The golden barrier around me flickered and died as I lowered my hand. Thirty-six daggers lay scattered across the blood-stained asphalt like fallen stars. But my attention wasn't on the weapons.
It was on the old man stumbling backward into the shadows.
"Running away so soon?" I called out, my voice carrying clearly across the parking lot. "I thought Earth Ranking masters had more pride than that."
Ronan Payne froze mid-step. His shoulders tensed, and I could see the war playing out in his posture. Fear warring against decades of built-up arrogance.
Pride won.
He turned around slowly, his weathered face twisted with rage and humiliation. "You think you've won, boy? You think embarrassing me in front of these insects makes you untouchable?"
I shrugged. "I think you should have kept running."
His laugh was bitter and filled with venom. "Arrogant to the end. Do you know what your problem is? You're so drunk on your own power that you've forgotten something crucial."
