With Malrik making the first move, everyone tore toward their respective opponents without the slightest bit of hesitation or delay; at their level, everyone understood that even a split second could decide life or death, could determine victory or defeat, could separate the winner from the loser in an instant that could never be reclaimed.
And with that, various weapons collided into one another like comets crashing violently into each other, Astra energy burning with the intensity of a star, abilities activating instantly as they all moved with speed that seemed both unquantifiable and immeasurable. The Empire itself trembled under the overwhelming might of these individuals who dared to call themselves human, their presence alone distorting the very stability of the world beneath them.
