Zyra's eyes flicked;
Just slightly.
The knife.
Cutting through the mist toward her.
Fast.
Precise.
Deadly.
She didn't move away.
She smiled.
Then...
In a single smooth motion;
She spun.
Her body turning lightly on one foot as her hand snapped up;
Catch.
The blade stopped.
Between her fingers.
Perfect.
Balanced.
"…too slow," she murmured, almost amused.
But she felt it;
The shift in the air.
Behind the knife;
Something else.
Faster.
Heavier.
A presence rushing straight toward her.
Zyra's eyes sharpened;
She turned;
Just as a figure burst through the mist.
Sword raised.
No hesitation.
No warning.
The blade came down;
A clean, lethal arc aimed to split her where she stood;
Then.....
CLIIING!
Steel collided.
Sparks burst outward.
Valen stood between them.
His blade held firm, catching the strike mid-swing, stopping it completely.
The force pushed against him;
But he didn't move.
Didn't yield.
His voice dropped low;
Controlled.
A whisper of power beneath it.
"Lux… bind and sever."
The moment the words left him;
His sword ignited.
A pale, radiant glow surged along the blade, light crawling over the metal like living energy.
The air around them tightened.
Heavy.
Charged.
The attacker froze for a fraction of a second;
Not from fear.
From recognition.
Then...
A voice.
Desperate.
Breaking.
"Uncle… please stop…!"
The figure faltered.
The blade trembled.
"They saved me…!"
Steel met steel again;
Fast.
Sharp.
Relentless.
Garron moved first this time, stepping in with a heavy diagonal strike aimed at Valen's shoulder. The blade cut through the mist with force.
Valen pivoted.
Deflected.
CLANG!
Sparks burst outward on impact, scattering in brief arcs of light.
Garron didn't stop.
He followed through immediately, twisting his wrist and driving a second strike low.
Valen stepped back.
Barely;
His glowing blade catching it just in time.
CLING!
The impact rang louder.
Sharper.
A thin crack splintered beneath their feet, the ground fracturing slightly from the force of the clash.
Zyra watched from the side, spinning the captured knife idly between her fingers, eyes flicking between the two.
"…they're both holding back," she muttered.
Garron pressed forward again, faster now, his strikes heavy, deliberate, each one meant to break through.
Valen met them all.
Precise.
Minimal.
Every movement calculated.
Every block exact.
Another strike.
Another clash.
CLANG!
More sparks.
More cracks.
The air itself felt like it was splitting with each impact.
Then....
"Uncle Garron!"
Leah's voice cut through it.
Weak.
But desperate.
Garron's blade stopped mid-swing.
For a fraction of a second;
That was enough.
Valen didn't strike.
Didn't advance.
He simply held his position, glowing blade steady between them.
Garron's eyes shifted.
Toward Leah.
Toward the voice.
His grip tightened;
Then loosened.
He exhaled sharply.
And jumped back.
Distance.
Space.
The fight broke.
Silence rushed in to fill the gap.
Leah's vision trembled.
But this time.
Not from fear.
"…Uncle…"
Her voice broke as she looked at him, tears spilling freely down her face.
Garron's expression changed instantly.
The tension.
The fury.
Gone.
His sword lowered.
Then dropped completely to his side.
Across from him.
Valen's blade dimmed.
The radiant glow faded slowly, the light retreating back into cold steel. Without a word, he slid it back into its sheath.
The air settled.
The fight ended.
And then.
Zyra groaned.
Loudly.
"Ooooh, come on!" she threw her hands up dramatically. "That was just getting interesting!"
She looked between them, clearly offended.
"I was this close to seeing something impressive."
She pinched her fingers together for emphasis.
"Two serious swordsmen, mist everywhere, emotional tension; perfect setup!"
A pause.
Then she crossed her arms, pouting slightly.
"And you just… stopped?"
She shook her head in disappointment.
"Terrible performance. Zero commitment."
Valen didn't even look at her.
"…this isn't a performance."
"That's exactly why it's disappointing."
Meanwhile....
Garron didn't hear any of it.
The moment the sword left his hand.
He moved.
Fast.
Straight to Leah.
"Leah!"
He dropped to his knees in front of her, grabbing her shoulders firmly, pulling her slightly closer as if to make sure she was real.
His hands trembled.
Just slightly.
"You're alive…"
His voice lowered, thick with relief, his grip tightening for a moment before softening.
"I thought"
He stopped himself.
Didn't finish.
Instead....
He pulled her into him.
Holding her close.
Protective.
Like he was afraid she might disappear again if he let go.
Garron held Leah for a moment longer.
Then something in him shifted.
A thought.
A realization.
His grip loosened.
Slowly..
He turned.
His eyes moved past her.
Scanning the ground.
And then;
He saw them.
Thalia.
Henry.
Mauris.
Lying still.
Unmoving.
The world around him seemed to fall silent.
"…no…"
He pulled back from Leah, his breath quickening as he staggered slightly to his feet, eyes locked on the bodies.
"Leah… what happened…?"
His voice cracked.
He stepped toward them.
Slow.
Unsteady.
"Why are they"
His gaze fell on Henry.
The torn armor.
The blood.
Then Mauris;
Still.
Too still.
"What happened?!" he demanded now, panic breaking through, his voice rising as he turned back toward Leah.
Leah tried to speak.
Her lips parted.
"…I…"
Nothing came out.
Her throat tightened.
Her voice failed her.
Only a broken breath escaped.
Her hands trembled as she tried again.
But the words wouldn't form.
Wouldn't come.
Valen stepped forward.
Quiet.
Measured.
He didn't look at Garron immediately.
His gaze passed once over the fallen.
Then settled.
"They were attacked," he said calmly.
Garron turned toward him sharply.
Valen continued.
"By two bound entities."
A pause.
The weight of the words settling.
"We intervened."
Another pause.
Softer now.
"But we were too late."
Garron's expression tightened.
His hands slowly curling into fists.
Valen's voice didn't change.
"We managed to save the girl; Thalia."
A brief glance toward her.
"She is alive."
A beat.
"But the young boy…"
His eyes shifted.
To Henry.
"…and the warrior…"
To Mauris.
"…are gone."
Silence.
Heavy.
Unforgiving.
"And her soul"
His gaze returned to Garron.
"..is trapped in another realm."
The words landed like a blade.
Garron didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
For a moment;
Nothing existed.
Then...
His head turned slowly.
Back toward them.
Toward the bodies.
Toward Thalia.
His chest rose sharply;
Then fell.
"…no…"
Barely a whisper.
His steps were unsteady as he moved forward again, this time dropping beside Thalia, his hands hovering for a second before gently lifting her shoulder.
"Thalia…?"
No response.
He looked at her face;
Searching.
Hoping.
Anything.
His jaw tightened.
Then....
He turned slightly;
Looking at Henry again.
The truth settling in deeper.
"…no…"
This time;
It broke.
Leah watched from behind;
Her vision blurred.
Her chest aching as guilt pressed harder against her ribs.
"I… I tried…" she whispered weakly, her voice finally returning, trembling, fragile.
"He… he ran to the portal… and I"
Her voice cracked again.
"I couldn't stop him…"
Tears slipped down her face again as she shook her head.
"I couldn't save them…"
Garron didn't respond.
He just knelt there;
Between them.
Surrounded by what was left.
His hand resting gently on Thalia;
While his gaze remained fixed on the others.
Still.
Silent.
And breaking.