The duo had been fighting for what felt like days, though outside, barely an hour had passed. Wave after wave of creatures had come at them—thousands of forms, shapes, and powers—and yet Striver and Layla pushed through each one, learning, adapting, growing stronger with every strike. The battlefield had become a blurred chaos of motion, energy, and screams, but they were not afraid. Not yet.
Layla exhaled, glancing at Striver. "Why don't you try making a portal out of here?"
Striver's eyes flickered with restrained anger. He had tried—over and over—each attempt ending in frustration, each portal collapsing before it could stabilize. The void around him had shivered and cracked from his failed attempts, nearly consuming him.
"I've tried," he said, his voice low, tight with irritation.
"Ah…" Layla's voice trailed off. Before either could react further, a new presence appeared. Alone. Human-like—but it carried an aura that immediately set their instincts on fire. Dangerous, intense, unlike anything they had faced before.
It simply stood there, unmoving, unblinking, like a statue carved from darkness itself.
"He's just… staring," Striver whispered, a chill creeping into his tone.
"I see that. Don't let your guard down," Layla replied, her body tensing into a ready stance.
For several heartbeats, the three remained locked in a silent standstill. Then, impossibly fast, the creature was behind them. The figure in its previous spot blurred, leaving only an afterimage in the void.
"An afterimage," Layla muttered, eyes widening as she noticed Striver. His clothing was shredded, wounds already healed—but his chest now glowed with an intense, radiant light, pulsating like a heart of the cosmos itself.
The shredded remnants of his armor reformed instantly, reshaping into a new, glimmering top that looked more like cosmic plating than cloth.
This time, neither hesitated. They struck first. Layla's powers, refined and precise, cut through the void like knives through mist. Striver moved with effortless precision, his blade—a weapon carrying cosmic fury—slicing through shadows as if cutting through reality itself.
Before the creature could move, an invisible force gripped it, holding it in place. A frown darkened its features. It had not expected to be restrained so easily.
With a swift motion, Striver's blade severed its hands clean from the wrists. Dark, otherworldly blood seeped from the wounds, but the creature barely flinched. It lunged at Striver anyway, striking at him with a speed that bent reality, only to be met by an unstable black hole detonating on impact. Striver vanished and reappeared beside Layla, who continued restraining the creature.
Their teamwork was flawless now. Each movement synced perfectly, almost instinctual. Every strike, block, and parry flowed like a deadly dance. They were a force that even seasoned warriors would hesitate to face.
The black hole's energy died down. The creature was in ruin—half its face obliterated, bones exposed—but it still stood, unflinching. Layla sensed something wrong; Striver felt it too. Its injuries weren't healing normally—they were being rewritten by a force beyond understanding.
Then it smiled. One word left its mouth, echoing across the Mindscape with a tremor that rattled even the godlike:
"Reflect."
In an instant, its body healed, every wound vanishing as if it had never existed. Pain exploded in the duo's minds as the speed of the regeneration overloaded their senses. The creature's eyes glimmered with a mixture of curiosity and disappointment—it had fought thousands of battles, bested only once by an unstoppable demon-hero, and now it faced two novices who almost defeated it.
"Interesting," it murmured. Then it vanished, reappearing immediately to strike again.
Striver barely raised a shield in time. Layla's dark blades cut through the void, sharp as shards of time itself. The creature twisted, dodging and countering, moving with impossible speed—but Striver's grip held firm.
"Looks like we win," he whispered, a grin stretching across his face as he leaned close to the creature.
The creature's laughter was silent, deadly, burning with authority. "Swap."
In an instant, Striver was restrained. Blades tore through him with unimaginable force. Pain unlike anything he had known coursed through his body. His injuries healed only partially, slowly enough to make each strike a torment. A cracking sound echoed as his neck snapped, and he was hurled across the void.
Layla screamed, lunging to his side, but the creature intercepted her. A brutal kick sent her spinning, and she had no choice but to brace herself, taking the blow head-on. Pain seared through her, but she refused to falter.
Striver's body convulsed violently, but he was far from dead. Between agony and oblivion, memories began flooding him—fragments of battles long past, whispers of the void, the first time he had realized his godlike power, and echoes of enemies thought long defeated.
He remembered a name, a moment, a truth buried deep within his soul: he was beyond being killed. Beyond being restrained. The most powerful of all, and yet he allowed the struggle to sharpen him.
Layla danced around the creature, launching blade after blade. Time seemed to warp around her attacks, each strike carrying the weight of countless battles she had survived. The creature's aura flared in response, bending space as it blocked and countered. It was learning, adapting—but the duo was faster, smarter, stronger.
Striver's consciousness hovered, but even in that near-death state, his mind was alive. His power rippled outward, almost instinctively repairing fractures in the void, warping reality around his wounds. Pain was there, yes—but so was clarity. He could feel every strike, every attack, every thread of possibility.
The creature noticed this. Its eyes narrowed. It had faced thousands, yet few had endured the combined force of godlike instinct and unshakable resolve. Almost a thrill crossed its expression—a rare taste of challenge.
"Not bad," it murmured, voice echoing like a pulse through the void. "Almost… interesting."
The duo, now perfectly synchronized, struck again. Layla restrained it, forcing its movements slower, while Striver's recovered hand grasped a cosmic blade, slicing at impossible angles, each swing tearing at the fabric of reality. The creature flinched slightly—just slightly—before striking with a speed meant to annihilate.
"Swap!" it bellowed again.
Pain exploded in Striver's body, every strike sharper than before, but even then, something deep within him stirred. His body twitched, each limb straining, but the god inside him stirred, reaching beyond the shell of flesh and bone.
Layla met the creature head-on, her blades forming a shield and spear simultaneously. Dark energy spiraled, bending time around her strikes. The creature staggered. For the first time, it paused.
And in that pause, Striver's awareness returned fully. Not just his mind, but his power, his soul, his entire existence as a god. Memories of every battle, every enemy, every strike, every failure—they coalesced into clarity.
He was not just alive. He was beyond death.
The creature's eyes widened, and a thin smile appeared—amusement mixed with disbelief. Here was a being that should have been broken. And yet… it was awakening.
Striver's hand rose, cosmic energy flowing into his blade. The void around them trembled. Time slowed. And in a voice low, calm, and infinitely powerful, he whispered:
"Your game… ends now."
The creature's eyes flickered with warning—but it was too late. The duo's perfect synergy, honed through countless battles, was about to collide with raw godlike power. And in the void, nothing would ever remain the same again.