Dimas and Lilee wait in their designated 'locker' room underneath the stadium. It's a small concrete room, the walls are featureless except for a few cracks and writings from past fighters. A stone bench and table, both adorned with simple cloth in an attempt to add some comfortability, are set up in the center of the room. It's pretty obvious that whoever built the room wasn't concerned in making it comfortable or visually appealing. Dimas didn't mind it. If anything, it would probably be the best locker room he's been in and only because it doesn't have the risk of tetanus.
Even from down here, the duo are able to hear the cheers from the audience.
"Sounds like a lot of people. How many do you think there are?" Lilee has been tapping her foot since they've entered the stadium.
"All of Onaq. And then some." Dimas replies, ignorant of Lilee's anxious state.
The knots in Lilee's stomach tighten with Dimas's words.
"Since there's time to kill, explain how the support team members work." Dimas leans against one of the walls.
"We can't help the fighters in the field until we're summoned and we can only be summoned once every tournament. Meaning that I can only help you in one fight throughout the entire tournament."
"I don't plan on using you for fights anyway. How many supports can be called during a fight?"
"Only one."
"That should make things easier. Can they summon them at any time?"
"No, there's going to be a coin toss before the match. The winner of the coin toss is allowed to call their support first after 5 minutes of fighting, if they want to. As long as they don't summon their support, the other fighter can't summon theirs."
"Winning the coin toss could make things harder or easier. That sucks…"
"Oh! I almost forgot to mention that the arena will change."
"What?"
"The arena will probably be different from what we last saw. It could be a swamp, a frozen lake, or a desert full of dunes. It all depends on what the judges choose."
"Why? If someone with an Ice Brío Art is placed against an opponent with a Fire Brío Art and the arena is made of ice then the first guy has an undeniable advantage. Sounds like it could lead to one-sided fights."
"The same can be said if the arena wasn't changed. A Ground Brío user would have an advantage over a Water Brío user." Lilee says.
Dimas takes a deep breath. Annoyed at the thought of losing to anyone just because they get lucky.
"What kind of Brío Arts your opponent may have, the coin toss, arena type, I know a lot of it does come down to chance but…" Lilee stops tapping her foot. "That alone won't determine a winner. An aspect of fighting is being able to adapt to the situation and your opponent. I doubt anybody will get far in the tournaments only relying on luck. I think the winner will be the better fighter. In other words, I know you'll win this no matter the odds." Lilee beams her support.
Dimas can feel her admiration through her words. It makes him feel... good. He doesn't like it. He knows this feeling and the risks it brings along. And yet…
"How's your arm?" Lilee asks almost as if sensing Dimas's uneasiness.
"...It's feeling normal." Dimas says.
"That's great! It took almost two weeks to heal completely, definitely not something we want happening again."
"No kidding."
A large bell rings once and the cheers go silent. The stone table where Lilee is currently sitting at displays a screen that hovers a few inches above the tabletop. It's only now that Dimas realizes the crystal at the center of the table. The screen shows the judges on their balcony. Due to the clear and impressive quality, Dimas thought it could have been a direct portal to the field.
[These crystals are amazing.]
"Hello viewers, today is the first day of the Capricornus tournament's fighting rounds." This time around it is the moustached man who is speaking on the judges behalf. "We have the honor of watching the 16 teams who've proven themselves, let them hear your applause!"
Their cheers from above are almost indiscernible from the ones emanating from the screen. Lilee begins tapping her foot again.
The moustached man waits for the audience to settle down before resuming. "As it is every year we will laud the fighters and their exploits. We will extol their strength! We will extol their speed! We will extol their skill! We will extol their victories! And we will even extol their losses because these fighters are giving it their all and it is the least we, as an audience, can do! Once more, let them hear your applause!"
The crowd goes into a frenzy. Their cheers drown out any audio from the display which lowered its own sound to avoid hurting the ears of any viewers.
This time the moustached man continues without waiting for the cheering to stop. The audience respectfully quell their cries. "Fighters! Before we continue, please submit your team names. If you do not choose one, the fighter's name will be used in its stead. You have three minutes."
An hourglass appears on the screen to give the teams a visual representation of the time limit.
Typewriter keys appear on the surface of the table in front of Lilee.
"Do you have any suggestions? I've been trying to think of some but you'll probably think they're stupid." Lilee says.
"That's probably because they are." Dimas agrees. "I've actually got one. Corvus."
"How do you spell that?"
Dimas spells it out for her and Lilee submits the team name. It appears on a list alongside a few others on the left-hand side of the display.
"Why Corvus?" Lilee asks. She had been hoping Dimas would've been as indifferent to their name as everything else leaving it to her.
"Because Corvus is the one who gave me the tools to win." Dimas answers.