They say you never forget your first real game.
Not street football. Not training.
A match with pressure. With lights. With legacy on the line.
This was that game.
---
⚽ Vix Asteroid Academy vs Atlético Solar
Intergalactic Youth Cup – Qualifier | Match 1
Stadium: Lunar Core Dome
Kickoff: 18:00 GST
Atletico Solar Starting XI:
GK – Martez
RB – Riku (Martian Twin #1)
CB – Kenji
CB – Olawale
LB – Ria (Martian Twin #2)
CM – Soren
CM – Vega
RW – Juno
LW – Kai
CAM – Alejandro Vega Ruiz
ST – Musa
---
We stepped out to a half-packed stadium with noise that cut.
Alien fans with skin like glass. Earth fans waving digital flags.
Drones buzzing above us, broadcasting everything — every twitch, every pass, every drop of sweat.
Coach Navarro clapped once.
"Start like you've already scored. End like you still need more."
I jogged beside Soren to midfield.
He didn't speak. Just gave me a sharp look and nodded.
Kenji stretched behind us, spine straight, focus locked.
Musa bounced on his heels at the center circle, jaw clenched.
And the Martian twins?
Dead silent — cold, fast, synced like neural-linked bots.
Across the line stood Vix.
Bigger, sharper, cleaner.
Their midfield looked like they were built in labs. Their striker wore a captain's armband with stars embroidered into it — meaning he'd played in last year's final.
They weren't here to mess around.
---
🔁 0' – Kickoff
Ball rolled.
I touched it first, passing it back to Soren.
Felt light. Too light.
Vix didn't press — not right away. They studied. Calculated.
We tried to build slow, but they cut passing lanes like they'd watched our entire sim history.
By the 7th minute, they pounced.
A turnover near the halfway line. Quick switch to their right winger — who teleported past Ria with some kind of time-bending feint — then slid a ball across the box.
1–0. Vix.
Musa punched the turf. I stood frozen.
Welcome to the Cup.
---
🌀 [GOAT SYSTEM PING]
> [Focus]
[You've been here before. Climb.]
---
We reset. Tried to find rhythm.
Soren started dropping deeper. Kenji barked instructions.
Elira's voice echoed from the upper tower:
> "Back line too wide! Tighten up, Solar!"
I gritted my teeth.
And then — in the 29th minute — it happened.
Soren drove forward, baited two defenders, and released me with a disguised reverse ball.
Time slowed.
I felt it. That flicker. That Xavi spark — half-second vision.
I didn't need to think.
Just tapped the ball forward…
Cut inside…
Pulled the keeper left…
Then slotted it bottom right with my left foot.
GOAL. 1–1.
I ran to the corner flag, breath burning, heart slamming.
Musa tackled me mid-celebration. "You're cooking, Vega!"
Soren jogged over and bumped my fist, expression unreadable.
Kenji just pointed to the backline. "We're not done."
---
📺 Analyst Deck
Elira leaned forward, eyes wide.
"That run… that wasn't instinct. That was vision."
She scribbled something on her tablet. Then paused.
Looked back at me on the field.
> "And you're just getting started."
---
The half dragged on. Vix pressed. We held. Barely.
Halftime whistle blew.
We jogged off, 1–1 on the board, sweat dripping.
But we had life.
We had heart.
And we had forty-five minutes left to write a story they wouldn't forget.
---
To Be Continued…