The figure dropped to one knee. The earth trembled in submission.
A surge of power erupted from his form, rising like a pillar of black fire that licked the belly of the clouds. His skin rippled as obsidian scales pushed through in waves, armor melting and reshaping into a living suit of draconic plating. The transformation climbed his neck, wrapping his jaw and brow until a draconic helm formed from the very scales of his being. His bright green eyes burned through the slits with a new, predatory heat.
His blade responded to the call. It thickened and lengthened, the metal stretching like molten shadow until it became a massive black greatsword, sharp as a dragon's primary talon. Green flames ignited along the edge, roaring upward like a torch of pure fury.
Beneath him, the world died. Soil and stone withered into black sand. The figure ran a hand through the shifting grains, watching the wind carry the grit away like smoke. He rose slowly, power radiating from him in crushing waves.
"Black Wraith," he growled, "your endless terror ends today."
Across from him, Eiden stood—and the world shifted again.
Eiden's aura burst outward in a silent, blinding explosion, white light spiraling around him like a captured nebula. His presence expanded until the very air bent to accommodate him. His longsword thickened, the metal pulsing with a blinding white light that mimicked a heartbeat. His eyes became twin suns, and his hair lengthened into a shimmering comet's tail.
His garments dissolved into light. In their place, plates of crystalline armor materialized across his chest and limbs, each piece carved with pulsing, ancient sigils. White flames spiraled upward, refining him, until Eiden stood transformed: a diamond-bright warrior in a flowing hooded cloak, his face hidden behind a runic helmet that hummed with power.
The ground beneath him surrendered, turning to white sand that mirrored the Dark Knight's black circle. Where the two sands met, they swirled together in a violent, monochromatic grey. Above them, the sky split—half verdant green, half radiant white—churning like a cosmic storm. White and green lightning collided in the clouds, and the air grew heavy with the weight of a hurricane.
Two titans. Two forces that should never coexist.
The Dark Knight flared his wings, green fire dripping from his greatsword. Eiden stood tall, the divine storm swirling around him. The wind howled. The sands danced. The sky roared.
Then—they vanished.
A sonic boom shattered the air as they collided at the center of the field. The impact cratered the earth, sending a ring of sand exploding outward. Eiden pushed forward, his aura flaring like a supernova. The Dark Knight pushed back, the green flames on his blade roaring with draconic rage.
Their blades sparked, locked, and separated, only to clash again in a blur of divine speed. Each strike was a thunderclap; each parry was a flash of lightning. Eiden swung in an upward arc, leaving a trail of white radiance that carved the atmosphere. The Knight twisted mid-air, wings folding into a shield that groaned under the impact.
The Knight countered with a downward strike heavy enough to cleave a mountain. Eiden caught the edge on his gauntlet, white sparks erupting as he redirected the momentum and spun into a counter-attack.
The sky shook.
The Dark Knight roared, his wings igniting as he launched into the heavens. Eiden followed instantly, white flames bursting from his feet as he pursued. They clashed in the stratosphere, the shockwaves tearing the clouds apart. They exchanged blows faster than any mortal eye could track, dancing through a web of green and white lightning.
Eiden spun, releasing a crescent of energy that sliced through the air. The Knight cut it down with a single swing, erupting a spiral of green fire in response. They soared higher and higher, until the battlefield below was nothing more than a distant smudge of black and white.
The Knight thrust his hand forward, unleashing a beam of green energy like a falling comet. Eiden crossed his blades, weaving a barrier of sigils that shattered the beam into harmless fragments. Eiden retaliated, a two-handed downward swing splitting the clouds in half. The Knight dove through the rift, wings tucked tight as he shot upward like a kinetic missile.
They collided once more. The resulting shockwave rippled across the horizon, bending the clouds into a perfect, hollow circle.
Eiden's voice echoed through the roar of the storm: "Your power is impressive."
The Dark Knight's reply was a low, draconic growl: "And yours is infuriating."
They clashed one final time, blades locked and faces inches apart, their auras screaming in a violent, beautiful tangle of light. Then, by unspoken agreement, they broke apart—hovering in the empty sky, staring each other down through the silence of the heights.