Lightning is louder up close.
This was the first and most important lesson I learned while watching Lei Mira introduce diplomacy to an army.
She moved through the storm like it belonged to her.
Maybe it did.
Her massive hammer—half weapon, half personal argument against civilisation—crashed into the lead war machine with enough force to split both steel and thunder.
The machine exploded.
Its rider disappeared into the kind of life reflection that usually happened just before regret.
Rain turned to steam around her.
Blue-white lightning wrapped around her armour, dancing across gold runes carved into the metal like the heavens themselves had signed a contract with violence.
I stood in the valley below, watching the Thunder Sovereign turn a military arrest into a weather event.
Honestly—
Respect.
A mechanical wolf lunged at me from the left.
Right.
Participation.
I barely dodged as steel claws tore through the mud where my face had been.
The rider above it shouted something dramatic about law.
I kicked him off the machine.
Because if a man was going to die in a storm, he should at least be humble about it.
He flew.
The mechanical beast looked offended.
Then it tried to bite me.
I missed the Moonwater Realm for exactly half a second.
At least moon assassins were elegant.
This thing had gears.
I activated Flame Step.
Crimson light flashed beneath my feet as I slipped around the beast, grabbed the exposed lightning core on its side, and slammed it into the nearest rock.
The machine exploded in sparks and extremely expensive regret.
Behind me, Lei Mira landed like divine property damage.
Three riders hit the ground with her.
Two did not get up.
The third made a career change immediately and ran.
Smart man.
She rested the hammer on one shoulder and looked at me.
"You fight strangely."
I wiped rain from my face.
"I've been told my strategy is mostly illegal confidence."
She considered that.
"Acceptable."
High praise.
The favourability panel blinked.
Favorability Updated -10 → 5
Positive already.
Fastest sovereign progress so far.
Either she liked me—
or her standards for people were catastrophically low.
Both are possible.
The remaining riders retreated toward the floating iron bridges above the valley.
Their commander shouted from a safe distance.
"This is not over, Lady Mira!"
She twirled the hammer once.
"It would be disappointing if it were!"
He left faster.
Professional.
The storm softened.
Only slightly.
Lei Mira planted the hammer into the ground and finally gave me her full attention.
This felt significantly more dangerous than the battle.
She walked around me once.
Like a blacksmith evaluating whether raw metal was worth the trouble.
The Moon Sovereign's Crest.
Lian's Crimson Sigil.
The Phoenix Mark.
Professor Mehra's journal.
Every suspicious thing I owned was apparently visible.
Wonderful.
She stopped.
"You are either the most interesting man I have met this year…"
A pause.
"…or the worst possible omen."
I folded my arms.
"I'm trying very hard for the first one."
She pointed at the journal.
"That."
I handed it over carefully.
She flipped through a few pages, rain sliding off the leather cover.
Then her expression changed.
Not softer.
Sharper.
Recognition.
She stopped at the thunder mark.
"Who gave you this?"
"Professor Viraj Mehra."
The name landed like iron.
She closed the journal slowly.
"I know him."
My pulse stopped for exactly one heartbeat.
Of course she did.
Every world was apparently part of the same emotional conspiracy.
"When?"
"Months ago."
Closer again.
Always one step ahead.
She looked toward the massive golden forge floating above the storm clouds.
"He entered the Skyforge Citadel."
Her jaw tightened.
"He asked too many dangerous questions."
That sounded exactly like him.
"What happened?"
Lei Mira's smile this time had no humour in it.
"The Iron Council tried to arrest him."
I blinked.
"And?"
She shrugged.
"He stole one of their gate maps, insulted three elders, and escaped through the Forge Trials."
I stared.
"…that sounds exactly like him."
She handed the journal back.
"He said if a reckless boy carrying too much responsibility arrived one day, I should decide whether helping him was a good idea."
I was offended by how accurate that was.
"What did you decide?"
Lei Mira stepped closer.
Stormlight reflected in her golden eyes.
"I decided I needed to know whether you break under pressure…"
She tapped the centre of my chest.
"…or become something sharper."
There it was.
Not trust.
A test.
Honestly, I preferred clear hostility.
At least this came with rules.
ARINA answered immediately.
"Main Quest Updated."
A blue panel unfolded.
Next Objective: Complete the Forge Trials. Reward: Third Gate Fragment. Access Condition: Earn Thunder Sovereign Recognition
Perfect.
A trial.
Because saving worlds apparently required academic exams now.
I looked at Lei Mira.
"Please tell me the Forge Trials are symbolic and emotionally meaningful."
She laughed again.
"No."
She pointed toward the floating golden forge above the realm.
"They are violent."
Much better.
I nodded.
"Excellent. I'm more qualified for that."
She pulled the hammer free from the earth.
"The Iron Council believes strength creates right."
Her voice dropped.
"They control the gates, the forge clans, and most of this realm's fear."
I recognised that tone.
Not hatred.
History.
"They call me a sovereign."
A pause.
"But mostly, they call me a problem."
I smiled.
"I have excellent experience with that job description."
For the first time—
She looked at me like an equal problem.
Dangerous.
Interesting.
Probably fatal.
Good.
She turned toward the storm bridges leading to the floating citadel.
"Come, outsider."
Thunder answered.
"If you want the third fragment…"
She rested the hammer across her shoulders.
"…you will have to survive the place where gods forge kings."
I followed her into the storm.
Because obviously I did.
Because Professor Mehra had been here.
Because Ashborn was always ahead.
Because every sovereign carried chains disguised as duty.
And because somehow—
I was beginning to understand that saving worlds wasn't just about power.
It was about refusing to let power decide who mattered.
Also—
if I was honest—
I really wanted to see what counted as a normal forge in a realm ruled by lightning.
Probably something unreasonable.
Definitely on fire.
Perfect.