The sphere of non-existence expanded above them like a malignant sun, swallowing light itself. The Chaos Prince's laughter echoed across the wasteland, wild and unhinged.

Northern's eyes narrowed, blue light intensifying.

[Layer 3: Causality Fracture has been Activated]

Time seemed to fragment. Northern saw three possible futures simultaneously:

Path One: The sphere drops, erasing everything within a kilometer radius.

Path Two: He dodges, but his companions are consumed.

Path Three: He counters now, before the sphere reaches critical mass.

Northern chose the third path.

[One Strike has been Activated]

Every ounce of power in his body condensed into a single point. Lightning crackled along his arm, frost formed crystalline patterns on his skin, and the air around his fist warped from sheer concentrated force.

He punched upward.

The impact shattered the sphere of non-existence before it could fully form, the resulting shockwave creating a crater beneath their feet. The Chaos Prince stumbled backward, genuine surprise flashing across his face.

"Impressive! But—"

[Phantom Strike has been Activated]

[Echo has been Activated]

Northern's fist didn't just strike once. The attack echoed, landing twice in the exact same spot with zero delay between impacts. The Chaos Prince's attempt to phase through the first blow left him perfectly positioned for the second.

The strike connected with his sternum with a sickening crack.

"Gah!"

The Chaos Prince was launched backward, skidding across the desert floor. But even as he slid, void essence pulsed from his body, and the broken bones began to snap back into place.

He scrunched his face at Northern and spat out blood again.

"You're stronger than I calculated. Father must have really tired you out. Yet here you are, hitting like a meteor."

Northern didn't respond. He simply advanced, his movements deliberate and terrifying in their efficiency.

The Chaos Prince's smile returned, though it was strained now.

"Fine. Let's see how you handle this."

His form blurred, and suddenly there were dozens of him—no, hundreds. Each one wielding void essence, each one real in some fundamental sense.

[Mirage has been Activated]

But Northern countered instantly. His own strike created seven visual copies, each one indistinguishable from the real attack. The Chaos Prince's duplicates shattered like glass as Northern's blade-like strikes carved through them.

The Chaos Prince snarled.

"Those are illusions!"

"Are they?"

[Refraction has been Activated]

Northern's next punch bent through space. He struck from the front, but the attack landed from behind, catching the Chaos Prince in the kidney. The prince gasped, void essence flickering around him protectively.

"You—!"

[Light Strike has been Activated]

Northern moved at the speed of light. The Chaos Prince saw him begin the motion, but by the time his brain processed the image, Northern's fist was already embedded in his jaw.

The sound came after—a thunderous CRACK that echoed across the desert.

The Chaos Prince's head snapped to the side, saliva and blood spraying in an arc. His body ragdolled through the air, tumbling end over end until he crashed into a stone outcropping three hundred meters away.

The stone exploded into dust.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then the Chaos Prince emerged from the debris, his jaw hanging at an unnatural angle. He reached up with both hands and, with a grotesque wet pop, forced it back into place.

"Okay"

His voice was slightly slurred as he spoke and walked towards Northern, glaring.

"Okay. I see how it is."

The void essence around him intensified, turning from smoky wisps into roaring torrents. His eyes went completely black, no whites remaining.

"You want to play rough? Let's play rough."

He vanished.

Not with speed—he simply ceased to exist in one location and appeared in another, directly in front of Northern. His fist, wrapped in layers of condensed void, shot toward Northern's face.

[Reversal has been Activated]

The kinetic energy reversed, but this time the Chaos Prince was ready. He let the reversal happen, used the momentum to spin into a devastating roundhouse kick aimed at Northern's temple.

The kick connected.

Northern's head barely moved.

The Chaos Prince's eyes widened in shock as his shin bone fractured against Northern's skull, which felt less like flesh and more like striking a mountain.

"What—"

[Full Impact has been Activated]

[Recoil has been Activated]

Northern's counterpunch carried not just his own strength, but the kinetic energy of the Chaos Prince's kick, returned with interest. His fist drove into the prince's chest, and the sound was like a hammer striking an anvil.

The Chaos Prince's ribcage shattered. Multiple bones broke simultaneously, fragments driven inward. He coughed blood, genuine pain flashing across his face for the first time.

He whizzed slightly in pain.

"The pain of being rewritten by void should override any… why does it hurt this much—"

[Riposte has been Activated]

Northern's follow-up strike was even harder, the counter-attack damage stacking exponentially. This time he aimed for the prince's shoulder, and the entire joint dislocated with a wet crunch.

The Chaos Prince screamed.

It wasn't the theatrical scream from before. This was raw, primal agony.

"You BASTARD!"

Void essence erupted from him in a desperate explosion, forcing Northern back. The prince's arm hung uselessly, but void tendrils wrapped around it, puppeting it back into position. The bones ground against each other audibly as they were forced to heal.

Chaos Prince gasped.

"You don't understand. I need this body. I need to be whole when Mother fully integrates. If you break me too much—"

Northern's voice came coldly.

"Then you shouldn't have annoyed me."

[Ruinous Momentum has been Activated]

Northern struck again. And again. Each hit harder than the last, momentum building infinitely. The first punch broke two ribs. The second broke four. The third shattered the Chaos Prince's forearm when he tried to block.

"Stop—"

[7th Fragments has been Activated]

This was the seventh consecutive strike. It ignored all defenses, striking directly at the Chaos Prince's core—his soul itself.

The prince's eyes went wide as something fundamental inside him cracked.

"No... no no no—"

[Phase Strike has been Activated]

Northern's fist phased through the Chaos Prince's desperate void barrier and struck his sternum again, the same spot he'd hit earlier. The already-damaged bone shattered completely this time, fragments embedding in his lungs.

The Chaos Prince collapsed to his knees, blood pouring from his mouth.

But his eyes... his eyes were still burning with that manic intensity.

"You think... this is over?"

He laughed, blood bubbling between his teeth.

"I've fought things that would make you weep, Northern. This? This is nothing."

And then he moved.

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