The sky no longer behaved like a sky.
Clouds spiraled violently. Atmospheric pressure fluctuated in unstable waves.
On one side—
Celestial Dominion at full output.
On the other—
The final form of the Black Sun.
Wang Wei stood firm.
Breathing heavier now.
But his eyes remained sharp.
Across from him, Ernos hovered in the air.
The black sun core in his chest pulsed like a living heart.
Each pulse increased the temperature of the battlefield.
Lord watched from afar.
Silent. Observing.
Ernos moved first.
He spread his flaming wings wide.
Thousands of solar lances rained from the sky like meteors.
Wang reacted instantly.
He raised his hand.
Gravity inverted upward.
The falling flames bent midair—
Redirected back toward the sky.
But Ernos had anticipated that.
"Supernova Pulse."
The black core in his chest detonated outward.
A circular wave of extreme heat burst in every direction.
This time—
Gravity couldn't redirect it.
The shockwave struck Wang directly.
He slid several meters backward.
The ground fractured beneath him.
Sebastian shouted,
"Energy levels are rising again!"
Wang adapted quickly.
He narrowed his gravitational field.
Compressed it into a dense singular focus.
"Celestial Collapse."
Space around Ernos folded inward in layered compression.
Air converted into vacuum pressure.
Flames bent violently.
For a moment—
Ernos froze midair.
Asher whispered,
"This is it…"
But Ernos opened his eyes.
Pure white light.
The black core pulsed harder.
"Event Horizon."
A ring of dark energy formed around him.
Wang's compression was reversed.
As if two black holes were colliding in opposite directions.
Space cracked audibly.
Thunder roared across the heavens.
For the first time—
Sweat appeared on Wang's forehead.
He pushed harder.
But 100% was already his limit.
And with Lord present—
The laws themselves were unstable.
Ernos vanished.
He reappeared behind Wang at near-light speed.
A solar-charged strike descended.
Wang turned—
Raised a defensive gravity wall—
But this time—
The strike pierced through.
The field destabilized.
Wang dropped to one knee.
A ten-meter crater formed around him.
"Asher!" Sebastian shouted.
Ernos rose again into the sky.
He lifted both arms.
Above them—
Energy gathered once more.
Denser than before.
Darker.
Heavier.
Lord's calm voice echoed faintly.
"His adaptation is weakening."
Wang felt it too.
Celestial Dominion trembled under strain.
Maintaining full output was becoming harder.
He stood again.
Breathing deep.
"I'm… not finished."
He condensed all gravitational force into a single vertical pillar.
It slammed down upon Ernos.
The city ruins lifted into the air and crushed back down violently.
For several seconds—
Ernos was forced downward.
His flaming wings shattered.
But—
The black sun core began pulsing faster.
"Solar Devour."
He absorbed the energy mass forming above.
Pulling it directly into his body.
The temperature spiked explosively.
Wang's gravitational field distorted under thermal chaos.
Ernos roared and dove straight down.
Collision.
Impact.
Explosion.
The city center collapsed again.
Dust and debris filled the air.
When the smoke cleared—
Wang was still standing.
But on one knee.
Celestial Dominion remained active—
Yet visibly unstable.
Ernos hovered above.
His flames more controlled now.
The black core brighter than ever.
He spoke slowly.
"You are strong."
"But I am no longer just fire."
Wang inhaled deeply.
He tried to raise gravitational output again.
But it flickered.
Adaptation mechanisms were slowing under Lord's interference.
Asher saw it.
Sebastian understood.
The balance was shifting.
Ernos extended his hand.
Black solar energy spiraled around Wang.
Compression from the opposite direction.
This time—
Wang was defending.
Not attacking.
The sky darkened further.
Fire and gravity clashed violently.
But the scales had tilted.
Slightly.
Ernos now held the advantage.
Lord observed from the distance.
A faint satisfaction in his gaze.
And at the center of a broken city—
Two godlike forces continued to collide.
But now—
The sun burned just a little brighter.