Swelling with power, Kist and Nue flooded their bodies with as much cosmic energy as they could gather from the beginningless embrace of Mother Void.

Acting first, Kist, one to take advantage of every opportunity to show off, held his hands out to the side before decorating his fists in a haze of shifting colors.

Mirroring the display, Nue, who’d raised his hands in front of him, brought them to life with an array of black and green static.

Racing forward, the two of them left a trail of aurora and static in their wake as they closed the distance before leaping into the air and clashing in a dramatic display that knocked both of them back.

Drifting in the air for a moment before hitting the ground, the two again rushed at each other.

However, this time, Nue was the first to act.

Creating two hands constructed from static, Nue sent them hurtling toward Kist, who slipped and spun past them before throwing out his elbow in a strike that narrowly missed Nue’s head.

Swinging his knee in retaliation, Nue landed the first blow, connecting with the mid of Kist’s abdomen, sending him flying several feet back.

Smiling, Nue reset by taking his makeshift stance and waiting for the next clash. That was until he noticed the haze of aurora on Kist’s fist had disappeared, and the smirk on his face turned into the shit-eating grin he’d shown to Nue only once before.

Feeling his unease turn to dread. Nue whiped his head around his body, only to be met with the gleam of northern lights and the sharp edge of Kist’s hand, which was only inches away from his face.

Exploiting Nue’s blind ignorance born from overconfidence, Kist laid a path behind him and used it to effectively teleport directly behind him before launching forward at an unbelievable speed.

His closed hand molded to make a makeshift spear primed to sheer off the top of Nue’s skull.

In the fleeting moment the Kist’s nails bit into his flesh, Nue screamed at his body to move, “Get out of the damn way! He’s really going to kill me!”

Slinging his body to the ground, Nue ripped his head out of the way of Kist’s attack and, in one swift motion, moving faster than he thought possible, shifted his hips and threw his shin into Kist’s pelvis in a powerful kick that blew the aurora coating off on him in a fiery display.

The sudden attack drew a groan of pain from Kist as he was sent flying. However, to Nue’s dismay, Kist continued grinning through the pain.

“What the hell! Are you trying to do here!” Screamed Nue.

“Good! Now, let’s see how fast you can really adapt!” Screamed Kist, cutting Nue off as he landed on all fours before disappearing in another arc of streaming lights that raced around Nue.

Feeling sweat bead down his face, Nue spun in circles in a futile attempt to keep up with Kist.

“He isn’t even comparable to how he was when we first fought, this is impossi-” Once again cut off, however, this time by his mind as he was seconds away from losing himself, Nue shook his head in disgust at himself.

“Right, I almost forgot,” Thought Nue as he dragged his thumbs across his lips, creating a mask of static. “We’re training to kill a star! There’s no point in holding back!”

Retaking his stance, Nue held out his hands and kept himself alert, “Come on then bitch! Show me something worth while!”

Calling out in a sudden burst, Kist laughed before shifting its weight, then using the Aurora pathway to launch himself at Nue.

This time, he was aiming for his legs. Unfortunately for Kist, his sudden outburst allowed Nue to jump into the air, dodging the attack.

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Carried by the momentum of his attack, Kist was forced to use its hand to come to a sudden and violent stop by stabbing it into the ground, which ripped up layers of the earth, before contorting his body, allowing him to spin on his heel and jump up. launching his hand toward Nue’s throat.

Paying the price of his outburst, Kist felt the edge of Nue’s spin mash into his head as his hand slid across Nue’s cheek; as he just barely managed to spin out of the way, the sensation of violent static ripping through his body.

However, Kist had felt this sensation before, and though just as painful, he was about to push through it.

Redirecting his efforts, Kist grabbed Nue’s left leg, plucking him from the sky, and roared as he fought through the static racing through him before sending Nue hurdling toward the ground.

The impact of the slam rattled Nue’s mind, his eyes fading; his vision blurred as his head cracked the torn ground.

Fighting through the pain to force himself to remain conscious, Nue quickly placed both his hands on the ground to brace himself before firing off with a single leg kick, like a frightened donkey, which landed square onto Kist’s chin.

Surprising both Kist and himself, Nue, in his panic, managed to land a blow hard enough that it forced Kist to release his grasp but not hard enough to stop him from using an arc of light that pierced through his leg to cut through the air in an attempt to shatter the bone in Nue’s leg with his other hand.

Curling into himself, Nue managed to avoid the worst of the wild swing, the blow opening a large gash hidden underneath his pant leg, before shifting his weight on his hands and throwing himself out of the Kist’s range, but before he could clear his hands, Kist slammed his foot onto his left hand, entrapping him.

Feeling the bones in his hand ache and whine under pressure, Nue thought fast as he felt Kist’s boot bruise and tear his flesh and crush bone.

Then,Kist, now having recovered, reared back and flexed his hand before rushing to smash and possibly impale Nue through his back.

Giving up on freeing himself by pulling back, Nue dropped to his knees, using Kist’s strength against it by using his trapped hand as leverage to slip between his legs and emerge behind it, managing to break free of his grasp.

However, though he’d managed to free himself, it came at a cost; his left hand was now severely injured, with blood gushing from it like a broken water fountain.

Ignoring the pain of the injury as his body began sending the bulk of the cosmic energy, shutting down his expression as a result, within him to his wounds, Nue smiled a toothy grin as Kist turned to face him, seemingly surprised at the swelling emotion within him, as if he expected Nue to be fearful, not excited.

“I’m surprised,” Said Kist as he tilted and cracked his neck. “I thought you’d have called it quits once I trapped you.”

Laughing, Nue took a single step forward with no fear or hesitation.

“Nah, I haven’t had this much fun in a while!” Screamed Nue as he lowered himself in a hunched position, showing his hands and teeth in a dramatic and threatening fashion before reigniting his expression.

Amazed by Nue’s refined fighting stance, Kist slowly shifted into his stance as he admired his opponent.

“You’ve got some pretty impressive healing, much better than mine at least.” Said Kist.

“Guess it’s the trade off for a weaker body.” Said Nue.

Laughing, Nue launched toward Kist, preparing to finish what they had started.

Once again falling into his bad habits, Nue reared back and telegraphed his next attack. And, in the moments he took to close the distance, Kist took a breath and the time to think.

“No, point in as much restraint.” Flooding his body with as much cosmic energy as he could manage, Kist surged with power as he focused on enhancing his speed. Still, he had no intention of taking another hit.

Preparing to dodge the clear right hook Nue was planning to throw, Kist grinned. However, this time, it was his blind confidence that had been taken advantage of.

Timed, not telegraphed, Nue abandoned his original attack and launched an arcing palm strike cloaked in a clawed hand constructed from static.

“A faint!” Screaming internally, Kist slipped past Nue’s attack, which sent blood splattering across his face, by the skin of his teeth, and spun on his heels to generate enough force to throw himself back and gain distance only for Nue to close the distance once again, preparing to launch another lethal blow.

However, Kist had already jumped and sent his leg, carrying all the strength he could generate, into the side of Nue’s neck. The hit connected and sent the static covering Nue’s mouth, scattering it to the winds.

Watching as Nue’s head lurched to the side, Kist spun mid-air, landing on all fours before laughing out at him in triumph, which he seemed to notice as the light that’d once again faded from his eyes reignited.

Crossing his arms as he crashed onto the ground, Nue sent out several static maws and claws that cut into the ground, which Kist slipped and dodged past until one managed to cut into his right shoulder before sliding down the ridge of his back due to him messing up the timing in his movements.

“Damn!” Kist cursed.

Putting distance between himself and Nue, Kist watched the blood run from Nue’s mouth, neck, and several other areas where he had struck. The split skin drooled blood, painting his brown skin red with blood.

Usually, the sight would have brought a smile to Kist’s face. However, he also felt the steady streams of blood pouring down his own body, and his healing was nowhere near as quick as Nue’s.

Regardless, both men were now fully invested in completing this battle. The two warriors resetting themselves in their stances prepared to end this in one final clash.

Kist could see it clearly in the moments that passed between their shallow breaths and drumming hearts. Nue was feeling his body come into its own.

“Good!” Kist cooed.

This had been what he was hoping for, and though he knew it would take much more before Nue would fully come into his own, this was excellent progress.

Responding to Kist’s voice as his vision was thought pink with the blood pooling from the burst blood vessels in the back of his eyes, Nue stepped forward.

His body was on fire, screaming from the pain and excitement coursing through his veins; each drumming score from his tortured body made him feel that much stronger.

It was a nearly indescribable sensation he had never felt before; it made everything seem so much clearer.

Letting out a roar of a scream, Nue reveled in each moment that passed him, each heartbeat that sent blood through his screaming veins.

As Kist smiled at Nue’s excitement, he prepared to make his move, only to watch as Nue collapsed.

Dropping to his knees, Nue, realizing in his excitement he’d failed to notice his body had long since reached its limits, struggled to catch his breath and eventually crashed to the ground, lying motionless.

Caught by surprise, Kist stood motionless for several breaths before standing straight, lowering his hands, and simply laughing.

“That was awesome!” Shouted Kist.