Rayn and Varkion kept crashing downward through floor after floor, section after section, smashing through walls like living meteors.

  With every level they broke, dust, metal shards, and concrete chunks blasted out in every direction — and the energy blazing off their bodies made it look like two burning comets were tearing through the base.

  They finally reached the lowest section of the facility, but even there, Varkion’s slashes and Rayn’s dodges showed no sign of stopping.

  The lightning surging out of the Lightning Whip Sword ripped apart walls, floors, ceilings — everything.

  Varkion’s blade now moved like a thunder dragon, his entire body wrapped in crackling electric energy. Every strike screamed one thing — pure destruction.

  And still, Rayn slipped past everything with calm precision — ducking his head, twisting his body, or brushing the blade aside.

  Gradually, Varkion’s slash speed shot up even higher. He moved so fast the corridor filled with streaks of light every time he swung.

  Seeing this burst of speed, Rayn suddenly shifted his sword to his side and leapt a few steps back, creating distance.

  Then he tilted his head a little, glanced around, and with a small grin said:— “Hey Varkion… forgot to mention something— ever notice how even after all your hits, I’m still not bleeding?”

  Varkion said nothing. His eyes burned with rage, but he was focused — listening.

  Rayn let out a casual laugh:— “The outfit I’m wearing under this suit is self-healing. Super tight. If it gets cut, it repairs itself instantly. That’s why the blood can’t escape.”

  Hearing that, Varkion slowly growled in a sharp, furious voice:— “That outfit won’t protect you from what’s coming… This time, either you live… or I do.”

  As soon as Varkion finished speaking, the fire-like energy around him began to surge.

  Within seconds, his entire body was engulfed in those blazing flames — and his eyes burned like two miniature suns.

  The raw power pouring out of Varkion lit up the entire corridor of the lower section.

  His body trembled — like it was on the verge of an energy overload. And suddenly — Varkion let out a monstrous scream.

  The scream shook the entire corridor, dust rained down from the ceiling, and it became clear — Varkion had entered a full berserk state.

  Seeing this transformation, Rayn’s eyes turned cold. His smile vanished, replaced by a serious, sharp expression.

  Without wasting a moment, he began releasing his own energy. Rayn’s blue flame-like aura spread through the entire section — and the clash of their powers bathed the whole area in white light, as if the room itself was glowing from the inside.

  Both of them had pushed beyond their limits — ascending even higher. Rayn stared straight at Varkion and in a calm, almost whisper-soft voice said:— “We need to end this game quickly…and since you already broke my hood and half-mask — now your eyes are on my suit too, huh?”

  In the blink of an eye, the two of them lunged toward each other. Varkion unleashed a brutal 180° horizontal sweep aimed at Rayn’s waist — but Rayn hopped over it effortlessly.

  But the Lightning Whip Sword twisted mid-air and came back with a return round slash from behind.

  This one was so fast that Rayn had no space to sidestep. Rayn instantly pulled out his dagger, spun around, and cut into the round slash — forcing the blade off course.

  But the moment his attention shifted for even a second — Varkion flashed behind him and landed a devastating jab right into Rayn’s face.

  The impact shattered the floor beneath Rayn and sent him crashing straight into the wall. Blood trickled down from his mouth.

  Seeing his own blood, Rayn’s expression sharpened.In a low, angry whisper he murmured:— “No more wasting time.”

  The moment he spoke, they shot toward each other again at speeds beyond sound.

  Varkion kept unleashing savage, beast-like slashes, and Rayn deflected, cut, dodged, and slipped past each attack with his dagger.

  Their clashes sounded like storms tearing through the air. It was as if a thousand-soldier battle had erupted between just the two of them. They tore through corridor after corridor, crossing entire sections in seconds.

  Walls crumbled under the pressure of their attacks, ceilings collapsed, and every place their feet touched exploded into debris.

  Their bodies were now streaks of lightning mixed with fire — two living disasters rampaging through the base.

  You could tell just by looking at Varkion — his mastery over his sword was on such a ridiculous level that even in a berserk state, every slash stayed perfectly precise.

  Varkion hurled one high-tier technique after another at Rayn — Phantom Slash, Spiral Cut, Pulse Break, Snap Slice, Vault Slash, Cross Tear, Thunderfall.

  But Rayn deflected and dodged all of them with nothing but his dagger. Every clash of their metal weapons blasted out storms of sparks across the corridors.

  Their speed was so insane that to a normal eye, it looked like they disappeared from one section and reappeared in another within a blink — as if they were phasing in and out of existence.

  And any Gearborn unlucky enough to come near these two death-engines was shredded instantly — like throwing a thousand robots into an industrial cutter.

  In the middle of the chaos, Varkion suddenly boosted his speed and appeared right in front of Rayn.

  He shifted his sword back to its normal form, raised it overhead, and brought down a Vertical Drop Cut.

  But Rayn backflipped three times, leaping far away — and the impact of that strike tore the entire floor apart.

  Seeing Varkion’s power skyrocketing, Rayn put his dagger away and ramped up his own energy. In an instant, a storm of raw energy spun violently around him.

  Without wasting even a second, Rayn blinked straight to Varkion — and immediately unleashed a downpour of punches on him.

  Rayn hammered him with one strike after another — Jab, Cross, Overhand, Uppercut, Body Shot, Spinning Backfist, Hook — the combos just never stopped. Varkion couldn’t even lift his sword anymore, let alone dodge — he couldn’t even scream.

  Right now, Rayn had truly broken past every limit. His speed was so monstrous that a dozen Rayn afterimages surrounded Varkion — as if ten different Rayns from ten different angles were attacking him at once.

  Rayn’s thousands of strikes were slowly breaking Varkion apart. In moments, he was drenched in blood — his clothes completely crimson, almost every bone shattered under the pressure.

  He had no strength left to fight back. Realizing that, Rayn finally stopped. Varkion slid down the corridor wall and collapsed on the floor.

  Rayn was breathing heavily, and the energy-storm around him faded instantly. Half his suit was burned, smoke rising off his body — he was in pure exhaustion mode.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Rayn slowly walked over and sat down beside Varkion. In a calm, tired voice, he said:— “Varkion… you’re the first person who ever pushed me this far. The first one who forced me past my own limit. Honestly… I don’t even know how much longer I can keep going.”

  A faint smirk touched his lips:— “You pushed me this far… and you’ve got nothing left to hold onto. So I’m taking that sword of yours.”

  He reached over, picked up the blazing sword lying beside Varkion, and stood up to walk away. After taking a few steps, he suddenly turned back.

  He saw it — a soft, peaceful smile on Varkion’s face. No anger in his eyes… only a deep, quiet calm. In a gentle voice, Varkion whispered:— “…Thank you…”

  Then he closed his eyes. The expression was so serene, so strange, that Rayn froze for a moment. But it was clear — everything was over. Varkion had taken his final breath.

  Without looking back, Rayn kept walking. As he moved, he reformed the newly claimed sword into a Lightning Whip Sword.

  Holding the blade, he spoke in a cold, confident tone:— “Alright… let’s head to the control room.”

  And with that, the scene returns to the present. Nazar stood swaying on his feet, badly injured but still holding himself up.

  From inside the control room, Rayn spoke in a straightforward, worn-out voice:— “Nazar… I don’t think I can fight anymore. I’m too wounded. Ending this game… it’s on you now.”

  Hearing that, Nazar slowly smiled. With a voice full of confidence, he replied:— “Leave everything to me now. And for keeping me alive… thank you.”

  Right after saying that, Nazar began unleashing his energy. At first, a white flame-like glow ignited around his hands, and within seconds it spread across his entire body.

  As his power rose, Nazar’s eyes began flashing like white lightning.A clear, confident smile formed on his face — full-on ready-for-war energy.

  Seeing Nazar’s intense, heat-radiating Myraan energy, the Emperor wasn’t about to hold back. He released his own power as well.

  The Emperor’s energy was completely different — a pure dark aura. His entire body became wrapped in swirling black force.

  In that moment, both their auras were far stronger than Rayn’s and Varkion’s had ever been. The shockwaves from their power were shaking the entire hall.

  The Emperor looked straight at Nazar and let out a twisted, evil smile:— “Come… let the game of life and death begin.”

  The moment their energies surged, the two of them shot toward each other like a double lightning strike. As they passed — each slammed a brutal jab straight into the other’s face.

  That very first impact made the entire hall shudder — cracks spread across the walls, and dust rained down from the ceiling.

  But they weren’t the type to stop at one hit — at extreme top-speed, both unleashed a barrage of punches on each other.

  Thousands of jabs rained down like a meteor storm. The sheer force of their combos pushed past every limit — walls split apart, the ceiling collapsed in chunks, even the floor tore open as debris floated through the air.

  The whole hall trembled uncontrollably, but their fists didn’t slow for a second — every punch was an attack, every clash a counter, Every slip is a perfect dodge.

  Suddenly, Nazar flipped back twice and landed a bit farther away. The instant his feet touched the ground — he flashed beside the Emperor at a speed faster than sound, and, still airborne, whipped a powerful roundhouse kick from the side.

  The Emperor blocked the kick with his forearm and slipped aside, but the energy wave from Nazar’s strike shattered the entire wall behind him.

  The Emperor didn’t pause — barely a second after Nazar’s foot hit the ground, he appeared right in front of him and went for a direct high kick to the head.

  But just before impact, Nazar caught his leg. A confident smirk crossed his face — and with a full 360° spin, he slammed the Emperor straight into the wall.

  But the Emperor wasn’t done — he recovered mid-air, balanced himself, and stood on the wall at a perfect 180°, as if gravity simply didn’t apply to him.

  In the very next instant, from that upside-down stance, he launched off the wall with a violent push — bursting toward Nazar like a bullet, ripping through dust, air, and sound in a single charge.

  The Emperor’s speed went so berserk that Nazar didn’t even get a single second to dodge.

  The Emperor grabbed him straight on and dragged him across the floor, smashing Nazar with lightning-fast jabs the whole way.

  And through all of it — the Emperor’s feet never touched the ground once. Nazar kept scraping across the floor, leaving behind a long trail of dust and shattered stone.

  As soon as the momentum dropped, the Emperor hurled Nazar straight into the wall — and Nazar stuck there like he’d been pinned into it.

  Dust swirling everywhere, broken steel flying, chunks of concrete exploding — their combined energies made the entire hall look like a battlefield burned alive.

  In a twisted, sharp, almost joyful voice, the Emperor said:— “Young boy… if that’s the strength you carry… then right here — I shall stand before you as death itself.”

  Before the last word even faded, Nazar slid off the wal l— blood dried at the corner of his mouth, but a calm, confident smile sat on his face. He said quietly:— “Alright… let’s find out.”

  And with just those two lines, they both tore toward each other like twin thunderbolts. But this time they didn’t stay in one place — they clashed while darting all across the hall.

  Their speed had gone so far beyond limits that inside the hall hundreds of streaks of light flashed everywhere — as if it wasn’t two fighters anymore but an entire army of afterimages.

  Both of their bodies glowed too brightly to track — their real positions are completely unreadable.

  It felt like they were breaking through limit after limit, ripping straight past the final boundary of their power.

  Every single hit made the entire base tremble. Walls cracked open, the floor ruptured, The hall’s support structures shook violently — and Rayn instantly realized how dangerous this level of vibration was.

  Even the massive sliced-up bus trees above the base were trembling like they were about to collapse.

  Their speed and attacks had gone so unreal that they kept overtaking each other again and again — blows landing nonstop, yet neither stopping for even a second.

  Nazar and the Emperor now looked like two sides of the same coin : equal strength, equal speed, equal madness.

  The massive hall’s ceiling, walls, and floor tore apart as they dashed through every corner.

  In one instant, both of them stood at perfect 180° angles on opposite walls, and in the next they pushed off simultaneously, launching toward each other like twin bullets.

  Both were ready to clash head-on with a Jab — but right before impact, the Emperor shifted his stance mid-air and unleashed a monstrous Switch Kick straight into Nazar’s side.

  The shockwave alone shook the entire hall apart — and Nazar shot off at near-sonic speed, smashing through corridor after corridor, section after section, steel walls splitting open behind him, until he finally crashed into a far-off wall and collapsed in a crater of rubble.

  Blood trickled from his lips the moment he stopped — yet his eyes stayed calm, steady, fearless. The Emperor walked forward with a cold, confident posture:— “Young boy… you still lack a great deal of experience.”

  Nazar pushed himself up slowly, a cocky little smirk stretching across his face:— “We’ll see.”

  And with that, they both blurred forward again — tearing across the entire base like chained lightning.

  Every clash sent violent tremors through the ground — as if an earthquake had erupted beneath them.

  And neither of them had even gone past their full limits yet. Even so, their speed was so insane that sound itself lagged behind.

  Wherever they moved, destruction followed — corridors shattered, sections collapsed, massive halls blew apart, and entire underground floors were pulverized into clouds of dust in the blink of an eye.

  The two kept crashing into each other nonstop — Roundhouse Kick, Elbow Slash, Spinning Elbow, Side Kick, Dutch Combo — each strike so fast it was basically invisible to the naked eye.

  Their bodies were no longer just moving — they’d turned into blazing streaks of lightning.

  Light usually flashes and disappears — but here, before one flash could fade, ten more trails were already ripping through the air.

  In the middle of the chaos, the Emperor suddenly realized — Nazar had completely vanished.

  The Emperor stopped instantly — and the very next moment — A wall exploded open with a thunderous blast, as Nazar burst through like a lightning bolt, slamming a monstrous Front Jab Kick straight into the Emperor’s face.

  The Emperor rocketed backward at insane speed, breaking through a side wall, skidding and tearing across the ground before crashing far, far away.

  For the first time, blood trickled from his mouth. Nazar stepped forward slowly, eyes full of pure attitude, face calm and confident — then said in a cold, steady voice:— “Was that what you meant by me lacking experience?”

  The Emperor rose slowly, a small smile tugging at his lips. In a calm voice, he said:— “Now it’s either you… or me.”

  The moment his words ended, both he and Nazar began pushing their energy even higher.

  The pressure from their aura was so intense that nearby metal debris started sliding away from them. Their power surged into full overload, flashing violently with blinding light.

  Both pulled one arm back, taking the stance for a final punch — and in an instant, they tore through the ground, walls, and air like twin thunderbolts rushing toward each other.

  As they closed in, both let out a fierce shout and launched their straight, full-power cross punches at the exact same moment.

  The instant their fists collided, the explosion that erupted was like two missiles slamming into each other mid-air — a colossal energy wave swallowed the entire base.

  The shockwave made the whole structure shudder again, more violently than ever before. Even Rayn felt the vibration and paused for a moment.

  The impact was so insane that the surrounding walls, corridors, entire sections — all turned to dust in the blink of an eye.

  After a while, the storm of dust finally began to clear. Nazar and the Emperor’s clash — their final full-power strike — had reduced half the entire base into ruins within moments.

  Gradually, their Myraan Energy started to fade… and within the next second, it vanished completely. Smoke started rising from Nazar’s entire body. He was breathing like a madman.

  The fabric on his right arm had been burned to ash— and the arm itself was charred black, ripped open, blood pouring nonstop.

  Thick smoke started pouring off the Emperor's body as well. His outfit was burned and peeling away, but he still stood there completely calm — no heavy breathing, and that same eerie, silent expression in his eyes.

  His right arm was gone — the final impact blast had torn it clean off from the shoulder. Blood streamed down from the stump like an open faucet. It was obvious his energy was almost completely drained.

  In that condition, there was only one conclusion — the Emperor had lost. Unable to support his own weight anymore, his knees suddenly gave out, and he collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.