Leon sat in the locker room, staring at the faint scratches on his cleats. The echo of laughter and sneakers squeaking on court tiles filled the corridor outside, but none of it reached him. His mind was a loop of failed passes and broken plays from that morning's training match.
Kael had ignored three of his passes.
Blatantly.
And worse, when Leon made a perfect through ball, Kael stepped in, dribbled straight into a defender, and waved it off like it was nothing.
Leon clenched his jaw. If it was once, he could call it coincidence. But three times? That was sabotage.
He tapped his temple lightly. Stay focused. Agile Step. Just play your game.
Still, the irritation simmered beneath the surface.
Later That Day – Aria's Footage
"Come with me," Aria said, standing by the old video room in the sports complex. The door creaked open with a sound that made Leon blink, this room hadn't been used since pre-season footage sessions.
Inside, the monitor glowed blue against the dark walls. Aria was already scrolling through files. She didn't say much, just played a clip.
The footage loaded. A boy in a Ridgeway jersey danced across the midfield line, dodging two defenders with a smooth, sudden sidestep, then flicked the ball past another in a blur.
Leon frowned. "That looks like…"
"You."
He looked closer. The way the boy twisted his torso before the feint. The lean right, real cut left. The pause mid-motion, then acceleration, it was the same sequence Leon used just yesterday.
It wasn't him.
It was Zane Arlo.
Another clip. Same player. Same movements. The angles. The pacing. The early feints triggered just before the defender twitched forward, like he knew it was coming. A perfect, predictive dance.
Aria paused the screen.
"That's how he played when the system was guiding him. Agile Step. Partial minimap. You're mimicking it—down to the same positioning."
Leon sat back. "I didn't mean to. It just… feels right."
"I know. That's the danger."
Another clip loaded.
It was darker. A night game. Zane looked slower, hesitant even. The Agile Step was there, but shakier. At minute 74, he collapsed mid-sprint, not from contact, but sheer exhaustion. His teammates rushed in, confused. The footage ended with Zane sitting on the bench, head in his hands, unmoving.
"Final match before he quit football," Aria said softly.
Leon's throat felt dry. He didn't want to see more. "The system failed?"
"No," she said. "He did. Because he stopped being Zane. He became the system. And when it started slipping... he had nothing left."
Leon looked at the frozen screen.
And wondered if he was already halfway there.
Match Day – Versus Kingsworth FC
Rain spat against the turf, just light enough not to cancel the match. Coach Davor gave his usual short talk, emphasizing cohesion and spacing, then clapped his hands.
Leon rolled his shoulders. His Agile Step was sitting at 34%. Not much, but enough for smooth movements. He activated the minimap, still the basic 10-meter pulse, but useful in tight spaces.
ZANE-003 Sync Drift: 11%
Still rising, he noted grimly.
Kickoff blew. The match was fast, heavy on midfield play.
Leon made a clean steal and swept a diagonal ball to Kael's flank.
Kael didn't even try to reach it.
He jogged after it like it was a lost cause, when it clearly wasn't.
Leon narrowed his eyes.
Ten minutes later, Leon dribbled through a tight press, pulled two defenders, then dropped a short pass to Kael, who had space to shoot.
Kael let it roll past.
Kingsworth picked it up.
It kept happening. Every time Leon initiated something, Kael either slowed down, moved the wrong way, or flat-out ignored him. Leon's minimap pinged subtle opportunities, but Kael acted like the plays weren't there.
Then it happened.
Final quarter. The score was 1–1. Leon triggered Agile Step, his body feint sent one defender wide, and he darted up the middle, seeing a passing lane open near the box.
He wound up his foot, only for Kael to slide in and snatch the ball off his toes.
"What the hell—" Leon shouted.
Kael didn't answer. He ran forward, taking on two defenders, trying to score on his own. The minimap blinked, warning overload, bad angle, no support.
Kael fired.
Wide.
Kingsworth countered immediately. They sprinted past a scrambling defense, passed cleanly, and slotted the winner in.
2–1.
Match over.
Locker Room – Aftermath
The silence was suffocating.
Coach Davor said nothing at first. Just stared. His eyes moved across the room, lingering on Kael, then Leon, then back to the exit.
"Watch the tape. Fix it," was all he said, then left.
Leon sat in silence, heartbeat pounding in his ears.
Kael leaned against the locker, arms crossed.
"You stole the ball from me," Leon said, standing slowly.
Kael shrugged. "You weren't going anywhere."
"We had the lane. You cost us the match."
"You think every play starts and ends with you?" Kael's voice rose. "You're not the only one on the field, Leon. Stop acting like you are."
Leon stepped forward. "You sabotaged the entire match just to make a point?"
Kael stood tall. "Maybe I'm tired of watching you get all the praise for stuff you didn't earn. You're not a genius, you've just got whatever advantage the coaches don't see."
Leon's hands clenched. "You think I'm cheating?"
"I think you're not playing football. You're playing a script."
The air thickened. Teammates looked up from their lockers, tense.
Kael smirked. "Face it. You're just a newbie trying to surpass me."
Then a punch suddenly landed on Leon's face
Leon didn't remember moving.
His fist collided with Kael's collarbone.
The bench crashed over as Kael lunged.
Shouts erupted.
Hands tried to pull them apart.