Raijin's Thunderous Ordeal: The Crucible of Harsh Training

As the dust settled and the threat of the soldiers was vanquished, Raijin sought to depart Ichiro's body, but to his astonishment, he couldn't break free. A sense of confinement weighed upon him, and confusion rippled through his being.

"What's happening? Why can't I leave?" Raijin exclaimed, his thunderous voice resonating within the confines of the necklace. He probed his surroundings, quickly realizing the truth – he was ensnared within the Equilibrium Necklace, a creation devised by the sage to imprison all seven dragons.

Panic gripped Raijin's celestial form as he grappled with the shock of his predicament. Initially, he suspected foul play by the sage, a deliberate trap laid out to capture him. However, as he considered the circumstances more closely, he began to doubt this assumption. Ichiro had come into possession of the necklace by sheer coincidence, a twist of fate beyond Raijin's comprehension.

Now, trapped within this mystical prison, Raijin had no choice but to wait for Ichiro to awaken. The boy held the key to his release, and Raijin needed answers. The silence of his confinement was broken only by the distant echoes of the world beyond, while Raijin's anticipation grew with each passing moment, his desire to understand the necklace's origins and purpose burning like a storm within him.

After some time Ichiro wakes up and forgets what just happened and has no idea about Raijin taking over, When he gets up he hears a voice in his head "Why do you have the Equilibrium Necklace?" Ichiro gets confused and worried "what?!". Raijin decided to get into his human form while being in Ichiro's body. Which only made him appear as an image that only Ichiro could see. Ichiro astonished, asks Raijin 'Who are you?!", Raijin a bit mad replies "That's my question, how did you trap me here?" Ichiro was confused and had no idea what to say. Raijin sighs as he realizes that Ichiro had no idea about what was happening at all since he was just a kid. So Raijin decides to summarize what just happened. "Listen, your whole village and your family are dead, they were attacked by those 2 dead soldiers over there, while you were about to die, I helped you"

Ichiro had no place to go and was just stunned. "What do I do now?" Raijin says "You need to get strong to defeat the person that killed your family" Raijin has no interest in Ichiro's life at all but he has no choice and has to rely on what Ichiro does because he is trapped in Ichiro's necklace and can't escape. "I don't know how to get strong…" Ichiro says. "Don't worry I will help you out so stop thinking about the past and worry about the future. I will show you what life is truly about"

As Ichiro stirred from his slumber, his memory was blank, his consciousness shrouded in the fog of confusion. Yet, his newfound awakening brought with it an unexpected presence – a voice, clear and unmistakable, resonated within his mind.

"Why do you have the Equilibrium Necklace?" The voice echoed, its urgency palpable. Ichiro's eyes widened in astonishment, his heart pounding with a mix of fear and bewilderment. "What?!" he stammered, his voice trembling with uncertainty.

Within the confines of his own thoughts, Raijin, though bound by the necklace, assumed a spectral form that only Ichiro could perceive. His ethereal image hovered before the bewildered boy, an imposing figure despite his intangibility. Ichiro, his voice quivering, couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. "Who are you?!" he demanded, his gaze locked on the mysterious apparition.

Raijin, despite his initial irritation, recognized the extent of Ichiro's ignorance in the face of the unfolding events. He heaved a resigned sigh, his tone less stern as he decided to divulge the truth. "That's my question, how did you trap me here?"

Ichiro's bewilderment deepened, and he was at a loss for words. Raijin, with a hint of frustration, proceeded to unravel the events that had transpired. "Listen, your whole village and your family are dead, they were attacked by those two soldiers over there," Raijin gestured to the lifeless bodies nearby, "while you were about to die, I helped you."

Ichiro's world had crumbled around him, and the weight of his loss bore down upon his young shoulders. He felt adrift, with no purpose or direction. "What do I do now?" he mumbled, his voice barely audible.

Raijin, despite his reluctance, recognized that he was irrevocably tied to Ichiro's fate. With a sigh, he addressed the despondent boy. "You need to become stronger, to avenge your family and village, to confront the one responsible for their deaths."

Ichiro's gaze remained fixed on the ground, his thoughts consumed by grief and uncertainty. "But I don't know how to become strong," he admitted, his voice a fragile whisper.

In response, Raijin extended a ghostly hand of guidance, his words laced with a newfound determination. "Don't worry. I will be your guide. Together, we will carve a path towards strength. Let go of the past, Ichiro, for I will show you what life is truly about."

Amidst the charred remnants of his once-thriving village, Ichiro heeded Raijin's guidance. The fallen soldiers lay before him, grim reminders of the harsh reality he now faced. With uncertainty gnawing at his heart, he began to scour what remained of the village for any resources that had miraculously escaped the flames.

His search yielded a meager but vital find – food that had survived the blaze. Raijin, unable to venture far from Ichiro, urged him on. "Gather whatever you can find, Ichiro," he advised. "We'll need these provisions for the journey ahead."

Ichiro complied, his discomfort evident as he approached the soldiers' lifeless forms. The sight of death was foreign and unsettling to the young boy, who had never before encountered such a gruesome tableau. Though he hesitated, Raijin's guidance spurred him to action.

Reluctantly, Ichiro examined the soldiers' equipment. Their armor, ill-fitting for his small frame, was of no use. However, at Raijin's urging, he attempted to drag one of their swords with him. The effort was a struggle, and his steps were labored as he made his way back to their makeshift camp.

In the midst of his physical exertion, Ichiro's thoughts bubbled forth, and he couldn't help but voice his burning question. "Mister, who is the person I need to defeat?" he inquired, his voice tinged with a mix of curiosity and trepidation.

Raijin, now assuming the role of a mentor, decided to reveal a glimpse of the immense challenge that lay ahead. "Just call me sensei," he began, "since I will be teaching you from now on. The truth is… the person you need to defeat is the strongest person in existence itself, The Sage."

Ichiro's eyes widened in astonishment. The enormity of the task ahead weighed heavily upon him as he asked the inevitable follow-up question. "Will I be able to defeat him in a few years?"

Raijin's response was a stark dose of reality. "You might never defeat him, and if you do, it will take you billions of years," he admitted, his tone heavy with gravitas.

Ichiro's hope momentarily wavered, replaced by a sense of hopelessness. "But I am pretty strong too," he mused, "I am one realm behind the sage, so if I could get this strong, you could too."

Raijin, however, was quick to redirect Ichiro's focus. "Strength isn't solely about realms. There's much more to it," he explained. "Cultivation is the path to power, and I will guide you on it."

Under Raijin's instruction, Ichiro adopted the Liberation Pose, his eyes closed as he concentrated. A world of energy and particles unveiled itself to him, even in darkness. "There are always four particles around your regular surroundings," Raijin's voice resonated within Ichiro's mind. "They are Oxygen, Nitrogen, Carbon dioxide, and Manaxide. Try to gather the mana particles."

Ichiro followed Raijin's guidance, placing his hands in the prescribed positions. He began to collect mana, a task that quickly proved physically taxing. Raijin's encouragement pushed him further, urging him to distribute the energy evenly across his body.

The discomfort intensified, surging through Ichiro's being as he struggled to master this newfound power. Raijin, understanding the necessity of Ichiro's progress, placed a guiding hand behind him.

With Raijin's support, Ichiro persevered through the pain, the mana coursing through him, igniting a newfound strength. The ordeal left Ichiro exhausted and bewildered, prompting him to question the outcome. "Did I get stronger now?" he inquired.

Raijin's response was tempered by realism. "You didn't do much, since you didn't really train to begin with," he admitted. However, Raijin's explanations were far from over. He began to unveil the intricate realm of cultivation to Ichiro.

"There are currently nine Realms for regular mortals living in this world," Raijin began, his voice taking on an instructive tone. "Body Refinement Realm, Golden Core Realm, Nascent Soul Realm, Inner Soul Realm, Spirit Master Realm, Grandmaster Realm, Emperor Realm, Apostle Realm, and Constellation Realm."

He paused, letting the information sink in, aware that the journey ahead was fraught with challenges. "And it continues beyond your understanding, once you leave this planet," Raijin added, emphasizing the vastness of what lay beyond.

Rather than despair, Ichiro's eyes gleamed with newfound determination. He had embarked on a path that promised strength, purpose, and the mysteries of cultivation. "Let's go train. There is no time to waste," Raijin declared, his voice infused with a sense of purpose.