In the night, a furious battle erupted within the sky-tree groves, shrouded in darkness broken only by the gleam of moonlight reflecting off their weapons.

Avan and Rayhein faced each other their eyes fixed upon each other with emotions surging and intentions crystal clear.

 

Avan, wielding a gleaming sword, struck with brute force, seeking to inflict physical harm upon his opponent, while Rayhein, with his coiling dragon staff in its staff form, fought with a calculated calmness, aiming to create psychological damage and maintain composure amidst the chaos.

 

Ching

 

Rayhein couldn't help but smile as he stood face-to-face with Avan, which only served to fuel Avan's fury even more. His eyes twitched with anger as he struggled to push Rayhein back. The two of them engaged in a fierce exchange, pushing each other with determination.
"I will make you eat dirt and beg for mercy!" Avan seethed.

Rayhein effortlessly dodged every attack with a graceful sidestep, predicting Avan's every move, leaving him baffled.

In a blur, Avan disappeared from sight, surprising Rayhein momentarily. However, Rayhein quickly focused and followed Avan's movement, anticipating his next attack. Avan reappeared in the air, swinging his sword down at Rayhein's neck.

Ray let out a weary sigh, his frustration evident as he prepared for the next attack. "You are so predictable," he said with a hint of exasperation, his eyes fixed on Avan's movements. As Avan lunged forward, aiming to strike Ray's neck, he anticipated the attack with lightning reflexes, swiftly stepping to the side to evade the blow. With a well-timed maneuver, Ray grabbed Avan's outstretched arm, using his opponent's momentum against him, and forcefully slammed him to the ground.

The impact reverberated through the air and shattered the ground, and Avan winced in pain upon hitting the ground as he bounced. But Ray didn't give him a moment to recover. He capitalized on the opening he created, launching a merciless kick at Avan's vulnerable abdomen. The force behind the kick was formidable, and Avan was sent hurtling through the air, tumbling uncontrollably.

Avan soared through the air after Ray's powerful kick, but he regained his footing with a mid-air roll, landing on his feet in disbelief. He had used his mysterious "force" to enhance his speed, yet Rayhein effortlessly kept up with his movements.

 

“Huh! A lethal blow ?!. You were trying to kill me? Hahaha!” Ray started laughing like a maniac as he could not believe this little twerp was being edgy and serious.

 

"I can do this blindfolded. Watch me, twerp!" Ray's voice cut through the air, exuding unwavering confidence as he closed his eyes.

 

His senses sharpened, including the elusive sixth sense, and he dropped his weapon to emphasize his conviction. The rain poured down, drowning out the sounds of their battle, but it didn't faze Ray. With lightning reflexes, he dodged Avan's onslaught, countering with precise strikes that targeted the same vulnerable spot on Avan's hand.

Avan's frustration grew as his numb, throbbing hand forced him to rethink his strategy. But Ray's closed eyes seemed to heighten his focus, giving him an enigmatic edge that Avan couldn't comprehend.

“What kind of cheat did you use? I refuse to believe that you are this skilled and strong” Avan said with anger.

"Excuses! Excuses!" Ray's voice echoed through the sky tree grove, disappointment evident in his crimson eyes. The atmosphere around him shifted as his demeanor became cold.

"Was that all the best you can do? Should I actually try seriously?" Ray said, his body language completely transformed. He was being playful, clearly messing with Avan, but his true intention was to shatter Avan's confidence to rock bottom.

An unsurmountable fear grasped Avan's body, causing him to flinch and step back. The feeling of fear reminded him of the dark rift walker that had mercilessly killed his mother. In that moment of realization, Avan took a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly before reopening them, a newfound determination shining through.

 

"I am not scared," Avan declared, his voice quivering with a mixture of emotions deeply rooted in his heart. "I haven't trained tirelessly, pushing my legs and hands to the brink of breaking, just to lose to someone who hides away from the world!" The anger and hurt in Avan's words were evident as he confronted his brother. To him, Ray was a coward who had abandoned him when things became difficult, leaving him to face the darkness alone. The burning desire for answers surged within Avan, and not even their father was willing to provide them.

 

The air around Avan underwent a drastic transformation as wisps of smoke started to materialize around him. Even the raindrops that touched his body evaporated instantly, unable to withstand the intense heat emanating from him. As he prepared himself, Avan realized he couldn't afford to lose concentration even for a moment, as doing so could prove more harmful than beneficial. Struggling and grunting, he painstakingly covered his entire body with the glowing, ethereal shield, feeling the heat intensify against his clothes.

 

Behind Avan, three small symbols hovered, emanating a faint glow. It was clear that he was dead serious about using his trump card - a unique variation of magic that required the utilization of symbols and language. Magic, in its traditional form, demanded an intense emotional output as well as concertation, but Avan had devised a way to employ it more efficiently in battle. Instead of relying on spoken or written words, he focused on conjuring symbols that could be utilized instantly. His aim was to conceal these symbols, but he hadn't quite perfected that aspect yet. Nevertheless, his resilient body enabled him to endure the strain of this novel magic use on his ethereal circuits. Each symbol had an effect on his body. Boosting his speed and power significantly using different elements.

Avan couldn't bear the thought of losing to the person he despised the most. Today, he was determined to extract every piece of information from his opponent. Ray, on the other hand, observed attentively, refraining from interrupting his younger brother as he demonstrated his powers. He sought to understand the nuances of magic, its limitations, and how he could use this knowledge to secure a victory. Ray was confident in his abilities, assuming the power levels weren't amplified to absurd degrees, like the dangerous encounter with the reager stone dolls.

 

With a sly smile to provoke Avan further, Ray said, "You know, I could have easily curb-stomped you while you were...” Before he could finish his sentence, he instinctively dodged, swiftly backing away from an incoming attack.

Baffled by the sudden aggression, Ray remained on guard, his senses alert to his surroundings. He felt a sharp wind as he deflected a punch from Avan, who seemed to be moving faster than ever before.

"What's the matter? No smile for me?" Avan taunted, vanishing once again with a gust of wind following his movements.

Ray realized that Avan was using the power of wind in addition to fire. The brief graze from Avan's attack had already burned his hand, leaving him in a tough situation. "Fire and wind? This is getting out of hand. I need to bring him down," Ray thought, glancing quickly at the burnt mark on his hand.

As Ray looked up, a sudden surge of heat and light caught his attention. A massive fireball, the size of a house, loomed above him. "Here's a gift, brother! TAKE IT!" Avan exclaimed as he launched his fiery attack.

 

"Shit," Ray muttered under his breath as he frantically assessed the situation. The impending attack was closing in fast, leaving him with little time to react. In that tense moment, he knew he had to resort to his last resort, his trump card. He tried hard to overcome his failure the last time he fought the dolls. He found something amazing. A way to use his body and go into a super amped state with his body being able to perform more than 100%.

 

The high human body was a powerhouse with two hearts and many dense and strong muscles. He just needed to concentrate and release a burst of energy in one go. The drawn back was that after using it once his body needed to go into rest mode. He would not be able to lift a finger for a few hours.

 

Drawing in a deep breath, Ray's two hearts pounded in his chest as adrenaline surged through his veins. His veins popped as his muscles swelled as if he just buffed up. Suddenly, his body trembled and quivered, as if an electric current was coursing through him. The air crackled with energy as he seemed to blur, becoming a mere flash of motion.

 

In the blink of an eye, Ray vanished from his original position, leaving behind only the remnants of a rumbling that reverbed through the area. The ground beneath him couldn't withstand the force of his departure and shattered into fragments, as though nature itself had been disrupted by his might.

 

Avan's attack landed with an earth-shattering impact, erupting into a massive explosion that sent shockwaves rippling through the surroundings. The ground trembled and dust filled the air, making it hard to see clearly.

 

Despite the chaos around him, Avan's senses remained sharp as he found himself suspended in the air, carried by swirling winds. From this vantage point, he had a view of the aftermath of his powerful strike. He had hoped his attack would have connected and now he should end it so he won’t kill his brother.

 

With a flick of his wrist, Avan extinguished the glowing ball of fire that he had conjured.
Crackle

 

Avan eyes narrowed, trying to comprehend the source of the approaching sound he heard - a deafening crack that echoed ominously through the atmosphere. He was puzzled, as the sound was growing louder, indicating that something was rapidly approaching him, even from this high vantage point.
As he gazed around, the sky tree tall alongside started to show signs of distress. Massive cracks appeared on their bark, spreading like spider webs, betraying the sheer force of whatever was drawing nearer as if it was using the trees to climb. The unsettling sound intensified, causing Avan's heart to race as he strained to identify the approaching threat.

 

“Just how is brother doing that?” Avan thought

In that fleeting moment, Avans senses were heightened to an extraordinary level, absorbing every detail of the intense situation around him trying to predict the approach of attack. He curled up and made one of the symbols light up and it erased like a blur. A blinding flash of light erupted from him as he fell to the ground. Thinking that he blinded him, he got into position to counterattack.

 

Looking around he didn’t see Ray. With a gut punch, Ray blitzed Avan with a blow that knocked the wind out of him sending him straight hurling into the air. Ray grabbed his feet and smacked him into the ground. His hand was burning yet he didn’t let go. Avan eyes met in a single moment with Ray but what he found spooked him to his core. This was not his brother. There was no emotion or anything in those dead eyes. Only emptiness instinctively he used his last magic symbol fearing for his life.

 

“Release,” Avan said. It was an attack that used both his wind and fire signs and merged them to create an unpredictable massive explosion but it was a double edge sword that could hurt him as he too would be caught in it. The trauma of his past just made Avan make the decision inactively. Both of the symbols faded as his palm crackled with energy with a bursting sound. Ray's danger sense made him throw Avan far away from him as he sensed danger but it was too late. A massive wave of energy started to envelop them.

As Avan scanned the area, he couldn't spot Ray anywhere. In an unexpected turn of events, Ray swiftly landed a gut punch on Avan, sending him hurtling into the air and knocking the wind out of him. Before Avan could react, Ray seized his feet and slammed him forcefully into the ground. Despite the searing pain in his hand, Ray held on tenaciously.

In that brief moment of eye contact, Avan realized that something was terribly wrong with his brother. Those once lively eyes now appeared lifeless and devoid of any emotion, filling him with an eerie sense of dread. This was not the Ray he knew. There was only emptiness in those dead eyes.

Driven by fear for his life, Avan instinctively activated his last magic symbol and uttered, "Release." The attack combined both his wind and fire signs, resulting in an unpredictable and massive explosion.

 However, it was a risky move, as he too would be caught in the blast. The weight of past trauma clouded his judgment, leading Avan to make the decision impulsively.
Both symbols faded as his palm crackled with energy, producing a resounding burst. Ray's danger sense kicked in, and he quickly hurled Avan far away from him, sensing the impending danger. But it was too late. A colossal wave of energy began to envelop them, and the situation spiraled out of control.