Akio's house was drowning in heavy silence, broken only by the sound of rain striking the windows. Noria sat in the living room, her eyes were fixed on the clock hanging on the wall. Every passing minute tightened her chest more. She suddenly turned towards Vanco, who was pretending to stay calm while chewing on a toasted piece of bread, but the tremble in his hand exposed him.
She said sharply, but with worry:
"He's very late… and you know lightning is attracted to him since he was a baby! Even the weather in this region changed because of him. Every time he goes out, the sky goes crazier!"
Vanco froze for a moment, then tried to laugh lightly to cover his tension.
"Haha… don't worry, our boy is stronger than you think. He's probably chasing frogs right now while laughing. Nothing bad will happen to him!"
But Noria glared at him angrily, slammed her fist on the table, and snapped harshly:
"Enough carelessness, Vanco! If anything happens to him… I'll never forgive you! Get up right now and go look for him before that storm swallows him!"
Vanco sighed, then stood up trying to stay humorous like always, waving as if he was going on a new adventure.
"Alright alright… I'll go bring him back before the lightning eats him! Who knows… maybe I'll come back with a grilled fish from the lake too!"
But despite his playful words, the worry in his eyes was clear as he put on his coat quickly and tightened the belt around his waist.
Vanco reached deep into the forest, the rain was splashing on his coat, lightning was lighting the paths between the trees.
He shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice was echoing in the darkness:
"Akiiiiio! Where are you, boy?!"
In his hand was a lantern swinging with each fast step, brightening the darkness then fading again. He stopped at the spot where Akio usually sat near the small lake, but the place was empty except for the merciless rain. Vanco bit his lip, his heart pounding wildly, then turned to the left of the lake and went deeper inside the forest.
After a while of walking, he reached the same empty clearing. Suddenly, his eyes caught something strange on the ground. He bent down slowly and reached his hand out. It was the small wooden sword Akio carved with his own hands a few days ago. Vanco froze, a sharp gasp escaping his chest like a stab to the heart. He lifted the lantern and widened the light on the muddy ground… and there he saw what he never wished to see.
Akio.
His small body was lying motionless, covered in mud, with dark burnt marks spreading across his arms and face. His eyes were closed, and his mouth is half open like a scream that never finished. Around him, the ground still carried the smell of burnt lightning.
Vanco's eyes widened in shock. The lantern fell from his hand and shattered, putting out its last light. His knees trembled as he rushed forward, his voice tearing out of him:
"Aaakiooooo!!!"
Vanco grabbed Akio's small shoulders and shook him desperately, his voice was hoarse and breaking between screams:
"Akio! Get up my son! Come on, stop joking!"
But Akio's body did not move. His small eyes stayed shut, and his burnt skin still smelled of scorched lightning mixed with rain. Vanco couldn't believe it, he couldn't understand… he kept shaking him like a madman, tears were streaming hot from his eyes onto his son's face, mixing with rain and running down his cheeks.
"Get up!! Please… you cannot die like this…!"
The words came out sounding like lies more than pleas, as if he was trying to fool himself before fooling his son. And with every second, his voice shattered more, like his heart was breaking into pieces.
Finally… he collapsed to his knees and pulled Akio into his arms with all his strength, like hugging him alone could bring him back to life. He lifted him with trembling arms, holding him against his chest, the child's head hanging helplessly.
Vanco's scream rose through the storm, loud and tearing through the night, blending with the thunder until it felt like part of the fury of the sky itself.
"Aaaakiooooo!!!"
After a long walk through the dark forest, Vanco staggered while carrying his son's body. His breathing was heavy, his shoulders were shaking from exhaustion and cold, while weak sobs still escaped him, like he had cried until all his tears dried.
Each step slower than the one before, until he seemed to be walking without consciousness. Then… in the middle of all that silence… a faint voice barely heard:
"…Dad…"
Vanco stopped instantly. His eyes widened in shock like time had frozen. His heart jumped in his chest, his trembling voice rose as he stared at Akio's face:
"Akio?! Is that you?!"
Vanco froze in place, his eyes locked on his son's features. Slowly, life returned to those faint golden eyes, opening as if it's fighting back the darkness that swallowed them. Akio's small chest rose with struggling breaths, slowly returning.
Vanco gasped, set him gently on the ground while panting, hands shaking violently from shock. He wiped his face urgently, as if fearing the boy would vanish again any moment.
Tears fell endlessly, mixed with the rain, as he repeated with a broken voice:
"Akio… dear god… you… you're alive!"
But the sky did not show mercy… another lightning bolt tore the darkness and struck Akio again! But this time Akio's body lifted upward slowly, rising into the air like a mysterious force was pulling him from the ground. Blue and yellow sparks started leaking out from his small body, dancing on his skin and weaving together in the air like living strands of lightning.
He dropped to his knees at first, screaming from the shock, his eyes frozen on the horrifying scene. His heart hammered against his chest like a crazed drum, his hands were trembling. He didn't know if this was a miracle or a curse. Then, without a single thought, he sprinted with everything he had towards the nearest tall tree. He climbed like a madman, until he reached the top.
From there… he leapt into the air with everything he had. Reckless. Stupid. Impossible. But he wasn't thinking about anything other than reaching his son floating inside the heart of the storm.
Vanco stretched out his hand with all his strength, his fingers shaking, almost touching the air around Akio's glowing body. For a brief moment, he felt like he reached him… but his jump was only the jump of a normal human. His fingers barely brushed his son's back before slipping away.
The next moment, his body slammed into the ground hard, blood bursting from a wound in his side as he hit the rocks. Pain choked his throat, his loud scream is turning into a hoarse and weak groan, barely audible within the storm.
He lay there on mud and blood mixing with rainwater, his eyes were half-closed, staring helplessly at his son floating above him, far from his reach.
All he could do was stretching his trembling hand toward the air… and whisper a name fading with the thunder:
"…Akio…"
Moments later, the lightning that consumed Akio began lowering him slowly, as if the sky itself was returning him by an unseen hand. His body rested on the wet grass, bathed in a golden light that was slowly fading away.
The shock that froze Vanco's blood was this… every burn and scar that covered Akio's body moments ago was gone, as if nothing ever touched him.
The golden mark on his forehead shined at its brightest. And in the next moment, Akio opened his eyes wide, breathing in broken gasps, staring at himself in disbelief, remembering nothing of what happened.
But when his eyes landed on his father's body lying on the ground, he screamed at the top of his lungs:
"Daaad!!"
He rushed toward him with everything he had. His feet slammed into the mud, his arms swinging forward. But suddenly… a sharp spark fired from his right hand, as if lightning surged straight out of his veins, shooting like an electric arrow that tore through the air. It hit the trunk of a massive tree nearby, igniting it in an instant, the upper part splitting apart and crashing violently to the ground.
Akio froze where he stood, his eyes widening in shock, his heart racing out of control… lightning just came out of him. He stared at his right hand, fingers shaking. He slowly raised it in front of his face as if it was something foreign. Small sparks still flickered between his fingers, fading and returning, as if it's reminding him of what he just did.
His mind spun:
'Did this lightning came from me? But how…?'
A cold current ran through his spine. A mix of fear and awe. He still couldn't comprehend that he had changed. That this moment was only the beginning of something far greater.
Vanco got up with difficulty, stumbling with each step, blood pouring from his wound while his hand pressed against it uselessly. His breaths were broken, painful, but his eyes never left Akio for even a second.
Akio held out his trembling hand toward him, his voice hesitant, strained with confusion:
"Dad… I… what did I just do?"
Vanco didn't let him finish. He stepped forward, leaned down, and hugged his son with all he had, as if afraid Akio would vanish if he let go. His exhausted body clung to Akio's small frame, his hands shaking as he pressed him to his chest, and his tears flowed again.
Vanco held him tight, whispering with a broken, breathless voice:
"I knew it… I knew this moment would come, Akio. Everything pointed to this since the day you were born… the lightning chasing you, the mark on your forehead… it was never coincidence. You… you are not an ordinary child."
He pulled back slightly, staring into Akio's golden eyes trembling from shock, then continued:
"You have now become… a wielder of the Vakin power."
Akio's eyes widened at his father's words. His voice stuttered:
"W-what?!"
But before he could breathe or process any of it, the thunder roared again in the sky, louder than ever, as if the entire forest shook.
The lightning mark on Akio's forehead blazed with burning radiance. He suddenly felt a massive surge of power flow in his veins, strange and terrifying. His entire body trembled, while Vanco himself stepped back in shock, watching him as if witnessing a monster awaken for the first time.
Before the bolt faded, Akio's scream tore through the forest:
"Aaaaaah!!"
Then… everything went dark.