Chapter 5 - The Wall of Steel
The temple knights were the deadliest force in the empire, clad in plate armor forged from meteoric iron and wielding heavy polearms crackling with suppression enchantments. They moved with terrifying synchronization, closing the distance between themselves and Elara in seconds.
Elara did not flinch.
As the front rank of knights brought their polearms down in a coordinated, crushing thrust meant to impale her from multiple angles, she simply closed her eyes and whispered a single word in a language she had never learned to speak.
Stasis.
The world stopped.
The leading knights froze mid-stride, their heavy boots suspended an inch above the sand. The falling dust grains hung motionless in the sunbeams. Even the roar of the panic-stricken crowd in the stands was muted to a distant, muffled hum, trapped within a bubble of suspended time centered entirely around Elara.
She walked forward, stepping gracefully between the frozen, towering figures of the empire's greatest warriors. Their armor reflected her glowing blue eyes and the intricate runes dancing across her skin. She reached out and lightly tapped the breastplate of the captain blocking her path.
The moment her finger touched the metal, time snapped back into motion.
The captain’s momentum turned against him instantly. He flew backward into his own ranks like a bowling ball striking pins, sending a dozen armored men tumbling across the dirt in a chaotic tangle of clanking metal and curses.
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Elara turned to face the royal box, where Lord Valerius was now frantically trying to open the emergency escape portal behind his throne.
"Where are you going, High Arbiter?" Elara’s voice cut through the chaos, commanding and absolute. "You haven't finished your judgment."
