Asher couldn't help but click his tongue subconsciously as he missed yet again, the faint sound escaping him almost involuntarily, betraying the irritation that simmered beneath his otherwise controlled demeanor. They had both traded thousands upon thousands of attacks, yet none of them had managed to injure the other in any meaningful way.
To an outside observer, it might have seemed as though they were perfectly equal, locked in a deadlock of overwhelming skill and power, but Asher knew better, he was not naive enough to believe that illusion. He understood that he was the one being led, the one being measured. The balance that currently existed between them was fragile, temporary, and destined to shatter at any moment, and when it did, he knew it would not favor him.
The thought pressed heavily against his mind, forcing him to acknowledge a harsh truth, he needed to gain an edge before that inevitable moment arrived, or he would be crushed the instant the scales tipped.
