The siren came again, lower this time, dropping until Raizen felt it more than heard it - a deep vibration that ran up through the soles of his boots and into the broken floor of the lane. The panels at the center of the arena split apart, and the lift rose out of the dark carrying the same cage it always had, except the shapes behind the bars sat heavier now, lower to the ground, built like things that didn't bother standing upright unless they meant to swing at something.
The host found his cheerful voice a half-second slower than usual.
"Neoshima, administrative surprise! Class Four. Spectators - secure your expectations, and contestants… Your limbs."
