Ascension of the Awakened

CHAPTER 3

The Match

"Good evening, gentlemen. I hope today's game goes well. Play free and safe; after all, everyone is aware of the risks. Respect the guidelines so that there won't be any issues."

The noise level of the audience was unbearable; the stadium they were in shook with the loud chanting, pounding feet, and intense excitement that permeated the atmosphere.

Inside a gigantic glass building made of curving triangular panels, the Barnabas Gold Stadium wirled with the setting light, catching vibrant oranges and dark reds that flashed over its reflecting surfaces.

Eleven guys stood facing each other on the 50-yard line, the green, white-striped football fields vacant of all people but the sound of clicking and flashing cameras attempting to record every moment.

With his helmet tucked under his arm, Ezra stood tall and confident, with two of his friends at his sides. He grinned coolly at the haughty taunts from his longtime rivals from Angel Wing Academy.

His shirt and football pads fit on like a knight's armour, shining a gorgeous deep blue, with the exception of the number 3, which showed out as a brilliant white on his chest.

Stretching out a brilliantly made coin approximately half the breadth of his hand, the Head Referee said, "Here is the coin we will be flipping today." On one side, there is a football with the flag of the fallen American Empire embroidered on it. It's going to be tails.

"The Paradise Palace is on this side. Heads will win.

An expert metal worker with four stars created this coin. The term 'Uniting' was bestowed to it. It symbolises the power of our Ascension Empire to integrate all of its previous victories, creating room for everyone."

The 10 players were permitted to see both sides by the head referee.

"Are you willing to fail?"

A confident stare descended on Ezra; it belonged to a young guy with long flowing blond hair, whose white jersey was so bright under the lights that it required squinting to keep eye contact.

Comrade Siegfried was this young guy, a four-star quarterback prospect.

Ezra said hazily, "The outcome will be exactly the same as it has always been."

"You are familiar with the procedure. You are the home team, Gold Blue. Make a call while in the air."

The coin was thrown into the air by the head referee.

A spinning coin slowly dropped between the two young men as their piercing gazes met across space, and time appeared to slow to a crawl.

"Tails."

There was a gentle thump as the penny hit the grass below.

The outcome is Tails. Would you rather kick or be given something, Gold Academy ?"

Ezra smiled as if the solution was clear-cut.

"We receive."

"Angel Wing, pick the direction you'd like to kick off from."

With a nonchalant gesture, Comrade pointed out that he had not let Ezra's remarks get to him; if not for Ezra's birth, he would have been this generation's finest player; others would have allowed this to break them, but it gave Comrade a fierce drive to succeed at all costs.

Ezra turned and walked back to the sidelines, grabbing the facemask off his helmet and putting it on like a knight's helm.

Almost a hundred pairs of eyes fell on Ezra's black, tinted visor as a tremendous pressure crushed the Gold Academy sides. In that instant, his aura shifted totally.

Before long, there was an unsettling silence around the stadium as Ezra met each of their stares squarely.

"Honour the game. "Keep going until the very end." Ezra remarked.

"Honour the game. Stick with it through."

The audience erupted in unison when Gold Academy repeated these words, sending a wave of momentum that seemed to go on forever.

Emotion surged through the air, a frenzied cheering that shook the earth once again.

"Let's go."

[And here we go again: Five-great Quarterback Ezra Israeli and his Gold Academy s are heading into their fourth season and their fourth National Championship appearance. Will it be another win, or will the great quarterback finish his career with the lone stain on his record?]

[Phil, I believe you already know the answer to that. Just in case you haven't forgotten, this young guy was throwing darts in his diapers and is THE best quarterback prospect that has ever been born. He could sleepwalk through this game and still win by thirty points.]

Let me break the news to you: we have the first overall selection this year! [Don't think we don't know what you're doing, Rick. You're simply hoping your Los Angeles Sewer Rats move up to take him in the 2198 draft.]

The Phil-Rick team was giving hilarious commentary, and their energy was contagious.

[And now for the 119th National Championship Game kickoff!]

After a brief jog-up, the kicker for Angel Wings launched a powerful kick that flew through the air and landed out of the back of the end zone for a touchback.

That was it, the real start of the game.

[The first play is now available.]

[It seems like Coach Ben is giving Ezra a lot more freedom these days. He went right into a five-wide formation without even employing a running back.]

[Ha! They just need Ezra as a running back.]

Ezra turned his head to look at the defence as he checked to the left and right. He saw the middle linebackers on the defensive line of Angel Wings staring back at him with ferocious eyes, and he knew that, like his quarterback, Ezra had played him into the ground the last two years.

His eyes met Jones's instantly, as if in silent accord.

"Blue Eighty. BLUE 80. Assemble. Hut!"

With a clap of his hands, Ezra took the snapped ball and carefully raised and positioned his leg.

With such ease, he slid backwards; his rear leg had barely touched the ground when his arm back and fired a laser.

[A rush around the bend!]

[Israeli really lobbed the ball right over the head of the corner, failing to check the play!]

[How unlike him—Jones dropped the ball?! That might have been a 20-yard gain.]

[Hi there!]

A whistle went out with great volume.

"Too much roughness. causing the passer to stumble. 21. penalty of 15 yards, first down."

The blitzing corner had taken Ezra by surprise; he had known it was coming, of course, but he was unable to evade and throw at the same time, leaving him feeling as if the wind had been taken out of him.

Just as another whistle blasted, Number 21 smirked down at Ezra, "Gonna be a long night, pretty boy."

Unsportsmanlike behaviour. 21. penalty of 15 yards, first down."

The corner swagger back to his side of the pitch, raising his hands in mock despair.

"Cap, how are you doing?"

Ezra was hoisted up by one of his offensive linemen.

With a chilly grin, Ezra said, "No problem."

The group gathered in.

Shaken, Jones said, "Sorry Lin, you took a hit for no reason."

Lin struck his shoulder pads and said, "Don't worry, it happens. Head up." In any case, didn't we just get a free thirty yards?

"Since they wanna play games, let's play games. The play goes — Trips right, red under seam, wide out bang. On two, on two. Break!"

When the group broke apart, Ezra started to jog towards the line.

He waited for his guys to assemble as he halted in shotgun. He would usually survey the defence. But this time, he looked directly at one side of the field with his head inclined to the right.

He pointed up at number 21 with his finger. This athlete must have been a freshman since he had never been spotted by him before. He was undoubtedly at least a Four-Star recruit, despite his arrogance. It seems that Ezra would need to train him to be more submissive.

[Whoa! Now that he's finished,

"Blue 21. BLUE 21. Down set. Hut. HUT!"

A whistle blasted.

"Offside. Number 21. Five-yard penalty, first down."

Now he's playing with the newbie. Do you believe Ezra would have just tried to push the ball to his side of the pitch? He is too innocent. Football is a mental game.

[Great use of the hard count to stop an overly aggressive rusher. Why is Angel Wing throwing out a corner blitz two straight times?[

[From now on, Ezra has the authority![

And he was in command. The first drive was a masterclass in timing, precision, and accuracy. After 7:36 minutes and only 12 plays, the Gold Academy managed to find the end zone.

[Even after two interceptions by his star tight end, Israeli finds pay soil and adds a score to the stat sheet]

The match turned into a back-and-forth exchange. Even though Angel Wing had significantly more Four-Star recruits than Gold Academy , Jones seemed to be having a poor game, and Gold Academy only had Ezra and Jones. Apart from the exciting pair, Three-Star prospects made up the majority of Gold Academy 's roster. After all, Angel Wing was rated second among the Academies, while they were only placed third.

Nevertheless, Ezra repeatedly saved the squad from certain death.

[What an over-the-middle bullet![

Despite taking a lot of knocks in this game, Israeli is really leading the attack. He has nothing more to show at this level of football, so you have to ask yourself whether it's worth it.]

It's all a part of his allure. If he were to leave this game, would he truly be Ezra Israeli?

As the clock ran out, the fourth quarter arrived with the Angel Wings leading 35–31 on the scoreboard.

Coach Ben, rage bursting through his thick moustache, seized Jones' chest pads and said, "What the hell are you doing out there, Bennett?!" "You choose the biggest game of the year to the bed?!"

Jones's head was down.

Coach Ben said, "I get it." and stepped back. "You've already won three times, this game is probably meaningless to you already. But think of your juniors. This may very well be their only opportunity in their lifetimes."

Jones tried to justify himself, his eyes blazing with a complicated light, "Coach, that's."

He just lacked the guts to take that action. This game alone, he has already dropped five passes. That may equal his total number of academy years from the beginning to the present. It seemed like he was acting quite strangely.

Ezra grinned and walked over. Actually, it wasn't hard to notice the type of awful shape he was in if you looked beyond the pleasant attitude on his face. Another late collision had already caused him to bandage up his ribs at halftime.

"Come on coach, you know he'll step up when it really counts. If we didn't keep this game a bit close, wouldn't the crowd be too bored?"

From across the pitch came the sound of a whistle. After the Angel Wings kicked off, they had the ball for one more drive with 1:15 remaining in the clock.

Ezra grinned and said, "Isn't this what we live for?" which calmed everyone on the sidelines. "Let's go win this."

Ezra put his helmet on. He entered the field with an unmatched level of intensity, akin to a commander commanding an army.

[And now for the action. This is the last drive to determine everything, so buckle up and stay on the edge of your seat![

[A good, simple run on the opening down. The Gold Academy s are obviously taking their time, falling into a groove, and trying to wrap things out on their own terms.

[Timing on that route was excellent. Bennett's down game has made 87 an important component. Even though he is merely a Three Star prospect, he has improved significantly today.

At 0:47, the Gold Academy s had already reached midfield. They are operating under Israeli control like a well-tuned engine.

[Oh no! A block of 56 whiffs releases a rusher![

[Israeli rushes to his right after spinning out of the tackle]

[A masterpiece, no less! A little wrist flick launches the 40-yard ball between the numbers.

[87] at the opponent's 6 tip toes out of bounds![

[The time is 0:03, and my blood is boiling! Can they succeed and win to establish their dynasty?[

Ezra's eyes blazed, "This is it boys, leave it all out there. Respect the game. Persist to the end." "Alright. Z personnel, Y boot swing over, motion zig fade. On one, on one. Break!"

With his heart as calm as a lake, Ezra made his way to the queue. The sea of white-uniformed does looking at him like a piece of meat, the loud shouts of the rocking stadium, the many flashing cameras—all of it slid off his shoulders as if it never happened.

Ezra grinned slightly and turned to face the right side of the field, gently lifting his arm to gesture to a well-known freshman.

[That's not possible! Israeli is back at it![

[Hey! This is how the game should be played! What bravery and intimidating magnificence to call out your opponent on the last play![

"Blue 21. BLUE 21. Down set. HUT!"

The ball wonderfully struck Ezra's hands after spiralling between the legs of the Gold Academy s centre.

[This boot is intended to go to the right! This time, the novice is really the focus of the Gold Academy s![

[The novice made a mistake! He was taken off guard as he assumed the Israeli would give him another hard count. Bennett is about to slide by him and fade to the corner![

[Israeli spots him! Bennett is available now; this is it![

Rolling to one side, Ezra held the football with both hands. The defence was totally unprepared for the Gold Academy s, who hadn't ran a single planned boot throughout the whole game. When they became aware of what was going on, Ezra was essentially by himself on the right side of the pitch. The rookie, who was twenty-one, and Jones, who had moved to the endzone corner, were the only people accompanying him.

The novice found himself in a hostile environment. He was at a loss as to whether he ought to go after Jones or attempt to get a hit on Ezra to terminate the game.

Finally, he rushed forth. Ezra was running towards him, and he thought he would have a chance to get up to him before it was too late to catch up to Jones. Regretfully, Ezra grinned. Jones flicked his wrist to send the ball flying over 21's head and into his palms.

[Israeli strikes once again! W—] Gold Academy.

As the ball slid through Jones's fingertips and the clock reached quadruple zeros, the thunderous audience became silent.