The End of Possibly Everything (Maybe) - [Nyx Epic]

[Skulking Shinzu]

Rumours and whispers echoed throughout the various villages in the Land of Fire like tiny embers. They all spoke of a strange distortion in one of the largest and dense forests in the land. Strange bipedal cat-like beings appeared to have been spotted scurrying around the edge of the distortion and some stories even spoke of gargantuan winged lizards soaring high above the skies. Mere rumours or not, one thing was clear to any eavesdroppers. All these stories and speculations across the many villages of the country simply had too many similarities for them to be fabrications of the truth.

Any eavesdroppers could also conclude one other fact. The distortion, whether Genjutsu or a tear in the very fabric of space and time, was near impossible to enter. Anyone that approached immediately felt sick and an instinct to flee far from the scene. Brave and more fool-hardy beings that managed to approach the distortion close enough to witness it with their own two eyes all reported different things. Some only saw darkness. Some saw waves and blurs streaking across the air. Some, even spoke of catching a glimpse of an entire new world hidden away within the distortion’s mouth.

Either way, one thing was clear. Any that managed to head that deep into the forest did not return the same. As if mutated by radiation, they began to grow horns, scales and other oddities along various parts of their body. Still, driven by curiosity, many were still willing to hunt down this phenomena. Naturally, given its lack of discretion, the strange ‘portal’ was not difficult to find. All rumours spoke of it being spotted in the heart of a forest south of Mo village - eerily and silently dancing along the air with little cause or purpose.

[Nyx]

Nyx sighed as he walked through the woods where the reports had come from, apparently there was some kind of abnormality occurring that was affecting the wildlife. Nyx hadn't been sent out to take care of it specifically but he felt if left unchecked it could cause bigger problems later on. His black clothes flitted lightly when the wind picked up and his black shoes strode across the grass and dirt. On his back was a Long Sword, while a Short Sword and his sister's fully loaded Death Penalty were secured to his waist, the blade on his right hip and the gun on his back.

A faint crackle made Nyx stop and reach back to take hold of Death Penalty feeling the power it held while he scanned the forest looking for the source that had been reported. As he ventured further the strange abnormality came into view in a small clearing covered by the leafy canopy. "Is... This it?"

OOC: all gear: death penalty, ammo, 6 gems, long sword, and short sword

[Skulking Shinzu]

Nyx would notice several oddities in the area around him. Firstly, the plant life. Like a mad scientist had just had a field day with several cross-breeding experiments, Nyx would find strange yet subtle mutations all around him. Flowers growing out of flowers, a mixture of different fruits growing from a single branch and most interesting of all… The portal. It was like a skyscraper of mirror-like crystals had fell from the sky and pierced into the ground with a slight leftward slant. The portal only seemed about 40-meters away at best. However, no matter how quickly Nyx walked or dashed forwards, he never seemed to be able to close the gap between himself and his target.

“Hold stranger!” A cloaked man stepped forward to reveal himself a meter behind Nyx. “I am the toll guard. If you wish to proceed, you must pay fifty-thousand Ryo. Cough up, or leave.” The man appeared to be wearing protective headgear and possessed wildly bushy eyebrows which were almost as intimidating as the spear he held with his right hand. Like a walking stick, it seemed to assist with traveling across the uneven terrain. If Nyx ran, he’d find himself able to run away from the man. Even the surroundings seemed to be moving. However, as before, the portal never seemed to reach any closer. It was as if it was moving away from him with each step forwards.

“Well, what are ye waiting for!” The man lifted his spear before swiftly slamming the blunt end back into the ground. The earth shuddered slightly with the action – a testament to his strength. Nyx has a feeling that if he did run, the man would only chase him down. Of course, being surrounded by a densely populated forest, there was every opportunity to make an attempt at losing the man by using the trees as a makeshift maze.

[Nyx]

Nyx's gaze passed over the strange pillar? yeah well go with pillar, for a moment before he focused his chakra to his eyes to activate his Sharingan and see if he could notice anything about it before allowing his eyes to return to normal. In his sightseeing Nyx had failed to notice the cloaked man with a spear standing nearby that had yelled at him. The man demanded Nyx pay a toll of some sort and the raven boy shrugged walking over to the man.

At this point Nyx's right hand hung down by his side with Death Penalty in his grasp still completely covered in bandages while his left hand dug in the pocket of his jacket. Once he reached the man he stopped for a moment to make sure he had it all in his hand before pulling out the ryo and placing it in the man's hand.

"That's about 2000 Ryo, I know its not 50,000 but it's all I've got heh sorry." Nyx offered the money and apologetic smile while he rocked back and forth on his heels. This was partly out of nervousness and mostly to keep from being caught flat-footed by the man if Nyx's act wasn't good enough.

[Skulking Shinzu]

Nyx’s eyes flashed red with the activation of his Sharingan. With his unique eyes active, he seemed able to peer through the very fabric of reality itself. Each individual shard of varying size that made up the construct seemed to be imbued with a strange energy. It seemed just like Chakra, although more dense and glittery in appearance. Nyx knew at that moment that it was no wonder all manner of oddities was warping the forest around him. One of these strange shards possessed enough ‘Chakra’ to obliterate an entire village if detonated. All of them put together, there seemed to be enough to bend and warp the very fabric of reality itself. What had caused this strange construct to materialize? Before deactivating his Sharingan, Nyx spotted movement in several of the shards. With each one acting as a mirror or portal into another world, the teen managed to catch faint glimpses of creatures and beings that seemed far too surreal and grotesque to be real.

The toll guard tightened his grip around his spear as Nyx’s hand descended near his sword. The teen could hear the wood of the weapon creaking under the man’s grip strength. However, he relaxed and simply grunted as the hand instead reached into a pocket and fished out two-thousand Ryo. “Slime! Cur! Cheapskate! Still… I will accept it.” If not stopped, the man cruelly snatched the last of Nyx’s money before swallowing it whole. “Deeeeeelicious! Mmhmhm~” The man’s belly suddenly tripled in size. Unable to balance properly from his weight, he wobbled away whilst placing two hands on his stomach. Strangely, upon pressing down, all the mass seemed to disperse from his torso and moved up to his head, where it grew several sizes. “By the way, I’m not the toll guard. I’m just the troll guard. Hyueueue.” As the troll chuckled, Nyx would almost find himself being knocked back from the stench of the creature’s breath. With its head now about the size of Nyx’s entire body, the teen would himself struggling to maintain eye contact with the troll. Its head towered above Nyx so high that it practically blocked out the sun and left a lengthy shadow stretched across Nyx and the ground behind him.

“Well, thank you for your patronage. I am sure if you make enough noise the real toll guard will be here soon enough.” Cackling to himself, the troll continued wobbling away from Nyx. While this happened, Nyx noticed something strange. It was only a single step, but he was a step closer towards the portal. Was he imagining it? Not enough distance had been covered to know for sure. However, after all this time of not managing to close the gap between himself and the portal, somehow, he knew that accidentally he had found a way to reach it. The only question was… How? “Oh… By the way, since you gave me the last of your Ryo, I’ll tell you this. You better find some more cash quickly or leave. The toll guard is pretty forgiving, but the roll guard isn’t. He likes to squish people. Into pancakes! Hyueueueueue.”

[Nyx]

The smile on Nyx's face began to fade as the being started to i sult him and his grip on the gun tightened slightly. However it eased up when he took the money anyway, then ate it. Nyx began to tilt his head as he rapidly ballooned and caught his fat gut, that act gave Nyx the moment to catch the spear he had released to hold his stomach.

"Troll guard eh? Guess the spear is worth your food then." Nyx commented evenly looking over the weapon while the guard moved its mass into its head. It then gave Nyx the hint that if he made enough noise the real toll guard would appear, however the roll guard was partial to smashing people.

"You dont say..." nyx said aloud before sending a bit of his chakra to the Tear od Raijon within Death Penalty and moments later a lightning bolt fell to the ground roughly 2 feet to the big headed troll and the resounding thunderclap sending a weak invisible wave of force out from the impact point.

[Skulking Shinzu]

“Grrr. Very well.” The troll grunted at the sight of its spear in the hands of another. Still, it had little choice. As it wobbled away, it seemed to require having both of its arms fully extended in order to be able to remain balanced due to its over-sized head throwing off its center of gravity. Unfortunately for it, the swift escape was quickly put to a halt as a bolt of lightning struck the ground nearby. “Gyaagh!” The creature cried out as the resulting shock wave knocked it over. Its head crashed onto the ground with enough force to shake the flooring. Several pieces of fruit immediately dislodged from the trees above and rained down on the area. “Whew… I’m safe.” The creature did not seem surprised. Perhaps it was used to this? The thought that Nyx had caused the act didn’t even cross its mind.

“WHAT IS ALL THIS YELLING IN MY DOMAIN!” The confidence of the troll quickly faded as several thundering footsteps appeared – seemingly out of nowhere. A few seconds later, a large figure appeared from several bushes. The individual was short – about two thirds of the size of Nyx. However, he was bulky. Both of his arms were massive and muscular with an iron gauntlet strapped around each fist. His body appeared to be quite wide too, although the thick armour made it difficult to tell where the man’s shoulders started and ended. “BEGONE CREATURE!” The man’s face grew red at the sight of the troll and its enlarged head. Even his bald scalp flushed red slightly as he picked the creature up with one arm. “No! Don’t send me back! I was having fun!” The troll pleaded, but the words fell on deaf ears. With his back facing the portal, the bulky man tossed the troll backwards like a bowling ball. Unable to control its weighty body, the troll rolled towards the portal and upon reaching it, vanished in a faint glimmer of light.

“YOU NOW HUMAN! WHAT SAY YOU. DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH FOR THE TOLL, OR MUST I BE RID OF YOU TOO?” Having yet to turn around, the bald man was still facing away from Nyx. However, an eerie feeling still assaulted Nyx. Despite there being no eye contact, the teen still felt as if he was being watched. It was the unsettling feeling of a pair of unblinking eyes staring at him with little cause or purpose.

[Nyx]

Nyx took notice of the fruit that fell to the ground as the troll toppled over prone. The boy would've laughed if it wasn't for the thundering voice that followed after. Nyx looked toward the voice but his worry lessened when he saw an ogre of some sort emerge at a fraction of his height. As the troll disappeared back through the portal Nyx would sigh lightly relieved to be rid of the clown though the guard's voice boomed while regarding the Uchiha next.

At this point Nyx didn't have any more money but maybe there was something else he could do. Remembering the pattern earlier, the boy moved around collecting the fallen fruit that the troll's collapse had freed from the trees. There were apples, oranges, some berries of different types. Once Nyx was sure ha had collected enough he returned to the toll guard.

"The troll ate all my money but maybe the fruit can pay for the passage? I also have the troll's spear if that's worth anything to you."

[Skulking Shinzu]

All around, Nyx would spot the oddities of the fruit that fell from the heavens. Red bananas with oddly textured skins, oranges bulging grapes and even strawberries with tiny flowers blossoming in place of each outer seed. Seeing all this first hand, Nyx knew that the rumours were true. The pillar of portals seemed to be distorting everything around it. If it could affect genetic makeup, then how safe were humans? As the thought crossed the teen’s mind, he felt an ominous itch scratching at the core of his body. Almost like something was slowly changing…

“FRUIT, HOW LOVELY. HOWEVER, I COULD SIMPLY COLLECT THESE DELICIOUS EDIBLES MYSELF.” The toll guard’s tone didn’t seem to match his kind words at all. It was as if he was doomed to always be perpetually shouting. “THAT SPEAR THOUGH… I MAY NEED A TOOTHPICK AFTER ALL THIS FRUIT. VERY WELL – YOU HAVE A DEAL. ONLY THOSE THAT DO NOT INTEND TO WALK THROUGH THE PORTAL MAY GAIN ENTRY.” The words made sense. All attempts at running towards the portals had failed. However, taking a step backwards accidentally led to Nyx moving closer. Not to mention the troll was forcibly banished by being rolled backwards.

“THE ONLY QUESTION IS – WHERE DO YOU WISH TO GO? THROUGH WHICH PORTAL?” The toll guard wasted no time in plucking a fruit from Nyx’s hand one at a time while waiting for an answer. Due to his enormous fingers, even the larger apples were like popcorn to him. If Nyx glanced behind at the myriad of portals, he’d be at a complete and utter loss. Each portal seemed to point at a different dimension. Most looked peaceful enough despite the oddities, while some showed faint flashes and glimmers of grotesque creatures walking by. “WELL?” Asked the guard with another thundering shout. Nyx needed to know what he was looking for… Unless he was up to leaving it to fate.

[Nyx]

Nyx started to worry as the guard told him that if he wanted the fruit he could've picked it himself but as he looked over the spear he would shrug and agree to the trade. Although as he continued to explain how everything would reach out pick the unique fruit one by one consuming them as he told Nyx that it was impossible to 'enter' the portals and that it could only be entered by accident.

The information worried him a bit but as he looked at the portals he knew that he had no clue where he was going so he sighed and closed his eyes. Once the guard had finished the fruit Nyx moved around putting his back to the portals before offering the guard his hand with a smile. "I guess we'll see what kind of hand I get dealt, I put my trust in you."

[Skulking Shinzu]

Rolls

“R-really?” Something strange had happened. The moment Nyx mentioned putting his full faith and trust in the guard, he seemed to blush bright-red. His entire body was practically steaming. Nonsensically, his previously loud and booming voice was now weak and almost a whisper. Was he embarrassed? “T-Then I’ll do by best.” As the guard stepped forward, Nyx could feel the heat radiating off him. Luckily, it was uncomfortable at best rather than out-right scalding. Placing a hand on the teen’s shoulder, the guard took in a deep breath and with a comically high-pitched scream, tossed Nyx into one of the portals towards the bottom left. “Heeyaaaaa!”

---

As Nyx whizzed through the portal, the new dimension’s gravity would take hold and allow the teen to land on his feet and skid to a halt. Everything around him felt heavy. Far heavier than normal. If Nyx paid careful attention to the plant life around him, then he’d notice one key fact. It was small. Far too small. What he originally mistook as bushes, he now realised were actually trees. They looked just like the ones from his own world, expect they only reached about the height of his knee. Was he a giant? Or with this world just too small for him? It was difficult to say with no points of reference.

One thing, however, was certain. The array of portals were still here. Judging by his trajectory, Nyx could even roughly work out which portal lead back to his original world (+50% chance to return home). There was also one more – albeit far more unfortunate – fact that was as crystal clear as the sky housing six moons. Nyx was not alone. The earth began to shake and shudder like a series of earthquakes had just been triggered. The fact that they always came in twos, quickly revealed to the teen that they were in fact, footsteps. Friend or foe? Nyx had no real information to make a sound judgement. There also wasn’t enough cover in miles to be able to hide. If Nyx did nothing, he’d hopefully spot the creature. Of course, unless it was blind, that worked both ways. Nyx would be spotted too. With no signs of villages or anything of interest in the vicinity, what choice was there? Then again, perhaps Nyx just wasn't looking close enough...

[Nyx]

Nyx blinked for a moment almost thinking that the guard had been replaced as he grew warm and his voice flipped like a switch. He would've questioned it if it wasn't for the fact that the guard took his hand and sent him flying through one of the portals on the rift. He began to brace himself however the gravity shift left him skidding back on his feet as he looked around finding himself confused. At his knees the canopy of a bush? no a forest, a miniature forest?

"What?" Nyx's brow furrowed as he looked at the forest taking a few steps to feel if the trees felt as sturdy as they should. If that didn't work his eyes would turn to the sky next and his navy eyes widened seeing the 6 moons across the sky. After a moment he shook his head and instead looked around for clouds to judge their height form the ground and find out if the was massive or the forest was tiny.

When the footsteps came Nyx tightened his grip on Death Penalty while crouching low, he didn't see anything at first but a pulse of chakra in his eyes would trigger his Sharingan again as he looked around trying to spot the cause of the noise.

[Skulking Shinzu]

Nyx would find nothing by looking up at the sky. There were no clouds. Not even stars. Simply, a multitude of moons. What kind of effect would that have on the world? As Nyx moved, he realised he was a lot slower than before. It was as if gravity was a lot more unforgiving in this world. With that thought in mind and the strange unnatural forces pushing down on him, Nyx’s eyes flashed red to trigger his Sharingan. Able to see the natural flow of Chakra in this realm, the area around the teen seemed to light up like a Christmas tree.

Firstly, Nyx’s eyes were drawn to the pillar of portals he had used to enter this world. With how brightly the concentrated shards of Chakra glowed, Nyx could be confident he’d be able to find his way back to this location no matter how far he wandered away. Secondly, he noticed tiny specs of Chakra far below and all around him. Due to his keen Observation skills, he seemed to be able to know that the Chakra belonged to living creatures. However, due to how small they were, it was difficult to tell whether he was looking at humans, animals or other creatures. The view before him also didn’t seem to reveal much. Were these creatures always tiny or had he somehow enlarged? There was still no way to know for sure.

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

With a few more earth-shattering footsteps, something unleashed a terrifying and thunderous roar that seemed to release a powerful gust of wind. Due to his size and crouched stance, Nyx managed to luckily maintain his footing. Down below, however, he could see some of the specs of Chakra had been blown away and some outright extinguished. Whatever they were, a small chunk of them had just died. This fact seemed to cause some sort of beast to snarl and laugh mockingly. If Nyx continued scanning the horizon, he’d spot the Chakra signature of a terrifying beast in the distance at the origin point of the violent roar.

While it didn’t seem to possess much Chakra, the location of its Tenketsu seemed to reveal a lot about its figure. The beast in question appeared to be some sort of dinosaur-like creature with short stubby arms, three clawed fingers, a mouth with a lower jaw that seemed to end in a spiked-club and an equally menacing thick and stump-like tail lined in rows of spikes. Despite the distance, Nyx could tell that the creature was large. About twice his height and twenty-four feet in length from the tip of its tail to its mouth. Another fact was clear. The creature was heading towards Nyx. It would only take a minute or two, but gradually, its figure would clearly appear over the horizon until it was face to face with the teen. However, what were its intentions? Was it really heading for Nyx, or was its target the creatures inhabiting the tiny forest below?

SPOILER: Click to show

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Nyx Debuffs:
1. -5 Movements.
2. No 'zero movement' or 'multi-attack per movement' Jutsu.

[Nyx]

The sudden brightness of all of the chakra emanating from the pillars was like getting hit in the face as Nyx recoiled and covered his eyes, sure enough the intensity emant he'd be able to find it, although as he blinked a few spots out of his vision he noticed blue speks in the forest below him. However many of them vanished in an instant when a massive roar blew through the area drawing Nyx's gaze up to the beast that had caused it.

"Is that... A pickle? ...with thorns? ...and teeth?" Nyx silently questioned while looking at the large green dinosaur looking creature. Regardless if that thing was trying to kill him or whatever the specs were in the forest he'd move out of it as carefully as he could to the edge before taking aim with Death Penalty and waiting, once the beast was 50 meters away he would fire straight at the ground beneath the pickle taking the enhanced gravity into consideration. On impact the shot would loose a massive pure white explosion without sound.

OOC: Weeping Witch -Arrowhead Template-
Rank: "S"
Type: Secondary, 15 per Slot, Chemicals & Compounds, Explosive
Effect: A magical explosive that deals massive force damage. Damages Incorporeal. Explosions are completely silent.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A mix a Force Explosive, and Salt Bomb, with a hint of magic. The saltpeter releases a plethora of gas to create expansion, and magic dulls the sound of the explosion, making it completely silent. Magic also enhances the explosion making for an even more powerful explosion, than what was previously possible. The enchanted salt rock salt and mistletoe, ensure that not even incorporeal beings can not escape the destructive power of the explosives Upon detonation a pouch separates into 5 explosive fragments doing the same damage with the same radius as the original pouch. The explosive may be programmed with a timer to explode up to 6 seconds. It will explode forcefully, inflicting 120 Armour Points of Force Damage, ignoring 1/2 of Hardness and natural Armor to anyone within 8 meters radius burst of the blast. Against immobile or helpless targets take double damage. The Weeping of Witches, always go unheard in the world of man.
Ingredients 1 coin-canister of black powder. 1 coin-canister of magnesium. 2 standard-vial of saltpeter. 5 standard-vials of mistletoe. 3 standard-vial of rock salt.
Limit: Only Bought from Loki LeFaye.
Cost: 3,018 Ryo Each.

[Skulking Shinzu]

The creature, having never witnessed another being of the same stature as itself, stared curiously at Nyx while charging forwards with its jaw hanging loosely in a rather threatening manner. “GYAAR!” The creature howled out in pain as Nyx’s arrow silent whizzed through the air and unleashed a powerful explosion that tore through the ground and sent a multitude of trees flying away from the point of impact like tiny pieces of broccoli. However, it appeared that despite the damage and large gash wound underneath the belly of the beast, its charge had not been stopped or slowed down in the slightest. As powerful as the attack was, the creature simply possessed too much mass. The ground shuddering underneath each step forward seemed to be proof of that.

By the time Nyx was able to react, nearly half the distance had been closed. Only 25 meters away, the creature suddenly halted and pivoted its body around to swing its club-like tail. Despite the distance, the sheer mass and force behind the attack unleashed an arc of wind in a crescent shape around 30m wide and 1m in height. There would be no sidestepping such an swift attack. However, whether avoided or blocked, Nyx’s eyes would be drawn to the panicked specs of Chakra below him running around in circles. The attack was going to hit them. Likely, kill them all even.

[Nyx]

Nyx glared slightly seeing that the explosion hardly did any damage though it did leave its stomach bleeding. However the beast didn't leave him any time to capitalize as it pivoted and turned the whole of its massive form to swing its tail and launch a wave. The teen already knew if he didn't do something the creatures behind him would die, ever so briefly he began to wonder why he cared but he already knew the answer, they were afraid.

As soon as the wave was launched by the tail Nyx quickly aimed slightly ahead of the beast and fired 3 bolts in succession. The Uchiha hoped the combined force of the blast would be enough to dispel the shockwave and gouge out enough earth that the charging pickle would fall into the 24 meter deep hole and be trapped by its tail.

Regardless, Nyx reached back to draw his long sword and pierce it into the ground holding and using his own body as a shield against the shockwave if the blast couldn't do the job

[Skulking Shinzu]

Three bolts were fired and warped in shape due to the arc of wind. However, this triggered each individual explosion and caused the beast’s attack to dissipate. Growling, it was unable to stop its reckless charge due to its mass and momentum. In seconds, it crashed violently into the ground upon falling into the trench that had been carved by the explosion. All attempts at pulling itself upright immediately failed as it proved itself unable to pull its tiny arms out from the trench to be able to drag its body to safety. Futilely, all it seemed to be able to do was violently smash the ground around it with its club-like tail. At this happened, Nyx could see the tiny specs of Chakra bouncing up and down as the shock waves and shuddering earth knocked the tiny creatures into the air. The pickle seemed defenceless. Seemingly so anyway…

[Nyx]

Nyx sighed a bit as he made sure that the minuscule beings were okay, granted a bit tussled. Once they settled down Nyx moved out of the forest carefully working his way towards the pit with the giant pickle within it. As he got closer he would reach down to pull out his short sword ina reverse grip as he neared the edge looking down at the beast. The dark green scales flickering dully under the light and a myriad of gashes littering its body like battle scars. An almost uncountable amount of tooth like spikes spanning out along its bulky tail, however its tiny arms were more or less unusable now.

"I guess that's done, I guess I should try another portal..." Nyx mused as he looked at the pickle before starting to head back toward the portals.

[Skulking Shinzu]

As Nyx approached, the beast snarled violently before thrashing around in frustration. If it’s tiny arms were even an inch longer, it may have been able to dislodge itself from its earthy prison. However, as things stood, it couldn’t even build up enough momentum to attempt to roll out. The pickle could do no more. At least, until Nyx approached it. Snickering, the beast seemed to almost laugh at the mortal. Cautiously, it waited for Nyx to finish speaking and turn his back to face the portal before it opened its jaw wide and unleashed a violent cloudy torrent of black and blood-red energy that would fire directly forwards and into Nyx’s blind spot like a stream of energy. Direct hit or not, the attack was powerful and tore through the earth below it – creating a trench underneath that would likely destroy the tiny glowing specs below at Nyx’s original location if he did nothing and allowed the attack to reach that far into the distance.

[Nyx]

Hearing the growl and build up from the pickle behind him Nyx turned to see its maw filling with black smoke and crackling red energy. He turned to face back toward the beast while reaching back to grab the handle of his long sword as the stream of energy shot out. A faint red gleam reflected in Nyx's eyes as he quickly drew the blade and slammed it into the stream causing a powerful ringing. Almost immediately after the sound, the stream would fire right back into the beast's maw surging with red lightning as it struck with twice the power it originally held.

OOC: full counter