The morning after the public demonstration brought social media chaos Rama had anticipated. But underneath the hashtags and trending debates, something darker stirred in his memory.
He woke at 4 AM, drenched in sweat. Not from nightmare—from memory. Timeline 1 memory. Specific. Vivid. Unwanted.
Dragon's Gate attacking Eternal Bond headquarters. Three months after Herald arrival. Fire. Screaming. Sekar bleeding on the floor. Six guild members dead. Rama arriving too late. Always too late.
He sat up carefully, trying not to wake Sekar. The memory was so clear it felt like reliving rather than remembering. Timeline 1 trauma resurfacing with crystalline detail.
The attack had happened differently in the original timeline. Three months post-Herald, when Rama had been proven right about void threats but politically vulnerable. Dragon's Gate, desperate after their skepticism was exposed, had lashed out. Targeted Eternal Bond. Targeted Sekar specifically to break Rama's focus.
