Silence followed the deafening impact.
For the briefest instant, the enormous study seemed suspended in time as another cloud of shattered marble and pulverized stone erupted into the air. Dust rolled across the chamber like a living tide, swallowing bookshelves, pillars, and broken furniture beneath a gray veil while fragments of wood continued falling from above with dull, scattered thuds.
Nothing could be seen clearly.
Only drifting silhouettes remained.
Then—
A sharp crack echoed from within the dust.
A dark figure burst out of the smoke, using the fractured remains of a stone pillar as a foothold before launching himself forward once again.
Luca's crimson eyes remained completely focused.
Blood continued dripping slowly from the wound across his shoulder, staining the torn fabric of his academy uniform, yet his expression carried neither panic nor hesitation.
Both sabers flashed simultaneously.
