The fourth dawn rose like a wound across the sky.
Serena stood on a cliff of chalk and gull-cry, cloak snapping in the wind. Below, the sea clawed at the rocks and the only road south was a knife-thin track above the surf. Umbren crouched inside her shadow, a low growl vibrating through her ribs.
< 21 days remain >
< System-User closing – 0.9 km and closing >
< Celestial Mandate – Aurora Vale >
No greeting. No talk. Only the promise of death.
---
Aurora came out of the mist like a blade unsheathed.
She sprinted along the cliff edge, robes whipping, bells shrieking. Mandate glyphs blazed white-hot around her wrists—lances of pure intent aimed at Serena's heart.
Serena met her halfway.
Scythe met mandate with a sound like mountains breaking. Sparks sprayed into the salt air. Aurora's first lance carved a furrow across Serena's shoulder—hot, bright, blood instantly whipped away by the wind. Serena answered with Crescent Arc, the black edge missing the saintess's throat by a finger's breadth and ripping the sleeve from her arm instead.
They crashed together, rolled across loose shale, and came up snarling.
Umbren erupted from shadow—jaws wide for Aurora's ankle. A glyph flared; the wolf was hurled sideways, tumbling over the cliff edge before catching a ledge with claws that left gouges in the stone.
Serena did not look back. She advanced, scythe spinning, every motion laced with the single thought: kill.
---
The road narrowed to a causeway no wider than a wagon wheel. Waves exploded below, sending spray high enough to sting skin. There was nowhere to dodge, nowhere to hide—only forward or into the abyss.
Aurora attacked again.
Mandate glyphs condensed into a ring of spinning blades that hummed like hornets. Serena ducked the first, parried the second, and felt the third slice across her thigh—hot blood running into her boot.
She snarled, twisted, and drove the scythe's butt-spike into the causeway. The impact cracked stone. A shockwave of wind-dark force rippled outward, shattering two of the glyphs mid-spin. Aurora staggered, bells clashing wildly.
Serena lunged.
Moonfall Sweep carved a crescent that tore the saintess's mantle from collar to hem. Aurora retreated a step, heel over empty air, and only a desperate glyph saved her from the fall. She vaulted backward, landing on the far side of a natural arch, eyes burning with equal parts fury and respect.
They stared across the gap, both bleeding, both breathing murder.
The fishing village lay huddled against a cliff like a frightened child. Nets flapped; gulls screamed. Serena stalked the pier, cloak heavy with seawater and blood. She did not hide. She wanted Aurora to see her.
Aurora obliged.
She appeared atop a drying rack, silhouetted against the stormy sky. Mandate glyphs spiraled outward, turning the rack's wooden beams into spears that launched at Serena like harpoons.
Serena shattered three with Crescent Arc, ducked the fourth, and sprinted. The spears impaled barrels, tore sails, sent fish-oil barrels bursting across the planks. Villagers fled screaming.
In the chaos, Umbren struck—bursting from Serena's shadow to clamp jaws around Aurora's calf. Bone grated; blood spattered the salt-stained wood. Aurora screamed, drove an elbow into the wolf's skull, and flung him aside. He hit a mast and slid down, snarling.
Serena used the heartbeat of distraction.
Ghost Moon Rend.
She vanished between one step and the next, reappeared behind the saintess, scythe arcing for the spine. Aurora twisted at the last instant; the blade carved a furrow across her back instead of severing bone. Blood fountained, mixing with the rain.
Aurora stumbled, hand pressed to the wound, eyes wide with the first real flicker of fear. She spat a curse, glyphs flaring white, and leapt from the pier into the storm-dark sea.
Serena let her go—for now.
---
The storm rolled inland, leaving only the cold hiss of rain. Serena found the hidden cavern beneath the cliffs, salt crusting her lashes. She bound her thigh with torn cloak, swallowed one of the alchemist's blood-pulse pills, and let the bitter warmth spread through her veins.
Umbren limped to her side, ribs rising and falling hard. She scratched behind his ears; he bared fangs at the cave mouth.
Outside, somewhere in the rain, bells still rang.
< Night-Sewn Path – 79 % mastery >
< 20 days remain >