GODS — 52 | RAPTORS — 24

Second Quarter — 6:32 Remaining

The arena trembled with every heartbeat.

Not from sound from pressure.

The Raptors moved the ball across half court, but each dribble sounded like it echoed in a void. The scoreboard bled in red light, 52 to 24, and every number felt heavier than the last.

Tyrese caught the ball at the wing, sweat sliding down his jaw.

—We're getting crushed.

No... we're being measured.

Zeus stood near half-court, not even in defensive stance. His hands were loose behind his back, gaze still, like a monarch observing a staged performance. The crowd fell into a hush no one commanded, they simply forgot how to cheer.

Jalen signaled for an isolation.

"Clear out."

His voice held a sliver of defiance thin, but still burning.

Chronos didn't step back. He simply looked at Jalen... and in that instant, Jalen felt time stretch, slow, bend.

…

Bleachers – Vorpal Team

Ethan leaned forward, elbows on knees. Lucas watched with a sharp, unwavering stare.

"They're not losing because they're weak," Ethan muttered, voice low. "They're losing because every instinct they've trained is being denied in real time."

Lucas clicked his tongue. "Zeus is deciding which options exist—and which ones don't. That's not defense... that's authoring the game."

Louie hugged his head.

"Bro… the Raptors score and it feels like a miracle. The Gods score and it feels… written."

Brandon Young said nothing. His fists were clenched not from fear, but from frustration at being powerless to step in.

….

Court – Jalen vs. Chronos

Jalen lowered his center of gravity, his signature stance, feet staggered like a sprinter at the gates.

Tap. Tap. Two dribbles.

Chronos didn't mirror. He simply stood there.

"...Move." Jalen gritted under his breath, muscles tense.

Chronos answered without a word. A small breath left his lips. Then one sentence:

"I already did."

Jalen blinked just one blink and Chronos was in front of him.

(Impossible. That wasn't speed. That was timing. He moved before I chose to move.)

Jalen pivoted, slashing left.

A clean lane—or so it looked.

Before his foot planted, Chronos' hand was already waiting in the exact angle of his drive. Jalen stumbled not from contact, but from his own body rejecting a motion that had already been countered.

The Raptors bench stood.

Malik's eyes widened. Zion exhaled sharply.

"He's guarding possibilities. Not movement."

…

Commentators – Now Whispering

"A-and Carter… attempts the drive—but it's cut off instantly."

"That wasn't a reaction... Chronos moved before Carter even dribbled."

"I… I don't know what we're witnessing anymore."

Their voices were no longer confident—they sounded humbled, almost reverent.

…

GODS Possession

Poseidon walked the ball up with calm strides—no rush, no urgency. Hades stood in the corner, silent, eating space like a shadow that stretched too long under the light.

Zeus raised a hand slightly. That was all.

The moment he did... the Raptors' defense froze for half a heartbeat.

Like a command had been spoken in a language only their instincts could hear.

Ball swung to Ares in the post. Kobe braced, arms wide.

Boom.

Ares didn't just back him down he advanced like a tank dragging gravity with him.

Kobe's shoes skidded. His throat tightened.

Ares slammed an elbow.

Not illegal. Perfectly placed. Just enough to remind Kobe of pain.

"Towers can fall," Ares murmured.

And he moved past. Unstoppable.

Slam.

GODS — 54 | RAPTORS — 24

..

Bleachers – Reaction

Louie flinched.

"...That wasn't basketball. That was execution."

Ryan Taylor's jaw flexed. "They're showing hierarchy. This isn't about points. It's about titles. Kings and subjects."

Lucas finally spoke again, this time, softer.

"Zeus hasn't played seriously yet. Look at his breathing. Look at his aura. He hasn't even touched exhaustion."

Ayumi, hands clasped tight near her chest, whispered

"Then… what happens when he does?"

Ethan didn't answer. His eyes stayed locked on Zeus.

Zeus on the Center Court

Zeus glanced at the scoreboard like a man checking the time before a meeting.

Then—

His aura shifted.

It didn't explode.

It condensed. Like storm clouds condensing into a single lightning bolt.

A ripple ran across the court even the crowd shivered.

The scoreboard flickered. For a moment, the digital numbers glitched.

Ethan felt it.

A cold pulse hit his spine.

Lucas slowly inhaled.

"Ethan."

"…Yeah."

"If we ever face them."

Ethan's fingers curled tightly against the railing.

"…We won't survive playing normal basketball."

Lucas nodded once.

"Then we don't play normal basketball."

GODS — 54 | RAPTORS — 24

Second Quarter — 5:50 remaining

Zeus didn't signal a play.

He didn't bark an order.

He just existed differently and reality started shifting around him.

The air had a hum now not sound, but pressure. A thin electric vibration that settled into the lungs, making each breath feel borrowed.

BZZZT—

The digital scoreboard glitched for a split second. A flicker. As if reality itself hesitated to process that rise.

..

On Court — Raptors Possession

\Zion clapped loud, voice cutting through.

"Ball in! We're still here—MOVE!"

He forced the play. Forced belief.

Tyrese sprinted off a screen, caught the ball—instant release, no hesitation.

Perfect form.

Clean arc.

For a heartbeat—it looked pure.

Then the ball curved left. Not from wind. From pressure. As if something bent its path.

CLANG!

Rim rejection.

Poseidon caught it effortlessly without even looking up.

Tyrese froze mid-breath.

—What? I released that right. I KNOW I did.

Poseidon dribbled once, eyes calm.

"Water always finds the lowest point," he said softly, brushing past Tyrese. "And right now… that's your confidence."

….

Bleachers – Vorpal Team

Louie slammed his hand on the railing.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME—THAT WAS PURE FORM!"

Evan swallowed hard. "No… the ball changed trajectory."

Lucas' eyes narrowed.

"No. Confidence changed the ball."

Ayumi looked between them, breath short.

"That—what does that even mean?"

Ethan answered quietly.

"…Zeus is imposing a rule. Belief governs physics now."

…

🎙 Commentary Box

The commentators had gone pale.

"That shot… it bent."

"I—I'm reviewing the slow motion, Tyrese released clean, but the ball… it just…shifted. As if space changed."

"Ladies and gentlemen… I don't k

now how to describe what we're seeing anymore."

The crowd had stopped cheering entirely. They stared. Witnesses, not fans.

…..

On Court Gods Offense

Poseidon advanced, slow dribble, aura like cold tidewater sweeping the floor.

Zeus didn't move from his spot at the top of the arc.

He just raised his hand.

No words.

The world tilted.

Everyone—players, refs, even cameras—felt a pull toward him.

"Ball."

Poseidon passed.

Zeus caught it.

Smooth. Effortless.

He didn't dribble.

He turned.

And shot.

From the logo.

No jump. Just a flick.

Silence.

Then—

SWISH.

GODS — 57 | RAPTORS — 24

…

Raptors Bench

Coach Jenkins slowly stood.

His clipboard lowered.

The players on the bench—silent.

Malik stared at the floor, jaw clenched.

Zion's breath shook once.

Tyrese covered his face with his hands.

Kobe… closed his eyes for a long moment.

Jalen stood at half court… staring at Zeus.

Close-up, Jalen

His fingers twitched.

His heart hammered.

He felt it something ancient stirring inside his chest.

He isn't just playing. He's ruling.

Zeus looked at him.

Just one look.

"…Kneel." (It wasn't spoken. It was felt.)

Jalen's feet grounded hard on the court, refusing to move.

"No."

His voice cracked—not weak, but raw.

Zeus tilted his head. Calm. Curious.

The ball bounced once at his feet.

…

Bleachers — Vorpal

Lucas leaned forward, eyes lit.

"…There it is. The spark."

Ethan's grip tightened.

"…Jalen's about to burn everything he has left."

Louie whispered like a prayer.

"Please. Just score once with your own will."

The arena held its breath.

The Kings had declared the throne.

But one challenger still stood.

GODS — 57 | RAPTORS — 24

Second Quarter — 5:02 Remaining

The ball descended into Jalen's hands.

No play call.

No plan.

Just breath. And fire.

"Flash World—"…

The air around him shivered, as if time itself felt uneasy.

—IGNITE.

FWIP! FWIP! FWIP!

Sound distorted. Colors smeared. The court stretched thin like elastic.

To everyone else, Jalen vanished.

To him the world slowed to a fractured crawl. Like glass cracking around motion.

Chronos' eyes widened.

"He tore the timeline again."

Poseidon's dribble paused mid-air, frozen like a droplet in a photograph.

Hades turned his head not in surprise, but in acknowledgment, like a predator noticing someone step into its domain.

Zeus…

Did not move.

Flash World — Inside Jalen's Perception

BPM: 182 → 210 → 230

Jalen's Thoughts (distorted, pulsing with adrenaline):

—MOVE. CUT. RIP SPACE. MAKE IT YOURS.

—Don't think. Burn.

His sneakers hit the wood — BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!

Every step created a minor sonic crack. Raptors players blurred past like statues left behind in time.

Tyrese felt a gust of wind as Jalen passed. His eyes barely tracked the afterimage.

"Go…" he breathed.

Malik stepped aside, silently opening a lane like a gatekeeper bowing.

Lucas stood up.

"Full sync. That's full Flash World."

Ayumi clutched the railing, breath caught.

Ethan's eyes sharpened.

"…Jalen isn't trying to score. He's trying to declare existence."

On Court. The Collision Course

Jalen cut through the paint, body a comet line of heat.

Ares turned too slow.

Poseidon extended a hand missed air.

Chronos' prediction flickered just a fraction late.

The rim loomed.

Jalen planted for the takeoff, all muscle and fury.

FLASH—!

The court lit with friction sparks.

Crowd voices returned in fragments—

"HE'S—"

"—MOVING LIKE—"

"—WHAT SPEED IS THAT?!"

Jalen launched.

Mid-air, his eyes locked onto the one figure untouched by the world's distortion—standing beyond the arc, hands behind his back.

Zeus.

He looked bored.

The Response

No aura burst.

No stance shift.

Just a blink.

[Zeus — Aura Recalibration: 50% → 55%]

BOOM—

It hit like a shockwave.

Flash World shook.

The slowed world glitched, timeline stuttering.

Jalen's eyes widened mid-flight.

—WHAT?!

Zeus didn't move his feet.

He only tilted his head slightly.

And Flash World… broke.

Time snapped back like a whip.

CRACK!

Jalen's body, still suspended in motion, felt a weight slam into his chest not physical, but conceptual. Like someone rewrote gravity around him.

He still forced the dunk, arm slamming through

SLAM—!!!

The basket shook.

Net snapped.

RIM DOWN.

GODS — 57 | RAPTORS — 26

The arena exploded for a single, stunned second.

But Jalen didn't land with triumph.

He landed staggered, knees buckling, breath stolen as if he had just run into a wall of invisible force.

…

Zeus — Far Side of the Court

His tone was simple. Soft.

"Flash… was it? Interesting."

He lifted two fingers. Lazily. Almost disinterested.

"But you burn too fast."

Kobe shot to his feet.

"JALEN!"

Zion clenched his fist, nails digging into his palm.

Tyrese's breathing trembled but his eyes lit with regained fire.

Malik whispered under his breath.

"…That's one score… through our will."

Coach Jenkins… didn't cheer.

He watched Zeus.

Expression unreadable.

….

Bleachers — Vorpal

Louie screamed, voice cracking.

"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!!!"

Lucas didn't cheer.

He grinned slowly.

"…And now… Zeus will answer properly."

Ethan's heartbeat echoed in his ears like drums.

"…The throne just acknowledged him."

The atmosphere shifted again.

Zeus stepped forward.

The court trembled beneath a presence that didn't feel like a player…

But a sovereign.

To be continue

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