The night was unforgiving.
The storm raged on, turning the plateau into a battlefield against nature itself. Wind howled like a wounded beast, slamming against the hastily built shelters.
The thin tarps barely held, threatening to collapse under the relentless assault of rain.
Athena sat inside her small shelter, listening to the groans of exhausted contestants fighting off the cold.
Water dripped from the edges of the makeshift tents, forming shallow puddles on the rocky ground. Some participants curled into themselves, shivering, teeth chattering in the icy air.
Despite the harsh conditions, Athena felt nothing. No discomfort, no trembling in her limbs, just a strange, eerie coldness that settled deep in her bones. It wasn't natural.
She glanced around. A few crew members were tending to the sick, their faces strained with worry. Several contestants had fallen ill, their bodies too weak to withstand the brutal storm.
