The instant Caelen's boots detonated against stone, the chamber howled with life.
The priest's rosary arm cleaved downward like a guillotine, beads clattering with the weight of a collapsing world. The sweep came for Caelen's skull, each bead big enough to crush him into paste.
At the same heartbeat, its free hand lunged for Eli, stone fingers splaying like the jaws of a trap.
Eli's instincts screamed.
'MOVE!'
He dove sideways, boots skidding across rubble as the ground where he'd stood cratered beneath the priest's strike. Stone split open like glass, shards blasting across his arms and face. His ears rang, teeth clattering from the shockwave—yet somehow, his legs stayed under him.
"Caelen! Back left! Don't let that chain graze you!"
Caelen didn't waste breath replying. His golden-cracked body spun, sword whipping upward in a blazing arc. Sparks shrieked as steel met bead—then rang out like a cathedral bell. The weapon bounced off.
