Chapter Six: Hiding Sparks (continued, refined)
The sparks crawled up Kirro's arm, buzzing under his skin like they were alive. He clenched his fist, the glow building until it looked like he was holding a ball of caged lightning.
His heart raced. Testing it on the ground was one thing — but he wanted to see just how far it could go.
Slowly, he lifted his fist toward the sky.
The energy hummed, louder and louder, until it roared in his ears. His arm shook with the weight of it, his whole body vibrating as if the city itself were waiting.
Then, with a sharp breath, he released it.
A jagged bolt shot upward, tearing into the clouds with a crack that shook the air. For a heartbeat, the slums lit up in pale blue-white light, every rooftop, every broken street revealed in shocking detail.
Then silence.
The clouds above trembled, thin wisps pulling together where his lightning had struck. A moment later, a soft drizzle began to fall — faint, cooling drops that pattered against the rooftops and his skin. Not a storm. Not destruction. Just rain.
Kirro's mouth fell open. He hadn't just summoned lightning. Somehow, he'd shaken the sky enough to pull the rain down.
But as quickly as it came, it faded. After less than a minute, the clouds thinned and the drizzle stopped, leaving only damp pavement and a stunned boy standing alone in the dark.
His chest heaved, every nerve still buzzing.
"I… I did that," he whispered, rainwater dripping from his hair. The thrill in his chest was too much to contain. "I actually did that."
But panic tugged at him just as fast. If anyone had seen the sky light up, if anyone traced it back to him…
He ran. Feet splashed in puddles as he bolted through the empty streets, sparks trailing faintly behind. He didn't stop until the slums were far behind, until the noise and the stench gave way to the silence of the open grass fields.
The night was still again, the only sound his own breathing.
Kirro stood in the damp grass, hand still tingling, staring at the sky that had answered him.
If he could call lightning and shake the clouds… what else was buried inside him?
He flexed his fingers, sparks crawling eagerly across his knuckles.
"Alright," he muttered, his voice low, determined. "Let's see what else you can do."
The air around him seemed to shiver in response.