The battlefield was unrecognizable—nothing but ruins, dust, and death.
Kol's body was wreathed in Black Thunder, the dark lightning crackling with uncontrollable fury. His skin burned with its power, his breath came in ragged gasps, but his eyes… his eyes were voids of endless destruction.
Owen, standing amidst the wreckage, finally felt fear.
Kol vanished.
The moment stretched too long—silent, tense—before an explosion of power shattered the air.
BOOM!
Kol's fist tore through Owen's stomach, sending him rocketing backward. The ground split apart, entire mountains crumbled under the shockwave. Owen's body crashed through ruins, leaving behind a bloody trail.
He barely had time to regenerate before Kol was upon him again.
A crackle of black lightning.
A shadow shifting through the air.
Too fast. Too powerful. Too unstoppable.
CRACK!
Kol's fist slammed into Owen's face, breaking bones, distorting reality itself. Owen's world blurred as he was sent flying through the sky, blood trailing behind him.
He gritted his teeth, pain flooding his senses. He couldn't keep up.
"This is—" Owen tried to speak, but his words were stolen by Kol's next attack.
Kol was everywhere.
A blur of destruction.
A monster.
BOOM!
Kol appeared above Owen and drove him into the ground, the impact forming a crater so deep it swallowed the ruins whole.
Owen coughed up blood, his body convulsing from the sheer force. He struggled to his feet, barely standing.
"…You're finally showing your true self, Kol," Owen managed, his voice weak but taunting. "But do you even recognize yourself anymore?"
Kol didn't respond.
He vanished.
Owen's instincts screamed—MOVE!
Too late.
Kol appeared behind him and plunged his arm straight through Owen's chest.
SQUELCH.
Owen's body seized, his mouth opening in a silent scream. Black blood dripped from Kol's fingers.
Kol leaned in, his voice like a low growl of thunder.
"I recognize one thing," he whispered.
Owen shuddered, pain lancing through him.
Kol twisted his hand inside Owen's chest.
"I'm stronger than you."
The roar of thunder drowned out Owen's scream.
From the shadows, unseen figures watched.
Their eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
"It is happening."
"One must consume the other."
"Only the strongest will rise."
They had guided this battle from the beginning. It was never about Kol or Owen winning—it was about one devouring the other.
And now, as Kol ripped his hand free, leaving Owen gasping for breath, the final step was upon them.
A voice echoed in Kol's mind.
"Take his heart. Devour it. His power will be yours."
Kol's breath came fast and uneven. His vision blurred with rage, with power, with something dark.
Owen, still alive but barely, tried to crawl away. His body broken, his regeneration failing—he was losing.
Kol raised a crackling, blackened fist.
Owen's eyes widened in horror. "W-wait—"
Kol's fingers closed around Owen's heart.
The witches, hidden in the void, smiled.
"Yes… eat it."
Kol's grip tightened. The moment stretched.
And then—
Darkness swallowed everything.