Sinus's artifact—a gun—It never ran out of bullets, not until his NC remained. Each bullet could be anything he willed: concussive, piercing. A feat only a true artifact synchronizer could pull off. For the past few minutes, Sinus had flooded the battlefield with nothing but explosive rounds, detonating wave after wave against the phantom silhouette of Carrisius.
And yet—not a single shot had landed.
Each bullet grazed air. Each explosion turned stone to ash, but not flesh. Carrisius danced on the edge of each blast, mockingly close, never quite touched.
Why?
That question stuck in Sinus's mind like a jammed bullet.
He fired again—nothing. The air shimmered as Carrisius moved, impossibly fast. No—something else.
Then came the uppercut.
Carrisius's fist struck like a hammer of judgment, lifting Sinus off the ground. His jaw cracked mid-air. His back slammed into the stone with enough force to crater it.
Sinus gasped, coughing blood. Not a single hit… I haven't even touched him.
But even as his body protested, his mind was racing.
To defeat a Clarion user, you must be creative.
To defeat an artifact user… you must understand their artifact.
Sinus's lips curled despite the blood. Untouchable? No…
Carrisius stood tall, dusting off his knuckles. "C'mon. Is that it? All that firepower and you haven't even made me bleed."
A blur—Carrisius vanished. Reappeared beside Sinus. Another blow, this time to the ribs. The gun clattered from Sinus's hand.
Carrisius grabbed his collar, raising him up. "All you've got is that fancy durability—"
A snap.
The pain came after the sound.
Carrisius recoiled, staring down at his arm. Or where it should've been. His entire forearm was gone—blown off in a crimson mist.
He stumbled back, stunned.
Sinus fell, but not before smiling, blood coating his teeth.
"You're not untouchable," Sinus said, eyes gleaming. "Your artifact doesn't make you invincible."
Carrisius blinked. "You… what did you do?"
Sinus coughed, reaching for his gun again. "I figured it out. My attacks never landed… because they never reached you. Something's filtering contact—maybe a space-altering field? A proximity distortion? Whatever it is, you can only hit me when you drop it."
Carrisius gritted his teeth. "So what?! I lost an arm. A single hand is enough to kill a brat like you!"
Sinus didn't flinch. "Wrong. You lost your certainty."
Around them, the castle lay in ruin. The endless explosions had left the ancient stones hollow and broken, but in the middle of it all stood two figures—one missing an arm, the other barely standing.
And for the first time since the battle began, Sinus looked like he had a chance.