“On three,” he said. “We sit down.”
Priya lunged.
The AI referee pinged. “Inactivity penalty. Resume combat.” overdeveloped amateurs
They didn’t attack. They just breathed. The air smelled of ozone and fear.
He heard a crack. Not a bone. A sponsor patch on his chest. Veridian Dynamics flickered and died. “On three,” he said
Then the failsafe engaged. The floor beneath them opened. And they fell into the dark.
Three years ago, they had been normal kids. Leo had liked drawing spaceships. Priya had played the viola. Then the Leagues had found them—the global hyper-sport that had replaced the Olympics, the World Cup, all of it. There were no natural athletes left. Nature was too slow. Instead, mega-corporations bought zygotes, or recruited toddlers, and poured billions into “developmental overdrive.” They didn’t train amateurs. They manufactured them. “Inactivity penalty
“Priority strike to Nexus,” the AI said.