Draven moved.
There had been no warning.
One moment he stood at the base of the ridge with the halberd resting calmly in his hands, the valley wind shifting the edge of his coat.
The next—
The weapon was already in motion.
The halberd carved a brutal arc through the air toward Kael.
Kael barely raised his arm in time.
Shadow compressed violently around him.
The blade struck.
The impact detonated against the ridge like a thunderclap.
Stone shattered behind Kael’s heels as he was driven backward across the dirt.
Chunks of broken rock skidded down the slope.
Riven blinked.
“…Well.”
He watched Kael slide several feet before catching his balance.
“That answers that.”
Corin didn’t take his eyes off the road.
“He hits like a siege engine.”
Draven didn’t follow up immediately.
He stepped forward again.
Slow.
Measured.
The halberd rotated slightly in his grip as he studied Kael.
“You’re durable,” he said.
Kael flexed his hand.
The shadow around his feet tightened again—less explosive than before, compressed tightly against the ground.
“Yeah,” Kael replied.
“I get that a lot.”
Draven closed the distance.
This time Kael moved first.
Shadow gathered beneath him as he stepped forward and drove a punch toward Draven’s centerline.
The strike carried the faint pull of compressed authority.
Draven pivoted slightly.
The halberd shaft rotated once in his hands.
Wood struck Kael’s arm with a brutal crack.
Kael staggered sideways.
The follow-up strike came instantly.
A downward cleave that split the earth where Kael had stood a moment earlier.
The ridge shook.
Riven’s grin widened.
“Okay, I like this guy.”
Corin shot him a look.
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“He’s trying to kill us.”
“Yeah,” Riven said.
“That’s the fun part.”
Riven moved.
The dagger flashed as he sprinted down the slope, circling wide toward Draven’s blind side.
His footwork was light, fast—almost silent against the loose dirt.
Draven didn’t turn.
Riven lunged.
The dagger struck toward Draven’s ribs.
The halberd shaft slid backward in Draven’s hands.
The wooden pole caught the blade mid-strike.
Riven’s eyes widened.
Draven hadn’t even looked.
The shaft twisted.
Riven’s wrist bent painfully as the dagger was forced aside.
Then Draven’s boot connected with his chest.
The impact sent Riven skidding backward through the grass.
He rolled twice before stopping.
“…Okay,” he coughed.
“Rude.”
Corin stepped forward instinctively.
His eyes flickered as foresight threads branched through the possible movements in front of him.
Draven’s next strike was obvious.
Heavy overhead cleave.
Corin moved left before the attack even began.
The halberd smashed into the ground where he would have stood.
Stone cracked open like glass beneath the blade.
Corin stared.
“…Right.”
He backed away slowly.
“That doesn’t help.”
Draven lifted the weapon again.
“Prediction is irrelevant when the strike cannot be avoided.”
Riven sat up.
“Did he just lecture you while fighting?”
Corin rubbed his temple.
“Yes.”
Draven’s attention returned to Kael.
Always Kael.
The halberd lifted again.
Kael exhaled slowly.
Gravity.
Not force.
He stepped forward instead of back.
The shadow at his feet compressed.
When the halberd descended this time—
The blade slowed.
Not much.
But enough.
The shadow field resisted the strike like thickened air.
The ground beneath Kael’s boots groaned under the pressure.
The ridge cracked in a shallow ring around him.
But the blade stopped inches from his shoulder.
Draven’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Behind Kael, Erythea nodded once.
“Good.”
Kael shoved the weapon aside.
Draven slid the halberd free and stepped back.
For the first time he paused.
He studied the shadow pooling at Kael’s feet.
“So that’s what you are.”
Not surprise.
Recognition.
He had suspected.
Now he knew.
Kael shrugged.
“Yeah.”
“Working on it.”
Draven shifted his grip.
Then he attacked again.
This time the strikes came heavier.
Not faster.
Each swing carried more weight behind it.
The halberd slammed against Kael’s shadow field again and again.
The compression buckled under the force.
Kael was driven backward across the ridge.
Stone broke under his boots.
The shadow trembled under the repeated impacts.
Riven pushed himself to his feet.
“This guy doesn’t slow down.”
“Because he doesn’t need to,” Corin muttered.
Draven stepped forward once more.
The halberd lifted.
Then he drove the weapon’s shaft into the ground.
Thread energy flared along the blade.
The earth erupted outward.
A shockwave burst across the ridge.
Grass flattened.
Loose stones blasted away from the epicenter.
Riven threw an arm up to shield his face as the force knocked him back again.
Corin slid across the ground, barely keeping his footing.
Kael felt the shadow around him collapse.
The compression field shattered under the impact.
Draven stepped forward through the settling dust.
Halberd raised.
The finishing strike began.
Steel flashed.
A blade intercepted the halberd mid-swing.
The impact rang through the valley like struck bells.
Wings spread wide against the wind.
Aurelion stood between them.
His sword braced against the halberd’s edge.
The pressure forced his boots half an inch into the ground.
But he held.
For the first time—
Draven moved.
His feet slid slightly across the dirt.
Only an inch.
But enough.
Draven looked up.
Really looked at him.
“You’re not human.”
Aurelion’s voice was quiet.
“Neither are you.”
Draven tilted his head slightly.
Interesting.
Behind Aurelion, Kael steadied himself.
The shadow gathered again at his feet.
Draven adjusted his grip on the halberd.
For the first time—
He seemed engaged.
The valley wind shifted.
Grass bent in long waves across the ridge.
Two warriors stood facing each other now.
And behind them—
The real fight had only just begun.
