Which it is, technically, but somehow the phrasing still irritates me.
But I don't have time to be annoyed.
His grin spreads across his shifted features with the particular anticipation of someone about to do something they've been waiting to do.
"Let's have some fun."
The declaration carries excitement that seems inappropriate given the circumstances, but I've stopped expecting appropriate responses from him.
He corrects his stance.
The motion is subtle but significant—casual floating giving way to deliberate positioning, entertainment transforming into intention. Whatever he's about to do apparently requires actual effort, which might be the first time I've seen him take anything seriously since meeting him.
His hand rises.
The gesture is elegant—fingers positioning themselves with the particular precision that Fae magic seems to require. Power builds around him with visibility that speaks to the magnitude of whatever working he's preparing, energy accumulating in patterns that make my Duskwalker senses prickle with awareness.
He snaps his fingers.
CHAPTER 20
Redemption's Gambit
~GWENIEVERE~
Koishii snaps his fingers.
The sound echoes through the volcanic chaos with resonance that seems entirely disproportionate to such a simple gesture—a single sharp crack that carries weight far beyond its physical origins. Magic responds to his command with immediacy that speaks to power I'm only beginning to comprehend, reality itself bending to accommodate whatever working he's just initiated.
I blink.
And realize that nothing is moving.
Nothing.
The lava that was erupting in violent pillars has frozen mid-surge—molten rock suspended in impossible configurations, defying gravity and physics and every natural law I've ever understood. The streams of magma that were flowing across the destroyed landscape have locked into place like rivers suddenly transformed to glass, their surfaces still carrying the particular shimmer of heat but no longer advancing toward the destinations their trajectories suggested.
The volcanic chaos has become a snapshot.
A single moment captured and held, time itself pausing at Koishii's command while the world waits for permission to continue.
Time manipulation.
He can manipulate time.
What kind of power is that? Is it Fae? Something else entirely?
The questions surface but don't demand immediate answers—there's too much happening, too much to process, too much that requires attention beyond the academic curiosity of understanding exactly what he's capable of.
The elements still move within this frozen moment.
The lava maintains its heat, its presence, its potential for destruction—held in suspension but not neutralized. Whatever Koishii has done affectsbeingsrather thanforces, pausing consciousness while allowing physics to continue operating in their usual patterns.
Interesting distinction.
Useful to know.
I take one last pull from Cassius's wrist.
