Afternoon settled over the tournament grounds with a quiet, steady warmth.
The mist that once clung to the stone terraces had long since faded, leaving the broad training field clear beneath the pale autumn sun. Light spilled across the towering pillars surrounding the central plaza, casting long shadows across the worn stone floor.
The participants had already finished their morning meal and been given a short period of rest. The brief reprieve had eased some of the stiffness in their limbs, though traces of exhaustion still lingered in their movements.
One by one, the remaining participants gathered in the main plaza.
Compared to the chaos of earlier rounds, the atmosphere felt strangely subdued. No one rushed forward. No one shouted challenges across the courtyard.
The previous trials had already done their work.
Only those who had endured them still stood here.
Of the thousands who had entered the tournament, only two thousand five hundred remained.
