The impact came the instant the launchers snapped back.
Two Beys tore into the stadium at once, their rotations colliding with a thunderous crack that sent sparks bursting across the bowl. The floor vibrated beneath the force, the sound echoing high into the stands as the crowd erupted.
Eclipse Drago was already moving.
Its left-spin carved a sharp arc along the ridge, red-gold light flaring briefly as it met Storm Spryzen head-on. The collision rang like metal striking metal, the shock forcing both Beys backward before they surged again without pause.
Neither slowed.
Spryzen cut inward with perfect balance, redirecting its momentum through the slope. It slipped past Drago's first approach and struck again from the side, the hit clean and calculated.
Drago answered immediately.
The clash sent a spray of sparks high into the air, the two Beys locking for a heartbeat before tearing free. The crowd gasped as their rotations screamed against each other, neither willing to give ground.
Ryo didn't speak.
His grip stayed firm, steady, unrestrained.
Drago drove forward again, the pressure of its spin forcing Spryzen toward the center. The impact wasn't wild it was heavy, deliberate, each strike landing with weight behind it.
Shu's eyes tracked every movement.
Spryzen shifted, sliding low along the ridge before snapping upward into another collision. The timing was precise, the response immediate, as if it had already predicted where Drago would be.
The stadium shook again.
Red and crimson light twisted together in violent flashes as the Beys collided again and again, their paths tightening, speeding, feeding the rhythm of the fight.
The crowd roared as the two Beys slammed together near the ridge, the impact sending both skidding apart. For a brief moment, they spun on opposite sides of the arena, separated by distance and noise.
Then they rushed back toward each other.
The air between them seemed to compress just before the next collision
and when it came, the shockwave rippled through the entire stadium.
The collision rang out again, sharper this time, as Drago and Spryzen slammed together near the center of the stadium. The force sent both Beys skidding apart, their rotations screaming against the floor before they corrected and surged back toward one another.
Ryo's eyes followed every movement. "Dragon Crash!"
Drago answered instantly, driving forward with renewed pressure. Its spin dug deep as it struck head-on, the impact echoing across the arena and forcing Spryzen backward toward the ridge. The crowd surged to its feet as the attack continued, Drago refusing to release the pressure, striking again before the balance could fully recover.
Shu did not raise his voice.
"Counter Break."
Spryzen tilted at the last moment.
Instead of resisting the impact, it shifted its angle and let the force slide past its frame. Drago's attack tore through empty space as Spryzen twisted free, the redirected momentum snapping it back into motion with perfect timing.
The counter came fast.
Spryzen struck from the side, not with brute strength, but with precision. The blow clipped Drago's rotation and forced it outward, breaking the clean line of its movement and pushing it toward the stadium's slope.
Ryo tightened his grip. "Pull it back."
Drago corrected and charged again, but the rhythm had changed. The heavy impacts it had delivered moments earlier began to weigh on its spin, each correction costing more than before.
Spryzen stayed just out of reach.
It circled calmly, guiding the exchange toward the outer ring, waiting for the moment Drago overcommitted.
The next clash came near the edge.
Drago struck hard, forcing Spryzen upward along the ridge but the rebound worked against it. As the two separated, Spryzen dipped low and clipped Drago's side at an exact angle, not enough to stop it, but enough to tip its balance.
The stadium held its breath.
Drago wobbled, scraped the rim,
And vanished over the edge in a flash, the sound of impact echoing from below the stadium floor.
A beat of silence followed.
"Ring Out Finish! One point to Shu!"
The crowd erupted as the scoreboard shifted.
Ryo caught Drago as it was returned, the warmth still present beneath his fingers. He didn't look away from the arena, even as the noise washed over him.
Across the platform, Shu reset Spryzen without celebration, his gaze steady.
He had felt it too.
The power.
And the cost that came with it.
Ryo clipped Drago back into the launcher, his breathing slow and controlled.
The match had only just begun.
The stadium erupted the moment the referee's call rang out.
Voices surged from every direction, overlapping in disbelief and excitement as the screens replayed the final moment of the round. The sound rolled through the arena in waves, growing louder with every heartbeat.
"That was insane!" Valt shouted from the stands, already leaning forward over the railing. "Did you see that hit?! He almost had him!"
Beside him, Rentaro's eyes stayed locked on the stadium below. He didn't cheer. He didn't move.
"He pushed too hard," Rentaro said quietly. "That attack was powerful… but it burned fast."
Valt blinked. "Huh?"
"He was winning the clash," Rentaro continued, his tone steady. "But Spryzen didn't fight it. Shu waited for the opening."
Valt clenched his fists. "Still Ryo didn't even look shaken."On the stadium floor, the atmosphere had changed.
The cheers hadn't faded, but they had shifted less celebration now, more anticipation. People leaned forward in their seats, whispering to one another, replaying the clash in their heads.
Ryo stood still on his platform, Drago resting in his hand.
Across from him, Shu waited calmly.There was no smugness in his expression only focus.
The first round had ended.
But no one in the stadium believed it had decided anything.
Not yet.