The guardian shifted its focus completely.
The pressure snapped inward, chains screaming as its massive frame rotated, every line of force aligning toward Garron. There was no testing blow this time. No probing strike.
It came down like judgment.
Garron planted his feet anyway.
Mana tore through his body as he reinforced muscle and bone past what they were meant to handle. The impact hit him head-on, a crushing collision that drove him backward through reinforced ground as if it were wet clay. The shockwave rippled outward, snapping Elyra's grid lines and throwing dust and stone into the air.
Garron didn't fall.
He dropped to one knee, then both, coughing hard as blood splattered the ground beneath him. His vision blurred, ears ringing, but his hands stayed clenched, fingers dug into broken stone to keep himself upright.
The guardian raised its arm again.
Charlotte reacted without thinking.
