The prison shrank inward by another centimeter.
Rudrean felt the lattice hum against the air around him. Bluish crystallized metal, mana woven into a tight geometric weave that pressed in from every direction at once. The kind of trap built for prey that had not yet learned how to bite.
He smiled.
Then he moved.
Heavenfall Wind and Phoenix Flame surged outward from his body in a radial burst, condensed together at the perimeter into a rotating disc of crimson and cyan that struck the inner walls of the cage in a single expanding wave. The cage groaned. The metal flexed inward against the pressure for a fraction of a second and then shattered outward in a spray of broken light.
Crystal shards hung in the air around him like falling stars.
Rudrean was already through them.
His feet touched the arena floor lightly. Combat Art ribbons coiled tight around his arms. The halo above his head flared once, then dimmed back to a steady warm gold.
