Aren heard the question, but he didn’t stop. He drove the sword deeper into the chest of Shadow.

"I don’t care if it’s not that easy. I don’t care if I have to do this over and over again. I’ll take you down no matter what.

My body belongs to me. I’ll be damned if I allow you to take it away from me," he said as he pushed the sword in deeper and looked right at Shadow.

"You’ll not win. I have come too far for this to end here!" Shadow roared, and immediately all his shadow energy surged out rapidly. It slammed into the shadow mind so hard that it caused a sharp pain to travel through Aren.

Aren collapsed to his knees and let out a gruesome scream that caused the shadow mind to tremble even more. He grabbed his head tightly and struggled.

"If you will not let me have this body, I’ll have no other choice but to destroy this entire body and ensure no one can harness its power!" Shadow yelled. His shadow energy slammed into the shadow mind harder and harder until Aren coughed blood. Even his physical body hurled out a mouthful of blood.

Aren looked at Shadow, his eyes burning with rage. He gripped his sword and struggled back to his feet, looking right at Shadow.

"Is this the best that you can do? Destroy my mind like a coward? You have always been one, such a large coward that you could not even face your own death. That’s how much of a coward you are!" Aren yelled.

Aren gritted his teeth and ripped the sword out of Shadow’s chest.

The moment the blade left, black mist exploded out of the wound, and Shadow stumbled backward.

Without hesitation, Aren charged.

His feet slammed against the ground as he rushed forward like a mad beast. Every nerve in his body screamed in agony, but he ignored it all. The only thing in his sight was Shadow.

Shadow’s eyes narrowed.

Immediately, walls of darkness rose from the ground.

One.

Two.

Three.

Dozens.

Massive walls of condensed shadow stood between them.

Aren roared and swung.

Slash!

The first wall split apart instantly.

He didn’t stop.

Another slash.

Then another.

The walls shattered one after another as fragments of darkness exploded across the shadow mind.

"You fool!" Shadow yelled.

At the same time, countless streams of shadow energy surged downward toward the core of the shadow mind.

The entire world trembled.

Cracks spread across the sky.

The ground beneath Aren’s feet began to collapse.

Aren’s expression changed.

He accelerated.

His muscles tore.

Blood leaked from the corners of his mouth.

Still, he charged.

Slash!

Another wall exploded.

Slash!

Yet another fell.

The distance between him and Shadow grew shorter and shorter.

But the shadow energy continued descending.

The shadow mind shook violently.

Large chunks of the world broke away and vanished into darkness.

"No!" Aren yelled.

He pushed himself even harder.

The sword in his hand blazed as he cut through the final wall standing before him.

Shadow stood only a few meters away.

Aren lunged.

His sword shot forward.

For a brief moment, victory seemed within reach.

Then—

A deafening crack echoed throughout the entire shadow mind.

Everything froze.

The sky shattered.

The ground beneath Aren’s feet crumbled into nothingness.

The core of the shadow mind finally collapsed.

Aren’s eyes widened.

He was too late.

The moment the shadow mind collapsed, silence followed.

Then—

Aren’s body crashed heavily onto the ground.

The black veins spreading across his skin rapidly faded as his eyes rolled backward.

All across the universe, the shadows that had been converging toward him suddenly stopped.

The countless streams of darkness froze in place.

The heavens grew still.

The earth became quiet.

For a brief moment, it was as though everything had finally ended.

Then the shadows moved again.

A violent stream of darkness erupted from Aren’s body.

BOOM!

The ground exploded apart as an enormous pillar of shadow shot into the sky.

The surrounding space twisted violently.

The darkness churned and condensed.

Slowly, a humanoid figure began to emerge from within it.

A head.

A torso.

Two arms.

Two legs.

The figure opened its eyes.

Shadow stood there.

His body was unstable, constantly flickering between solid and mist, but the terrifying aura radiating from him was enough to make the surrounding space tremble.

A cold smile appeared on his face.

"I finally made it."

Far away, Loki’s expression immediately darkened.

"Not good."

Without hesitation, he raised a hand.

An enormous amount of green energy surged outward.

The next moment, a massive translucent dome descended from the heavens. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

The barrier sealed off the entire battlefield.

The air itself became isolated from the outside world.

Loki stared at the dome with narrowed eyes.

"Neither of you are leaving until this ends."

Inside the barrier, Aren’s fingers twitched.

Pain flooded every part of his body.

His mind felt shattered.

His soul felt exhausted.

Slowly, he opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was Shadow standing before him.

Aren remained silent.

Then he forced himself onto his feet.

His legs trembled.

Blood dripped from his mouth.

Yet he stood.

Shadow watched him quietly.

"You should stay down."

Aren wiped the blood from his lips.

"I’ve heard that one before."

His right hand stretched outward.

Immediately, space distorted.

A terrifying aura surged into existence.

The Ancient Devourer Sword appeared within his grasp.

The blade let out a low hum.

As though it, too, hungered for battle.

Shadow’s smile widened.

"Good."

The darkness around him exploded.

Countless shadows surged around his body like an ocean.

Aren tightened his grip.

His exhausted body screamed for rest.

His mind begged him to stop.

But none of it mattered.

He took a step forward.

Then another.

Then he charged.

The ground shattered beneath his feet.

Shadow moved at the exact same moment.

Darkness erupted across the battlefield.

The distance between them vanished instantly.

Aren swung.

Shadow struck.

The sword and darkness collided.

BOOOOOOOM!

A shockwave powerful enough to shake the entire barrier exploded outward.

The green dome trembled violently.

The earth beneath them collapsed.

Neither retreated.

Neither yielded.

One carried the will to survive.

The other carried the obsession to exist.

Their eyes met amidst the destruction.

And then they charged at each other once more.

The battle truly began.