NOVPUBThe fall through the rift was silent.
There was no air. No wind. No sensation. Just endless weightlessness as Ren tumbled through streaks of colorless light, suspended in a void that didn't care if he lived or died.
He didn't know how long he spent falling.
It was as if time fractured. The seconds stretched into each other. Minutes folded inward.
One moment, he was falling fast. Then, he was floating as he fell. But all through it all, the sensation of falling never faded.
Then, suddenly, he landed.
Hard.
Ren rolled to his feet in a space that had no horizon.
He stood on a flat plane of shimmering crystal, endlessly reflecting his own image in a thousand shades of gray.
Above him, there was no sky. Just a black expanse that moved like water. The silence was thick, pressing in on his ears, muting even his breath.
His eyes narrowed as he caught sight of something. In the distance, very faint, blending in the void, were giant chains. The image sent a name into his head.
The Chained Man.
This must be something the Chained Man had created.
With an exhale, he staggered forward, uncertain.
Time bent oddly here. Each step felt like hours. Or maybe a second. He couldn't tell. His internal clock ticked too slow, too fast, all at once. His resonance barely worked.
It felt like swimming through mud, with a few places incredibly thick and the others, incredibly thin.
No matter how long or how far he walked, there was no end in sight.
But he kept moving because of one simple fact. He wasn't alone in here.
Valen was also here.
He didn't know how long it took him to find Valen. The man was standing still. The flat plane stretched endlessly in all directions.
Valen stood with his twin swords unsheathed, and they gleamed strangely, reflecting a light that didn't exist.
His back was turned and his posture was relaxed, but something felt… off.
Ren's eyes narrowed as he noticed it. The tension in his shoulders. The angle of his grip on his sword. The subtle shift of his weight on both feet.
Valen was waiting for him. But not for anything good.
Ren slowed. "Valen."
The man turned. His silver eyes were calm, cold. "Lord Ren."
There was silence between them. A beat. Two.
Ren glanced down at Freedom on his back. He didn't reach for it. Not yet.
"You led him to us." Ren said softly. It wasn't a question.
Valen nodded. "I did."
"Why?"
Valen stepped forward. The mirrored ground didn't ripple. "Because I wanted this. No distractions. No allies. No interruptions. Just us. A true duel."
Ren's jaw tightened, his hands clenched into fists. "You betrayed us for that?"
"I didn't betray you, cause I have no loyalty to you in the first place." Valen replied. "All I did was fulfill my purpose."
"You and I... we don't die. Not really. So let's find out what happens when we fight with nothing held back. Let's find out if we really do die, Lord Ren."
He raised his swords.
"No games. No hesitation. Only the honesty of a battle to the death."
Ren drew a breath. Then exhaled.
He didn't draw Freedom.
Valen moved.
The attack came faster than thought. A blur of silver streaked through the air, and Ren ducked and pivoted, raising his arm to deflect with a blast of Push, but the resonance was thick and sluggish.
Valen's second sword sliced down. Ren twisted, letting the blade graze his side.
He countered with a fist to the ribs, then leapt back.
Valen was already there, closing the distance. Ren barely dodged. Then, Valen increased the tempo.
Their movements began to blur as they both whirled around the plane.
Ren forced his resonance, using Push to launch himself upward, flipping over Valen and aiming a kick. Valen met it with a spinning slash.
Ren landed hard, pain flaring in his shoulder. Valen pressed the advantage, and Ren blocked with his forearm, the sword cutting into it. And with a kick, they separated.
Ren's wounds healed immediately.
"Draw it." Valen growled.
Ren stared at Valen. "You know, I feel a sense of… attachment to you. You were the one I used to beat the game."
Valen frowned in confusion.
"I can understand. You have no loyalty to me. Walk away now and I'll forgive you."
Valen didn't answer. Instead, he roared, streaking forward, his swords flashing.
Ren stepped back as the blur kept coming. He parried with his elbows, knees, and whatever resonance he could pull out of himself. But he was losing ground. 𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
Valen was too fast.
Too skilled.
Ren hit the ground again, blood dripping from a dozen wounds that quickly closed. He rose slowly.
Valen stood still, breathing hard. "You can't win like this."
"You're right." Ren chuckled. "You must think you're immortal with that Divine Gift of yours. That you can't be killed."
"Today is your lucky day." He reached behind him.
"I'll give you what you're looking for." Fingers wrapped around the hilt.
"Your death."
He drew Freedom.
The blade sang.
Reality shifted. The mirrored world rippled.
Valen grinned.
Then, he charged.
Their blades clashed, and Freedom cut through it like nothing was there.
Valen leapt back but it wasn't enough. The sword carved a line across his chest. He staggered, but his body healed with a buzz, his Restoration kicking in.
He lunged. Ren turned, slashing upward.
Freedom tore through Valen's shoulder, slicing through both body and soul.
Valen gasped. Then grinned wider. "Yes. That's it. Finally."
They collided again.
Ren kept cutting, every swing of Freedom sliced into Valen's soul. Valen's boddy buzzed, his Divine Gift trying to heal itself, but it was working slower than Ren was cutting.
The body kept buzzing, trying to heal. But the Valen's soul was in tatters.
Ren kept cutting, even as Valen staggered back, unable to fight back anymore.
Then, Valen dropped to one knee. Ren hesitated.
Valen's body buzzed and all the damage was gone.
And in that split second, he struck upward, nearly catching Ren's thigh. But Ren stepped back, then drove Freedom straight through Valen's chest.
Valen collapsed.
He stood again. Charged.
Ren met him.
Another death.
Another.
Each time, Freedom cut even more away from his soul.
Valen screamed as his Restoration failed to keep up. His movements grew sluggish. His body grew unstable, his Divine Gift trying to get the image of what he was from his soul in order to restore him.
But his soul was missing chunks of it.
He knelt before Ren, breathing hard, a wide grin on his face.
Ren raised Freedom for a final blow, and the man whispered.
"Thank you."
Freedom descended, cutting both body and soul cleanly in half.
Valen dropped his swords.
His mouth moved, but no sound came.
His body fell.
This time, there was no shimmer. No regeneration.
Only silence.
His Divine Gift cracked, then shattered. The tatters that were his soul shimmered as they swept into Ren, absorbed by his Soulbinding, fueling his rise to Rank 5.
With an exhale, Ren stared up into the sky.
Then, the dimension shattered.
