Livia, seeing that he was sinking back into his dark ruminations, decided that a more drastic intervention was necessary. She picked up a small pebble that was lying on the dusty floor of the corridor and weighed it in her hand with a mischievous smile.
— "Stop brooding like that," she said, aiming carefully. "You look like a tired old dragon hoarding its failures like treasure!"
She threw the pebble with teasing precision, aiming directly at his head. Mordred, surprised by this unexpected and purely playful attack, reacted instinctively. His reflexes, sharpened by years of combat, automatically activated his intangibility skill. It was a purely defensive gesture, almost unconscious - the kind of reaction that had saved his life hundreds of times in far more dangerous situations.
The pebble passed through him as if he were made of mist, but at the precise moment the skill activated, something extraordinary happened.
