The Crucible burned hot. Across the thousand continent-sized arenas, the initial chaos had begun to settle into a brutal rhythm of hunt and be hunted.
For all the lifeforms watching through Thea's live broadcast, it was a spectacle of unprecedented scale, a glorious and terrifying display of power from every corner of the universe.
But for Sunny, observing from his high throne in the Arena of Epiphany, a familiar feeling was creeping in: boredom.
His champions were simply too dominant. It was less a competition and more an exhibition.
He watched Anaske move through a dense, swamp-like arena like a phantom.
The King of the Cosmic Empire wasn't fighting; he was harvesting.
