Revelations

The next day...

Akane slept… awkwardly. He was lying on his tummy, hands behind his back and legs set like someone who was about to play a free kick in soccer, blanket rumpled over his head, laptop open by the side.

As usual, his new alarm went off and he knew more than to ignore it.

"Wake up," said Raijin.

Akane pushed himself up quickly, eyes half-lided. "I'm up, I'm up."

"Good."

Akane yawned, rubbing his eyes as he pulled his laptop closer. "I should complete this before I go to work today," he muttered as he opened the work he got on the freelance platform yesterday.

He had already gone past half and was almost done when he slept off.

Afte completing it, he went on with his routine: workout, bathe, eat, go to work.

Akane finishing early was now the new normal at the office. He had even won employee of the week three times now.

But his schedule was far from free. He had more and more things coming up with Raijin and now with the freelancing, it just got tighter.

At least he had the evening to himself, right? Yeah, not for long.

When Akane arrived at the temple, Hakuto said he had enough of the hand to hand combat and would now go ahead to learn to wield the sword.

That came as a surprise. He said he wanted to train for self defense, but the fact that they were offering to teach him swordsmanship without him even requesting—he was going to though, eventually—was odd.

He accepted it quickly and was handed a wooden sword, though he was a bit scared. The teacher was scary.

Nana walked up to him with a wooden sword of her own and pointed it at him. "You ever used one of these, brat?"

Akane gulped. "N-no."

His eyes subconsciously glowed a faint blue and he could now see both Hakuto and Nana emitting a faint purple aura.

Nana Sensei sighed and dropped her hand. "Let's not act like we don't know what's going on here, brat. You know what we are and we know what you are as well."

Akane's eyes went back to normal, though he wasn't even aware it glowed earlier. "Wh-what are you talking about, Nana Sensei," he feigned innocence.

"Boy, don't mess with me," she frowned. "I'm telling you I know and you're still trying to hide it?"

"She's not wrong. Well, not completely. Open up a little," Raijin spoke.

Akane closed his eyes and exhaled, then he raised his head and opened his eyes. "I… I do," he nodded.

Nana smiled faintly and gave a single nod. "Being a disciple comes with a grave task. There's always a reason," she said.

Akane looked at her, confused. "Di—Disciples? I'm… not—wait, you don't know what I am?"

"Fool, I said a little. Don't you know how to play on?" Raijin complained.

"Hm?" Nana raised a brow, then her eyes widened. "Don't tell me… Are you saying you're…"

"A Vessel?" Hakuto completed, walking up to them with a shocked expression.

"Uh…" Akane trailed, his heart pounding in his chest as their gazes intensified. "Yes?"

Hakuto's hands went to his head. "Goodness. Are you serious? For how long? When did you find out?"

"What god? Did you go through the ceremony?" Nana asked.

Akane blinked as they bombarded him with questions. "I… I'm not sure I have answers to the questions."

Nana Sensei squinted her eyes for a while before asking, "Is it perhaps… the Lightning God? No it can't be."

Akane flinched at how accurate her first try was, but he shrugged. "I-I don't know."

"They've caught you already. What more are you trying to hide, other than you are me?" Raijin's voice echoed in his mind with a disappointed tone.

"Yes, maybe." Akane scratched his head.

"Impossible," Nana said. "When a divine god is sealed or killed, if possible, the scripture holding their actions erases all its own content. The scripture of the Lightning God has been passed down for generations now completely empty."

Hakuto closed his eyes and did a number of hand symbols. "Open," he said.

A small portal opened by his side, shocking Akane.

Suddenly, pictures started to flash in his vision, just like yesterday and then it all suddenly stopped.

"Kami-no-Michi," Raijin said. For the first time since Akane and Raijin fused, the Lightning God's tone was overly serious. "The God that knows all. I never believed I could see a disciple of his."

'Huh? Is something wrong? Should I run? Should I fight?' Akane said in his mind.

"No. They are disciples of the one god that understands the connections, hidden flows and information governing reality itself. He knows all that has happened and records them," Raijin explained.

"If anything, the last thing you should ever do is decide to fight. I've heard complete vessels fall to his mere disciples. I fear that being." Raijin added.

Akane looked between Hakuto whose hand was now inside the portal and Nana who was lost in thoughts.

Hakuto finally pulled out his hand and brought out a scroll.

"Is that it?" Nana asked.

"Mm," Hakuto nodded, his expression serious as he opened the the scroll.

The room went dark and the crackling sound of lightning could be heard. The scroll was empty for a second before glowing blue text started to appear, line by line.

"I don't believe this," Hakuto muttered. "It's rewriting itself."

Akane's eyes went to the scroll, but he couldn't understand what was written on it.

Hakuto started to read out the contents and Akane immediately zoned out. His eyes glowing an intensely bright blue.

Nana and Hakuto looked at him and then exchange glances.

Hakuto continued to read through the text and when he was surprised when it didn't stop where it was supposed to.

The last part was new:

The Betrayed shall fall, not to dust, but to slumber.
His essence chained, his name forgotten by the sun and the stone.
Yet the seal shall not be eternal, for it shall be broken not by might, but by a confluence of blood and spirit.

A vessel shall be chosen, yet not as a hollow cup to be filled.
But as a forge, where mortal will and divine memory shall be hammered into one being.
In the moment of the vessel's death, the God shall awaken.
And in the God's awakening, the vessel shall be reborn.

This union is without precedent. It is not possession, but a fusion—a new soul forged from two broken halves.
The mortal shell, tempered by a divine spark, shall not merely wield the storm...
...it shall become the storm.

And as the forgotten memories stir and the sealed power surges, growing beyond its ancient limits through this impossible collision...
The world shall bear witness.
For the lightning does not merely answer a call.

The Lightning God has indeed returned.