Neve, startled by Elric's words, leaned in for a closer look. Recognition slowly dawned on her face as she pieced his words together with the man standing before her. Her eyes widened in surprise—she never imagined that a former teacher from the Univara Academy would now be a student of Altura, let alone competing in the tournament.

"Hmm?" Thomas glanced at Elric, puzzled. "How do you know me?"

Elric stepped forward, still trying to make sense of the situation. "Teacher, I'm Elric Everhart. I've seen you at a few academy events back in Univara."

Thomas furrowed his brows, thinking for a moment. Then a name lit up in his memory. He straightened slightly and said, "Elric Everhart… one of Univara's top students, if not the top." His gaze dropped to the crimson trim of Elric's robes, and his expression shifted to one of confusion. "What are you doing in Quarath?"

Elric smiled faintly, his tone light but knowing. "Your fr—"

"We had to take care of some matters, so we transferred to Quarath," Neve interjected, cutting Elric off mid-sentence and giving him a quick glance.

Thomas turned to her, eyebrow slightly raised. "And you are?"

Her eye twitched as she responded curtly, "Neve Whitlock."

Surprise flickered in Thomas's eyes, quickly followed by a wave of silent disbelief. Another top student from Univara? He didn't press, though, not wanting to be a busy-body.

With the air slowly becoming awkward, Elric shifted the topic. "So... why did you stop us?"

Thomas smiled, the corners of his mouth tugging up. "I wanted to see who the guy was that won the last round. Now I know."

He paused, glancing between the two of them before adding, "To be honest, I didn't think much of this tournament at first. Every strong person I know outright ignored it. But... seeing you both here?" His smile widened, a spark of anticipation in his eyes. "Now I'm looking forward to our matches."

Elric nodded with a smile. "You're not the only one looking forward to it."

"A rare opportunity to beat one of Earth's youngest teachers," Neve added from the side, her lips curling into a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Thomas let out an awkward laugh at the jab. "Don't call me 'teacher' anymore. I'm just another student now." He took a step back, giving them a casual wave. "Anyway, I'll go enjoy the rest of the show. See you both tomorrow."

"See you, tea—Thomas," Elric corrected himself mid-word, grinning sheepishly. Neve simply gave a faint nod as Thomas turned and walked away.

As he made his way back toward the arena, Thomas muttered to himself, his thoughts lingering on the previous talk.

"Why do I feel like I'm missing something…?" He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Haaah. Maybe I've been training too much—I'm starting to forget things."

A face flickered briefly in his mind bringing a faint smile to his lips.

"Nova… It's a pity you're not here. I would've loved to fight you."

"How confident are you in beating him?" Neve asked quietly as they walked side by side, the stadium getting further away behind them.

Elric stared ahead, his expression unreadable. "Not very," he admitted. "Think about it—we've seen firsthand the strength of Univara's youngest teachers, and we've heard the stories. Their reputation isn't just hype." He paused, then added more grimly, "And from what I've found out, our boss lost to Teacher Jack. I doubt Thomas is much weaker than him."

He turned to her, his tone more serious. "Do you think we have a chance?"

Neve didn't answer right away. She glanced up at the afternoon sun, its light casting long shadows on the stone path. "I don't know. But I'm not going to admit defeat before the fight even begins."

"You're right," Elric said, though his voice was tight. "We can treat our fight with him as... a learning experience."

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His hands remained buried in his pockets, but his clenched fists betrayed the frustration he felt.

Neve echoed softly, more to herself than to him, "A learning experience…"

Silence settled between them, both were lost in thought. They understood what was ahead—a fight they were unlikely to win. And while knowing it was one thing, accepting it... was another entirely.

They kept walking in silence even slowing down their pace as they processed the day's events. By the time they arrived at the hotel, the sky had deepened into dusk, painting the streets in fading shades of gold and grey.

"I'm heading to my room," Elric said calmly, finally breaking the silence as they stepped inside.

Neve glanced at him, a bit surprised by the abruptness, but nodded. "Alright. I'll meet you here in the hall tomorrow morning. Don't be late," she added, her tone softening toward the end.

"Yeah, yeah," he replied waving his hand, already turning toward the stairs and heading straight for his room.

Now alone in the quiet main hall, Neve glanced around. Only a handful of people lingered in the lounge—all of them staff members, everyone from the academy was most likely still at the stadium or on their way back. The place felt half-abandoned, the air oddly still.

She sighed and murmured to herself, "Guess I'll take a walk before bed."

With that, she turned and exited the hotel, her steps carrying her toward one of Univara's main streets, the city lights flickering to life around her.

"I missed this place…" Neve murmured to herself, her gaze drifting across the lively street. Her eyes lingered on the glowing shopfronts, each one bathed in soft, otherworldly light from sleek lamps that looked like they'd been plucked from a sci-fi film. "Did they get these from the Store?"

Drawn in by the cheerful chatter of the crowd, Neve found herself drifting closer to the shops. People bustled past—some alone, others with friends or families—laughing, talking, carrying bags as they moved between glowing doorways. The warmth of it all, the energy, tugged at something in her.

She wandered from window to window, peering in at the displays. At first, it was idle curiosity. One minute turned into five… then ten. Before she knew it, an hour had slipped by, lost in the recent window shopping experience.

Eventually, the temptation became too much.

"Alright, let's do this," she said to herself, pushing open the door of a clothing shop.

Inside, the place was crowded, the air filled with a low murmur of conversation and the soft rustle of fabric. She had to crane her neck just to see the racks in the back. People moved in clusters, flipping through hangers with practiced ease.

Her eyes landed on a sleek blue dress, and she plucked it from the rack. "I'll try this one," she said, then paused as another caught her eye—this one a rich shade of azure. "And this," she added, grabbing it with a faint smile.

This didn't happen just once in the span of thirty minutes—it happened over and over again as she made rounds around the shop, afraid of missing a good one. By the time she finally found one she liked, Neve had tried on seven different outfits and many more were discarded before they could proceed to that phase.

Now, standing in front of the mirror dressed in a pure white gown, she stared her reflection for a long moment. The dress hugged her form with a simple elegance, subtle and graceful. She gave a small nod. "I'll take this one."

After paying at the counter, she stepped back onto the street, the paper bag dangling from her hand. She glanced down at it briefly before lifting her head—only for something to catch her attention.

Her eyes landed on a young man walking leisurely through the crowd. He had shoulder-length black hair, but that wasn't what caught her attention. He was wearing... a blue pajama set. Not casual clothes that looked like pajamas—actual pajamas.

Just as she was about to scoff or shake her head at the bizarre sight, a sudden chill ran down her spine. Her instincts screamed at her: run.

"Hmm?" the young man paused, sensing a gaze on him. He turned his head and caught Neve staring at him—though her eyes were slightly lost, as if trying to make sense of what she was feeling.

He smiled faintly and gave a subtle nod, then looked away, resuming his walk with an eerie calm.

As if jolted by an electric shock, Neve tore her gaze from him and hurried off, ducking into the flow of people and vanishing into the crowd, heading straight back toward the hotel.

The young man gave a quick glance with the corner of his eyes at Neve's spot and saw her running. Then, without breaking stride, he muttered softly to himself, "Interesting."

Neve sprinted through the streets, weaving through the crowd with barely a thought. By the time she reached the hotel, her legs were burning and her lungs felt like fire. The moment she stepped inside, the adrenaline that had pushed her this far finally gave out. Her bag slipped from her hand and hit the floor with a dull thud as she bent over, hands on her knees, gasping for air.

Two staff members behind the front desk immediately rushed over. Their voices overlapped with concern, but their words were muffled—drowned out by the pounding in her ears and the chaos spinning in her mind.

She didn't respond. Couldn't.

It took several long minutes before her breathing evened out. Slowly, she lifted her head. The first thing she saw were their anxious faces hovering over her.

"I'm fine," she whispered hoarsely, forcing a small nod. Without another word, she picked up the bag and headed for the stairs, her steps shaky.

The two staff members watched her go in uneasy silence.

"Should we inform her instructors?" one asked quietly.

"I don't think that's a good idea. She just looked... exhausted. Could be a false alarm."

"Mm. Alright then."

Upstairs, Neve opened the door to her room and barely made it inside before letting the bag drop to the floor. She collapsed onto the bed, limbs heavy and trembling from the aftershock.

Staring at the ceiling, her thoughts churned.

Who was that?

She shivered, pulling her arms close.

"I've never felt anything like that…" she murmured.

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