The crackling sound resonated through the garden.
Mana flared around Adrian's body in sharp pulses, thin layers reinforcing muscle and bone as he lunged forward without hesitation. His footwork was tight, precise, each step measured despite the crushing gravity still gnawing at his limbs. He moved fast—far faster than he had any right to after the previous training session—but it still wasn't enough.
Valor shifted.
Barely.
Adrian's fist cut through the air where Valor's jaw had been a heartbeat ago, the displacement so small it was almost insulting. A tilt of the head. A half-step back. The punch missed by the width of a finger.
Adrian didn't stop.
He twisted his waist, chaining the motion into a knee strike, mana surging to reinforce the joint as he drove it upward with intent to shatter ribs. Valor exhaled calmly and slid aside, the knee brushing past his shirt, close enough to stir the fabric but never close enough to land.
Too close. Again.
