Lightning tore through the air as Miller’s body zipped through it.

Gee, unrelenting, moved like a bull, his greatsword held firmly within his grip, with the blade facing backwards.

Miller closed the gap first, his fist flying towards Gee’s head in a burst of orange light.

Gee swung his greatsword in the same moment, deflecting the punch with the flat of the blade.

Miller did not stop. Using the momentum, he drove his foot towards Gee’s stomach, this time faster.

The lightning around them flared to life, arcing towards the point of contact.

Gee smirked as the foot passed through him cleanly.

Miller looked at Gee calmly.

He withdrew his foot and ducked in the same motion, avoiding Gee’s horizontal cleave.

He drove his fist up in an uppercut aimed at Gee’s jaw.

Gee stepped back, the punch exploding through the area his head had occupied just moments ago.

Miller rose, pressing forward with finesse.

His fists moved in short, controlled bursts, each one aimed at different points in Gee’s body.

Gee was not to be outdone. He deflected what he could with the flat of his blade and let his skill eat through what he could not.

For a while, it was like both sides were at a stalemate, with no clear winner in sight.

Gee swung wide, forcing Miller to step back, then pressed forward.

His greatsword drove down in a heavy overhead chop.

Miller did not back down. Instead of dodging, he crossed his arms.

Lightning crackled as the greatsword crashed into Miller’s arms.

Then, like the lightning could no longer be contained, it burst outward, crashing into both Miller and Gee.

Miller was pushed back a few steps. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

He held his ground and looked at Gee’s frozen body.

His foot drove forward, tearing through the air towards Gee’s stomach.

Gee’s body folded inward from the impact.

His body was hurled through the space, crashing into what seemed to be a barrier.

Miller looked at Gee as he stood up with a smirk.

"Okay, let’s go again."

Gee appeared in Miller’s face, crossing the distance like it never existed in the first place.

His greatsword came down in a brutal arc aimed at his head.

Miller sidestepped cleanly, letting the greatsword pass.

Before the sword could even reach the floor, Gee caught it, swinging it in a horizontal arc aimed at Miller’s torso.

Miller’s body twisted at the last moment, avoiding the attack by a thin margin.

Gee did not let him rest. He pushed forward.

"Explode."

Miller said, pointing at the tiles beneath Gee.

Gee was slow to react.

The floor beneath him exploded at Miller’s command.

Miller’s gaze pierced through the haze and from it, he saw the greatsword flashing towards his neck like the scythe of a death god.

Miller’s body dipped as he channeled raw aether through his body.

"Phase," he said, his body still in an attack stance.

Gee’s blade passed cleanly through him without resistance.

Miller did not wait for him to reorganize.

His hand burst forward, igniting the air around him from the sheer force behind the attack.

Gee ducked beneath it, his greatsword rising through the air in the same motion.

Miller leapt back, the sword whistling through the space his head had once occupied.

He closed in again, his leg a blur of black as it streaked towards Gee’s chest.

Gee bore the full brunt of the attack, his legs digging into the earth beneath.

He swung his greatsword in a diagonal cleave.

Miller was gone.

The sword struck empty air.

"Explode," the words came from behind Gee, soft and calm.

He turned to meet Miller’s fist crashing into his face.

From the point of impact, a loud explosion rang, sending Gee’s body flying through the space.

Gee twisted mid air, plunging his greatsword into the earth to stabilize himself.

He looked at Miller with a smile.

Miller could not wrap his head around the fact that Gee still had a smile on his face even though he was losing.

It infuriated him so much that he felt like killing him on the spot.

But he also thought about it.

According to his experience, losers who smiled were always the most dangerous enemies.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" He heard Gee’s voice roar as he burst forward.

His frame pulsed with aether.

The aether enveloped him from top to bottom, including his sword.

The earth beneath him cracked from the weight, but Miller failed to notice something.

The earth did not repair itself as usual.

Both sides collided, their attacks sending waves of aether through the space.

Miller came with a hook at Gee’s cheek.

Gee ducked, the attack grazing the top of his hair.

He came up with a slash at Miller’s neck.

Miller pushed the greatsword to the side with the back of his palm, delivering a straight punch at Gee’s chest.

The attack passed through Gee, exiting on the other side.

Gee’s eyes locked onto Miller’s with a crazed smirk.

Miller tried to withdraw his hand, but it was locked.

’He is crazy. Did he just unphase with my hand inside of him?’ Miller could not help but wonder.

But Gee did not give him the leisure for that.

He clenched his fists, the wind crackling from the force behind them.

"Split," Miller said, as emotionless as ever.

His arm split cleanly from his shoulder and he bent, barely avoiding the punch.

"Restore," he said again, coming up with an uppercut at Gee’s jaw.

The floor beneath them erupted into a pile of rubble that rebuilt itself instantly.

Gee was launched into the air.

Then he began to plummet as gravity took hold again.

Miller’s fist began to charge with aether as he awaited Gee’s landing.

Gee landed, but not in the way Miller had expected.

He landed calmly on his feet.

Miller punched anyway.

"Explode."

Miller added a rule, pushing his chances to the extreme as his fist shot through the air towards Gee’s head.

Boom.

The entire space shook heavily as the punch connected.