Chapter 81: Infinite Storm When Lightning Sings and the City Burns Bright
The Spire Syndicate HQ was a graveyard.
The AI core of Raijin Prime lay in ruins — a smoldering pile of melted circuits and dead data streams — its last distorted scream still echoing in Elliot's mind. The storm inside him wasn't wild anymore…
It was waiting.
His Boost hovered at 520% — the Raijin Protocol humming beneath his skin like a caged thunderstorm.
But the only thing louder than the storm…
Was Kain.
Still sitting on a pile of wreckage, grinning like a maniac, his holopad flickering with code as he shut down the last of the Spire's security systems.
Elliot's storm snapped violently — a stray bolt of blue lightning arcing off his arm — and for once, he didn't flinch.
Instead, he turned to Kain.
"I didn't know you were a hacker too."
Kain didn't even look up. "BRO — YOU'VE BEEN A WALKING LIGHTNING BOMB THIS WHOLE TIME. WHAT DID YOU THINK I WAS DOING — BANDAGING YOUR FEELINGS?"
Nova's suit fizzled with static — the feedback loop between her and Elliot still pulsing with quiet tension — her storm tied to his Boost like an electric chain.
"He's been keeping you from detonating every time you surge past 300%," Nova said. "Without him hacking your bio-circuitry… your heart would've short-circuited days ago."
Vex, twirling her plasma blade, smirked. "The ripperdoc is also a cyber-wizard. I like it."
Elliot exhaled — his storm still simmering hot — but this time, the Raijin Protocol didn't fight back.
Because now?
He knew it wasn't just his storm anymore.
Kain was part of it.
Elliot clenched his fist, blue lightning swirling around his knuckles like a slow dance.
Then — his voice rough but steady — he said:
"Thanks, Kain."
Kain froze.
Vex blinked. "Wait… did he just—"
Nova's jaw actually dropped. "Did you just thank him?"
Kain's holopad glitched from how fast his fingers stopped typing. "BRO — DID YOU JUST… SHOW EMOTIONS?"
Thundaddy — who had been uncharacteristically quiet since Prime's death — exploded back to life.
---
"ALERT! EMERGENCY BROADCAST!"
"ELLIOT JUST THANKED SOMEONE — MARK THE DATE!"
"PRO TIP FOR KAIN: Cherish this moment… for it may never happen again."
---
Elliot's storm flickered violently — his Boost spiking to 530% — but this time, he didn't snap.
He smirked.
"Don't get used to it."
Kain howled with laughter. "BRO — I'M PUTTING THIS ON A T-SHIRT."
Vex leaned against the ruined AI core. "I'll design the merch."
Nova's suit flared. "You're all ridiculous."
But then…
The storm shifted.
The tension between them snapped into something else — not just the aftermath of a brutal fight — but something bigger.
Elliot's storm was still burning.
And for the first time since Prime's death…
He felt light.
Not empty. Not out of control.
Free.
And he wasn't done.
His Boost still roared at 530% — but this time, it wasn't violent. It was a song waiting to be sung.
He turned to Kain. "We're not finished."
Kain blinked. "Bro… you just ripped Prime's heart out — what more do you want?"
Elliot's storm crackled softly.
"Another concert."
Nova's glowing eyes widened. "You can't be serious."
Vex's smile broke into a full-blown grin. "Oh… I like where this is going."
Kain's jaw dropped. "BRO — YOU WANT TO SING… AGAIN?!"
Elliot's voice was calm. "We're taking the storm to Nexus-9 — and everyone's gonna know what happens when they mess with Raijin."
Thundaddy, feral as ever, roared back to life.
---
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN…"
"PREPARE FOR THE AFTERMATH CONCERT™!"
"STARRING: ELLIOT — THE LIGHTNING GOD!"
"SPECIAL GUEST: THUNDADDY ON THE BEATS!"
---
Nova stared at Elliot. "Are you insane? You want to perform again after hitting 500% Boost?"
Elliot didn't blink. "I'm not performing."
He stepped into the center of the room — the Raijin Protocol burning inside him — blue lightning coiling like music notes around his arms.
"I'm sending a message."
Kain, still stunned, muttered, "Bro… what are you thinking?"
Elliot's eyes crackled blue.
"We don't just let them know Raijin Prime is dead."
A slow grin spread across his face.
"We make them hear it."
Thundaddy screamed with joy.
---
"PLAYING: INFINITY BY JAYMES YOUNG — STORM MIX™!"
---
The intro hit — soft, haunting — the Raijin Protocol vibrating inside Elliot like a second heartbeat.
And as the music built…
Kain hacked into Nexus-9's holographic broadcast grid — his fingers flying across the console — patching Elliot's live performance into every major screen in the city.
Every billboard.
Every news feed.
Every neon projection in the sky.
Elliot's storm-lit figure appeared over the entire city — his crackling silhouette standing in front of the destroyed Spire Syndicate — blue lightning flickering in sync with the song.
Vex gasped. "He's… everywhere."
Nova's storm snapped again. "You just hacked the whole city."
Kain grinned like a madman. "BRO — NEXUS-9 IS NOW YOUR STAGE."
And then…
Elliot sang.
---
🎵 "Baby, this love, I'll never let it die…" 🎵
---
The Raijin Protocol surged — his Boost pushing 540% — and with every word, blue lightning snapped through the air.
The entire city saw him.
The storm was now a concert.
Every neon billboard lit up with Elliot's live feed — his voice smooth, steady, dangerous.
And the storm inside him didn't fight.
It sang with him.
---
🎵 "You can run, but you can't hide…" 🎵
---
Thundaddy's beat dropped — a thunderous remix of Infinity — laced with the sound of crackling storms and pulsing Boost surges.
The holograms burned Elliot's image into the city — a lightning god standing over the ruins of his enemies, singing with unrelenting power.
And every corner of Nexus-9 heard the message.
Raijin Prime is dead.
Raijin-02 is free.
And the storm…
Was just beginning.