Danilo let out a sigh of disappointment as Diego's goal hit the back of the net. When he turned toward Winston, he noticed that his gaze remained fixed on the pitch.
I wonder what Winston is looking at.
Danilo cleared his throat. "The match is getting interesting. I wonder if Oswin and the others can equalize."
"They will. But they need to watch their backs. Some of those players are playing dirty," Winston replied. His eyes shifted between Oswin, who was massaging his knee, and Lucas, Diago, and Diego, who were laughing among themselves as though nothing had happened.
Then something clicked in Winston's mind. How long have they been planning this? And what really happened between Oswin and Lucas for Lucas to want to injure him again?
As these questions filled his mind, the strange heaviness in his chest mingled with the rapid pounding of his heart. He quickly grabbed his water bottle and gulped down what remained.
Why does this feel so familiar? Think, Winston. Why does it feel as though I've experienced this before?
Before he could make sense of the feeling, the referee's whistle sounded, signaling the restart. Oswin's striker passed the ball backward to Elijah, who hurried it to Bongani. With opponents closing in around him, Bongani returned the pass to Elijah.
Playing as the team's anchor and playmaker in midfield, Elijah circulated the ball among the attackers, looking for an opening. However, the forwards were heavily marked, and none of the passing lanes offered a clear opportunity. Recognizing that they were getting nowhere, Elijah passed the ball back to Hickman.
Hickman and the defenders continued circulating possession across the back line. They were deliberately inviting Arjun's attackers deeper into their own half, drawing them away from their defensive positions in preparation for a counterattack.
The tactic worked.
Arjun, Diego, and Diago spread out and began pressing their opponents, trying to force a mistake. When the ball reached Hickman, he immediately threaded a pass through the pressing line to Elijah.
Elijah didn't need to waste time scanning the field. Before the ball had even reached him, he had already identified the teammate who was free. It was the move they had been taught by the short, bald instructor, and they taught it to Bongani and Elijah. Positioned in the center of the pitch, Elijah struck the ball with a powerful swing, sending a high, arcing lob toward Oswin, who was making a run down the flank.
Oswin stretched out his leg and cushioned the descending ball with his cleat, redirecting it forward. The touch sent the ball rolling into space at impressive speed, and he immediately accelerated after it. Two opposing midfielders moved to close him down. But Oswin had learned to combine his explosive speed with his technical skills. Rather than relying on pace alone, he used his movements to keep defenders guessing.
As the first midfielder approached, Oswin relaxed his shoulders and executed a rainbow flick, lifting the ball over the oncoming opponent. The midfielder stumbled as the ball sailed past him. Before the second player could adjust, Oswin performed a Scotch move, slipping the ball through his opponent's legs with a perfectly timed nutmeg.
He burst through the gap and glanced upfield—the striker was making a run behind the defenders, while Bongani charged forward on the opposite flank. Both were looking for a chance to receive the ball.
Oswin chose the striker—using the outside of his foot, he delivered a precise pass into the forward's path. The striker didn't even attempt to control it. Instead, he struck a first-time shot along the ground. Arjun's goalkeeper reacted quickly, diving to his side to make the save. However, he couldn't hold on to the shot, and the ball spilled loose toward Bongani.
Bongani was momentarily caught off guard. Three opposing players stood between him and the goal, blocking his shooting lane. He kept his composure, using a series of stutter steps to make the defenders hesitate as he searched for an opening—then he spotted Oswin making a run toward Zone 14.
Bongani immediately played a short pass into his teammate's path. Lucas had been watching Oswin closely throughout the attack. He was also the one who had instructed the two midfielders to keep Oswin under pressure. Now, as Oswin positioned himself just outside the penalty area and prepared to unleash a long-range shot, Lucas moved.
He charged forward and launched himself into a sliding tackle. Oswin barely had time to react—the impact sent him flipping forward before he crashed onto his back with a dull thud.
All the air was knocked from his lungs—pain shot through his back, head, and shin. For a moment, he could barely breathe. Then, as air rushed painfully back into his lungs, he let out a groan of agony.
On the football field, Oswin's teammates swarmed around the referee, protesting the tackle. Meanwhile, Lucas chuckled as Diago helped him to his feet before joining the commotion.
"I told you I wasn't done with you," Lucas said with a smirk. "This is what happens when you betray me."
Bongani felt anger surge through his chest. He quickly stormed toward Lucas, grabbed him by the jersey, and pulled him close. "What's wrong with you? Can't you see you've injured a player?"
Lucas smirked and shoved Bongani away—before Bongani could react, Elijah stepped between them, pressing his forehead against Lucas's.
"Are you planning to get beaten? Push me, and you'll see who I am," Elijah warned, glaring at him.
Lucas didn't back down. He pressed his own forehead against Elijah's and sneered. "What are you going to do, huh? You need to stay out of things that don't concern you."
Just as Elijah was about to respond, Diago joined Lucas, and the two began taunting him, trying to provoke him into a fight. Bongani refused to stand aside after being shoved, stepping forward to confront them again.
Fortunately, Hickman moved between the heated players and forced them apart. The referee also intervened, trying to calm everyone down before turning his attention to Oswin, who was still lying on the grass, groaning in agony. After asking Oswin a few questions, the referee gestured toward the medics waiting on the sideline with a stretcher. They hurried onto the pitch to assess his condition.
The sight left the spectators in the stands deeply troubled. Everyone knew there were only a few weeks left before the academy's training program ended and the scouts arrived. An injury at this stage could ruin a player's chances of being noticed by a major club.
Worse still, recovery at the academy depended on the severity of the injury. Some injuries could be overcome within days, while others required weeks or even months of rehabilitation. Judging by the way Oswin was lying on the grass, several players shook their heads grimly. Some had already begun to suspect that his chances were over.
Winston clenched his fists. Even from his seat in the stands, he knew Lucas wasn't done. As the medics lifted Oswin onto the stretcher, Winston caught a glimpse of his friend shielding his face with his hands. Tears rolled down Oswin's cheeks.
Winston immediately pushed himself to his feet. At that moment, the same strange, fluctuating waves he had experienced before surged into his ears. His hearing expanded outward, picking up conversations from different parts of the stands. He heard some players expressing sympathy for Oswin, while others quietly speculated that his football career might already be over.
Then Winston felt lightheaded. His head began to spin, and the penalty imposed on him by the Core system suddenly flooded his mind like a tidal wave. I have to see Oswin, Winston told himself, clenching his teeth. I can't stand by and watch my friends get bullied like this again.
With his vision growing blurry, he began climbing the concrete steps, using the shoulders of the seats for support. Danilo quickly moved to help him, but Winston shook his head. "I can do it myself."
He had finally begun to understand the heaviness in his chest. With every step he climbed, the voices around him became clearer. He could distinguish the murmurs of the players from the conversations of the instructors standing nearby, all of whom had been watching the match.
The strange, fluctuating waves intensified, surging through his ears and stabbing into his head. Then, as he struggled to climb another step, a thin trickle of blood dripped from his nose.
Ding!
[Internal stabilization: complete]
Nethen essence: Suppress
Innate Terra: immobilized
Spatial Zenith: immobilized
Absolute: immobilized