For a moment, time seemed to freeze.
Ryu's body hung in the air like a coiled spring, his arms spread out and bent as though he was a crane. His foot was firmly planted against Arteur's chest, the depth of his eyes piercing through the short distance that separated their gazes.
And then, time accelerated to its peak, Ryu's body uncoiling with an explosive power that shattered the sound barrier before his leg was even half way through unfurling itself.
Arteur shot out like a laser canon. The skies were split apart as though a God had reached down and drawn a line to divide the world into two.
Space crackled and shook, a thin pillar of crimson following Arteur's figure through the air. Concentric circles of exploding wind following his wake, the battle between hot and cold qi becoming so prominent that it felt like the entire was about to collapse.
