(Meanwhile, Su Yang and Veyr's POV, The Time Stilled World)
*CLANG*
*CLANG*
*Pant*
*Pant*
The last exchange had left both men badly drained, as the training ground around them bore the marks of their latest sparring session, with cracked stone, scattered dust, and dozens of shallow trenches carved by hurried footwork and redirected force.
After several long seconds of simply standing there and trying to steady their breathing, both Su Yang and Veyr finally dropped down onto the battered ground side by side, their chests rising and falling heavily as sweat rolled down their skin while the strange sky of the Time Stilled World hung quietly above them.
Between them lay a single bottle of stamina restoration potion, and after uncorking it with tired fingers, Veyr took the first swig before passing it over without ceremony, as Su Yang accepted it just as casually and drank from the same bottle like a man too exhausted to care about such things.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
