The sounds of clashes echoed through the Time Chamber. Side was standing in the middle of a room, his body moving nimbly, his two swords dancing around him.
Dozens of copies of Ethan rushed towards him, attacking him in terrifying harmony, as if they were one mind in several bodies. Every strike was precise, every movement calculated, and the air seemed to tremble with each thrust.
Side took a step back, relentlessly blocking attacks, sparks flying around him, his expression becoming increasingly serious. "This synchronicity..." he muttered in amazement as he dodged a scythe that flew within a hair's breadth of his face.
Then, in a low voice, a mixture of admiration and curiosity, he added, "How does he possess such skill?"
He continued fighting, blocking and attacking simultaneously, but in a fleeting moment, his gaze was fixed on one of the clones, which moved with unsettling agility. With incredible speed, he reached out and grabbed her wrist in mid-air, just as he had done with Ethan before. He pulled her violently toward him, snatching the scythe from her in an instant before crushing her with a single blow. The clone shattered into dark ash that vanished into thin air. Side twirled the scythe between his fingers, saying coldly, "Let's see how I use your weapon against you now."
He pounced on the remaining clones, brandishing the scythe left and right, slicing them down one by one. But he soon noticed something that puzzled him:
Every time he destroyed a clone, another sprang up in its place from one of the black fissures scattered throughout the area. He froze for a moment, then raised his head toward one of the fissures, muttering, "Ethan… he came in there."
Without hesitation, he darted toward one of the fissures and leaped inside without a second thought. The moment he stepped inside, the fissure closed behind him as if swallowed by something, leaving him in mysterious silence.
Inside, he found himself in a dark world, shrouded only in a thick, shifting black mist. The sky was awash with waves of shadows. Before he could speak, Ethan's voice boomed from nowhere, mingling with the echo: "I've got you, Side..."
As soon as the words left his lips, the shadows descended upon him from every direction. Side moved swiftly, parrying the onslaught with the clone scythe he had seized. But the shadows' power was immense, each strike sending a black spark crashing against him, until the scythe itself began to crack under the pressure.
In a violent moment, the scythe shattered into pieces, its fragments scattering into the dark void. But Side did not falter. He formed his two swords, gripped them tightly, and began to move with astonishing agility through the torrent of shadows, fighting as if dancing to a melody of chaos. Each strike tore through the darkness.
But the shadows were endless. As time passed, Side's breath grew heavy, and his body grew weary. Then he gathered his two swords in his fists, pressing them together until they merged into a single, massive, glowing blade. He raised the sword high, energy surging around him, then slammed it down to the ground with all his might.
The earth cracked open, the sky crumbled, and a massive wave of energy erupted, shattering the entire area. When the light cleared, Side had emerged from one of the cracks, followed by Ethan, who looked extremely exhausted. Both were covered in dust, their energy waning, but their eyes still gleamed with a single, burning desire to continue the fight.
Their gazes met, and in an instant, they charged at each other. Clashes erupted, the swords and scythes intersecting, energy igniting between them. But as time passed, Ethan began to lose his balance, his black aura gradually fading. Sid, too, began to revert to his original form, the glow surrounding him weakening.
In a final moment of despair, Ethan grabbed Side's arms and hurled him with tremendous force upwards, until he soared high into the endless space of the room. He then gathered his remaining energy into his scythe and roared, "Final Attack!"
The scythe began to ignite with a massive, dark energy. At that moment, Side was flying through the air, breathing heavily, his memory flashing back to the image of his battle against the Fourth Founder, Adrian.
He recalled his technique. He raised a hand to his chest and began to form a dragon's head, energy pooling in his mouth, growing brighter with every passing second, the air around him exploding with its intensity. Side muttered, his voice weary but resolute, "Adrian's skill..."
Below, Ethan noticed what he was doing, his eyes widening in astonishment and horror. "Impossible… the Fourth Founder's skill? How did he master it!"
Ethan tried to dodge the attack, but Sid had already unleashed his assault. The attack surged toward Ethan with unimaginable force. Ethan tried to deflect the attack with his energy-infused scythe, but the resulting explosion was devastating.
The entire Time Chamber shook, and a wave of light and energy rose. The echo of the explosion reverberated throughout the chamber.