She tilted her head slightly, walking a few paces forward as Astron struggled to rise, hand pressed to his chest.
"How was it?"
Astron didn't answer immediately. He coughed once—wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"…Heavy," he muttered.
But something in his expression twisted—not confusion, but a pinched discomfort at the edge of perception. That strike… it felt like it carried something more.
Unfamiliar.
Not just a martial echo or a mana strike—but something subtly misaligned. As if the frequency of her mana had shifted mid-blow. Not enough to analyze. Not enough to identify. Just enough to make his instincts crawl.
Dakota noticed.
She watched his eyes for a moment longer before speaking again.
"Something bothering you?" she asked, tossing a glowing vial underhand.
—CLINK.
Astron caught it mid-air.
He didn't respond immediately, just cracked the seal and drank.
The healing potion flushed through him, working fast. Bones groaned back into place. Breath returned.
