The hum beneath the central platform deepened until it resonated through bone.
Five thousand and five participants stood within the activation perimeter, arranged in loose clusters that no longer carried official team designation, yet still reflected instinctive alliances. The formation towers at the four corners of the pavilion pulsed in steady intervals, crystalline cores brightening as if drawing breath before a storm.
An imperial official stepped forward.
His robes bore the sigil of the Tournament Council, sleeves heavy with silver-threaded array inscriptions. When he spoke, his voice did not rely on volume. The resonance nodes embedded beneath the stone amplified it evenly across the entire platform.
"Participants."
The murmurs died instantly.
"Round Three of the Tournament will now commence."
The air tightened.
"The name of this round is...The Fractured Domain Trial."
