Oswin carefully placed the ball inside the corner arc before raising his hand. Inside the penalty area, Winston's teammates jostled for position while Diego's defenders stayed tight to their marks. Oswin whipped the corner into the box. Winston timed his run perfectly, leaping above his marker and powering a header toward goal. Diego's goalkeeper reacted instantly. Stretching out his arms and legs like a crab, he punched the ball clear with both fists. The loose ball dropped outside the penalty area. One of Diego's defenders reached it first and cleared it toward midfield.
Lukas Hickman stepped forward to collect the clearance. Instead of forcing an attack, he calmly played a short pass to a nearby teammate. Patiently waiting for an opening, Winston's defenders circulated possession across the back line. Recognizing the opportunity, Diego's team immediately pushed higher, pressing aggressively. Remaining composed, Hickman played the ball back to his goalkeeper. The goalkeeper took one touch before launching a long kick toward midfield.
One of Winston's midfielders won the aerial duel, flicking a header toward the right side of the pitch. Both central midfielders sprinted toward the loose ball. They collided shoulder to shoulder. Using his superior strength, Winston's midfielder forced his opponent off balance before recovering possession.
Without hesitation, he laid the ball off to the right-back. The right-back looked up and drove a long pass down the right flank. Diego's right-back anticipated it perfectly. Stepping in front of the intended receiver, he intercepted the pass with a well-timed standing tackle. Without allowing Winston's team to regroup, he curled a first-time pass into midfield. Diego's midfielder met it with one touch before threading a through ball into the space behind Winston's advancing right-back.
Using his pace, Diego's winger burst past Winston's right-back and charged down the right flank. As he approached the penalty area, he glanced up. Diego was weaving between the center-backs, waiting for a low cross across the face of goal. Without breaking stride, the winger drilled a dangerous low ball across the six-yard box.
Diego committed to the run. Sliding with his leg fully extended, he managed to get the inside of his boot to the ball. The slight touch redirected it toward the far post. Winston's goalkeeper reacted instantly. Throwing himself across goal, he stretched out one hand and managed to palm the ball behind.
Corner kick.
Winston's defenders immediately gathered inside the penalty area, each closely marking Diego's constantly moving attackers. At the edge of the box, one of Diego's midfielders stepped forward to offer a passing option. Instead of delivering the cross immediately, the corner taker played a short pass to him. The two exchanged quick one-touch passes before the original taker whipped a curling cross into the penalty area. Winston couldn't help but admire the move.
They're more organized than I expected… He had assumed Diego's team would rely purely on individual ability, but their movement and passing patterns were surprisingly well rehearsed. None of them looked nervous. Like Winston's team, they could feel dozens of eyes fixed upon them from the stands.
No one wanted to become the academy's next weak link. The cross curled dangerously toward the six-yard box. Winston's goalkeeper came off his line decisively. Leaping into traffic, he caught the ball firmly against his chest before dropping to the ground to secure possession.
After getting back to his feet, he quickly scanned the field. Spotting Oswin in space near the left touchline, he launched the ball toward him. Oswin controlled it cleanly—two defenders immediately closed him down. With a quick body feint and silky footwork, he slipped between them before exploding down the left flank. The pair turned and chased after him relentlessly. They stayed glued to his heels. Using his upper body strength, Oswin shrugged them off just enough to keep possession as he drove deeper into Diego's half.
Winston hesitated, shuffling his feet as he debated whether to move over and support Oswin. Before he could decide, Oswin muscled his way past the two defenders and slipped a pass toward him. The ball slowed across the grass before reaching its target. Several Diego players immediately broke toward it. Winston exploded into a sprint. Using his superior acceleration, he reached the ball a split second before anyone else.
Relief washed over him as he took his first touch. Without slowing down, he drove straight at Diego's defense.
The ball danced between his feet. His dribbling had evolved.
With only a few quick strides, he chained together a series of feints, step-overs, and body swerves, gliding past four defenders without losing momentum. As he surged forward, Winston noticed something changing. His vision sharpened. The movements of every player became clearer. He could instantly identify the empty pockets of space his teammates were attacking.
At the same time, his hearing became unusually acute. He heard the rapid footsteps of a defender closing in from behind. Instead of forcing another dribble, Winston calmly let the defender sprint past him. Using the defender's momentum against him, he wrapped his foot around the ball and curled a perfectly weighted pass into the space behind the back line.
Oswin burst onto it. One touch—then a short sprint into the penalty area. As the goalkeeper rushed off his line, Oswin kept his composure and delicately side-footed a low finesse shot toward the far-left corner.
The goalkeeper dived desperately...
Thwack!
Winston stood frozen, staring at Oswin in disbelief.
I did it...
After days of relentless training, he had finally tapped into the awakening he had been chasing. A smile slowly crept onto his face as he walked toward Oswin and the rest of his teammates, who were huddled together in celebration.
Curious, Winston gathered a sliver of Nethen Essence and focused it into his eyes. His vision flickered. He blinked—the world suddenly split into four overlapping perspectives. Although the effect only extended a few meters in front of him, it was enough for him to perceive multiple angles at once, as if he were seeing through four pairs of eyes simultaneously.
A sharp burning sensation pierced his eyes. He blinked again—the strange vision disappeared. Warm tears streamed down his cheeks. Oswin noticed immediately. Furrowing his brows before breaking into a grin, he threw an arm around Winston's shoulder. "I know I'm that good, but I didn't think my goal would make you cry."
Winston quickly wiped his eyes. "Don't flatter yourself," he said with a snort. "I think something got into my eyes."
Oswin laughed. "Both of them? Now that's a first."
***
Far from the football field, high atop a secluded observation tower, several men in tailored suits silently watched the match unfold. Rows of sophisticated machines lined the room. Long-range cameras remained fixed on the players below, while banks of computers processed a constant stream of biometric data.
Every player on the field appeared on one of the monitors as green dots. Only one stood out. Winston—his body pulsed between deep vermilion and crimson as his internal temperature continuously fluctuated.
Beside the live feed, another monitor displayed a full anatomical diagram of his body. Numbers climbed and fell across the screen. Body Temperature Index: 01–100. The system had originally been designed to monitor the physical condition of Divinity Pill test subjects.
This wasn't the first time Winston had been under surveillance. The cameras had tracked him for days—during his solitary training sessions near Building D, inside the dormitories whenever he activated the Voltage Core, and even throughout his recent practices.
Standing before the largest display, an elderly man clasped his hands behind his back. A faint smile spread across his face. For days he had been waiting for confirmation that Winston had begun using the Divinity Pills. Had the boy refused… He had already prepared far more drastic methods to force the issue. Without taking his eyes off the monitor, the old man asked, "How many Divinity Pills has he taken?"
The two suited men behind him exchanged glances before one answered. "According to our observations... five, possibly six."
"He has also spent considerable time in Dr. Haruto's infirmary over the past several days."
The old man's expression sharpened. "What did Haruto discover?"
"So far, his reports claim Winston shows no abnormalities."
The second man hesitated before continuing. "We suspect Winston is consuming the pills during his private training sessions."
"Shall we search his belongings?"
The old man shook his head. "No. Leave him alone."
His gaze remained fixed on Winston's fluctuating body temperature. "Once his Body Temperature Index reaches one hundred… bring him in. For laboratory experimentation."
A heavy silence settled over the room. Then he added, "And keep watching Dr. Haruto. I have a feeling he's hiding something."
***
On the football field, Diego restarted the match. Unaware of it, Winston had already brushed against another awakening. The fluid, instinctive dribbling that had allowed him to glide past four defenders moments earlier wasn't something he had consciously performed. It had happened naturally, as if his body knew what to do before his mind could think.
Likewise, the heightened awareness he had experienced during Oswin's goal wasn't a stroke of luck. By allowing the Nethen Essence to circulate freely throughout his body instead of forcing it into a single point, his perception had sharpened on its own.
Winston didn't realize any of this. To him, he was simply enjoying the match. Diego rolled the ball into midfield. His teammates immediately increased the tempo, exchanging crisp one-touch passes as they advanced. Diego drifted between Winston's midfielders, constantly searching for pockets of space.
The midfielder in possession drove forward instead of recycling the ball to the defenders. There was no hesitation. No retreat. Rather than admitting defeat or slowing the game down, Diego's team attacked with purpose. Every player wanted to make an impact. Every player wanted to score. That hunger was precisely why they had earned a place at the Federation Academy.