The chaos was instant.
Dust clouded the air as the coliseum shook. Screams rippled like thunder through the crowd. What had moments ago been an arena of honor and knowledge was now a battleground of panic and surprise.
Luma stood frozen for a moment, adrenaline wiping her thoughts clean.
A masked figure leapt from the shadows and launched a swirling, dark pulse of energy toward her. Ion appeared in front of her in a flash, deflecting it with a burst of controlled kinetic energy from his own reinforced gauntlet.
"Stay sharp!" he barked. "Remember your training!"
Luma ducked low, sliding along the smooth marble, and saw a toppled scaffolding ahead. She raised her gauntlet and calculated:
If I angle this at 30 degrees and discharge a repulsion burst…
She fired. The energy rebound sent the scaffolding crashing down, blocking an advancing attacker.
Nico rushed to her side. "This isn't part of the tournament, right?"
Luma snorted. "Only if entropy is part of the judging!"
From above, masked agents dropped smoke spheres. Visibility dropped, but Luma adjusted—light scattered, and she remembered Ion's lesson:
"Light travels in straight lines unless reflected. Use mirrors."
She pulled a shard of the tournament shield, held it to catch an angle, and used it to track movement in the fog.
Meanwhile, Miles stood calmly in the viewing box.
Valen emerged beside him, eyes gleaming. "Perfect timing," he muttered. "The crowd's distracted. The Masters' operatives are inside the vault."
Miles nodded, but his face held a flicker of discomfort. "She's holding her own."
"Too well," Valen growled. "It doesn't matter. We've planted the seed. When the core's exposed, everything changes."
Luma faced an elite attacker—one masked, robed, and fast. Too fast.
Her gauntlet sparked.
She pivoted, kicked off a collapsing column, and shouted over the din, "Potential energy to kinetic—NOW!"
Using stored energy from a high jump, she directed a downward blast at the attacker's feet, causing an unstable platform to collapse. The figure stumbled.
Ion arrived just in time, sending a wave of gravitational reversal at the intruder.
It was working. They were fighting back.
But then came the voice.
Echoing from everywhere—and nowhere.
"This is only the beginning."
The Masters were withdrawing. In a coordinated retreat, their operatives vanished into smoke, leaving chaos, destruction—and more questions.
Healers moved through the wounded. Fire-mages and scholars tried to restore order.
Ion, bruised and furious, examined the damaged inner vaults of the Spire.
Luma, battered and panting, sat with Nico, Leo, and Kira.
Miles arrived moments later. "They'll use this to scare everyone," he said, voice solemn. "But I think it only lit a fire in you."
Luma looked down at her trembling hand. The gauntlet sparked faintly. She nodded.
"This isn't just a game anymore."
To be continued in Chapter 28…