A.D. 2021
The existence of ruins belonging to an unknown ancient civilization was discovered in the depths of Himalayas.
Inside the ruins were technologies far more advanced than the current civilization but one specific technology shook the world upon its discovery.
The weapon hidden within the ancient ruins, Drag-Rides. Mechanical suits of armor that imitates the dragons of legend.
Because the first ruin was discovered within China's political zone, the country claimed ownership to the Drag-Rides found within, causing a massive turmoil to the world that made most countries to be on the edge.
When another ruin was discovered in the Middle East, it was the US who came to seize it first, silencing the original discoverers and constructing a military base within its vicinity.
This act by the US angered the rest of the world and even their pretense of "researching the ruins" was not accepted.
And to add insult to injury, China revealed all the information they had regarding the ruins and Drag-Rides during an international forum.
This was all to paint the US in bad light.
As time progress however, the revelations continued to sour the relations between contries which caused a massive divide to occur to the global populace.
Mere five years after the discovery of the ruins from the ancient civilization the world referred to as "Draconians", the curtains of war would once again open.
The Third World War, also referred as the Last Great War, is regarded as the most devastating war in Earth's history.
More than half of the population died in the process and the entirety of the planet became irradiated from nuclear radiation and a type of energy that emerged in the closing acts of the war, Prana.
In the aftermath of the war, a gigantic sphere-like object rose from a fault-line. This mysterious structure was later called The Nest by survivors and within it, a gigantic bird made of pure white light emerged.
This creature, the Titan-class Abyss [Garuda], unleashed powerful shockwaves in its wake, changing the terrain to its whim as it spilled out Prana, the ionized form of Elixir which was agreed upon to originate from the ancient civilization.
The waves of prana it radiated devastated its surroundings but those who resisted it were transformed down to their genetic level.
These people became stronger and more intelligent than normal humans. Their bodies became more resistant to damage and radiation, allowing them to thrive despite the radiated landscape.
For a long time, Earth experienced the time of peace it had once lost despite the world's divide into the Five Major Territories.
But that too changed after the turn of the next century.
In the middle of a ruined city, a lone man marches into a decrepit lot overlooking the large lotus-shaped structure, The Nest, in the distance.
Ground Zero.
"This is where it all began... A perfect place to end our little charade, don't you think?"
A white-haired and red-eyed man in futuristic pilot suit awaited him, it was the Truth Duke, Zhu Wei.
After the apocalypse brought upon by [Garuda] that evolved the majority of humanity, it created an anomaly in the form of seven individuals.
The Seven Legendary Dukes of the New World, the pinnacle of human evolution.
Characterized by being silver-haired and red-eyed, the seven dukes never age and their physical strength far exceeds a normal human even inside a Drag-Ride.
Facing the Truth Duke 200 years after their previous fight in the last great war, he continued to walk towards the Truth Duke as the Earth-like planet visible through a wormhole above peered down on the two men.
This planet was first observed 80 years ago by an unmanned drone in the depths of the Draco constellation, a near replica of Earth inhabited by humans with no discernable ethnicity known to Earth.
On that planet lies a kingdom that gave him the solace that he once had a long time ago, gave him a reason as he lived an immortal life.
He who had suffer great losses in the great war, tried to find new purpose by exploring the Ruins of Earth.
There, he found a strange device that transported him to a peaceful akin to the Earth of past.
He who had tried living a normal life cannot seem to return to normalcy after years of fighting and surviving in the Wastelands.
This caused him to rise in ranks and became the right-hand of a kind and just king that gave him the black sword that changed his life.
The black broadsword that houses the legendary Drag-Ride, Bahamut.
After years of dispute over natural resources and technology, that planet pushed back from the harassment of Earth.
That planet gave him a purpose.
He and the kind king pledged as sworn brothers to protect that kingdom and that vow still applies to this day even decades after that king's death.
And here he the Death Duke, Noah Vash, stands being blocked by the wall that is the Truth Duke.
"Must we really fight?"
He asked the man in front of him only to receive a chuckle as a reply.
"You know what, we've heard a lot of talks about differing ideals in our lifetime. History will be the one to decide who's worldview right. Just like last time."
Rain had began to fall.
The two dukes unsheathed each of their Sword Device and rushed to each other.
Sparks flew from their exchange.
"Connect On!"
"Connect On!"
They donned their respective Drag-Rides as they distanced themselves to each other.
He wore the jet-black winged Divine Drag-Ride with red lines coursing through it, Bahamut.
Likewise, his opponent was equipped by the crimson ground-type Divine Drag-Ride that was reminiscent of a samurai from the old age, Yamata-no-Orochi.
Using the speed of Bahamut, Noah unleashed a flurry of attacks through the technique [End Action] which was all blocked effortlessly by the Truth Duke.
Shocked by that outcome, he dashed away from Zhu Wei.
It was Yamata-no-Orochi's Special Armament, the eight mechanical sub-arms wielding a sword on each hand, [Eight Heads, that had blocked his continuous strikes.
"Don't think you can beat with that cheap move."
Zhu Wei proclaimed so as he disengaged [Eight Heads] and charged at Noah.
He blocked that with Bahamut's greatsword and dashed away.
Despite Yamata-no-Orochi being larger than Bahamut, Zhu Wei moved as fast as Bahamut with it.
Noah rushed forward with a vertical slash only to be parried by the Scale Blade on Yamata-no-Orochi's hand.
With Noah launched from the resulting force, Zhu Wei take this opportunity to attack.
"Eight Serpents!
A sword technique that he had developed over the course of years, perfecting it to a point that the interconnected eight strikes give an illusion of coiling its target.
"[Reload on Fire]!"
Noah activated Bahamut's Divine Raiment which slows and accelerates time.
With Zhu Wei caught to his time dilation, Noah deflected the eight strikes that was slowed by [Reload on Fire].
Using the accelerated time, he charged to Zhu Wei only be parried by a high-speed slash.
He knows that move because he too, uses it.
The near-instantaneous move executed using mental control through the Drag-Ride in tandem with bodily operation, [Quick Draw].
"You were not the only who had sharpened their skills all this time!"
Zhu Wei declared as he unleashed another [Quick Draw] only to be countered by Noah's own.
Noah learned it from the king in his years on that kingdom while Zhu Wei here seemingly had learned it himself through the years.
Using the force from the deflection, Noah aimed another slash at Zhu Wei.
But this is within Wei's prediction.
Noah noticed it too late as one of Bahamut's wings was cut clean.
It was another of Zhu Wei's sword techniques, [Phantom Blade].
The concentration of majority of the Drag-Ride's power to the weapon as it struck on its target's weak point.
Such was the technique that Zhu Wei had created following the years of his defeat from Noah during the closing of the great war.
"That should remove flight from our duel."
Relying now on the propulsion given by the Force Core, Harvey was forced into defense.
He parried the succeeding strikes from Zhu Wei and minimized moving as the lost of Bahamut's wings deviated his movements.
To ease his timings to parry, Noah used [Reload on Fire] but his repeated use of his Divine Raiment was punished by Zhu Wei's sword techniques.
He was forced to alternate between offense and defense as he suffered the deviated balance of Bahamut.
Due to this, Noah shoved [Chaos Brand] to Bahamut's other wing, destroying it.
This act surprised Zhu Wei but he had guessed it.
In order to stabilize Bahamut, Noah had chosen to destroy Bahamut's remaining wing but that is not all.
Translucent screens had begun appearing in front of Noah and Bahamut had begun glowing.
Its armor expanded and it gained secondary wings.
"Tuning On. Overlimit On!"
He had activated Tuning and Overlimit simultaneously which caused Zhu Wei to smile ecstatically.
"It's about time, huh. Our final dance. [Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi]!"
Zhu Wei activates Yamata-no-Orochi's Divine Raiment which takes the form of a large crimson Ōdachi.
The shockwaves it generated as it collided with Bahamut's blade was enough to halt the falling raindrops midair.
The clash of the two apex predators was enough to shake the Earth.
Even if human greed was the thing that connected the two worlds, there will always be individuals who begged to differ.
Individuals who search for a purpose as they fight.