“The tournament is about to begin! Remember, the victory condition is simple: anyone who falls to the arena floor is declared defeated!”

 First Match – Lyemo vs Tespera

“Contestant number one, Lyemo, versus contestant number two, Tespera!”

Noen leaned forward. Xiara watched closely. “Lyemo looks confident.”

Both stood in the center of the arena, wearing sealed rings.

The referee raised his hand. “Get ready!”

“Release the seal rings!”

The rings turned. The seals unlocked. Story powers activated.

“Begin!”

Ink burst from Lyemo’s fingertips, spreading quickly across the floor. Tespera detonated the ink with a small blast, but it splashed back onto her arm.

“So annoying,” she muttered.

Lyemo smirked. “That’s the point.”

He moved sideways, masking his direction. Tespera blasted the floor again, but missed.

Noen nodded. “Blurstroke works great as a misdirection.”

“Especially since Index Boom is unstable,” Xiara added.

Tespera launched a circular blast, forcing Lyemo to retreat. But Lyemo had already sprayed ink behind her.

Tespera turned—too late.

Lyemo emerged from the ink fog and swept her legs.

Tespera fell.

The referee raised his hand. “Contestant down! Winner: Lyemo!”

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 Second Match – Dleroe vs Ircos

“Contestant number three, Dleroe, versus contestant number four, Ircos!”

“Dleroe can see a few seconds into the future,” said Xiara.

“Ircos looks super calm,” replied Noen.

The referee raised his hand. “Get ready!”

“Release the seal rings!”

The seals unlocked. Powers activated.

“Begin!”

Dleroe closed his eyes briefly, then moved forward. Ircos vanished and reappeared behind him.

Dleroe anticipated it, turned quickly—but Ircos swapped positions again, appearing behind him a second time.

With one swift motion, Ircos swept Dleroe’s legs.

Dleroe fell.

The referee raised his hand. “Contestant down! Winner: Ircos!”

“He always appears behind his pursuer. Creepy,” muttered Noen.

“And Dleroe knew it would happen, but still couldn’t avoid it. Maybe this is the difference between narrative-tier and plot-fragment powers,” Xiara added.

Two matches down. Two contestants eliminated.  

And two more... waiting in the shadows of the arena.

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