The dim, twilight-soaked air of the grand circular chamber turned heavy, dense, and suffocating, thick with the cold metallic tang of lingering slash of the sword intent.
Shen Xun'er stood frozen twenty paces away, her vibrant purple eyes fixed on the tall, dark-robed young man whose plain, nameless steel sword hovered in the air beside his right shoulder.
'Prove your worth before the man in front of you... Survive his blade or die upon this floor.'
The words sounded ridiculous, no, they sounded absurd.
Fight him?
Shen Xun'er's newly reassembled Dao heart, which had just roared with berserker fury against her dark reflection, skipped a frantic, nervous beat.
She blinked, forcing a crooked, awkward grin across her porcelain face, raising her hands with palms out in a placating, casual gesture as she tried to joke.
