"It does not suit you…" Aaryan turned backward and opened his eyes. "Am I right, Kai?"
"I don't think so." A voice answered, though the speaker was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly, Aaryan released a giant fireball from thin air and threw it in front of him.
The fire traveled a short distance, then extinguished. But the next instant, the flame filled the sky, burning something invisible to one.
Aaryan stood there quietly, his face cold and emotionless, watching the scene before him.
The fire burned dazzlingly, vigorously. It appeared as the might of a god — inevitable, the end for whoever faced it. Yet, the fire burned nothing. Neither Aaryan's coldness nor the thing it was meant to burn.
Suddenly, the fire split in half perfectly, like peasants moving out of the way of their king. Here, the vigorous flames were the peasants, and the king they were moving aside for was the very thing they should burn.
The king — the being meant to be consumed — was none other than Kaiser Kai.
He appeared out of thin air, walking past the flames with effortless, noble grace. He stepped forward slowly toward Aaryan.
"Is this your way of welcoming your subordinate, Aaryan?" Kai asked as he stood face to face with him.
"I think it isn't..." Aaryan replied, matching Kai's gaze. "...But I guess you're a special case."
"Oh please, I am not as special as you — the strongest." Kai said, the corner of his lips curling upward into a mocking smirk.
"Is that so?" Aaryan replied, expressionless and cold. "If it's true, then you don't have the right to stand beside me."
With a swift motion, Aaryan unleashed thunder from his hands and hurled it at Kai.
The thunder itself wasn't a normal one, but rather an evolved form — an improvement.
Even then, the thunder lost.
"Why did you do that?" Kai asked, smirking, not a single shred of fear in his eyes.
He had done the impossible — dodged Aaryan's thunder from point-blank range.
Seeing this, even Aaryan was surprised for a moment, but being who he was, he quickly regained his composure.
"That was not a normal thunder, right?" Kai asked. "After all, its speed wasn't that of thunder but rather the speed of light."
"I guess you are not here to do something outrageous, right?" Aaryan asked, ignoring Kai's question.
"Of course not." Kai replied instantly, the smirk on his face growing wider.
"The look on your face doesn't agree," Aaryan argued.
Hearing Aaryan's words, Kai rubbed his temples.
"You know, Aaryan..." Kai paused, looking at Aaryan's face, then sighed. "There's more to it than meets the eye. In this case, it's my face."
"Oh." Aaryan replied, tone flat and expression unreadable. "If there's more to it than meets the eye, then..." He paused, pointed a finger at himself, and said, "...I guess I'm doomed."
"Yes," Kai replied. "But not if you stand against me."
As soon as Kai said that, six portals appeared behind him. The portals were large, though smaller than the one covering the sky. Each had golden rims like bangles — lustrous, brilliant, and shining like stars in the night.
Watching the view before him, Aaryan didn't even glance at them. He looked straight into Kai's eyes. "Looks like there was nothing more than meets the eye," Aaryan mumbled.
Both Aaryan and Kai stood facing each other, ready to strike at any moment.
The first move was initiated by Kai. He raised his hands, and suddenly multiple attacks emerged from all six portals.
Aaryan dodged them effortlessly — not a scratch, not even a bead of sweat — but his face was tense. "It's strange... I dodged all of his attacks, but I still feel like they weren't the only ones."
Something felt wrong. Aaryan looked up. "What the—?"
Shit.
A giant portal was above his head, like a ring of death. Aaryan was stunned for an instant, but when he tried to move, it was already too late.
A giant white ray of unknown energy, with a thunderous roar, fell directly upon him. No illusion. No defense. Just Aaryan, caught off guard.
He struggled, trying his best to withstand the attack.
Thud.
Aaryan fell to one knee. His state was miserable, yet his eyes still held pride.
"The strongest, on his knees..." Kai commented, watching the view before him, his lips curling like a crescent moon into a mocking smile. "Quite a spectacular view."
Hearing Kai's words, Aaryan tried to stand. "I don't like this spectacular view," he said, his body trembling but his words clear. In his void eyes, the light of pride shone brighter than ever.
"Who asked?" Kai said, looking straight into Aaryan's glowing eyes. He sighed, full of disappointment. "Anyway, you're being quite a hassle. So... I guess you should sleep for now."
As soon as he said that, Kai's right hand was engulfed in flame and lightning. Then, with a swift, delicate motion, he drove it through Aaryan's stomach.
Aaryan, barely standing, fell to the ground once again.
Cough. Cough.
He vomited blood. His bones broke — all within a split microsecond.
Aaryan saw what happened but couldn't do anything. "H-he hit me... I know... but he's fast... very fast... faster than ligh— no, dozens of times faster than light."
"I believe you saw that," Kai said, his grin growing malicious. "So, what do you think about going to sleep for now?"