After making the shocking announcement, Seraphine gave the participants time to prepare.
"All remaining groups have 30 minutes to catch their breath before we begin Round 2!"
With that, the tension in the arena settled as the participants retreated to their respective positions, using the short break to recover and plan.
Among the Pacesetters Academy's representatives, a sense of unease had started to creep in.
Kaelen sat silently, his sharp gaze flickering toward the crowd, as if searching for something—or rather, someone.
It was Forbes who finally voiced what they were all thinking.
"Where the hell is Valir?" he muttered, his brows furrowing in frustration. "He's been gone for too long now."
The others exchanged uneasy glances.
Valir was nowhere to be seen during the previous battles. That alone was odd. But now, even with a short break, there was still no sign of him.
Forbes exhaled sharply.
"Forget this. I'll go look for him."
But before he could take a single step—
