The forest shook as a deafening explosion ripped through the mountainside.

  A shockwave tore trees from their roots and split the mist like torn fabric.

  Then — two figures fell from the peak of the mountains.

  Jake was the first to get slammed through the cascading waterfall , body spinning through the torrent, before crashing into the lake below with a thunderous impact that sent geysers of water into the air.

  Ash followed closely behind— a dark blur against the moonlit spray — his body launching from the waterfall, his eyes burning red with unrestrained fury and precision.

  He hit the surface not like a man, but like a meteor. The lake exploded around their collision.

  Jake barely had time to register the shadow above him before Ash came down, fists blurring, every punch a cannon.

  Boom!!. Whack!!.

  The water detonated with each strike, every hit sending a column of spray skyward.

  Jake crossed his forearms to block the unrelenting strikes of ash, before he roared with irritation as the pressure wave he released shattered the lakebed beneath them seperating both on opposite sides.

  ‘’MARVOLOUS!!’’ Jake roared,

  ‘’MORE BOY!! GIVE ME MORE!!’’ Jake erupted with chaotic aura,

  Ash responded with silence before taking a more precise fighting stance now,

  ‘’Oh?…you wanna try martial arts now?…what tired of fighting like an animal?…or are you adapting like one!!’’ Jake grinned as he slso took his fighting stance,

  ‘’Fine, then come…I’ll be shall be more than happy to give you harsh pointers…’’ jake growled,

  Then two were gone, vanished.

  An instant later, the surface of the lake erupted once again — twin titans bursting free from the water, colliding mid-air with the sound of splitting thunder.

  ?

  “HAHAHAAA! THAT’S IT BOY!!” Jake roared, veins bulging, his Reverb field pulsing like molten iron.

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  His punch ripped through the air — a sonic boom in human form — and connected square in Ash’s gut.

  The world bent.

  The force of the blow blasted apart the waterfall behind ash, splitting like curtains around them.

  Ash’s body snapped backward from the impact — but he didn’t fly off. He dug in, toes tearing through the rockbed , and grabbed Jake’s arm in one violent motion yanking him forward.

  His counter came instantly — a skull-shattering headbutt that sent shockwaves through Jake’s entire frame.

  The lake erupted again as Jake was hurled backward, smashing through the treeline like a meteor. Trees snapped like matchsticks under his weight.

  Blood trickled from Jake’s nose — yet his grin never faded, merely widening with every droplet of blood.

  (Unbelievable… he actually bypassed my aura membrane?! He hit me directly?!)

  He barely finished the thought before a boulder screamed past his face.

  Jake barely weaved, another flew at him like a meteor, he ducked— then another came — and another. The air sang with deadly precision as massive chunks of rock hurtled toward him.

  He shattered them one after another with thunderous punches, absorbing each impact into his Reverb.

  Then— BOOM.

  A final, massive boulder came flying through the dust — this one different.

  Jake punched it, the impact obliterating it completely — but from within the rubble, Ash appeared, already mid-swing.

  Jake’s eyes widened. Too close.

  Ash’s fists blurred — five hits landed before Jake could even react.

  THUD. THUD. WHACK. SNAP. THUD.

  Each hit dug deeper — ribs breaking, tendons snapping, armor of Aura collapsing under sheer pressure of ash’s wailing maelstrom of attacks and with a final devastating hit,

  Jake’s body was sent flying through the forest — carving a crater through the ground — before slamming into a cliff wall, hard enough to shake the valley.

  He coughed up a mouthful of blood, falling to one knee. His hands trembled. His lungs refused to obey.

  (What… the hell did he do to my body?!)

  He could feel it — his nerves were on fire, his organs scrambled, his Reverb was out of sync. His body couldn’t decide whether to defend or shut down.

  Through the smoke and ruin, footsteps echoed.

  Slow. Steady. Predatory.

  Ash emerged, steam rising from his skin, veins pulsing with a deep crimson light. His expression was… nothing.

  No rage. No satisfaction. No mercy.

  Only instinct. Only hunger.

  Jake stared up at him, realization dawning.

  “JUST WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU, NULL-BORN!!’’ Jake roared in maniacal grin as he launched at ash,

  Ash’s breathing deepened — slow, deliberate — and the ground under him cracked as he pivoted to the side using the momentum he twisted his hip forward, his eyes glowed faintly, like coals in a dying fire. His shadow moved before he did.

  Then— BOOM!!.

  Jake didn’t even register the punch completely.

  Only the aftermath — the explosion of earth behind him as he was sent flying again.

  He tried to recover mid-air, roaring, channeling everything he had left into his right arm.

  ‘’That’s it!! ILL KILL YOU WERE YOU STAND!!’’ Jake roared.

  His muscles bulged. His skin tore. His aura screamed.

  “REVERB—BURST!!”

  The air imploded, turning the forest into a crater.

  When the dust cleared, Jake stood panting — smoke rising from his body as he coughed a mouthful of blood— staring into the fog,

  ‘’Was he actually a null-born?…danm it…my entire body is screaming…’’ jake thought out loud but then he felt it,

  A voice — cold, distant — whispered behind him.

  “Die… .”

  Ash appeared behind him, driving a knee into Jake’s spine shattering it, then an elbow into his neck breaking it.

  The sound was wet. Final.

  Jake collapsed, half-buried in the mud, gasping as blood pooled beneath him.

  He tried to speak — to laugh — but only blood came out.

  Still, through the haze, his grin didn’t fade.

  “Heh… hah… haha”

  He chuckled to himself, voice cracking with bloody coughs.

  “You…monster…’’ he said before slipping into unconsciousness,

  (Fuck…I let down my guard down…this fucking bastard!!”)

  Ash stood over him, unblinking — the words not reaching whatever remained of his humanity.

  A faint wind passed, carrying embers from the burning trees. The two monsters — one fallen, one standing— ash stood silent in the ruin they made.

  Then, somewhere distant — the faint echo of battle roared,

  Ash’s head turned slightly — eyes flickering for a brief moment. The red glow dimming as he gained control of huis body once again. The silence cracked.

  And only the sound of his ragged breath remained, the blood dripping from his hands.

  ‘’Adam…luna…hng..’’ ash moved forward despite his body screaming out in protest, vision blurring but the surge of pain from each step kept him alive…awake as he merged deep into the forest.