The week before the São Paulo trip arrived with the quiet, unyielding weight of things that change everything. It wasn't just a competition approaching — it was as if Belém's very air had thickened, now loaded with an expectation no one knew how to name.
"Gabriel!" Marina called out as soon as he stepped inside the Enactus room. "An invitation came in. A big one."
She handed him a tablet. The email bore the logo of Education Brasil Magazine. They wanted an exclusive interview about "the regional innovation phenomenon."
"When?" Gabriel asked.
"Tomorrow. And Gabriel... Professor Henrique offered to help you prepare. He said he could provide 'academic context'."
The name sent a cold chill down Gabriel's spine.
…
That afternoon, Gabriel found each of the Resilients in different states of rising tension.
Carlos was in the lab, staring at simulation printouts. "The numbers are wrong again," he mumbled. "Not wrong as in poorly calculated, but... impossible. The efficiency we achieved in Vila Esperança can't be mathematically replicated."
Felipe was in the library, staring at an internship offer from a multinational. A salary that made the entire Enactus budget look like lunch money — starting immediately. "They know exactly when to send this," Felipe said bitterly. "One week before the nationals."
Leonardo was researching the competition. "The USP team... they're not just good. They're a political machine. Funding, support from deputies. This isn't David and Goliath, Gabriel. This is David against the entire army."
Caio was sitting alone at the café. "My dad called yesterday," he said, pushing away his sandwich. "Wants me to come back to Santarém. Says I've played university long enough."
Gabriel felt the converging pressures. Each member of his family was being tested at their most vulnerable point.
"This isn't playing, Caio," Gabriel said firmly. "Dona Maria has clean water now. This is the most serious thing any of us has ever done."
…
The interview was scheduled for two in the afternoon. Gabriel arrived early and found Professor Henrique already there, checking equipment with excessive familiarity.
"Gabriel!" Henrique waved. "Just academic curiosity... have you had... unusual experiences during your presentations? Moments where things work better than they should?"
Gabriel felt alarms blaring in his mind. "Professor?"
"I've documented some interesting cases. Students with statistically improbable intuitions." Henrique's eyes gleamed with a predatory scientific interest.
The interview began normally. But when the journalist asked about the "decisive moment" at the Innovation Fair, things began to spin out of control.
"Can you tell us exactly what happened when the system was turned back on?"
Gabriel took a deep breath. "It was... teamwork."
The lapel microphone began to emit a pulsing static — a rhythm that seemed to respond to Gabriel's heartbeat.
[System Warning: Mana leakage detected.]
"Sorry," the sound technician said. "Never seen this before."
Gabriel felt the keychain heating up. In the front row, Henrique was furiously taking notes.
"I just touched the equipment," Gabriel said quickly.
At that moment, the auditorium lights blinked. Once. Like a giant heartbeat.
"University electrical grid failure," Henrique said quickly, but his eyes never left Gabriel.
…
After the crew left, Sofia appeared.
"I saw the interview," she said, her expression concerned. "Gabriel, when you spoke... your words didn't just have color. They had light. As if they were made of something different from sound."
She opened her notebook. "I did some research. There are other documented cases. They call it 'anomalous bioelectronic interface'."
"Other cases?"
"You're not the only one," Sofia said. "But you might be the most powerful they've documented."
…
That night, alone in the Enactus room, the air began to vibrate.
"Time is running out, Solmere," Luna's voice came through, clear as crystal. "The barriers are getting thinner. There are those who watch you, who want to use what you are."
The door opened. Marina entered, stopping abruptly as she saw Gabriel talking to the air.
"Gabriel? Who were you talking to?"
"Myself," he lied. "Just processing the pressure."
Marina walked toward him. "Whatever's happening, Gabriel, we're here. All of us. No matter how strange it is."
…
The next day, Gabriel gathered the Resilients.
"You deserve to know," he began. "I don't completely understand what happens when I touch equipment. I don't know why it works. But I know you're the most important people in my life."
Carlos spoke first. "Remember when you made me swear my competence was the foundation? I swear back. Your strangeness is part of the team."
One by one, they agreed.
"Then we go to São Paulo," Marina said finally. "As a family that accepts mysteries."
As they left, Professor Henrique was in the hallway.
"I hope you're prepared for difficult questions," he said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "São Paulo is a scrutinizing environment."
When Henrique walked away, Leonardo whispered: "Is it just me, or did that sound like a threat?"
"It's not just you," Gabriel replied, touching the burning keychain.
Outside, Belém prepared for another humid night. But for the first time, Gabriel felt something approaching that would make living between two realities impossible.
The competition in São Paulo would be just the beginning.
…
That dawn, Gabriel wrote in his diary:
The masks are getting harder to maintain. The worlds are approaching, and I am at the center of the convergence.
But for the first time, I am not alone.
He looked out the window. Far away, small lights danced in the darkness — not boats, but something that responded to his heartbeat.
Luna was approaching. And with her, changes that would transform everything forever.
But now, he was ready.