Kaelen and Urah moved at the same instant.
Neither waited for the other to make the first move. They crossed the distance between them with explosive speed, each driving a fist toward the other's face. Their punches collided in the middle of the battlefield, and the impact released a violent shockwave that tore through everything around them.
The ground fractured beneath their feet. Trees were ripped apart and thrown into the distance, while enormous clouds of dust rose into the air.
Neither gave ground.
Urah planted his right foot forward and folded his right fist before driving it toward Kaelen's face. Kaelen shifted his head aside, allowing the punch to pass harmlessly beside him.
Then another fist struck him.
It came from an angle Kaelen hadn't anticipated.
The blow caught him across the face and sent him sliding backward across the broken ground. He dug his feet into the earth before coming to a stop, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked toward Urah with a faint smile.
"Even you ancient circuit users need theatrics?"
Urah relaxed his shoulders slightly. "Call it what you will. I know it as combat IQ."
Kaelen smiled.
"One breath."
He inhaled.
The moment his lungs filled, the world changed.
Time slowed around him. Dust particles appeared suspended in the air. The movement of Urah's body became almost imperceptibly slow, giving Kaelen enough time to analyze every detail of his opponent's stance.
Kaelen stepped once.
He vanished. The next instant, he appeared directly before Urah. His fist drove into Urah's face.
The impact erupted with enough force to send a massive cloud of dust outward across the battlefield.
Kaelen remained in position. When the dust cleared, Urah was still standing. His arms had crossed before his face, absorbing the attack.
Urah lowered his arms and looked at Kaelen with newfound interest.
"Time ability? Interesting."
He rolled his shoulders before extending his arms.
"Void Walk."
Urah disappeared. Kaelen's eyes shifted.
Urah reappeared beside him, his fist already traveling toward Kaelen's side.
Kaelen brought Axiomfall across his body. The blade intercepted the punch. The collision produced a metallic impact that shook the surrounding air.
Kaelen's hand tightened around the sword.
He slightly unsheathed Axiomfall.
"Time Slash."
The blade returned to its sheath. For a moment, nothing happened. Then numerous cuts appeared across Urah's body. Blood emerged.
Yet the wounds disappeared almost immediately, leaving behind only a single cut across his face.
Urah touched the mark. His expression remained calm.
"I rule the void, so your techniques that affect space won't work."
Kaelen tilted his head.
"Is that so?"
Urah laughed.
"Since you're going to die by my hand, I'll let you witness my glorious power."
The atmosphere changed and Urah began ascending. His hair gradually turned white. His eyes became crimson.
The pressure surrounding him intensified until the battlefield itself seemed to bend beneath his presence. Behind his head appeared a golden halo bearing a radiant star.
Urah looked down upon Kaelen.
"Bow before me, mortal."
Kaelen remained completely still.
Then his body began to transform.
"Dragon Transformation."
White scales spread across his body.
Two curved horns emerged from his head, while two enormous white wings unfolded behind him. His eyes became blue slits, and a white tail extended behind him, its tip marked by a vivid red coloration. The presence of the Origin Dragon filled the battlefield.
Kaelen looked toward the ground rather than toward Urah.
"Urah… you of all persons shouldn't look at me from up there."
He raised his right palm. Then he brought it down.
The world seemed to gain weight.
A tremendous gravitational force descended upon Urah. His body was forcibly pulled downward. Urah's expression changed.
He crashed onto the ground, creating a deep crater beneath himself.
He slowly rose.
"What was that?"
For the first time, uncertainty entered his voice.
"How can he make me feel a sense of dread?"
His crimson eyes narrowed.
"I sense a great power in him, but to actually make me feel threatened…"
Urah's expression became serious.
"You will have to die."
His aura exploded.
An immense pressure spread across the battlefield, tearing apart the already-destroyed landscape and sending fragments of rock into the sky.
Urah vanished. He appeared directly in front of Kaelen with his right fist already moving toward his face.
Kaelen tilted his head aside. The fist passed by him. The force behind the missed punch carved an enormous trench through the earth.
Kaelen immediately drew Axiomfall.
"Mutilate."
The sword flashed.
Multiple slashes crossed Urah's body.
The mountains behind him were caught in the attack as enormous sections of rock were sliced apart and collapsed into the distance.
For a brief moment, Urah disappeared beneath the destruction. Then his body regenerated. The wounds closed almost instantly.
Urah stood amid the falling debris.
"Dimensional Punch."
He punched empty space.
The fist never came near Kaelen. Yet Kaelen suddenly felt the impact approaching from somewhere behind him. He turned and sliced to the left. The attack passed.
Another punch appeared from above. Kaelen moved. Another came from his right. He dodged. Then another and another.
Urah's fists continued appearing from impossible angles, each one traveling through the void before emerging from a different point in space.
Kaelen's eyes sharpened.
He activated his time-based perception. The flow of his thoughts accelerated. Every movement around him became clearer. Every possible trajectory became easier to calculate.
He began avoiding the punches before they even reached him.
One passed beside his cheek. Another swept past his shoulder. A third struck the ground behind him.
Kaelen continued moving, each step perfectly measured.
Finally, he stopped. Urah's crimson eyes narrowed.
Kaelen tightened his grip around Axiomfall.
"Eternal Time Slash."
He swung horizontally. The blade moved. Urah's expression changed.
For the first time since the battle began, he saw something clearly…His own death. Urah immediately moved out of the attack's path.
The slash passed through the space where he had stood.
Behind him, the landscape was cut apart and for the first time, the ancient circuit user understood that the battle had entered a completely different stage.