The morning of the first match of the main tournament arrived not with a bang, but with a heavy, anxious silence. The usual cheerful bustle of my dungeon was gone. The only sound was the rhythmic shing-shing-shing of Gilda methodically sharpening an axe that was already impossibly sharp. The entire dungeon felt like it was holding its breath.
In the 'Tournament Annex' room, the team was making its final checks. Kaelen stood silently over her 'Decontamination Zone', her expression as serious as if she were preparing for an assassination, not a spa treatment. A row of perfectly heated, anti-venom herb-infused towels was laid out before her on a table with a precision that was both beautiful and terrifying.
