Haytham stood before Xiao, a chill radiating from his very being. His gaze was a frozen lake, his eyes piercing into Xiao's with unwavering intensity. "I will avenge my brother," he stated, his voice a low growl. "You are nothing more than a pest, an obstacle to be eradicated!"
A manic grin stretched across Xiao's face, a disturbing contrast to the cold steel in Haytham's eyes. "Oh? Then by all means, entertain me! Show me the extent of your abilities, or you shall join your fallen sibling in the abyss!"
Haytham's response was immediate, a declaration of power. "Now that my brother and I stand as one, your reign ends! Admin mode: install twin demons!"
The very air crackled as Haytham's form began to twist and contort. The right side of his body, the arm that now wielded his brother's greatsword – a blade thrumming with malevolent violet energy – was consumed by an inky blackness. It spread like a creeping shadow from the midpoint of his skull down to his right foot. This entire right flank was now a canvas of swirling violet energy, lines like burning brands tracing across the black expanse. His right eye underwent a terrifying transformation, the white sclera turning a stark black, the pupil a pulsating violet. From his right shoulder blade, a monstrous wing unfurled, its outer membrane a leathery black, the inner structure a lattice of pure, crackling violet energy.
The transformation continued on his left side, the hand gripping his own black and crimson katana. Here, the same encroaching darkness took hold, mirroring the right side from the center of his head down to his left foot. Fiery red energy snaked across this black canvas, mirroring the violet flames on the opposite side. A second demonic wing, identical in shape but burning with crimson energy within its black frame, erupted from his left shoulder blade. His left eye now mirrored its counterpart, a black sclera framing a blood-red pupil. Haytham's gaze, now a fusion of violet and crimson intensity, locked onto Xiao. In his terrifying new form, he was a being of dualistic power, ready to unleash his vengeance.
Xiao's laughter echoed through the space, a sound devoid of mirth, filled only with a chilling madness. "Magnificent! Let the games begin!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Haytham exploded into motion, a blur of black, violet, and crimson. He charged headfirst, both swords extended, leaving behind twin trails of searing violet flames and crackling red energy. Xiao made no attempt to parry the incoming assault. The twin blades bit deep, carving a brutal X-shaped wound across his chest. Yet, even as the ichor-like substance welled up, Xiao's grin remained, impossibly wide and utterly insane, as the wound began to knit itself back together with unnatural speed.
Haytham pressed his advantage, attempting another double-bladed strike, but Xiao's movements defied logic. He channeled his bizarre green aura into the tips of his fingers, and with a casual flick against the violet blade, he deflected the powerful blow. In the same instant, he lashed out with a lightning-fast punch aimed at Haytham's head. But Haytham was gone, teleporting above Xiao in a blink. Suspended in the air, he spun the violet flames around his brother's massive sword, condensing them into a beam of pure demonic energy that he unleashed upon Xiao. The glitch responded with his own strange power, focusing his green aura into his hands and dispersing the violet inferno with a swirling motion.
Xiao's unsettling smile never wavered. Haytham, his movements a stark contrast of controlled fury, executed another lightning-fast dash, closing the distance once more. He aimed a precise two-pronged attack, the katana rising in an upward arc while the demonic flame sword descended. But again, Xiao's fingertips, seemingly imbued with an unnatural force, deflected both strikes. He countered with a brutal punch to Haytham's gut, sending the transformed warrior staggering back.
Time seemed to warp around Haytham. He slowed the flow of moments, his movements becoming a blur within the decelerated space. He launched himself forward, leaving a chaotic trail of violet flames and encroaching darkness, managing to slice Xiao across his left flank. But Xiao merely chuckled, a sound that sent shivers down the spine. He lunged towards Haytham with impossible speed, but Haytham, his senses heightened, was faster. He unleashed a relentless barrage of strikes, a storm of violet and crimson that hammered into Xiao's body. Yet, the glitch simply laughed, seemingly impervious to the damage, and retaliated with a spinning kick that slammed into Haytham's head.
Dazed but unbroken, Haytham retaliated with a swift vertical slash of his katana before leaping back. "Only a madman would fight with such reckless abandon!" he spat. "Such pinpoint accuracy wasted on a nonexistent defense!"
Xiao's grin widened, if that were even possible. "Why should there be sense in it?" he retorted, his voice laced with unsettling amusement. "I don't fight with a plan; I simply... am!"
In a flash, Xiao lunged, aiming a fist directly at Haytham's face. Haytham raised his katana in a desperate parry, the impact jarring his arm. He could see the unadulterated madness in Xiao's eyes, a chaotic violence that defied reason. Haytham attempted to counter with the demonic sword, but Xiao's knee shot up to block, followed by a brutal punch that slammed into Haytham's throat, forcing him to stumble backward.
"This is merely the prelude," Xiao hissed, his green aura intensifying. "Behold... Singularity Madness!" The green energy around him erupted, solidifying into glowing bands around his wrists, like luminous green shackles. His smile stretched into something truly terrifying.
Haytham, his movements now a desperate dance, blurred into supersonic motion around Xiao, unleashing a torrent of strikes so fast they were invisible to the naked eye. Yet, Xiao stood motionless, a maddening grin plastered on his face. Haytham's eyes widened in disbelief as he saw that the glitch had parried every single strike with just the tips of his index fingers. Before Haytham could fully process this impossible feat, Xiao moved with blinding speed, a fist aimed at his face. Haytham instinctively raised his brother's demonic sword to block, but in that split second, Xiao's fist shifted with an impossible, almost glitch-like speed, slamming into Haytham's cheekbone.
Haytham retaliated with a furious flurry of his own attacks, a desperate storm of violet and crimson. But Xiao remained rooted to the spot, taking every blow without flinching. Wounds opened across his body, spilling a viscous, dark fluid, but they sealed themselves shut at an alarming rate. Xiao's confident, unsettling smile never wavered. "You still don't grasp it, do you?" he chuckled, his voice laced with a disturbing certainty. "Of course not. You cannot comprehend the beautiful chaos of madness."
Stunned by the sheer, illogical power of his opponent, Haytham felt a flicker of despair. But he pushed it down, his resolve hardening. He shifted his stance, raising the demonic flame sword towards the heavens. "If I cannot comprehend madness," he declared, his voice resonating with newfound determination, "then I will forge something that even a madman cannot fathom!"
Xiao's unsettling grin faltered for a fraction of a second, a flicker of something akin to unease crossing his features. But he dismissed it, launching himself towards Haytham with reckless abandon.
"Dimensional slash of demonic flames united!" Haytham roared, unleashing a final, desperate technique. He blurred into motion, a streak of violet and crimson, passing directly through Xiao. For a heart-stopping moment, nothing happened. Xiao stood there, confusion etched on his face. Haytham hadn't struck him. Neither blade had made contact. There was no burst of energy, no visible attack.
"You don't understand, do you?" Haytham said, a grim satisfaction in his voice. "Soon, you will realize that madness is not the only thing that can make you... special."
Suddenly, an X-shaped tear ripped open on Xiao's chest, mirroring the earlier wound but far deeper, far more catastrophic. Xiao stared down at it, incomprehension clouding his mad gaze. Haytham's explanation was chilling. "I didn't cut you. I cut the very fabric of the dimension around you. The damage... it simply bled through." A pulsating green sphere, the core of Xiao's chaotic energy, flickered into existence within the wound and then shattered.
"This... this is... inconceivable..." Xiao gasped, his body beginning to fracture, lines of green energy cracking across his form like broken glass. In an instant, his body disintegrated into countless shards of light, all of which were violently sucked into the encroaching darkness of the system bug, absorbing his remaining energy.
Haytham stood amidst the dissipating remnants of his foe, the twin demonic wings retracting slowly. He watched as Xiao's chaotic energy vanished, leaving only silence in its wake. "To defeat a madman," he murmured, his voice heavy with the weight of the battle, "one must sever the very threads of unpredictability itself."