The statues lining the training hall watched in eerie silence, their hollow eyes seeming to follow the battle. The sound of weapons echoed through the vast chamber, the clash of metal and the whisper of shadows breaking the heavy stillness.
Kazimir focused on Selis's shadow, his mind racing.
If direct attacks wouldn't work, then he needed to be unpredictable.
His grip tightened on his bow as he cut a rift directly in her shadow.
If he could fire an arrow through it, he could strike her from an angle she couldn't predict.
He opened the rift, her shadow splitting apart beneath her.
Just as he drew the bowstring.
A sword emerged from the rift instead.
Selis's sword.
It struck the bow from his hands, knocking it to the floor with a sharp clatter.
Kazimir barely had time to react before Selis spoke, her tone calm, effortless.
"Don't forget," she said smoothly, "these rifts can be used against you."
Kazimir teleported away instantly, reappearing in the farthest shadowed corner of the hall.
His heart pounded.
She had countered before he even attacked.
She had anticipated it.
And still, she hadn't moved from her spot.
Kazimir tightened his grip on his bow.
If a direct assault was useless.
Then he needed to trap her instead.
He resumed firing arrows, keeping her distracted, all while quietly weaving shadow tendrils around her feet.
The further he was, the harder it became, but he kept at it, threading the tendrils through the darkness, weaving them, thread by thread to become corporeal.
Slowly,
They materialized and wrapped around Selis's legs.
This was his chance.
He stopped shooting.
And rushed in for the kill.
Kazimir dashed forward at blinding speed, his daggers flashing in the dim light,
But the moment he got close,
White flames erupted from Selis's armor.
The shadow tendrils burned away instantly, disintegrating into nothing.
Kazimir barely had time to react before a blinding white light filled the room.
It was as if the sun itself had descended, its brilliance consuming everything.
Every shadow in the hall vanished.
The darkness he relied on was gone.
Kazimir staggered back, momentarily blinded.
By the time his vision cleared,
Selis was standing right in front of him.
She extended a calloused hand toward him.
"Well done," she said in her regal voice.
Without waiting for him to recover, she gripped his wrist firmly and pulled him to his feet.
Kazimir panted, his body aching from exhaustion.
He had thrown everything he had at her.
And it still wasn't enough to even scratch her.
His frustration simmered, but he met her gaze.
Selis studied him for a long moment, then said,
"You're improving."
A pause.
Then, with a small smirk,
"But you still have much to learn."
Kazimir let out a breathless chuckle.
"Clearly."
Selis sheathed her sword, her silver armor gleaming under the torchlight.
"Let's take a break," she said. "I still haven't shown you around the entire castle."
Kazimir blinked, caught off guard.
"Where to?"
Selis turned toward the exit.
"The courtyard."
Kazimir hesitated.
"Isn't the courtyard... outside?" His voice was uncertain. "Is it safe?"
Selis's pale silver eyes met his.
"Yes. I already checked this morning. The world outside appears to be safe, and the castle will remain here for a few more weeks. There's no danger."
With that, she turned, walking toward the towering stone archway that led out of the training hall.
Kazimir hesitated only a moment before following.
As they left, her footsteps echoed through the silent chamber.
Selis's heavy, deliberate steps, ringing against the stone.
Kazimir's silent footfalls, swallowed by the lingering shadows.