Sprawled on her side with gray crowding the edges of her vision, Juna replayed the fight while wondering how she had misread it.
She had entered believing she was stronger. Nothing in this Gate had offered her a real challenge.
Loccy or the rookies had handled everything before Juna's turn arrived, which had made the belief easy.
Even the corruption-bird had belonged to Master, so nobody had ever asked Juna what her ceiling looked like.
This was the first opponent her Master had allowed her to face alone, and she had expected the rabbit to fall quickly.
Then eight Shards surfaced, and the entire fight changed shape in a single heartbeat.
Juna had felt power like that only once before, inside the Gate where the Beast King nearly killed Hajin.
The rabbit now sat somewhere in that same impossible range for a place like this.
Remembering the Beast King settled something cold and tight behind her ribs.
