The Third looked on the verge of fainting. "Removing the worst of it?! You just demolished half the world!"
Azuna finally turned her head toward him, expression serene. "And if you scream one more time, insect, I will remove you as well."
The Third squeaked like a terrified mouse and backed away.
Damon didn't react. He watched the process with cold focus while the mirror dimension groaned in agony around them. Spatial threads anchored themselves deeper while Azuna carved away instability with the casual elegance of someone trimming her nails.
Then, she frowned.
"Master," she said calmly, "there is a problem."
The Third's soul almost evacuated his body. "A… A problem? That wasn't the problem?! What was all that cutting then?! A warm-up?!"
Azuna flicked her wrist, and a collapsing mirror ridge vanished. "Yes."
Then her eyes glimmered with warning. "Master, something in this fragment is rejecting my control. Something old. Something buried. It is resisting assimilation."
