The Crowned Avatar struck through the opened seam before Ferra's incarnation pin reached twenty seconds. White-gold force crossed the law toward Hajin's chest, and Aegis rose with four Rings still turning around his right wrist.
Layered gold stopped the physical blade above his damaged shoulder, and the decree passed through the shield. It wrote itself across his ribs, using his resistance as its sentence.
Every layer of Aegis that stopped the weapon gave the Court a clearer definition of challenger. White-gold words sank beneath Hajin's armor without any edge touching skin.
Blood opened from his left ribs toward the core supporting the Rings. The line widened whenever he remained upright, while dropping the shield would let the blade reach his chest.
The open rib wound changed Hajin's whole balance at once. Aegis required his shoulder to stay raised, the half-kneel shortened his reach toward the avatar, and every weight shift made the white-gold sentence tighten.
