The first chain struck fast. Ben raised an appendage just in time, a wall of dark aether erupting in front of him. The chain slammed into it, sparks flying, but the impact still sent him skidding back through the air.
The knight leapt to his side, cutting two chains mid-flight. "Is apophis betraying us?!"
"I don't know!" Ben shouted, his voice ragged. "But I'm going to find out!"
Another chain whipped forward. Ben blinked aside, then retaliated, launching a burst of gravity spikes that shredded one link, only for two more to take its place.
"Told you don't believe those daemons," the knight growled. "See now?."
Ben grit his teeth. "And so what? No risk, no reward."
His eyes shot toward the horizon, toward the Empyrean crystal, still glowing faintly where Apophis had disappeared.
