The haze began to clear, slowly.

Miller’s eyes widened as he tried to withdraw his palm.

It did not budge.

"Okay, that hurt," the voice came from behind the smoke, calm and utterly unbothered.

Gee’s full form was revealed, his right hand raised before his face, holding Miller’s fist in place.

"Since you have decided to use just your fists, let me honor you," Gee said as his free hand shot forward in a burst of black aether.

"Split," Miller said, his tone hurried.

The entire arm separated from the shoulder, but it did not do much.

Gee’s fist crashed into his nose.

The floor beneath them erupted into a pile of white tiles.

Miller’s body was hurled through the air, crashing into the barrier at the far end.

The barrier shook but held.

"Heal," Miller said, the words shaky and slow.

His injuries sealed in a breath.

He looked at the destroyed floor, disbelief written across his face.

His space was meant to be indestructible. As long as he had aether, it was supposed to remain perfectly intact.

Gee did not let him think for long. His body flashed through the space, appearing before Miller in a burst of aether.

Miller’s body reacted on instinct, ducking low just in time to avoid Gee’s punch.

The air above him detonated, the barrier shaking far more violently this time.

Miller’s mind raced as he reached for something he had not used in years.

"Time aether," he said.

He felt his aether stir wildly.

"Three minutes," he muttered as his fist whipped toward Gee’s head.

Gee raised his hand to stop the attack.

But he froze.

Miller’s fist smashed into his head, hurling his body into the air.

Before he could fly far, he stopped mid air again.

Miller was already above him.

He drove his elbow into Gee’s chest.

Gee’s body plummeted into the earth, cracking it into splinters of white tiles.

He stood up, battered and bloodied.

He lunged again at Miller with a ferocious gaze.

Miller sidestepped, avoiding the punch with calm.

The trajectory of the attack shifted, tracking Miller’s head like a missile.

Gee froze once again, his hand stopping mere inches from Miller’s face.

Miller’s leg lashed forward into his stomach.

Gee skidded back, destroying the tiles beneath him in the process.

Miller came in low, punching at Gee’s ribs.

The attack passed through cleanly, as if Gee were made of air.

Before Miller could withdraw, a kick smashed into the back of his head, hurling him like a ragdoll through the space.

As he landed, he looked at the copy he had struck, already dissolving into dark aether.

Gee lunged again, his fist coated in dark aether.

Miller ducked beneath the punch, then drove his knee into Gee’s jaw.

Gee flew into the air, just slightly above Miller, then began to fall.

Miller did not wait. His aether flared, freezing Gee mid air.

His sword appeared in his hand as he slashed upward with a single aim.

To end the fight here.

The blade met no resistance, passing through Gee’s body until it burst into a cloud of mist.

Miller’s eyes widened as he looked up.

Of course.

Gee was already descending, fist tightly clenched and aimed directly at his head.

Miller switched tactics.

He directed his aether inward, sharpening his perception and speed against time.

Everything seemed to slow. Gee’s descending body, his own breath, the air itself.

A flicker and he was gone.

Gee crashed into the earth.

The floor quaked, then exploded.

A ravine thousands of meters deep formed from the impact.

A sharp sound split the air.

Gee’s head whipped backward, narrowly avoiding Miller’s slash.

Time seemed to stop.

The flat of the blade hovered over Gee, close enough for him to catch his own reflection as it changed trajectory.

The sword came down in a cleave at his chest.

Gee smirked.

"You should know by now, this does not work on me," he said as the figure dissolved into dark mist.

Miller smirked back.

"Got you," he said as his left sword pierced backward.

The soft sound of tearing fabric cut through the air.

For a moment, there was silence.

It enveloped the entire space like something permanent, like it had always belonged there.

Miller drove the blade further, widening the cut with deeper thrusts.

Then he pulled out in one swift motion.

In the same movement, he turned, his right blade arcing through the air in a streak of silver as it took Gee’s head clean off.

Miller heaved, heavily.

For a moment there, he had genuinely thought he was going to die from the sheer power Gee carried.

"I should learn never to underestimate enemies," Miller said as he sank to the floor.

He deactivated the time aether.

The shift was immediate. Time resumed its natural flow and the feeling of superiority vanished completely, replaced by the familiar weight of his usual power.

"That guy was very dangerous," Miller said, staring upward.

He was too exhausted to even think about leaving yet.

"Indeed," the voice came from beside him, calm and unbothered.

Miller nodded.

Then it hit him.

He turned his head, only to be met by a fist crashing into his face.

The air exploded from the force. Miller was thrown to the edge of the barrier.

Cracks spread across it faster than sight could follow.

"Restore."

The words forced themselves from Miller’s lips as his injuries sealed shut.

"Damn. That was every last drop of aether I had."

He looked up, but Gee was already gone.

"Hey, over here."

Miller looked up, eyes widening as Gee’s fist came down onto his head.

His neck snapped. The force behind the strike was too much for his spine to bear.

Gee looked down at Miller’s body with a cold gaze.

Then at the barrier.

With a casual punch, it shattered like glass.

Miller’s body was flung out, bloodied and battered. He lay unmoving on the floor.

Gee stepped out from behind, taking in the sight of the ruin and the person who had caused it.