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Not having much choice, I did. The machine's glow brightened even as Adam maintained the stance he'd adopted and then there was a torrent of bright blue light that I was briefly certain would eclipse Adam entirely—but it didn't. Instead, he caught the laser beam on his sword, slammed his blade back into its sheath, and started to laugh. And glow, but really, the laugh was creepier. Had I sounded like that?


***
And then the Humbaba had appeared in the midst of the clearing. For all that it was a good ten stories in height, it had moved quickly enough that someone else might have thought it had teleported, and had struck out at me at once.

***

The Humbaba let loose an inhuman sound, something glowing purple-white within the depths of its tangled face. I could see it even through the walls of smoke and ash, but I didn’t flinch even as aimed towards me, refusing to let myself falter as I resheathed my sword and began clicking the turning mechanism.
 
I wasn’t afraid. I was eager.
 
And when, moments later, the walls of smoke were cut through my a column of light that could have carved a line of destruction through a city, I was all too happy to show it why—to prove that I could give as good as I got. I caught the blast of destructive power on my blade and felt my Aura rise up in response. The power flowed into me like I was trying to swallow a river, setting my blood on fire and my nerves alight as it did. I opened myself up to it, drawing it in, and felt my Aura burn brighter by the moment, glowing through my skin. It flickered like a flame, pulsing in tune with my heart, but I kept it up, holding steady against the power coming my way.