He took a step back before dropping onto the ring.His weight shook the entire thing, nearly pushing both Valen and the referee out of it."Heavy bastard," Asterix whispered, nearly dropping to the floor by the side of the ring, almost yelling.
The referee reached into the inner pocket of his official uniform and pulled out the standard-issue combat timer, an intricate, metallic device approved by the Imperial board for all sanctioned matches.
With a practiced thumb, he pressed the activation switch, and the mechanism came to life with a sharp click.
Instantly, the slender arrow inside the circular glass casing began to spin, turning steadily in a clockwise direction.
Each full rotation of the arrow represented a passing unit of time—a count toward potential disqualification.
As the arrow completed its first full circle, the referee raised his voice sharply over the noise of the crowd.
"One!" he announced.
