The impact of future Davin’s cosmic energy wave hurled present-day Davin backward, crashing him into a giant stone pillar within the Nexus hall. Shards of black marble scattered everywhere, and a piercing pain shot straight down Davin’s spine.

He coughed harshly, expelling the remnants of golden energy, then quickly looked up upon hearing the sound of rushing footsteps approaching at lightning speed.

Whoosh!

Future Davin swooped in like a lightning shadow, bringing a clenched fist wreathed in pure binary data fire straight toward his face.

Davin had no time for lengthy thought. Biting his lip, he mustered his absolute best remaining reflexes to roll aside and evade the strike.

Boom!

The marble floor where he had lain a second prior shattered to pieces, leaving a small crater emitting scattering pixel light fragments.

The most insane climax battle in multiversal history officially erupted inside the Nexus throne room. Present-day Davin had to fight against his own future shadow—a no-holds-barred duel transcending the boundaries of space and time.

What made this clash so lethal was the fact that they were the exact same person. Every attack, every tactic, every evasive maneuver, and every Echo manipulation trick conceived by present-day Davin was entirely anticipated and known by his future version.

"You can't win by fighting me this way, Davin!" future Davin shouted mid-air, his voice echoing loudly as he unleashed a slashing wave of cosmic energy. "I know every step you're going to take before you even think of it!"

"Then I'll prove that I can change the future!" present-day Davin roared back, filled with fury.

He sprang to his feet and thrust his right hand outward. The hourglass symbol on the back of his hand blazed brightly. Davin activated high-tier Echo abilities, rewinding the gravitational history around them.

Instantly, shards of cosmic memory from the worlds they had visited—fragments of Oakhaven's walls, Neo-Veridia's neon plates, and Aethelgard's temple stones—lifted and floated from the floor, spinning violently to form a mini galactic storm inside the Nexus hall.

The two versions of Davin clashed amidst the collapse of that mini galaxy.

Flashes of golden-blue binary code streamed through the air of the throne room like thousands of dying digital fireflies. They leaped from one memory rock shard to another, exchanging empty-handed strikes that generated sonic shockwaves with every collision.

"You are so stubborn!" future Davin growled, lunging forward with a data-energy dagger in his hand. He aimed a sharp slash toward Davin’s shoulder.

Davin parried the attack using his coat sleeve, yet the searing plasma scratch still tore the fabric and grazed his skin. He did not yield. Leveraging his body's rotational momentum, he rewound local time around his future self's arm for half a second, causing the older man's movements to slow down by a fraction of a blink.

That brief opening was the gap Davin sought.

He swept his future self's legs with a ferocious spinning kick, sending future Davin tumbling down onto the black marble fragments.

Yet, that future version recovered swiftly, his eyes flashing with blazing fury and despair. He held nothing back. Every carved symbol of The Ledger across his entire body shone blindingly, outputting maximum power to launch a finishing strike.

"Stop all of this, Davin! Let this cycle end!" future Davin snapped, lunging forward at sonic speed carrying a wave of destructive energy in both hands.

Present-day Davin stared intensely at the incoming impact. He knew he could evade no longer. He had to end this battle this very second.

As his future self plunged straight toward him with a decisive blow primed to crush his chest, Davin did not retreat. Instead, he forced himself forward into the path of the attack, staking everything on a single decisive second.

Future Davin widened his eyes in shock at the recklessness, but his strike was already hurtling forward with unstoppable momentum.

BOOMMM!

A catastrophic cosmic energy explosion detonated between the two of them, shaking the entire foundation of The Nexus until the billions of consciousness threads around the hall vibrated violently.

Yet, amidst the billowing light smoke and scattering pixel data fragments...

Present-day Davin successfully breached his future version's defenses. With unexpected lightning speed, he lunged straight through the energy wave, then drove his right hand—bearing the hourglass symbol—straight through his twin's chest.