Aren’s gaze lingered on Luna a mont longer.
He already knew her talents from his previous life, she’d already be a great fit to fill as their third and final mber.
Lily’s Fairy-type was a support by nature. Doubly so considering she picked the Nature elent that focused on restricting movent with vines and healing with life energy.
Aren himself was the complete opposite. His now Dragon-type made him a powerful factor on the frontlines, able to create chaos and force the enemies to look at him.
That left a gap.
What they needed was firepower, soone who could capitalize on the openings Lily created and the pressure Aren attracted. A high-output attacker who could punish enemies for even slight missteps.
And Luna would be perfect for that.
She actually fit that role almost too well.
If he had to guess, she would’ve chosen the Ice elent, turning her Spirit-type into an Ice Jade Spirit.
One of the strongest Spirit manifestations when it ca to wide-area control.
It felt like he’d finally found the missing piece.
Lily noticed the look on his face almost imdiately.
Her brows knit together as she followed his gaze, then stiffened the mont she realized who he was looking at.
"No," she said flatly.
Aren blinked. "No?"
"She’s not joining our team," Lily said, crossing her arms. "Not happening. Don’t even think about it."
He glanced back at Luna, then returned his attention to Lily. "Why not?"
"Why not?" Lily shot back. "It’s Luna Stone! She barely talks to anyone. She doesn’t cooperate. And she definitely won’t just agree to team up because you asked."
Aren shrugged, unconcerned. "So?"
Lily stared at him. "So? You’re just going to ignore all that?"
"We need a third," he replied calmly. "And we need soone like her anyways."
Lily didn’t respond right away.
"And besides," he added, "she’s a classmate."
That earned him a look.
"We already have a starting point," Aren said. "That’s more than most teams in this room."
Lily pressed her lips together, clearly unconvinced.
"...She won’t say yes," she muttered.
Aren glanced toward Luna again, then back at Lily.
"Maybe," he said. "But there’s no harm in asking."
Aren took a step forward.
Then another.
Lily watched him go with a look that clearly said ’this is a terrible idea’, but she didn’t stop him.
Luna noticed him before he was close enough to speak.
Her gaze lifted, calm and unhurried, as if she’d been aware of him the entire ti.
Aren slowed, then stopped a short distance away.
"...Wow," he said, scratching the back of his head. "You’re entering the tournant too?"
She nodded once.
"I thought you’d do Solos," he added. "You always seed like the type."
Luna blinked.
For a mont, she just looked at him.
Then she answered, plainly.
"I planned to."
Aren relaxed slightly. "That makes sense."
"I left my ID at ho," she continued.
He paused.
"I went back to get it."
"But when I returned," Luna said plainly, "the Solo slots were already full."
Silence.
Aren stared at her.
"Oh," he said finally.
Luna tilted her head. "Is that a problem?"
Aren opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
Sowhere in his mind, the image he’d built of Luna, the Ice Queen, had instantly shattered.
"...No," he said. "Not really."
After a while of choosing his words correctly, he finally asked.
"...Do you have a team yet?"
Luna shook her head. "No."
There wasn’t any explanation or even a hint that it bothered her.
Aren took that in, then gestured vaguely over his shoulder. "We’re still missing a third. If you’re not locked into anything... would you like to join us?"
She looked past him, gaze drifting briefly to where Lily stood pretending not to watch.
Then back to him.
"Okay," she said.
Aren blinked.
"That was fast."
She frowned slightly, as if trying to understand the comnt. "Is there a reason to wait?"
"...No," he admitted.
Luna nodded, satisfied. "Then it’s fine."
Aren searched her expression for sothing, any hint of calculation or that she was really thinking hard about her choice of teammates.
Yet, there was nothing.
"...You don’t want to know anything about us first?" he asked.
"I already know," she replied.
That earned her a look.
"You’re both from our class," Luna added. "And your Bloodlines are public."
Right.
Of course they were.
Aren exhaled slowly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
People avoided her, both in class and now, like she was so kind of sickness. Seeing her like this, well...she was just operating on a different wavelength.
"Alright," he said. "Then welco to the team."
Luna nodded once. "Thank you."
She didn’t hesitate, quickly standing up with her hands tucked into her sleeves and followed Aren.
Lily was still staring when they reached her.
Her mouth was slightly open.
She looked from Aren... to Luna... then back again.
"...You’re joking," Lily said.
Aren shook his head. "et our third."
Luna inclined her head politely.
"Hello."
Lily’s brain visibly stalled.
"...You actually said yes?" she asked.
Luna tilted her head. "Was there a reason not to?"
Lily looked like she wanted to sit down.
They returned to the registration desk together, the clerk pausing only briefly before updating their roster and waving them onward. After that, it was mostly waiting.
Ti passed before their phone finally buzzed with a notification.
The matchups were out.
He scrolled quickly, eyes moving across the brackets until he found their team.
First round.
He relaxed slightly.
All three opponents had two Lines, but their Bloodline-types were diocre, their elents poorly suited for team combat.
We’ll be fine.
His thumbs moved again, this ti scanning deeper until he finally stopped on Clara’s team.
They were on the opposite side of the bracket.
Aren scrolled down, looking at the team composition.
It took a while but finally loaded.
Jakob.
And—
Owen.
Aren clicked his tongue quietly.
So that’s how it’s going to be.
If nothing changed, they’d et in the finals.
Aren locked his phone and leaned back slightly.
"...This won’t be easy," he murmured.
They didn’t get much ti to dwell on the brackets.
The sound of heels clacking approached from behind.
Aren didn’t need to turn to know who it was.
"Well," Clara’s voice said lightly, "looks like you got lucky."
Clara stood a short distance away, arms crossed, a faint smile across her lips. Jakob was beside her with the sa smug grin, while Owen stood just behind them, posture straight, eyes calm.
Her gaze flicked briefly to Luna.
Then back to Aren.
"Opposite sides of the bracket," Clara continued. "If we’d t earlier, you probably would’ve gone ho in the first round."
She smiled wider. "Try not to lose too early, alright? I’d hate to be disappointed."
Lily stood up quickly.
Aren followed and caught her wrist, afraid the sa thing would happen again.
She looked at him with reassurance before turning back to Clara.
"Let’s make this interesting."
Everyone paused.
Clara raised a brow. "Oh?"
Lily didn’t look at Aren.
"If we win," she said, voice steady. "You, and the Wells Group, will issue a public apology to the Cross Family."
The surrounding noise seed to dip.
Clara studied her for a mont.
Then she laughed softly.
"Bold," she said. "Alright."
She stepped forward as well.
"But if we win," Clara continued, her smile sharpening, "the Wright Group withdraws from Sun City entirely.
"Fair?"
Lily answered before he could.
"Fair."
"Good," Clara said as she started to walk away.
"I’ll see you in the finals."
Her team following without another word.
Aren watched them go.
"...That escalated," Luna said calmly.
Aren exhaled slowly.
"Yes," he said. "It did."
He clenched his fist. This was no longer a personal battle, it was one with lives and careers on the line.
And there was no backing out now.
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