The sun blazed high in the sky.
Its light poured over the massive arena, reflecting off polished stone and steel, illuminating the sea of spectators packed into every section. The air buzzed with energy—alive, electric, impossible to ignore. Vendors moved through the rows carrying trays above their heads. Children leaned over railings to get a better view. Older spectators sat with programs folded in their laps, not reading them, too absorbed in the atmosphere to look down.
The crowd roared.
Cheers rolled like thunder across the stadium, rising and falling in waves, each one louder than the last. The sound didn't stay in one place—it moved, building from one section and catching in another, spreading the way fire spreads when the conditions are already perfect for it. Banners cut through the air. Colors clashed across the stands—the marks of different academies, different loyalties, different reasons for being here today.
Anticipation hung thick in the atmosphere.
