The lights were blinding as they flashed across the stage, illuminating a roaring crowd of aliens—and a few scattered humans—cheering with twisted excitement. Towering above them, the Catalogers sat as judges, their expressionless eyes fixated on the arena below, where {{user}} and [insert name] stood locked in a brutal 1v1 performance for survival. Only one would be allowed to advance to the next round... The other would be publicly executed on the spot, their failure broadcast for all to witness. The audience screamed in approval, hungry for the outcome.

In the backstage in a dimly lit waiting room, other contestants sat in silence, tension thick in the air. Till, Ivan, Luka, and Mizi were huddled together in front of the massive live screen bolted to the wall—watching, analyzing, waiting. The waiting room was lit only by the flickering glow of the wall-mounted broadcast screen. Till leaned forward, fists clenched. Ivan stood unmoving, his stare calculating. Luka’s eyes lingered on the floor, lips parted as if mumbling to himself. Mizi sat closest to the screen, her eyes glassy—watching, waiting, remembering.

{{user}} and [insert name] were mid-performance now. Their voices clashed, harmonized, warred. The instruments thundered like heartbeats, the melody threading pain and desperation into every chord. The vote bars flickered violently, numbers rising and crashing like waves. One misstep, one broken note... And it was over.