[Bonus chapters thanks to chronotitan <3]

Kairos' hair danced. In a flash, he was in front of Sylas.

His battle style had completely changed. His eyes became wide, his grin spreading so far his teeth seemed to line up with his ears. He threw an overhand punch that arced toward Sylas' face, and yet his face was so close to the ground it seemed like he might scrape his cheek along its rough exterior.

Sylas crossed his arms, his own expression the exact opposite. Rather than wild, it became an icy cold, so focused and indifferent the temperature seemed to drop around him, the world falling into slowing streaks of black and white.

He didn't need anything but the data it was reflecting back at him.

With a slight hop into the air, Sylas nullified Kairos' blow.

BANG.

He slid back, the tips of his toes grazing the ground.

Kairos' laughter filled the air. "GOOD!"

Chi.

He vanished, appearing to Sylas' side. With a quick pivot, Sylas matched him, his forearm blocking another punch and his knee driving toward Kairos' gut.

Kairos elbowed it down, flipping in the air and using the momentum of Sylas' blow to finish his spin, unleashing an axe kick from above.

Sylas shifted his head to the side just the slightest bit, rolling his shoulder and letting Kairos' axe kick fall onto its curve. He parried it to the side with a shrug and then unleashed a hook punch at Kairos' falling torso.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

The two exchanged a quick flurry of attacks and blocks. Kairos might have been the only one with a wild expression on his face, and yet both of their combat styles were completely fluid and ever changing.

Counters and counters to counters, a swirling mass of control and chaos flowing in turbid air between the two.

BANG.

Their fists met and the both of them took a step back. Every time they clashed, the Runes they formed shattered on contact with one another.

While a layman could only see the battle between their bodies, an expert would see the layered tiers of dimensions they fought at. They weren't just exchanging blows between their limbs and sometimes even their heads, but also their Runes.

A chess match of duality, a mixture of clashing ideologies from raw physical combat to complex concepts and layered secrets that manifested in the language of the universe itself.

They fought back and forth for position, a sea of red meeting a sea of green in a tug of war.

Their domains fought for position, their Aether sparking and shattering against one another. Streaks of emerald and gold lightning met, only to cancel out and twist out of being.

Lightning trailed out the corners of Sylas' eyes as his feet slid along the ground. Across from him, lightning coursed out of the corners of Kairos' eyes as well.

The latter looked like he was having the time of his life, and despite the cold indifference on Sylas' face, there was a slowly building fire in his eyes as though something was waking up.

The roar of a beast came from both of their chests. Neither opened their mouths, and yet their hearts beat with the rhythm of undulating waves against stony cliff sides.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Sylas' pupils dilated, the weaving shades of emerald in his irises moving like they had independent thoughts and intentions of their own. His Runeweaver Eyes bloomed and his Rune production accelerated.

Kairos' wild grin only grew brighter as he slapped his palms together. A fissure appeared in the air above him, formed by a spark of lightning that almost looked like an irregular split in space.

The fissure vanished and in its place, an eye split open as radiantly blue as the bright skies. A dome of glass formed over it, and in its presence alone, the Runes began to form faster and faster for him as well.

Sylas could immediately tell that his Runeweaver Eyes were inferior, but he didn't even flinch as his toes flexed against the ground, his body soaring forward in a streaking line of Madness.

Kairos' laughter filled the air.

Chi. Chi. Chi. Chi. Chi.

Their elbows clashed, an explosion of air sending their own Runes scattering into the distance like shattered motes of glass.

Sylas' irises danced.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

He drew a circle in the air with his free hand, a compact portion of the Death Seal forming.

The lightning that formed twisted.

Sylas' head snapped down, his forehead aiming for Kairos' nose.

Kairos responded in kind, their heads slamming against one another.

A small gap opened up as their necks deflected back. Both pressed forward, and yet this small gap seemed entirely insurmountable no matter how hard they pressed, one explosion of Runes after another forming.

There was no doubt about it. Kairos had likewise stepped into True Rune Creation of the D-tier. Or, most accurately… Heaven Rune Creation.

Maybe neither of the two of them had ever faced off against someone at their Rune Creation level, and certainly not one at the same tier, and yet they both still had the same belief blooming in their hearts.

They were better.

He was better.

And "he" could only ever refer to themselves.

BOOM.

They separated, their feet gliding along the ground until they came to a stop.

Kairos exhaled a breath, standing to his full height as Sylas adjusted his own sleeves.

"This will never end like this." Kairos said with a laugh. "In that case, I'm just going to have to kick it up a notch, aren't I?"

He cracked his neck, swaying it side to side as the eye that hung above him crackled with lightning.

Sylas took his own deep breath. He couldn't burn himself out, not before he saw what was waiting for him after this battle. But at this rate, Kairos was correct. It would take them months to decide a winner like this.

It felt that he didn't really have a choice.

Violet joined the arching emerald lightning streaking from the corners of his eyes as his body expanded.