"Max, Can you forcefully numb the pain in my ankle for a few minutes" Izan asked and got no response from the system for a while.
[ I can but the system recommends it not because the backlash the host will face after this will be severe if not Career-ending]
Izan, caught between winning the final and his well-being chose the former after the system gave its input.
[Commencing Frantic state: Host will be in a frantic state for 1 minute 30 seconds where all abilities and senses are heightened but after the state ends, the user cannot mobilize strength in his legs for a while.]
"Thatâs good enough" Izan said as Athletic Bilbao kicked off.
...âŠ.
The Estadio La Cartuja pulsed with raw emotion, a living, breathing beast that roared with every pass, every tackle, every desperate gasp of a fan watching their team cling to hope.
The scoreboard read 2-2, but it did nothing to reflect the storm that had unfolded over the past 81 minutes.
For Valencia, it had been a night of agony and resilience.
For Izan, it had been a battle against nature itself.
His ankle was ruinedâevery step he took sent a white-hot pain searing up his leg.
He could barely stand, let alone sprint, but his mind had overridden the bodyâs protests.
The systemâs [Frantic State] had taken over. His senses burned with clarity, every movement around him unfolding like pages in an open book.
Izan took it all in, as much as he could, his head turning and scanning the positions of various players on the pitch.
"Whooooohhhh", with a large sigh, Izan moved into space, his ankle numbed to the point that it felt like it wasnât there.
Izan moved around waiting for the moment to show the fans why he was kept on the pitch despite his injury.
Then it happened. The moment.
Dani GarcĂa, overconfident and careless, let the ball roll a fraction too far.
Izan, waiting like a cheetah in the hunt, pounced in.
His movement, It wasnât graceful. If anything it looked more desperate.
His injured foot planted down awkwardly, but he threw his body into the challenge, his left leg sweeping through the ball with the last of his strength.
He ripped possession away, sending GarcĂa stumbling backward. The Bilbao players raised their hands for a foul but the referee waved play.
The world blurred as Izan forced himself upright, blinking through the pain. The ball was at his feet. He had no time to thinkâonly to act.
A quick glance forward.
Hugo Duro was making a run into the box. Javi Guerra peeled away to his left.
But something inside Izan told himâthis moment was his.
He had suffered. He had endured.
And now, he would decide the final.
Ding, [New trait shard generated], the system sounded but Izan had no time to think
[ He walks the pitch, a king untamed,
A throne of turf, his name inflamed.
The world bends low to watch him dance,
Each touch, a strokeâpure arrogance.
The ball obeys, his servant true,
Defenders kneel, the grass bows too.
He lifts his chin, his glare ignites,
A monarch born for floodlit nights.
Yet in his heart, a storm collides,
A hunger vast, a war inside.
For though he reigns, untouchable,
The fall is swift, inevitable]
[Ego Crown: 1 out of 10 ego plays unlocked.]
Izan felt a slight wave of energy being infused in him. Although small, in that moment, it felt like a gold mine for Izan.
Although his left foot barely held his weight as he pushed forward, dragging his broken body toward the penalty arc, Izan was still terrifying.
The Bilbao defenders scrambled, panic flashing in their eyes as they realized what was happening.
Izan was about to shoot.
Unai SimĂłn, Spainâs number one, adjusted his stance, gauging the actions of his fellow Spain international.
The crowd sucked in their breath as Izan planted his right foot beside the ball.
A bolt of agony shot through his ankle like a dagger, forcing his body to staggerâhis form broken, his balance shattered.
But still, he struck the ball.
And time stopped or to the fans, it did.
The ball didnât just flyâit soared, carving through the air with a vicious, dipping swerve.
Unai SimĂłn lunged. Fingertips brushed leather but it was not enough.
The ball struck the underside of the crossbarâ
Bounced downâ
And kissed the net.
GOOOOOOAAAL!
"IZAN! IZAN! IZAN! THE BOY IS A HERO!"
The commentatorâs voice cracked with disbelief. "ON ONE LEG! HE HAS DONE THE IMPOSSIBLE!"
The stadium detonated.
For a moment, just a fraction of a second, everything stood still.
Thenâchaos.
The Valencia players exploded into celebration.
Hugo Duro sprinted toward Izan, arms outstretched, a scream of sheer joy bursting from his lips. Javi Guerra was right behind him, followed by the entire bench.
But Izan?
He collapsed.
His body pushed past its absolute limit and crumpled onto the grass. His vision swam. His chest heaved. His right leg, the source of so much agony, lay limp beneath him.
And then he felt it.
Arms.
Javi Guerra crashed into him first, nearly knocking the breath from his lungs. Hugo Duro piled on, his laughter mixing with something dangerously close to tears.
Then came Gaya. Correia. Cenk. Mamardashvili. Pietro.
One by one, they all threw themselves onto Izan, wrapping him in a mass of elation and disbelief.
The fans, once doubters, once furious at Baraja for not taking Izan off, had turned into believers.
"IZAN! IZAN! IZAN!"
They screamed his name, fists pounding the air, voices hoarse from the sheer madness of what they had witnessed.
Some fans clutched their heads, others collapsed into their seats, overwhelmed by emotion.
A few had tears running down their faces, their bodies trembling from the sheer euphoria.
The commentators were losing their minds.
"THIS IS FOOTBALL! THIS IS HISTORY! THIS IS A FINAL FOR THE AGES!"
"RUBĂN BARAJAâHOW COULD YOU LEAVE HIM ON? BUT HOW CAN YOU DOUBT HIM? WHAT DID WE JUST WITNESS?"
On the touchline, Baraja stood frozen, watching his players engulf Izan, their celebrations raw, unrestrained.
He had known keeping Izan on was reckless. Suicidal, even.
But now, as the stadium worshipped the boy lying motionless beneath his teammates, he knewâ
This was beyond logic.
Beyond tactics.
This was something only football could create.
Yet, as the realization of the goal settled, so did the consequences.
Barajaâs joy was tinged with dread.
Because now, Izan wasnât moving.
The weight of his teammates was lifted, one by one, as they noticed it too. Izan lay on his back, his face twisted in pain, his right leg completely unresponsive.
The medical staff sprinted onto the pitch.
The celebration came to an abrupt halt.
Izan blinked up at the floodlights, his chest rising and falling, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He had given everything. Every ounce of himself.
And now, he had nothing left.
Baraja clenched his fists.
"Get Fran PĂ©rez ready."
Izanâs night was over.
The fans, realizing this, rose as one.
A standing ovation. A farewell to their fallen hero.
As Izan was helped off the pitch, his right arm draped around the shoulders of the medical staff, his left hand clutched at his badgeâ
The stadium sang his name.
The same voices that had questioned him. The same fans that had doubted him.
Now, they worshipped him.
Because this was football.
And Izan had just written his legend.
"Take it in. Just take it all in. Because this⊠this is a moment we will never forget." One of the commentators spoke with emotion in his voice.
Seeing as his mate couldnât carry on, the second commentator took over.
"A standing ovation from every single Valencia fan in this stadium. Every single one of them is on their feet, chanting his name, showing their love, their admiration, their gratitude for what this boy has just done.
And look at the Bilbao fans⊠stunned, frozen in silence. They donât know what to do, what to feel.
Theyâve just witnessed something truly extraordinary. Theyâve seen a boy, barely sixteen, defy every limit of his body, his pain, and the laws of football itself to drag his team into the lead."
After a regaining his composure, the first commentator nodded at his mate, saying a curt thanks before taking over.
"Rubén Baraja should have taken him off when he got injured. We all said it. Every single person watching this match thought it was over for him.
And yet, look what heâs done. Look how heâs leaving this pitchânot defeated, not broken, but as a hero.
Izan is limping, barely able to put weight on that right foot, his face twisted in pain⊠but look at his hand.
Look at his chest. Heâs gripping the badge. Heâs still holding onto it, as if to say, âThis was for you. This was for Valencia.â"
"And listen to that sound! That ovation! His name echoing through the night in Seville! If there was ever a question about what this boy meant to this club, to these fans, this is your answer."
"Football is cruel. Itâs brutal. It takes and takes and takes. But on nights like this, it gives us something magical.
Something immortal. Izan might be walking off the pitch⊠but he has just written his name into history. In the minds of the Valencia fans and in the annals of Spanish football."