SCORE: GODS — 92 | RAPTORS — 55
The buzzer's echo still lingered, as if time itself refused to move forward.
Then silence.
The kind that pressed on the chest.
The kind that made hearts ache more than defeat ever could.
The Gods stood at center court, halos dimming. The glow that once painted the air gold began to fade, revealing sweat, exhaustion… and something else.
Emotion.
For the first time, Monsters looked human.
Zeus exhaled quietly, eyes tracing the faint trails of smoke that rose from the court.
Ares leaned on his knees, knuckles bruised from colliding with men who refused to break.
Poseidon's calm had fractured; Hades' smirk was gone replaced by thought.
For a while, none of them spoke.
The crowd didn't cheer. They just… watched.
Until Zeus finally said it.
"They made me feel…"
He paused, as if searching for a word that didn't exist in their dictionary
"…alive."
Ares chuckled bitterly.
"They bled just to score fifty-five."
