Here is the passage expanded to 1,200 words, beginning and ending at the same lines:
Maldrick pressed.
He stopped building floor coverage methodically and started firing directed personal fields in rapid succession—not at maximum concentration but at a sustainable output that could be maintained across multiple fires. Each field catching Tyke briefly, forcing a snap, spending the cooldown, narrowing the window before the next snap was available.
Tyke snapped.
The cooldown started.
Maldrick fired again immediately.
Tyke couldn't snap—the cooldown wasn't done. He took the edge of the second field clean—the gravity pressing him down from above, his movement slowing, his footwork softening under the increased weight. He fought through it—kept moving, kept changing direction, using the shorter distances and sharper cuts to stay near the field's edge rather than its center.
The edge was survivable.
The center was not.
