The old man, Hal, furrowed his brow and glanced at the woman, but she quickly looked away to avoid his gaze. He sighed and changed the subject.
"What about the other elders? Among the seven elders involved in the war on the other side of the universe, I am here, and one more should have arrived by now. Has she contacted any of you?"
"We need her here. The two Shadow generals will arrive at the Gladiator Arena any time now... I don't want any of the participants in the Gladiator Arena to die because of the dark side."
One of the people sitting behind Old Hal leaned in and whispered in his ear.
"She's here. But she's in the crowd. She mentioned she would watch discreetly, and if the Shadow generals acted out, she would step up to fight them."
Old Hal nodded, and at that moment, two loud cries echoed from one of the three massive gates leading into the Gladiator Arena. The old man squinted his blue eyes and saw two bonded beasts in mid-air outside the gate, glaring at each other.
