The first stone hound hit Eloy's blade before the timer ticked to eighty-six.
Caldera's Edge sang against his palm, a humming frequency that resonated through his wrist and into the restructured mana pathways still sitting at twenty-four percent integration. The hound's momentum carried it past him, stone claws skidding across the chamber floor, and Eloy pivoted, letting the blade carry him through the turn.
Don't overcommit. Learn the swing.
He didn't know the attack cadence. Every weapon in the original game had a rhythm. A hidden frame data. Light attack, light attack, heavy. The gap between input and animation. This blade was Anomaly-compatible. That meant the cadence might not follow standard parameters.
[ SIPHON TIMER: 83 SECONDS ]
