The moment my foot settled fully onto the fractured stone, the three shadows reacted.
Their forms shifted. Until now, they had stood empty-handed, featureless silhouettes born from darkness alone. But now, something new emerged from within them. Their arms moved slowly, and from their grasp, darkness condensed and hardened, shaping itself into weapons.
Staffs.
Not blades like the ones Theras had faced. Staffs identical in form to my own.
I froze for a fraction of a second, staring at them. The staffs were long, straight, perfectly balanced, their surfaces smooth and unbroken. They did not carry aura. They did not emit Essence. Yet their presence alone was enough to unsettle me.
This was not an imitation but a complete replication of my staff. Before I could process further, all three shadows vanished.
They did not accelerate.
