Football Reborn: The Manager from the future

⚽ Football Reborn: The Manager from the Future

Chapter 67 – The Invitation to the Game of Gods

Victory brings applause.

But real danger begins when someone notices how you won.

Kojo's team had drawn blood from the Ghosts…

And now, the Gods were watching.

🏟️ Aftermath – The Message

The locker room of the Rebirth Eleven was filled with half-laughter and quiet recovery.

Chuva sat with an ice pack on his knee.

Safi had earbuds in, playing jazz.

Malik Jr. was holding the match ball, signing it with a marker.

But then all the lights blinked.

The neural broadcast screens turned to static — then shifted into gold lettering:

"YOU ARE INVITED."

THE GAME OF GODS AWAITS.

One match. No rules. One outcome: Ascension or Erasure.

A second later, a digital scroll appeared on every player's retinal interface.

Not sent via internet.

Sent directly into their minds.

Kojo froze. He recognized the signature.

"System Lords," he whispered.

Chuva tilted his head. "What the hell is the Game of Gods?"

Kojo didn't answer.

Because he wasn't entirely sure.

But he had heard the whispers before — even in his original life.

It was a match rumored to be played outside of history.

Where players didn't just risk goals… but existence.

🗺️ Location: The Vertigo Ring

The scroll led them to coordinates off-map.

Above sea level, above time zone tracking.

Vertigo Ring.

An orbital pitch that hovered 70,000 feet in the upper atmosphere — designed to rotate once per 30 minutes, meaning the pitch literally spun during the game.

Gravity would shift.

Time perception could glitch.

Even player senses were expected to… bend.

"We're not playing football anymore," Dima muttered.

"We're entering a goddamn myth."

Kojo said only one thing.

"Get your boots."

🚀 Ascent – The Arrival at the Ring

The transport pod was sleek, silent, and nearly invisible.

Each player wore stabilizer suits, not jerseys.

As they exited the pod and stepped onto the Vertigo Ring, the world tilted.

It was like standing on a glass plate… with clouds swirling underneath and stars overhead.

"Who's our opponent?" León asked, gripping his wrist brace.

That's when they heard it.

A sound that wasn't a whistle.

But a pulse.

And then they emerged.

🤖 The Opponents – Team AlphaX

11 players.

No heartbeat.

No flesh.

Code-built consciousnesses derived from the greatest moments in football history.

Each one was the peak version of an idea.

Tactical Alpha – built from Guardiola's 2009 Barcelona.

Strike Xeno – powered by every Ronaldo goal.

Dribble Geist – fused from Messi's best runs.

Keeper Zero – constructed from Buffon, Neuer, and Yashin data cores.

And more…

These weren't clones.

They weren't legends reborn.

They were ideas turned weapon.

Kojo's eyes narrowed.

"This is what the System Lords wanted football to be," he muttered.

"Pure. Predictable. Perfect."

⚔️ Kickoff – The Impossible Match Begins

The ball hovered instead of resting on turf.

Referees? None.

Crowd? Only data ghosts watching from orbit.

0:00 — GAME OF GODS BEGINS

Instantly, the pitch began rotating clockwise — slowly at first.

Kojo had warned his team:

"Use motion to your advantage. You're not playing on the pitch. You're playing with it."

AlphaX began with possession.

But even without nerves, they played too perfectly.

Predictable in their logic.

The Rebirth Eleven?

They brought chaos.

Safi tried a nutmeg in reverse.

Miko Prime passed using echo trail calibration.

Malik Jr. kicked the ball into a curve that used the ring's spin to loop back.

And yet — AlphaX adapted.

At minute 11, Dribble Geist performed a solo run that mimicked Messi vs. Getafe 2007 frame by frame.

He scored.

⚽ 1-0, AlphaX.

🧠 Minute 15 to 40 – Reality Bends

León tackled one of the Alphas and his stabilizer glitched.

Suddenly he was 12 again — standing on a dirt pitch in Mexico.

Time glitch.

"FOCUS!" Kojo shouted.

The ring had neural tripwires — designed to pull players into memory loops.

Dima nearly collapsed reliving the moment his father died watching him miss a penalty.

But the key?

Emotion.

That was what the Alphas couldn't handle.

They had no memories.

No trauma. No guilt. No dreams.

So Kojo did the unthinkable.

He uploaded his own pain into the neural grid.

The death.

The reboot.

The rejection from the old football world.

The betrayal by systems, agents, leagues.

Suddenly, the entire field trembled.

And AlphaX staggered.

They'd never played against grief.

⚽ Minute 45 – Equalizer

Safi Callas sent a looping ball high.

Too high?

No.

Because the pitch rotated beneath it.

Malik Jr. timed the drop.

Side-foot.

Net.

⚽ 1-1.

The Vertigo Ring stopped spinning.

A voice echoed.

Not a ref.

Not a fan.

A SYSTEM.

"One goal left. Decide your fate."

⚔️ Golden Goal – Fight for Ascension

Both teams went silent.

No time. No rules.

One shot left.

AlphaX built the most complex triangle passing move in history.

18 touches.

1 second.

But León read it.

He didn't just intercept it — he shattered the triangle.

Miko Prime took over.

Passed to Dima.

To Bullet.

Back to Miko.

To Malik.

Through.

Safi.

She struck it first time — no power.

Just truth.

The ball floated.

Time didn't slow. It stopped.

And then…

⚽ 2-1. Rebirth Eleven.

🌌 Ascension

The pitch glowed.

AlphaX stood still — defeated not by stats, but by soul.

One by one, they disintegrated into code.

A final voice whispered into Kojo's mind:

"You have passed the test. But the System still breathes. And it knows your name."

He whispered back.

"Let it come."