The three shadows moved as one, and the ruined street around them erupted into motion.
Areum's double lashed out first, fire gathering not just around her hands now but wrapping full along both forearms, a controlled, contained blaze that she shaped into a tight, spiraling burst aimed straight at the real Areum's chest. The real Areum answered in kind, her own flame flaring brighter and more precise than Jin had ever seen her manage before, meeting the incoming burst head on and detonating it early in a controlled explosion that scattered harmless sparks rather than tearing through her. The blast rolled outward in a contained ring, singeing nothing but a wide stretch of already scorched pavement.
"Since when could you do that," Jin heard her mutter to herself, breathless, already resetting her stance for the next exchange.
