The sound of distant cheering echoed faintly from a cracked laptop screen.
On it, a young Neymar weaved through defenders, twisting his body like liquid flame before curling the ball into the top corner.
A weak chuckle escaped the thin lips of the man lying on the hospital bed.
Jaeven Moretti Han, 25 years old.
A life defined by sickness, frailty, and envy.
His bones ached just from breathing. His heart trembled beneath skin pale as moonlight.
The smell of disinfectant had become his perfume — hospitals, his home.
As the replay ended, the crowd's roar filled his small room.
It was the same goal — Neymar's 2012 masterpiece against Atlético Mineiro.
Jaeven's tired eyes shimmered with longing.
> "If only I had the body to chase this dream…"
The monitor beside him beeped weakly — a reminder that dreams didn't care for broken bodies.
He closed his eyes to the sound of cheering fans…
but the cheering didn't fade.
It grew louder.
---
Sunlight. Grass. Whistles. Sweat.
The smell of the earth was sharp, raw, alive.
Jaeven gasped, sitting upright on a green field under a bright blue sky.
His heart raced — not in pain, but power.
Around him, boys were running drills, chasing footballs. A coach blew a whistle, barking orders.
Jaeven blinked.
He was in a football pitch.
He looked down at his hands — strong, steady.
His reflection shimmered faintly in a nearby water bottle — black hair, one sea-green eye, one sky-blue.
He was sixteen again.
> "Where… am I?"
---
A soft ding echoed in his mind.
> [Initializing Divine Echelon Framework…]
[Host Detected: Jaeven Moretti Han, Age 16]
[Welcome to Virtus Lombardia Youth Academy]
[Football Prodigy Initialization Beginning…]
Golden text danced across his vision as the system unfolded before him.
> [Starter Pack Unlocked]
[Innate Traits Acquired:]
— Double Foot (A-Rank)
— Spectral Awareness (S-Rank)
— Ball Control (S-Rank)
[Hidden Potential: EX-Rank — Unawakened]
The words burned into his mind like destiny itself.
His new body trembled — not from fear, but exhilaration.
For the first time in both lives… he felt alive.
---
He crouched down and picked up the ball beside him.
It felt… perfect.
The weight, the texture, the balance — all of it screamed freedom.
As his fingers brushed the surface, something deep within him sparked.
His mismatched eyes glowed faintly under the Italian sun.
> "This time… I'll play until the world remembers my name."
The whistle blew again, and the rebirth of a legend began on the green fields of Virtus Lombardia Youth.