Somewhere in the endless universe, beyond the reach of human eyes, beyond the quiet darkness where stars burned like distant candles, there existed a small blue planet called Earth.
It was not the largest planet.
It was not the oldest.
It was not the strongest.
Compared to the countless worlds hidden across creation, Earth was only a tiny sphere drifting through space, wrapped in oceans, clouds, cities, forests, deserts, mountains, and the endless noise of human life.
But on that planet, in the year 2026, something strange was about to happen.
Something impossible.
Something that would begin with thunder.
The sky above the city had turned black.
Not dark.
Black.
Towering storm clouds swallowed the moon and stars, rolling over the skyline like enormous beasts made of shadow. The clouds twisted and churned, flashing from within as if something alive was crawling through them. Wind screamed between tall buildings. Streetlights flickered. Traffic lights swung violently above the roads. Rain hammered against windows, rooftops, parked cars, and empty sidewalks.
The city below was almost completely abandoned.
People had already run inside.
Shops were closed. Cars were pulled over. Umbrellas had been destroyed by the wind and thrown into alleyways like broken birds. Trash cans rolled down the streets. Rainwater flooded the gutters, rushing along the pavement in silver rivers.
Then—
KRAKOOOOM!
A massive bolt of lightning split the sky.
For one blazing second, the entire city turned white.
The skyscrapers became black silhouettes.
The clouds flashed like an ocean of fire.
The thunder that followed shook every window for blocks.
Inside apartments, people covered their ears.
In cars, drivers ducked their heads.
On the streets, the few people still outside screamed and ran for shelter.
But high above them, standing on the rooftop of a tall building, one person did not run.
One person laughed.
"HAHAHAHA! That was awesome!"
Twenty-year-old Max Sparks stood at the edge of the rooftop with rain soaking his clothes, black hair whipping wildly around his face, and excited brown eyes staring up at the storm like he was watching the greatest show ever created.
He was a college student.
A stubborn one.
A quirky one.
A fearless one.
And he had one very unusual obsession.
Thunderstorms.
While normal people saw danger, Max saw beauty.
While everyone else heard thunder and thought, I should go inside, Max heard thunder and thought, I should get a better view.
He stood with his arms spread wide, his shirt plastered to his body, his shoes soaked, and the wind nearly pushing him backward. Rain poured down his face, but he did not care. His grin only grew wider every time lightning flashed overhead.
"Come on," Max said, looking up at the black clouds. "Do it again. Give me another big one."
The storm answered.
A web of lightning spread across the clouds like glowing veins.
Max's eyes widened.
"Ohhh, that's beautiful."
BOOOOOOM!
Thunder rolled across the city with enough force to make the rooftop beneath him tremble.
Max threw his head back and laughed.
"People call this scary? This is incredible!"
The wind roared harder.
Rain became a solid curtain.
Lightning flashed again and again, striking distant towers, metal antennas, and the tops of buildings. Every strike painted the storm clouds in blue-white fire. Every thunderclap felt like the sky was being torn apart.
Max stepped closer to the rooftop edge.
Far below, the city lights blurred through the rain.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
Car alarms screamed.
A street sign snapped loose and flew across an intersection.
Max watched everything with bright fascination.
"This," he muttered, his voice nearly swallowed by the storm, "is what real power looks like."
Another lightning bolt crashed down onto a building several blocks away.
KRAAASH!
Sparks exploded from the impact point.
Max's grin became almost childish.
"Lightning is insane," he said. "It's fast, wild, beautiful, destructive, and it doesn't ask permission from anybody."
He raised one hand toward the sky.
Rainwater ran down his fingers.
"Man… imagine being able to hold that kind of power."
He laughed softly to himself.
"Like Thor. Zeus. Some overpowered isekai protagonist who gets reincarnated and suddenly goes, 'Oh no, I accidentally deleted a mountain with a beginner spell.'"
His eyes sparkled.
"I would be such a menace."
The storm rumbled above him.
Max looked up again.
"I mean, come on. If magic was real, lightning magic would obviously be the coolest. Fire is awesome, ice is cool, wind is useful, earth is solid, but lightning? Lightning is speed. Power. Style. Drama. It's nature showing off."
The clouds flashed.
Max pointed at the sky.
"Exactly! You get it!"
A bolt of lightning suddenly crashed into a lightning rod on the neighboring building.
The impact was so close that the sound hit Max like a punch.
KRAKOOOOOOOOM!
The rooftop shook.
Max stumbled backward.
For the first time that night, his grin faltered.
"Okay," he said, blinking through the rain. "That one was… very close."
He laughed nervously.
"Still cool, though."
Then another bolt struck.
This time it hit the rooftop only a few feet away from him.
CRACK!
Blue-white light exploded across the ground.
Concrete shattered.
Sparks scattered through the rain.
Max's eyes went wide.
The heat brushed against his face.
His heart slammed against his chest.
"Whoa!"
He jumped back, slipping slightly on the wet rooftop.
For one brief moment, the storm did not feel like a show anymore.
It felt like it was looking at him.
The air changed.
The hairs on Max's arms lifted.
A strange pressure pressed against his skin.
The storm clouds above twisted directly over the building.
Max stared upward.
"Uh…"
A thin bolt struck the rooftop to his left.
ZAP!
Max yelped and jumped right.
Another bolt struck to his right.
CRACK!
He jumped back.
Then another bolt struck behind him.
BOOM!
Max spun around, breathing harder now.
"Okay! Okay! Very funny, sky! I complimented you! This is how you repay me?"
Lightning flashed above him.
Not randomly.
Following him.
Max's excitement finally cracked under confusion.
"Why is the lightning doing that?"
Another strike came down.
Max dove to the side just as the bolt ripped into the spot where he had been standing.
Concrete burst apart.
Rain turned to steam.
Max hit the rooftop hard and rolled, coughing.
"Okay, bad! This is bad!"
He scrambled to his feet.
The rooftop exit door was across the roof, near the stairwell structure.
Only thirty feet away.
Thirty feet had never looked so far.
Max swallowed.
"Right. Time to stop being the weird storm guy and start being the alive storm guy."
The clouds flashed.
Max ran.
The wind slammed into him immediately, pushing against his chest like invisible hands. Rain blinded him. The rooftop was slick under his shoes. Thunder exploded above him again and again.
A bolt struck behind him.
KRAK!
Max ducked and kept running.
Another bolt struck ahead of him.
BOOM!
He slid to a stop, heart racing.
"Seriously?! Are you aiming at me?!"
Lightning crackled across the clouds.
Max's eyes darted around.
He took off again, cutting left.
A bolt struck his right side.
He swore and stumbled.
Another came down near his feet.
He barely jumped over the blast, landing badly and nearly falling face-first.
His lungs burned.
His heart pounded.
His thoughts scattered wildly.
Why is this happening? Lightning doesn't chase people. That's not a thing. That should not be a thing. Did I anger the storm? Can you anger weather? Did I flirt with lightning too hard?
The exit door was closer now.
Twenty feet.
Fifteen.
Ten.
Max stretched his hand toward it.
"Come on, come on, come on!"
The air suddenly went silent.
No thunder.
No rain sound.
No wind.
Only stillness.
Max felt the charge before he saw it.
Every hair on his body stood up.
His mouth went dry.
His eyes slowly lifted.
Above him, the clouds opened with a blinding white glow.
A lightning bolt thicker than any before came screaming down from the sky.
Fast.
Too fast.
Max lunged toward the exit door.
"OH, COME ON—!"
The world turned white.
Then blue.
Then black.
And Max Sparks felt nothing at all.
At first, there was only darkness.
Not the kind of darkness that came from closing your eyes.
This darkness was deeper.
Heavier.
Endless.
Max floated inside it without knowing where his body was. There was no wind. No rain. No thunder. No rooftop beneath his feet. No city lights. No pain.
Only silence.
Then something moved.
A faint sound echoed somewhere far away.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
No.
Not water.
It sounded like sparks.
Tiny sparks crackling in the dark.
Max groaned.
"Ugh…"
His body felt strangely light.
He shifted, expecting to feel cold wet concrete beneath him.
Instead, his fingers brushed against something smooth and polished.
Max frowned.
"What happened…?"
His voice sounded small in the enormous quiet around him.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was a sky filled with stars.
Not Earth's sky.
Not the city sky.
Not a sky blocked by clouds and pollution.
This was a vast, beautiful, impossible galaxy. Stars spread endlessly above him like glowing dust poured across a sea of darkness. Purple nebulae twisted through space. Blue comets drifted silently in the distance. Golden lights shimmered like fireflies trapped in the heavens.
Max stared.
For several seconds, he forgot how to breathe.
"Whoa…"
He sat up slowly.
He was no longer on the rooftop.
He was sitting on a white polished floor that looked like marble, but smoother, brighter, and faintly glowing from within. The floor stretched in every direction, reflecting the galaxy above like a perfect mirror.
There were no walls.
No ceiling.
No city.
No rain.
Only a beautiful starry expanse and a strange divine platform floating in the middle of nowhere.
Max looked down at himself.
His clothes were dry.
His body was not burned.
He felt… fine.
Mostly.
Except for the tiny problem that he had definitely been hit by lightning.
Max slowly stood.
"Okay," he muttered. "This is new."
He turned in a full circle.
Nothing.
Just stars, polished white floor, and an endless cosmic horizon.
"Either I'm dreaming, hallucinating, dead, or I finally unlocked the secret level of the universe."
Then the memory came back.
The rooftop.
The storm.
The lightning chasing him.
The exit door.
The last blinding strike.
Max froze.
His face went blank.
"Oh."
He pointed at himself.
"I died."
A moment passed.
Then he sighed.
"Wow. I died. That's… a bummer."
He scratched the side of his head awkwardly.
"I mean, dramatic? Absolutely. On brand? Weirdly yes. But still a bummer."
A soft, elegant voice spoke behind him.
"Sorry about that. That should not have happened."
Max's entire body stiffened.
Slowly, he turned around.
And then he saw her.
Sitting at a small round table beneath the stars was a woman so beautiful that Max's thoughts simply stopped working.
She was tall, mature, divine, and overwhelming, even while sitting calmly with a cup of tea in her hand. Her presence was not soft or gentle like a healing saint from a painting. It was wild. Powerful. Gorgeous. Dangerous.
She looked like a storm had become a woman.
Her skin carried a warm radiant glow, smooth and flawless, like sunlight shining through dark storm clouds. Faint electric-blue markings traced across her shoulders, arms, collarbone, and back, glowing softly like divine tattoos. Tiny sparks danced lazily over her fingertips whenever she moved.
Her long hair flowed down to her lower back, storm-silver with electric-blue streaks and violet lightning highlights. It did not simply shine.
It crackled.
Small sparks leapt between the strands like playful lightning spirits.
Her eyes were even more striking.
Violet-blue.
Electric.
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
They looked like miniature thunderstorms spinning inside her irises.
Above her head floated a thunder halo crown made from rotating storm clouds, silver rings, and violet lightning. It sparked faintly when she smiled.
Her clothing looked like royal goddess robes mixed with battle armor, made from black celestial fabric, white divine silk, silver lightning thread, and glowing blue crystals. Lightning-shaped silver designs crossed the front of her upper robes and chest armor, fitting her mature divine figure with regal elegance. A flowing storm cape rested behind her. Thunderbolt earrings glittered beside her face. Gold and silver bracelets circled her wrists. High goddess sandals glowed faintly at her feet.
She sat sideways in her chair, one leg crossed elegantly over the other, chin lifted, tea cup in hand, as if accidentally killing a mortal with divine lightning was only a mild inconvenience in her day.
Max stared at her.
She stared back.
Then she took a sip of tea.
Max pointed at her with a trembling hand.
"W-Who are you?!"
The woman lowered her cup.
Her violet-blue eyes sparkled with amusement.
"Me?"
Behind Max, lightning crashed down from the galaxy sky and exploded silently against the polished floor, creating a dramatic flash of white and blue.
The woman smiled.
"I am Brontia, Primordial Goddess of Lightning."
Thunder rolled across the endless stars.
Max's mouth fell open.
"A… A… A… aa…"
He sucked in a breath.
"G-G-G-GODDESS?!"
Brontia nodded and took another calm sip of tea.
"Yes. Goddess."
Max's finger trembled harder.
"Of lightning?!"
"Yes."
He turned in a circle, looked at the starry void, looked at the polished floor, looked at Brontia, then looked back at himself.
"I died by lightning," he said slowly. "Then I woke up in space heaven. And now I'm talking to the goddess of lightning."
Brontia smiled.
"That is the simple version, yes."
Max grabbed the sides of his head and began pacing.
"This is insane. This is actually insane. I'm either dead, dreaming, or my brain is doing one final lightning-powered slideshow before shutting down."
He kept walking back and forth.
"I mean, okay, I always said lightning was beautiful, but I did not ask to get personally introduced to its management department!"
Brontia sighed softly.
Then she raised one hand and snapped her fingers.
A tiny stream of lightning curled from her fingertip like a glowing snake. It slid down to the white floor, zipped across the polished surface, and shot toward Max.
Max looked down.
"Huh?"
ZAP!
The tiny bolt struck him.
Max yelped as electricity danced over his body.
"AAAH!"
His hair puffed up. Smoke curled from his shoulders. He fell backward onto the floor with a thud.
Brontia took another sip of tea.
"Are you done freaking out?"
Max lay there for a moment, twitching.
Then he slowly raised one thumb.
"Mostly."
He pushed himself up, coughing out a tiny puff of smoke. He shook his arms, patted his chest, and blinked several times.
Then his eyes widened.
"This isn't a dream."
Brontia smiled.
"No."
"You're real."
"Yes."
"You're a goddess."
"Yes."
"Of lightning."
"Yes."
"You brought me here."
"Yes."
Max stared at her.
Then he narrowed his eyes.
"Why?"
Brontia's smile twitched.
Max noticed.
"Wait." He leaned forward. "Why did you bring me here? Not that I'm complaining or anything. This place is gorgeous. Very cosmic. Very dramatic. Ten out of ten atmosphere. But why?"
Brontia looked away.
For the first time, the confident goddess seemed slightly awkward.
Max blinked.
"Goddess?"
"I am fine."
"You don't look fine."
"I look divine."
"That wasn't the question."
Brontia's eyes flicked back to him.
Max crossed his arms.
"How did I die?"
Brontia tapped one finger against her tea cup.
"Well…"
Max leaned closer.
"Well?"
"That was my lightning bolt."
Max froze.
Brontia cleared her throat.
"The one that hit you."
Silence.
The stars shimmered overhead.
Max slowly pointed at himself.
"You… killed me?"
Brontia lifted one finger.
"Accidentally."
Max stared at her.
Brontia stared back.
Then Max looked down, thought about it, and shrugged.
"Eh. Alright."
Brontia blinked.
"That is your reaction?"
Max rubbed the back of his neck.
"I mean, yeah, dying is not great. Very inconvenient. Would not recommend. But it was an accident, right?"
"Yes."
"You didn't mean to fry me like a human toaster pastry?"
Brontia almost laughed.
"No."
"Then alright." Max shrugged again. "Accidents happen."
Brontia studied him for a moment.
Then her expression softened into a real smile.
"You are a strange mortal, Max Sparks."
Max grinned.
"I get that a lot."
"Yes," Brontia said warmly. "I imagine you do."
Max looked around the starry realm again.
"So… what now? Am I staying here forever? Going to heaven? Becoming a ghost? Getting a refund?"
Brontia placed her tea cup on the table.
"No. I brought you here because I intend to give you a second life."
Max froze.
His brown eyes widened.
"A second life?"
Brontia nodded.
"In another world."
Max's mouth opened slightly.
Brontia smiled with growing amusement.
"A world of magic."
Max leaned forward.
"Swords?"
"Certainly."
"Monsters?"
"Of course."
"Dungeons?"
"Yes."
"Adventurers?"
"Many."
"Kingdoms?"
"Several."
"Dangerous ruins with warnings that say do not enter?"
Brontia's smile sharpened.
"Far too many."
Max's face slowly transformed.
Shock became excitement.
Excitement became joy.
Joy became the grin of a man who had just been handed the best possible disaster.
"You're telling me," Max said carefully, "that I get a second chance at life in a real fantasy world?"
"Yes."
"With magic?"
"Yes."
"With monsters?"
"Yes."
"With adventure?"
"Yes."
Max clenched both fists.
Then he shouted into the cosmic sky.
"LET'S GOOOO!"
Thunder cracked joyfully above him.
Brontia laughed, and her laugh sounded like soft thunder rolling across distant mountains.
"You truly are interesting."
Max spun back toward her.
"Wait, wait, wait. Important question. How am I supposed to survive there? Because I'm adventurous, not stupid. Well… not completely stupid."
Brontia stood.
The moment she rose from her chair, the air changed.
The polished floor hummed.
The stars brightened.
Her storm-silver hair lifted slightly as if an invisible wind surrounded her. Blue sparks circled her body. The markings across her skin glowed brighter.
Max took one step back.
Brontia smiled.
"I will give you power."
Max swallowed.
"What kind of power?"
Her violet-blue eyes shone.
"The power of lightning."
For a second, Max did not move.
Then his entire face lit up.
"Power of lightning?! Seriously?!"
Brontia nodded.
"Yes."
"Like actual lightning?"
"Yes."
"Like zap-zap, boom, thunder, sky-splitting, monster-frying lightning?"
Brontia raised an eyebrow.
"That is one way to describe it."
Max grabbed his head again, but this time from excitement.
"I've been obsessed with lightning since I was a kid! The speed, the power, the sound, the way it lights up everything for just one second like the sky is showing its true face—"
His voice grew faster.
"I used to watch storms from my window. Then I started going outside. Then rooftops. Which, in hindsight, questionable decision. But still! I always wondered what it would feel like to actually wield it. To hold that kind of wild energy and make it move with me."
He looked at Brontia with bright eyes.
"You're saying I can do that?"
Brontia stepped closer.
Her expression became proud, playful, and strangely gentle.
"Lightning is not only destruction, Max Sparks. It is movement. Instinct. Freedom. It is the path that refuses to be still. It is the light that cuts through darkness before thunder even has time to speak."
She lifted her hand.
A small bolt danced between her fingers.
"It is beautiful because it is untamed. Dangerous because it is honest. Powerful because it never hesitates."
Max watched the lightning with awe.
Brontia smiled.
"And you, reckless little storm-chaser, have loved it without fear your entire life."
Max's grin returned.
"So when do we start?"
Brontia's eyes sparkled.
"Now."
She snapped her fingers.
The galaxy above split open.
A colossal pillar of lightning descended from the endless sky, brighter than the sun, louder than any thunder Max had ever heard. It crashed toward him with divine force.
Max's eyes widened.
"Wait, hold on, maybe explain the process fir—"
The lightning struck him.
KRAKOOOOOOOOOOOM!
White-blue light swallowed everything.
Max vanished inside the storm.
Lightning wrapped around his body like chains, wings, rivers, and serpents all at once. Thunder roared through his bones. Sparks filled his veins. Power rushed into him faster than thought.
He could not see.
He could not speak.
But he could feel it.
The lightning was not burning him this time.
It was changing him.
His body grew lighter.
Younger.
Stronger.
Mana poured into his soul like a second heartbeat.
His black hair brightened, turning silver strand by strand. Electric-blue streaks spread through it like glowing veins. His skin warmed into a healthy light caramel tone, as if shaped for long journeys under open skies. His eyes burned from brown into brilliant sapphire blue, with neon-cyan rings forming around the pupils.
His clothes dissolved into sparks.
New clothing formed around him, piece by piece.
A sleeveless dark navy combat tunic with a high standing collar.
A white fitted long-sleeve undershirt.
Black leather forearm guards trimmed with silver.
Fingerless gloves.
Slim charcoal-gray adventurer trousers with blue stitching.
Black mid-calf boots built for running across rough ground.
A black adventurer belt with pouches for crystals, potions, tools, and a small spellbook holder.
Silver lightning-pattern stitching glowed faintly along the sides of his outfit.
Electricity crackled around him.
Then the divine storm faded.
The light slowly died down.
Max stood in the center of the polished floor, breathing hard.
But he was no longer the twenty-year-old college student from Earth.
He looked sixteen now.
Younger, sharper, faster.
His hair was electric silver, medium-length and layered with a wild windswept shape, like a thunderstorm frozen into a hairstyle. The thick layered top had natural volume, the feathered ends pointed backward like lightning bolts, and a long uneven fringe fell just above one eye.
His sapphire eyes glowed faintly.
Blue sparks flickered across his irises.
Lightning crawled over his shoulders and arms before fading into harmless crackles.
Max looked down at his hands.
He opened and closed his fingers.
Electricity snapped between them.
His breath caught.
"I feel…"
He raised one hand.
A small bolt sparked from his palm.
Max smiled.
"I feel powerful."
He laughed softly.
"No. Better than powerful."
He looked up at Brontia.
"I feel alive."
Brontia smiled proudly.
"As you should."
Max looked at himself, then at her.
"How do I look?"
Brontia snapped her fingers.
A tall mirror appeared beside him, framed in silver stormglass.
Max grabbed the sides and looked into it.
For a moment, he said nothing.
The person looking back at him had light caramel skin, electric silver hair with blue streaks, glowing sapphire eyes, and the confident grin of someone ready to run directly into trouble and call it sightseeing.
Max slowly touched his hair.
"Oh, this is unfairly cool."
He turned his head.
The blue streaks shimmered.
"Okay. The hair? Amazing. The eyes? Definitely magical. Outfit? Adventurer drip. Ten out of ten. I look like I'm about to accidentally offend a duke and then get chased across three kingdoms."
Brontia laughed.
"You probably will."
Max pointed at his reflection.
"This guy? This guy has problems waiting for him."
"Yes."
"He's going to open forbidden doors."
"Absolutely."
"He's going to annoy nobles."
"Without question."
"He's going to become somebody's headache."
Brontia's smile widened.
"Several people's headache."
Max grinned at her.
"Perfect."
Brontia walked closer and placed one hand lightly over his chest.
A small storm symbol glowed beneath her palm.
"Your new body has been shaped to survive the world I am sending you to. Your mana is awakened. Your affinity is lightning. Your instincts, speed, and magical growth will be far beyond ordinary mortals."
Max looked down at the glowing mark.
"Is this a blessing?"
"Yes," Brontia said. "My blessing."
The mark flashed once, then faded beneath his skin.
Max placed a hand over his chest.
He could feel it.
A storm inside him.
Not loud.
Not yet.
But waiting.
"So," he said, excitement returning, "what's the world called?"
Brontia stepped back.
"The world is called Elyndra."
The name echoed through the starry realm.
Max repeated it softly.
"Elyndra."
Brontia nodded.
"A world filled with swords, magic, monsters, kingdoms, ancient ruins, adventurer guilds, dragons, spirits, demons, elves, beastkin, dwarves, hidden temples, cursed forests, floating islands, and secrets older than human history."
Max's grin grew wider with every word.
"That sounds extremely dangerous."
"It is."
"That sounds like I might die again."
"You might."
"That sounds like the best thing ever."
Brontia shook her head, amused.
"You truly have no survival instinct."
"I have one," Max said. "It just gets outvoted by curiosity."
"That explains a great deal."
Max rolled his shoulders. Sparks popped from his gloves.
"So when do I leave?"
Brontia raised her hand.
A circle of lightning formed beneath Max's feet.
"Now."
Max stood straighter.
His grin softened into something more sincere.
"Hey, Brontia."
The goddess tilted her head.
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
For once, there was no joke in his voice.
No sarcasm.
No playful comment.
Just honest gratitude.
"I know the dying thing was an accident, but… giving me another chance? Giving me this?" He looked down at his sparking hands. "That's pretty amazing."
Brontia's expression softened.
"You are welcome, Max Sparks."
Max smiled.
"And you said I can call you Brontia, right?"
"I did."
"Then see you next time, Brontia."
Her eyes sparkled.
"See you next time, Max."
The lightning circle beneath him grew brighter.
Wind rushed around him.
His silver hair lifted in the storm.
Max looked upward at the galaxy one last time.
Then he laughed.
"Alright, Elyndra! Hope you're ready!"
Brontia snapped her fingers.
Max vanished in a flash of lightning.
For a moment, the realm became quiet again.
Brontia stood alone beneath the stars.
Then she smiled gently.
"Goodbye for now, my little lightning bolt."
Far away from Earth, beyond the reach of human science, in a world where magic flowed through the land like blood through veins, clouds gathered over a vast green forest.
The forest stretched for miles in every direction.
Ancient trees rose high into the sky, their trunks thick as towers, their leaves glowing faintly with morning dew. Strange flowers bloomed beside twisting roots. Small winged creatures darted between branches. A clear stream wound through the undergrowth, reflecting the soft golden light of dawn.
Birds sang.
Leaves rustled.
The air smelled of grass, rain, and wild magic.
Then the sky flashed.
A bolt of lightning came screaming down from above.
KRAKOOOM!
It struck a small clearing in the middle of the forest.
The ground shook.
Birds scattered from the trees.
Blue-white electricity exploded outward in a circular shockwave, burning a ring into the grass. Sparks danced across stones and roots before fading into the soil.
Smoke rose from the center of the clearing.
For a few seconds, nothing moved.
Then someone coughed.
Max Sparks stood in the middle of the scorched grass, dressed in his new adventurer outfit, electric silver hair glowing faintly in the morning light.
Blue sparks popped around his shoulders.
He blinked.
Looked left.
Looked right.
Looked up at the enormous trees.
A warm breeze moved through the clearing.
Somewhere in the distance, a monster let out a strange cry.
Max slowly smiled.
"So…"
He stepped out of the smoking impact mark.
"This is Elyndra."
He turned in a circle, taking in the forest, the glowing plants, the enormous trees, the unfamiliar sky, and the impossible magic humming in the air.
His sapphire eyes shone with excitement.
"No city. No college. No boring lectures. No angry weather reports."
A tiny spark danced over his finger.
Max grinned.
"Just magic, monsters, and a whole new world."
He placed his hands in his pockets and started walking toward the forest path ahead.
"Alright then."
Thunder rumbled softly in the distance.
Max laughed.
"Let's start my new adventure."
And with that, Max Sparks, the boy who once laughed at lightning, took his first step into the world of Elyndra.
To be continued…