Chapter 38: An Off Day
Amani’s body felt heavy as he collapsed onto his bed, muscles aching from the morning workout. The past two weeks had pushed him beyond anything he had ever experienced, but this morning had been the final hurdle — the last push to complete his weekly system training mission.
The hill sprints. The single-leg squats. The push-ups. The yoga. It was all done.
His body was drained, but his mind refused to shut off. Slowly, his breathing steadied. His eyelids grew heavy. And before he even realized it, sleep took him.
The roar of the stadium hit him first.
Blinding lights. Deafening noise. Amani blinked, adjusting to the sheer magnitude of it all. The sea of fans stretched endlessly, shoulder to shoulder, a wave of colors and motion. The air was thick with tension, a pulse that thrummed through the very walls of the stadium.
Wembley. UEFA Champions League Final.
The scoreboard burned into his vision.
89:57
FC Utrecht 1 - 1 Real Madrid
The ball was at his feet.
Everything else faded. The roaring crowd, the flickering cameras, the weight of history pressing down on his shoulders — all of it dissolved into a distant hum.