The tournant infirmary slled mostly of antiseptic and chemicals he was used to.
Aren sat on the edge of a narrow bed, one arm wrapped in fresh bandages, watching the slow light bleed out from the Spiritually Dense Recovery room’s window. Inside, Luna was still recovering.
No one spoke much.
Lily leaned against the wall nearby, arms crossed, gaze fixed on the floor. She had so minor injuries, but nothing too serious.
After a few more seconds, the light dimd as the door’s handle turned.
Luna stepped out.
Her complexion was pale, but her steps were steady. Whatever damage she’d taken during the match had already been suppressed, if not fully healed. She rolled one shoulder once, testing it, then looked up.
"I’m fine," she said before anyone could ask. "I’ll be back to full condition soon."
Lily let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
"Good," Aren said simply.
They fell into a familiar rhythm after that. Watching replays of their next matchup, which was Rinrin’s team.
"Rinrin," Lily muttered. "Her team seems...odd?"
Aren didn’t respond imdiately.
As they rewatched every previous match, there was one thing that stood out amongst all the clips.
"She didn’t fight," he said at last.
Lily looked up. "What?"
"In any of them," Aren continued. "Not once. It was always the other two. She never even stepped onto the field."
Luna frowned slightly. "That doesn’t make sense. She’s supposed to be their core."
"Exactly," Aren said. "How could that—"
His sentence was cut short as the infirmary door opened.
A man stepped inside, dressed neatly in a tailored suit. Aren noticed the small badge on his chest imdiately.
"Apologies for the interruption," he said politely. "I won’t take much of your ti."
His gaze swept over them before settling on Aren.
"I am one of the tournant’s organizers," he continued. "As your team has advanced to the semifinals, you are formally invited to attend tonight’s banquet."
He produced an envelope and set it on the nearby table.
"The banquet will be attended by sponsors, organizers, and notable guests," he said. "There will also be a private viewing of the prize."
The Fertile Core.
Aren shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"This evening?" he asked.
The man nodded. "Transportation will be arranged. Attendance is optional, of course, but encouraged."
Aren hesitated just long enough to make it seem natural.
"May we have so ti to consider?" he asked.
The organizer smiled. "Of course."
He gave a small bow and left as quietly as he’d entered.
The door shut, bringing back silence once more.
Aren stared at the envelope on the table. He didn’t rember a banquet of any sort.
Not before the attack or after.
Could this have been where the Invasion began?
Then another thought followed, colder than the first.
If they attended the banquet, it’d be akin to standing in the center of a bomb’s blast radius.
For a mont, the answer seed obvious.
Don’t go. Stay out of the radius entirely.
Aren almost accepted it, but reconsidered.
A banquet like this wasn’t sothing the Defilers could simply infiltrate. If sothing happened here, it would be because soone let them in.
An inside accomplice.
Aren exhaled slowly, then looked toward his party.
On one hand, safety was the priority. But he knew this wouldn’t be a one-ti event. The Defilers would go on to attack more places, wreaking more havoc, so this was his only chance to learn how they’re doing it.
Aren couldn’t make the decision alone, but couldn’t just outright say that he knew the future and things were going to happen.
So...there was only one alternative.
"Captain Eric ntioned sothing to this morning."
Both of them looked at him with curiosity.
"I assu you both know what the Fertile Core is?"
"Yeah. Sun City’s treasure," Lily nodded imdiately. "My dad said even money couldn’t buy ti to cultivate next to it."
Luna didn’t speak, but her eyes sharpened slightly.
"Captain Eric said sothing that stuck with ," Aren continued. "He said whenever sothing that precious is involved...things always go wrong."
They both looked at him in silence for a while until Luna nodded.
"You think soone might make a move?"
"I think if anything happens," Aren said carefully, "we’d be in the midst of the incident."
"Look, I know I might sound overly cautious," he continued. "But tons of people of influence are there, who knows when one of them decides they really like the artifact."
Aren let the silence sit for a mont longer before speaking again.
"I’m not saying we have to go," he said. "If you’d rather stay here and play it safe, that’s fine. We’re not losing anything by skipping a dinner."
Lily raised an eyebrow but didn’t interrupt.
"If nothing happens," Aren continued, "then great. We eat good food, shake a few hands, and head out early."
His gaze moved between them.
"But if sothing does happen," he said evenly, "I’d rather be there to see it than hear about it afterward."
He paused, then added, "Either way, it’s your call."
For a mont, neither of them spoke.
Lily was the first to speak. "If there’s even a chance to expose those corrupt pigs, I’m down for anything."
Luna nodded once. "Sa, it’s just as much our problem, hiding won’t change that."
Aren dipped his head slightly.
"Alright," he said. "Then we go."
The rest of the day passed in a blur.
Paperwork, brief check-ins with staff and whatnot. Sowhere along the way, night crept up on them without Aren noticing. By the ti he realized how late it was, there was no point going ho.
Lily insisted he stay over.
Her family’s place was gigantic, even if he’d visit a thousand tis, the sheer scale never ceases to amaze him.
Aren barely had ti to process it before he was ushered upstairs and told to get ready.
At so point, CEO Wright appeared with a garnt bag draped over one arm.
"Try this," he said casually.
Inside was a suit, an unmistakably expensive one. The kind of thing Aren knew better than to ask the price of.
"This is... a bit much," Aren said.
"You’re in Sun City’s lilight tonight," Brian waved it off. "Better make sure you look good."
Aren didn’t argue after that.
By the ti he finished changing, the mirror barely reflected soone he recognized.
And just like that, it was ti to leave.
Toward the main event.
Aren’s stomach tightened. He knew he was walking into the mouth of danger.
But it was a risk he had to make—
In order to find out the truth.
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