A low hum rose around him.
Each breath Asher took now pulled in energy from every direction.
Even the light around him seemed to bend toward his core.
The twelve spinning circles behind him reformed, smaller now, sharper.
They hovered in a hexagonal pattern like a clock, ticking toward a moment of collapse or rebirth.
R ripped one of the glowing lassos off his arm, and another from his leg. His expression never wavered, but there was something new in his eyes.
Recognition.
"You're pushing past your limits," R said flatly, brushing off the remaining restriction. "If you break before me, that's it."
Asher didn't respond. He pointed a single finger forward. One word followed—quiet but heavy.
"Fall."
The sky split.
From above, a column of golden light shot down with a roar, but this wasn't just raw energy—it was law-infused magic compressed into a singular judgment.
R raised both arms to shield himself.
The blast struck like a divine hammer.
BOOOOOOOM!
