"What… is happening to me?"
Chen Fan's expression tightened. He replayed that sudden moment over and over again.A heartbeat ago, the thunder within him had surged violently—no warning, no buildup, just a raw eruption ready to tear through the walls.
If he hadn't reacted instantly, his entire cabin would've been reduced to ash.
"Is it because of the Thunder Essence surrounding Inkstar?"
He muttered to himself.
Thunder Essence—the condensed remains of a Thunder-type Esper's power after death.A deadly, high-density lightning core.
Only Espers of Level 3 or above could safely convert it.Anyone weaker attempting to absorb it would only meet one fate:
Their body would explode.
Chen Fan's eyes darkened.Then he turned and strode toward the command bridge.
—
The moment he stepped inside, the man who had argued with him before shot him a cold, venomous glare, but didn't utter a word. Clearly, Zhao Ling's earlier warning still burned fresh in his mind.
Tian Yong, seated at the pilot's console, was tense, eyes glued to the hazy sphere on the screen. The star looked as though it was draped in a veil of shadow.
Zhao Ying brightened the moment she saw Chen Fan.Zhao Ling, however, looked like she'd been carved from a block of frost—cold, rigid, eternally displeased with the world and all who inhabited it.
"That's Inkstar?" Chen Fan asked as he approached.
His gaze locked on the screen.
It looked nothing like the intel files he'd memorized.Back then, the planet had been blue, wrapped in endless oceans.Now the world was swallowed by a thick, swirling mass of black clouds, broken only by faint silhouettes of land and sea beneath it.
But what stunned him most—
Inside the clouds, countless bolts of lightning flickered restlessly, like beasts pacing in their cages.
Zhao Ling spoke, voice solemn:
"Somebody installed detection devices inside the thundercloud layer. If we force our way through, they'll sense the disturbance immediately. That will compromise everything."
Chen Fan looked at her seriously.
"What do you need from me?"
"We need you to cloak the ship in your lightning," Zhao Ling said. "If your thunder spreads over the hull, it'll mask our presence and prevent the Thunder Essence from reacting."
She tapped on the display.
"The storm layer is roughly one kilometer thick. At our descent speed, you'll need to maintain the cover for ten minutes. Can you do that?"
Chen Fan closed his eyes briefly.
"…Ten minutes."A brief hesitation—then he nodded.
"It should be fine. But once we land, I'll need to rest."
Whether that was true or not, Zhao Ling didn't care. All she cared about now was whether Chen Fan could hold the ship together long enough.
His confirmation made her release a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
"Tian Yong, prepare for descent. Choose the region with the lowest lightning density."
"Yes, Captain!"
The pilot's hands flew across the controls.
Chen Fan stepped forward.
His pupils flashed—pure violet lightning swirling deep within.
An immense current roared through every vein in his body.Then he raised his hand.
BOOOOM—!
A colossal web of lightning exploded outward from him, spreading through the air, then fusing into the ship's hull.
Purple lines—like the branches of some cosmic tree—crackled across the battleship's surface, radiant, beautiful, dangerous.
Chen Fan staggered slightly, his face paling.
"Go. Now! I can't hold this for long!"
Tian Yong launched the ship forward at maximum descent velocity.
The battleship sliced into the black cloud layer—
Then vanished completely.
Lightning churned around them.Inside the clouds, Thunder Essence cores—each the size of a clenched fist—floated and pulsed with terrifying light.
The ship descended rapidly.
Chen Fan planted his feet, his body anchored like a steel pillar. The violent electric fields battered the ship, but he didn't move—not an inch.
But then—
His eyes widened.
The Thunder Essence cores hidden in the storm were reacting.They trembled—then began drifting toward the ship, as though something was drawing them in.
"Be careful!"
Zhao Ling shouted. Tian Yong jerked the controls sharply, but several Thunder Essence orbs still latched onto the hull.
"Damn it! I'll freeze them before they detonate!"
Frost surged from Zhao Ling's hands—
But Chen Fan barked sharply:
"Wait! DON'T!"
His voice cracked like a thunder whip.
Zhao Ling froze, stunned.
Chen Fan's eyes glowed bright violet.
Those Thunder Essence orbs…weren't exploding.
They were melting into his lightning.
Snow falling onto ice.Natural.Effortless.
Zhao Ling stared in disbelief.
Then she saw something even more terrifying—
More Thunder Essence cores were converging from every direction.
Dozens.Hundreds.Thousands.
The black-clad youth from earlier snapped.
"Chen Fan, are you trying to get us killed?! If all of these explode together, we'll be vaporized! I swear if you don't get your—"
Chen Fan shot him a single, cold look.
"If you keep shouting, and I lose focus for even a second…the explosion might really happen.Want to take that risk?"
The young man's voice died instantly.
Zhao Ying bit her lip.
"Chen Fan… are you sure you're okay? If it's too dangerous, we can pull up and—"
Chen Fan cut her off with a faint smile.
"Relax, Ying. I said I can control it. So I will."
He unleashed another wave of violet lightning, weaving a second layer of the thunder net.The incoming Thunder Essence cores struck the net—and were immediately wrapped, contained.
Everyone on the bridge held their breath.
But Chen Fan wasn't finished.
He was already channeling his power inward—secretly absorbing the energy inside each Thunder Essence orb.
Three minutes later—
Every Thunder Essence core stuck to the hull had been completely devoured.
Tian Yong blinked at the sensor readings.
"That's strange… I think the number of active Thunder Essence cores is… decreasing?"
The black-clad youth rolled his eyes and glared at the display.
"Still looks like a damned lightning ocean to me."
Zhao Ling, however, noticed something else.
The Thunder Essence cores attached to the ship…
were gone.
Replaced by new ones drifting in to take their place.
Her eyes narrowed sharply.
"This guy…is absorbing the Thunder Essence."
She stared at Chen Fan for several long seconds.
Shock.Confusion.A hint of grudging awe.
The amount he was absorbing—
No Level-2 Esper should survive that much power.
Yet Chen Fan stood firm, lightning roaring through him like a living storm—
Calm.Focused.Hungry.
Like someone born to consume thunder itself.