The Daughter of Lightning and Thunder

The daughter of thunder and lightning soared through the blazing skies of Athens on a winged horse. Elynn, a Greek lady who had dark blonde hair shaped in a bob with light blue eyes. She wore a red buttoned shirt with long sleeves, ripped blue jeans, and a black-striped scabbard on her back. On her right hand was a steel wristband with a small blue button in the center.

The city was engulfed in flames, with explosions lighting each corner every few minutes. Machines with the abilities of a god roamed all throughout, blasting, torturing, and capturing the civilians. The buildings were wide, storied, and had upward windows positioned on every floor, and each of the structures consisted of terraces in place of roofs. Most of which gleamed in the fire; many turned to ash with men, women, and children screaming and running out from the falling bricks, wrapped in flames. Only a few survived, but with scars that could never heal. The road was cramped with smashed cars, trucks, and motorcycles that were the remains of a massive collision. People of all ages and professions scatter and cry out for someone to save them. Elynn flew on and covered her nose to relieve herself of the stench of smoke and exhaust pipes. She was alone in her role as a savior. Her steed glided through the sky like an albatross, the flow of wind carrying it. Its breath was similar to that of a bird, not the same in-and-out respiratory system a regular horse would have but instead one with a unidirectional airflow, taking in oxygen even as it exhales.

Perched in the city center were the structures of the Acropolis, an ancient religious site, and the temple of the Parthenon, a sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Athena, all situated on top of a stone hill 156 meters above sea level.

I’ve got to save him. I know he left me before I could even speak, but he’s still my dad. I can’t let him be caged like this. I have to stop that tyrant’s rule over Greece and the whole world. Thought Elynn.

This will be my chance to finally prove that I’m great and not someone worth abandoning when it’s convenient. It could end up killing me, but it’s better than being a failure for the rest of my life.

She rose over toward the circular black tower that stretched toward the heavens. Her horse was white as the summer clouds, with wings like ivory that extend to 50 feet. Each wing had unique vascular structures to radiate the overload of heat into the sweeping air. Effective in case its organs burned up.

Elynn reached the peak of the top dome and went inside it. She held onto her steed as it flared its wings to land on striped white tiles inside the structure. It was like that of a black sphere with a hole in the top middle. She descended from the horse and walked toward the front center in slow, steady steps.

She looked upon a pale, towering man who chugged down jugs worth of alcohol in mere seconds. He had long wavy black hair with eyes red as a supernova. He wore a dark robe that concealed all but his head and hands. To his front was the god of wine (Dionysus) lying inside a steel and glass cage.

“Terminus! It’s time you release the gods from your bindings. I’m here to end this rule of destruction you’ve created,” spoke Elynn.

“It seems someone finally made it up here. You could say it was only a matter of time before someone like you decided to face me,” replied Terminus. “End my rule, you say? I saved the world from the tyranny of the gods; I put them all in cages and made use of their powers. I unified the whole world under one flag when it was divided for its entirety and held it together for the past 15 years. And yet you have the audacity to attempt overthrowing me?”

“In your so-called unification. You killed over 6 billion people and took away their gods and hope at the same time. Unity under you is worse than any division ever could be.”

“All those sacrifices will not be wasted. I will make sure of it. In fact, it’s better that way so that an entirely new group of people may emerge in my reign, in the unified world, and they will prosper like no civilization ever has in history.”

“It’s been 15 years, and all you’ve brought is destruction.”

“It is still only the beginning, daughter of lightning. My efforts after being cast out of the science department 40 years ago will not be in vain.”

“Looks like I’ve got to kick the delusions out of you.”

Elynn tapped the blue button on her wrist to suit herself in lightning-striped armor that covered her from below the neck. She took out an electric sword and held it with both hands.

Terminus grabbed hold of two volcanic blades from his scabbard. Made of carbon steel and tantalum carbide to avoid fracture and excessive heat. He had the end of a wire protruding out of the back of his head to aid the chip inside his brain.

They rush over and clash in vicious flurries. The dual blades slash away like endless strikes of lightning; every attack is met with equal ferocity by the single blade. Each collision gave the sound of steel smashed onto stone.

Terminus struck faster and more violently, his pace doubling by the second. One vicious strike after another, every following blow put Elynn on her backfoot; she shook and tumbled backward. He clashes one last time and flips backward several meters. He summoned a flamethrower from thin air and fired without a second of hesitation.

Elynn slid to the left and sprung over the flames of Hephaestus. She raised her right hand mid-air to the clouds and struck him with a bolt of lightning straight into his head.

Terminus crashes against the black wall, dazed and unbalanced but refusing to drop down. His internal conductor absorbed much of the electricity.

Elynn ran over with full speed, her sword held out in one hand, ready to finish the job.

The King stepped back and leapt above her in less than a second. He landed behind her and struck two ravenous blows on both shoulders, sending her backward in retreat.

Elynn stood on unsteady legs. A stream of blood gushed out from her shoulders; the cuts were deep and difficult to seal. Sweat and blood dripped down to her feet. She was just a step away from dropping her blade.

God, it hurts. I can’t give up just yet. I’ve got to be ready for his next attack.

A blue drone flew over and dropped a glass cage into the middle of the tower.

“It’s time I introduce you to someone you love. I’m sure you’ll love this reunion,” taunted the King.

Elynn stood motionless at the sight of the man before her. Zeus, the father that abandoned her long ago. She couldn’t muster the courage to speak or even move. Deathly still, her eyes widened as she stared on.

“I suppose I could introduce his nature to you too,” said Terminus as he directed his blades towards Zeus and the sky. His head was covered in sweat and scars; the red wire tremored inside like a thousand alarms.

The warm air rises and cools down. The clouds turn gray, then black, and a flood of water drops follows.

“Now that you two have reunited. Let me help your father give you your first punishment!”

Terminus rained down a storm of lightning. It pierced, struck, and shocked through the lost savior, 270 bolts in less than a millisecond. She collapsed in an instant.

The tower shook and nearly crashed to the city below. The King stumbled down but held on to Dionysus’s cage; he was alive but had the displeasure of witnessing the fall of the walls and ceiling. They drop down like solid rain.

Elynn and Zeus lingered on the crumbling skyscraper, shattered bricks and debris all around them. The breathless horse fell through with the scraps of tiles.

“You were by far the closest to overtaking me since the time I obliterated the gods. I’ll give you credit where you deserve it,” praised Terminus. “Now I’ll celebrate by drinking, as you were so rude to interrupt. I will dispose of your body after I finish.”

Elynn appeared lifeless on the cracked floor, no sign of movement or struggle. Her armor was torn to shreds, but the clothes inside remained intact. Her sword lay to her left, shattered in part.

AHHH, it hurts so much. How am I still even alive? Thought Elynn.

I guess being the daughter of Zeus has its perks. Tavross! My steed. Damn it! I lost. I lost despite hitting him hard. Man… I should have finished him off right there, but of course I screwed up. Why does this always happen to me? Even when I’m close to success, I still somehow end up failing. Maybe it was just my destiny to lose. It’s time I accept it. I failed my dad and the whole world.

“My child,” spoke Zeus from inside the glass cage. “Whether you are dead or alive, I have something to tell you. I know I left you and treated you unfairly. And at the time I thought I could leave you as though you weren’t my own daughter. But I was wrong. You’re not someone I could just leave and throw away whenever I feel like it; no, you are special. You have the heart and strength of warriors like Hercules and Achilles. You are as mighty as the gods themselves. You are my daughter. If you are still alive, come out and beat this savage!”

Elynn gathered her strength and rose slowly, legs trembling back and forth. She crouched to obtain her sword; she almost fell but managed to stay upright.

Terminus appeared distracted as he drank jug after jug, drunk out of his mind, unaware of the survival of his adversary. A fractured sword struck through his chest, missing the heart by less than an inch. He screamed and frantically pulled his blade out; blood poured out like a crimson waterfall. He barreled to his left, with hands concealing his chest, in an attempt to prevent the bleeding.

“How could you do this? How are you still alive?” asked Terminus.

“You could have finished me off or called one of your robots, but I guess you were too lazy to do that. You shouldn’t drink too much, you know,” replied Elynn.

“Well... We will see… MY CREATION, I AM IN NEED OF YOUR POWERS!”

3 scraps of steel land on top of the tower, with each possessing wings similar to an airplane. They were painted white and had 6 arms that stretched about 8 feet. Its head was that of a round object and had a width four times that of a human. The machines walk toward the daughter of Zeus; they surround and block her from all sides.

Terminus brought down another cage of metal. He pointed his hand towards it and began to heal himself; within the tight space was Asclepius, the god of healing.

The machines launch a barrage of punches with all 18 hands. She ducks and evades the incoming attacks. She prepared her counterattack but was blown near the edge by a ferocious air wave. Elynn held on with the grip of her right hand. A stream of boiling water flooded through the ends of the tower.

“Damn, Aeolus and Poseidon.”

Elynn was on the verge of plummeting down; the enflamed waters formed a first-degree burn on her hand, but she was able to take her blade and strike the concrete floor with all her wrath. She gripped the blade and leapt up toward the shattered skyscraper. The hero landed with a gust of wind and quickly tore through the two hunks of steel.

The last machine rushed over and let loose a flurry of punches and slashes. The daughter of lightning dodged and followed up with her own strikes.

“Ares’ powers, huh. I’ll make you pay for that.”

She ducked under another combination of strikes and landed a crushing blow, tearing the machine apart into fragments of metal and alloy. Elynn sprinted right to the King’s direction, sword in position to strike.

He deflected her attack and followed with a devastating blow to her gut. She spat red and stumbled backward, but she remained on her feet.

Damn it, I was so close.

“Daughter of Zeus, I have gotten sick of all your efforts; it’s time we finish this meaningless battle. Now get ready to face the wrath of the gods!” spoke Terminus.

He raised his blade above the heavens. Swarms of thunderstorm clouds formed in a matter of seconds. The wind blew and formed tornados. His blade was infused with molten rock and lava.

Elynn dashed forward with full speed, prepared to land the definitive blow.

“Give Hades my best regards,” said the King.

Terminus unleashed a storm of lightning, fire, and wind straight toward her. Elynn struck through in the same instant, her blade cloaked in electricity. The two landed in the same instant. The tower shook and was on the verge of collapse. Most of the surface shattered and rained down upon the city. Two cages fell over without any chance of rescue; only the god of lightning remained.

Elynn was fried and burned by the burst of lightning and flame. She fell face-first into what was left of the ground.

Terminus tumbled down, bleeding out from his chest; he was struck in the heart. He perished with his face forward. He had one last look at the heavens.

The battle was over. The world was saved from his rule, and the gods were released from their binds.

‘Well… it’s all over. I saved them…” Elynn said as she lay still, unable to move or stand.

“No, you’re not going to Hades yet,” said Asclepius, hand placed on her forehead. His beard swayed by the effort.

He got rid of her scars and injuries, returning her to full health.

“Umm, thanks?” she said, rising up.

“No problem, you saved man and gods. This is the least I could do. You’re the hero of the world, right, Zeus?”

A hulking man with long white hair and a beard made his step toward her. He lifted her up on his broad shoulders and strode through the air.

“I know this doesn’t in any way compensate for what I did to you, but I hope this will be a new beginning to our relationship,” said the god of lightning.

“Sure, Dad. I’m certain it will be.”

-The end