CHAPTER 1178: HAVEN TOWN (6).

The ground beneath them began to sink, unable to withstand the density of their power. Entire streets crumbled. Lava from the city’s ruptured veins flooded upward, bathing the world in red light.

Cain straightened, the molten wind sweeping past him. Nebula hovered amid the storm of blades, hair whipping wildly, expression serene.

Neither spoke.

Then both moved — faster than before.

Their clash was no longer a battle; it was a natural disaster. Metal screamed as the air itself was torn apart by sound and heat. Each strike produced shockwaves that rolled for miles.

Cain’s aura blazed gold; Nebula’s shimmered with that strange, unstable silver.

And as they collided again — gold against silver — the city vanished into a single burst of white.

The explosion had not ended — it had only transformed.

What once was light became sound, a deafening pulse that rippled through the sky and cracked the atmosphere. The shockwave tore the clouds open, splitting night from day for a heartbeat.

Cain was the first to reappear, thrown back like a meteor. His body skipped across molten ground before slamming into the side of a collapsed structure. The building groaned, half-melted steel bending around him like tinfoil. Steam rose from his skin as his body forced itself to heal, golden light crawling along every wound.

He coughed once, blood and molten dust spilling out together. "...Still alive."

Across the crater, Nebula hovered — his once-pristine form now riddled with fractures. The silver light bleeding from him sputtered like a dying flame. The blades surrounding him were fewer now, but thicker, denser — each one pulsing like it had a heartbeat.

Cain raised his head and spat. "You look worse than I do."

Nebula chuckled, voice hoarse but defiant. "Funny. I was about to say the same."

He raised his hand. Dozens of runic circles unfolded behind him, glowing with that strange silvery hue. The air warped, heavy and unstable. Each circle fed into the next, creating an echoing resonance that made Cain’s ears ring.

Cain steadied his breath. His reserves were low — dangerously so — but retreat wasn’t an option. Not here. Not against him.

He slammed the {Golden Tyrant} into the ground. Its frame expanded, transforming into a long cannon inscribed with a thousand glowing marks. The weapon hummed, pulling in ambient mana like a black hole.

Nebula tilted his head. "You’ll break yourself before you break me."

Cain’s lips curled. "Then I’ll just have to break both."

The ground exploded beneath them as they both fired.

The beam that erupted from the {Golden Tyrant} wasn’t light — it was pure annihilation. The runes burned themselves out the moment they were activated, feeding all their energy into a single, colossal discharge.

Nebula countered with a storm of blades condensed into one titanic weapon, a spear of spinning metal that split the beam down the middle. The collision was instantaneous — then infinite.

Everything went white again.

For ten whole seconds, nothing existed but the roar.

When the light finally faded, Cain stood amidst a wasteland. Entire city blocks had vanished, replaced by a glowing basin of molten glass. The air shimmered, heavy with radiation and mana decay.

Nebula stood across from him, barely upright. His body flickered, portions of it breaking into shards that drifted away like ash. Still, he smirked. "You... you really don’t know when to stop."

Cain staggered forward. His voice was quiet, almost a whisper. "You talk too much."

With each step, he reloaded the {Golden Tyrant}. Every shell that slid into the chamber glowed brighter than the last, threatening to melt through the barrel.

Nebula mirrored his movements. His blades began to reform, slower this time — fewer, weaker — but still lethal.

Both men looked half-dead, yet neither relented. The battlefield was collapsing, but it didn’t matter.

They were far beyond reason.

Cain vanished first. Nebula followed instantly. The sound barrier shattered in a chain of concussive bursts as they collided midair, fists, blades, and raw energy intertwining into something that barely resembled a fight anymore.

Cain’s fist shattered one of Nebula’s ribs; Nebula’s blade cut across his face, searing through bone. They both screamed — rage, exhaustion, willpower — it all blended into one primal note.

Their fight climbed into the clouds. The rain that had started mid-battle never reached the ground; it vaporized the moment it came close.

Nebula caught Cain by the throat, hurling him through a floating cluster of debris. Cain responded by grabbing one of the shattered steel beams mid-flight and transmuting it into a javelin, impaling Nebula through the chest with it.

The two fell.

The impact cratered the earth again.

Neither moved for a long while — then, slowly, Cain’s hand twitched. He forced himself upright, one arm hanging uselessly at his side. Nebula crawled from the rubble, his right eye gone, replaced by that same silver glow that refused to die.

Their surroundings were gone. There was no city anymore — no sound, no movement, only heat and ruin stretching for miles.

Cain looked up. The sky was fractured — a thin line of gold splitting the blackness.

Nebula followed his gaze. "You cracked the veil..."

Cain raised his weapon again, unsteady but unwavering. "Then let’s see who falls through it first."

They charged.

Gold met silver once more — and the world broke open.

The moment their weapons met, the ground collapsed beneath them — not shattered, but simply ceased to exist. Space itself tore apart, and both men plummeted through a storm of fractured light. Gravity bent. The horizon twisted. It was as if the world could no longer decide what was up or down.

Cain landed first, dragging the {Golden Tyrant} through molten dust as he came to a sliding stop. His entire body screamed in protest, skin blistering, bones rattling from the recoil of his own weapon. He barely had time to look up before Nebula crashed down like a falling star, carving a new crater beside him.

Both staggered to their feet.

"Still standing?" Nebula rasped, silver blood dripping from his chin.

Cain rolled his shoulder, bones cracking audibly. "Barely."

They stared at each other, neither blinking.

The air between them vibrated — metallic, sharp, suffocating. The ground was no longer solid; every particle trembled under the weight of their residual power.

Cain’s voice was hoarse, but steady. "You’re going to burn out."

Nebula smirked, his remaining eye gleaming faintly. "Then I’ll make sure to take you with me."

Their last step forward happened at the same time.

The final collision didn’t make a sound — it erased sound itself.