Extra time had begun.
The players barely had a chance to breathe before the Rift Strikers surged forward. They didn't jog. They didn't build up play. They attacked like a pack that had smelled blood at last. Their aura signatures flared across the pitch in streaks of silver and teal, heat mirages twisting under the stadium lights.
Aya felt the weight almost instantly. Her legs burned, her lungs were tight, and every inhale tasted like metal, but she pushed up the field anyway, desperate to keep control. Scarlet swung wide, hands on her knees for a second longer than she should have. Anastasia wiped sweat from her eyes, tying her hair tighter even though her fingers shook.
Lionel clapped twice, steel in his voice.
"Hold shape! Don't give them the opening they're waiting for!"
The Rift Strikers didn't wait.
