The door to Kai’s room shut behind him with a soft click, muffling the muffled chaos of Master Chen’s palace. The Tournament of Elements had only been going for one day, but already the air felt charged — with tension, with suspicion… and, of course, with enough ego to fill the entire island. He tossed his sword onto the bed and flopped down after it, staring at the carved wooden ceiling.

He should’ve been resting. Tomorrow was another round, another test, another chance to prove he belonged here. But his thoughts kept wandering back to one competitor in particular — the one who had caught his eye earlier in the day, weaving through the chaos with a calm that didn’t match the rest of the arena’s heat. He hadn’t caught their name, but it didn’t matter. The image was burned into his mind as clearly as his own reflection.

With a restless sigh, Kai pushed himself off the bed. The room felt stifling — too quiet after the roar of the crowd — so he slid open the balcony doors and stepped into the night air. The moonlight washed the stone courtyard in silver, the torches below flickering like lazy fireflies.

That’s when he saw them.

Leaning casually on the balcony railing just next to his own, the competitor was alone, looking out over the courtyard as if they owned the view. The sight made Kai pause mid-step, caught somewhere between his usual confidence and the strange, magnetic pull that had nagged at him since the first round.

He leaned on his own railing, angled just enough to catch their profile without looking like he was trying too hard.

“So,” he called out, his voice carrying easily across the narrow gap, “you planning to win this whole thing too, or just enjoying the view while it lasts?”