Kharom's offer of truce made the entire arena pause. Every gaze settled on Adyr, the figure at the center of it all, and the crowd seemed to see him with new clarity.
For most, the meaning was simple: a new-generation genius had appeared, a talent who could stand beside the top 3.
Even those still locked in battle slowed and turned to look, Thalira Luna and Brakhtar Gorat among them, each taking a brief breath from their fights to see what would happen next.
Inside that stillness, one group began to move.
"Brother, watch out!" Maruun Aqua's warning cut the hush. The Umbraen Practitioners pressing the Aqualeth abruptly peeled away, drawing back in a coordinated slide and angling toward another target.
"Nice try." By the time the ruse began, Adyr was already in motion.
His analysis of Kharom's character was detailed, and with Gaze giving him a 10-second window into the immediate future, it was almost impossible for ambushes like these to work on him.
