Black vs. White

The brothers sped up from a walking pace to a jog. The closer they grew to each other, the larger their auras became, in an attempt to overtake the other's Prana.

Aziel's missing eye throbbed with white-hot pain upon the realization that David's raw Prana felt weaker than usual. Like him, his brother was still suffering from the consequences of their battle with that man. However, unlike David, Aziel's wound didn't impair his ability to fight.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this," Aziel said, taking a deep breath as he braced for impact.

David exhaled. "It's alright, Brother. After I defeat you, I will take Raijah and avenge our parents for both of us."

With that, the two brothers dashed at each other. They purposely made their way away from their parents' house and swung their scythes. Their blades clashed, sending echoes of Prana across the planet.

"You still have a chance to stop this," Aziel said, his eye meeting David's as their blades intertwined.

"You still have a chance to join me," David responded before he and his scythe vanished.

"He's teleporting using his Spatial Prana," Aziel whispered to himself. He kept his head on a swivel, clutching his scythe tightly so he could attack the very second David reappeared.

David's Signature Prana was extremely destructive by nature. Known as Spatial Prana, it allowed him to use techniques that revolved around the manipulation of the fabric of space. Whether it be instantaneous teleportation or erasing and creating space to an extent, David's Signature Prana warranted it all.

David appeared above Aziel. Imbuing his blade with raw Prana to increase its power, he swung his scythe down like a sledgehammer.

Aziel managed to parry with his blade, but his knees buckled under the pressure and the land caved in, leaving him falling toward the cratered ground.

David dove after his brother, swinging his scythe through thin air before Aziel could even hit the ground.

"Spatial Prana: Ruptured Space!"

David sent a sharp, black slash of Spatial Prana flying straight at Aziel. It carved through the space in its path, and erased part of the ground on impact, leaving behind a massive ravine of broken earth.

David landed beside the chasm and peered into its depths. He couldn't see Aziel or sense his aura, but he noticed a transportation mirror at the bottom of the crater.

Suddenly, David felt Aziel's aura reappear. He instinctively looked up, only to see Aziel emerge out of a mirror in the sky, with the tip of his scythe aimed at him.

Hovering in the air, Aziel quickly compressed a large amount of raw Prana and called upon one of his stored techniques by activating his Signature Prana.

"Mirror Prana: Flame Dragon!"

A massive fireball, shaped like a dragon's head, came spiraling out of his scythe.

As the dragon plunged down at him, David lifted his scythe and manipulated his Signature Prana to counter Aziel's technique.

"Spatial Prana: Spatial Dragon!"

David's black Prana rocketed out of his scythe and took the shape of a dragon's head. Their dragons met, resulting in an ear-piercing explosion that sent the brothers tumbling across the grassy plain.

As Aziel landed, he immediately looked around for David. He wasn't to be found in the grassland, but Aziel's senses tingled as his brother's aura reemerged.

David teleported behind Aziel, preparing to strike. But before he could, Aziel spun around, channeled his Prana out of the Nadis in his hands, and funneled it into his blade.

"Mirror Prana: Ruptured Space!"

With a downward slash, Aziel released a wave of Spatial Prana at David. It cut deep into David's body, and blood splatters filled the air as David was sent tumbling uncontrollably through the air.

David regained his footing by teleporting to the ground. With a raspy grunt, he dropped to one knee, clutching at his torso. The wound under his hakama was greatly impeding his Prana output and limiting his ability to use techniques.

Before David could catch his breath, Aziel appeared in front of him and swiftly whipped his scythe at him. Luckily, David predicted this and deflected it with his scythe, thanks to his understanding of Aziel's fighting style.

With that, they fell into an exchange of blade clashes. With every strike, the brothers sent ripples of energy across the world. Aziel thrust and slashed his scythe, and despite David's constant parries, Aziel was slowly pushing him back and gaining the upper hand.

Aziel spun around David's chop and drove his scythe upward with one powerful thrust.

David tried to parry once more but was a second too late. Aziel sliced a deep gash across his collarbone and followed up by cutting in a sweeping motion.

David deflected, but Aziel's power overwhelmed him. His grip on his scythe loosened, and his weapon went cascading across the ground.

Aziel lifted his scythe once more, preparing for the final blow. His goal wasn't to kill David, but to incapacitate him long enough to turn him in to The Elite Corporation.

With a heaving effort, Aziel's blade came plummeting down at David, who left with no other options, teleported Aziel's scythe into the distance.

"It won't be that easy," David muttered between breaths. He teleported his own black scythe back into his hands.

"My turn," David said.

Despite David's confidence, Aziel could see that he was weakening with every passing second.

David attacked with a forward thrust, which Aziel anticipated and countered. He took a scratch along the side of his face, but ignored it and buried a Prana-infused fist into David's jaw.

"Damn you," David said, falling backward as a line of blood dripped from his chin.

Staring down at his knelt brother, Aziel stretched his arm out and his white scythe appeared in his hand.

"Kanashimi is linked to my Ririsu Prana," Aziel said. "You know you cannot hide it from me."

David stumbled to his feet, barely able to see past his sticky eyelids. The inside of his mouth was bleeding, and the pain in his torso was steadily growing. Had this battle taken place prior to his injury, he'd be much more well-matched against Aziel.

Not only was his Prana output limited, but due to his circumstances, he'd never been able to use his Ririsu Prana since unlocking it. Frustration was beginning to set in.

"Enough of this!" David barked, his voice smoldered with resentment. Channeling a large portion of his Signature Prana, he unleashed a swirling void of darkness.

"Spatial Prana: Extreme. . .

". . .Spatial Dominion!"

Saints fundamentally only have one type of Signature Prana. However, every Signature Prana can be expanded on through creativity, giving Saints moves with specific applications. These moves are known as techniques. However, an Extreme technique is a technique with the highest possible amount of raw Prana channeled into it

David's black Prana took a box shape and surrounded him and his brother.

No matter where Aziel turned, he couldn't see anything but endless darkness. He was sure he knew everything his brother was capable of, but this wasn't a technique he remembered David using.

"What kind of trick is this?" Aziel asked. He couldn't see David, but he could hear his movements.

David coughed up a wad of blood before replying, "In my condition, this is one of the strongest techniques I can manage. I created this technique to make up for my injuries. It is a domain made entirely of my Spatial Prana. Because of that, while within it, I can use Prana with less strain on my body."

Aziel spun his scythe, attempting to create a transportation mirror.

"Give it up, Aziel," David said, still panting heavily between his words. "Teleportation doesn't work here. I have full control over space."

Aziel felt the ground rumble. He nearly lost his footing as David's dark Prana emerged from the ground and wrapped around his scythe and his body.

David's features were flushed a mottled red. "Now, where is Raijah?" he roared, jabbing his finger into Aziel's scarred eyelid.

Aziel flinched back. It burned as if magma coursed through his face, but he took a breath and maintained his composure.

Aziel could hardly get his words out due to the Spatial Prana wrapped around his throat. "No need to rush things, David," Aziel said calmly. "I'm not done yet."

David began channeling Spatial Prana into his hand, preparing another attack.

"You're finished, Aziel. Don't make me do something that I'll regret."

Without a second thought, Aziel released the full extent of his aura.

Vibrant, white-colored energy erupted from Aziel's body, engulfing David's domain.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" David shouted, shielding his eyes from Aziel's aura.

Despite channeling raw Prana to his feet to help him stay standing, the energy pushed him back. He slid backward on his feet, barely managing to keep himself upright.

Aziel's aura reached the boundaries of David's domain, causing cracks to appear. Within seconds, the Prana restricting Aziel vanished, and the domain shattered into little shards of Spatial Prana, revealing the grassy plain.

"Freedom," Aziel said as the domain's remnants disintegrated.

Now, he and his brother were back where they started—staring at one another while their auras clashed back and forth.

"You always mess things up," David grumbled, gripping his face. "I hate when you play these games with me."

He released more of his Prana, and his black aura began to overtake Aziel's white.

"You always do this!" David yelled. "Do you think you're better than me because Hashira Shi, that old senile geezer, chose you over me?"

A look of great bitterness swept across David's face. "Forgiveness," he spat. "You and Hashira had the gall to tell me to seek forgiveness after everything that man put us through. Hashira even went as far as to train you instead of me. Simply because I wanted to put my power to use, rather than offer forgiveness to someone who took everything from me."

"David—" Aziel tried to interject.

"No!" David shouted, his broad voice deafening. "Tell me, Aziel, what will forgiveness do? Will it bring back my parents? Will it fix my body?"

David dashed at Aziel before he could reply, and their blades met. David got the better of the exchange, and the impact of their clash pushed Aziel back.

"Why should I condone a man that doesn't deserve my forgiveness?" David said, as their blades met once more. "I'm not like you, Aziel. Call it what you want, but the only way to calm this anger of mine is by claiming the head of the devil that caused it. No matter how strong he is and how futile my attempts may seem, one day I'll do it. One day, I'll claw my way back to the depths of hell, and I will have my revenge."

The brothers swung their scythes once more, but this time, their scythes interlocked and met on equal terms. They were perfectly still at that moment, faces inches apart, and weapons locked at the blades.

Aziel found it difficult to look his brother in the eyes. He couldn't believe David had gone this far. Was this really how things would end? Would he really have to put down his own brother?

"David—" Aziel began again.

"Shut up and fight," David muttered through gritted teeth.

David took a step back and concentrated his Prana at the tip of his blade. At this point, his Prana output had reduced to less than a tenth of its full potential. The attacks he was using could hardly be called techniques.

"Spatial Prana: Piercing Space!"

David turned his scythe horizontally, and a dense beam of Spatial Prana shot out of his blade. It distorted the space in its path, rocketing toward Aziel, who spun his own scythe just before the moment of impact.

"Mirror Prana: Reflection!"

Aziel slammed the tip of his scythe into the beam. For a second, the beam fought the effects of Aziel's Signature Prana, pushing back against Aziel's scythe.

The ground below rumbled, and space distorted further. Things far away appeared closer, and everything nearby was pushed further.

However, the effects of Aziel's 'Reflection' technique shone through. With a burst of strength, he flipped the blast on its back, sending it reeling back at David.

David tilted his head back just in time. The attack carved off the tip of his nose, and it continued traveling until it obliterated a mountain range in the distance.

"That Prana of yours has always been a nuisance," David said as he lifted his head. There was blood dripping from his nose, but he didn't care. As an Elite, his body had natural healing capabilities beyond that of any Saint.

Before David finished that thought, Aziel was already upon him.

"I have to end things now," Aziel whispered to himself. "If this continues, we'll destroy the planet, or possibly even more."

With a burst of speed, Aziel's blade arced toward David.

David flashed his scythe out to defend himself, but he was a second too late.

"Mirror Prana: Ruptured Space!"

Aziel launched a slash of Spatial Prana at David.

With no time to parry, David propelled himself backward. He had avoided the initial onslaught, but was still along the path of the attack.

Noting this, Aziel dashed behind David before he could escape the slash's trajectory.

"Mirror Prana: Flame Dragon!"

A burst of Prana exploded from Aziel's scythe, the searing flames aimed right at David.

Sandwiched between two attacks, David had no time to dodge.

The Prana slammed into him, drawing blood on impact. David trashed around as space and fire arced around his body, the pain akin to a thousand swords stabbing him in rapid succession.

By the time the attacks dissipated, David was on the floor, coughing up blobs of bloody vomit. His hakama was tattered and his cuts were deep. If not for his healing factor, he'd be dead in minutes.

Aziel stared down at his brother. His breath caught in his throat as he tried not to retch at the sight. He wanted to look away, needed to gouge out his eye, but he could not. The damage was done. There was no going back.

David tried to say something, but he gasped, and red fluid splattered the grass.

"Forgive me, Brother. . ." Aziel said. He raised his scythe up high and channeled Prana into its blade. Tears welled from deep inside and coursed down his cheeks. ". . .I wish it hadn't come to this"

"Mirror Prana: Seal—"

David's body suddenly began to vanish.

Aziel struck his blade down, but it passed right through David. His body was intangible.

"He's teleporting," Aziel thought.

David tried to laugh, but his voice rang hollow. "My time has not yet come," David said, his voice harsh and raspy. "Train Raijah well. I'll be back to pick the fruit when it is ripe."

With that, David vanished with his scythe, the pool of blood and the damage to the terrain being the only remnant of his presence.

Aziel could no longer sense David's location. Not only was David in a location incredibly far away, but tracking him down was impossible. With all things spatial being within his range, he could be anywhere, instantly.

"That damn Spatial Prana," Aziel said, tears still flowing. "I should've finished him when I had the chance."

A great sob escaped Aziel, and he covered his face with his shaking hand. Lost in his own emotions, he suddenly became aware of a gentle patter against his skin.

Looking up, his tear-streaked eye met the sight of raindrops falling from the darkened sky.

"How ironic," Aziel said as he forced a smile. "As I cry, so does this planet."