The bus lurched to a stop, brakes screeching against the asphalt.
Rika pressed her forehead to the window, staring wide-eyed at the sight outside. The venue rose like a monolith of glass and steel, banners draped down its gleaming walls with one name splashed in bold, golden font:
STARLIGHT CROWN.
It's design was wayyyy better than that of
STARBORN SURVIVAL: THE ROAD TO IDOLS.
(Of course "Starborn" wasn't a free... training, more like a step towards greatest, they were a free agent idol company who held competitions to help future "idols" get contracts!
FYI.....Akari and Daika were legit....the top ones there.)
Her stomach flipped. It wasn't just a competition. It was an empire, lit up brighter than Tokyo Tower itself. Spotlights crisscrossed the sky as if announcing to the world: Tonight, dreams will either rise… or be broken.
