"…Arawn?"
He vanished from his place.
And I felt his katana close to my neck.
My instinct kicked in, and a small shift of my body barely saved my neck.
Imdiately, I rushed back, creating distance between us.
Arawn loosely gripped his katana, his eyes on . "…Slow."
Aimar rushed toward . "Himl—"
"Stay out," I said, raising my hand. "Just stay out."
He didn't seem to understand for a long while before he nodded and moved away.
I relaxed my tense muscles, keeping my eyes on him.
[]
'No.'
I replied, extending both my hands to my sides.
[]
'I know.'
A katana conjured in my right hand and an axe in my left.
"Is this how you greet your master?" I asked, tilting my head. "Arawn?"
He kept his silence, lowering his body to get into a battle stance.
Arawn vanished again, not in a burst, not in a flash, he simply wasn't where he had been.
I twisted sideways as steel slid past my ribs, close enough that I felt cold.
I swung the axe wide, forcing space.
Arawn reappeared just outside the arc, blade angled low.
With an acute sense of urgency, I leaned my body forward and rushed in.
I swept the axe over his face. Arawn caught the axe on his katana and swept it away.
The mont my axe was knocked aside, I felt the opening.
I stepped in instead of back.
Steel rang as my katana t his, the impact sending a dull shock through my arm.
He turned his wrist slightly, redirecting the force rather than blocking it.
He moved inside my guard.
I barely had ti to twist my shoulder before the flat of his blade struck my ribs.
The hit wasn't ant to cut, but it drove the air out of all the sa.
I slid back, boots scraping against the stone.
I exhaled slowly and shifted my stance.
The wings behind flexed once, not to fly, just to balance.
"You're holding back," I said.
"So are you," Arawn replied.
He stepped forward again, slow this ti, asured.
"You rely on instinct," he continued. "That will save you once, maybe twice but not always."
He vanished.
I felt it before I saw it.
I dropped low as his blade cut through the space where my neck had been.
The katana in my hand ca up instinctively, catching his strike at an awkward angle.
The clash sent both of us sliding apart.
This ti, I didn't wait.
I pushed off the ground, wings snapping open just enough to change direction mid-step.
The axe ca down in a tight arc aid at his shoulder.
Arawn caught it again, but this ti his feet shifted.
I pressed the attack, chaining movents instead of thinking them through.
Arawn retreated, parrying without strain, but he was no longer still.
The ground beneath us cracked slightly from the pressure.
"Enough with this circus," he said, tilting his head. "Don't you think?"
He vanished from his place, and I had enough of holding back.
Mana condensed within . Mana began guiding .
Arawn's every attack beca clearer than ever.
I sidestepped, pivoted, and ducked around his attacks, parrying those I couldn't dodge.
A chain of mana circles blood everywhere around .
A burst of fla imdiately tried to engulf my body.
I could easily move aside, but I didn't.
Instead, I focused on the Orb of Fate in my body.
The world slowed down. A miniature version of the River of Fate glowed like a protective barrier around .
The mana circles shuddered, their edges warping as if sothing had rewritten the rules they followed.
The flas curved, spiraling past my shoulders and crashing into the ground behind instead.
Arawn froze for the first ti.
"…Fate," he murmured.
I opened my eyes fully.
The River of Fate vanished, but its effects remained.
The world felt slower yet faster at the sa ti.
Lines I couldn't see before now stood clear, like paths already walked a thousand tis.
I stepped forward.
Arawn attacked again, faster than before, and I moved before he did.
My body shifted into the exact space his blade wouldn't reach.
My katana t his strike perfectly—not by strength, but by inevitability.
Steel rang once, twice, three tis in rapid succession.
Each clash pushed him back.
His expression sharpened, no longer calm.
"You shouldn't be able to do this," he said.
"I know," I replied quietly.
The axe in my left hand ca around, not aid at him but at the future step he was about to take.
Arawn halted mid-motion, forced to retreat instead.
The ground cracked beneath his feet as he landed.
The mana circles around faded, one by one, like dying embers.
I exhaled.
The pressure lifted slightly, but the awareness remained.
Arawn sheathed his katana with a soft click and walked toward .
The pull of Fate had faded, but it left a mark behind.
"Why did you try to kill ?" I asked.
His eyes flicked to my neck, then away. "To see if you were still worth protecting."
He unbuckled his katana and put it down on the ground.
Then he slowly got on his knees and lowered his head.
"Please forgive your servant, master," he spoke in a soft voice. "I crossed the line and tried to test you."
I stared at Arawn kneeling in front of , his katana resting on the stone between us like an offering.
"…Get up," I said.
He didn't move.
"I said get up," I repeated, sharper this ti.
Arawn's shoulders tensed, but he remained kneeling, head lowered.
"You are within your right to sever the bond," he said calmly. "I acted without permission. I drew my blade against—"
"Enough," I cut in.
I stepped forward, stopping right in front of him.
"I forgive you," I said. "So, get up."
He still did not get up as he lowered his hand and placed his knuckles on the ground.
"I am Arawn Helga Haze, blessed by the Ruler of Death and Ti,"
he spoke, his voice echoing within the palace.
"I have returned to serve you, master."
"..."
Do I really need a servant—.
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'But—.'
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