The lights dimmed in the arena.
The spotlights now pointed directly at the two opposite glass stages, where the players of the finalist teams were already positioned, seated and ready with their headsets on and hands on the keyboards.
On the floating big screen above the arena, flaming letters formed the words: "DRAFT PHASE – GAME 1"
A curious silence took the audience, interrupted only by the digital ambient sound simulating the tense beats of a heart.
—"Are they going to play with comfortable compositions or try to break the meta?" murmured a real-time holographic commentator, with simultaneous translation into more than 70 languages.
Team Iridescent, Korea's representative, started the draft with an almost frightening precision.
They banned key champions from Galáctico Sports:
Lulu
Jarvan IV
Orianna
Aphelios
Rakan
"They studied every Galáctico game frame by frame..." commented the European announcer.
It quickly became evident: the Koreans knew exactly how to trap Lis4. It was a control draft: scaling composition, safety, and millimetric execution. Each of their picks was sharp as a sword.
On Galáctico Sports' side, the nervousness was palpable. They banned Ezreal, Sejuani, and Syndra... but nothing very strategic. Their coach seemed hesitant. The team exchanged glances. And then…
"LOCKED: TRISTANA." Lis4 took her comfort pick.
"Tristana again?!" murmured the crowd, some excited, others suspicious.
"She plays as if she was born with this champion in her soul." said the commentator.
The game started, and from the first seconds, Team Iridescent showed what they were here for. Synchronized rotations, impeccable vision, wards always in the right place. It looked like a bloody ballet.
But Lis4... she was playing like a goddess.
Even being pressured, she managed to farm almost perfectly in the first 10 minutes, zoning the enemy support with calculated jumps and aggressive trades with E and Q at the exact time.
At 13 MINUTES, Lis4 finds the enemy jungle badly positioned in the bot lane and secures a Double Kill with an explosion of damage and millimetric micro.
"What's that, Lisa?! Are you alone or is there an invisible trio with you?" Luna shouted from the VIP stands, raising a holographic energy drink cup.
Even with Lis4's surreal performance, the rest of the Galáctico Sports team started to falter.
The mid laner got picked off twice. The top fell to a three-man ambush. Lisa's support seemed nervous, missing simple positioning and flashes that would be basic even in silver rank.
"They are shaking." commented Luna, crossing her arms with frustration.
Lisa, however, did not shake.
She pulled fights, rotated to mid, covered the jungle — trying to carry the team on her back.
And for a good while, it seemed she would manage.
But a mispositioning error by Galáctico's jungler resulted in the loss of the dragon. The Koreans used the buff to push the lanes. Lis4 held on as best she could, even securing a solo pick-off on the Korean top laner.
But...
With both teams eyeing the Baron, the tension in the arena turned electric.
Team Iridescent started Baron. Galáctico Sports was forced to contest.
The fight began.
Flash. R combo. Explosions. Trundle ulting the tank. A support disappearing.
Tristana jumping behind the enemy line.
"LISAAAAA!" the narrator almost freaked out when she executed a retreat and advance maneuver, coming back with Rocket Jump to reset cooldowns and kill three enemy team members.
Triple Kill.
But… it was too late.
Lis4 died.
The Korean ADC and support had strategically backed off, waiting for the fight to explode.
When Galáctico lost top and jungle in the trade… the two Koreans went straight for the Nexus.
"ACE on Galáctico Sports!"
Lisa respawned at the exact moment the enemy Nexus was destroyed.
0 - 1 on the scoreboard.
On the stage, Lisa stared at the monitor. Took a deep breath. Sweat dripped down her forehead. Her hands trembled… but not from fear.
It was controlled anger.
In the VIP stands, Luna stood up and murmured with a smile. "They won the game… but the light has not fully shone yet."
But the second game was also won by Team Iridescent with many errors from the European team.
The scoreboard showed 2 to 0.
The arena was silent, muffled by a tension that seemed to cut the air. Not even the filming drones dared to cross the stage without activating silent mode. Every breath was measured. Every look carried the weight of almost.
Team Iridescent, the unbeatable Koreans, were one single game away from becoming world champions.
Galáctico Sports... was one single mistake away from total collapse.
In the VIP audience, Luna watched silently, sitting with crossed legs, eyes fixed on the floating screen with the replay of the last defeat. She held an energy drink cup, but had not taken a single sip. Her mind was with Lisa.
Luna stood up and went to the locker room.
In the locker room, Lisa was in silent shock, holding the mouse too tightly.
"You're not alone, Lis. Breathe." whispered Luna, opening the locker room door before production entered.
"You saw me play, Luna... I'm giving everything. But they... they are breaking."
Luna did not respond immediately. Just walked over to her and fixed her blonde hair with her fingers.
"Do you know what I see? A champion in the body of a mortal. You are not an ordinary player. You are the real Tristana, Lisa. If you want to jump into five Koreans again... I'll be in the stands screaming. Go get the 3x2."
Lisa took a deep breath. Let go of the mouse. And finally... smiled.
[Game 3 – Draft Phase]
Galáctico Sports changed everything.
They banned Korean picks and bet on an early game pressure composition.
Lis4 came with Samira with Alistar support — an explosive and difficult duo to execute, but perfect for turning the game around.
In mid, Galáctico picked a snowball champion: LeBlanc.
The match was a tactical massacre.
Lisa got a pentakill at 22 minutes after an absurd combo in Baron's lair. The crowd went wild.
Luna jumped from the VIP chair and almost threw the energy drink on the floor.
2x1.
[Game 4 – Draft Phase]
The Koreans tried to return to the traditional style. But now... confidence had changed sides.
Galáctico was hot, sharp, with blood in their eyes.
Lisa returned to Tristana.
And this time... it was not only mechanics.
It was soul.
At 28 minutes, she jumped with her full combo directly onto Iridescent's backline, ignoring the entire frontline, exploding the Korean mid laner in 0.3 seconds.
The crowd went into frenzy.
2x2. The final would be decided in the last game.
Galáctico's coach was sweating buckets. "Don't change. Just keep focus. They are shaking. We saw it."
Lisa looked at Luna, who had appeared outside the room, beyond the glass. She raised both thumbs.
Lisa raised only one. "For me and for you, baby girl."
[Game 5 – Final Draft]
Both teams were in quantum chess mode.
The tension crossed the arena like invisible lightning.
Each ban was surgical. Each pick, a psychological roulette.
Galáctico's final composition was unstable. But Lisa... Lisa returned with an unusual pick: Caitlyn.
"Long range. Control. Setup." murmured the technical analyst. "She wants to keep distance, force mistakes and punish."
The game started locked.
First dragon: Koreans. First tower: Galáctico. Midgame: kill exchange. Late game: mistakes on both sides.
But at 34 minutes, Team Iridescent's ADC missed flash.
Lisa did not forgive.
Ace.
Galáctico takes Baron.
They push mid. Push bot. Retreat, return top.
The Koreans try to resist.
But in the middle of chaos... Lisa lands a trap combo headshot that explodes the Korean support.
The European team started a battle and in the end the arena explodes.
"IT'S AN ACE! IT'S AN ACE!! GALÁCTICO IS TAKING THE NEXUS!!!"
Lisa got up from the chair even before GG appeared on the screen.
She looked at Luna in the stands, eyes full of tears.
Luna smiled and waved slowly, whispering: MSI 3031 CHAMPION.
The stage was lit by a thousand spotlights. White and golden lights bathed the giant MSI 3031 logo, now projected in the sky by holographic drone technology.
The audience kept shouting "Galáctico! Galáctico! Galáctico!"
The European team climbed the central stairs with almost staggering steps. Exhausted, incredulous, victorious.
Lisa walked in the center with eyes full of tears and the MVP trophy in her hands.
In the background, "Legends Never Die" played in a remixed version with electronic K-pop.
She raised the trophy with her teammates and the world exploded in applause, fireworks, tears, and flashes.
Galáctico Sports, for the first time in history, won a world final.
Hours later, backstage, the environment was madness: interviews with journalists from around the world, photo sessions, signatures on shirts, phones, plushies, posters, and even on an orthopedic boot that a fan brought from the hospital just to be there.
Lisa was smiling, but her eyes were tired. She answered everything on autopilot, but her heart... had already left the party.
After escaping the last round of interviews, she dodged the technical team, hid among the concrete corridors of the VIP area, and left through the emergency exit that led directly to the sponsors' parking lot.
There, standing under a low light, as if belonging to the very twilight, was Luna, casually leaning on a Bugatti Chiron, wearing her Lux cosplay with the hood down and a mischievous smile on the corner of her mouth.
"Running away from your own victory party?" Luna crossed her arms, watching Lisa with that look of someone who sees more than the eyes show.
Lisa huffed with a half smile.
"I think... I needed air." She walked to Luna, her steps still echoing adrenaline.
Luna opened the car door. "Then get in. The purest air conditioning in history."
Lisa got in without hesitation.
The car interior was silent, warm, and cozy — with a soft scent of night flowers and Italian leather. As soon as the door closed, the outside world became... distant.
Luna started the engine, just to warm the environment.
"You were brilliant." said Luna, genuine. "In that last fight... you looked like a pixel deity."
Lisa laughed, looking ahead, fingers intertwined in her lap. "That was my last game for the team."
Luna raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Last as in...?"
Lisa took a deep breath. "The team... will be dissolved. We already knew two months ago. MSI was our last dance."
Luna was silent for a few seconds. Then she turned off the engine. "So you played the hardest championship of your life... knowing it was the end."
Lisa nodded. "That's why I played as if it was my last chance. Because it was. They were all fired. The contract was already over. They only kept me under media pressure and because of the narrative of having a woman in the final."
She looked at Luna, her eyes more sincere than in any interview. "But you know... I don't regret it. Today was the best day of my life."
Luna smiled softly, extending her hand and gently squeezing Lisa's. "And maybe... it's not the end. Maybe... it's the prologue."
Lisa raised an eyebrow. "Prologue?"
Luna blinked mischievously. "Trust me. I'm good at rewriting stories."