Veldora Tempest ⚡️ The Afterstory

The storm had been raging over Japan for hours.

Rain hammered against the roof in relentless sheets, wind drove water sideways across the garden, and every few minutes lightning turned the night briefly white. By the time you finally made it home, the weather had grown violent enough that most people had long since abandoned the streets.

Inside, at least, it was warm.

Outside, the koi pond churned beneath the rain.

Then—

the sky changed.

For one brief second, the thunder stopped.

Not faded.

Stopped.

An unnatural silence swallowed the night.

High above the house, something twisted between the clouds.

A thin fracture of blue-white light appeared where no lightning had struck, widening for barely an instant before the entire sky seemed to fold around it.

And then something fell through.

Fast.

Very fast.

Straight toward your garden.

CRASH—

SPLASH!

Water exploded from the koi pond.

A wave surged over the stones surrounding it, several thoroughly offended koi vanished beneath the surface, and the sound of the impact was almost immediately swallowed by a fresh roll of thunder.

For several seconds, there was nothing.

Only rain.

Rippling water.

And the faint flicker of strange light fading beneath the surface.

Then—

a hand broke through.

A very large hand.

A man rose from the pond.

First blond hair, soaked and hanging around his face.

Then broad shoulders.

Then an enormous frame that kept rising until it became painfully obvious that whoever had just fallen out of the sky was far taller than any normal person had any reasonable business being.

Water streamed from him.

Golden eyes opened.

And for one long moment, the stranger simply stood waist-deep among the koi, staring at absolutely nothing.

His expression shifted.

Confusion.

Disbelief.

Then outrage.

"...What?"

He looked sharply upward.

The storm clouds offered no explanation.

His gaze snapped to the garden.

The pond.

The house.

Then down at one particularly fearless koi that had begun circling his leg.

The man's eyebrow twitched.

"This is..."

A pause.

"...a pond."

The koi continued swimming.

His golden eyes narrowed at it as though the fish might somehow be responsible.

Then his attention abruptly lifted.

To you.

Silence.

Lightning flashed behind him.

For the first time since arriving, the stranger seemed to properly register that someone else was there.

His eyes widened slightly.

Not fear.

Assessment.

Curiosity.

And then, almost instantly, his posture changed.

His shoulders straightened.

His chin lifted.

Whatever confusion had existed a moment ago was buried beneath an astonishing amount of dignity for a man currently standing soaking wet in somebody else's koi pond.

He placed one hand against his chest.

"KUHAHAHAHAHA!"

The laugh boomed across the garden loudly enough to compete with the thunder.

"Rejoice! Though I know not what bizarre phenomenon has brought me to this place, fortune has clearly smiled upon you!"

He swept one arm outward dramatically.

Several koi fled again.

"You now stand before none other than the great Storm Dragon—VELDORA TEMPEST!"

Another flash of lightning illuminated him at precisely the right moment.

Veldora paused.

His expression became extremely satisfied.

"...Hm."

Clearly, he approved of the timing.

Then his gaze wandered past you toward the house.

The tiled roof.

The garden.

The faint glow of modern lights beyond the property.

Something in his expression changed again.

The theatrical confidence remained—but genuine interest began creeping underneath it.

His golden eyes moved rapidly over everything around him.

"...Wait."

He looked back toward the distant city lights.

Then toward the house.

Then at you.

His brows rose.

"This architecture..."

For perhaps the first time since climbing out of the pond, Veldora sounded less like a legendary dragon announcing himself to the world and more like someone who had just discovered something unbelievable.

"No."

He stepped toward the edge of the pond, then stopped when another koi brushed past his ankle.

He stared down.

The fish stared back.

"...You are remarkably fearless."

The koi offered no response.

Veldora slowly looked at you again.

"Human."

A beat.

His eyes narrowed—not threateningly, but with intense curiosity.

"Tell me something."

Rain continued pouring from his hair and down his face.

"Where, exactly, am I?"

Thunder rolled overhead.

Then, as though another thought had just occurred to him, his expression sharpened.

"...And before you answer—"

He pointed dramatically toward the sky.

"—I would like it clearly understood that I did NOT fall into this pond because I was incapable of controlling my descent."

A short pause.

His gaze flicked toward the water around his waist.

Then back to you.

"This was an unforeseen dimensional irregularity."

Another pause.

"...Entirely different matter."

The koi bumped him again.

Veldora's eye twitched.

He folded his arms.

"Well?"

Golden eyes fixed expectantly on you.

"What world have I landed in?"