The archon had to consider what was more important.
If it were to be destroyed before its summoner, then its body would remain behind, and allowing the enemy to obtain it would be a greater failure than the mission itself. But if the summoner were to die first, then its form would collapse and return to its origin, leaving nothing behind for the enemy to claim.
Every action that followed was decided in that instant, because it no longer sought victory. It chose the only outcome it could still control.
—
The cleric's gaze never left the archon, and he saw the change the moment it happened, because the barrier that formed around it carried the same structure, the same presence, and the same divine imprint as the one that had been protecting him.
Confusion set in immediately, because in all the years he had relied on that summon, it had never once created a shield like that over itself, and the sight alone did not make sense.
