The black lightning arced toward Grim, cutting through his mist like it was nothing more than morning fog. He barely managed to bring Echo up in time, catching the brunt of the attack on his blade. The impact sent him skidding backward.
A terrible numbness spread from his hands up his arms where the black energy had made contact. It wasn't pain, exactly, but something worse.
[This is bad,] the voice said, a note of genuine concern in its usually calm tone. [That's not ordinary darkness energy. It's consuming your mana wherever it touches.]
Grim shook his arms, trying to restore feeling. "What the fuck is she using?" he muttered.
[Soul Shade is a technique that steals light umless your strong enough to over power it. It also can asorb mana when it touches you ir anything that has mana in it.]
In the royal box, the atmosphere had shifted from entertainment to grave concern. Empress Alexia leaned forward, her eyes fixed on the black blade Talyra wielded.
