Before Bloodmancer Thalia could fully absorb what was happening on the edges of the field, something even more absurd unfolded directly in front of her — something that didn't just strain her understanding but came within a hair's breadth of shattering it entirely.
The non-evolved human raised his sword.
He was pointing it at a First Sequence goblin knight.
No — what are you doing? The thought detonated through Thalia's mind like a crack of lightning, immediate and involuntary. Don't even think about attacking that thing. You will die. You will simply die.
She hadn't even finished forming the expression that matched the thought.
Xavier swung.
The sound was clean and brief. Then a shower of blood caught the light, and a head left its shoulders and turned slowly through the air before hitting the ground with a dull, final weight.
The silence that followed lasted perhaps a single heartbeat.
How…
