The knight moved—vanishing and reappearing right in front of him, blade already raised high, humming with a sound that wasn't quite natural. It came down.
For a brief moment, everything slowed down.
He closed his eyes. Took one slow breath. Purely for dramatic effect.
'This time I have to win,' he thought. 'No. I must win.'
His eyes snapped open, and he raised his blade to block.
His legs buckled under the weight. The impact erased sound from the world—a shockwave ripped outward, cracking through the inner realm itself, and the surrounding statues crumbled to dust, one after another, like witnesses who'd seen way too much.
The knight leaned into it, pushing down with enough force to split a mountain.
He tilted his blade. Just slightly.
And the ebony sword slid right off the edge, screamed past his shoulder, and buried itself into the floor with a sound like the world cracking open.
