Raiden was rampaging through the cave, slaughtering without restraint. No one could withstand his power, but at the same time, his strength was rapidly depleting as he unleashed it.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a streak of fire shot toward Raiden, hitting him and exploding.
"Ugh, cough, cough."
Raiden collapsed to the ground. Rubble from the cave ceiling fell, pinning his body, and blood began to gush uncontrollably from his mouth.
"Ah... that feels much better," Raiden chuckled weakly, trapped beneath the rocks.
In truth, Raiden inner strength had long been exhausted, but his rage had driven him to recklessly drain his life force to cast spells, like an unstoppable faucet.
Now, pinned under the rocks, his anger was interrupted, and he finally regained his senses, ceasing his spellcasting.
From the dust-filled passage, a bald man emerged with his subordinates, carrying rocket launchers.
"So this is the reason I didn't kill you? What a magnificent power," the bald man said, gazing greedily at Raiden.
Tony Stark?
He was nothing compared to this power!
This power should be mine!
Raiden struggled, a smile spreading across his blood-stained face as a ball of fire slowly coalesced beside him.
"Clap, clap, clap."
The bald man marveled at the fireball, applauding as he said, "Is this a gift from God? Perhaps you've done something to me in the past, but now, this power will belong to me."
He laughed wickedly, his laughter unrestrained.
He finally understood why, four years ago, he had suddenly begun capturing people for human experiments. It was all because of this guy—this fascinating guy!
As the fireball grew larger, one of the bald man subordinates raised a rocket launcher, ready to fire another shot at Raiden, but the bald man stopped him. He needed Raiden alive!
Just as the bald man was reveling in his triumph, a burst of fire shot out from the thick smoke deep within the passage, exploding beside them. The bald man and his men were instantly engulfed in flames, and the shattered rocks from the explosion buried them.
"Clang, clang, clang."
Tony, clad in his iron suit, ran out of the passage with Yinsen.
"Raiden! Raiden! Are you okay, Raiden?" Yinsen knelt beside Raiden, frantically moving the rubble aside as he spoke, while Tony stood guard, scanning their surroundings.
Raiden lay weakly on the ground, each breath mingled with blood. The overuse of his power had left him extremely frail... perhaps he was truly going to die.
"No, no, no, Raiden, you're going to be fine. We need to go, Raiden!" Yinsen eyes welled up with tears as he choked back sobs.
"No!" Tony, hearing Yinsen cries, quickly turned around, crouching down to look at Raiden, his face filled with panic.
"Raiden, come with us. Yinsen, help him up. We have a plan, and we need to stick to it! We all need to make it out alive!"
"Everything goes according to plan... Tony... but you can't make everything go as planned. You go on. I've always been alone, and I should die alone..." Raiden laughed bitterly.
"No, it can't be, Raiden, you won't die. We are family—me, you, Yinsen, we are all family! Do you know that, Raiden?" Tony said, his eyes red with tears.
"Yes, Raiden! We are family. My family is gone; they died long ago. Now, we are the family. You must survive, Raiden!" Yinsen roared.
"No, don't waste your time anymore... family, don't waste your time... live on..." Raiden whispered weakly, his head slowly drooping.
"No! No! Raiden!" Yinsen cried, clutching Raiden lifeless body tightly.
'Have I lost another family member?'
Watching Yinsen in agony, holding Raiden corpse, Tony felt a sudden emptiness in his heart.
During the three months in the cave, the three of them had become like family. And in Raiden, Tony had seen a reflection of himself.
'Raiden shouldn't have died like this... He died protecting me and Yinsen!'
In Tony heart, a seed that had been planted long ago finally sprouted. New thoughts began to form in his mind, but he needed time to sort them out.
"Yinsen, let's go... We have to survive and leave this place. It is... Raiden last wish." Tony reached out to comfort Yinsen, but seeing the cold steel and weapons on his arm, he couldn't bring himself to touch him.
"Let's go, Yinsen."
"Let's go."
...
Raiden vision plunged into darkness. Was he dead? It seemed he had died once again.
As Raiden soul returned to death, his emotions, his humanity, also returned to his body.
But Raiden never expected to end his life like this. He always thought he would die in a more grand, earth-shattering way...
The world after death was an endless darkness, but this feeling was much better than being at the end of time. Raiden walked aimlessly through this boundless darkness, not knowing where he was heading, but he felt as if someone was waiting for him ahead.
Finally, in the pitch-black world, a glimmer of light appeared, standing out starkly in the darkness.
Raiden walked toward the light and saw a familiar figure... It was his bond in this world... the only memory that could evoke anger and pain within him.
"Gurgle, gurgle."
Raiden, feeling his long-empty stomach rumble, stumbled around in the dark cave. Although moving would consume his energy, it was the only way to temporarily forget his hunger.
In the darkness, Raiden stumbled along until he finally reached a wall. He carefully felt around and found a lamp, though it was almost out of oil.
Raiden lit the lamp, and the faint glow illuminated the entire cave. Staring at the dim light, Raiden felt a sense of solace in his heart, and even his hunger seemed to ease a little.
No! He couldn't let himself feel it! The more he thought about it, the hungrier he got!
Though trapped in this pitch-dark cave, Raiden still kept himself clean day after day. Compared to the endless years he had endured, this place was almost bearable. Besides, Raiden firmly believed he would escape someday.
The only problem was that his energy absorption was excruciatingly slow. He had tried countless times, tweaking the way he circulated energy, but it was all in vain. He struggled to absorb the energy of this world.
After shaving his beard and tidying his hair, Raiden suddenly noticed under the dim light that his hands... they needed washing. They were filthy.
But water was a scarce resource. Those bastards weren't kind enough to provide food, drink, and water for washing.
The water Raiden used was collected by stretching a plastic film against the cave wall at night, with a basin placed underneath. By morning, the damp air in the cave would condense into a tiny amount of water.
But lately, the weather seemed to be getting hotter, and the water was becoming even scarce.
Raiden stared at his grimy hands, muttering something under his breath. As he chanted, his expression grew increasingly weary.
Suddenly, a drop of water appeared in the air, suspended between his hands... Through the faint light of the lamp, the droplet reflected a glimmer, announcing its presence.
"Plop."
The drop fell onto Raiden hand... What the hell!
This exhausting water spell had only managed to conjure a single drop of water! Just one drop!
Raiden dejectedly rubbed his hands together, but they were still filthy... Whatever. He spat on his hands and rubbed them again, making do.
But after casting the spell, Raiden felt even more exhausted and hungry. Where the hell was the person delivering his food?
"Tap, tap, tap."
Footsteps? Someone's there? Is someone outside? The food deliverer?
Raiden extinguished the kerosene lamp, rushed to the door, crouched down, and pushed open the small slot at the bottom of the iron door. He reached out, groping around outside.
Where's the food? Damn it! Raiden searched for a while but found nothing. He shouted at the person outside,
"Where's my food? I'm starving to death here, you know!"
There was no response. Raiden flipped the bird with his outstretched hand and said,
"Get someone to bring me food, or I'll starve to death."
This time, there was a reply.
A voice that didn't belong here, a young and innocent voice, timidly said, "...Uncle... here."