Chapter 202: Book 3: Changed
I sense them before I see them.
The pattern in the Firmament around me changes suddenly, and just like that, the rhythm of the battle is different. Even before Ahkelios's voice reaches me, I can feel the tide of Firmament moving in a new direction—the pulse of action and reaction turned on the Hand. I'm sure it can tell that something's wrong, too, because it swivels toward my friends with what I can only describe as alarm. Splayed fingers and all. It's almost impressive how expressive it is, considering it's quite literally just a hand.
"Ethan!" Ahkelios calls out as soon as he's in range. His voice echoes across the ruined hallways of the dungeon. "You better still be alive!"
"You'd know if I was dead!" I shout back.
The back-and-forth is mostly a distraction. The noise gives me a moment of reprieve—if nothing else, it's apparently enough for the Hand to decide that the freshly-empowered Firmament signatures are more of a threat than I am. I feel it gathering power for an attack, Concept-twisted energy gathering within a finger...
And then it points. A simple gesture.
The skill that erupts from the tip of that finger? Not so much.
A pitch-black beam of nothing streaks through the air with a ear-rending scream—the sound is loud enough to make me flinch backward, and I'm not even particularly close to it. For a moment, I'm worried about Ahkelios. A skill imbued with a Concept isn't exactly trivial to block.
Turns out I didn't need to worry.