Staggering as he sucked his teeth, Kist felt the returning effects of the man’s static-based power, “I really hate this feeling!”

“You’re in my world now,” Tilting his head as he raised a hand, distorted and flickering with static, to his face, the man spoke out. “If you’re planning to keep up, you better focus!”

“Then let’s amp things up!” Kist shouted as he retook his fighting stance.

“Gladly!” The man retorted.

Slamming his foot down, shattering the earth beneath it, the man launched forward, instantly closing the distance between the two.

However, Kist was more than ready.

Throwing the first strike, the man swung his fist at Kist, only for it to be dodged and countered with a spinning elbow.

Throwing up his own elbow to block the strike, the man smiled as he watched Kist wince in pain, at first from the initial contact and then from the knee he’d sunken into his ribs.

Gritting his teeth as he fell onto his hands, Kist fought through the pain as he spun on his hands, sending his right foot forward in a sweeping motion that swept the man’s legs out from underneath him.

And, in the same breath, Kist continued his spin as he curled into himself like a loaded spring, the soles of his shoes aimed directly at the man’s chest.

However, at the moment of contact, where Kist expected a solid impact, there was nothing.

In a dramatic display, the man used a new expression of his power he’d yet to reveal, turning the portion of his body Kist aimed at into static.

Kist, unintentionally launching himself into the air, leaving himself wide open for attack, could only watch as his opponent shifted to his blindside in a frightening display of speed that mirrored his own and, in an instant, enveloped the whole of Kist’s face with his palm before slamming his head into the ground.

Shattering the earth beneath his hand with the makeshift hammer he’d formed out of Kist’s skull, the man prepared to follow up his assault only to feel a vice-like grip wrap around his neck; the next few moments only able to be described as a blur.

Wrapping his legs around the man’s neck, Kist spun on his back and hands while utterly abusing the strength of his core to perform a hurricanrana, slinging the man through the air by his neck a sizable distance away.

And in his usual tendency not to miss an opportunity to show off, Kist rolled backward before kicking up into the air to perform a rising handstand in a display of acrobatics before focusing his attention on the man, who spun to his feet in a similar flourish.

“At least you know how to dance!” Laughing as he lowered his center, Kist joked as he readied himself for the next encounter.

Dismissing the comment in a wave of his hand, the man stared back at Kist without words.

A brief silence filled the air as the two combatants slowly read each other’s intent before, in a flash, they rushed toward each other.

As the two once again entered each other’s space, Kist was the first to act, dropping onto his back in a slide; he attempted to kick out the man’s legs.

However, he felt a familiar electrifying stab instead of flesh and bone as the man turned his lower legs into static.

Fighting through the nauseating feeling, Kist planned his next course of action as he continued his path behind the man, but in the moments before he cleared past him, Kist felt a surge of force pass through him.

Forced into the ground below, shattering the earth, Kist let out a cry of pain as the man materialized his legs as he was still passing through the shared space.

Grinning wildly as he pressed harder onto Kist’s chest, the man laughed, “I thought I wasn’t supposed to be able to do anything worth smiling about!”

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“Get the fuck off me!” Sending out seven ribbons of light that pierced through the man, Kist yelled out.

Sent flying by the ribbons, the man grabbed two of the threads, slowing his momentum, allowing him to touch the ground.

However, before he could destroy the rest, Kist traveled along the paths he had created, landing blow after blow in a chain of powerful strikes that sent the man spiraling.

Watching as the man skid to a halt before struggling to his feet, Kist cracked his knuckles and generated a haze of shifting colors around his fists.

“Don’t get so excited,” Raising his hand, Kist began sketching the color of aurora into the air before him, “Let’s see if you can really keep up.”

Leaning forward, Kist rushed ahead before disappearing in an arc of light.

Seeing this transpire, the man prepared himself, generating two clawed hands ready to strike at Kist.

Holding his breath in anticipation, the man tensed, gasping in shock as the single arc of light split into several threads.

Thinking quickly, the man calculated where each would land, looking for whichever was targeting him.

Eliminating one after another, the man saw one from above aiming straight for his head. Having no choice, he focused on destroying that arc of light, allowing his constructs to destroy two others at random.

However, what he’d failed to realize was that both were merely distractions and once again, his decisions were being manipulated by Kist.

Striking the center of his back, Kist sent the haze of color through the man while splitting the skin underneath his clothing with a devastating strike that, if at full power, would have blown a hole through him.

Sent flying once again, the now bruised and bloodied man skipped across the ground, managing to pull himself together just enough to open his eyes and gain some control over his body.

And, not a moment too soon, as Kist, in a flash, appeared inches above him, seconds away from caving in his chest with a thunderous stomp.

Grabbing hold of himself with his own static construct, the man threw himself out of the way, avoiding the lethal blow.

Landing on his feet a sizable distance away, the man skidded to a halt and watched through blurred eyes as Kist emerged from the dust drawn up from the earth and screamed out.

“Come on bitch! I thought you had something to show me!”

Smiling at Kist, the man’s eyes widened as his body swelled with power, “I haven’t had this much fun In a long time!”

“I got your fun right here!” Saturating the tips of his fingers with the colors of aurora, Kist prepared to unleash the devastating attack, “Let’s finish this shit!”

Rising his head and hand in unison, as he began drawing on the air, Kist froze as a loud and crazed cackling distorted by static erupted from the man who seemed to wait with a restless anticipation of his next attack.

“Wait, what the hell is he planning?” Questioned Kist.

The man’s energy swelled and bulged as if attempting to escape, and, at the last moment, Kist contemplated abandoning his attack.

“What’s wrong… this is the second time you’ve spoken about an ending, so do it! Stop me!” Yelling at the top of his lungs, the man took a single step forward with no fear or hesitation, and that rubbed Kist the exact wrong way.

Grinning, Kist realized the man was right and flooded his body with as much cosmic energy as he could handle. However, he was never one to follow orders.

Taking hold of his power, Kist created a new expression, one that, admittedly, he’d copied from the chimera star.

Lazily lowering his raised hand, Kist wished the man good luck, “Try not to die, I like you.”

Plummeting overhead, the man stared with wide eyes at a massive pillar of light as it came within inches of his face.

Descending from the sky above, the pillar, encircled by several smaller polar beams, crashed into the ground in a flash, consuming the man in his entirety.

His screams, altered by crackling static, were drowned out by the high-pitched whine of the attack, and the only sign of the man’s defeat was the undoing of the nebula above.

Unable to hold onto his power any longer, Kist not but a few moments after dispersed his attack along with his nebula.

Feeling nothing but a void where the man’s energy was, Kist spoke with a small grin, “Looks like you should have been the one to listen.”

Falling on his ass, Kist tried his best to recollect himself while staring at the frozen star above before laughing to himself, “I told him not to die, I-”

Cut off by a familiar sudden and very apparent chill running down his spine, Kist’s head snapped towards the settling dust, which left him gasping in surprise.

Watching the man emerge from the smoke, Kist unknowingly voiced his fearful thought, “How?”

Wiping away the blood-soaked dirt and debris from his face, the man stood triumphant as he retorted in a distorted voice, “Because I know something you don’t…how to finish the job!”

Feeling a set of hands wrap around his neck, Kist’s body seized as static flooded his being. At the same time, the man marched forward, once again standing over him, “Now, survive this.”

Snapping his fingers, the man snuffed out Kist’s light, leaving him unconscious on the floor with an unknown expression.