[Four years passed after the death]
Niklaus was deep in thought, his mind entangled in the web of memories from the past.
The choices he had made, the people he had affected—it all swirled together, a storm of reflection.
He had come so far, with the weight of his actions bearing down on him.
The image of Ashley, hanging by that noose, lingered at the forefront of his mind.
His selfish decision to assume that she would be better off never meeting him not realising that she was soo deeply dependent on him in that life for a reason.
He remembered the moment he had found her, the despair in her eyes, and the decision he had made to never let her go again.
But his thoughts were abruptly shattered by the sharp crack of a gunshot, the sound slicing through the air like a knife.
The loud bang yanked him back to the present, his senses sharpening in an instant.
His eyes snapped to the source, seeing the lifeless body of the cyborg collapsing in front of him, smoke still rising from the precise hole in its head.
Ashley, from her vantage point on the rooftop, had executed the shot perfectly.
A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he touched the intercom embedded in his suit.
"Retreat," he ordered softly, his voice calm and steady despite the chaos around him.
He could feel the presence of that being, lurking, waiting for the right moment to strike.
But this time, he was ready.
Niklaus spread out his senses, the world around him becoming clear, almost hyper-real as he tuned into every detail.
He could feel it, its energy a twisted knot in the distance, preparing for her next move.
But he wouldn't give her the chance.
His hand was already reaching out, his fingers brushing against the ground.
The moment his hand made contact, a pulse of energy surged from him, rippling through the earth like a shockwave.
The effect was instantaneous.
A metaphorical wave of decay spread from his hand, turning everything it touched to ash.
The ground beneath him withered and crumbled, the very air around him seemed to darken as the decay spread outward in all directions.
Charys, who had been poised to launch her attack, suddenly screeched in pain as the wave reached her.
She looked down in horror as her legs began to disintegrate, the decay spreading rapidly, consuming her nanite flesh and mechanical components alike.
She barely had time to react, her mind racing as she realized what was happening.
In a desperate bid to escape, she abandoned her legs entirely, reforming herself in the air, hovering above the ground where she thought she would be safe.
But Niklaus was already moving. His senses locked onto her, his eyes burning with a cold fury as he prepared for the next strike.
This time,—he would annihilate her.
The remnants of his smile faded as his expression hardened, his focus entirely on the enemy before him.
Charys barely had time to react as Niklaus closed the distance between them in an instant, his body radiating raw power.
His hand glowed with an intense, volcanic energy, veins pulsing with a red hue as arcs of lightning crackled around him.
His muscles bulged with such force that they tore through his skin, the sheer energy he was channeling threatening to tear him apart from the inside out.
But he didn't care.
This was the end for her.
With a single, earth-shattering punch, he slammed his fist into Charys.
Boom
The impact was cataclysmic, sending her rocketing towards the South Pole.
More than 80% of her body disintegrated instantly, unable to withstand the ferocity of the blow.
The force was so immense that it ionized the air around them, the atmosphere crackling as the very molecules were ripped apart.
The already devastated city of Crestwood was obliterated.
The remnants of buildings and streets were reduced to a smoldering crater, molten lava bubbling up from the depths where the ground had been gouged out by the sheer power of his punch.
The air itself seemed to shimmer with the heat, the world around them turned into a hellscape of destruction.
But the cost was high. Niklaus's right hand, the source of that overwhelming power, was completely annihilated, reduced to ash along with his target.
He had pushed his physical limits beyond what his body could handle, and now it lay in ruin.
Yet, even as the pain seared through him, his flesh was already beginning to regenerate, new tissue knitting together rapidly as his body healed at a fast pace.
He stood there for a moment, breathing heavily, his eyes locked on the distant horizon where Charys had been sent hurtling away.
The world around him was in ruins, but he remained unyielding, his body slowly returning to its original state.
Niklaus took a deep breath, forcing himself to focus despite the lingering anger and adrenaline surging through him.
He dug deep within himself, drawing upon the vast reservoir of power he had spent four years accumulating.
His hand, which had been obliterated in the previous attack, healed instantly, flesh reforming as if it had never been damaged.
As he tapped into his abilities, his body began to partially elementalize, his form flickering into blue, cold flames.
This transformation was courtesy of the gene splicing from Jean and Robert, gifts that had granted him elemental powers and significantly boosted his life energy.
In an instant, he shot forward again, leaving a trail of sonic booms in his wake as he homed in on the pile of nanite flesh that had once been Charys.
But as he neared, a sense of disappointment welled up within him.
He could feel her consciousness slipping away, escaping to a place where he couldn't follow.
The nanites, no longer sustained by her will, began to break apart, disintegrating into nothingness.
In a burst of frustration, he slammed his hand into the ground, causing the very earth beneath him to tremble.
The snowy continent cracked under the force, kilometers-wide fissures opening up as the ground shifted violently.
The magnitude of his anger was enough to rend the land apart.
But he couldn't allow himself to lose control.
Not now.
Closing his eyes, Niklaus forced himself to calm down, drawing upon the icy abilities he had recently acquired.
The blue flames flickering around him grew colder, and with a deliberate effort, he channeled that power into the earth.
The massive cracks he had created began to mend, ice spreading across the broken ground and sealing the fissures.
The land healed under his influence, returning to its frozen state as he reined in his emotions.
Niklaus stood there, his breath fogging the air as he finally regained his composure.
The threat had escaped, but he wasn't defeated. He had survived, and he had grown stronger.
As the last remnants of his anger dissipated, he knew he would be ready for whatever came next.
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A/N
I'm not happy with this thoigh I'll still upload as it is within what i want
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Stones and Reviews please