The ultimate abyss closed in around the top contenders. The battlefield shrank as weaker teams dissolved into memory, and what remained were predators. Circling, watching, waiting for someone to flinch first.
The environment turned against them all.
Currents twisted into violent spirals, dragging debris in grinding rotations. Massive bones of ancient sea titans drifted into each other, slow and inevitable, sending shockwaves rolling through the dark. Lightning storms crawled across the battlefield in pale blue sheets, illuminating everything in harsh flashes before plunging it back into shadow. Blood from fallen combatants bloomed in thick clouds, staining the water crimson.
The rival top-three team moved first.
