In the Gravity Chamber, the air itself groaned with pressure. The hum of accumulated energy grew louder, and the fine gravel crunched beneath Saruto's feet with every step. Gravity was set at 200, yet his body moved with incredible agility, his muscles taut, his breath steady, his eyes burning with a deadly calm.
Void's energy surged within him, perfectly synchronized with his own. Void's voice echoed inside him: "Are you ready, Saruto?"
Saruto smiled and said confidently, raising his head, "More ready than ever."
Saruto summoned Ethan to the Time Chamber for a fight, a test before returning to Adrian. Ethan's voice, deep and dignified, said, "I haven't fought since… Are you sure you want this, Saruto?"
Saruto raised his chin with a defiant smile, his eyes flashing a deep purple light. "Yes, I want to see how far I've come... and how far I still have to go to reach your level, Master."
A moment of silence passed, then Ethan said with a calm smile, "Very well, let this be a duel worthy of the Dark Bloods."
There was no formal greeting or any signal to begin the duel. The moment the shadows behind Ethan disappeared, Saruto charged at him like lightning. Their fists collided, the explosion was deafening, and the ground cracked beneath their feet.
The two traded blows with lightning speed, their bodies moving like streaks of light. A punch was met with a kick, a dodge with a counter-strike. "I've improved a lot since the last time we faced each other," Ethan said lightly between strikes.
"I learned from the best in the business!" Saruto replied with a mocking smile.
The two recoiled simultaneously, each creating a distance between them. Then, Ethan raised his hand, and in his fist, two gleaming black daggers formed. In response, Saruto raised his arms, and from his wrists sprang two double swords connected by chains.
The clang of metal echoed through the room, and sparks flew. Saruto wielded his swords in an unusual way—they spun, ricocheted, and surged around his body.
Ethan moved with perfect agility; a single deflection with his dagger was enough to stop ten consecutive attacks, as if he knew exactly where the next blow would come from. But then, something strange happened in a flash: Ethan vanished before his eyes. Saruto stopped moving, his eyes searching for him… Then he heard a voice behind him: "I haven't used this weapon in ages…"
Saruto turned quickly to see Ethan had unwindn his dagger formations and extended his hand into the air. Out of nowhere, a massive black scythe formed, surrounded by a dense, dark aura that pulsed with a faint but suffocating energy. The moment it touched his fist, a wave of deadly energy erupted, filling the entire room like the very breath of death. Ethan said calmly, his voice heavy with awe: "This is… the Reaper Scythe."
Saruto took a step back, staring at the weapon that seemed to swallow the light around it, then murmured in amazement and wonder: "What immense power…"
Ethan raised the scythe, his aura rising until his hair changed color and rose upwards. He said, his voice filled with energetic resonance: "Level 2 Armor, Level 3 Shadow Awakening."
Saruto smiled and replied confidently, "Then let's make it fair."
His eyes blazed with a violet light, and his energy surged wildly. A thick vortex of purple flames swirled around him, and his hair, too, rose to a third level. The two energies collided, and the room shook as if it were about to explode. Then, simultaneously, they both charged.
The scythe against the two chained swords. Each strike cracked the floor, and each collision unleashed energy capable of destroying entire kingdoms. The two exchanged attacks with astonishing skill; Ethan dodged with incredible agility, and Saruto attacked with overwhelming ferocity.
But little by little, the balance began to tip in Ethan's favor. His strikes were more precise, his movements more measured, while Saruto's fatigue began to show, despite activating his Consciousness Confidence skill with Void.
He raised his two swords in the air, then slammed them together with tremendous force. They blazed with a brilliant light, and the chains began to twist until they merged into a single, massive sword—a sword no less formidable than Ethan's scythe. "This is my new skill, Ethan," Saruto whispered, then let out a thunderous roar as he charged forward.
Two energy-filled blades clashed. The battle was finally even; sparks flew, and the air itself seemed to cut through like a blade.
But Ethan decided to end it. He swung his scythe in a strange motion, and suddenly dark cracks opened in the walls, as if the very space itself were being ripped apart.
From them erupted dark energy streams, unleashing a barrage of rapid attacks, almost impossible to follow.
Saruto couldn't dodge them all; one struck his shoulder, and another shattered a piece of his armor. The next moment, Ethan was behind him, scythe raised, about to sever his arm at the root. But before the scythe touched his body, a dazzling purple flash shot through, and time froze for a split second. Saruto opened his eyes, his voice a blend of Void's, deep and resonant: "I will not surrender on these plains."
His eyes glowed a deep purple. Then, in a voice that was a mixture of his own and Void's, he said, "Now or never."