I watched the monolith of ice loom over us, catching the morning light and fracturing it into a thousand tiny rainbows across the gym walls. Natalia still panted, her breath forming small clouds in the frigid air. Her eyes hadn't left her creation—that jagged, crude monument of frozen power. I could see the hunger in them, the realization of potential unlocked.
My hand rested on the small of her back, feeling the heat of her body contrasting with the chill air around us. There was something intimate about this moment—watching someone discover a part of themselves they never knew existed.
"It's magnificent," she whispered, "but..."
"But it's just brute force," I finished for her. "Raw power without control."
I raised my hand, index and middle finger extended, and aimed at the massive spike. With a thought, I activated [Sever], sending an invisible blade slicing through the ice.
KRAK-TINKLE!
