Cessy's released pressure pinned Hajin against the cratered wall, making each full breath impossible.
Spots swam across his vision while the hum climbed another octave through the stone.
His Chain lay beside his hand, too heavy to lift under a weight that bent light.
Purple static thickened into fog while the pit split wider beneath power drawn from the Gate.
"I offered the peaceful version," Cessy said as dark mana surrounded both claws.
"You keep refusing every offered choice except violence against both of us."
The ten-Shard mother attacked before the sentence finished, launching her building-sized body across the pit.
Cessy raised one clawed hand instead of stepping aside from the descending monster.
Her palm caught the full descending weight without bending either knee once.
A shockwave tore through the pit, throwing Hajin against stone while the ground beneath her boots became dust.
Two tons of falling monster had simply stopped, converted into sound and dust.
