The night split in two.
Golden light flared from Kael's body, steady and controlled.
Opposite him—
Darkness gathered around the cloaked man, thick and heavy, swallowing the faint glow of the campfire behind him.
The air turned cold.
Not natural cold.
But something deeper.
Like warmth itself was being erased.
⸻
Kael moved first.
Origin Flash.
He vanished in a streak of gold, closing the distance instantly.
No hesitation.
No testing.
A direct strike.
His palm shot forward, golden energy condensed to its limit.
Origin Pulse.
BOOM!
The attack landed—
Or should have.
At the last moment, the cloaked man's body twisted unnaturally.
Not dodging.
Not blocking.
But… slipping.
Like his form had become intangible for a split second.
The strike passed through.
The ground behind him exploded.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
That wasn't movement.
The man smiled faintly.
"Interesting, right?"
His voice was calm.
Almost amused.
"Void doesn't follow your rules."
⸻
He countered instantly.
His hand moved slowly—
Too slowly.
But the moment it came forward—
The space in front of it distorted.
Collapsed.
Kael reacted.
Origin Flash.
He disappeared just as the distorted space crushed inward.
The ground where he had been—
Caved in completely.
Not shattered.
Not broken.
Erased.
⸻
Kael reappeared several meters away.
His expression sharpened.
That attack…
It wasn't force.
It wasn't energy in the normal sense.
It was… absence.
The removal of existence itself.
⸻
The cloaked man stepped forward.
Calm.
Controlled.
"Origin… Void…"
He tilted his head slightly.
"Opposites."
His aura expanded.
Darkness spread along the ground like liquid shadow.
"Let's see which one breaks first."
⸻
He moved.
And this time—
He was fast.
Not like before.
Not relying on strange abilities alone.
But combining them.
His body flickered, appearing and disappearing within the shadows as he closed the distance.
Kael's Origin Perception activated fully.
He tracked every shift.
Every fluctuation.
But—
It wasn't enough.
The man's presence kept slipping.
Phasing.
Breaking the flow Kael relied on.
A strike came from the side.
Kael blocked—
But his arm sank slightly into the dark energy.
Like it was being pulled in.
Devoured.
Kael pulled back instantly, golden energy flaring to push it away.
The two forces clashed.
Light against void.
Creation against absence.
Neither dominating.
But neither yielding.
⸻
Kael countered.
Fast.
Precise.
A strike aimed at the man's chest.
But again—
It passed through.
The man appeared behind him.
A hand reached for Kael's back.
Kael twisted, barely avoiding it.
Even so—
The edge of the attack brushed him.
Pain shot through his body instantly.
Not physical damage.
But something deeper.
Like part of his energy had been stripped away.
Kael stepped back.
His breathing grew heavier.
This is different.
Fighting normal cultivators—
He could adapt.
Predict.
Control.
But this—
Was something outside that system.
⸻
The cloaked man watched him.
"You feel it now."
Kael said nothing.
But his eyes burned brighter.
Instead of retreating—
He stepped forward again.
The man smiled.
"Still coming?"
Kael answered simply.
"Yes."
Because now—
He understood something.
Void didn't follow rules.
But it still existed.
And if it existed—
Then it had a pattern.
A source.
An origin.
⸻
Kael closed his eyes for a brief moment.
The Origin Core pulsed deeply.
Stronger than before.
He wasn't trying to overpower.
Not trying to match.
He focused on something else.
The moment before disappearance.
The instant of transition.
The gap between presence and absence.
Kael opened his eyes.
Golden light sharpened.
Focused.
Refined.
The cloaked man attacked again.
Phasing forward.
Striking from an impossible angle.
Kael moved.
Perfect timing.
He didn't aim for the body.
He aimed for the transition.
His hand struck—
Not where the man was—
But where he would reappear.
BOOM!
For the first time—
The attack landed cleanly.
The cloaked man's body snapped back.
His eyes widened slightly.
"…You can see it?"
Kael didn't answer.
But his stance lowered.
Ready.
Focused.
The fight had changed.
⸻
Behind them—
The chest pulsed again.
Faint.
But stronger than before.
As if reacting to both of them.
To Origin.
To Void.
Something inside it—
Was awakening.
⸻
The cloaked man wiped a trace of blood from his lips.
Then smiled.
"…Now this is interesting."
His aura surged.
Darker.
Heavier.
"Let's see how long you last."
Kael stepped forward.
Golden energy rising.
Steady.
Unyielding.
The clash between Origin and Void—
Was far from over.