---
[Ding! Shell phase active: 14:02 remaining.]
Kai's mind stayed clear. The system spoke like a clock. He could not move a finger, but he saw everything. He counted breaths. He counted steps. He watched Azhara and Skyweaver spend themselves in little bursts and then pull back a half-step to breathe. He watched officers see it and try to time a rush.
"Left three!" Azhara shouted once.
Skyweaver stepped in without looking. She trusted the call. She cracked a knee, then a wrist, then backed up and let Azhara cut the throat that went bare when the shield fell.
The next wave hit harder. Ten. Then fifteen. The circle tightened. Azhara caught a spear in her left upper arm. She ripped it out with her teeth and threw it down. Her sleeve went dark. She didn't look at it again.
Skyweaver took a long cut across her thigh. She tied a strip of her sash around it in two fast moves between strikes and kept fighting. Her stick cracked. She flipped it and used the other end.
