Twenty Days of Torment

Max immediately crossed his legs again over the pond's surface, his fingers pressing into his knees as he took a deep breath. He focused, and with effort, began to pull back the infernal energy coursing through his veins.

The red light on his arm flickered, then slowly dimmed. The tendrils of power withdrew, retracting into the tattoo as if being sealed again. His eye and his hand returned to its normal color. Sweat beaded on his forehead as the transformation unraveled completely, leaving only the faint, dormant glow of the tattoo behind.

Then—boom—he let it loose again.