The silence was suffocating.
Thorn and Lilith surged down the right hallway, the air around them still and heavy. Their footsteps made no sound. Not even the rustle of Lilith's cloak or the hiss of Thorn's breath could pierce the quiet.
The lone cloaked figure at the end of the hall didn't move. They stood still, head bowed, arms at their sides.
Thorn narrowed his eyes.
"Too easy," he mouthed silently.
Lilith's eyes flicked to him. She nodded.
They didn't slow.
Just as they closed the final meter, within touching distance, the figure moved.
But not forward.
A second shape dropped from the ceiling behind the first, landing silently between them.
Thorn's eyes widened.
Third figure.
The new opponent struck first, a curved sword flashing out of their cloak like a fang.
The blade arced straight toward Lilith's ribs.
Lilith twisted, pulling her body to the side, but the attack was too fast. The edge of the blade sliced across her outer sleeve, missing flesh by a breath.
