"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME TO THE ECLIPSE ACADEMY TOURNAMENT!"
The announcer's voice boomed across the entire campus, each word echoing off the stone walls of the courtyard and carrying through every hall.
"EVERYONE, ARE YOU READY!!"
The crowd erupted in cheers, the energy almost crackling in the air.
Students, instructors, and visitors from outside the academy had filled the arena and the balconies above, the buzz of excitement rivaling that of a festival.
Banners hung from the balconies, painted with the names and insignias of the academy's different classes and combat clans.
Even from where he stood at the edge of the stage, Rhian could feel the heat of the excitement.
He had never seen the school so alive, so loud, so united in purpose.
For all the rivalry, for all the whispered insults and hidden tensions, today was different. Today was about strength, skill, and who would rise.
