Chapter Seven: First Flight
The grass fields stretched out under the moonlight, empty and endless. Kirro stood barefoot in the damp earth, sparks tickling his skin, his mind racing with possibilities.
He'd called down lightning. He'd shaken the sky. But fighting wasn't just about fists and flashes. If he was going to stand against heroes, against beasts, against the system itself, he needed speed. He needed movement.
He crouched low, pressing his palms against his thighs.
"Alright… let's try something different," he muttered.
He focused, dragging the sparks downward, pulling the current from his chest into his legs. His muscles twitched, calves burning as the charge coiled tight.
The ground beneath his feet hissed with faint blue veins of light.
"Here goes nothing."
He pushed off.
The world blurred. One second he was standing still, the next he was a streak of blue tearing across the field. The air split against him, grass bending violently in his wake.
But he wasn't ready for the force. His legs buckled, his body lost control — and then he was tumbling, flipping through the grass like a ragdoll.
"GAHHH—!"
He hit the ground hard, rolled, bounced, and finally skidded to a stop, sparks sputtering off his arms. For a moment he just lay there, staring at the spinning stars above him. His chest burned, his elbows and knees scraped raw.
Then… he laughed.
It hurt, but he laughed anyway.
"That—" he wheezed, pushing himself up with shaky arms, "—was insane."
He flexed his legs, still tingling with leftover charge. They hurt, but not broken. The power was there. Raw. Untamed.
"If I can control that…" he muttered, a grin tugging at his lips, "…I'll be faster than anyone."
The night wind brushed against him, carrying the faint smell of ozone. Kirro clenched his fists, his eyes blazing with determination.
Every tumble, every mistake, every scar — they were steps. Steps toward tearing the world's rotten system apart.
And tonight, for the first time, he felt like he wasn't just holding lightning.
He was learning how to become it.