The stadium reached peak tension
Rain began to fall lightly
The drops almost matched the tempo on the pitch
Vortex shifted their rhythm
Passes became wilder
Movements more erratic
Their chaos flowed like jazz
Unpredictable
Disjointed
But alive
Phoenix answered with their own melody
Sharper
Clean
Like classical symphony
Each pass was intentional
Each move part of a greater plan
Reiji vs Noa
Two minds clashing through motion
---
In the 74th minute
Reiji picked up the ball near the halfway line
Three defenders approached
Instead of passing
He ran toward them
He faked left
Then faked confusion
Slipped while dribbling
Phoenix moved in to steal
But that stumble
It was fake
The ball rolled through
Exactly between the feet of two Phoenix players
A ghost pass
Leo burst through from behind
One touch
Shoot
Saved
But the crowd gasped anyway
Commentator shouted
"He used a fake stumble as a feint?!?"
Coach Akutsu clenched his fists
"He's not just playing
He's performing"
---
Noa didn't flinch
He took the next ball calmly
Dodged Leo with ease
Played a triple layer pass using the postman sequence
Midfielder
Back to Noa
Then a backheel flick to the striker
The striker faked a shot
Passed back to Noa
Who curled it first-time into the top left
GOAL
2–3 Phoenix takes the lead
---
Reiji looked up at the scoreboard
Clock read 78:43
12 minutes
He walked back
Didn't look panicked
Didn't even look serious
He was grinning
For the first time in years
He wasn't the only mastermind on the pitch
He whispered to himself
"So this is how it feels to chase"
---
Vortex reset
But they didn't play like a team that was down
They moved like they had already won
Because Reiji stopped orchestrating every play
And instead
He freed them
No more hand signals
No more shouted codes
Just eyes
Just instincts
A ghost system
---
In the 83rd minute
Reiji dropped deep
So deep he was practically a center back
Phoenix didn't press
They assumed he'd pass sideways
But he launched a diagonal lob
With no spin
Dead air
The winger didn't expect it
But Leo ran from the blind side
Dived
Tapped it across goal
Midfielder tapped in
3–3
Reiji didn't celebrate
He walked toward Noa
And for the first time
Noa smiled
But it wasn't friendly
It was a challenge
---
Last five minutes
Phoenix tightened
Noa now playing as a double pivot with Renji
They controlled the tempo
Slowed everything
Reiji had no space
No rhythm
No chaos
Then
In the 89th minute
A mispass by Phoenix
Reiji stole it
Ran
Passed to Leo
Leo passed back
Reiji stopped
Defenders paused
He wasn't shooting
He wasn't passing
He was just…waiting
Then
He chipped it backward
Everyone was confused
Until Vortex's right back appeared from nowhere
Volleyed it
Top bins
GOAL
4–3
---
The stadium went berserk
Commentator screamed
"WHAT KIND OF PASS WAS THAT?!? WHO EVEN THINKS LIKE THAT?!"
Even Noa froze
Just for a second
Coach Akutsu whispered
"He set that up ten minutes ago didn't he"
---
Final whistle
Vortex wins 4–3
Players collapsed
Exhausted
Shaking hands
No bad blood
Reiji walked up to Noa
Looked him in the eyes
"You're still insane
But I'm not done haunting this game yet"
Noa nodded
"We're not enemies
We're opposites"
They bumped fists
Then walked off the pitch
Not as rivals
But as twin ghosts in different uniforms