The next instant, both of them appeared at a singular point in space and time, their blades screaming toward one another with apocalyptic force and overwhelming motion. The moment rapier met katana, the world itself seemed to still, as though hesitant, almost fearful, to unleash the catastrophe that was destined to emerge from such a collision. Even the air grew heavy, suffocating, as if existence itself held its breath in anticipation.
But it could not remain frozen forever, for in the very next moment, everything snapped violently back into place, and the sound of metal slamming against metal, like titanic battering rams colliding, thundered outward alongside a storm of incandescent sparks.
