Steel cut through the air.
Fast.
Sharp.
Unforgiving!
Sera's blade struck again, the force of it snapping through the quiet courtyard like a whip. Her arms trembled under the added weight strapped to her wrists, every movement dragging, every strike heavier than the last...
Good!
That meant it was working…
She was panting, her heart hammering in her chest.
Dang!
She had barely gotten started, and she was already this spent?
Pathetic!
Back in her third life, this would barely have caused her to break a sweat. And now? She was panting like a pig, her body trembling with fatigue.
Again!
She lunged forward, pivoted, slashed---
Too slow!
Again!!!
Her teeth clenched.
Her grip tightened.
Pain flared across her palms as the hilt scraped against blistered skin. Blood had long since smeared into the leather wrapping, but she didn't stop.
Didn't even hesitate...
Again!
