When the smoke and dust died down, Kael stood untouched at the explosion's center.
A shield of gravity surrounded him—microscopic gravitational rotation bending the shockwaves and fire around his body without making contact. Orbital Deflection, activated at the last possible second.
"Whew," Kael sighed in relief, releasing the technique. "That was close."
Aldric clapped his hands together.
Click.
Kael's eyes snapped to him. More orbs were launching from Aldric's storage ring—dozens of them, trailing fire, converging on his position.
He activated Orbital Deflection again. The mana bombs detonated harmlessly around the gravitational barrier, fire and force sliding off the spatial curve like water off glass.
Meanwhile,
Around Aldric's chest, fire mana was gathering and condensing. Raw flame energy pulled from the ambient environment, from Aldric's own reserves, from the air itself, compressing into a dense sphere no larger than a fist.
