Lyra's POV
I could barely process what had just happened as they wheeled Xander away from the training mat. The silence in the gym was deafening, broken only by scattered whispers that echoed off the walls and reached my ears.
My classmates seemed underwhelmed by the entire spectacle. Some muttered that Xander had clearly held back during our match. I couldn't argue with that assessment. The whole time, he'd acted like he was in some kind of trance, just standing there while I landed blow after blow. When I finally put him in that chokehold, he went down without any real resistance.
As Xander's unconscious form disappeared through the gymnasium doors, the crowd began to thin out rapidly. Within minutes, only four of us remained: Ash, Poppy, Alaric, and myself.
