Bleachers Vorpal Basket POV

Louie slammed his palms against the railing.

"C'MON, THEY'RE BLEEDING OUT THERE!"

Ryan shook his head.

"No… they're surviving out there."

Ethan's eyes were fixed, unreadable.

"Zeus raised his aura again. That was 50%... maybe a bit more."

Lucas leaned forward, voice low, grin sharp.

"And Jalen's still not backing down. That's the scary part."

Ayumi, whispering from behind them:

"It's like watching two different species fight on the same court."

Ethan nodded slowly.

"No... it's more than that."

He looked at Jalen chest heaving, eyes blazing.

"It's the first human to ever step into a god's realm and not bow down."

SCORE: GODS — 67 | RAPTORS — 34

TIME: END OF SECOND QUARTER — HALFTIME BREAK

…

The buzzer echoed like thunder.

The scoreboard glared down, GODS — 67 | RAPTORS — 34.

The crowd exhaled as if released from a spell. Even the commentators couldn't speak for a full five seconds, microphones trembling in their hands.

One of them finally managed, voice cracking through the silence:

"...That's halftime. If you can even call what we just saw basketball."

….

GODS LOCKER ROOM

Steam rose in quiet waves from the Gods' bench room. No shouting. No laughter. Just a hum — the sound of something greater than victory.

Zeus sat at the center, towel draped over his shoulders, eyes glowing faintly with restrained light.

Hades leaned against the wall, smirking. Poseidon sat cross-legged, eyes closed, his breathing so calm it barely stirred the air. Ares twirled a towel like a weapon, restless. Chronos sat apart, scribbling invisible diagrams in the air — threads of possible futures.

"So… 67–34," Ares grunted, rolling his neck. "Not bad for them surviving two quarters."

Poseidon cracked one eye open. "They adapted faster than expected. Especially the point guard. His tempo's... wild."

Hades chuckled, folding his arms.

"'Flash World,' they call it. Cute name. Kid bends time just enough to look faster. Problem is—"

He pointed a thumb toward Zeus.

"—He's still playing within reality."

Zeus finally looked up, voice low, every syllable heavy.

"Reality bends for those who decide it. He hasn't learned that yet."

Silence followed. Even Ares stopped smirking.

Chronos tilted his head. Calculated the percentage

"Captain, your aura, you only used 60 then back to 53%."

Zeus's towel dropped to the floor.

He stood, stretching lazily as if gravity itself was a suggestion.

"They'll either break before I reach 70… or stand tall enough to make me care."

A faint smile almost human crossed his face.

"I'd prefer the second."

….

RAPTORS LOCKER ROOM

If the Gods' room was divine silence, the Raptors' locker room was the aftermath of a storm.

Jalen sat slumped forward; hands pressed against his knees. His jersey clung to him, drenched. His chest heaved, but his eyes his eyes still burned.

Around him, the others sat scattered. Tyrese stared blankly at the floor. Malik wiped his hands again and again like trying to erase failure. Zion rubbed his temples, mumbling plays. Kobe Morales stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Then Coach Jenkins stepped in.

Not yelling. Not pacing. Just… walking.

He looked at them at his team, bloodied but still breathing.

And he spoke, slow, deliberate.

"Listen up."

The air stilled.

"I don't care what their name is Gods, Demons, Titans. I don't give a damn. You're Raptors."

He stepped closer, eyes on Jalen.

"You don't bow. Not to scoreboards. Not to names. Not even to reality."

Jalen lifted his head.

"Coach… they're bending the court. Zeus, he's not human."

Coach Jenkins smiled faintly.

"Then make him bleed like one."

Tyrese's fists clenched. Malik raised his head. Zion's muttering stopped.

"You think I care if we win this one?" Jenkins barked suddenly, slamming his clipboard against the bench.

"What matters is this, when people look back at this game, I want them to remember the fight. That the Raptors didn't vanish when Gods descended, they roared back!"

He pointed at Jalen.

"And you Flash Carter stop trying to outmatch him. Just play. Play your game. Make them remember you."

Jalen exhaled. Slow. Deep.

Then he grinned.

"Yeah… guess I got caught in their pace."

He stood; eyes sharp again.

"Time to make them feel mine."

….

BLEACHERS — TEAM VORPAL

Ethan Albarado's eyes never left the court, even though the players were gone.

The scoreboard's glow painted his face in cold blue light.

Lucas leaned beside him, arms crossed.

"They can't win like this."

Ethan didn't answer immediately. His mind replayed every motion Zeus's micro-step displacing air, Hades's delayed fadeaway, Poseidon's dribble rhythm syncing with the court's bounce.

His voice was low, measured.

"It's not about winning. It's about seeing."

Lucas frowned. "Seeing what?"

Ethan's gaze sharpened.

"The difference between mortals and Gods… and how to close it."

Louie, sitting in the row behind, muttered under his breath,

"Close it? You can't close something like that, bro."

Ethan smiled faintly.

"That's what they said about Jordan's hang time."

Ryan Taylor folded his arms.

"So what's your take, Captain?"

Ethan's fingers tapped his knee once, twice like a rhythm of analysis.

"Zeus isn't overpowering them. He's rewriting their decisions. Every pass, every drive, he makes their intent collapse before execution. Jalen's Flash World manipulates temp but Zeus manipulates outcome."

Lucas's eyes flickered.

"Then it's impossible."

"No." Ethan's eyes gleamed.

"It's predictable. Every rule, even divine ones, have boundaries. You just have to survive long enough to see them."

Ayumi Brooke, sitting quietly beside the bench, glanced at him.

"You're studying him."

Ethan nodded.

"Every god bleeds somewhere. You just have to find where."

….

RETURNING TO THE COURT

The crowd buzzed like static as both teams re-emerged. Cameras flashed. Commentators recovered their breath.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are heading into the third quarter! The score: GODS — 67, RAPTORS — 34! Can the Raptors rise from this avalanche?"

Zeus led his team out first composed, untouchable.

Each step carried the weight of inevitability.

Then Jalen appeared.

Sweat dripping. Aura faintly flickering.

But his eyes, they were alive again.

He spun the ball once in his palm. The bounce echoed through the silent gym.

"Second half," he muttered under his breath, voice steady.

"Let's rewrite fate our way."

Zeus looked across the court, faint smile returning.

"Then show me, Flash Carter. Show me what mortals can burn for."

The referee raised the whistle.

The arena trembled again.

Third quarter begin

To be continue

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