Steel collided with steel.
The instant Kaelven and Kimotsu closed the distance between each other, sparks burst into the air as their swords met head-on. The impact echoed throughout the clearing, causing the surrounding trees to sway violently beneath the pressure.
Kimotsu immediately shifted his footing.
Without hesitation, he brought his blade down in a powerful overhead slash.
Kaelven calmly raised his sword to meet it.
Instead of taking the force directly, he angled his blade, redirecting Kimotsu's attack toward the ground beside him. The sword struck the earth to his right, splitting the soil apart in a violent eruption.
Kimotsu's eyes sharpened.
He instantly pivoted and lashed out with his left foot toward Kaelven's head.
Kaelven lowered himself just in time, allowing the kick to whistle over him. Placing both hands against the ground, he swung both legs upward in a spinning motion.
His feet shot toward Kimotsu's face.
Kimotsu crossed his forearms and blocked the strike.
The force still pushed him backward several meters, his boots carving trenches through the earth before he regained his footing.
Kaelven landed lightly, sword already back in his hand.
Kimotsu smiled.
"Let's turn it up, bro."
Kaelven grinned.
"Bet."
The atmosphere instantly changed.
Kimotsu slowly lowered his stance.
"Kedo Series."
The moment the words left his mouth, Kaelven closed his eyes.
"Superior Perception."
Silence.
Then Kimotsu disappeared. One became two. Two became ten.
Dozens of afterimages surrounded Kaelven simultaneously, each launching sword strikes from different directions at the exact same moment.
To anyone watching, it looked impossible to defend against.
Yet Kaelven never opened his eyes.
He simply listened.
His body moved entirely on instinct.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every slash was intercepted with pinpoint precision.
Each collision unleashed violent shockwaves that ripped through the clearing, uprooting trees and carving long scars across the ground.
After countless exchanges, both swordsmen leapt backward.
They landed several dozen meters apart.
Kimotsu slowly stepped forward with his right foot.
His blade rested in his right hand, its tip extending behind him.
His left palm stretched outward.
His white eyes glowed.
"Sword God's Blade—Heaven's Border."
For a single instant…it appeared as though he had never moved.
Then a slash invisible to the naked eye crossed the battlefield.
Kaelven immediately felt death brush against his senses.
But panic never entered his mind.
He inhaled once.
"Extreme Point."
Holding his sword with both hands, he thrust straight ahead in a single precise line.
Everything became still.
Nothing happened…For a heartbeat. Then the two techniques met.
BOOOOOOM!!
The collision erupted with catastrophic force.
Nearby trees were blasted apart.
The coastline shook violently.
Far beyond the clearing, the sea surged upward as enormous waves rolled across the ocean, threatening to become a tsunami before gradually settling once the pressure dispersed.
Dust covered the battlefield.
When it slowly cleared…Kimotsu and Kaelven remained standing exactly where they had finished their attacks.
Neither had fallen.
Kimotsu smiled first.
"This one final attack will determine the winner."
Kaelven rested his sword on his shoulder.
"Aiite"
Both warriors lowered themselves into their stances.
The air itself became silent.
Even the wind stopped moving.
Before either swordsman could take a single step—
A figure appeared between them.
Kaelen.
He raised one hand.
"Let's stop here, guys. Just call it a draw. Do you wanna kill yourselves? Remember we have a war coming."
Neither of them argued.
Instead, Kaelen extended his hand.
"Time Reversal."
A gentle ripple spread across the battlefield.
The cuts covering Kimotsu's body vanished.
Kaelven's bruises disappeared.
The broken ground rose back into place. The shattered trees reformed. Even the rough sea calmed as though the battle had never happened.
Kimotsu sheathed his sword.
"I'm satisfied with the draw."
Kaelven scratched the back of his head.
"I'm not too happy about it though."
Kaelen laughed.
"Bro, you'll get the chance… and it seems they are in our universe now. I can feel it in the time."
At that very moment…John stepped out of the house.
His black coat swayed gently in the breeze as his calm blue eyes looked toward the horizon.
"Let's start the preparations now."
Kaelen instinctively looked upward.
A lone figure stood in the sky.
Floating effortlessly above everyone.
"Lord Arata?"
Arata looked down and smiled.
He slowly closed his eyes.
"Sleep is an active state of rest divided into Non-REM and REM phases controlled primarily by the hypothalamus, brainstem and thalamus."
He opened his eyes.
His Soul Circuit activated.
"I'll explain it simply…Everything is constantly vibrating. Everything around us has a frequency. All I have to do is change that frequency to what I want…and I want theta waves."
A deep vibration spread across the entire planet.
It wasn't sound…It wasn't magic. It was a frequency.
Every ordinary human across Kael'Ar suddenly heard the same resonating tone inside their minds.
One after another…They collapsed peacefully. Falling into a deep sleep.
Far above the world, Arata slowly raised both hands.
"Gather."
Across every kingdom…Every city…Every village…Millions upon millions of sleeping humans—and every awakener who was not a participant in the coming war—rose gently into the sky.
The heroes watched in complete disbelief.
Only Tessandra, Britanya, John, and Alzwalt remained composed, as though this outcome was exactly what they had expected.
Arata brought his index and middle fingers together.
"Absolute Concealment."
A massive door materialized in the heavens.
It slowly opened.
One by one…Every sleeping human drifted through it peacefully.
When the final person entered…The colossal door closed. Then…Arata vanished.
Silence remained.
Britanya Washington—the Princess of Astria and the user of the Ice Circuit, Frost Queen—stared at the empty sky in complete amazement.
"No matter how cool it looks… I'm speechless. What did I just watch?"
Alzwalt laughed.
"You'll be even more surprised in the future."
The tension slowly faded.
Jess quietly walked over to Kaelen.
He glanced at her.
"You okay?"
Jess nodded softly before sitting beside him.
Neither of them spoke.
They simply looked toward the endless sky together.
Nearby, Denma and Faith headed back inside the house, the afternoon sun proving far too intense.
Kimotsu and Kaelven had already begun another discussion about swords, their earlier battle forgotten.
Inside the house, John and Tessandra continued talking quietly.
And beneath the shade of a tree…Gene remained fast asleep, completely unaware that the world itself had just been emptied in preparation for the greatest war in history.