While the labyrinth's center slowly reconfigured itself, like a wounded creature trying to reorganize its own organs, the arena's attention fragmented into multiple points. The structural collapse caused by Alice and Shiva had altered the entire flow of the game, opening passages, closing routes, redistributing dangers. But in one of the least affected regions—a sector where the walls remained relatively intact—another battle unfolded, far from the overwhelming grandeur of the center, yet much more… desperate.
There, there was no absolute dominance.
Only survival.
Athena's competitor was still standing.
And that, in itself, was an anomaly.
Her body was covered in marks. Small cuts, burns, bruises that hadn't had time to fully heal. Her breathing was irregular, heavy, her chest rising and falling unevenly, while her eyes—still steady—moved constantly, analyzing every inch of the surrounding space.
She wasn't fighting one opponent.
But two. And both… were coordinated.
