Clara was still.
But her thread shimmered faintly.
I blinked to her side, knees sliding across the ground. My hand shook as it reached for her—threadlight already pulsing. I could feel the weight of it. The unraveling. Like a tether about to snap.
"Come on," I whispered. "Come on—just a few seconds—"
I activated my thread.
The rewind began to burn.
Just enough time to take back one second. Maybe two.
I focused on the moment—the blade, the scream, the light.
But before I could turn it—Sayo appeared.
Like a shadow between blinks.
Her blade hissed down.
I raised mine to intercept, thread flaring.
She didn't speak.
Just struck again. And again.
Each blow chipped seconds from my reach. Each pulse of my rewind fractured.
I tried to blink past her. She was already there.
I tried to dive. She mirrored me.
I tried to scream—but my voice felt drowned.
Then—the glow collapsed.
Too late.
The moment passed.
Clara's thread shimmered once more.
Then dimmed.
I stood slowly, heart torn open. Sayo turned toward me, her shadow flickering violently. Something in her stance had changed—less control. More fury.
I didn't speak. I looked across the field—Erich was already moving. His blade glinted in the fractured light. He didn't wait. I followed.
***
The clash was instant.
Erich moved beside me, wordless. He looked once at Clara, then at Sayo—eyes burning. Then he blinked forward, his blade drawn low. I blinked left, catching Sayo mid-turn. She moved faster. Her blade blocked both of ours with a single rotation, the recoil sending sparks into the air.
The ground cracked.
She spun, releasing two chain blades from her arms, whirling them like orbiting moons. They sang through the air—Erich ducked one, I blinked over the other. She launched them again, criss-crossing paths. Erich caught one with his sword, wrapping it around and flinging it back. It burst mid-air into black embers.
I surged forward. My blade lit with threadlight, a sharp trail of green behind it. Sayo's glaive met it. The clang echoed like a temple bell. I pressed, pushed. She yielded nothing.
Erich came from the side, sliding under a pulse of her shadow. He swung upward—missed by inches. She vaulted back, landing in a crouch, one hand to the floor.
The ground pulsed.
Weapons grew from it.
Dozens of them.
I blinked through the storm—dodging, slashing, breathing. Her creations screamed as they swung. I caught a dagger mid-air and threw it back. She swatted it aside with her blade and countered with a javelin of pure shadow.
Erich leapt to intercept. His sword shattered it on contact. The recoil knocked him back.
We regrouped, circling her.
I looked at Erich.
He nodded.
But She struck first.
A pulse from her hand—drenched in shadow. It hit the ground between us and cracked it wide open. Dust surged upward.
I blinked through the cloud.
Blade first.
I swung low—she parried. Erich came from behind. His blade glanced her ribs—she twisted, let it graze.
Then retaliated.
A burst of mimicry.
She duplicated Erich's last strike—her shadow copying his motion mid-air, driving a matching blow into his side.
He grunted, blinked back, coughing.
I kept pressure. I attacked high—then ducked under her counter. I slid, spun, slashed her across the hip.
She hissed—turned, and her cloak of shadow whipped outward.
I blocked just in time. But it pushed me off my feet.
Erich lunged.
He got inside her guard—his blade embedded into her shoulder.
She screamed.
But not pain.
A voice of fury.
A dome exploded outward.
A wall of force sent both of us flying. I rolled, coughing. Erich landed hard, skidding on his side.
He tried to stand.
Sayo was already there.
One strike.
Straight through his side.
No sound.
Just the wet sound of steel meeting flesh.
Erich dropped. His sword clattered beside him.
He blinked—but only a foot. He tried to rise. Blood soaked through his coat.
I shouted his name.
Too late.
I ran to him.
She stood between us.
Breathing heavy. Covered in wounds.
But her eyes never blinked.
My chest was heaving. My blade trembling.
But I wasn't done.
I gripped my blade tighter, raising it.
And stepped forward.