The moment hung for a heartbeat—
Then **Kaela appeared**.
Not creeping. Not emerging.
She **exploded** into the space before them, blade already drawn, intent screaming from every fiber of her being.
"You can't leave!" she spat, her voice sharp, edges honed like steel.
Draven's eyes snapped to the incoming strike as it carved a deadly arc through the air.
"**Crap!**" he muttered under his breath, shadows flickering nervously around his legs.
But Elliana **didn't hesitate**.
Her eyes narrowed.
Her hand shot up, her own blade snapping into position **head-on**.
Steel met steel with a deafening **CLANG**, sparks and shards of light scattering wildly into the collapsing dome. The force of the impact **shuddered through the air**, blasting shadows aside and nearly knocking Draven off his feet.
Elliana's stance was unyielding—feet planted, grip ironclad, her expression carved from fury and precision.
"Not today," she growled, voice low and immovable, as she **held Kaela's strike at bay**.
Draven's eyes narrowed, shadows coiling tighter around his body. He shifted instinctively, ready to **jump in**, but Elliana flicked him a glance for the barest fraction of a second—
**A warning. A promise.**
Kaela snarled. "You think you can just walk away after what's been done?!"
Elliana **pressed forward**, blades grinding as shockwaves rippled outward through the half-collapsed dome. The ground fractured beneath their feet, chunks of shadow and stone raining down as **holy light and darkness clashed violently in midair**.
Draven let out a breathy, humorless chuckle, a grin tugging at his lips despite the chaos.
"Bastards… guess we ain't leaving quietly."
And with that, the **battle erupted anew**—faster, bloodier, and far more merciless than before.
Elliana tried to pull back, one arm hooking around Draven as she **forced distance** between them, boots skidding across shattered ground.
Kaela didn't give her a moment.
She **closed in instantly**, blade flashing as she unleashed a **relentless barrage**—strike after strike after strike. Each blow carried crushing holy force, driving Elliana back step by step. Elliana blocked every one—steel screaming against steel in rapid, brutal collisions—but the strain mounted.
Her breath hitched.
A sharp **cough** tore from her throat.
Blood splattered across the fractured floor.
Draven's eyes **widened**.
His jaw clenched so hard it creaked. The shadows around him snapped violently, responding to his fury.
"…damn bitch," he muttered, voice low and venomous.
He **vanished**.
Shadow folded—and Draven **reappeared directly in front of Kaela**, both blades already in motion. The first came in a savage horizontal arc, pure killing intent driving it forward.
Kaela's eyes flickered with surprise.
She barely managed to **block**, steel shrieking as the impact rattled her arms to the bone.
But Draven didn't stop.
His second blade **snapped forward**, precise and vicious, aimed straight for her eyes.
Kaela twisted, swinging hard to deflect—but the force of her counter **hurled Draven backward**, sending him flying across the shattered ground.
Draven twisted midair.
His boots **slammed into the floor**, cracking it as he absorbed the impact. In the same breath, he **pivoted**, shadows already surging beneath his feet.
The moment he reached Elliana—
He didn't hesitate.
He **scooped her up**, one arm around her back, the other under her knees, ignoring the blood soaking into his sleeve.
"Don't move," he snapped.
Shadow **collapsed inward**.
And in the same instant—
They were **gone**.
Shadow Step ripped them through the dome, leaving only rippling darkness behind—and Kaela standing alone beneath the pouring holy light, breath sharp, eyes blazing with fury as realization struck.
They had escaped.
For now.
---
The world **folded and unfolded** around them again.
Shadow Step.
Draven burst through the darkness at full speed, boots barely touching the ground before he was already moving again. Trees, shattered stone, and broken terrain blurred past as he **chained the steps**, each leap stretching farther than the last.
*Damn it…*
His jaw tightened.
*We can't stay there any longer.*
He could **feel it** now—clearer than before. The way the shadows trembled each time he called on them. The way the step lagged for the smallest fraction of a second before answering.
*Ma's condition's getting worse.*
Even with the dome collapsing—holy light pouring in, divine pressure flooding the battlefield—he was **still able to Shadow Step**, but only barely. Not clean. Not stable.
As if the darkness itself were obeying out of sheer will rather than strength.
*That won't last.*
Draven glanced down at Elliana in his arms. She was breathing—but shallow. Blood stained her lips, her hand clutching weakly at his coat.
No time.
He pushed harder.
Shadow folded again—**longer this time**, stretching the distance unnaturally. The backlash burned through his legs like ice and fire combined, but he didn't slow.
*Use it while it's still mine.*
He angled his momentum—not straight away, but **sideways**, zigzagging through the terrain, deliberately breaking any line of pursuit. Each step scattered their trail across fractured shadow paths.
*Distance first. Confusion second. Escape third.*
His mother's presence brushed the edge of his senses—faint now, strained—and that alone told him everything.
*I'll finish this before you burn yourself out… just hold on.*
Draven **lunged out of the dome**, a shadow tearing through the stunned knights outside. He didn't stop. Didn't even slow.
He chained another step—then another—riding the momentum until the battlefield vanished, swallowed entirely by darkness.
Only when the pressure finally eased—when the holy light no longer scorched his skin—did he allow himself to slow.
He landed hard, knees bending to absorb the impact, shadows unraveling around him.
Draven exhaled sharply.
"…that was too close."
But they were out.
---
The instant his boots struck solid earth again, **something was wrong**.
Draven felt it immediately.
The shadows didn't answer.
No pull.
No fold.
No familiar give beneath reality.
His breath hitched—just a fraction.
*…Shadow Step's gone.*
Outside the dome—outside the fragile overlap his mother had forced into existence—he was back in the open world.
And the darkness here was **dead weight**.
But he didn't slow.
Didn't hesitate.
He **ran**.
Branches snapped beneath his feet as he tore through the forest at full speed, Elliana still in his arms, senses stretched dangerously tight.
Then—
A **flash** at the edge of his vision.
Gold.
Lightning.
Too fast.
Draven's eyes **widened**.
"—!"
He twisted **instantly**, muscle memory screaming before thought could catch up. His body rolled sideways mid-stride, throwing himself off his own momentum.
The blade passed where his spine had been a heartbeat earlier.
**SHRRRAAASH—!**
Golden lightning tore through the air, carving a glowing crescent through the forest behind him. Trees split cleanly in half, bark exploding outward as the slash continued on, detonating in a storm of sparks and scorched leaves.
Draven hit the ground hard, rolling once—twice—never releasing Elliana—before snapping back to his feet.
His boots skidded in the dirt.
He turned.
Heart hammering.
Jaw clenched.
"…You've got to be fucking kidding me."
Ahead, the forest glowed faintly where the attack had passed—golden sparks still crackling, lightning crawling along severed wood like living veins.
That wasn't a wild strike.
That was **aimed**.
Clean.
Controlled.
Fast enough to tag him even *without* Shadow Step.
Draven shifted his stance, angling his body to shield Elliana without sacrificing mobility. His blades slid into his hands automatically, blood still slick along the hilts.
His gaze swept the trees.
Left.
Right.
Above.