Aiko stepped forward, putting herself between me and the men. "You can't be here, Kaito. This realm is protected – you'll only bring destruction to it."
The man – Kaito – laughed, a harsh sound that echoed through the crystal trees. "Protection is just a word for those who are too weak to take what they want. The energy in these realms can power entire cities – make us richer than we could ever imagine. All we need is a Pathfinder to keep the gateways open."
He turned his gaze to me. "You're the streamer, aren't you? The one who showed the world the first realm. Perfect – with your ability to broadcast, we can recruit more Pathfinders to our cause. Or… if you refuse, we'll just take your power by force."
I stepped forward, my compass glowing bright red now – a warning. "I won't help you. These realms aren't here to be exploited – they're alive, and they deserve to be protected."
Kaito's hand moved to his waist, where a weapon hung in a holster. It looked like a gun, but instead of bullets, it fired streams of dark energy – the same energy I'd seen in my vision, the kind that left destruction in its wake.
"Then you're useless to us," he said, raising the weapon.
Before he could fire, the star-fox let out a loud chime, and suddenly dozens more of the creatures appeared from the trees, surrounding the Syndicate men. The crystal trees began to glow brighter, their branches bending toward the intruders as if preparing to defend themselves.
"Get back," Aiko said, pulling me toward the river. "The realm is protecting itself – but we need to get out before the energy becomes too unstable."
We ran through the crystal forest, the star-foxes running ahead of us to clear the way. Behind us, we could hear shouts and the sound of dark energy hitting the crystal trees – but the trees were absorbing the blasts, their surfaces glowing brighter with each hit.
When we reached the rift, I stopped and turned back to the camera, which was still streaming from its tripod in the clearing. "Minna-san – the Syndicate is real, and they want to take the realms for themselves. This is why we need to keep watching, keep learning – to protect these worlds from those who would harm them. I'll be back, but right now we have to go."
I grabbed the camera and followed Aiko through the rift, Hana running ahead of us. The moment we were back in our world, the rift began to flicker – the energy from the Syndicate's attack was making it unstable.
"Come on," Aiko said, pulling me toward the car. "We have to get out of here – the rift is going to collapse, and we don't know what will happen if it does that close to us."
We drove away as fast as we could, and I looked back just in time to see the rift flash bright white and disappear, leaving nothing but snow-covered trees in its place. The camera was still rolling, and I could see my viewers sending messages of support and concern.
"I'm okay," I said, catching my breath. "Aiko-san is okay too. Hana-chan is… well, she's already asking for food."
Aiko smiled, though it was tight with worry. "That was too close. The Syndicate is getting bolder – they won't stop until they have what they want."
I looked down at my compass, which was glowing blue again – steady, calm. "Then we'll just have to be faster. Stronger. And we'll keep streaming – the more people who know about the realms, the more people who'll help us protect them."
As we drove back toward Tokyo, I posted a message to my stream's chat: "We're safe. But the fight to protect the Rifted Realms starts now. Next stream – we find the next gateway. And this time, we'll be ready."
Hana curled up on my lap again, purring as if to say everything would be okay. I looked out at the mountains disappearing behind us, knowing that somewhere out there, other rifts were waiting. Other worlds. Other dangers.
But I wasn't alone anymore. I had Aiko, the Collective, and thousands of viewers who believed in what we were doing. And together, we'd make sure the realms were protected – one stream at a time.