The miniature sun before Xavier was glowing brighter than ever, creating a small day like space in the middle of the night.

Eulene, on the other hand, attracted all the heavenly lightning since she was making a move that defied that laws of the world.

They stared at each other, waiting for the moment to strike.

And in time, they struck.

Eulene heaved down the sword as if she were dragging down the heaviest object in the world. Her movement was slow, but fluid.

Opposite her, Xavier stretched his arms forward. The golden orb exploded, and Xavier directed all of the explosion towards Eulene.

The sword cleaved everything in its path- no matter the distance as it defied the laws of space. In a matter of moments, the night sky was cleaved into two.

A pitch black section of the night sky separated the natural luminescent black sky. The atmosphere was cut in half- so were the tribulation lightnings.

Soon, the tip of the sword pointed at Xavier. By the time, Eulene went through the motion of slashing her sword through him, Xavier was cut into two. Even his aura disappeared, as her strike could cut through souls.

As Eulene was facing South, next came the ocean. It was cleanly split in two, creating a dry path in between.

As for the town of Derbury which was just before her, it was no exception. A huge creak appeared and divided the city into two. The parts closest to the fissure began to cave in while the ones in the distant rose up.

The town was folding.

Xavier's attack was split into two as well. But it was so powerful, that it rejoined in a moment. And in a split second, the attack reached Eulene.

In less than a second, she disappeared- disintegrating into nothingness. But the huge golden beam did not stop. Rather, it grew more and more as it advanced.

Even though the attack beamed through with an altitude of kilometres above the ground. The ground was not unscathed. The terrifying air pressure blew away every in its path, be it trees, structures, livestock or humans, only to be partially vaporised by the extreme temperature later.

The whole world shook as the explosion unfolded, and the 'boom' reached every ears in the world.

After a few seconds, and after traversing tens of kilometres, the blinding beam of light finally died down.

The confrontation did not only end both of their lives, it left the whole world in tatters.

******

Xavier was still holding the miniature sun which looked as stable as stable could be, while Eulene had her sword high in the air.

Both Xavier and Eulene were beings with 200 years of experience. Just now, they had used their intuition and experience to simulate the exchange in their mind.

In Xavier's visualisation of the confrontation, his existence was split into two- with no ways of healing himself. He lost.

In Eulene's version, she faced what she would deem the most destructive attack she had ever known in her life. She obliterated in a matter of moments, without being able to leave a single trace in this world. She lost.

Eulene, stared at Xavier, her black eyes sending a message.

Xavier nodded. The glowing orb between his hands began to shrink down, and seconds later, it disappeared.

The lightning ravaging above Eulene began to die down as Eulene pulled back her sword.

She coughed. Blood leaked out from behind her silver mask.

The black masked Xavier suddenly lost a few meters of altitude. The red smiley sign on his mask lost its glow and curve. Soon after, the red mark completely disappeared rendering the mask all black again- depicting nonchalance. But behind the mask, Xavier had a pained expression.

In a minute, the duo composed themselves.

"Does it have a name?" Eulene asked.

"The Death of a Star," Xavier replied. "And yours?"

"Everything is Two." There was not a shred of arrogance in Eulene's voice.

They had never intended to release their strikes from the beginning. Despite Xavier's crazed state and Eulene's battlemania, they were aware of what their full strength could bring to the world.

They only wanted to show a glimpse of their full power and assert dominance over the other, feeding Xavier's crazed narcissism and Eulene's battle-craze.

But instead, they humbled themselves. Xavier saw himself cut into two and Eulene witnessed herself disappearing into oblivion. In their own version of the exchange, they lost.

The respect they had for each other- increased even more.

They did not speak any further and landed back to the ground, right outside Derbury.

There were no fissures in the ground, nor splits in the ocean. The moonlit and starry night sky was as beautiful and mystifying as ever.

The silence between them ensued.

Eulene decided to break it. She brought out a packet of cookies and offered them to Xavier. "Is your mask the cause?" she asked.

Xavier accepted the biscuits. But instead of eating, he pocketed them.

"Yes." Xavier nodded. "And yours is battle."

Eulene did not reply, admitting it.

Immortals, no matter their lifespan, were still humans- beings that were meant to have a limited lifespan. And exceeding it- came at a cost.

Their minds.

After living through hundreds of years, the exalted beings would lose their minds- slowly, but surely. And different groups had different ways to cope with them. The demonic cultivators, for example, didn't even bother to cope with it; the orthodox spent the major portions of their lives strengthening their minds. However, they would still get into 'phases' that would make them lose control over their minds. Eulene's berserk state is such an example.

As for a being like Xavier, who had nowhere to learn from- the art of immortality, he had to come up with his own unique way of preserving his mind.

Xavier brought out his pocket watch.

11:27

"We are late." He stored the watch back and turned to the gallery. "Let's see what my dear friend has in store for us, shall we?"

The bloody smile returned on his mask.

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