"All right, focus, Billion."
I took a deep breath and prepared to use the generated Essence.
I shifted my stance, keeping my eyes locked on the puppet. My muscles ached from the earlier hits, but I ignored the pain. The generated Essence pulsed inside me, responding to my will, waiting to be shaped.
The goal was clear, form the technique mid-fight. If I couldn't pull it off under pressure, then what was the point? But the puppet wasn't about to stand still and let me figure it out.
It moved.
Within three lunges it was in front of my face.
A blur of motion, its fist tearing through the air toward me.
My eyes narrowed and I tracked its punch. The puppet's punch streaked toward my ribs like a bullet. I twisted my body at the last second, letting the punch skim past me.
There was a different kind of thrill in allowing pain-inducing punches to pass this close to my body.
