Eva stepped out of the manor, stretching her arms with a satisfied sigh. The cool breeze brushed against her skin, but a dull ache in her legs made her wince.
"Deraaa!" she called out, her voice playful yet demanding.
She rubbed her legs dramatically. "My legs ache a lot. Can you give me a foot massage?"
Silence.
Eva blinked, glancing around. The training ground was empty. Not a single trace of Dera.
"Huh? Where did he go?" she murmured.
Her eyes drifted toward the path leading to the great mountain, where the Temple of the Thunder God loomed beyond the mist.
Just then, she spotted her grandfather approaching from that very direction. His expression was unreadable, his steps slow yet deliberate.
"Grandpa!" Eva called out, hurrying toward him.
"Where's Dera? He should be done with his training by now."
She glanced up at the darkened, cloudy sky, a small smile forming.
"Oh? It's already the month of the Descent of Amadiora's Lightning?" She chuckled softly.
Then, turning back to her grandfather, she beamed.
"Grandpa, tell me—where's Dera? He shouldn't miss this!"
Her excitement faded the moment she saw her grandfather's face.
It was grim.
Darkened.
"He's at the Temple of the Thunder God." The old man's voice was like stone, firm and unwavering.
Eva blinked.
"At the temple? But what's he doing th—" Her words froze in her throat.
Then suddenly, her eyes widened in absolute horror.
She staggered back, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps.
"Grandpa… you don't mean—"
"Yes."
The word slammed into her like a thunderclap.
"It's exactly what you think, Eva."
A violent shudder ran through her body.
For a split second, Eva stood frozen.
When Dera ventured into the black forest, Eva had assumed he would return battered—bruised, with lost limbs—but surely alive. But to her surprise he emerged perfectly fine.
This time, however, she was absolutely certain that Dera would die in that temple.
And then—she ran.
FWOOSH!
Without wasting a single second, she bolted toward the mountain path, her legs moving on instinct, her heart pounding like a war drum.
She had to stop him.
She had to get him out.
She had to—
SNATCH!
A firm grip locked around her wrist, halting her in place.
"LET ME GO!"
Eva thrashed, tears spilling down her cheeks, her voice raw with desperation.
"DO YOU WANT DERA TO DIE?!"
She looked up at her grandfather, her vision blurry with panic.
"DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT HIM?!"
Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the old man's solemn face. But he did not let go.
She had let him in.
She never let anyone in.
For eight long years, she had watched. Thirty. That was the number of people who had attempted the Lightning Aura technique and tookthe final selection exam but —
None of them ever came back.
The Venoms tore them apart.
Some of them had been like family—senior brothers, senior sisters—people she had grown to admire, care for, trust. But in the end, they all died.
So for the past five years, she chose not to get close to anyone.
She built walls around her heart.
But then Dera came along.
She never meant to grow attached. But somehow, he became her elder brother. And she? She felt like his little sister.
A bond so deep that his death would shatter what remains of her heart.
Tears burned in her eyes as she recalled the solemn promise Dera had made to her one certain day.
It was a warm afternoon. Dera had just finished one of his brutal training sessions, his body battered and bruised.
Eva was sitting on the porch when he walked in, looking half-dead.
She sighed. "Come here."
She placed her hands over his wounds, channeling her Healing Aura into his skin. A soft golden glow surrounded him as the pain gradually faded.
Dera let out a deep breath, sinking into relaxation.
"You always overdo it," Eva muttered.
"Well, someone's gotta get stronger," Dera chuckled.
Eva didn't smile.
She looked away, her expression shadowed with worry. "You know... I'm not always here to heal you."
Dera tilted his head.
"I take jobs healing injured hunters," she continued. "Sometimes, I have to leave for ten days... even longer."
He shrugged. "I'll manage." He'd probably rely on his Venomic Recovery.
She stared at the floor, her fingers tightening into fists.
"Promise me something, Dera."
"Hm?"
"No matter what happens, no matter how brutal the training gets or how terrifying the Venoms are... promise me you'll always survive."
She turned to face him, her eyes serious, pleading, desperate.
"Promise me you'll come back to me" she whispered.
Dera's breath hitched.
For a moment, he saw a flicker of his late younger sister in her eyes. The way she used to beg him for reassurance when things got tough.
'She must have lost people close to her too, just like me,' he had thought, a soft ache in his chest.
Slowly, he reached out and patted Eva's head.
His sister had always loved it when he did that.
And then, grinning, he raised his voice.
"Don't worry! Because I, Dera, will always survive and come back to you!"
Eva's lips trembled.
And then, she smiled.
That was his promise.
And now…
He was going to break it.
"Grandpa, please!" Eva sobbed, struggling in his grasp. "He's going to die, Please, let me go. I have to stop him before it's too late" Eva cried out, her voice breaking as her tears fell like an uncontrollable waterfall.
But the old man did not let go.
Instead, he tightened his grip.
"Eva, believe in him." His voice was firm.
"Just like in the Black Forest, I truly believe he will make it," the old man added, his words unshakable.
Truth be told, Dera was not the first.
There was another before him—a boy hailed as a genius. He had ascended this very mountain, entered this very temple, and never came back down.
When the old man went to check on him…
All that remained was his ashes.
Haunted by regret, the old man sealed the temple, vowing never to use it again.
But now, after seven years, he had broken that vow.
Why? Because Dera was different.
Despite all that boy's potential, he was nowhere near Dera's level—Dera was beyond genius.
He was something more. Something no one had ever seen before.
And this time, the old man's resolve did not waver.He was certain that Dera would survive.
Eva's gaze drifted upward. Dark clouds had already begun to swirl around the mountain temple, a warning of the storm that was brewing above.
Meanwhile, Dera, still bound to the golden throne, continued to struggle, attempting to free himself from the chains that held him captive.
But no matter how much strength he poured into his limbs, the chains refused to budge.
{In all nine incarnations, you're the only one foolish enough to join the Lightning Clan. Just what in the hell were you thinking?}
Shadow's voice echoed in his mind, mocking him.
"Damn it, Shadow!" Dera snapped. "If you know how to get me out of these chains—or at least what's about to happen to me—then stop blaming me and just tell me!" he demanded.
{Look up.}
Dera frowned but obeyed.
And then—
His breath caught in his throat.
"W-what is that?" he stammered. As his gaze lifted to the open roof of the temple, he saw the sky itself twisting and churning above.
Dark clouds spun violently around the temple as if the heavens themselves were alive.
At the center of it all, a massive, golden eye—unblinking, watching—looked down upon him.
It felt as if he were staring directly into the eye of a storm.
{You're about to get hit by lightning.}
Shadow's voice was laced with frustration, his words slicing through Dera's mind.
A chill crawled down Dera's spine, an unsettling sense of dread washing over him. Lightning? Surely the old man wouldn't put him in such an intense deadly situation, right?
The air suddenly cracked with a deafening roar. Purple lightning shot from the giant eye above, sending a web of golden veins racing through the storm clouds.
Right?
He had forgotten what the old man was capable of..
And then...
BOOM!
A pillar of blinding purple lightning exploded from the heavens, crashing down upon Dera, slamming into the Aura shield that surrounded his body. The force of the impact left him breathless.
The old man had planned this, all of it—every grueling second of training beneath the waterfall was meant for this very moment.
Dera gritted his teeth, his hands trembling as he fought to keep his Aura shield intact, the lightning hammering down on him with relentless fury.
It was heavier, far more intense than anything he had endured before. He could feel the strain on his body, the weight of each bolt testing his limits.
Deep inside, he knew that if he lost even a fraction of his focus, it would mean his end.
Outside the temple…
Eva's heart shattered as she watched the sky ignite in a flash of blinding purple light.
Then came the boom—
A deafening, merciless explosion.
It echoed through the heavens, rattling the mountains, as though the world itself had been struck.
Eva's legs gave out.
She collapsed onto her knees, her hands clutching at her chest as if trying to hold herself together.
"Kyaaaaaaa!!"
A scream of raw agony tore from her throat as she clamped her hands over her ears.
The pain was unbearable—
Not the pain of the storm, but the pain of knowing.
Knowing that Dera was being torn apart.
And she knew—
It wasn't even over.
Inside the temple, the lightning suddenly ceased. Silence hung in the air. Dera's chest rose and fell as he gasped for breath, relief flooding him, if only momentarily.
He looked around, his vision blurry from the assault, his body trembling.
Then his eyes caught something—
One of the seven statues surrounding the throne...
It was the one closest to him.
Its eyes had begun to glow a bright, unnatural yellow, while the others remained dark.
Dera's brows furrowed.
Was that it?
Was this what everyone had been so afraid of?
And then—
BOOM!
A second, even more powerful surge of lightning came crashing down on him, catching him off guard.
This time, the strike was far more brutal, ten times heavier than the first.
CRACK!
His Aura shield couldn't hold. A loud snap echoed through the air as the shield shattered, and the full force of the lightning struck his body.
"AHHHHHHH!" Dera screamed in pure agony as the lightning seared through him. His bones cracked, his veins exploded with energy as the lightning coursed through every inch of his body, burning it from the inside out.
Half of his body began to disintegrate, his skin and flesh turning to ash, consumed by the violent power.
Am I going to die here? Me? After everything I've fought for... Dera thought, the world around him fading to black.
"BLASPHEMY!" he screamed in defiance, his voice echoing against the storm defying the heavens themselves as the pain threatened to swallow him whole.
Back at the old man's manor, Eva sat collapsed on the ground, tears flowing endlessly down her face with each crack of lightning. Seven strikes in total. Seven heart-wrenching moments that echoed her grief.
And then, silence. The storm subsided, the dark clouds dissipating into a soft twilight haze as dusk began to settle over the land.
"Dera isn't dead... Dera isn't dead..." Eva whispered the words to herself, as though repeating them could make them true. But deep inside, she knew they weren't.
Her heart had shattered into pieces, the one person she had allowed in, the one she'd dared to care for, was gone.
The old man, however, stood still.
His weathered eyes remained locked on the mountain peak, where the temple of the Thunder God loomed in eerie silence.
His mind was consumed with a memory of words spoken to him long ago by the previous clan leader.
The very words that had driven him to take this terrible risk with Dera.
"I have seen a revelation, a vision," the leader had said, his eyes glowing a prophetic yellow as he gazed skyward.
"Before the cock crows three times, from the mountains will emerge The One. The one true legacy of the Lightning Clan."
A single crow echoed in the distance.
Kokorookoo!
The first call.
The old man held his breath. His fingers curled into tight fists as his gaze remained fixed on the temple's entrance.
But nothing came.
His patience wore thin.
Kokorookoo!
The second call..
Doubt crept in.
His heart pounded violently in his chest.
Was I a fool to believe in that prophecy?
What have I done…?
A sliver of panic lodged itself deep into his soul.
Had he sent another child to his death—All because of a useless prophecy?
Kokorookoo!
The third and final call.
Silence.
Still, no sign of Dera.
The old man's resolve crumbled.
His head bowed, his shoulders sagging with a grief too heavy to bear.
A flicker of moisture gathered in his aged eyes.
He had done it again.
He had led another soul—
Another child—
To a senseless death.
His lips pressed into a thin line, his teeth clenched.
'I've killed another one…'
And then—
From the shadows—
A voice echoed.
"Eva."