New Beginning and Future

Chapter 80: Worlds Won, Promises Kept

Summary: Under stadium lights thousands of miles from home, ZGDX proves that pressure only sharpens them, not shatters them. Victory echoes across continents, pride fills living rooms, and the dragon stands exactly as he always has—unyielding, territorial, and fiercely protective of what is his. And when the noise finally fades, celebration turns private, promises postponed are reclaimed, and the next chapter begins far from cameras, in a place chosen long before the trophy was ever lifted.

Notes:

⚠️ Author's Note: He will always keep his promise.

Disclaimer: The Muse would like to remind everyone we do not own FIYS nor the beloved characters nor any dialogue from either the show nor the book...the Muse is very sad and not pleased with this continued reminder that they do not own them and never will!

Chapter Seventy-Eight

The two months that followed their arrival in America were nothing short of brutal, a relentless gauntlet of international opponents who had come sharpened and hungry, each match demanding absolute precision and resilience, each victory earned through split-second decisions and calculated risks that left no room for hesitation, and ZGDX fought like a team forged in fire, adapting to unfamiliar playstyles, countering strategies born in different regions, absorbing pressure without fracturing, and steadily climbing through the bracket while fans back home stayed awake through impossible hours to watch every game unfold live across glowing screens.

There were nights when the matches stretched past forty minutes with no clear advantage, nights when Yao's voice in comms remained calm even as her fingers moved at blistering speed, nights when Sicheng's leadership cut through panic with icy clarity, and nights when Lao K, Lao Mao, Pang, and Ming executed plays so synchronized they seemed rehearsed by fate itself, and with each hard-won victory the realization grew heavier and brighter all at once: they were not just competing, they were dominating.

The semifinal match nearly broke them, pushing them to the edge of elimination before Yao turned a losing mid-game into a calculated comeback that stunned commentators into breathless disbelief, and when they finally stepped onto the stage for the final match of Worlds, the arena felt like a living organism vibrating with expectation, flags from multiple countries waving in a sea of color while the commentators' voices echoed in several languages across the globe.

The final series was merciless, each team refusing to give ground, every objective contested, every team fight a spectacle of precision and chaos interwoven, and when the last turret fell and the enemy nexus shattered under ZGDX's final coordinated assault, the eruption of sound from the arena was deafening, a tidal wave of cheers that swallowed the stage whole as confetti rained down in glittering sheets of gold and silver.

Yao tore off her headset with trembling hands, disbelief and triumph colliding in her expression as she turned toward her team, while Sicheng rose from his chair slowly, the weight of the moment settling across his shoulders in a way that felt heavier than any prior championship, because this was not regional dominance, this was global conquest.

"We did it," Pang breathed, almost reverent.

"We did," Ming answered quietly.

Sicheng stepped toward Yao and gripped her hand firmly, his eyes locking with hers in silent acknowledgment of everything they had endured to reach this point.

"World champions," Lao Mao said hoarsely.

"World's champions," Lao K echoed.

They moved forward together to lift the trophy, metal cool and solid in their hands as flashes from cameras exploded in relentless bursts of light, and when they bowed on stage in unified respect, heads lowered before the roaring crowd, the image was broadcast across continents, reaching living rooms and offices and phones thousands of miles away.