The storm had become a living thing. Wind whipped across the terraces of the Inazuma estate with a keening scream, lashing against stone and wood, bending the thin pines like they were paper. Rain struck the rooftops in jagged rhythms, drumming a relentless warning into every corner of the courtyard. Rai stood at the highest rooftop, black-and-white hair plastered against his forehead, sparks of lightning flickering faintly across his arms, wrists, and fingers. His skin tingled with the raw charge of Sol Force, but the power felt alien today — unstable, almost conscious, as if reacting to a force beyond him.
Something was wrong. Subtle, almost imperceptible, yet undeniable. The guards whispered behind their masks, eyes darting down corridors. Servants clutched their cloaks, hearts pounding. Shadows moved unnaturally, stretching across stone walls where no light should reach. Rai's stomach twisted as his instincts screamed: something had shifted, and it would not be subtle for long.
"Rai," Retsu's voice cut through the storm, smooth, calm, deliberate, carrying that same chilling precision that always unnerved him. "Come with me. Your father requested you for training."
The words were simple, but Rai's chest constricted. There was an edge to them, a rhythm in Retsu's movements too precise, too measured. Trust had always been easier than suspicion, and Rai bounded down the rooftop steps anyway, sparks of electricity arcing faintly along his arms, leaving faint scorch marks on the wet stone. The Flow around him throbbed and twisted, as if mocking his hesitation.
The training hall was empty. Rain pounded the roof in a relentless percussion, lightning slashing through the open ceiling, illuminating the hall in silver flashes. Rai's father, the legendary Raijin, stood at the center, tall and commanding even amid the chaos of the storm. His robes clung to his frame, damp and heavy, yet his presence radiated unshakable authority. Eyes like molten metal measured Rai, fire and calm interwoven in a single gaze.
"Rai," his father said quietly, "your control is improving. But restraint is more important than raw strength. Power without direction destroys more than your enemies. It destroys you."
"I'll be ready," Rai said, forcing confidence into his voice. Sparks danced along his fingertips, reacting to his racing heartbeat. But beneath the words, fear slithered, subtle and icy, curling around his chest. Even Retsu's stance was off — too controlled, too deliberate — and the unease that had been simmering in Rai's gut flared into a quiet scream.
The betrayal came silently, perfectly executed. Retsu moved first, impossibly fast and deliberate. Guards were misdirected, doors sealed, corridors blocked. Rai's instincts screamed, but instinct alone could not undo the carefully orchestrated chaos. Lightning flared uncontrollably along his arms, leaping across the polished stone floor. The air filled with ozone, the metallic tang of rain on stone mingling with the sharp smell of scorched marble. The hall shook with the force of Rai's energy, every uncontrolled surge a testament to potential — magnificent, but devastatingly dangerous.
"Rai… run…" his father's voice cut through the storm, molten with fire and worry.
"Father!" Rai cried, chest tightening as panic tangled with disbelief and raw power. Lightning arced across the hall, jagged and wild, tearing through stone and wood. His hands glowed, the Flow thrumming violently under his skin, a torrent of Sol Force reacting to fear and grief alike. He lunged, desperate, but Retsu's plan left no room for heroics. Every instinct Rai had, every ounce of energy, could not halt the precision of betrayal.
From the far side, Rai's mother appeared, her robes brushing the floor, hair damp and plastered to her face. Her eyes blazed with fierce determination. She raised her hands, a pale, radiant sphere of energy coalescing around Rai. "Survive… my son. I will… send you… away."
"No!" Rai screamed. His uncontrolled power lashed outward, arcs of lightning cutting across the hall, shattering training dummies, gouging stone, and sending sparks into the air. For a heartbeat, the world felt suspended — frozen in grief, shock, and the uncontainable pulse of electricity.
Retsu's voice, calm and cutting, sliced through the chaos. "You were always too loud… too reckless… too weak to understand what power truly requires."
Rai's heart splintered. He watched helplessly as his father stepped into the path of an invisible strike — precise, calculated, unavoidable. Raijin's body absorbed the brunt, shielding Rai in a blink. Rai barely had time to see the molten fire in his father's eyes, tempered by unwavering love, before the world erupted around him.
Rai's mother's hands glowed brighter, channeling all her strength. The sphere engulfed Rai, energy and light fusing into a hurricane of protective power. Lightning clung to him, dancing along every inch of skin. His muscles burned as Sol Force and Flow twisted, stretched, reacting to the chaotic currents around him. Shouts, the clash of betrayal, and the cries of the estate faded into distant echoes, replaced by a warped, vibrating silence.
"Live… become stronger… my son…" her voice whispered, threading into his mind like silver lightning.
Rai's body tore free from the world he knew, flung across a torrent of sensation — light, sound, raw power, grief. Every inch of his body burned as if the Flow itself tested him. Then, abruptly, everything collapsed into darkness. Pain. Silence. Sorrow. Then… Wraith's End.
The cursed land welcomed him like a living predator. Shadows slithered across jagged rocks; trees twisted into impossible angles; the air vibrated with a malignant hum. Every gust of wind carried whispers of torment, sorrow, and rage. Rai fell to his knees, chest heaving, limbs trembling. The taste of grief, of lingering electricity, and the sharp tang of fear filled his mouth.
Sixteen years old. Alone. His estate, his parents, even Retsu — all gone in a single storm of betrayal and raw energy.
Yet, beneath the grief, a spark persisted. Lightning flickered faintly across his fingertips, small, jagged, defiant. Rai rose slowly, shaking, chest tight, muscles trembling. The Flow and Sol Force within him pulsed, alive, responding to the land around him. Every shadow seemed conscious, every gust of wind a whisper of challenge. Wraith's End tested him — measured his fear, his grief, his raw potential.
Slowly, a transformation began. The panic and despair that had threatened to consume him melted into something harder, something sharper. His anger, his frustration, his longing for power — all coalesced into a single, flickering resolve. He clenched his fists, arcs of electricity illuminating jagged rocks and twisted trees. Rai's eyes, black tipped with white streaks, glinted with a new clarity.
He did not yet understand the depths of the cursed land, nor the dangers it held. He did not yet know how long he would survive, or whether Nox Force or darker powers would test him first. But one truth burned in his chest, hotter than grief, sharper than fear: he would learn control. He would master his Flow. And one day… he would return.
The world had cast him into shadow. Wraith's End would either break him… or forge him into something greater than any legend. And Rai Inazuma — the Thunder Child — had just taken his first step into that crucible.