Gazing at the figure outside the car window, Raiden felt a surge of curiosity within him—a thirst for knowledge and exploration that was wildly stirring in his heart.
"Wayne, stop here" Raiden said, patting the back of Wayne's seat.
"Huh? But sir, we're still far from your home" Wayne replied, slowing down the car with a hint of surprise in his voice.
"I have some business to attend to. I'll make my way back later" Raiden said, his eyes fixed on the figure outside the window.
"Alright, sir" Wayne said, pulling the car over to the side of the road. Raiden pushed open the door and hurriedly stepped out.
"Sir, what about the cookies?" Wayne called out, noticing the cookies his mother had made still sitting on the back seat.
"Send them to my house" Raiden said without turning back, disappearing into the crowd.
Wayne watched as Raiden vanished into the throng of people and muttered softly.
"Yes... sir."
When Raiden finally made his way through the crowd and reached the spot where he had seen the figure, the person was already gone.
Raiden looked around, but the constant flow of people made it impossible to find any trace of the individual.
"Phew" Raiden exhaled, crouching down.
He rubbed his hand against the ground, where countless people had walked in the past few minutes.
A subtle force emanated from Raiden hand, spreading over the ground. Hundreds of auras rose from the surface, flowing through his fingertips.
Among these hundreds of auras, one stood out—unique and radiant, its power as dazzling as the sun. It was a breathtaking presence amidst the ordinary.
Raiden focused his energy to sense and familiarize himself with that aura, silently reciting an incantation under his breath.
Suddenly, along the path ahead, golden particles of light began to rise from the ground. They multiplied, forming a line that pointed Raiden in the right direction.
This was a highly advanced form of magic—Insight—a technique that could trace the trail of a person or object based on their aura. However, it had a significant limitation: it could only track auras left within the past few minutes.
The golden particles of light that appeared on the ground were remnants of that person's aura, made visible by Raiden's magic. This phenomenon could only be seen by those who could perceive magical energy.
Raiden followed the trail of golden particles, weaving through bustling commercial streets and noisy food alleys. But as he passed towering skyscrapers and arrived in front of an office building still under construction, the particles vanished without a trace.
Raiden took a bite of the hot dog in his hand, scanning his surroundings. How could the trail have disappeared so suddenly?
He stuffed the last of the hot dog into his mouth, and a powerful surge of magic emanated from his greasy right hand. As the magic spread through the air, the golden particles reappeared.
Facing a three-meter-high wall, Raiden glanced around to ensure no one was watching. With a leap, he effortlessly cleared the wall.
But on the other side, Raiden once again lost his bearings. The golden particles had disappeared once more.
This time, even the aura in the air was gone.Raiden crouched down, feeling the slightly loose soil beneath his fingers.
Could she have burrowed underground? He shook his head as he stood up, but then again, he didn't possess any earth-diving magic either.
Just as Raiden furrowed his brow, pondering what to do next, a sharp blade was suddenly pressed against his neck from behind.
The divine edge, though not yet touching his skin, carried an aura of death that instinctively stiffened Raiden body. His blood seemed to freeze in that moment.
...
Diana had gone to Iran, venturing into that valley where she found what she was seeking—divine power, the power of thunder.
But just as Diana thought she had finally found the answers she was looking for, the outcome left her disappointed. She didn't find the person she was searching for.
Instead, she encountered her enemy there.
The valley, already ravaged by thunder, was once again caught in the crossfire of a fierce battle. This battle reduced the valley to complete ruin, leaving nothing but debris.
The battle ended in Diana defeat. After all, she was still too young, merely a demigod, even if a powerful one.
However, from her enemy's words, Diana gleaned a clue: the power that had appeared in this valley was not the answer she sought. Disheartened, Diana returned to New York.
But as she aimlessly wandered the streets of Manhattan, she suddenly sensed a peculiar energy ripple emanating from the path she had just walked.
It was a strange energy fluctuation, similar to that of a mage, yet intertwined with the power of divine law—a power belonging to a god. This was a demigod, just like her.
Diana curiosity was instantly piqued. After all, she was the only known demigod, and the world had long since lost its Earth gods. Where had this demigod come from?
Could it be his descendant?
Diana grew eager, but before she could seek out this demigod, she was surprised to find that the demigod had already followed the path she had taken.
Was this demigod pursuing her? How intriguing.
A faint smile played on Diana lips as she turned and walked in a certain direction with a playful air.
In front of a construction site for an office building, Diana raised her sword and pressed it against the neck of the figure before her, demanding.
"Unknown demigod, what do you want?"
Raiden, with his back to Diana, heard her cool voice and felt a flicker of confusion.
Demigod? Is she talking about me?
He slowly turned around, and his eyes met a beautiful face. Her black hair cascaded casually over her shoulders, and her obsidian-like eyes sparkled with a mesmerizing light.
"You're beautiful" Raiden couldn't help but compliment.
Diana was momentarily taken aback, her grip on the sword loosening slightly.
"It's you? That mage… no, you're a demigod."
A demigod? Even a god thinks I'm a demigod?
In Raiden memory, he vaguely recalled that Diana seemed to be a deity.
"Which pantheon do you belong to? Asgard? The Vanir? Or the Earth gods?" Diana pressed further.
"Me?"
A sudden flash of insight crossed Raiden mind. The power of the Time Dragon God, Akatosh, flowed within his body. As Akatosh was the supreme deity of the ancient world, it seemed not far-fetched to call Raiden a demigod.
"I don't know which pantheon I belong to," Raiden gave an ambiguous answer, but then quickly provided a precise one.
"I am a god who does not belong to this world."
Diana looked at Raiden, lowered her longsword, and then casually asked.
"A god not belonging to the Nine Realms... Have you heard of the Olympian pantheon?"
"Uh, you might have misunderstood. I mean I don't belong to this world, this universe... My first stop here was Earth" Raiden explained.
Diana nodded thoughtfully, then pointed at Raiden and asked "That person in Iran, was it you?"
"Correct" Raiden nodded in affirmation.
After hearing this, Diana said nothing more, simply sheathed her sword, and turned to leave.
Raiden quickly reached out, wanting to say something.
"You..."
But Diana turned her head and straightforwardly said "Goodbye."
Watching Diana leap over the wall and disappear into the night sky, Raiden said somewhat infatuatedly.
"I like this woman."
"Hey, who are you!" At that moment, a night watchman from the construction site spotted Raiden.
Raiden glanced back at him, waved his hand, and a gust of wind mixed with dust from the site swept over, blinding the worker. Raiden took the opportunity to vanish into the dark night.
Meanwhile, in Raiden mind, a white phantom gazed into the void and murmured.
"I like that woman too."
A black phantom beside him punched the white phantom on the head, somewhat angrily saying.
"Was giving him emotions so he could flirt with girls!"
The black phantom glared at the white phantom and then strode forward.
In a corner unseen by the white phantom, in front of the black phantom, strands of peculiar energy were drifting into the void from his hand.