The capital had begun collapsing.
What had once been the grandest event in the empire's recent history—the Imperial Academy Tournament Finals—had transformed into a catastrophe so immense that even the heavens themselves appeared unable to endure its existence.
Shockwaves rolled outward endlessly from the ruined arena like invisible tidal waves. Entire districts trembled beneath the pressure of overlapping sovereign authorities. Windows exploded into glittering fragments across the city. Towering formation pylons cracked apart under unbearable spiritual resonance. Ancient defensive arrays hidden beneath the capital awakened one after another, flooding the streets with glowing protective symbols as emergency protocols activated automatically throughout the empire's heart.
But even those legendary formations—constructed generations ago to repel invading armies and mythical beasts—were struggling.
