The moon illuminated the cave's ruined interior through the gaping cracks in the ceiling. Shadows stretched like claws, enveloping the two combatants. Kael and the woman stood before each other, both bleeding, both wounded, but still standing.
The silence that hung there was only apparent: behind it was the roar of heavy breathing, the crackle of cracked stone, the crackle of magical energy still in the air.
Kael hefted the broken chains, his arms trembling, but his eyes blazed with fury and determination. The woman held the mana sword tightly in her hands, the edge pulsing like a star about to explode.
"You should be dead," she said, her voice hoarse but firm. "Anyone else would have been crushed by now."
Kael laughed, spitting blood onto the ground.
"I am not just anyone else."
He advanced.
