped again.
He forged another Raijin's Lance — the electric spear howling in his hand — and hurled it at the nearest merc.
The bolt didn't just hit him — it detonated on impact.
The merc went flying, slamming into a rusted wall with enough force to shatter concrete.
Kain howled. "Ohhh, kid — you're a walking apocalypse now."
The System buzzed.
---
[New Ability Unlocked: Raijin's Tempest]
Effect: Summon a massive storm of lightning, hitting multiple targets in a 20-foot radius.
Cooldown: 15 seconds.
Warning: Highly unstable. May cause massive collateral damage.
---
Elliot's Boost hit 250%.
The air around him exploded.
The static storm detonated outward — a Raijin's Tempest tearing through the station, blue lightning arcing to every piece of metal, every plasma weapon, every enemy.
The Chrome Reapers' implants fried — their cybernetics glitching as they screamed and collapsed.
The Spire mercs' weapons overloaded — plasma rifles detonating in their hands.
Even the Ashen Blades staggered — their katanas short-circuiting in a cascade of crackling sparks.
The System buzzed one last time.
---
[Misquote Mode Activated]
Quote: "You either die a hero, or live long enough to become… a goddamn thunderstorm."
— Harvey Dent… and probably Zeus.
---
Elliot stood at the center of the storm.
Neon dust swirled around him, blue lightning snapping from his body, the Raijin Protocol howling inside him like an untamed god.
Nova — panting, her bioluminescent suit still flickering from the residual feedback — stared at him.
"Rookie…" she said softly.
But Elliot didn't hear her.
He was lost in the storm.
Kain grinned. "Oh… he's gone full Raijin now."
The factions were down — but not for long.
The storm wasn't over.
It was just beginning.