The noise was different now.
Not louder—but heavier. Like it stuck to you.
As the team bus pulled into the Cruzeiro youth complex, Thiago noticed how the air felt thicker. Not the weather—though the sky sagged low with gray clouds—but something else. Pressure.
They were through to the Regional Cup quarterfinals. Only eight teams left. Three wins from a title.
Palmeiras vs Cruzeiro.
It wasn't just a clash of youth squads anymore.
It was academy vs institution.
And Thiago? He wasn't just a rising winger from Rocinha anymore.
He was a player with three goal contributions in two matches, a trending name on football Twitter, and—according to one coach's slip of the tongue—a file on someone's desk in Lisbon.
The locker room smelled like tension. Sweat. Grass. Menthol rubs. All the rituals of players who knew they weren't anonymous anymore.
Thiago sat on the end bench, pulling on his shin guards slowly.
João came up behind him.
"You see the clip?"
"What clip?"
João held up his phone. A slow-motion replay of Thiago's header against Goianiense. Zoomed in. Edited with dramatic music. Retweeted 8,000 times.
"You're going viral, irmão."
Thiago shook his head. "Means nothing if we lose today."
João grinned. "Humble until kickoff, huh?"
He slapped Thiago's shoulder and jogged back to his locker.
But Thiago didn't smile.
He knew today wasn't about clips.
It was about Cruzeiro.
The match kicked off under a muted sky.
Cruzeiro's team wore a deeper shade of blue than usual—almost black in the cloud-filtered light. They moved like veterans. Their midfield rotated seamlessly. One-touch, short switches, fullback overlaps.
Palmeiras pressed early. Tried to contain. But the tempo?
Different.
By the tenth minute, Cruzeiro had racked up 65% possession.
And in the 12th minute, they nearly scored—a crossbar hit from thirty yards out that sent gasps through both benches.
Thiago hadn't touched the ball yet.
But he felt it coming.
Minute 18.
Throw-in near the Palmeiras bench.
Thiago positioned himself tight against the line, hand raised.
The ball came. Skipped once. Defender pressed.
Too close.
Thiago let it run across his body, flicked it behind his heel, and immediately darted inside, bursting past the first challenge.
But Cruzeiro's second line was ready.
Another player slid across, shadowing.
Thiago chopped left, then right.
No space.
He reset. Passed it back to midfield.
Safe. Clean.
Coach Paulo nodded once.
"Good," he called. "Play smart."
But Thiago's heart was beating too fast.
Not from panic.
From ignition.
The rhythm was coming.
Minute 24.
Cruzeiro struck first.
A fluid build-up. Palmeiras' defensive shape faltered. The Cruzeiro 9 curled a perfect ball into the top corner.
1–0.
Silence on the Palmeiras bench.
Thiago jogged back to position, rolling his shoulders.
System Notification:New Condition Detected – Team TrailingPassive Active: Poise Under Fire IFocus Boost +4Decision Buffer Enabled
A hum clicked behind his eyes.
Then he heard it:
"Don't disappear now, street boy."
Cruzeiro's left-back. Arrogant. Hair slicked back. Voice just loud enough for Thiago to hear.
He smiled.
Then whispered back: "You'll wish I did."
Minute 31.
The break came.
João intercepted a poor pass near midfield and sent a clean diagonal across the grass.
Thiago didn't stop to think.
He angled his run, trapped the ball in stride, and let the defender rush.
One touch. Pullback. Drag into the space. The fullback slipped—grass tearing under his studs.
Open lane.
Thiago looked up once.
Saw the striker darting to the near post.
He shaped for the cross—
—then sliced it low and flat across the box instead.
Back-post runner met it.
Goal.
1–1.
System Notification:Assist Logged+6 EXPQuest Unlocked – Claim the MatchObjective: Deliver 1 More Goal Contribution or Earn 8.0+ RatingReward: +2 Dribbling, +1 Composure, Unlock Choice RewardMatch Rating: 7.3
The rest of the half played like a fistfight in velvet gloves.
Cruzeiro didn't panic. They kept their shape. Their midfield sat deep, probing with patience.
Thiago stayed alert. Didn't overrun. He watched.
Tracked the left-back.
Counted his steps. His angles. The way he leaned when turning.
When halftime came, the score was level.
But in Thiago's mind?
It wasn't even.
In the locker room, Paulo gave short, clipped instructions.
"Control the space. Don't chase ghosts. Thiago—don't force it. It's coming."
Thiago just nodded.
The moment was close.
And this time, he'd take it.
Second half. Minute 52.
Thiago found space.
Midfielder broke through the middle, flicked it wide to the left.
Thiago met it with a soft trap, killed the momentum, then raised his eyes.
One defender between him and the edge of the box.
He didn't fake.
He accelerated.
The turf hissed under his boots as he shot forward, body low, arms tucked. The defender stuttered, stepped back—
Too slow.
Thiago slipped past him and curved inside. The keeper advanced. Angle tight.
He didn't square it.
He curled it.
Top right.
Net.
2–1.
System Notification:Goal LoggedQuest Complete – Claim the Match+2 Dribbling+1 Composure+10 EXPChoice Reward Available:→ Unlock New Passive OR +2 Skill PointsDecision Required: [ ]
Thiago didn't respond yet.
He just breathed in the cheers.
Let the moment carry him.
The noise.
The hands slapping the bench.
The staff smiling without hiding it anymore.
Minute 67.
Cruzeiro surged.
They knew Thiago was the pulse now. They double-marked him. Fouled on every touch. Delayed every restart.
He adjusted.
Moved without the ball. Let the midfielders carry more weight.
And in minute 76, he created space again—dragging defenders toward him, then flicking a perfect pass to João, who sent a chipped cross to the striker.
Header.
Off the post.
So close.
Still 2–1.
System Alert:Focus Spike SustainedYou are eligible to choose 1 reward:
[1] Passive Skill – Spatial Sense I(Minor bonus to passing & movement positioning within the final third)[2] 2 Skill Points[3] Random stat boost (+2–4)
Thiago didn't hesitate.
"Unlock Spatial Sense."
System Confirmed.New Passive: Spatial Sense I+1 Tactical Vision+0.5 AwarenessEXP Gained: +5Level: 9 → 10Skill Point Earned
The match ended 2–1.
Palmeiras held.
Barely.
When the final whistle blew, Thiago fell to one knee, panting, sweat dripping from his eyelashes.
He didn't even hear the fans.
Didn't see the scout near the gate talking to Paulo.
He just saw the fullback who'd mocked him earlier walk off without a word.
That was enough.
Back at the hotel, he didn't celebrate.
He sat alone in the stairwell.
Pulled up the System one more time.
Level: 10EXP: 8 / 400Skill Points: 5Attributes:Pace – 71Dribbling – 73Shooting – 61Passing – 64Physicality – 64Mentality – 56
Passives:• Muscle Memory I• Pain Resistance I• Instinctive Flair I• Balanced Vision I• Momentum Surge I• Poise Under Fire I• Engine Pulse I• Spatial Sense I
Active Quest: None
His name had been written in headlines that day.
"Thiago da Silva: The Concrete Winger Making Palmeiras' Future Look Golden."
But Thiago wasn't reading articles.
He was watching film.
And thinking about the semifinal.
Because legacy didn't care about good games.
It cared about what came next.