The bear's charge came like a falling boulder, shaking the chamber with every step. Jae didn't flinch. His eyes tracked the beast's movements, narrowing as he recognized the rhythm that had repeated through its earlier attacks.
The left paw always came first, heavy, sweeping wide, followed by the right, angled sharper, almost hooking inward. Then the head, snapping in as if to crush whatever lingered in reach.
He smirked. Predictable.
Yuna stood behind him, her breath tight in her throat, but she didn't move. She clutched her mana close, ready if she had no other choice, yet her gaze stayed on him.
She could see the grin forming across his face, the way his body shifted lower, sharper. He wasn't on the back foot anymore.
The bear roared and swung down. Jae stepped in rather than back. Smoke burst in his wake as Ember Step carried him sideways, the claws slicing through haze instead of flesh.
