Chapter 385: THE FINAL SPAR
It was a new day in the land of Eldoria and everyone were now busy preparing for the upcoming war that is about to befall ok them.
But right next to Eldoria, the skies above the open field that rested there roared with thunder as if the heavens themselves anticipated a clash that was predestined for the lives of two young men that stoud facing each other on it. The ground was wide, barren, stretching endlessly, yet it trembled beneath the weight of the two overwhelming auras.
On one end stood Kelvin, his dark hair whipping wildly in the wind, his eyes glowing with a deep black and crimson tint that swirled with threads of black. The aura of Chaos around him twisted reality itself, warping the very air like a broken reflection. At his back, a shadowy crown flickered—marking him as the Heir of Chaos.
Opposite him, Kaelen stood calm but unyielding, his dark blue hair catching the faint light as if the stars themselves had descended. Eternity’s presence lingered behind him—an endless expanse of stars stretching in all directions, infinite and timeless. The sigils of the Avatar of Eternity now glowed faintly across his skin, threads of golden and blue lights pulsing with divine rhythm.
Watching from a safe distance, Drake Grey and Neana stood side by side, already channeling every ounce of their mana and Qi respectively to erect layer upon layer of protective barriers. Their expressions were taut with awe and unease.
"Both of them... they’ve grown terrifying," Drake muttered, sweat already forming on his brow.
Neana’s golden eyes narrowed. "This isn’t a spar... this is two forces of existence colliding. If we falter for even a moment, the aftershocks will erase us."
The field fell silent for a heartbeat.
Then Kaelen moved first.
With a single step, time warped around him, his Blade of Eternity flashing out in a line of golden and blue starlight. Kelvin responded instantly, his body shrouded in a maelstrom of Chaos energy. He raised his hand, and his trusted abyssal scythe of pure darkness tore into existence, clashing against Kaelen’s strike.
BOOM!
The ground caved inward, forming a crater dozens of meters wide. Shockwaves thundered outward, forcing Drake and Neana to reinforce their barriers.
Kelvin smirked, his voice carrying an eerie resonance. "You’re not holding back, Kaelen. Good. Don’t you dare. Show me the strength of Eternity! Because Chaos won’t bow to anyone!"
Kaelen’s expression remained steady, though his aura burned brighter. "Then come. Let us decide this... here and now."
The battle exploded.
Kaelen surged forward, his sword weaving patterns of infinite precision, each strike carrying not just force but inevitability—like the passing of time itself. Kelvin countered with raw unpredictability, each blow born from the essence of chaos. His fists, scythe strikes, and waves of unstable energy ripped through the air, detonating in explosions that shredded the landscape.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The earth cracked, split, and reformed under their feet as if reality itself could not decide how to exist under their clash.
Kaelen raised his free hand, and with a sweep of his will, constellations of pure mana erupted into the sky, raining beams of light down like divine judgment. Kelvin only laughed, his aura spiraling into madness as he devoured the beams into a storm of black-and-crimson energy. With a roar, he hurled the storm forward, colliding with Kaelen’s celestial barrage.
The explosion that followed tore through the horizon.
Drake’s barrier cracked—once, twice, thrice—before Neana placed her palms forward, her golden energy intertwining with his to reinforce it. Both of them staggered back, blood dripping from their lips.
"They’ll... destroy this entire region," Drake hissed.
Neana only smiled faintly, despite the strain. "Yes... but this is necessary. They have to decide who is the ultimate victor in their long years of rivalry."
Back on the battlefield, Kaelen’s breaths grew heavier, his golden and blue aura pulsing erratically as if Eternity itself demanded more of him. Kelvin, however, seemed almost exhilarated, his Chaos crown flaring brighter.
But then—Kaelen closed his eyes for a heartbeat.
’Time to end this’
When he reopened them, his irises had turned into galaxies swirling with infinite stars.
"Huh?"
The world around him froze. Time itself bowed to his will. Kelvin staggered, his movements slowed despite the chaos he wielded. For a moment, his storm flickered... and Kaelen struck.
One swing.
A single arc of light, so vast and so absolute it carved through the storm of Chaos as if it never existed.
"NOT YET!!"
Kelvin roared, pouring every ounce of his strength, but the inevitable cannot be denied. The blow struck him squarely, flinging him across the battlefield, tearing trenches through the land before he crashed into the earth.
Silence followed.
Kelvin coughed, blood staining his lips. For a moment, the Chaos crown flickered... before dimming. His laughter, however, echoed weakly. "Heh... so that’s... Eternity. Damn you, Kaelen... you win."
Kaelen lowered his blade, his aura slowly retracting, though his body trembled from the sheer strain. His gaze softened as he walked toward Kelvin and extended a hand.
"Over the years, you are the only one who has pushed me further than anyone ever has and still lived to this day... Kelvin."
Kelvin stared at him, then smirked faintly, taking the hand. "Don’t think this is over... Heir of Chaos never falls for long."
Far away, Neana and Drake exhaled deeply, their barriers finally fading. The battlefield was ruined, the land unrecognizable. Yet in the midst of destruction stood Kaelen, victorious, and Kelvin, defiant even in defeat.
And in that moment, both observers knew—this clash was only the beginning of something far greater.
----
At that moment....
The open field was left in ruin. Craters stretched across the earth, blades of grass turned to ash, and deep scorch marks lined the battlefield as if it had been branded by gods.
But while Kelvin and Kaelen were resting while Drake and Neana approached them.....
Kelvin lifted his head slowly, his voice rough yet edged with a faint grin.
"Kaelen... tell me something."
Kaelen tilted his head, still catching his breath. "What is it?"
Kelvin’s golden eyes gleamed, piercing past the exhaustion. "That power of yours... the one that explodes out of you when you’re about to die. The Dragonic surge. I’ve seen it more than once — at the Pacesetters Rookie Tournament... and again at the Battle Convention in Valoria. What is it really?"
At the mention of that, Drake also remembered when that event occurred and also spoke up. "Yeah, I also remembered that your strange last ditch power. What exactly is it?"
Kaelen’s expression stiffened. For a moment, silence pressed down heavier than the aftermath of their clash. He looked down at his palm, clenching it faintly, as though searching for something within himself.
"I... don’t know," Kaelen admitted at last, his voice quiet but steady. "It’s not something I can summon. I don’t even feel it until it erupts on its own, like it doesn’t belong to me at all."
Kelvin frowned, his breathing shallow but steady. "You’re saying even you don’t understand it?"
Kaelen gave a sharp nod. "I’ve tried to find out. I even asked Eternity..." — his gaze drifted, troubled — "but for the first time, he was silent. No riddles, no answers, nothing. Just... quiet."
That confession made even Kelvin’s battle-hardened face falter. His eyes narrowed, not in mockery, but in deep thought. "Strange. A god like Eternity, who whispers about everything, refusing to answer a question like that? That... isn’t coincidence."
Drake, standing at the edge of the field, folded his arms but said nothing this time. His sharp eyes, however, betrayed unease. Neana, too, felt the tension, her staff lowering slightly as she studied Kaelen with quiet caution.
Kaelen glanced at them both before returning his focus to Kelvin. "Whatever it is... that Dragonic power isn’t something I can rely on. It only comes when I’m at the brink, when I’m about to fall. Until I understand it, it’s as much a danger to me as it is to my enemies."
Kelvin gave a small, tired laugh, clutching his side where Kaelen’s last strike had landed. "Heh. Figures. You carry a storm you can’t control... and yet, you still beat me."
Kaelen extended a hand toward him, steady despite the trembling in his fingers. "Because I wasn’t fighting alone. Eternity or not, Dragonic power or not... I fought with everything that’s mine."
Kelvin smirked faintly, taking the hand and rising to his feet. "Tch. Always so damned stubborn, Kaelen. But I’ll say this—" his gaze hardened, voice dropping low, "—you better figure it out soon. Because if that Dragonic power isn’t truly yours, then someone else might be waiting to claim it."
"Wait, what do you mean it can be claimed?"
The words hung heavy in the scorched air as Kaelen asked, a shadow of worry flickering across his face as he wondered if that latent force — that primal Dragonic might — wasn’t a gift at all... but a chain, waiting to tighten.