Two lone figures stood across from each other in a massive clearing, surrounded by mountains that reached the peak of the sky.
"Who are you...?"
Kuro exclaimed with a look of profound confusion, staring at the cloaked male figure who radiated zero magical essence.
"Let's find out..."
The cloaked man replied and dashed forward with speed unlike no other, reaching Kuro in a few seconds flat.
Kuro eyes slightly widened in surprise, lifting his right forearm up in response to the cloaked man straight punch.
The clash resulted in a thunderous shockwave that tore the ground apart, uplifting chunks of the earth.
Both warriors were locked in an intense stalemate of strikes and evasive movements, practically dancing around the open field in a display of elite martial arts.
"It's like I'm fighting an exact..."
Kuro began as he evaded another strike from the cloaked man and delivered an attempted elbow which was blocked by the cloaked man.
Kuro then gazed into the hood of the cloaked man, noticing a subtle golden hue emanating from the darkness of it.
"An exact copy"
The cloaked man finished Kuro's sentence and backpedalled a few meters to gain some distance, removing his hood to reveal a pair of golden eyes adorned with jet black hair that complemented the yellow side hairs.
"W-wait...what the hell?!"
Kuro stammered out in shocked, clearly looking at a carbon copy of himself clear as day.
"No need to yell, it's very unsightly. But yeah, I'm you."
The aforementioned carbon copy proclaimed with a mischievous grin that practically screamed danger.
"The Author meets himself."
.
Kuro sat alone in his room in deep thought, staring off into the abyss. Next to him sat Miyah who explained the situation to him as best as she could.
"So...I'm the alternate version of myself that gained awareness. That means your boss is...that version of me?"
Kuro finally uttered out in a hushed tone, still trying to understand the complexity of his situation.
"Yes. But I realized that his goal is to release his true body by taking the soul cores of each celestial knight."
Miyah replied in a tone of seriousness that was different than her usual indifferent tone. This made Kuro realize the urgency in the situation which meant the end of all.
"After he found the 'phantom' particle, the universe transitioned into a state of uncertainty which eventually led to your birth. A Kuro that developed magical essence."
Miyah continued to which Kuro continued to listen, absorbing the information that was being told to him.
"So if I can destroy him before he gets me, then that means I win right?"
Kuro asked with a hopeful tone, finally turning his head to lock eyes with Niyah's azure colored ones.
"No. You're his exact opposite. He has the mind of that being but you have the essence of it. Neither of you can be killed by natural means, but one of you can be absorbed into the other to achieve a state of nigh omnipotence."
Miyah stated much to the shock of Kuro, though instead of overreacting like he typically does, he took the time to think everything over.
"I see...then it's decided. I need to protect the celestial knights and make sure I don't fail."
Kuro declared with a tone of finality, earning a subtle smile from Miyah who nodded her head in agreement.
"Then the first person we have to see is..."
.
"Ah, so he finally made contact with you huh. It seems he's figuring out a way to do more than just project his mind through the dimensional barrier."
Kuriko exclaimed with a hint of annoyance at the intelligence of the 'other' Kuro, earning a nod from the Kuro that retained the magical essence.
"Yeah It seems so, but I came here to get your help to gather the others and protect y'all."
Kuro explained which earned a chuckle from Kuriko, much to Miyah's ire though that was dismissed by the white haired male.
The First Celestial Knight of Space; Kuriko
"Sounds like fun, I'm in. You'll need my help getting that one girl to comply though. Let's save that one for last"
Kuriko stated with a mischievous grin, standing up from a throne carved from a porcelain material. His hands were firmly held on his hips and he suddenly bursted out laughing.
"Oh man...this is going to be good"
Kuriko exclaimed and with a snap of his finger, all three of them found themselves in a simple small coffee shop.
"Yo girly, you have a visitor"
Kuriko announced to a blonde haired women behind the counter. Their sudden arrival made her turn around, revealing her unique hazy orange colored eyes.
"I have a name Kuriko. Please address me as such"
The women uttered out in annoyance, a sigh escaping her lips and when she turned her gaze to the other two, her body froze up upon seeing Kuro.
"WAIT LANA-"
Kuriko attempted to yell out to the women named Lana, unfortunately his sentence was cut short when she leapt across the counter in seconds, drawing forth her blade just as she closed in on Kuro.
Though much to her shock, the moment she swung the blade towards Kuro, it was caught by his hand which was infused with soul energy to act as protection against the sharpness of the blade.
This did not deter Lana and moments after, she released the grip on her sword and slid forward with a strike towards Kuro gut.
The strike landed much to Kuriko and Miyah surprise. His body flung backward with enough force to blast him through the shop wall and into the city streets.
Kuriko eyes narrowed and he stepped forward to handle Lana, though before he could do anything to restrain her, Kuro appeared in front of her and held his open hand inches away from her face.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Everyone stood in silence as Kuro kept his hand inches away from her face, her eyes slightly widened at the speed displayed by Kuro.
"Whoever you think I am... I'm not. I came here to seek your help."
Kuro explained in a tone of calmness that shocked even Miyah, to which Lana simply continued to stare at Kuro's palm.
After lowering his hand, Lana nodded with an exaggerated sigh which earned a chuckle from Kuriko.
"I just had to see for myself. You're way different from HIM anyway."
Lana spoke with disdain in her voice, earning a confused look from Kuro, wanting her to explain more about his counterpart.
The mood in the room suddenly shifted, a down casted expression glossed over Lana and Miyah face, whilst Kuriko simply sat down and turned his head to the side to avoid confrontation about the subject at hand.
.
A black haired man with the sides of his hair yellow, sat alone in the darkness of a room. His piercing golden eyes were the only source of light that paved its way in the void.
Then a series of lights turned on consecutively, revealing a Kuro with yellow tagged earrings sitting with one leg slightly crossed over the other upon a throne crafted from stone.
"It's almost time. I'll bring his entire story to its knees."
Kuro proclaimed aloud to no one in particular, enjoying the silence that followed after his declaration. He was the end of all things and to bring his goal into fruition, he knew that he must confront death itself.
"Ayami, my dear love. We'll get to meet sooner than you'd like."
A smile graced Kuro's face but this smile reeked of something beyond evil. It held an underlying intent of destruction against existence itself.
.
"Let's have a quick spar kid, I need to see where you need to improve"
Lana stated to which Kuro nodded and both slid into their respective fighting stance.
Magic Art: Flaming Dragon
Lana struck first and initiated a runic circle filled with magical essence. From this magical circle, a dragon of pure flames burst forth in fury and dove towards Kuro at break neck speed.
Kuro responded to this by encasing his hands in his soul energy, generating an ethereal golden intangible substance that flickered like flames.
Then he used his left hand to strike upwards in a blocking motion, just as the flaming dragon crashed into him head on, redirecting its path of trajectory into the sky.
Soul Art #1: Mirror of Reflection
Kuro then shot forward in the next moment, a streak of golden light trailing through the field at the speed of sound, utterly destroying the ground beneath him during his initial burst of speed.
Quanti-Soul Art #1: Quantum Collision
Reality suddenly blurred and the dimensional barrier between the two universes collided. The sky tore open in a starry display, revealing the vacuum of space the resided outside the planet atmosphere.
A golden light rippled through the very structure of the third dimension, until a swirling mass of energy was left in the sky like a hole in space.
"NATIONAL EMERGENCY: AN UNRANKED GATE AS APPEARED"
Sirens tore through the very globe in an alert, forcing Kuro to halt his movements in awe and shock at the sudden appearance of a gate.
Though as Kuro peered closer to the golden mass of energy, he realized it had a familiar feeling to it. It was a rift between dimensions, a forceful tear in the multidimensional barrier.
"Miyah, Kuriko, Lana! We have to go!"
Kuro shouted out which was agreed upon by the other three and the trio ran away from the area at top speed, narrowly avoiding a golden pillar of energy smashing into the area they left just seconds ago.
As the overly massive dust cloud settled, the field was in ruin and a gigantic crater was left behind. Within the center of this crater was a black and yellowed haired male, his height standing at 5'8 yet the way he carried himself was that of a divine.
"Now there's no where to hide..."
The man that spoke was none other than the original Kuro Nasaki, the founder of the phantom particle and the smartest being in the conceivable multiverse.
.
"And so it begins.."