Both Noelle and Ayaka struck their blades against each other, each hit resonating with the earth beneath them. The high concentration of cryo from Ayaka's tachi caused the inside of the gap which is filled with balethunder to become unstable and superconduct, making the gap colder as a result.

At one point, they locked their blades. Sparks of cryo and geo begin to shoot out of their blades.

"Lady Ayaka, maybe if we met with different circumstances in our pasts, maybe we could've been..."

Ayaka interrupted by pushing her away, and after a small chuckle she asked.

"We could have been, what exactly?"

"Maybe we could have been the best of friends... if Mother never did cause chaos in Inazuma in the past."

"Best of friends...?"

Ayaka then bursts into a maniacal laughter.

"Friends... You and me? In your dreams, maybe. In both circumstances, we still will meet Aether, and we fight for his affection... Don't you get that? It's fate that brings us both to battle here."

"Fate..."

Noelle begins to question it mentally. What is her fate? Is it to achieve her dreams of becoming a knight, or ending up becoming immortal and having to sever ties with the living. Just as she thought of that, Ayaka landed an attack at her chest armor, which barely made a dent.

Noelle focused back onto the fight, and pushed Ayaka away from her. She threw her Unforged claymore to Ayaka, who dodges it, but then Noelle used her fingers to motion it as if commanding it to go back. Ayaka realizes this, and turned around just in time to parry the flying greatsword, leaving her open to Noelle who summoned a polearm from the same Adeptus Portal to perform a corkscrew attack with it, knocking Ayaka down to the ground. She then threw the polearm back to the portal, and picked up the Unforged claymore from the ground.

"Do you yield?" Noelle asked, pointing the huge blade towards Ayaka.

Ayaka leapt upwards, and stomped on the blade of the Unforged.

"Never."

She then did a back flip, kicking Noelle in the chin sending her flying upwards. Ayaka then flew upwards with her cryo heron wings, and when she reached Noelle she kicked her two times in the chest, and when she got even higher above Noelle, she made a downward kick that sends the Maid-Knight back to the earth, the impact causing a crater to form.

Neither of them are still unscathed, despite the heavy attacks they landed on each other for a while now, thanks to their transcended bodies having more resistance to damage than before they became like that. Neither of them could not be called human anymore as well thanks to that.

Noelle slowly stood up, rising from the crater, and she ran out of it just as Ayaka landed on the ground ten feet away from where Noelle is standing. 

"We really should cease fighting. This does not change anything!"

"Never. This needs to go on, to prove who is worthy for Aether's heart!"

"Then let him choose who's worthy!"

"Like I have said, never. Kamisato-ryuu: Soumetsu!" Ayaka chanted, however instead of using her folding fan, she used her wings to summon a snowstorm.

Noelle retaliated by pumping her fists forward, and make an opening motion with them, forming a barrier of geo that is unlike her breastplate ability which surrounds her body. This one instead made a circular barrier right in front of her, which deflects the snowstorm away. The earth beneath her begin to shake, as some of the ground is literally pulled out, into smaller rocks which Noelle used to launch at Ayaka.

Ayaka used her wings to freeze the water vapor travelling in the air in front of her, creating a wall made of ice which blocks the rocks, however the ice wall shatters upon impact. The both of them then dashed towards each other once more, and they locked their blades.

"This is getting nowhere..." Noelle spoke her mind out.

"As long as Aether gets to be mine and mine only, I will go as far as I can."

The force from them locking their blades became too much to handle, until their grip on their weapons got loose, sending the weapons flying and then falling into the gap. Now unarmed, both Noelle and Ayaka readied their fists. Their fists collided with each other, sending the both of them backwards. The both of them then sidestepped in circles, trying to find an opening.

Even though the Knights didn't really teach much on hand-to-hand, Noelle learned much from reading and practicing the ones from Liyue, just to improve her hand-to-hand combat efficiency. She ran towards Ayaka after she felt that she found an opening, and performed a jumping kick, which Ayaka caught with her two hands, and she flipped Noelle over, who landed on her feet. The both of them then engaged in close hand-to-hand, in which Noelle focused on mixed combat while Ayaka is more into kicks. At one point, Ayaka missed a kick that is caused by Noelle's dodge, then she is brought to the ground after Noelle pulled her leg back down forcefully. She quickly leapt back up, only to be met with a punch from Noelle, but as she was sent flying, Ayaka was able to at least land a kick to Noelle's left shoulder, sending her flying as well.

Ayaka crashes into a tree while Noelle crashed into a rock. Both of them got back up, panting heavily as the fight is wearing the both of them out.

"Let's finish this..." Noelle said, opening an Adeptus portal to summon back the Unforged, and brought along Ayaka's sword, tossing it to her which she caught.

"Fine by me..."

The both of them pointed their blades to the skies. Noelle held her claymore with her two hands gripping the hilt, as the blade gathers geo energy from within her and the earth, and the blade extends upwards in a golden glow of geo energy, increasing it's power and weight as a result. Ayaka held her tachi with one hand on the hilt, making a full-moon circle before reverting the tip of the blade to point at the skies. The blade sent out an aura of frost that froze the water vapors travelling in the air, which extends the blade in size and increased it's power and weight.

"Here it comes...! Go!" Noelle said, swinging the Unforged down, just as Ayaka did the same with her extended and imbued tachi.

Both of their extended elemental weapons clashed against each other, and both rays of cryo and geo struggles in between.

Meanwhile back in Ritou, Aether teleported back after having to do his chores in the Serenitea Pot other than having to harvest the grown crops. He looked around for the two maidens, until he sees two huge rays of light, one of geo and one of cryo piercing the skies. He quickly teleported over to the place which is the closest to the site where it is happening. He found himself at the Statue of The Seven at Higi Village, and ran over to the battle site, where he sees Noelle and Ayaka clashing their enhanced blades against each other. The ray struggle ended in an explosion that sends shockwaves throughout the archipelago, scaring the hilichurls who are in their camps and instantly sending treasure hoarders packing. Aether was lucky he used starfell sword to make a geo construct in front of him that shields him from the explosion, barely any of the construct remained after the explosion dies down.

From that distance he sees Noelle and Ayaka, now reverting back to their human forms, slowly going towards each other, their right fists raised. Aether tried to go closer, but Paimon held his arm, and shook her head.

The moment the two maidens got close enough with each other, they pumped their fists forwards, and a loud thud is heard. A long pause occurs, in which it is revealed that Ayaka's fist missed Noelle's head by an inch, while Noelle's fist connects with Ayaka's left cheek. The latter shook, before falling down to the ground, defeated. The both of them took heavy breaths, before Noelle's consciousness fades away and her body starts to fall to the ground, only for Aether to dash in and catch her.

"You two... Just what are you both up to?!"

"A...Aether..."

"T...Traveler..."

"To think that the both of you are still fighting, over what? My feelings? I love you both, but I hate it when the both of you are fighting it out like children."

The both of them raised a brow, upon realizing that Aether felt the same for the two of them, and they made a small chuckle.

Days later, after the both of them recovered, Ayaka kneels down in front of Aether in apology, while Noelle only bowed down.

"You don't need to apologize, I forgave you both already. Just, don't cause a second cataclysm because of me, alright?"

"We got it." The two maidens replied in unison.

The next day is the day that Aether went back to The Crux to head back to Liyue with Noelle. Ayaka followed them, holding her tachi and bowed in front of Aether who turned around to see her doing so.

"Traveler, please accept my offer to accompany you in your journeys alongside her."

"Ayaka? But what about--"

"The clan still has my brother, right? Allow me to accompany you as well."

Sighing, Aether then said "Fine. But don't start unnecessary fights again like last time." Before he boarded the ship first.

Noelle and Ayaka faced each other again, the both of them made a small smile towards one another. Noelle offered a hand, which Ayaka took and shook.