NOVPUBThe crater hissed with steam.
Chunks of glowing stone floated midair before snapping back into place—like time and space were trying to fix themselves. The edges of the arena pulsed with golden circuitry, ancient runes flaring to life as the world began rebuilding itself around the wreckage.
Joshua stood there, shirt torn to ribbons, chest heaving, skin marked with faint scorch lines. His wings had retracted, but the divine and void energy still pulsed beneath his skin—bright on one side, dark on the other.
Across from him, Adam rolled his neck, shirtless too now, steam rising from his shoulders. Lines of golden runes lit up along his arms and torso, almost tribal, shifting slightly with each breath. His grin was wide, teeth glinting like he'd just won a bet.
Joshua smirked back, blood still trailing from the edge of his mouth.
"So," Adam said, cracking his knuckles, "you wanna go another round?"
Joshua didn't even hesitate.
"Hell yeah."
The ground beneath them cracked again—not from power, but anticipation. Energy started dancing around them like the air was excited too.
From a safe distance, Nyros peeked over a floating wall of reinforced energy, his tiny body braced like a leaf in a storm. "Uh, okay—guys? Maybe don't go another—"
BOOOOOOM.
The shockwave from just their auras clashing again blasted Nyros back through three floating platforms.
"I'M TOO YOUNG FOR THIS—!"
Joshua didn't even notice. He was in it now.
And for the first time in what felt like forever… he felt good.
No pressure to hold back. No fear of breaking reality. No multiversal chains wrapped around his arms.
Just him.
Power flowing naturally, evenly. No mental backlash. No explosions of unstable energy.
It was control.
Through chaos.
He darted forward—not too fast this time, just fast enough to test things. His fist glowed faintly, but it wasn't tearing open rifts like before. The divine and void energies wrapped around his arm like disciplined soldiers instead of wild storms.
Adam met him with the same energy—grinning, stepping in, parrying the strike smoothly, and throwing one right back.
Joshua ducked.
Came up with an elbow.
Adam leaned aside, clipped him with a counterpunch to the ribs.
BAM!
Joshua grunted, but didn't get launched. His body was tougher now. Denser. More balanced.
He slid back on his feet, skidding across the arena as golden sparks traced his boots.
Adam raised a brow. "You're learning mid-fight."
Joshua rolled his shoulder. "Not just learning. Syncing."
He waved his hand—and a ring of compressed divine light formed around his wrist. He launched it at Adam like a disc, forcing Adam to flip back. As he landed, Joshua was already there—fist glowing black this time, swirling with void.
Adam caught it barehanded—then winced as a layer of his skin peeled from the sheer force.
"Okay, that one stung," he muttered.
They reset again. Just standing across from each other. Breathing hard.
Steam rising. The crater beneath their feet glowing brighter as the arena continued to heal around them.
"You're getting dangerous," Adam said, stretching a little. "Like, actual problem-tier. Pretty soon, even I won't be able to keep up if you keep leveling like this."
Joshua wiped sweat from his brow, laughing a little. "Guess you'll have to train harder."
Adam grinned. "Guess so."
Another silence.
Their feet shifted in sync.
Muscles coiled.
The whole dimension held its breath.
Then—
CRACK!
They launched at each other again.
Fists met mid-air, thunder cracking around them. Their punches didn't just collide—they danced. Each hit was like watching two forces of nature play a game only they could understand. Lightning arced off their bodies. Void shimmered like shattered glass. The golden runes on Adam's body pulsed with every move, boosting him with old magic that even Joshua couldn't read.
But Joshua was adapting too.
Every swing felt smoother.
Every dodge tighter.
He wasn't just throwing power around anymore. He was using it. Shaping it. Feeling it flow like it belonged.
Because maybe it did.
Maybe this insane training ground, with its chaotic energy and ridiculous sparring partner, was exactly what he needed.
He grinned mid-punch.
Adam noticed.
"What're you smilin' about?" he asked, side-stepping a kick and answering with a spinning backfist that Joshua barely blocked.
"I'm not scared anymore," Joshua said, stepping in with a shoulder slam.
Adam took it like a wall, then laughed. "Took ya long enough."
They broke apart again, breathing harder now.
The arena was in ruins again, but neither of them cared.
Joshua shook his head, still catching his breath. "This… this is helping more than you know."
Adam wiped blood from his chin. "Yeah? You're welcome."
"I'm serious. For the first time, I'm not thinking about holding back. I'm just doing. And it's working. My power's listening."
Adam gave a short nod. "That's the point of a good spar. No lectures. No hesitation. Just instincts and growth." n𝚘vp𝚞𝚋.com
Joshua looked around—the broken sky, the glowing cracks, the floating ruins of constructs that had moved away mid-fight.
"…You built all this just for training?"
Adam chuckled. "Nah. I built it for fun. Training just happens along the way."
Joshua laughed again—his voice full and alive.
This was what he needed.
Not rules. Not fear. Not another seal or prison.
He needed this. A space to go all-out. A rival who could push him. And the chance to relearn who he really was.
Not just Zayriel.
Not just Joshua.
Both.
"You ready for round three?" Adam asked, sparks crawling across his shoulders.
Joshua raised his fists again, cracking his neck.
"Let's go."
And just like that—
They vanished again.
The sky split open.
The world trembled.
And two titans clashed once more—no longer to destroy, but to become what they were meant to be.
Nyros floated above the shattered landscape, arms crossed, mouth twisted in a mix of awe and horror.
He looked around—craters within craters, floating debris stuck midair, the sky cracked like broken glass, and the arena's once-smooth floor now a mess of glowing scars and barely-holding-together platforms.
He let out a slow sigh.
"…Man. If this dimension had a mind, it'd be crying right now."
He glanced at the two shirtless maniacs still throwing hands below.
"Begging, actually. Screaming, 'Please, for the love of cosmic balance, STOP!'"
Another shockwave hit, and a chunk of floating stone barely missed him.
Nyros dodged it with a grunt. "Unbelievable. These two are treating reality like a punching bag."
He hovered higher, just out of range, muttering under his breath.
"Next time they wanna spar, I'm building them a playpen in the void."
