The air was thick with decay. The ruins of the small town lay still beneath a gray sky, every cobblestone slick with residue from the bacterial infection that once consumed it.

  Braxill and Levy stood side by side in the center of it all, two boys facing a wasteland that felt far too large for their age.

  Levy leaned in with a teasing smirk. "So... is it true you're in love with Gravixor?"

  Braxill's eyes widened. "What? No! Gravixor's like, like a big sister!"

  

  

  Levy raised a brow. "Funny, she says otherwise."

  "I don't see her like that," Braxill muttered, crossing his arms.

  Levy grinned wider. "Of course not. Because you're really in love with Moco. 'Ooooh sweet Moco, love me because nobody else will!'"

  Braxill's cheeks went crimson. "Hey! Knock it off! I never said that!"

  Levy laughed, waving him off. "Whatever. Girls are gross anyway."

  Braxill hung back as they walked, his smile fading into quiet thought. But when Moco's face drifted through his mind... he couldn't help but grin.

  Braxill "Levy, where are we going?"

  Levy "Already told you, to get stronger, your dream is to go to the surface and mines is to become the greatest Artimnacer ever and to do that I need to unlock Grand Macer Terra 3."

  Braxill "How close are you doing that?"

  Levy "I can only activate Grand Macer Terra 1, but my dad can use 1 and 2. If I can't surpass him then I'll never be the strongest."

  Braxill squinted, his bear ears twitching. "And how is fighting bacteria supposed to do that?"

  Levy's expression didn't change. "Because the more you use your Abi, the stronger it gets. I'm sure that applies to everyone, whether you're an Artimancer or an Artist."

  Braxill frowned, glancing down at his hands. "I don't know about that... every time I use it, I get really tired or pass out."

  Levy crossed his arms. "Then ask yourself, each time you use your art to the limit, when you pass out and wake up the next day, doesn't it last longer?"

  Braxill blinked, then slowly nodded. "Hmm... now that I think about it, you're right. Every time I burn through my Abi, when it comes back, it feels... stronger."

  Levy smirked. "Then that settles it. We're fighting bacteria until we can't stand."

  

  

  Braxill grinned. "And what happens if we both pass out?"

  Levy: "We won't. We'll keep our Abi above five percent, even if we don't gas out completely, it'll still grow stronger."

  Braxill's grin widened. "Alright. Sounds good to me."

  They stood shoulder to shoulder at the heart of the corrupted town, the air trembling with faint electric energy.

  Braxill: "How do you even know about this place?"

  Levy: "My mother brought me here. Like I said before, she's actually pretty strong."

  Braxill smiled cracked his knuckles. "So, what's the goal?"

  Levy's eyes gleamed. "First one to kill a thousand bacteria wins."

  Braxill: "Let's do it."

  The ground split. From the cracks, hundreds of bacteria monsters burst forth, gelatinous, grayish-green things that slithered and hissed, their skin bubbling with rot.

  

  

  Levy twirled his Mancer staff, a blue orb glowing at its tip. "Grave Hands!"

  

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  From thin air, colossal blue spectral hands erupted, their long, talon-like fingers tearing through the horde like a divine storm. Each slam crushed dozens of bacteria, the ground shaking with every strike.

  

  

  Braxill's eyes glowed green. "Imagine, Public Domain, Steamboat Willy Mickey Mouse!"

  

  

  From his imagination came the 1928 icon, black and white but armed with a massive sword. It swung with cartoonish might, slicing through bacteria like paper.

  Braxill's hand pulsed again. "Imagine, King Kong!"

  

  

  The earth cracked open as a giant ape roared to life, smashing the ground with its fists, sending bacterial bodies flying into the mist.

  Braxill laughed. "Cinderella X!"

  

  

  A torrent of crimson lasers, sweeping through the field.

  

  

  Levy's jaw clenched. "I won't let you outdo me!"

  

  

  He lifted his staff, Abi roaring from the orb. "Grave Hands, Rampage Mode!"

  Dozens more hands burst from the earth, clawing through the blackened ground, each one grabbing and crushing bacteria by the handful.

  

  

  

  

  Electric Abi sparks danced across the ruins, Braxill's creations battling Levy's spectral hands in perfect chaos.

  When the last of the bacteria melted into ash, both boys stood facing each other, bruised, panting, but smiling.

  Levy: "What do you say we settle this? Artimancer versus Artist."

  

  

  Braxill: "Not even close."

  

  

  Their eyes locked.

  Levy raised his staff; Braxill imagined a fire axe.

  

  

  CRASH! The weapons collided, blue sparks and red fire erupting into a blinding flare.

  The clash raged until their Abi flickered out, both collapsing to the dirt, laughing through their exhaustion.

  The ruined town was clean again. Silent.

  Braxill lifted his fist weakly. "Call it a tie?"

  Levy chuckled and bumped his fist back. "Fine. A tie."

  Above them, the gray sky finally parted, a small patch of light breaking through.