Chapter 47: Stormfront When Gods Rise and Cities Burn
The train didn't stop.
It screamed up the final stretch of the tunnel, still crackling with residual lightning, the air warping around the car as Elliot's Boost cooled from a lethal 530% down to a smoldering 100%.
Kain's hacked-together circuits still sparked along the control panel, and Nova's glowing fingers clenched the throttle so hard the metal frame dented.
Even with the storm contained, the car roared forward — tearing through the last security gate in a shower of neon sparks — and burst out of the tunnel, slamming into the surface of Nexus-9.
The city didn't greet them with open arms.
It met them with war.
Bright holo-billboards lit up the skyline — glowing, glitching ads for illegal cybernetics, dark-net currencies, and VR dream dives — all flickering from the aftershocks of Elliot's overdrive.
Buildings of steel and neon twisted into the smoggy skyline, and far above them, corporate security drones buzzed overhead like metal wasps — their lenses flashing red, already scanning the wreckage below.
The train skidded along a broken set of elevated rails — sparks shrieking beneath the wheels — before finally derailing, slamming into an abandoned platform with a deafening crash.
Metal screamed.
Glass shattered.
The car collapsed into a heap of smoldering steel.
Then—
Silence.
Smoke poured from the wreckage. Sparks fizzled from twisted circuits. The faint crackle of Elliot's dying storm still danced along the broken tracks.
Kain was the first to move — coughing, his cybernetic arm still smoking from his last attempt to fix Elliot's neural overload. "I give that landing a solid six out of ten."
Nova pushed herself up, plasma rifle still in hand, glowing neon lines on her suit flickering from the feedback loop that hadn't fully severed yet. "That was more like a crash and burn."
The System buzzed in Elliot's head — softer now, but still glitching like a half-broken radio.
---
[New Mission: Surface Tension]
Objective: Evade corporate security forces and regroup.
Bonus: Don't blow up anything… for once.
Failure: Capture, execution… or Nova slapping you again.
---
Elliot groaned — his Boost quiet but his nerves still on fire. "Are we… alive?"
Nova's glowing eyes burned into him. "Barely."
The tension between them was still crackling.
Not from the storm — but from whatever the hell that feedback loop had become.
Her suit still pulsed with leftover static from Elliot's Boost — the neon lines down her waist and thighs flickering in sync with the faint sparks dancing off his arms.
Every time he moved — her suit reacted.
And every time her suit flared — his Boost twitched.
Kain noticed.
He grinned. "Aw, you two are still synced. Cute."
Nova's jaw tightened. "I will shoot you."
The System buzzed again — sliding back into full meme mode.
---
[Pro Tip: Electricity isn't the only thing sparking tonight.]
— Nikola Tesla… probably.
---
Elliot groaned. "System — shut up."
But before Nova could fire back —
A deep, mechanical hum echoed above them.
The sky darkened.
Five corporate security drones descended from the skyline — sleek black orbs the size of motorcycles, glowing with red sensors and plasma cannons strapped to their undercarriages.
Their synthesized voices crackled through the smog.
"Unregistered energy event detected."
"Unauthorized use of neural enhancements."
"Subject identified: Raijin Protocol."
Nova's glowing fingers tensed around the plasma rifle. "We've got company."
The System buzzed.
---
[New Threat Detected: Corporate Security Drones — Tier 5]
Armed with: Plasma cannons and electric nets.
Mission: Capture the Raijin Protocol… alive.
Fun Fact: They don't negotiate.
---
Elliot staggered to his feet — static still snapping off his arms — his Boost growling like a caged animal, begging to surge again.
Kain's smile sharpened. "Looks like the big boys want you now, kid."
Nova's voice was steel. "We need to move."
The drones fired first.
Two plasma blasts shrieked through the air — molten white streaks of heat tearing toward Elliot — but his Boost reacted before he did.
A flash of blue lightning erupted from his arm — Raijin's Reflex activating — intercepting the plasma mid-flight.
The blasts didn't hit him.
They fed his storm.
Electricity spiraled into Elliot's Boost, sending his output from 100% to 250% in an instant — his veins igniting with raw power once more.
The System buzzed in his head.
---
[Ability Activated: Raijin's Overload]
Absorbing enemy plasma blasts… again.
Boost output: 250%
Warning: Try not to explode… again.
---
Nova blinked. "Did you just eat plasma again?"
Elliot clenched his fists — electricity snarling around him like a thunderstorm barely held in check. "I guess so."
Kain laughed. "He's a damn walking reactor."
The drones recalibrated — their red sensors flashing as their cannons charged again.
Nova didn't wait.
She raised her plasma rifle and unloaded.
A hailstorm of green bolts screamed through the air — tearing into the first drone, detonating its left plasma cannon in a shower of sparks.
The drone jerked sideways — spiraling out of control before slamming into a neon billboard behind them.
The ad flickered.
"TRY CYBERLOOT — YOUR MIND, UPGRADED!"
Then it exploded.
The System buzzed.
---
[Achievement Unlocked: Ad Break]
Reward: +3 Reflex Boost.
Penalty: Corporate will definitely bill you.
---
Elliot's Boost surged to 300% — his storm coiling tighter — the electricity begging for release.
Nova saw the lightning rippling down his arms. "Rookie — don't lose control."
But Elliot's vision was already blurring — the storm inside him growling louder.
The drones circled again — plasma cannons locked onto him.
And in the next second—
The Raijin Protocol roared.
Electricity exploded from Elliot's body — a violent arc of lightning ripping through the air — and Raijin's Fang formed mid-strike, a spear of raw power snapping into existence in his hand.
Nova cursed. "Elliot—"
He didn't think.
He threw the lightning spear.
The bolt collided with the nearest drone — detonating the machine in a burst of blue fire — sending metal shards raining down onto the platform.
Kain howled. "That's how you smite a drone!"
The System buzzed — losing its mind.
---
[New Ability Unlocked: Raijin's Thunderstrike]
Effect: Launch a charged spear of lightning at long-range targets.
Cooldown: 10 seconds.
Bonus: Dramatic flair included.
---
Elliot's storm wasn't calming down.
It was escalating again.
Nova's voice cut through the static. "We need to run — NOW!"
The remaining drones charged.
The storm howled.
And Elliot —
Was ready to fight the sky itself.