The starry black hole pulsed in Ultimate's arms, expanding with every breath he took.
He rose from the cosmic dust slowly—deliberately—his shadow stretching across the shattered void.
His fingers tightened around Striver's neck.
Not fast.
Not violent.
Just… crushing.
Like he was testing how easily Striver would break.
Ultimate's voice rumbled, low and cold:
"It seems you're not even worth killing…
Not yet, at least."
He flung Striver aside. The boy spun through the fragments of broken moons like a discarded toy.
Ultimate didn't even watch him land.
His gaze drifted upward—somewhere far beyond the ruins of galaxies, as if remembering a place that no longer existed.
Then, without turning, he spoke.
"Do you know why I became like this?"
His tone changed—deeper, heavier—like the universe itself was straining to hold the sound.
"Did your precious Creator ever tell you what he did to me?"
A long silence stretched across the void.
Ultimate finally turned his head.
Starlight ran down his cheeks.
Not tears.
Dying stars liquefying in his sorrow.
The darkness around him thickened—pulling inward—drinking in the light.
"How he made me into a monster."
A tremor escaped his voice.
"How he took everything from me."
---
Striver tried to move.
His arms felt like broken stone—heavy, numb, disconnected from his will. His ribs trembled with every shallow breath.
He shouldn't have been able to smile.
But he did—just a tired curve of the lips—because something within him ignited.
Bones realigned.
Skin knit together.
His heart beat harder, stronger.
Life poured back into him like a second sun rising inside his chest.
His fingers twitched; then he forced them to curl.
"…How did you become a monster?"
He asked it softly—stalling—mind racing, trying to find any opening.
Ultimate's empty eyes locked onto him.
Eyes without stars.
Eyes without hope.
Then a smile blossomed—beautiful, unsettling, strangely human—but wrong at the core.
"Let me show you."
---
He didn't move fast.
He simply raised the black hole—like someone lobbing a small stone—and threw it.
The universe tore open as it flew.
Galaxies blurred into streaks.
Space rippled behind it like liquid.
Striver's eyes widened.
His home.
His people.
His memories.
"NO—NOT THERE!"
He launched himself after it, panic burning through him.
He almost reached it—almost—
A hand clamped around his leg.
Ultimate.
Effortless.
With one swing, he slammed Striver through a string of planets. Crust shattered. Cores collapsed. Atmospheres ignited. Worlds died.
Striver's vision dimmed.
Darkness took him.
---
A glow.
A breath.
Time froze.
Layla appeared beside the frozen black hole, her expression terrified and confused at the power flowing through her.
She reached out, and time obeyed her fear.
The explosion unraveled—folding backward—returning to stillness.
Ultimate looked at her over his shoulder.
Just a glance.
But the killing intent behind it made the void itself tremble.
"You're becoming… an annoyance."
Striver's limp body drifted away, forgotten.
Ultimate vanished.
Layla's instincts screamed.
She jumped back millions of kilometers—space stretching behind her like fabric—
But he was already there.
His fist hit her.
Once.
Then again.
And again.
Each strike sent shockwaves through nebulae, scattering stars like dust.
Her bones snapped, healed, snapped again, healed again—faster than she could register.
He stopped at last, watching her regeneration stitch her torn form together.
She rose slowly, hair drifting like cosmic smoke.
Her beauty cut through the darkness.
A smile tugged at her lips.
"I never thought I'd return to this form again."
Time curled around her legs.
Space wrapped around her waist.
Light fused with shadow.
Her suit snapped into existence—sleek, sharp, perfect.
She exhaled.
"Better. Now I can move properly."
Blades formed in her hands—pure time and space sharpened to a fatal edge.
Ultimate observed her.
Unblinking.
Unreadable.
Then—without warning—he charged.
Layla barely crossed her arms to guard herself before he hit her.
The impact shook constellations.
She slid back, but didn't break.
My body… it's too divine to shatter, she thought.
She blurred forward, swinging her blade in a perfect arc.
Ultimate stopped it—until the blade twisted mid-motion, flickering through timelines, and cut across his chest.
He staggered.
Slightly.
But it was enough.
His eyes narrowed.
Not angry—curious.
"Interesting."
A black hole bloomed in his left hand.
A staff solidified in his right.
They held each other's gaze.
No words.
Then—
Chaos.
They moved faster than light could understand.
Blow after blow.
Kick after kick.
Power tearing scars into the universe.
Galaxies quaked at their every touch.
Layla gritted her teeth. She was rusty—but she pushed through, kneeing Ultimate's jaw and sending him spinning.
He responded by hammering the black hole into her ribs.
She spiraled through a cloud of collapsing stars.
The longer they fought, the clearer the truth became:
She was matching him.
But he was still stronger.
He caught her wrists mid-strike.
"Still seeing me as a human?"
Darkness swallowed him.
His form expanded—muscles twisting, shadows fusing, eyes burning.
"Let me show you the difference…
between a human—
and a god."
Her blades cracked—shattered—returned to streams of time.
He twisted her arm.
A scream tore from her lips as her shoulder nearly snapped.
A sudden light tore open beside them.
His own black hole burst out—aimed directly at him.
Layla used the moment.
She broke free and kicked him with everything she had.
Ultimate flew backward, crashing through an asteroid field.
Striver drifted beside her, aura blazing like a newborn star.
"Ready for round two?"
Layla nodded.
New blades crystallized in her hands.
Ultimate pulled the devouring light off himself, crushed it, and let the explosion ripple through the void.
His voice echoed across the ruins:
"This… is getting annoying."
He raised his weapon.
The universe seemed to hold its breath.