The Runner darted forward, so fast that even Johnquis’s eyes almost missed it. It splashed through the shallow end, kicking chlorinated water into the air. It hit the pool wall, claws screeching as it bounded sideways like a spider, then lunged at Dancer from her blind spot.
For an instant, they t. Two monsters mirroring each other on a rooftop sumr day that shouldn’t exist.
Dancer whirled. tal rang out as her heel-blade flashed up, grazing the Runner’s thigh. Dark violet blood spattered across a deck chair, staining the bright fabric.
The Runner skidded to the tiles, landing on all fours. It hissed, back arching, muscles twitching. Then it lunged again, claws aid for Dancer’s throat.
She didn’t back away. She stepped in.
Their claws clashed, sparks hissed as Dancer’s foot-blade locked the Runner’s swipe mid-strike. She twisted her body like a ribbon dancer, the other leg snapping up in an arc.
SHLICK!
The blade behind her foot sliced through the Runner’s side, cutting so deep the ribs flashed in the fake sunlight.
The Runner shrieked, staggering back into the pool’s shallow edge. A wave sloshed up and over the deck, washing blood into the swirling chlorine.
Johnquis leaned his back to a half-shaded pillar, every nerve focused on the fight.
The Runner didn’t stop. It leapt from the water, claws out, feet scraping the pool’s mosaic wall. It landed on a sun umbrella, tearing the canvas to ribbons as it vaulted off the pole. This ti it slamd into Dancer full force. Claws dug into her shoulder.
Johnquis flinched but Dancer just smiled.
A low, inhuman growl rumbled in her chest. Her clawed hand shot up, grabbed the Runner’s wrist, and snapped it sideways. She twisted again, her foot hooking behind its ankle like a grappler’s sweep then that sickle-blade behind her heel flicked up under its chin.
SHUNK!
The Runner shrieked, head whipping back as the blade pierced its jawline and nearly took the top of its skull off.
It kicked out wildly, claws scoring bloody lines across Dancer’s side. The wounds barely bled before they sealed with a pulse of flow under her skin.
She let go, the Runner dropped into the pool with a splash, limbs thrashing. Blood unfurled in the crystal water.
Dancer stepped onto the water’s edge, one foot pressing onto the subrged Runner’s chest. The water rippled around her toes. Her reflection shimring, crowned by her foot-blade glinting above.
For a heartbeat, the Runner went still, its glassy eyes staring up at her. Johnquis saw it, that flicker of recognition. One predator staring at its final form.
She didn’t grant it any last rcy. Her foot-blade slamd down, a single, graceful stomp.
CRACK!
The skull split clean in two. The Runner’s final hiss died, bubbles streaming up as its corpse went limp in the water.
[Feed Count: 1,000]
[Feed Count: 20,000/20,000]
Dancer pulled her foot free, letting the dead Runner drift beneath the clear turquoise surface. Chlorine washed the gore from her blade. She turned to Johnquis, breath even, hair plastered to her cheek by fake sumr wind.
She tilted her head, that half-smile, half-savage glint in her slit pupils. Johnquis braced himself on the pillar, chain coiled tight around his wrist. He could feel his ribs knitting back together, the Flow soaking through his veins.
"Beautiful... you really are the Lord of the Dance now, huh?"
Behind Dancer, the fake sun glowed warm and bright. Paradise on the rooftop, a lie drenched in Eater blood. But for now, under that impossible sky, Dancer stood tall.
A monster who chose him. A monster who killed for him. A monster who danced, so he could live to fight again.
A ping cut through his haze.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
> Threshold Reached
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