A ripple spread outward from me. The collapsing points faltered the moment the ripple touched them. Their inward pull broke apart as the distorted regions lost cohesion. One by one, the black points unraveled, their compression destabilizing before they could complete their collapse.
The space around me returned to normal.
I raised my hand and mirrored the motion.
My fingers moved in a horizontal arc.
A single black point formed in front of me.
Unlike the shadow's construct, mine did not flicker or destabilize. It remained perfectly stable as it moved forward. Then it divided. Dozens of points spread outward before converging toward the shadow at once. The moment they reached it, they collapsed. The implosion was immediate and violent.
The space surrounding the shadow folded inward completely, crushing its structure as the collapsing regions overlapped and intensified each other. The distortion consumed its form, tearing it apart without resistance.
