The dust from their last exchange hadn't settled before they surged at each other again. Equilibrium and Shadow Sovereign rang together in a chorus of steel, sparks leaping like fireflies across the cracked arena floor.
Phil stomped furiously at the sidelines, voice hoarse. "Now this is a fight! Don't hold back, you two—tear the place down! Not really, but ya get what I mean!"
The crowd answered him with a roar, every cheer and jeer echoing through the Colosseum.
Helios pivoted smoothly, Equilibrium spinning into a downward sweep. Kurai met him, her serrated blade biting against his in jagged rhythm. Their weapons locked, teeth to teeth, the air between them trembling.
"You're too calm," Kurai hissed, pressing harder. Shadows leaked from her keyblade, snaking across the ground.
"Calm," Helios replied, his smirk curving, "is the only way to not get eaten alive by you."
He slid free of the bind, blade flicking outward. A Magnet pulse burst from the keyblade's tip, tugging at Kurai's stance, dragging her balance half a step off. She answered instantly, stabbing her blade into the stone itself. Shadow surged along the cracks like liquid iron, anchoring her in place.
The crowd gasped as the arena itself seemed to writhe.
"Creative," Helios admitted, circling.
"Efficient," Kurai corrected, wrenching her keyblade free as she lunged again.
This time her blade cut through the lingering Magnet field, sparks of purple shadow dispersing the pull. She slashed thrice in brutal succession, the serrations raking against Equilibrium. Helios deflected each, but the force shoved him back, his boots screeching across stone.
From the stands, Skuld shouted, "Helios! Don't let her bully you around like that!"
Zack leaned forward, eyes wide. "She's pushing him back! He might actually—"
"Pipe down," Phil barked. "This ain't over 'til one of 'em's in the dirt!"
Helios' smirk didn't waver, even as Kurai bore down on him. He flicked his free hand, and a Reflect panel shimmered into existence—not in front of him, but angled above. Kurai's blade struck his guard—at the same instant, he kicked off the ground and pushed against the glowing panel overhead.
He vaulted over her like a shadow slipping free of its owner, twisting mid-air to bring Equilibrium down in a blinding arc.
Kurai turned just in time, Shadow Sovereign catching the blow. Sparks burst in a shower as both weapons shrieked against each other.
The crowd roared its approval.
Helios landed lightly, Equilibrium whirling back to guard. Kurai's eyes narrowed, her breath misting with cold. "Your toys won't do the trick."
"And you hate them," Helios said. "That makes them perfect to annoy you."
She didn't rise to the bait. Instead, she spread her free hand. The shadows pooled at her feet, writhing upward, twisting into jagged spears. She snapped her wrist, and the shadow spears shot toward him like a storm.
Helios slashed Equilibrium through the air, each strike loosing shards of Blizzaga. Ice collided with shadow, exploding into steam. He darted between gaps, his blade carving, his cloak singed by grazing strikes.
As he closed, Kurai dropped her hand and stabbed forward, her keyblade coated in crackling Dark Thundaga. Lightning streaked down the serrated edge, each strike sparking on the stone.
Helios twirled Equilibrium, planting it like a staff. A Reflect panel bloomed at the tip, and when her lightning struck, the shield detonated outward in a burst of light. Kurai staggered, but even as she slid back, she snapped her blade to the side and let the explosion fling her into a spin.
She came around like a scythe, Shadow Sovereign carving a jagged slash across his guard. The impact rattled his arm, and for the first time, Equilibrium wavered.
The Colosseum howled, sensing blood.
Helios inhaled once, calm. He shifted his grip, pressing Equilibrium low. "Waterga."
A geyser burst from beneath her, shoving her off-balance. She snarled, stabbing her keyblade into the stone to anchor again. But that was exactly what he wanted.
"Thundaga."
Electricity crackled from his free hand into the pool of water splashing across the arena. The shock raced up her anchoring shadows and into her grip.
The crowd gasped as Kurai cried out, her body jerking with the surge. But she ripped her keyblade free, shadows crackling, and hurled a blast of Nightfall Vortex at point-blank.
Helios' eyes widened as the vortex pulled him in, the force dragging him against his own retreat. He planted an inverse Reflect panel at his side, detonating it like a rocket to shove himself out of its grip, but not before her blade raked across his ribs.
Blood sprayed.
The crowd went feral, screams rattling the Colosseum.
Skuld paled. "Helios!"
Zack's voice cracked. "Damn, she really got him! That's a deep one!"
Phil slammed a hoof. "Fight through it, ya brat! Don't you dare fold!"
Helios staggered once, blood dripping down his side, but his smirk never left. "You're better up close than I gave you credit for."
Kurai's chest rose and fell, her eyes blazing like amethysts in shadow. "You bleeding. That's all I wanted to see."
"Careful," he teased, spinning Equilibrium back into stance. "Keep staring at my blood and people really will think you're enjoying this."
She answered with silence—and a lunge that split the air with shadow.
They clashed again, each blow heavier, each spell more desperate. Helios layered Reflect panels in odd angles, turning them into ricochets for his own Blizzaga shards. Kurai slashed through them with Shadow Sovereign, detonating them deliberately to turn the bursts against him.
He launched Magnet fields at unpredictable moments, tugging her attacks sideways. She responded by stabbing her blade into the ground, dragging shadows up to lash him from below.
The arena floor cracked under their exchange. Columns rattled with each impact. The Colosseum crowd shrieked with every near miss, every gasp of blood.
At last, they locked weapons, Equilibrium and Shadow Sovereign pressed together, their faces inches apart. Light sparked along Helios' blade, shadows rippled across Kurai's.
Phil stomped furiously, eyes wide. "They're gonna blow the place apart!"
The crowd rose to their feet, stamping, chanting both names, the stadium alive with fever.
Helios' voice was calm, almost amused. "Still equal."
Kurai's breath misted, her eyes cold and sharp. "Not for long."
They shoved apart. Both raised their weapons high, magic coiling at their tips.
Helios drew Equilibrium into a sweeping arc, gathering shards of light into a burning crescent. Kurai's Shadow Sovereign pulsed, shadows spinning into a jagged storm.
The crowd screamed.
Their powers clashed in a single devastating strike. Light and shadow collided, the explosion shaking the arena to its foundations. Dust and smoke swallowed the battlefield whole.