"Is that so…?"
Adrien's voice was low and menacing as his energy suddenly undulated.
"In that case, then I hope you don't mind it if I go all-out." He said, the disgusting power within him spreading everywhere.
The skies above H'Trae suddenly warped.
They groaned and cracked as though the heavens themselves were being peeled open by a divine hand. Space twisted and churned. Mountains bent backward. Oceans inverted. The sky… bled.
Everything and everyone across the planet stopped moving.
Their vision turned black—and then white—and then something else entirely. It was neither color nor absence. It was nothing and everything at once.
And in the blink of an eye, the entire world of H'Trae was no longer in their universe.
It had become part of Adrien's domain.
A realm of chaos, ever-shifting landscapes and spiraling voids. The ground pulsed with veins of energy, and Adriens—countless Adriens—descended like a plague of locusts, standing atop floating platforms and monstrous serpents made of shadows and entropy.
Adrien floated at the center of it all, his arms wide as though welcoming his subjects.
"So," he spoke, his voice echoing across the strange skies, "you escaped. I don't know how, Rey, but I must say… impressive."
In front of him stood Rey. Or so it seemed.
Rey didn't answer immediately. He simply stared, face unreadable, a calm grin stretching on his lips as though he found something amusing.
Adrien's gaze narrowed.
"No witty comeback?" Adrien asked, taking a step forward. "Don't tell me I've broken you already?"
Rey let out a light chuckle. "No… I was just waiting for the right moment."
His body began to shift.
Dark red threads wove around his figure, circling all around his gait. Black mist poured out from his back. His posture straightened, his features sharpened, and his aura darkened. The man who stood before Adrien was no longer Rey.
It was Ater.
His red hair danced around, complemented perfectly with his crimson eyes and ebony skin. As his dark suit blended smoothly with the darkness around him, a wicked smile formed on his face while staring at his opponent's dumbfoundedness.
Adrien blinked. "...What?"
A gust of wind cut across the dimension as another figure arrived in a flash of light. This time, it was the real Rey, standing next to Ater, arms folded, a calm fire burning in his eyes.
"Looks like you were right about his actions, Ater," Rey said with a smirk as he turned to his Familiar. "He really summoned his domain to H'Trae once you appeared as me, since that meant I was no longer trapped inside."
"Hehe… a simple but effective strategy, Master."
Adrien's eye twitched. "What is going on here? You tricked me into summoning my domain and consuming H'Trae inside it? That makes no sense…"
"What makes no sense about it? No one can enter or leave your domain, right? Which means the best way to get Rey back would be for you to deliver him yourself." Ater added, taking a slow step forward. "I connected with Rey from the outside… and used that moment to tell him the plan, so all he had to do was erase his presence at the same time I appeared in front of you."
"That—" Adrien clenched his jaw, turning to Rey. "But how? How did you hear each other? My dimension is separate from all planes of existence. There's no way communication can slip through."
Rey nodded. "Normally, yes. But you forgot one thing."
He gestured toward Ater, who grinned darkly.
"Ancient MajiK," Ater said.
The words echoed like a curse across the fabric of the realm. The very walls of the domain rippled in discomfort.
Adrien's expression changed from confusion to fascination. "Ancient... MajiK?"
He licked his lips.
"That's the secret, isn't it? Something that exists in the higher plane. So that's how you did it… no wonder I couldn't anticipate it." He took a step forward, eyes shimmering with obsession. "Tell me how it works. Teach me. Show me the truth—"
"You're not in a position to make demands. This is the end of the road, Adrien." Rey said sharply, his tone cold and final.
Adrien's smirk returned, twisted and malevolent.
"End of the road?" He threw his hands into the air. "You're standing inside my domain. The entire planet is mine now. And with every second, more of me are being born."
He pointed behind them.
Indeed, more Adriens were appearing. From the ground. From the skies. From portals. From broken laws of logic.
"You are outnumbered. Outmatched. And out of time."
Rey didn't respond with panic. Instead, he lifted his hand and pointed to something—something glowing in the distance. A crack in the fabric of the domain. Barely visible, but pulsing with radiant light.
"What…?" Adrien turned, his eyes widening.
"That crack," Rey said, "was created by me while you were focused on Ater."
Ater raised his hand.
His energy surged and exploded outward in an intricate pattern—ancient runes flaring with colors not native to the spectrum.
"Now," Ater murmured, "we open the gate."
In an instant, a massive surge of power burst from his hand, tearing the crack wide open. A portal opened—massive, bright, and stable.
Adrien roared. "NO!"
But it was too late.
The world of H'Trae—the floating masses of land and seas and cities—was engulfed by the light and vanished through the portal.
Adrien turned just in time to see it disappear.
And standing in the now-empty void… were only three figures.
Ater. Rey. Adrien.
Rey exhaled softly. "They're safe."
Ater glanced at him. "It's time."
Rey nodded.
Ater raised both hands, whispering ancient words. Strange tendrils of magic coiled through the void, locking every seam, every edge of the domain.
"I've sealed the outside, Master." Ater said, slowly fading away as if he was an illusion. "You're on your own now."
Rey smiled. "Exactly how I want it."
Adrien's face twisted with rage.
"You think you've won something!?" he roared, his voice turning monstrous. "You've only ensured your own destruction!"
He threw a hand forward. A tide of darkness surged toward Rey, filled with blades, concepts, and pure malice.
Time unraveled in its wake. Logic collapsed.
Rey stood still.
Then vanished.
In a blink, he reappeared behind Adrien, his palm glowing. He struck Adrien's back, sending him crashing into the swirling ground.
Adrien growled and rose, wiping blood from his lips.
Rey landed softly on a floating rock.
"With Ater locking your domain from outside and me keeping you trapped inside, you can no longer touch H'Trae… at least not as long as one of us remains."
"I just have to kill you!"
"You're welcome to try, but I know you'll lose. After all…" Rey smiled, his eyes blazing as he focused all of his attention on Adrien. "This time, there are no distractions. No tricks."
"...."
"Just you… and me."
Adrien snarled.
Power burst from his form—his skin peeled away, revealing swirling patterns of stars and void. His body no longer resembled anything human. He had become something else. Something not meant for this reality.
"I will transcend! Once I get access to that Ancient MajiK of yours, everything will be complete!" He charged forward.
Rey answered in kind.
Their fists collided, creating a massive shockwave that tore across the entire dimension.
Rey unleashed a barrage of Skills—[Time Severance], [Absolute Zone], [Celestial Flow], [Existence Cutter]—each tearing through reality itself. Adrien responded with creating new Skills with his Primeval Skill: [Unmaking Touch], [Entropy Singularity], and [Mind Collapse], each more devastating than the last.
They clashed again.
And again.
And again.
One punch shattered a time.
Another punch reversed gravity in the entire domain.
Every strike came with the weight of concepts—hope, despair, order, chaos.
Rey took a blow to the chest and coughed blood, but didn't falter.
Adrien caught a kick to the jaw and spun away, snarling as his face reformed instantly.
"You can't win," Adrien hissed. "You've trapped yourself in here with me."
Rey smirked, wiping blood from his lip. "No. You've trapped yourself in here with me."
Their final charge began.
Two Singularities.
One battlefield.
One end.
As they flew toward each other again, fists glowing with all the strength they had gathered—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!
—Everything faded to white.