The small white-and-blue mana beast writhed in Noelle’s arms, agitation mounting by the second. Its body twisted sharply, paws scrabbling until it slipped free and landed on the polished stone with a soft thud. It immediately spun in tight, frantic circles, then darted forward to paw urgently at Edwin’s greaves.

A sharp whine escaped it.

It ran a few steps down the hall, stopped, looked back, and ran again.
There was no mistaking the insistence.

As they moved, the corridor opened into a broader concourse lined with projection panels. The screens replayed moments from the Exhibition in rotating sequences—combat slowed and reframed for spectacle. One panel caught Lane Three from above, the storm and shadow entwined in a striking visual contrast. Siren-song waves shimmered through necrotic lightning, the imagery unsettling and captivating in equal measure.

A few spectators lingered there, murmuring appreciation.
Another screen flickered.

Lane Seven.

At first glance, it appeared… dull.

A single blonde figure stood in the arena, posture low, unmoving. To any casual observer, it looked like the aftermath of an early elimination—someone left behind, stunned, or emotionally spent. The image invited disinterest. The eye slid off it without quite realizing why, attention tugged elsewhere by brighter colors and louder motion.

But the mana beast snarled, hackles rising.

For those who forced themselves to look again, the image sharpened just enough to reveal something wrong.

Aedrianna was not alone.

The projection stuttered, skipping a fraction of a second, then resolved the truth: another figure stood within the lane, his presence subtly distorting the image itself. The glamour did not erase him. It discouraged focus. Memory of him felt slippery, as though the mind resisted holding the shape of what it saw.

The mana beast bolted.

It led straight to Lane Seven.

Ahead of the others, a large, scarred catkin woman reached the arena’s edge first.

An invisible barrier shimmered faintly at the threshold, its surface rippling when approached before hardening again.