The Class 3 bracket had closed.
Drex of Aurelius stood as Class 3 champion and the bracket display on the screens above the arena had updated to reflect it—the Class 3 result logged, the display shifting to present the next stage. Class 2. The second bracket in the tournament's three-tier structure, the middle ground between the younger fighters of Class 3 and the upper-level competition of Class 1.
The crowd that had been present through the entirety of Class 3 had reorganized itself for what came next. Not the same crowd exactly—some people had left between stages, their investment in Class 3 complete, and others had arrived specifically for Class 2, the bracket containing names they had come to see. The Aurelius sections had refilled with the particular energy of a home crowd that had just watched their class win and was now watching their next class take the floor.
The announcer raised the microphone.
"Class 2 competition begins."
