Lashing out with the two hands formed out of static, the flickering projectiles ballooned in size before striking out at him.

Leaving nothing to chance, Kist dodged the first attack by slipping past the hand before jumping back. The next slammed into the ground where he’d just stood.

Showing his teeth in a pained expression as the sudden movements reminded him of his previous encounter, something that hadn’t gone unnoticed.

Clasping his hands before unfurling them in a dramatic display, the man constructed a set of razor-sharp teeth shaped by the static array around Kist’s head that threatened to smash it to bits.

Dropping low in a painful split, Kist managed to dodge the attack but was quickly snatched up by a spectral hand that sent waves of numbing static racing through his body before sending him crashing through the rotten wall of the building.

Flipping through the air as he bounced off the ground, Kist braced himself as much as he could before hitting the broad side of a dark oak tree.

Hissing in pain, Kist cursed as he slowly raised his head, “Well that was a fucking suprise… though I guess I should have expected him to have some type of power.”

Through blurred vision, Kist watched as the man stepped out of the now-collapsing building before raising his hand.

Scrambling to his feet, Kist attempted to dodge whatever was coming his way. However, another surge of painful static rattled his brain before he could leap to safety.

“FUCK!” Screaming out in pain as he was flung several feet into the air. “Not this shit again!”

Well past the point of lost patience, Kist fought against his own momentum, managing to control his free fall just in time to see the man raising his hand in preparation for another attack.

“Not happening,” Swelling with power, Kist whispered as he prepared his own attack,” This was fun and all but I’m ending this shit!”

Now full of cosmic energy, though limited in volume, Kist regained some of the heightened senses and physical capabilities he’d possessed during the evaluation, allowing him to see the static array forming the massive set of human jaws around him.

And, not being one to be outdone, Kist launched his counterattack before the attack even had the chance to hit him.

Releasing a color show of streaming lights that pierced through the man, Kist moved along the path he had created and folded the man over his knee in a single decisive blow that sent him flying back into the rubble of the collapsed building.

Standing proud as he listened in delight at the man’s pain-filled groans, Kist smiled as he motioned to take a step forward, only to collapse as the slight sting he’d felt once the light made contact turned into a searing pain, which felt as if his skeleton was being ripped from his body.

Landing on all fours, Kist fought to hold in his own cries as he concentrated on keeping himself whole. However, with every drum of his heart, each breath, and stray thought, the static pulsed through him.

Fighting as hard as he could manage to raise his head, Kist watched with frustration, illuminating his eyes as the man dug himself out of the debris.

Forced to drop his head as a red hot searing pain that felt no different than if a branding iron had been placed directly against his nerves flashed through him, Kist felt the sweet beading down his face.

“What the hell is going on?” Flipping through idea after idea, struggling to deal with the pain that came with each thought, Kist began piecing together what was happening.

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“It’s static but not electricity, it’s not attacking my nerves but the core of my fucking body! How the hell does this shit work, and why the fuck did I feel it through my aurora-” Stopping in his tracks as an epiphany dawned on him, Kist was overcome with overwhelming excitement at his discovery.

Stepping in front of Kist, the man kneeled down before grabbing ahold of Kist’s hair, forcing him to raise his head that drummed with pain at the moment of contact as if a circuit had been completed.

“I told you, you were playing with your life trying to fuck up mine!” Tightening his hold on Kist’s hair as he spoke, the man laughed. “Doesn’t matter how well you can fight when touching me hurts yourself-”

Cutting himself off as the starlight above dimmed before returning, the man’s eyes widened with a clear sense of fear that even Kist could decipher in his disabled state.

“No, no, no, don’t start moving now!” Panicking, the man shot to his feet, releasing Kist, and stared at the celestial body in the sky above. “I’m not ready to-”

Once again cut off, but this time not by himself, but by a sudden explosion of cosmic energy that took him off his feet before the sharp edge of Kist’s heel slammed directly into his diaphragm; the man let out a silent scream as he once again landed among the rubble.

Unable to fully control his body, Kist momentarily fell over, landing on his back before quickly jumping to his feet to seize the opening he’d given himself as he smiled with crazed excitement.

Having figured out the gimmick behind the man’s expression of power, Kist marched forward confidently, having expelled every last drop of his energy, blocking his body’s natural desire to replenish itself.

“How the hell did you do? “Sitting up to face Kist, the man stared at him in shock as he waved away his question. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter.”

“You just gonna sit there and talk, or you gonna come end my life!” Kist retorted.

Feeling a chill run down his spine, the man felt his nerves light up.

Eerily smiling, the man stood and faced off against Kist, who hadn’t slowed his advance, marking the first of his many mistakes.

As the two entered each other’s space, the man shifted his weight as he prepared another attack; however, he was surprised when Kist rushed forward, willingly closing the distance despite his active powers.

“What is he doing?” Voicing his confusion, the man questioned what he saw as his body tried to react to the strange occurrence by gaining space.

This marked his second mistake, as when he lifted his foot to take a step back, Kist suddenly lurched forward until he stepped within the man’s center of balance, matching his movement and placing his foot underneath the man’s.

Now, panicking, the man threw a straight right meant to be a faint, and so it was; however, in the split instant everything had taken place, he’d failed to realize that his movements were being forced out of him by his opponent.

Having predicted the panicked reaction, Kist aimed for the brief moment where both of the man’s arms were vulnerable and seized it. Parrying both the attack and faint, he crossed the man’s arms, completely removing his ability to defend himself.

And, in an instant, Kist launched a staggeringly powerful left hook that cracked across the man’s jaw, taking him off his feet and sending him hurtling to the ground.

However, before he’d even had the chance to hit the ground, Kist grabbed ahold of his arms and let his punches fly.

Landing hit after hit, Kist beat the static mask off of the man before grabbing hold of the man’s arm with both his hands and chaotically swinging him before tossing him through the air.

Crashing into the ground, the man, who landed on his back, flipped himself over to allow the blood gathering in his nose to spill out onto the ground before raising his head to show off a bloodied smile before speaking.

“Fine then, I admit it, you win, at close combat.”

Smiling himself, Kist twisted his wrists as he dusted off his shoulder. “Keep talking, you haven’t done shit worth smiling about!”

Standing on shaky legs, the man wiped the blood from his face before letting his arms go limp, “Come on then, bitch!”

Gathering an immense amount of cosmic energy, the man widened his grin as he prepared to expand his nebula.

“Delusional!” Shouting while mockingly rolling his eyes as he regathered his energy, Kist smiled as he prepared to expand his nebula in response.

Simultaneously, the two works of art expanded in a violent and powerful display that eclipsed the surrounding sky above. One, a dark emerald green, the other, a violet purple.

Colliding into each other as they vied for control over one another, the two nebulas fought for dominance.

Now, the two men would face each other underneath an illuminated sky.