Not charging.
Walking.
Their steps were slow, deliberate, sand freezing briefly beneath their feet before cracking apart.
Shadows clung to them unnaturally, stretching wrong no matter where the light fell.
One raised an arm.
The membrane unfurled.
And a blade of condensed darkness ripped outward.
"Scatter!" Arisha shouted.
The wave tore through the space they'd been standing in, slicing sand, ice, and air alike.
Vaara stumbled back. "That wasn't physical!"
Vegia lifted her staff. "Barrier—!"
The next shadow blade slammed into her shield, rippling the mana dome violently.
Selvara clicked her tongue. "Ranged."
Serica grinned thinly. "My favorite."
She sprinted forward anyway.
The nearest Dusk Render turned its head toward her.
Its mouth split open wider.
A scream poured out—not sound, but pressure. The air itself warped.
Serica skidded to a halt, teeth gritted. "That's cheating!"
Thristle appeared beside her in a blur. "Then stop playing fair."
She hurled a punch.
