Mane was like a furious whirlwind. His movement was akin to that of a man maddened with a rage so great that even war feared him. Like a specter darkness; like an agent of wind and of fire he whizzed past the winds and escaped the tracking of dust itself. In less than a second he was far away from Amalgamation, covering almost a kilometer in his bid to get to Shiva before the god got to him. Besides, with the amount of destruction he had in mind, he needed all the space he could get.
*Boom*
Several bolts of lightning streaked across the sky in a bid to relay their loyalty to the Supreme and help him accomplish his lofty but probable goal – kill a god! The storm clouds gathered for as far as the eye could see, taking up more than half of the sky of the World of the Three Great Races. With great superiority Mane declared this world as his, and rose to accept the challenge of the one who had come here just for him.
*Boom*
Mane's lightning wasn't the only thing that sought to dominate this world. For the god he was facing was no pushover either. Shiva hadn't come all the way to the World of the Three Great Races just to be sent scrambling back in fear. He had come here to kill the Supreme and take his power as his! He had come here to fulfil his ambitions and pursue the path he thought was meant for him and him alone. A great power of destruction swept over the land as a chaotic aura of black and blue escaped the confines of the God of Destruction's body and filled this world. Like clouds carrying their own weights of rain Shiva's dark power pushed against Mane's. And both fought for dominion over this world.
"How is this even possible?" Shiva frowned as a bit of unease crept into his heart. At the corner of his lips was a small patch of dried blood. This was the result of Mane's previous assault. The blow wasn't as harmless as it seemed and even the god of destruction had paid a small price for receiving the Supreme's blow head on. But that wasn't enough to introduce doubt into the heart of the one whose dirty handed tricks had earned him the ire of many other gods.
Shiva's discomfort came from what he was seeing for himself. The god of destruction's unease came from the fact that his power couldn't drive out Mane's! For when he unfurled his domain and sought to conquer this planet, though he was able to easily swat away the resistance of this planet, he wasn't able to overcome Mane's lightning! And the scariest thing for the god of destruction was that he could feel that Mane's power was no domain! The planet was just reacting to the power it could feel from the young boy. It wasn't resisting Mane. It was assisting him!
"Whatever," Shiva stated. "Whether this world helps you or not is of no consequence to me. I will take your power either way!" Shiva spat out as he pushed himself even further, crossing several hundreds of meters in record time. He could feel the aura of the Supreme swiftly approaching. So he gathered his power into his fists and struck out. A powerful black aura escaped his fists and gathered into a strong typhoon that swept everything in its path aside. Sand, dust and even light was consumed as destruction revealed its selfish heart. And soon his chaos descended upon Mane.
Shiva wasn't the only one aware of where his opponent was. Mane was not just an Energy Wielder, he was a Scholar as well. He knew from the start where Shiva was. And he knew for a fact that the older god had attacked. But he didn't defend. He attacked as well. If Shiva was going to strike out, then he was too. With a slight swivel of his feet and a turn of his trunk he gathered power in Harch and bellowed greatly.
"ROAR!"
With a mighty roar Harch exploded with great power and gathered the elements of lightning and darkness into its blade. With a powerful swing a strong wind escaped Harch's chiseled edge as a powerful blade light as gigantic as the titan who let it loose escaped its grasp and pushed towards the approaching Shiva.
Typhoon and blade light clashed midway, and the world ceased spinning for a brief moment.
*BOOOM*
The power of god and godling was inconceivably dangerous for this world. And it shook strongly in response to the strength of the two who dared to war upon its crust. The shock traveled all the way to its core and caused several painful effects in many parts of the world. Dormant volcanoes threatened to give up their ash and mountains that had remained stable all these years struggled to keep their footing. All who were residents of the World of the Three Great Races felt the wrath of the Supreme and his foe. It felt Shiva's frustration; his suppression all these years because of his weakness. It felt his sorrow and need for change. It felt it all. And it felt the Supreme's rage – pure, unpolluted rage that was as chaotic as the one who bore it. It felt the anger of the one meant to rule his universe and the incensed authority of the man whose subordinate had been nearly raped right next to him. This shame had to be repaid. And Shiva's blood would do the trick.
Mane sped through the chaos like it wasn't there. He easily escaped the remnants of the explosion his power and Shiva's had caused and reached out for the god of destruction. The lightning brand on his forehead shone brightly like a relic of the past consumed by an eager desire to relive its former glory. And along with its shimmering, the lightning in the sky grew much stronger.
*Crack*
Mane's lightning filled eyes were like bright beacons of power that sought out his enemy. And he did find him. Without any hesitation Mane swung his axe at Shiva. A great storm gathered at the tip of Harch's blade as several different elements were summoned as forced to make their allegiance to the Supreme. Mane invoked his authority as the one destined to rule and generated enough force to destroy a small star. And Harch screeched with delight at the magnificence of the one to which it was bound.
*Scree*
Shiva's brows furrowed in discomfort when the power of the Supreme descended upon him. He had been waiting for this day for a long time; he had been eagerly anticipating this moment for the longest time; he had been praying for this moment when he would get to face the Supreme in combat and take everything from him – his power, life and heart. He thought he was prepared to deal with the boy when the time came. But when it was time, he realised that he was grossly underprepared. He had vastly underestimated the Supreme. He had let the young boy be for too long and now the boy was his equal. The battle that was meant to be a simple tradition was becoming a fatal transition. And Shiva was not too pleased by it. But he had already boarded the train; he had mounted the bull. Now, he had to ride it and survive.
Seeing the furious tempest travelling his way Shiva didn't display his prior arrogance. He had long removed Mane from the category of prey and placed him in the same vein as a fellow god. To him, the young Supreme was just as dangerous as he was. With that lightning brand on his forehead, Mane was not a force to be trifled with. And Shiva wasn't ready to display any ignorance towards his new foe.
He dashed to the side to avoid the blast of power coming from the Supreme's blade and gathered power in his fists for a swift counter. With a slight bend of his knees and shifting of power he smashed towards the Supreme with all his strength, and the forces of destruction at his command trembled in delight.
Mane remained unmoved by the god of destruction's assault – not like he could readily express any emotion in his current state anyway. With a slight turn of his feet he moved his frame to the side and gathered some momentum. Earth gathered at his fingertips and streaked into Harch who drank it greedily like a weaning baby. Several streaks of lightning steaked into his armor and threatened to spill over. He lifted Harch and fortified his strength. And unlike Shiva Mane didn't opt to avoid the blow of his foe. He pushed forward and intercepted it!
*Bang*
Shiva trembled greatly as his power was forcefully pushed aside and his blow rendered useless. The Supreme's insult however, was not what he worried about. For once Mane threw that blow, he surrendered Harch. Abandoning Harch midair, Mane bent slightly and reached to his sides. The daggers that had been still all this while trembled in magnificent delight and dove into his hands. And like a carver with the experience of a million lifetimes, Mane swiftly dispatched several clean strikes, stunning the un-expectant Shiva.
*Puchi*
Two large blade wounds opened up on Shiva's chest as blood escaped the new crevices on his chest. Shiva's expression grew pale as great fear suddenly consumed him. And he knew. This boy was a fighting machine!
Mane didn't care about Shiva's thoughts, nor did he want to. He let go of his daggers once they had completed their task and they settled into their sheaths in excitement, having drawn the blood of a god. Mane gestured and Harch resettled in his arms. His Chief Soul Weapon trembled slightly as if to ask why it had been abandoned, but Mane wasn't in the position to explain his strategies just yet. Educating Harch will have to come later. Right now, getting Shiva's head off his body took precedence.
Once Mane held on to Harch, it was like the world had found its muse. And great power descended upon the World of the Three Great Races. Mane let out a loud bellow as his arms pulled his weapon from the sky and brought it down with strength that was beyond anything he had summoned so far. And his target was – of course – Shiva. Shiva's fear was short-lived. He was still a god and Mane wouldn't be able to kill him without destroying his Godhead. The knowledge of this eased his anxious heart somewhat and regained his confidence. And that he did just in time too. For Harch was swiftly descending upon him with power that caused the ground Shiva stood upon to cave in in submission. Shiva threw aside his pride and found his feet. And with it he swiftly backpedaled, escaping the fate of decimation.
*BOOM*