A sharp, microscopic detonation cracked through the empty air.
The moisture present within the steel of the broadsword, the moisture contained within Theo's silver gauntlets, the moisture traversing the muscle, marrow, and capillaries of his forearms extending to his elbows. The moisture in his right foot, firmly planted on the stone, also experienced complete thermodynamic cessation in under a microsecond.
The reaction was catastrophic and instantaneous.
With a concussive, deafening shatter that sounded like a glacier breaking apart under siege fire, Theo's broadsword disintegrated into a cloud of fine, powdery dust.
At the exact same instant, both of Theo's arms from the elbows down, along with his entire right foot and ankle, flash-froze and burst outward in a horrific shower of pulverized bone, lightless blue ice, and crystallized blood that rained across the obsidian floor like shattered glass.
Theo's forward momentum ceased as if he had run into a wall of solid iron.
