A/N: The second place in the poll shows up at the end of this chapter (Kirin, the dragon-lightning horse thing, also added by Savio, what a creative dude) Enjoy ;)
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My mouth was wide open as I saw the small tree stand up, pulling its roots out of the earth before shaking the dirt off them and waving at me. I recoiled, completely confused by what was going on. It waved its thin branches as I just turned around and started walking like I wasn't seeing anything that would break a normal person's mind. However, before I made it far, a thunderbolt hit the ground in front of me and turned the earth violently as debris flew everywhere. I flickered away and saw the crater that was created with cold sweat running down my back.
After a long time I sighed and looked back to find the tree now turning from its sickly grey color to a deep purple one. The bark began to ripple and soften, losing its solid shape and turning into thick, heavy vapors. The branches dissolved into swirling purple mists that crackled with internal sparks as they rose high into the air. The mist began to expand and thicken, twisting with a strange energy until it started taking on a massive and muscular form.
The clouds condensed into a hulking torso with skin the color of a dark storm. Behind its shoulders, a ring of heavy drums materialized, each one glowing with the power of a contained lightning strike. A ferocious face formed within the center of the cloud with white stars for eyes and long tusks. The classic form of the Raijin now loomed over me, and as it looked down, the entire swamp vibrated with a laughter that sounded like crashing thunder.
"You are the first human to visit my realm in a long time," it said with a voice that rattled my bones, causing me to recoil and almost fall down as I asked with a horrified tone, "What are you?" Its laugh abruptly stopped as it narrowed its eyes at me for a long time and said, "I am sure you are a human, you are aren't you?" I nodded frantically as he answered, "I am a lightning spirit."
After stabilizing my feet I said, "I am Noa, nice to meet you, what is your name?" The spirit took on the same look as the orange cat, pausing for an ungodly amount of time before answering, "My name is Lightning Spirit." I exhaled slowly as I continued my line of questioning, "Where am I?" It looked around before shrugging and answering naturally, "I don't know."
To a human being like me, seeing something this out of this world, two worlds actually, almost broke my mind. However, the pure emptiness behind the eyes looking at me caused me to despair as I asked directly, "Can I contract you as my summon?"
The spirit narrowed his eyes as he looked at me, eyeing me up and down before asking in the most natural tone, "Who are you? What are you? Who am I? Where are we?" I facepalmed, despair growing more and more as I answered, "My name is Noa, I am a human, you told me that you are a lightning spirit and that you don't know where this is." My monotone tone left no doubt that I was just about done with this spirit.
Realization appeared on the spirit's face as it said, "What do you want from me?" My shoulders dropped, not sure about asking him to be my summon anymore. It looked like he doesn't even know that he exists, however, seeing the power in that lightning bolt earlier and the powerfully terrifying shape of that spirit I asked, "I wanted to ask if I can contract you to be my summon?"
The spirit started to float, a huge cloud appearing under him as he sat on it, scratching his chin and simply replying, "Sure, we can form a contract, I can sense…." He then stopped, the same orange cat look appearing once more which was terrifying on his face but still conveyed the number of thoughts running through its cloudy head.
Eventually his eyes straightened and he said, "However, in return I will need something from you as payment for contracting me…." He stayed silent for a long time before asking in a serious tone, "What did you tell me my name was?"
I blinked in despair, "You told me your name is Lightning Spirit." He nodded, "Right, right, so what I need from you as payment for contracting me is kids' belly buttons." I turned around, taking out a scroll to form the contract before I froze, not believing my ears. I dropped the scroll to the ground before asking in disbelief, "You want human belly buttons?" The spirit shook his head as he answered, "No, kids' belly buttons." I felt like I was getting stupider by the minute I spent here, however for the sake of contracting a powerful summon I continued, "For what?" The demon looked to the side, whistling just like the plant before I asked again, "For what?" Finally he turned around and said, "For things."
I turned around and started to walk away before the demon said, "Ok, wait, we can negotiate the terms." I was done at that point but decided to humor the lightning spirit as I said, "Ok, let's see if you can ask for something that is normal." The demon looked confused as he asked with a genuine tone, "Is it not normal to have kids' belly buttons on you in the human world?" The deadpan look on my face answered him as he said, "Fine, here is my final offer and it is the most reasonable offer I can give you that I think will close this deal." I nodded, interested in his new condition, before he said, "How about adult people's belly buttons?"
I immediately weaved through the hand signs with tremendous speed as the summoning jutsu activated. The world yanked me violently, crashing reality around me as colors smeared across the tunnel that dragged me across incredible distances. Sounds and light merged into something terrifying. Just as before, multiple entities tried to drag me to their realms, however they were not strong enough or maybe not close enough to my path.
Finally, after being flung around and almost hitting the tunnel walls, I was yanked by something extremely powerful. I was hurled violently once more, nearly striking the earth in a horrific trajectory, however before I could activate my Stormdrive, something adjusted my path. I found myself floating parallel to the ground, slowing down until I eventually stopped and settled gently onto the grass.
The place was heavenly. Bright green grass, soft as velvet and untouched by the world, stretched as far as the eye could see, filled with clusters of yellow flowers that exhaled a sweet honeyed fragrance into the air. They danced in rhythmic waves with the gentle wind and their petals glowed as if lit from within, while iridescent hummingbirds darted between them like tiny winged jewels.
I looked up to see a sky that was breathtaking. It was a masterpiece of shifting light where the fading sapphire of day bled into a deep bruised orange, creating a sunset that felt eternal. Wisps of clouds were smeared across the horizon in strokes of violet and rose, catching the last of the sun's warmth in a way that seemed to radiate a tranquility that calmed my heart.
The air here was charged with a peaceful golden energy that hummed against my skin. There was no sound of thunder or the smell of sulfur, only the soft rustle of the grass and the distant melodic chime of the wind. It was a realm of absolute harmony where every color was more vivid than the last, making the reality I had just come from feel like a distant grey memory.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of that refreshing cold as I felt peace and tranquility washing over whatever I had experienced earlier. When I opened them, I found something standing not far away, eyeing me with gentle interest.
The creature was breathtaking, possessing a divine elegance that made the air around her hum with a soft, melodic resonance. She had the graceful, slender build of a deer but was covered in shimmering scales that shifted between sapphire blue and radiant gold as she moved. Her head was that of a dragon, regal and ancient, with deep intelligent eyes that held the wisdom of centuries. A single, pearlescent horn rose from her forehead, glowing with a faint white light that seemed to pulse in time with the world's heartbeat.
Instead of a standard mane, silken white hair flowed like liquid silver down her neck and trailed off into a tail that resembled a lion's. Each of her hooves didn't actually touch the grass. She stood a fraction of an inch above the soil, supported by tiny swirling eddies of golden light that shimmered softly without scorching a single leaf. She was the literal definition of a Kirin, a celestial guardian of the heavens, looking at me with a gaze so pure it felt like she was reading every thought I had ever had.
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A/N: Some of you might be wondering why the lightning spirit was suddenly so obsessed with belly buttons out of nowhere. I promise it is not just me writing something totally unhinged (although fair if you thought so lol). In Japanese folklore, the god of lightning and thunder is said to come down during storms to steal and eat the belly buttons of unsuspecting people. Parents actually tell their children to cover their stomachs during a thunderstorm so their belly buttons do not get snatched away (the real reason is they wanted their kids to cover up well so they do not get sick). I thought it would be a hilarious and completely bizarre mythological nod to throw into the story. So yeah, protect your belly buttons when the lightning jutsu start flying!