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The clock dial's thirteen positions bore the names of all participating branches. The two golden needles spun in opposite directions, their motion smooth and deliberate, before gradually decelerating.
Click.
Two names lit up on the dial. Everhold City and Sunridge City. The needles spun again within each selected branch's roster, and two individual names surfaced.
*Everhold City: Serena Frost*
*Sunridge City: Colton Briggs*
"They're really doing this with a giant clock." Luke stared at the ceiling-mounted dial. "Could've just drawn names from a hat."
Nobody disagreed, but nobody was about to criticize the Capital Association's sense of drama.
On the arena floor, Serena Frost and Colton Briggs faced each other from opposite ends.
Colton moved first. Two summoning circles erupted at his flanks.
Five-Star Rare, Blaze Lion. Five-Star Legacy, Fire Sprite. The arena's temperature spiked immediately. Heat radiated outward from Colton's position in visible waves, forcing nearby spectators to retreat several paces.
Serena's expression didn't change. She raised one hand.
Five-Star Legacy, Ice Sky Sprite. Six-Star Legacy, Frost Archer.
The temperature plummeted. Freezing air billowed outward from Serena's side, colliding with the heat haze and generating a wall of steam that temporarily obscured the entire arena floor.
These two are playing ice and fire in the most literal sense possible, Luke thought. Several competitors near the arena's edge were simultaneously sweating and shivering.
When the steam cleared enough to see, the outcome was already decided. The same-tier matchup between the Five-Star spirits would have been competitive if not for the attribute disadvantage. Fire against ice, with ice wielded by a Six-Star Frost Archer providing suppressive cover from range.
Colton's Blaze Lion charged through the frost, but every step cost it speed. Ice formed on its mane, crept along its flanks, slowed its movements by fractions that compounded with each second. The Fire Sprite tried to provide support, but the Ice Sky Sprite intercepted, pinning it in a localized blizzard.
Frost Archer's arrows punched through the steam wall in precise, devastating lines. Two struck the Blaze Lion's shoulder joints. A third caught it mid-leap and froze it solid from the inside out. The Ice Sky Sprite finished the Fire Sprite seconds later.
Under two minutes. Total domination.
"Same structure as Lily's loadout," Luke noted. "One Five-Star, one Six-Star. Ice Sky Sprite and Frost Archer work as well together as Silver Moon Fox and Nebula Rainbow Butterfly. No wonder they drew."
Serena recalled her cards and left the arena without a word, without a backward glance, without acknowledging that anything noteworthy had happened. The spectators she left behind were considerably less composed.
Luke returned to his mental design work. Sistermon's evolution paths weren't going to write themselves, and he had no idea when his name would come up on the dial. No point wasting time watching matches that didn't involve potential opponents.
-----
More matches followed. The clock dial spun, names appeared, competitors fought. Some matches were close. Most weren't. The gap between top-tier representatives and the average competitors was stark.
Lily's turn came. She dismantled her opponent with a Silver Moon Fox and Nebula Rainbow Butterfly combination that was, if anything, more refined than the version Luke had seen during the exchange match. She'd been practicing. Grant Whitfield nodded with quiet satisfaction from the main stage.
Then the dial spun again, and Elise Hargrove's name appeared.
Every head in the arena turned. Every conversation stopped. The tournament favorite was stepping up, and nobody wanted to miss it.
Elise adjusted her glasses, smiled pleasantly, and walked onto the arena floor.