He caught the pale skinned hand a split second before it reached his throat and kicked the cloaked figure with all his strength. A muffled groan sounded as his assailant caught the stalagmite and kept his balance.
"Who are you?" Aether hissed as he the man tried to pull his hand back.
The man didn't respond, instead, he pointed at Aether and muttered something under his breath. Alarm bells rang in the young man's mind as he felt mana gather around that finger. He let go of the man's wrist and threw himself on the ground, evading a fiery arrow just at the nick of time.
"Root!" The man grumbled with a dry voice as he touched his own stomach, where Aether had just kicked him.
Aether felt mana gather around him. It flowed into the rocky surface, and soon cracks began to appear on the rocks as dark brown tendrils crawled out. Realising what was happening, Aether motioned to push himself up, but a kick to his side knocked him down again.
