Night draped itself over Inazuma City like a velvet curtain, the soft patter of rain weaving through the air. Purple sakura petals floated on the breeze, delicate as ink drops scattered across parchment.
In the shadowed corner of the southern district, beneath a flickering lantern, a young man stood alone, sheltering beneath a worn black umbrella. His eyes, sharp and distant, locked onto a bare wall at the street's edge — a canvas waiting to be awakened.
His name was Ji Bai — a painter unlike any other.
No one knew where he had come from. No one asked why he chose to paint in the rain, beneath the cold gaze of the thunder god.
Every evening at twilight, Ji Bai appeared. With a weathered scroll of rice paper and a crude wooden easel, he settled on the stone steps, grinding ink with deliberate calm. His brush moved like a whisper, tracing shapes born of storm and shadow.
Tonight, he painted a figure wreathed in violet lightning.
A young woman — her gaze fierce, her long hair cascading like a midnight waterfall, a tachi sword resting by her side.
She stood beneath the crackling sky, still as the eye of a tempest, silent yet commanding.
Passersby slowed, whispers spilling from their lips. Some recognized the likeness — Raiden Shogun herself — others averted their eyes, a mix of awe and fear rooting them in place.
Ji Bai remained untouched by the crowd. His brush barely kissed the paper, as if each stroke might summon storms or silence worlds.
As the final line fell into place, the rain ceased. The world held its breath.
No thunder cracked the sky, yet across the scroll, a slender streak of lightning danced silently, alive with electric grace.
Ji Bai's fingers twitched, sensing the pulse beneath ink and paper.
The scroll shivered in his grasp; the black ink seemed to ripple, a latent power stirring beneath its surface.
He narrowed his eyes, sealing the painting with care before slipping it into his sleeve. His face betrayed nothing.
The night deepened, sakura petals carpeting the steps like a violet sea.
Without a word, Ji Bai turned away, leaving behind only a quiet murmur:
"The first piece is complete."
Far above, in the highest tower of Tenshukaku, a pair of violet eyes snapped open.
Raiden Shogun gazed eastward, her sight piercing the veil of night, sensing a presence — a brushstroke that dared to capture her essence.
Her voice was barely more than a whisper, yet it carried like thunder across the silent city:
"Who dares to glimpse my divine form?"