Roughly half an hour later, while the arena outside buzzed with anticipation for the remaining matches, Ai Qing sat inside a private guest chamber of Heaven's Gate, discussing battle strategies with Bernard.
The afternoon sunlight filtered through the wooden windows and stretched across the floor in long golden bands, while the faint sounds of cheering from distant spectators drifted into the room like echoes carried by the wind.
Ever since the semifinals ended, the two of them had spent nearly every moment analyzing Kiara's previous battles, replaying each movement, each weapon, and each strange ability she had revealed during the tournament.
Bernard leaned forward with a serious expression as several handwritten notes and diagrams lay spread across the table before him. He had exhausted nearly every possibility he could think of, yet the more he analyzed Kiara, the more troublesome she appeared.
