023: samurai

They stood, unmoving, yet in their concentration shook the very earth around them. Playful wind spirits, whose own folly was seldom hindered by the acts of humanity, were absent from
the clearing. Not even those great spirits of the clouds, so distant from the earth, dared move from their places in the sky.

So still were they that time could not move forward.

A breath escaped.

The air, once formless, was sliced by flawless steel. The two warriors had changed places, yet remained eternal in their stillness.

Moments passed in silence.

A lone sword fell. A lifeless body soon followed.