The spiral had grown small enough now that every breath, every footstep, every shift of weight felt amplified through the stone. Mira stood motionless on the narrowing platform, her silhouette sharp against the blue-white glow of mana seams threading through the cavern walls. Wolf Queen faced her with regal poise, chin high, eyes focused, claws curled and ready. The arena hummed as the compression finished, sealing the Top Forty in place, and for a brief moment the entire battlefield seemed to hold its breath.
"You injured royalty," Wolf Queen murmured. "I will reclaim that debt."
Mira didn't answer. She watched the Queen the same way she watched blades in motion—reading angles, weight distribution, muscle tension. She wasn't afraid. Not because the Queen wasn't terrifying—she was—but because fear wasted time. She couldn't spare any.
Wolf Queen moved first, a blur of motion that cut the air with a hiss. Mira pivoted, slipping two steps to the side just as claws raked the space where she'd stood. Stone cracked beneath the swipe. Mira's wrist flicked; two pressure-point strikes aimed for the Queen's bicep and ribs. Wolf Queen blocked one with her gauntlet and twisted away from the other, countering with a backhand slash meant to tear Mira's throat open.
Mira ducked, low, the blade passing close enough for the wind of it to ruffle her hair.
"You move well," Wolf Queen said, almost approvingly. "A shame you lack proper blood."
Mira ghosted backward and again said nothing.
Above them, perched on a higher platform like a spectator lounging in the rafters, Wolf King crouched with interest sharpening his golden eyes. His tail swayed lazily behind him. "Shadow-girl dances well," he said, a soft growl of amusement rumbling in his chest. "Queen hunts well."
He didn't interfere. Not yet. But his presence was a weight Mira could feel between her shoulder blades.
The platform trembled from another distant clash. On a lower ring, Jade launched himself at an unfortunate fighter with both chi-charged arms glowing. His elbow blasted the man backward into a pillar, sending debris skittering across the stone. Jade barked a laugh and turned to look for another target.
Shadeclaw was a bloodied blur somewhere to the left, staggering but still somehow scoring a crushing body blow on a larger opponent before dragging the man into a teleport beam with a snarl. Ember Claw's vortex of flame rose briefly on the far side of the cavern, clashing with a cold snap of Tundra Lynx's frost. Giga-Ronin walked through two fighters at once like a battering ram made of willpower and metal.
The battleground was shrinking quickly.
But Mira's world had narrowed to claws and breath.
Wolf Queen struck again, faster this time. Mira evaded, redirected, slipped inside the Queen's reach for half a heartbeat—only to be forced back immediately by a sweeping slash. She struck at the Queen's elbow, aiming to numb the limb, but the Queen twisted with unnatural flexibility, dodging by an inch and countering with a perfectly aimed knee. Mira blocked, but the force sent her sliding across the stone and her ribs lit with pain.
Wolf Queen smiled. "Prey that persists. How rare."
Mira rose again, silent as ash.
A faint vibration reached her through the floor—another step of spiral compression beginning soon. She recalculated mentally. Fewer escape lines. More tight corners. This fight would become lethal fast.
On an adjacent platform, Swift finished throwing the twin-blade fighter into a teleport beam with a decisive burst of frost. He turned toward Mira's position immediately, wings flaring. He sensed the Queen's murderous intent like a spike in the air. But as he moved to leap toward her, a hammer of chi slammed into his shoulder, sending him skidding. The bruiser who'd held back earlier chose that exact moment to intervene, roaring as he charged.
Swift hissed under his breath, "Not now," and fired a tight cone of frost to freeze the hammer's head solid. It didn't matter. The hammer swung again. Swift dodged, but it forced him away from Mira's platform.
He couldn't help her.
Danny watched the unfolding patterns from two platforms away, arms folded. His eyes tracked Wolf Queen's rhythm, Mira's footwork, Swift's attempted movement, Giga-Ronin's collision with Wolf King far above. Nothing seemed urgent enough to warrant intervention—yet. But the platform Mira and the Queen fought on was only half-stable. A few more strikes and they'd punch through the stone.
Jimmy's voice cracked through the arena speakers, rising straight into panic. "THEY ARE FIGHTING ON A SURFACE HELD TOGETHER BY HOPE AND DUCT TAPE—STOP THEM!"
Julian shouted, "IT IS REINFORCED BEDROCK!"
"IN MY SOUL IT IS DUCT TAPE!"
Mira lunged, breaking the Queen's rhythm for a heartbeat. She struck three times, rapid—throat, ribs, temple. Wolf Queen avoided one, blocked another, let the third hit her shoulder deliberately, absorbing the blow to counter with a vicious arc of her claws.
Mira bent backward, the claws slicing a shallow line across her cheek instead of opening her face. She planted her hand on the stone and flipped backward, landing light. The sting of blood beaded along her cheek, dripping once.
Wolf Queen's smile widened at the sight. "Beautiful."
She moved again and Mira intercepted, their motions too fast for most fighters to track. The clash of claw against blade rang out, sharp and metallic. Mira's sleeve tore. Wolf Queen's knuckles grazed her ribs. Mira landed another strike to the Queen's forearm but it wasn't enough to disable her.
"You talk too much," Mira said finally, low and cold.
"Oh?" Wolf Queen tilted her head. "And you bleed too easily."
She darted in, pinning Mira's left sleeve to the floor with a clawed strike. The fabric tore, anchoring Mira by her own clothing. Wolf Queen's other hand lifted, claws ready to slash across Mira's throat.
Before the killing blow landed, the entire spiral jolted violently.
Mira ripped free and rolled aside as Wolf Queen's claws tore sparks from the stone.
Somewhere far below, Jake screamed, "I'M SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN ANYTHING I JUST TOUCHED A PANEL!"
The platform beneath him had shifted dangerously, responding to an emergency override panel Jake had collided with mid-fight. Warning lights pulsed across several nearby platforms.
"PLATFORM ADJUSTMENT SEQUENCE INITIATED," the system announced.
Jimmy shrieked, "SOMEONE STOP THE BOY!"
Julian added, "HE'S WORSE THAN THE BUILDER BOTS!"
Bumble chirped proudly, "HE IS DOING GREAT!"
Jake wailed, "NO I'M NOT!!"
The spiral lurched upward. One of the stone wings Mira stood on elevated sharply, sending her sliding toward the Queen, who regained her footing with predatory grace.
The Queen's claws flashed again, aiming for Mira's heart this time.
Mira twisted mid-air, planting a hand on the rising platform and flipping backward. She landed in a crouch as Wolf Queen's swing carved a gouge through empty air.
Wolf Queen—deeply offended that her clean kill had been interrupted—snarled quietly.
"You dare run again?"
Mira wiped blood from her lip with the back of her hand. "If I wanted to run," she said, "you would not see me."
Wolf Queen lunged again, lightning fast. Mira met her halfway, blade flashing with deadly precision. Their strikes collided, sparks flying. The platform rocked under them from Jake's accidental arena adjustments, throwing both momentarily off-balance.
A sudden impact launched a stray fighter from another platform onto theirs. The man landed between Mira and Wolf Queen in a panicked heap, confused and badly injured. He took one look at the situation and attacked Mira instinctively, thinking she was easier prey.
He wasn't wrong—except he was very, very unlucky.
Mira pivoted, grabbed the man's wrist, drove a sharp blow under his jaw, and eliminated him with one clean motion. He teleported away instantly.
Wolf Queen roared, furious that another fighter had intruded on her hunt.
The spiral clicked.
Forty became thirty-nine.
Wolf King dropped down onto a nearby platform, the stone cracking under his weight. His grin sharpened as he watched Mira and the Queen. "Shadow-girl dances even under pressure," he said. "Queen, do you require assistance?"
Wolf Queen didn't spare him a glance. "No."
"I think she may live long enough to amuse me again," Wolf King said, tail swaying. "Unless you kill her too quickly."
Mira slid into a low stance again, studying both royals now.
Far across the spiral, Danny's eyes narrowed slightly. The platform Mira and the Queen fought on cracked in four places now. If it gave out, they'd both fall two rings down and destabilize the whole section. He prepared to intervene—but only if absolutely necessary.
Jake was still running for his life from a fighter who refused to accept the chaos around them. Jake tripped over a rock, kicked it accidentally, and the rock pinged off a control node. The spiral trembled again.
Bumble yelled, "SYSTEMS DESTABILIZING! GOOD JOB!"
Jake screamed louder. "THAT WASN'T ON PURPOSE!!"
Up on Mira's platform, Wolf Queen advanced again, claws raised.
Mira braced.
The stone beneath them shifted.
Walls began rising around certain platforms, sealing fighters in enclosed arenas. A new system announcement echoed:
"Top Thirty approaching.
Stage Five initialization beginning."
A stone slab began descending around the Queen and Mira.
Wolf Queen's eyes gleamed. "Alone at last."
Mira exhaled once, centering her stance.
The stone walls closed—
and the fight disappeared from view as the chamber sealed shut.
Fighters Remaining: 39 / 500