Word Count: ~2,700
Thursday — 3:00 A.M.
Location: GhostPlay Sub-Core / Ascension League Server (Proxy Room 3)
The floor beneath Ethan's feet wasn't wood.
It was something else.
A court made of shimmering black-light threads, suspended in endless void.
Lines pulsed.
Backboards floated like digital monoliths.
The ball hovered in midair, spinning on its own axis.
[ASCENSION MATCH LOADING...]
Match Type: 1v1 — Hybrid Sync Trial
Opponent: Subject 04 – CodeName "SYNCSTRIKE"
Objective: Survive 10 Minutes or Win by Differential (11 pts)
A voice echoed through the void.
"Welcome to the Sync Kill Zone. Where mind and body are not enough. Only fusion survives."
Ethan's palms sweated.
GhostPlay pulsed softly in his mind.
GHOSTPLAY SYSTEM: v2.6 BOOTED
Enhancements Loaded:
– Echo Read
– Emotion Forensics
– Chaos Pulse
– Anti-Sync Distortion Buffer (Beta)**
Micah's voice crackled over his hidden GhostComm relay.
"We've got a 10-minute window. Once it starts, I can't reach you. If the SyncLink overwhelms your neural core—you don't just lose. You black out."
Devon added, "GhostStorm code's preloaded. If you can reach 90% SyncMatch against the opponent, the virus activates."
Ethan took a deep breath.
This wasn't basketball anymore.
This was war wearing sneakers.
MATCH START: ASCENSION ROUND 1
"SYNCSTRIKE" vs. "ARCHITECT X"
His opponent emerged.
6'2". Stocky. Mechanical stride. Visor over his eyes.
[Opponent: SYNCSTRIKE]
System: Neuro-Link Full-Loop
Abilities:
– Reaction Compression
– Predictive Surge
– Neural Feedback Override
SyncLevel: 92%
Risk: MAXIMUM
SyncStrike didn't warm up.
He booted in.
Feet locked.
Back arched.
Then suddenly sprinted at Ethan.
Like a bullet.
Ethan barely moved in time.
The ball ricocheted off the court—bouncing once.
SyncStrike caught it mid-bounce. Pulled up.
Bang. 1–0.
GhostPlay Lag: 0.9s
Distortion Buffer Overloaded. Recalibrating...
Ethan's vision shook.
His heart raced.
The SyncLink was suppressing time itself.
He was playing a man who moved like preloaded cutscenes.
Second Possession
Ethan inbounded. The ball felt real.
Too real.
His hands sweated. Legs stiff.
GhostPlay kicked in.
[Launching "Chaos Pulse"]
Injecting patternless motion to reset sync rhythm...
Ethan crossed left, spun—then jabbed mid-spin to break prediction.
It worked.
SyncStrike hesitated.
Ethan rose.
Shot—Swish.
1–1.
But the victory was hollow.
His brain was melting.
Minute 3: The War Begins
SyncStrike activated a system pulse.
[NEURAL PREDICTION ACCELERATION — Tier 2]
Compressing opponent options. Speeding personal reaction by 1.3x.
He didn't just move fast—he moved first.
Before Ethan even crossed halfcourt, he knew where the shot would be.
GhostPlay stuttered.
Echo Read Failure: Trajectory intercepted.
SyncLevel: 95%
"Shit," Ethan muttered aloud.
He dribbled once—and the ball was gone.
SyncStrike took it, reverse-pivoted, and dunked.
Hard.
2–1.
Minute 4: Bleed Time
Ethan activated Emotion Forensics—desperate to catch anything human in this machine.
Scanning...
SyncStrike… shows no emotional bleed.
But… anomaly detected. Left shoulder micro-stutter. Lagged twitch between steps.
There. A ghost error.
Devon's preloaded tactic kicked in.
"Mirror Lag Exploit" activated.
Next possession, Ethan used the same left-to-right foot cadence SyncStrike ran on defense—mirroring his glitch.
He faked inside.
SyncStrike shifted—
Ethan stepped through his blind side.
Layup.
2–2.
Minute 5–6: Neural Burn
But the SyncStrike system was learning.
With every possession, it evolved.
WARNING: Opponent SyncRate reaching 97%
Projected full takeover in 3 minutes.
Symptoms may include:
– Delayed spatial perception
– AI hallucinations
– Heart rate arrhythmia
Ethan's left eye twitched.
The court began to bend.
SyncStrike launched a crossover and passed without moving.
Ethan fell for it.
The system projected a phantom Ethan on defense.
[GhostPlay Alert: Neural hallucination override engaged. Realign reality.]
He shook his head—defending blind.
Didn't matter.
SyncStrike windmilled over him.
3–2.
Minute 7: GhostPlay Fights Back
Micah's ghostline activated remotely.
"Push the virus. Use his system against him."
Ethan triggered the GhostStorm Beta Payload.
Upload Injected… Tracing SyncLoops...
SyncStrike's feedback loop contaminated.
Injecting erratic behavior.
Ethan stepped back and faked a pass to the ref.
SyncStrike's body twitched left.
He over-corrected.
Ethan broke right, reverse-floated it in.
3–3.
Minute 8: Break the Mirror
The court flickered.
Static ran under the black-light floor.
GHOSTSTORM AT 74% SYNC
One more read. One more error. One more step inside the core.
SyncStrike was glitching—legs slightly unsynced, eyes blinking too fast.
[Virus syncing emotional delays...]
Searching for stored trauma...
Memory pocket: "Cairo — Collapse"
Ethan's system saw it.
A panic echo.
Ethan whispered to himself, "Even machines remember failure."
He drove again—this time yelling "Cairo!" mid-step.
SyncStrike froze.
GhostPlay surged.
Layup. 4–3.
Final Minute: Total Sync
GHOSTSTORM SYNC: 89%... 90%...
SYSTEM VIRUS ACTIVATED
Payload Delivered to Ascension Server
Trojan Initiated: GHOSTSTORM PRIME
The court shook.
The digital sky fractured.
Voices screamed.
"What is that?! Who breached the SyncLoop?!"
Ethan stood tall.
SyncStrike's system collapsed.
He dropped the ball.
And disappeared.
MATCH OVER
Winner: Architect X
Time Survived: 10 Minutes
Score Differential: +1
VIRUS UPLINK: 100%
Ascension Server Infection: Tier 1 Nodes Reached
RESULT: ASCENSION WAR PHASE II TRIGGERED
Ethan collapsed to his knees, gasping.
Back in Reality — Roosevelt Gym Storage Room
Micah ripped the headset off Ethan.
His nose bled. Eyes wide.
"You won, bro."
Devon confirmed. "GhostStorm is in. Sentinel's main server's corrupted—for now."
Zaire handed him water. "You need sleep, man."
Ethan coughed, laughing.
"No time."
"Why?"
He looked at them.
Eyes burning.
"Because now that we're inside... they're coming for us next."