The sound of the wall's collapse still echoed endlessly. The shadow advanced, its towering form trembling as though it was woven from every darkness in the chamber.
She gripped her sword tightly, her heart pounding like a war drum—before her body lunged forward without thought. The blade of light slashed down in a radiant arc.
BOOM—!
The impact erupted like thunder the instant her blade struck the shadow's arm. Light exploded outward in waves, crushing the air until the surrounding walls shook, scattering stone and dust.
The shadow raised its arm to deflect as if it weighed nothing, yet the light seared into it, sizzling with a sound like heated iron plunged into water.
"This light…" the shadow murmured, its voice a deep reverberation. "The judgment foretold."
Her breath came fast and shallow, her body trembling, yet her eyes burned with unyielding resolve. She stepped forward again, her sword blazing ever brighter until the entire chamber seemed to transform into a dawn-lit sky.
The shadow laughed, its chilling tone crawling down her spine.
"Then show me… whether the fragile hope of humankind can truly shatter the eternal dark."
They surged toward one another once more—the blade of light and the mass of shadow clashing with an explosion like thunder and lightning. The world itself seemed to tremble, as though fate itself was balanced upon the edge of their blades.