The knight didn't answer.
Instead, it planted its sword into the earth, both gauntleted hands on the pommel, and the violet eyes behind the helm blazed until the light spilled out through the visor slit like liquid fire.
Then it screamed.
A deep, guttural roar that shook the ground and made the fog recoil in every direction.
The dark flames on the knight's armor surged, crawling faster, burning brighter, the low simmer of a controlled fire escalating into an inferno that engulfed the armored frame entirely.
Its body shifted.
The armor that had been sealed tight across every joint began to open.
Plates at the knees split apart, revealing gaps that glowed with the same lightless fire that burned on the surface.
The elbows cracked open next, the metal peeling back like petals, and from each exposed joint a column of black flame erupted outward.
