Aether appeared mid-air, a blur—his eyes locked onto the ghostly figure floating before the crack. Her form was pale and shrouded in yellowish black mist, with yellow eyes. She turned just in time.
Second 1—
He roared.
"OUT OF MY WAY!!"
In that split second, his fist collided with her face.
CRACK!
The sound burst like thunder—his knuckles meeting her raw, ghostly face.
Her head snapped to the side, strands of her ethereal hair whipping through the air, but she didn't fall back. She took it. Her body held firm, only swaying slightly as she stared at him—stunned. For a moment, disbelief flickered in her expression. She touched her lip, then spat something dark and sickly—like blood, laced with a shard of a tooth.
Her expression twisted with cold amusement as her hands came up, catching his wrist mid-swing.
"You're strong..." she muttered with a dull, eerie calm. "But not enough."
Aether blinked. He was sure he had poured everything into that blow.
