Grey Speed 8

“Interesting!” the ascender beamed.

Then, for the first time, the ascender approached us.

I had known he was fast. He’d been not much more than a blur or flash of color during our previous exchanges. But even with my internal lightning spell greatly heightening my senses and reflexes, I was barely able to keep up with his movement.

Pallisun managed to bring his arms up to defend against the ascender’s strike, allowing me to step around my partner and swing toward the man’s exposed side.

The world around me moved in slow motion while my senses took everything in—the crunch of dirt beneath my feet, the whistle of Harmony’s blade cutting the air, and the resounding thud of the ascender’s fist hitting Pallisun’s gauntlet.

Yet, before I could finish the blow, the ascender spun on his heels, closing the distance between us and my swing ran harmlessly behind the man’s back. He trapped my sword arm under his own and swept my legs out from under me.

I could follow every moment of the ascender’s brilliant maneuver, from his footwork, to his apparent ability to predict the position of my swing while timing his own movements. Following and reacting, however, were two different stories.

Before he could finish his move, Pallisun managed to swing a gravity-imbued punch from behind the ascender.

It wasn’t surprising to see that he was able to dodge—maybe one of his emblems or a regalia had given him a pair of eyes behind his head. This time, however, the field of gravity surrounding my partner’s gauntlet expanded just as it passed the ascender’s head, pushing him just enough for me to wiggle free from his grasp before executing a lateral handspring to upright myself.