The vortex of sand and stone roared like a starving beast, a swirling maelstrom of debris that obscured the very sun. In the heart of the chaos, a sickening THUD CRACK! echoed through the plaza.
Iris, caught mid-rotation by the jagged obsidian spike, had been thrown violently sideways. Her body collided with a crumbling granite pillar with the force of a falling meteor.
CRUNCH!
The sound of her ribs buckling against the stone was unmistakable. She slumped to the ground, a limp, bloodied silhouette in the dust, her consciousness flickering out like a candle in a gale.
The battlefield shifted instantly. The symphony of two was now a brutal, lonely duet.
Aurelia's eyes widened, a flash of raw, uncharacteristic panic crossing her face as she saw her sister fall.
"IRIS!" she screamed, a sound of pure, unadulterated fury.
