His own shadow stood again now, clean, composed, walking from the center of the arena like it had never fallen. No wound. No mark. As if the first duel hadn't happened at all.
It didn't charge.
It just watched.
Waiting.
Testing.
Then it stepped forward.
Jin's grip slid over Muramasa's sheath.
Across the plaza, dust cracked under pressure as Jisoo's double lunged again—an afterimage trailing behind its frame. The sound of two collisions rang out in sequence: one from Jisoo ducking under a strike, the other from her knee landing in the clone's ribs.
Yujin didn't have time to look. Her shadow had taken on a form almost wolf-like now—its limbs twisted, front paws fused with humanoid anatomy, frame bigger, heavier than before. It launched from wall to wall, claws dragging sparks across the stone.
Her body adjusted mid-run—tail narrowing, spine coiling. She twisted her arm into a scaled limb, gaining whip-snap torque, and lashed, catching the beast across the snout.
