Lira dodged attack twenty-five when she heard the footsteps in the corridor.
She recognized them before seeing them.
She didn't look toward the door.
She dodged attack twenty-six.
"You're here," she said.
Kai and Serah entered the center.
Kai saw Lira dodging the entity's arm with the same rhythm she'd had in the secondary transmission.
"How's it going?" Kai said.
"How do you think?" Lira dodged the twenty-seventh. "Do you know how long I've been here alone?"
"I know, I'm sorry—"
"No, you don't know." She dodged the twenty-eighth. "Because if you knew, you wouldn't have taken so long to get here. Do you know what it's like to be here without magic dodging an entity that only knows how to smile for—" she dodged "—all that time?"
"It was my fault," Kai said.
"Yes."
"And Serah's."
"I don't feel guilty."
"You should." She dodged the thirtieth. "Are you going to do something or just watch?"
Kai was already moving.
---
