The subterranean air within the rehearsal chamber threshold was thick with the ozone stench of overcharged resonance coils and pulverized stone.
Hajin entered through the service hatch, Breaker's Lever clipped to his harness and both Growth blades sheathed, the gallery behind him remaining clear for withdrawal.
Before him stretched the vaulted chamber where Choral commanders had prepared their specialized units, its ceiling supported by twelve colossal iron pillars.
The wide flagstone floor was lined with reinforced training dummies, shattered weapon racks, and copper conduction tracks embedded into the masonry to simulate district battlefields.
The final rehearsal sentinel stepped from the platform, a living Choral warden inside articulated armor, his visible throat moving above the collar with every breath.
