Enough!
Shu was tired of this battle.
And what he despised even more was the "probing" and "restraint" toward his other self.
His gaze cut through the space before him, where even light seemed twisted by the storm, and locked onto the [Shu] opposite him, whose eyes burned with the same flame.
Why?!
This question wasn't for his opponent, but more like an interrogation of the other voice screaming deep within his own soul.
Why, when we clearly possess the same memories... cherish the same things, share the same fears—
Why do two almost identical people have to fight like clumsy wrestlers in a place like this, in a way like this?!
The [Shu] opposite him seemed to sense this torrent of emotion resonating in their souls.
"Analysis"?
"Weighing options"?
"Optimal solution"?
That cold shell called reason cracked at this moment, countless fissures spreading across its surface.
An irritation suppressed for so long, identical to Shu's, and a deeper despair finally broke free from their shackles, erupting from the bottom of his heart.
Yes! He seemed to roar internally at his other self.
We both know! Your plan has a chance of success! My persistence also holds hope for the future! We are both fucking "right"!
At least for ourselves, these are the optimal solutions!
But precisely because of that—!
The two locked gazes across a chaotic zone of destruction.
Precisely because we understand each other's "correctness" too well, precisely because we know the other's reasons are impeccable, precisely because we both place Kiana, Mei, Bronya...
Because we think we value everyone else more than our own lives, more than our own existence...
That is why we absolutely cannot back down!
The fantasy that "perhaps we can coexist"?
That was shattered the moment their heads collided!
There was no conflict born of misunderstanding here.
This was simply two hearts of guardianship, heading in the same direction yet running counter to each other. It was an inevitability where only one heart was destined to keep beating!
So cut away all hesitation!
Discard the last shred of lucky thinking that "maybe it doesn't have to be this way," and put everything on the table!
Reason! Emotion! Even one's own existence itself!
The storm seemed to suddenly quiet down. It was as if nothing had happened; the two just stood face to face, staring at each other.
No arguing, no hostility, not even disagreement.
They looked at each other like best friends, like a person standing before a mirror, speaking simultaneously with their reflection—
"I understand everything about you."
Hum—
In this domain of death ruled by eternal blizzards and the chaotic, cold residual energy of their clash, a color utterly incongruous with the surroundings abruptly lit up.
It was "Fire."
The most violent fire!
Judgment of Shamash—Unsheathed!!
Like two miniature suns born in the polar region, light so intense it defied description exploded outward, instantly swallowing everything within dozens of meters of them!
The roaring blizzard evaporated the instant the light touched it, as if it had never existed.
Scattered turbulent energy streams were forcibly annihilated by an even more domineering aura of destruction.
The cracked ice cap beneath their feet, centering on the two of them, took on a vitrified texture from being instantly scorched by high temperatures.
And that image flashing before their eyes shattered like a reflection in a broken mirror.
Small talk ends here.
Probing ends here.
All fantasies of "we could have," end here.
I cannot understand "my" self.
BOOM! BOOM!
The ice beneath both their feet shattered simultaneously!
Like two meteors drawn by magnetism, dragging tails of multi-colored golden flame, they crashed headlong toward each other into the chaotic storm between them!
No detours, no tentative sword waves.
Both turned their swords and bodies into a straight line, launching the most primal thrust at each other!
CLANG—!!!!
Amidst the frantic storm, the blades of two giant flaming greatswords collided with scalp-numbing precision!
Two streams of identical destructive energy detonated upon a contact point the size of a needle tip.
A ring of blazing white high-temperature plasma expanded violently from the center, directly dispersing the storm enveloping them.
Wherever the plasma ring passed, the ice layer sublimated directly into gas, leaving behind a smooth, mirror-like concave depression!
The recoil blasted them both backward.
Shu twisted his waist in mid-air, swung his greatsword in a full arc, and using his aerial suspension, slashed violently. The frantic flames seemed to merge with their host's emotions, aggressively detaching from the blade to strike first at [Shu]'s landing point.
[Shu] didn't even look at the fire that blotted out the sky; he just stomped fiercely on the ground.
Cr-crack—
A massive wall of ice instantly rose from the ground to meet it.
Fire and solid ice devoured each other, exploding into a mixed rain of ice crystals and flames.
However, amidst the smoke and light debris of the shattering ice wall, [Shu]'s figure had already charged back through, holding a blaze equally ready to strike.
But Shu seemed to have predicted this blow long ago—or rather, he could think exactly what the other was thinking, especially in this synchronized combat state.
This time, he still made no attempt to dodge. Instead, he forcefully controlled the Judgment of Shamash again and, like a spent crossbow firing its last bolt, smashed it recklessly toward his opponent.
Crack—!
Crack—!
Two crisp, heart-trembling shattering sounds rang out almost simultaneously.
The blades of the two burning, opposing mimicked Judgments of Shamash, soaked in each other's blood, cracked at the same time, countless spiderweb-like fissures appearing.
Flames, no longer bound by a complete form, gushed madly from the cracks. The blades, overburdened by such violent confrontation, completely disintegrated. They turned into countless burning fragments, like a reverse meteor shower, bursting outward before silently annihilating in the air after flying a few meters.
Even the most violent weapon could no longer bear their fury.
Both their hands opened at the same time.
They raised their heads and looked at each other once more.
In a gaze that seemed almost frozen due to their accelerated thoughts, Shu slowly raised both hands.
In the next moment, the leaden gray clouds hanging low above Shu's head were abruptly torn apart!
Shu spread his arms, looking up at the sky.
From the rift in the clouds above him, thousands of pale white beams composed purely of destructive energy rained down like a storm sent by a god, instantly covering the area where [Shu] stood and several kilometers around it!
It was a forest of light filled with death!
Every beam that touched the ground triggered a violent explosion and energy splatter.
And what was more terrifying was that they were not fixed, momentary strikes.
Driven by Shu's will, this was a continuous bombardment that plowed and swept madly around him like a living thing!
Everything touched was instantly vaporized, leaving only crisscrossing, bottomless ravines of molten lava!