Ethan slept, but his dreams were a battlefield.
He saw GridironGuru's smug, laughing face, heard the condescending commentary on a loop. He saw his team, his brilliant, chaotic, beautiful team, reduced to a footnote in someone else's victory video. He woke up not with a jolt, but with a cold, clear, and utterly serene sense of purpose.
The anger was gone. In its place was a resolve as hard and as sharp as diamond.
Guru had made it public.
He had turned their private wager into a public spectacle. He had tried to write the story of Apex United as a comedy, a tale of a plucky little team that got demolished by a real contender.
Okay, Guru, Ethan thought, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across his face as he got out of bed.
You want to tell stories? Fine. Let's tell a story.
He went downstairs, a new, electric energy humming in his veins.
The day was bright, the house was peaceful, and a glorious, full-blown league matchday awaited him. It was the perfect stage.
