“Something like understanding seems to settle between us. As though loneliness has found its equal.”

The intentional fragment “As though loneliness has found its equal” creates an abrupt, isolated feeling that emphasizes the loneliness both Adena and Paedyn feel before finding companionship in one another. Evoking this extreme loneliness allows Lauren Roberts to establish why Paedyn’s friendship is so important to Adena and why it serves as a motivator for many of her actions and choices.

“Every inch cheering for each contestant they chose to represent Loot. […] They have done nothing more than send Mundanes and Defensive Elites to their deaths.”

Makoto’s cynicism indicates that he understands something about the structure of his society that the cheering crowds around him do not. The outcome of the Purging Trials always reifies the existing power structure in Ilya, and by sending their heroes to these Trials, the people become complicit in their own oppression, highlighting the narrative’s thematic interest in The Struggle for Personal Autonomy Within Oppressive Systems.

“‘And that is when I saw you, jumping and waving at her like she was your everything.’

‘That’s because she is,’ I whisper.”

Makoto’s description of Adena’s behavior shows how little empathy he initially allows himself to display at this point in the story. By contrast, Adena’s reply is brief and starkly honest, exposing her vulnerability, reinforcing how high the stakes are for Adena and supporting the story’s theme of The Impact of Adversity on Relationships.