Everything grew silent. Not the kind of silence that brought peace, but the kind that slithered down the spine, heavy and suffocating, digging into the marrow with a promise of violence. Neither Sylvaris nor the monster moved. Neither breathed. The air itself seemed to hold its breath. But they were both creatures of instinct and fury now, and patience was not in their nature. In the same heartbeat, without a signal, without a word, they moved; one step, and the world cracked.
Their bodies blurred through the air, and the clash that followed was not a fight, but a cataclysm. Two forces that had no right existing in this realm collided with such violence that the earth beneath them split and the sky above wept in thunder.
Sylvaris's blade tore through the wind like a falling star, its edge radiant and screaming, crashing down on the monster's claw with blinding force. But pressure was not the same as power, and though his strike rang true, it was not enough to end it.
