[Location: The Deck of The Alcor, Guyun Stone Forest]
[Time: 4:05 PM]
The air smelled of sea salt and ozone. The crew of the Crux Fleet had formed a circle, cheering and banging their weapons against the deck.
Beidou cracked her neck, hefting her massive claymore, Blackcliff Slasher, with one hand.
"Rules are simple, Dragon Kid!" she shouted over the wind. "First one to get knocked off the deck loses. No elemental blasts that burn my sails. Fists and steel only!"
I unbuttoned my trench coat and tossed it to a nearby sailor. Underneath, I wore a fitted black sleeveless shirt that showed off the faint, diamond-shaped scales running down my arms.
"Sounds fair," I said, settling into a stance. [Dragon Calamity God Slayer Style: First Form - Flowing Water].
"Hah! I like that look in your eyes!" Beidou roared.
She lunged.
It wasn't a clumsy swing. It was a calculated decimation. The claymore tore through the air with enough force to cleave a Mitachurl in half.
"Great Sage. Trajectory analysis."
[Great Sage]
I didn't dodge.
I stepped into the swing.
Using [Steel Strength], I hardened my forearm to the density of diamond. I caught the flat of her blade with my wrist, creating a shockwave that blew the hats off the watching sailors.
CLANG!
The sound was like a temple bell being struck by a meteor. The deck splintered beneath my boots, but I didn't budge.
Beidou's eye widened. "Tough scales!"
She grinned maniacally and twisted her body. "Tidecaller!"
The Electro energy around her flared. She used the momentum of my block to spin and deliver an uppercut swing.
I recognized the technique. A counter-attack that returns damage twofold.
"Not bad," I muttered. [Shadow Motion].
I vanished into her shadow.
Her blade hit empty air.
I reappeared instantly behind her, sweeping her legs. Beidou, showcasing why she was a legend, didn't fall. She slammed her sword into the deck to anchor herself and kicked backwards blindly.
Her boot connected with my chest.
It felt like being hit by a cannonball. I skidded back five meters, carving grooves into the wood.
"You're fast for a big guy!" she laughed, wiping sweat from her brow.
"And you hit harder than a Geovishap," I replied, dusting off my shirt.
We stared at each other for a second, the tension thick. Then, simultaneously, we relaxed.
Beidou slammed her sword onto her back. "That's enough! If we keep going, I won't have a ship left to sail to Inazuma."
She walked over and slapped my back hard enough to bruise a normal man.
"You pass, Raiden! You're not just a monster; you're a warrior. The Crux welcomes you!"
[Location: The Bow of The Alcor, Open Ocean]
[Time: 8:00 PM]
Night had fallen. The ship was cutting through the dark waters, leaving Liyue Harbor behind.
I sat on the prow, looking at the moon.
"The wind has changed," a soft, poetic voice spoke.
I didn't turn. "Kaedehara Kazuha. I was wondering when you'd stop hiding in the crow's nest."
The wandering samurai sat down next to me. He had a gentle demeanor, but I could smell the blood of the shogunate on him—old wounds, deep regrets.
"You carry the scent of the Anemo Archon," Kazuha noted, sniffing the air. "But underneath... it is something ancient. Like the earth itself. Are you truly going to challenge the Almighty Shogun?"
"Challenge? Maybe." I looked at my hand, watching the Electro energy dance between my fingers. "I'm going there to find answers. And maybe to wake her up."
Kazuha looked out at the sea. "She seeks Eternity. A stillness where nothing changes. A storm that never ends."
"Storms end when they run out of energy," I said. "Or when a bigger storm swallows them."
Kazuha chuckled softly. "You are a strange dragon, Raiden Ragnvaldr."
"I get that a lot."
[Location: Cargo Hold of The Alcor]
[Time: Next Day, Mid-Voyage]
The journey to Inazuma would take days. I wasn't good at sitting still.
I cleared a space in the cargo hold. Piled around me were scraps I had collected:
Parts of a Ruin Guard (chaos cores, joints).
Fontaine clockwork mechanisms (bought from the black market).
Electro Crystals.
A chunk of Cor Lapis.
"Great Sage. Pull up the blueprint for 'Project: Sleipnir'."
[Great Sage]
Requirement: [All of Creation] Skill.
Energy Source: Electro Crystal Core / Dragon Mana.>
I held my hands over the pile of scrap.
"Devour. Reconstruct. Fuse."
My magic flared. The metal groaned as it melted and reshaped, defying the laws of physics. The Ruin Guard joints became the suspension system. The Cor Lapis fused with the chassis to provide Geo-shielding. The Fontaine gears became the transmission.
Slowly, it took shape.
It wasn't a normal motorcycle. It was a beast of black metal and glowing blue veins. It had no wheels—instead, it used Maglev technology (magnetic levitation) powered by Electro energy to hover slightly off the ground, with two thick, armored thrusters where the wheels should be.
The Motorcycle Eradicator.
I ran my hand over the sleek, obsidian tank.
"Great Sage, integrate a weapon system."
I hopped on. The seat was leather (made from a monster hide).
I channeled a tiny bit of my Electro energy into the handle.
VROOOOM.
The machine didn't roar like a gas engine. It growled like a living predator. The blue lights flared, illuminating the dark cargo hold.
"What in the Archons' name is that?"
Beidou was standing at the hatch, staring down with her mouth open. Kazuha was behind her, looking equally perplexed.
"This?" I revved the engine, the maglev thrusters causing the bike to float a foot in the air. "This is how we're going to breach the storm."
[Location: The Thunder Barrier, Border of Inazuma]
[Time: Three Days Later]
The sky was purple. The ocean was black.
Lightning struck the water every two seconds. The "Raiden Shogun's Sakoku Decree" was a wall of perpetual chaotic energy that destroyed any ship foolish enough to enter.
The Alcor was rocking violently.
"We can't get closer!" Beidou shouted over the thunder, struggling with the wheel. "The mast will snap!"
I walked to the edge of the deck. I was wheeling the Eradicator beside me.
Kazuha held onto a rope. "Raiden! It is suicide to go alone!"
I mounted the bike.
"Kazuha! Beidou! Thanks for the lift. I'll clear a path for you later!"
I put on a pair of goggles I had crafted.
"Skill Activate: [Steel Strength] - Chassis Reinforcement."
"Skill Activate: [Lightning Manipulation] - Overdrive."
I gripped the throttle.
"Let's ride."
I drove the bike off the edge of the ship.
I didn't hit the water.
Using [Solidification] on the water's surface beneath me, combined with the bike's maglev, I hit the waves like they were concrete.
ZOOOOOM!
I shot forward like a blue bullet, trailing a wake of steam.
The lightning bolts from the sky targeted me.
BOOM! BOOM!
I swerved, the bike drifting effortlessly over the turbulent waves. A bolt of purple lightning struck me dead on.
[Predator] - Activate.
I didn't block it. I absorbed it. The bike glowed brighter, the engine screaming with newfound power.
"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT, EI?!" I roared into the storm, laughing like a maniac.
I gunned the throttle to the max, aiming straight for the heart of the tempest. The violet clouds swirled, and for a moment, I saw the silhouette of a giant dragon in the clouds—not me, but the Shogun's will.
I revved the engine and launched off a massive wave, flying into the purple mist of Inazuma.