The thirty-foot crescent of screaming blood-fire hovered over the frozen harbor, casting hellish shadows across the quayside.
Heat radiating from the descending blade hissed against the ice, turning the surface into boiling froth.
Standing atop the frozen river railing, Kaelen Vance tilted his head.
The bamboo boat-hook rested lightly across his right palm, balanced like a broomstick.
In his mind, the world slowed to a crawl.
With Track 2 active at one hundred and fifty-one times base multiplier, five minutes of active focus equaled seven hundred and fifty-five baseline combat hours.
His mind processed the battlefield at lightning speed.
He watched the two pirate captains swing their heavy blood-sabers downward.
