Kael
The strike finished in empty air.
I stood five meters to its right.
For a moment, my body tried to complete the turn I had begun somewhere else. My heel scraped the marked square. I bent the knee, kept Nihil clear of my leg and caught my balance before I fell.
The landing had stayed empty.
I heard the strike land behind the place my eyes had expected it. For a moment, I looked for the blade in the wrong part of the ring.
Then I found Darian and turned my guard toward him. My feet had arrived before the rest of me understood the distance. That was a problem I could solve by staying upright. I bent the knee a little farther and stopped trying to finish the step I no longer needed.
I had checked it. The marshal had moved the bucket. Nobody had crossed into it while I fought.
Now I was occupying the space which those small decisions had left available.
[ THE VILLAIN'S LEDGER - CONTINGENCY ]
INTERVENTION: FIVE-METER SIDESTEP COMPLETED
CHARGES: 2 -> 1
NDI FEE: +2.0%
