"Did you just tell me to shut up?" Summer asked, her voice edged with malice as she raised her hand threateningly.
Damien flailed, throwing his hands up and waving them in front of him as fast as he could. "Wait, no, no—I was talking to myself!"
She seemed satisfied with that answer, her expression softening as she lowered her hand and offered it to him. Damien took it, and she pulled him up to his feet.
Except she pulled a little too hard.
He stumbled forward, crashing into her, his hands instinctively grabbing onto her shoulders to keep from falling. Her grip tightened slightly to steady him, and they were chest to chest for a heartbeat. Heat flooded both faces, crimson blooms of embarrassment that they didn't bother to hide. Damien's pale grey eyes locked onto Summer's big brown ones, and in that moment, her malice melted into a nervous, wide-eyed stare.
They stood frozen, neither thinking nor speaking, their breath mingling in the narrow space between them.
Then she blinked rapidly, looking away with an awkward cough. "Um, so what can you do?"
"Yeah, lovebirds, I'm interested in that too," Luka chimed in, clearly enjoying the show.
Damien stepped back quickly, letting go of Summer and shooting Luka a side-eye so sharp it could cut glass. As he moved a few paces away, he weighed his following words carefully, not knowing how much he should reveal. 'Should I tell them everything?' 'Or just enough to explain where I was now?'
'I mean, would they think I was crazy if I told them a maybe ancient God lives in my head and gives me abilities?'
"Oh, but you're not crazy, my little goblin. A super cool God does live in your head," the voice chimed in, seizing the moment to boast.
Damien ignored it, his expression unreadable as he took another second to decide. Better to be cautious than end up in a straitjacket.
"So basically, I have a magic ability to control lightning."
…
After giving a quick and unimpressive demonstration and earning a pair of thoroughly disappointed looks, the trio decided to call it a night. Over the next week, Damien and Luka will be staying at the Park residence. They had agreed it was too much of a drive for Luka's mom to drop them off daily, though Damien might have added that she was way too beautiful to be stuck doing chauffeur duty.
That's how Damien ended up in the most oversized room he had ever seen, sleeping in the most comfortable bed his body had ever touched. But sleep never came, not because of the bed, but because of the fire burning in his mind.
He was determined to figure out how to advance his ability to the Basic rank. He had a few theories—half-baked and fuzzy around the edges—but theories nonetheless. They just needed testing.
So he jumped off the bed and plopped down on the floor, crossing his legs and closing his eyes.
'Can you put me into the darkness?' he asked the voice.
Silence.
'Uh, hello? Annoying teacher? Are you there?'
Still nothing.
'Of course that asshole doesn't respond when I need him for something.'
Frustrated but undeterred, Damien reached inward, searching for the way into his soul without the guidance of the infinite void. He found it much faster this time—maybe because he had already been there once. Perhaps it was muscle memory now. He wasn't sure.
As his subconscious brushed against the golden tunnel, he felt alone, like stepping into a subway station made only for him. But instead of a train, he was being launched through the glowing passage.
And then, just as suddenly, he was there.
Back in his soul.
Clouds swirled around his feet. The sky stretched infinitely in every direction, a radiant blue that seemed to shimmer with magic. It looked exactly how he had left it.
Except for one thing.
The tall golden gates guarding the palace—the one where he had gained his ability, where his other half lived—were now shut.
'Not like I need to go in there anyway. That's probably why I can't hear my worser half,' Damien thought, almost expecting to hear the voice shout in protest.
But nothing came.
'Ah, finally some peace and quiet.'
Without anyone around to interrupt him, Damien had complete freedom to train. He'd need to be careful not to overstay like last time, as the trio had agreed to wake up early and train after breakfast.
Trying not to dwell too long on the image of an angry Summer in his morning routine, Damien focused on a memory that had happened right here in his soul. He remembered when his irritating teacher had blasted him with lightning. It didn't hurt, not really. Instead, it had surged through his body, amplifying his strength and speed.
'That has to be the secret to the next rank.'
He took a natural stance—arms relaxed at his sides, feet shoulder-width apart—and closed his eyes. He didn't know exactly what to focus on, but he had a hunch it had to do with his body's inner mechanics.
Time passed. He concentrated hard. Nothing happened.
It was disappointing—but not unexpected.
Instead of quitting, he dug deeper into memory.
'The Blood of Zeus.'
With that thought, his focus narrowed. He stopped searching his entire body and started searching for his blood.
And what he found wasn't red liquid. Not anymore.
His veins didn't carry what most people had, not even what most Deviants had.
They carried pure lightning.
Electricity, not blood, pulsed through him. It didn't flow—it raced, like a wild animal pacing in a cage, waiting to be set free. The more Damien focused on it, the more the lightning snarled like a beast bred for war.
Now that he knew where his lightning was stored, he knew what to do.
'Lightning is my friend. Summon it at any time. It won't disappoint.' That was what his master had said.
It should apply to the lightning in his veins, too.
So he gave it a direct command.
'Run wild, through my entire body.'
The lightning obeyed.
It tore through him like a storm on a rampage. For a second, he felt like a god. The next second, he was being electrocuted from the inside out. The pain hit fast and hard. He stumbled, barely catching himself as he raised a hand and barked another mental order.
'Release.'
And just like that, the lightning burst out of him. A brilliant arc of pure blue energy surged from his hand, wild and unshaped, crackling through the air and disappearing into the endless sky.
Damien stared, eyes wide and lips parted.
The bolt was gone, but the image lingered.
Sitting down, drained but exhilarated, he smiled at the sky. The wild surge of lightning had burned through every ounce of his Deviant energy, leaving him feeling hollow, like a drained battery sparking on fumes.
'Okay. I need to work on control. But I did it.'
A low rumble of thunder echoed in the far distance. And with it came Damien's whisper:
"I really am the God of lightning."
However,
Unbeknownst to Damien, he was no longer alone. Though the world around him remained silent, he was being watched—not from the physical world, but from within his very soul. The towering gates of the palace had opened sometime before the lightning erupted from his hand.
Inside the Palace, a figure sat draped on his throne. Whether man or god, it was hard to tell. His eyes were hidden behind a black blindfold, his posture unnervingly still as he leaned forward, resting his chin on interlocked fingers. But it was the smile that made the figure most disturbing—a wide, unnatural grin stretched across his face, empty of joy, carved in quiet malice—the kind that didn't need words to promise something terrifying.
Then, barely audible, the figure whispered, "Truly a habitual learner, my little goblin."