"The first act of a king who fears losing his throne is forgetting the names of those who helped him build it."
...
In the high chambers of Stellarum's Twin Towers, where the air was so thin that only magic kept it breathable, Luna observed the final preparations. Her generals watched her with fear. This wasn't anger. It was determination crystallized into action.
The Shadow-Blades gathered around her — five warriors capable of crossing the barriers between worlds.
"The instructions are clear," Luna said, her voice echoing with absolute authority. "Do him no harm. Do no harm to those around him. But make him remember."
Kael'thara, leader of the Shadow-Blades, bowed. "And if he resists, Your Majesty? If he's too deeply rooted in that reality?"
Luna turned. "Then intensify the reminders. Until resistance becomes impossible."
She approached the seeing basin. Gabriel was leaving an Enactus meeting, shoulders tense.
"He's drifting," she murmured. "Becoming more like them each day. If we don't act now..."
"Your Majesty," said Lyralei, the Council elder. "The fissures are accelerating. We lost two entire kingdoms last week."
Luna closed her eyes. "How many people?"
"Three hundred thousand souls. They didn't die. They simply... ceased to exist."
The silence was loaded with gravity.
"Then we no longer have the luxury of subtlety," Luna said finally. "Kael'thara, you have permission for direct contact. Make him remember, whatever the cost."
...
The video conference connected five Brazilian cities.
"Everyone," said Mariana, "let's be direct. This year's World Cup has the highest level of competition in history."
Data appeared on screen. Budgets that made UFPA's resources look like pocket change.
"The United States," Mariana continued, "has access to MIT laboratories."
"And a fifty-person development team," completed a familiar voice.
In USP's quadrant, Ricardo "Rick" Almeida occupied the screen. The arrogance was gone, replaced by focused seriousness.
"Gabriel," Ricardo said, addressing the camera directly. "Congratulations on your national performance. It was... educational."
The word carried weight. Grudging recognition.
"Your approach taught us that authenticity is a strategic variable we underestimated. We won't make the same mistake this year."
The compliment felt like pressure. Ricardo was no longer an easy rival.
"That means," said Mikaela, cutting in, "our competitive advantage — authentic impact — will no longer be unique. Everyone will be trying to replicate it."
The implication was obvious: they needed to be more than authentic. They needed to be perfect.
"Then," said Gabriel, his voice cold, "we'll be perfect."
...
Gabriel left the university with his mind churning. Belém's night enveloped him, but he barely noticed.
That's when he saw the figure across the street.
Even in the weak streetlight, Gabriel recognized him instantly. Kael'thara — the royal guard general. The friend who had sworn to protect him with his life.
The world seemed to decelerate. Cars passed, pedestrians walked, but everything became peripheral.
Kael'thara made a subtle gesture. A military signal Gabriel recognized from his previous life. Necessary meeting. Security compromised.
Gabriel crossed the street as if in a trance.
"Gabe." Kael'thara's voice was exactly as he remembered — deep, authoritative. "Finally."
"How..." Gabriel stammered. "You shouldn't be here."
"The bridge you built works both ways," Kael'thara said, scanning the street with professional paranoia. "And we're not the only ones who've discovered how to cross it."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean your choices have consequences. Our world is dying, Gabe. Literally unraveling, because the Bridge of Worlds decided to play normal person instead of accepting his destiny."
"I didn't ask for this."
"None of us asked. But some of us accept." Kael'thara stepped closer. "Three hundred thousand people ceased to exist last week. They didn't die. They stopped being."
The information hit Gabriel like a punch.
"Luna..."
"Luna is doing everything she can to keep our world whole while you decide if you want to be a hero or a student."
Kael'thara pressed something into Gabriel's hand — a small, heavy object pulsing with warmth.
"She sent me to remind you who you really are."
It was a royal seal — the symbol of his position as Bridge of Worlds. Memories flooded Gabriel's mind like a bursting dam. The weight of armor. The oath. Luna's face.
"I can't just abandon everything here," Gabriel said, but his voice cracked.
"You already abandoned everything there," Kael'thara said, stepping back into the shadows. "The question is: when will you accept that you can't have both worlds? Choosing means abandoning."
"Kael, wait!"
But the alley was empty.
...
Gabriel returned to his apartment in a daze. The seal burned in his pocket.
He sat on his bed, turning the object over. Each touch brought flashes of memory. Training sessions. Strategic councils. Luna calling him Solmere.
But strongest of all was the revelation: Three hundred thousand lives.
Gabriel looked around his apartment. The World Cup materials. The life he'd built. Two years ago, he'd been nothing. Now he had friends who depended on him.
But in another world, reality was unraveling.
Some responsibilities are too large to be shared.
He closed his eyes and tried to access his memories of Luna. The seal helped. Her face became sharp. Silver eyes holding starlight.
"It's because I care... that I'm doing this."
His own words echoed back. He had been running from this choice for months. Pretending he could have both worlds.
But Kael'thara was right. There was no middle ground.
Gabriel looked at his reflection in the dark window. The face staring back was harder than it had been that morning.
Tomorrow, he would have to decide.
The seal pulsed once in his palm. He felt the first cracks forming in the wall he'd built between his lives.
In the reflection, Gabriel could swear he saw golden light flickering around the edges of his silhouette.
The Bridge of Worlds was waking up.
The question was whether Gabriel Santos would survive the awakening.
[System Notification: Main Quest Updated.]
[Objective: Save Two Worlds.]
[Time Remaining: Unknown.]