The world was fading to black.
Marcel's body screamed with every ragged breath, his pulse barely a whisper. He could taste blood flooding his throat, metallic and choking. Around him, the Raiders circled, their snarls echoing like demons out of hell. The ogre loomed closer, its molten cracks glowing brighter, raising its fist to crush him once and for all.
And then the screen in front of him pulsed.
[ Summoning Initiated ]
[Rarity Range: F→ EX]
[Probability: Standard Supreme Summoner Rates]
The button he pressed dissolved into motes of light, spinning into a golden ring. Symbols he didn't recognize rotated around it, glowing brighter with each cycle.
Marcel blinked through blood-soaked lashes, confusion and delirium clouding his mind. "Is… this real? Am I… hallucinating?"
The ring began to spin faster.
[ Rolling… ]
Colors burst like fireworks, flashing through the rarities.
F… D… B… S… SR… SSR…
The wheel slowed. His heart somehow pounded harder despite the blood loss.
It stopped.
[ Result: SSR ]
A new window unfolded in glowing runes:
[— Summon Acquired—]
Name: Zeus (???)
Origin: Supreme Pantheon / God of Sky & Thunder
Rarity: SSR (Sealed State)
Level: ???
Primary Attribute: Lightning / Divinity
Traits: Prideful • Tempered • Incomplete Form • Celestial Aura
Likes: Storms, Authority, Loyalty (Unconfirmed)
Dislikes: Betrayal, Weakness (Unconfirmed)
Skills:
Thunderous Might (Passive) – Strength, speed, and durability far surpass human limits.
Stormcaller (Actuve) – Control over lightning and storm phenomena.
Judgment Bolt (Ultimate) – A divine strike of destructive lightning (restricted).
System Notice: Due to user's low level, summon has been forcibly constrained into "Initial Manifestation State." Expect diminished abilities until user synchronization improves.
Marcel squinted at the glowing details, half-mad with pain. His lips curled in a bloody smile, disbelief twisting into a faint laugh.
"Zeus…? The Greek god…?"
But before his mind could process more, the air split.
Light exploded into the warehouse.
Golden-white lightning crashed down from nowhere, ripping through the roof and shattering concrete in a shower of sparks. Raiders shrieked, stumbling back as the energy scorched them.
Through the blazing storm, a silhouette formed.
Tall. Radiant. Beautiful beyond reason.
But not the bearded titan of myth. Not the godly patriarch he had read about in textbooks.
No—the figure stepping out of the storm was a woman.
Her skin gleamed like polished marble under the lightning's glow. Her hair, a cascade of brilliant gold, whipped around her shoulders like living strands of light. Her eyes blazed with stormfire, regal and commanding. She wore no armor, only radiant cloth that shimmered with divine energy, half-gown, half-battle garb. Every step she took made the air tremble with thunder.
Marcel's vision blurred. His last thought before slipping under was one word, half-dazed, half-awestruck:
"…Beautiful…"
Then darkness claimed him.
…..
Zeus stood amidst the wreckage, golden lightning still sparking across her form. Her gaze swept the warehouse, eyes narrowing at the grotesque beasts closing in.
"This… is not Olympus."
Her voice rang like thunder, feminine but sharp, cutting through the chaos.
She flexed her fingers, and sparks crackled, but the power felt distant, restrained, like a blade dulled and locked. Her jaw clenched in irritation. "Sealed? Who dares…"
The Raiders hissed and lunged.
Zeus's expression hardened.
"Very well. Even bound, I am still Zeus."
The first wolf-like Raider leapt. With a snarl, Zeus met it midair, her palm striking its skull. Lightning surged, and the creature exploded in a burst of charred flesh.
Another lunged from behind. She spun, her golden hair arcing like a whip as her fist met its chest. The sound was like a thunderclap. The Raider flew across the warehouse, smashing through a wall in a shower of debris.
But the ogre roared, raising its molten fist.
Zeus glared. "You dare?"
She lifted her hand, lightning dancing along her arm, and thrust it forward. A bolt of pure stormfire erupted, slamming into the ogre's chest. The beast staggered, flames sputtering.
Not destroyed.
Her eyes narrowed. The strike was weaker than it should've been. Her seal was suppressing her. Fury curled her lips.
Fine. She would rely on more… primal measures.
With inhuman speed, she closed the distance, leapt, and drove her knee into the ogre's jaw. The crack echoed through the warehouse, snapping its head back. As it reeled, she unleashed a flurry of strikes—fists, elbows, knees, each one ringing like thunderclaps. She ended with a palm strike to its chest, blasting it backward through stacks of crates.
Around her, Raiders hesitated, growling, uncertain.
She smirked coldly, electricity dancing across her skin. "Pathetic creatures. Come, then. Break yourselves against me."
And they did.
The battle was brutal. Zeus fought with a mix of divine lightning and raw physical dominance. She hurled wolves into walls, ripped a spider-thing apart with her bare hands, crushed skulls under her heel. Every strike, every spark lit the warehouse in flashes of gold.
But she was annoyed, each motion reminding her that she was fighting at a fraction of her true strength. Still, even restrained, she was overwhelming.
Minutes later, the warehouse was quiet. Raiders lay smoldering, broken, and scattered.
Zeus exhaled, brushing dust from her radiant form, her expression sharp and proud. "Insects."
She turned to leave. There were questions to be asked, answers to be demanded—where was Olympus, who had bound her, what realm had she been dragged into?
But then she paused.
Her eyes fell upon him.
The broken boy, lying in a pool of blood, body battered beyond recognition. His chest rose in shallow, weak breaths.
Zeus frowned. She had no reason to care. He was mortal, weak, irrelevant. Normally, she would have stepped over him without thought.
And yet… she felt it.
A pull.
Something binding her existence to his, subtle yet undeniable, like the faintest chain of lightning threading their souls together. The sensation was foreign, infuriating—and impossible to ignore.
She sighed, kneeling beside him, golden sparks flickering at her fingertips. "Tch. What trickery is this…? You tether me to this fragile creature?"
Her hand hovered over his chest. She hesitated.
And then, against every instinct of her pride, she placed her palm upon him.
Golden light flowed from her, wrapping his body in a thin, radiant aura. The wounds began to knit, blood retreating as broken bones slowly aligned. His breathing steadied, ragged but no longer failing.
She exhaled, relief she didn't want to admit softening her gaze.
Marcel stirred faintly, his face twisting in pain. His lips parted, as if whispering something.
Zeus tilted her head, watching him, then gently shifted, sliding his head into her lap. Her thigh cradled him, softening his ragged rest.
Her hand brushed across his blood-stained cheek, golden light still glowing faintly.
"Do not die on me, mortal," she murmured, voice low but commanding. "I have questions… and you will give me answers."
Her stormfire eyes narrowed, a strange, unspoken emotion flickering in them.
"Until then… live."