The storage closet smelled of old mops and regret. Kael pressed his ear against the door, listening for pursuing footsteps while the Chaos Panda's glowing red belly pulsed like a faulty ntern in the dark. Each hiccup produced a smoke ring that curled toward the ceiling.

  *"We're going to die here,"* the Moon Fox announced, delicately avoiding a puddle of something unidentifiable. *"Trapped in a broom closet because someone"* - it gred at the panda - *"can't control their appetite."*

  The panda sneezed, emitting a small fireball that ignited a dust bunny. Kael stomped it out frantically. "Great. Now you're a walking hazard."

  Lia's voice cut through the door. "If you're done pying spies, the second round starts in ten minutes."

  Kael nearly jumped out of his skin as the door swung open. Lia stood there, arms crossed, one eyebrow arched. Behind her, the corridor echoed with the distant roar of the gathering crowd.

  "Do I want to know?" she asked.

  The fox sauntered past her. *"No. But you'll find out when the panda explodes."*

  The arena had transformed overnight. Where yesterday's obstacle course stood, there now rose five circur ptforms, each surrounded by different elemental hazards - a pool of va here, a field of jagged ice there. The center ptform crackled with unstable magic.

  "Contestants!" boomed the Grand Archmage. "Today's challenge: Beast versus Beast! No tamer assistance allowed!"

  Kael's stomach dropped. "No what now?"

  The rules were simple: one beast per team, single elimination. Last creature standing on the ptform wins. The catch? Each round's arena would randomly shift hazards.

  Lia studied the bracket and groaned. "You're against Ron first."

  As if summoned, the knight appeared, his griffin beast flexing razor-sharp talons. "No interference today, Tamer. Just your beast's raw power against mine."

  Kael looked at his options. The fox was currently pretending to groom itself while watching its reflection in a puddle. The panda had discovered its glow could startle pigeons and was enthusiastically chasing them.

  "Panda," Kael decided. "You're up."

  The creature blinked at him, then belched a smoke ring in the shape of a heart.

  The first match was set on the va ptform. Ron's griffin took to the air immediately, circling like a predator. The panda waddled to the center, sat down, and promptly began licking its glowing paw.

  "Begin!"

  The griffin dove, cws outstretched - only to pull up sharply as the panda hiccuped directly in its face. A thick cloud of scarlet smoke engulfed the winged beast. Violent sneezing echoed across the arena as the griffin spiraled out of control, accidentally sneezing itself right over the ptform boundary.

  "Winner by disqualification! Team Kael advances!"

  The crowd went wild. Ron's face was unreadable as he collected his sneezing griffin. "Interesting," was all he said before walking away.

  Next came the fox's turn against Judge #3's prized falcon. The judge smirked as the ice ptform was selected. "No fire tricks here, fox."

  The fox yawned. *"Who needs fire?"*

  When the match began, the falcon shot forward - only to freeze mid-air. Its head swiveled wildly as dozens, then hundreds of identical foxes appeared across the ice. Then the judge's shout came: "No, not me! I'm your master!"

  The falcon had turned on its owner, chasing the judge who now appeared as a giant, wriggling worm in its eyes. The crowd howled with ughter as the judge tripped over his robes and slid straight off the ptform.

  "Another unconventional win for Team Kael!"

  Between matches, Kael noticed suspicious activity near the arena's underbelly. Hooded figures - the same crimson-scaled cultists from st night - were maneuvering a massive, cloth-draped cage toward the center pit. The covering slipped momentarily, revealing a fsh of burning feathers.

  Lia grabbed his arm, her face pale. "We need to leave. Now."

  "You recognize them?"

  Before she could answer, the Grand Archmage's voice thundered. "By royal decree! The final round will be a spectacur free-for-all against... the legendary Phoenix!"

  The ground trembled as the cage was unveiled. Inside thrashed a monstrous, half-bound phoenix, its feathers burning with unstable magic. One of its glowing eyes locked onto Kael, and in that moment, memories flooded back - fmes, screaming, the same creature looming over him in another life.

  The fox's fur stood on end. *"I quit."*

  The panda, meanwhile, had stopped its usual antics. Its glow intensified, eyes fixed on the phoenix as its normally dopey expression sharpened into something ancient and knowing.

  Kael's voice was barely a whisper. "That's the beast that killed me."

  As the chains on the phoenix began to snap one by one, the arena descended into chaos. The games were over. Now it was about survival.