The air between Arthur Dayne and Köinzell pulsed with tension.
Their swords hummed with silent challenge—Dawn, radiant and pure; Aetherbane Fang, dark and malevolent.
They moved.
Clang.
Their first clash shook the tower foundations. Sparks erupted in a shower of starfire.
Arthur's strength was monstrous, each swing of Dawn a hurricane of divine might.
But Köinzell—
He was faster.
Far faster.
Each step he took left afterimages.
Each swing of his blade left a phantom laceration—delayed, temporal echoes of slashes that struck again two seconds later.
> "What in the Seven…" Arthur grunted as he parried a slash—only to be cut again from behind.
SLASH.
> "AGH—!"
Blood flew as a Phantom Laceration bit into his side.
Köinzell's sword flickered once more—
> "Soulbreak Pulse."
Another wave of invisible force rocked Arthur's internal organs. His stance faltered.
> "You fight like the stars burn for you," Arthur growled, coughing blood. "But I will not yield."
> "You already have," Köinzell whispered.
Then he stepped forward—faster than sight—and drove Aetherbane Fang through Dawn's defensive arc and into Arthur's shoulder, absorbing divine energy with a hiss.
Devourer's Edge activated.
Köinzell's eyes briefly glowed indigo as raw power surged through his veins.
With one final spin, he kicked Arthur squarely in the chest—sending him crashing into a wall of broken stone.
Silence.
Then—
> CLANG.
Dawn fell from Arthur's hand.
Eddard Stark, still bleeding from the side, stepped forward. He glanced from Arthur's battered form… to Köinzell's emotionless face.
> "You saved us," he said carefully. "Yet I've never seen one like you. Elf…?"
Köinzell nodded slowly.
> "You don't need to know my name. Only that I am here… because she must live." He looked toward the tower. "Lyanna Stark must not die."
Reed glanced at Ned. "How does he know her name?"
> "Who… no… what is he?"