The scoreboard had emptied itself out. Name after name dimmed and went dark until only two stayed lit above the ruined concourse.
[RAIZEN]
[HIKARI]
The crowd could see it, the drones could see it, and the two people left in the arena could see it as well. Thirty thousand people leaned toward the same two figures standing in the wreckage of a place that looked like it had already survived a war — broken stalls leaning into each other, torn signs hanging in strips, a tram half-buried in the floor at an angle it was never meant to sit at. The drones hovered far back, almost careful, as though they understood that swarming would break something.
The host tried to find his voice. "Final two, everyone! If you're holding your breath, kindly pass it to your neighbor when you faint." his next words almost came with a voice crack. "Neoshima. You're going to want to watch this one."
