The ground underfoot was wet, thick like a sludge that clung to his pants as he forcibly trudged to the center of the arena. The Salt Flats were vast, casting a mirror image that disoriented and confused even as soft ripples broke the slurry of its contents.
Arano finally stopped, wounds freshly healed and energy surging with renewed power. He took a deep breath, his mind whirling. He was to face a member of the Duelists, the vaunted powerhouse of the Gotei. Time would tell if there was any fact to this.
His black-dyed hair was matted in the heat of the afternoon sun, sticking to his head and falling about his mismatched eyes. Gazing out from a right eye of electric blue, and a left eye of bloody crimson, he needlessly adjusted his bulky black overcoat.
The soft chiming of bells reached his ears, but the Director paid it little mind. His attention swept briefly to the haze in the distance, soft lines telling of the small number of spectators that had come to see the match.
The Senkaimon appeared, a pair of Japanese sliding doors parting to permit one more into the realm of the living. A butterfly, stained as dark as Arano's hair, flittered aimlessly out and into the harsh sun. Taking one more deep breath, the young man faced his opponent, speaking his name in a blunt tone. "Arashi Ryoujin."
[ 234 / 234 ]
Notes
Rolled Haste (50) and Shield Break (100). Bought a Potion (-200), no Equalizer if it's a factor.
He didn't know whether to be spooked out or relieved that there was no longer a need to introduce himself. As the doors finally made way to the location of the fight, Ryoujin took his first steps into the new terrain, his feet seeming to sink into the salt water. Fortunately, he wasn't bound by physics like humans were in the material world.
As his auburn orbs locked gazes with his heterochromatic-eyed opponent, he allowed the ambient reishi he possessed to help him levitate just above the waters of the flat.
"Well, this is certainly different, wouldn't you say, Arano?" he said, not sure if he pronounced the boy's name right. Regardless, it was certainly refreshing to take up arms again. No longer was he burdened by the constant reminders of the burns from Ansherina's kidou, or deep cuts from Tsubaki's Axis of Anarchy; however, there was certainly a forewarning of something else permeating from the Cerberus agent. A danger that perhaps almost rivaled that of the Templar Queen's.
"Tough crowd, eh?" the Duelist continued, as his hands wrapped around the hilt of his blood-red katana.
[ 187 ]
Notes
Adjusted stats due to handicap.
6: [Encumbrance] 50 - All Stat Thresholds reduced to 0.75x
-200 for potion.
A dull look was cast back at the Third Seat. He didn't answer, instead withdrawing his arms from his overcoat, the garment falling away to reveal the young man to be wearing a plain shirt beneath. Strapped to his side, a small sheath held a kusarigama, its chain wound over his shoulder.
With a wet slop, he shrugged the chain off, grabbing at the fundo deftly. The remainder sloughed into the murky salt, the mirror sheen of the flats disturbed briefly, before stilling.
"Different, you say?" He replied. "I suppose."
Settling into a ready stance, the man's features began to blur and contort, the flats thrown into chaos as the mixture underfoot was oscillated into a messy froth.
[ 118 / 352 ]
Notes
Resonance: 1200/20,000
Tonbogiri activated, Balance is actively restoring reiatsu.
Tonbogiri
Bringing their titanic strength inwards, an Advent Human truly adopts the namesake of Internalize by completely cutting off the ability from affecting the outside world. Instead, by paying 3% of their reiatsu per round, they force that strength upon their own body.
Hyper-accelerating themselves in place, static-like energy begins to peel from their bodies. Their form distorts visibly, blurring and vibrating like a dragonfly’s wings in flight.
Those who come into contact with the practitioner in this state are immediately damaged by the Tonbogiri. Rather than simply bruising, or knocking about the opponent, the target undergoes a shearing effect at the point of contact. Ripping off layers of skin and muscle alike, extended contact with the practitioner can even remove entire limbs.
