Yuto tightened his grip on his sword as the ground vibrated beneath him, each tremor rolling through stone and soil like a distant heartbeat growing closer. Above, the purple sky remained unchanged, stretched thin and indifferent, holding no reaction to what gathered below it.

Two figures emerged from separate ridgelines almost simultaneously, breaking through the fractured horizon in mirrored motion.

Both were Blackmaws.

And worst of all, they were watching him and Shiny as if the outcome had already been written, as if the air between them had already settled into defeat before a single move was made. It felt less like being observed and more like being weighed, measured, reduced to something predictable beneath those unmoving gazes.

Yuto drew in a slow breath, the night air cold and thin as it filled his lungs, carrying the faint metallic taste of dust and distant stone.

He let it out just as slowly.

"Two for the price of one. Very generous," he muttered under his breath, the words low enough to be swallowed by the wind.

Shiny stood beside him in silence, offering no words, only a subtle shift in posture as his footing settled more firmly into the fractured ground. His sword was already angled forward, catching faint, broken light along its edge. There was a palpable intensity to him, something coiled and restless beneath the stillness, as if the anticipation of combat itself sharpened the air around him.

The Blackmaws moved.

Not together at first.

One held position along the ridge line, its silhouette cutting against the fractured skyline, while the other dropped low, vanishing into broken terrain where stone and shadow swallowed its form. Yuto’s eyes narrowed, tracking the split in their intent.

The high one moved first.

A blur of motion tore through the air, too fast to track in full, only a smear of movement against fractured light and broken terrain.

Yuto barely had time to lift his blade before impact crashed into him, the force ripping through his stance and sending him skidding across jagged stone. Gravel and dust scattered in his wake, scraping against armor and skin as he fought to regain control.

Before he could even steady his breath, the second Blackmaw was already there, arriving where he had stood a heartbeat earlier, the ground still settling beneath its weightless entry into the space he had just vacated.

It struck Shiny.

He met it with his blade, steel catching the blow at an angle, but the impact still surged through him like a physical shockwave. His body was driven backward across the broken ground, boots carving deep grooves into the stone as he was forced to yield distance against his will.

Dust burst up around his steps as he slid, then he steadied himself in a sharp, controlled recovery. Without pause, he pushed forward again, launching straight back into the fight with immediate intent.

But the rhythm had already shifted.

The formation was gone

Now they were split.

Now they were isolated, each cut off from the other by distance, terrain, and the shifting chaos of broken ground.

Yuto clicked his tongue, irritation cutting clean through his focus. "I hate smart animals," he muttered under his breath.

Then he drove off the ground, dust bursting beneath his step as he launched forward, closing the gap in a straight, unbroken line to meet the first Blackmaw head-on

Steel met armored claw.

The collision rang out with a sharp, jarring impact that sent a violent shock racing up Yuto’s arm, numbing bone and muscle in a single, biting wave. His blade skidded uselessly across the Blackmaw’s plated hide, sparks scraping along reinforced armor without finding purchase.

The creature twisted with unnatural speed and struck again.

This time low.

Yuto reacted on instinct, pushing off hard and leaping backward just in time. The strike tore through the space where his legs had been a heartbeat earlier, close enough that he could feel the rush of displaced air graze his retreat.

Across the battlefield, Shiny was already engaged in a brutal exchange. His sword struck cleanly, but every hit glanced off reinforced armor. The Blackmaw countered with a brutal shoulder slam that sent him crashing into a rock formation.

The second Blackmaw returned its attention to him.

It didn’t rush.

It tested.

A high feint. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Yuto raised his sword.

The strike came low.

He barely blocked it.

His feet slid back as stone cracked beneath him.

The rhythm shifted immediately after that.

The Blackmaws began coordinating.

One pressed him high, forcing his guard upward. The other struck low at his legs and ribs. Each exchange was tighter, more controlled. Less like animals now.

More like hunters learning his timing.

Yuto took a glancing hit across his side.

Pain flared.

Shiny tried to break his opponent’s rhythm, but the Blackmaw he faced adapted instantly, redirecting his blade and striking his shoulder with a heavy blow. Shiny staggered but stayed upright, gripping his sword tighter, energy still burning in his movements.

Yuto and Shiny tried to regroup.

They failed.

Another coordinated strike landed.

Yuto was slammed into a rock pillar hard enough to crack it. He coughed once, steadying himself.

Shiny was forced to one knee briefly before pushing back up.

The realization came at the same time for both of them.

This wasn’t a straight fight anymore.

Yuto wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and glanced at the terrain for the first time since the battle began.

His eyes scanned quickly.

Fractured ground.

Unstable stone plates layered unevenly beneath shifting rubble.

A massive leaning spire above them, barely held up by fractured supports.

And the corpse of the first Blackmaw they had killed earlier, lying half-embedded in broken rock near the center of the field.

Yuto’s gaze sharpened.

"Shiny."

Shiny didn’t respond verbally. He just turned his head slightly, still engaged, still alert.

Yuto pointed with his sword mid-parry.

"Lure yours to that body. Don’t kill it, Just move it there."

Shiny tilted his head, then immediately nodded. Okay master! I will do as you say!"