They both plummeted from the sky, crashing down onto the watery surface below.

  The world around them was dark—an endless void stretching infinitely in all directions. Yet, in the distance, a light shimmered without an apparent source, casting an eerie glow across the scene.

  The ground beneath them was black and cold, slick with an inch of water that reflected their distorted figures. Silence reigned. There was no one else here.

  Only Ehrek.

  He stood a few paces away, reaching for a colossal greatsword embedded in the ground. Its handle alone was as long as the blade itself, making the entire weapon taller than even him. With effortless strength, he pulled it free, the weight of the weapon seemingly inconsequential in his grasp. He swung it once, the force of his movement parting the shallow water around him.

  Then, the air shifted.

  The unseen force surrounding Ehrek grew heavier—denser—an invisible pressure building to an unfathomable degree. His weight multiplied exponentially. First thousands of tons. Then into the decillions.

  The sheer gravity of his presence became unreadable, an overwhelming force that warped the very space around him.

  And then—he moved.

  With a single push off the ground, Ehrek shot forward, water exploding behind him in a massive wave. His greatsword came crashing down, a strike carrying enough force to shatter a planet.

  V?rher reacted instantly.

  Activating Audacity, his body blurred, moving faster than the eye could track. He barely evaded the devastating swing, the sheer force of the missed attack sending a towering shockwave rippling outward.

  Without hesitation, he countered.

  With a sweeping motion, his hand flared crimson, igniting with raw energy. The moment his palm cut through the air, a massive Tenacity Slash erupted forth—

  A direct retaliation. Ehrek lifted his greatsword in response.

  Blade met energy, and the collision was cataclysmic. A shockwave tore through the air, sending waves rippling across the watery surface. The pressure alone distorted the space between them, the sheer force threatening to break the very foundation of this battlefield.

  Water erupted in all directions, cascading through the abyss as the shockwaves of battle shattered the stillness.

  V?rher wasted no time.

  Slamming his glowing fist into the ground, he triggered a cascade of blazing Audacity Orbs, each one crackling with unstable energy as they rained down toward Ehrek. The warrior twisted mid-air, his instincts razor-sharp. With a swift motion, he stabbed his greatsword into the ground, summoning a fortified orange barrier that flared to life around him. The orbs detonated upon impact, their concussive force reverberating through the battlefield—but the barrier held, absorbing every strike.

  As the last explosion faded, Ehrek vanished.

  A wormhole tore open behind him, and in the blink of an eye, he reemerged above V?rher, his weapon now coursing with pulsating purple energy.

  Then, he struck.

  A blinding flurry of slashes carved through the air, their sheer speed creating afterimages, but they lacked the bite of lethal force. It wasn’t an attack—he was charging up.

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  Then, the shift.

  The energy around his blade flared from purple to orange, and in an instant, all the built-up power detonated outward in a massive shockwave.

  V?rher barely reacted in time.

  With a flicker of motion, he raised a Devotion Barrier, its translucent layers forming in an instant. The force of the explosion cracked through two of the three defensive layers, the sheer power pushing him back. His muscles tensed, and he gritted his teeth.

  Then, his form flashed pure purple—

  Persistence activated.

  The moment Ehrek’s boots touched the ground, V?rher was already there.

  A devastating punch collided with Ehrek’s chest, the impact sending shockwaves through the abyss as the towering warrior was blasted backward. The very ground beneath them splintered apart, cracks spider-webbing out in every direction.

  But even as he flew, Ehrek’s armor glowed, absorbing the brunt of the impact before flashing a bright orange—

  A counterattack was coming. V?rher moved to dodge, instincts screaming at him to evade—

  But it was too late.

  Ehrek’s sword whipped around with unnatural speed, its flat side smashing into V?rher’s ribs like a hammer of pure force. The impact sent him skidding across the battlefield, water exploding in his wake.

  He ground his heels into the surface, barely stopping himself before tumbling further. His breathing was sharp, but his resolve didn’t waver.

  Raising a hand, he wiped a streak of blood from his mouth. His narrowed eyes locked onto Ehrek.

  Then, his body pulsed with golden light. Legality activated.

  The damage faded in an instant, his posture straightening as he regained perfect composure.

  V?rher’s hands flicked through the air, pressing the golden Legality button in rapid succession.

  The effects were instantaneous.

  Ehrek’s movements slowed, his cold regeneration halted, and the speed of his trait abilities dwindled. A heavy exhale left his lips as he felt the weight of the debuff pressing against him—but his resolve remained unshaken.

  Without hesitation, he activated another wormhole, reaching through the rift in space-time and pulling forth a massive war axe, its sheer size and weight warping the air around it. With immeasurable force, he swung.

  V?rher’s instincts ignited.

  He flowed between the monstrous strikes, his Audacity ability allowing him to dodge with precision, each movement calculated to the millisecond. The axe cleaved through empty space, missing him by a hair’s breadth—

  Until Ehrek’s armor flashed orange. A trap. The moment V?rher struck, the reverberation hit V?rher’s body.

  Before he could react, Ehrek slammed his war axe into the ground, and in an instant, a field of jagged time-space spikes erupted beneath him.

  V?rher’s bodyjumped and twisted mid-air, barely escaping the deadly assault, but there was no time to recover—

  Ehrek was already preparing his next attack.

  Both of his hands ignited with compacted fusion and fission, the swirling reactions warping the very fabric of the battlefield. The air around him detonated in a violent burst, the sheer energy setting the void alight in an unstable inferno.

  Then—release.

  The explosion erupted outward in a catastrophic shockwave, engulfing everything in its wake.

  V?rher was blasted backward, his Tenacity Barrier activating at the last possible second. The crimson energy absorbed the brunt of the detonation, but the force still sent him tumbling across the battlefield, water splitting and crashing around him.

  As he skidded to a stop, steam rose from his form. His fingers dug into the ground, steadying himself. His heart pounded.