'They're fighting… the system is broken… my head hurts… I—'
Eli's thoughts came in fragments, slipping through the cracks of his panic like water through his fingers.
He stood frozen, staring at the chaos unfolding before him.
Two teams—both powerful, both dangerous—colliding like storms.
Kairo's and Caelen's.
Blades clashed. Mana flared. Fire and bloodlight carved the forest apart. The ground trembled with every impact, and the air stung with the metallic taste of energy burning too bright.
But Eli couldn't see them.
He could hear them—feel them even—but their shapes were lost to him, just flashes of sound and power.
He could only tell where they were from their teams' reactions—Mio's threads slicing through the air, Punzo's flames roaring to life, Zaira shouting warnings, Mel and Jabby straining to keep up.
They were there. Both of them.
And they were fighting.
Probably because of him.
'What do I do now?'
