With a single sweep of its blade-like arm, the foggy silhouette cleared the path before it and continue forward.
At the center of the fog, Lina stood unmoving. Her eyes were closed, her staff buried deep into the ground as threads of light pulsed from its tip, weaving through the mist like veins of living energy.
Her breathing was steady, her focus locked entirely on the invisible patterns of the ancient formation. She did not stir. She did not sense the foggy figure creeping toward her.
The figure's arm curved, forming a blade of condensed fog. It raised it high, ready to strike.
Just then, a chill crawled down its form, sharp as instinctual dread. Without thinking, the silhouette darted to the side.
Boom!
The ground where it had hovered erupted, shards of stone and dirt bursting outward like shrapnel. The mist rippled from the blast, thinning for an instant, just enough to reveal the figure standing within it.
