[Celestial Academy — Side Corridor — 11:03 AM]
The second creature lunged.
Raven with [Shadow Meld] melted into the corridor's shadows before the physical limbs closed in.
Marcus with Aurum launched [Solar Breath] from the flank — not to kill, to deflect, to change the trajectory just enough.
Cael on the opposite flank with his magical containment skill created pressure on the physical plane where the creature had the most mass.
It worked.
The creature turned forty degrees.
Enough for the first attack to pass between Raven and Marcus instead of hitting either of them.
The ground where it landed formed a meter‑and‑a‑half crater.
Cael repositioning for the second exchange.
Then he heard the footsteps.
---
They weren't normal footsteps.
They were the footsteps of Seraph carrying Fragment 2's scythe active and making no effort to suppress the energy signature because she didn't care if they heard her coming.
Cael turned.
Seraph at the end of the corridor.
