Bryan appeared outside the Veritas Corps headquarters in a flicker.

He took in the sight of the massive crater that had formed just before the entrance.

Dust rose, covering the centre in a haze of golden sand.

Bryan furrowed his brows, then squinted to see the person inside.

The haze began to clear, revealing a roughly dressed person.

His hair had overgrown to the point where it was reaching his back.

He held a jagged blade that had begun to chip at its edges.

Bryan’s sword appeared in his palm as he looked at the intruder.

A smile clung to the intruder’s face as he looked at Bryan.

It was a crazed smile, one that no normal person would imitate.

"I am Moore, what about you?" The person asked.

His voice sounded more like screeching than human words.

Bryan looked at him for a while and got into stance.

"Ohh, no introduction?" Moore asked.

Bryan was about to respond when the floor before him crashed.

Moore leapt from where he was, sword swung down over Bryan’s head.

Bryan stepped back, the floor exploding as he dodged the attack.

He moved in the same breath, his sword creating a silver trail as it flashed toward Moore’s neck.

Moore ducked.

In the same instant, he somersaulted over Bryan.

His sword thrust forward at Bryan’s exposed back.

Bryan twisted, catching the blade with the edge of his own sword.

Moore’s hand was swung wide to the left, leaving him open.

Bryan pushed forward, sending a kick into his chest.

Moore flew through the air, crashing into the Veritas Corps building with full force.

The place was empty. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Only the constant sound of computers beeping could be heard.

Bryan furrowed his brows.

"Where did they go?" He asked himself.

But he did not linger for long. He lunged forward, aether flaring across his frame as he closed the distance.

He swung in a fast horizontal slash.

Moore caught it with his blade, a crazed smile still playing on his lips. Then he heard the whistling sound of something tearing through the air.

Two spears shot forward from above Bryan, targeting Moore’s head.

Moore kicked Bryan backward, his sword moving in the same instant.

They cut through the spears before they could reach.

Bryan skidded a few feet back from the attack before he regained his footing.

He stared forward but Moore was already gone.

"You don’t play fair," Bryan heard the voice from behind.

He swung back before he could even process the words.

Nothing. He struck empty air.

He turned back quickly.

Moore was already in his face, his blade arcing downward toward his shoulder.

Bryan caught the attack with the flat of his blade, his knee buckling under the weight.

Swoosh.

Two spears lunged from above Moore at the same angle Bryan had released his own earlier.

His eyes narrowed slightly, but he reacted quickly.

His aether burst out, then quickly condensed into a shield that covered him from the spears’ advance.

Moore moved back a few steps of his own accord.

"You are good," he said to Bryan.

"We have not even started and you are already praising me," Bryan said, his sword already moving before he completed the statement.

He drove his sword forward in a straight slash aimed at Moore’s chest.

Moore sidestepped, letting the blade pass by a thin margin, then countered with a rising cut toward Bryan’s jaw.

Bryan’s head jerked backward, letting the blade pass.

He felt the sharp gale the blade released against his chin, but it did nothing.

He stepped closer, slashing toward Moore’s exposed neck.

His sword seemed to carry an invincible force as it drove forward without any resistance.

Moore leapt back in time, then jumped back to his previous position, his leg whipping toward Bryan’s ribs.

Bryan caught it with the flat of his blade.

The floor beneath him caved in slightly from the amount of strength he planted into his feet to remain standing.

Moore pulled back, then stepped forward, his blade moving in short, unpredictable arcs.

Left, then right, then a sudden lunge that changed angle midway.

Bryan tracked everything and met them steadily.

One slipped through, catching Bryan at his forearm.

The jagged edge did not cut clean. It tore ferociously.

Bryan glanced at it, then back at Moore.

Ten spears of aether formed above Moore in that instant, driving downward with a force that made the air groan.

Moore’s eyes flicked upward for a fraction of a second toward the incoming spears.

That was all Bryan needed.

He moved through that fraction, his sword driving straight at Moore’s chest with everything behind it.

Moore’s smile grew wider, as if he had finally seen his favorite toy.

His body weaved through all the spears like a phantom, creating afterimages that disappeared after a breath.

Then he flashed forward again, right into the path where Bryan’s sword was already slashing.

He caught the sword with the edge of his jagged blade.

"You’re interesting," he said to Bryan.

Bryan grunted as he tried to push forward.

There was no change.

Like an unmoving fortress, Moore did not budge under Bryan’s attempts.

A light flickered in Bryan’s eyes.

He pulled back, then slashed forward again.

"Searing Slash," he said.

His blade pulsed as the temperature in his immediate area began to rise.

Moore swung his sword to meet Bryan’s.

The soft sound of fabric tearing echoed through the air.

Clang.

Half of Moore’s sword fell to the ground as it made contact with Bryan’s blade.

Bryan did not stop. His sword pushed forward with unrelenting force.

But Moore did not wait for the sword to reach him.

His body flashed backward.

He landed on a nearby table.

"You broke my sword. How do I tell the scrap keeper I can’t bring his sword back now?" Moore said, his face visibly panicked.

But Bryan could not care less.

He held his sword steady as the technique’s effect wore off.

Then a light appeared in Moore’s eyes.

"I will just give him your sword then."

The table beneath him broke into splinters as he lunged forward.