Extra Basket

GODS — 35 | RAPTORS — 15 | 1:02 — First Quarter

The ball bounced back into play like it had a heartbeat of its own. The crowd's cheers didn't rise, they compressed, like air tightening before a storm. Every bounce echoed heavier than it should.

Jalen dribbled up, sweat running down his temple, but his eyes were blazing. "Fifteen points? Then I'll tear it down myself." He pushed forward, each step like a drumbeat of defiance.

Across from him, Zeus.

Not in stance.

Not even ready.

Just standing, arms at his sides… as if defense was optional.

Jalen's sneakers screeched as he halted at the arc, breath sharp.

(Move. Don't think. Move.)

He cut left.

Zeus didn't chase.

He… shifted. A single glide of the foot, like a king adjusting his robe, and suddenly every path Jalen saw rewrote into a dead end.

"Shit—!"

Jalen snapped a crossover

—FLASH STEP. His signature movement exploded, a burst of speed that normally blurred vision.

For one second, the world stuttered with light.

The crowd gasped

Then froze.

Zeus didn't break a sweat. He merely turned his head, eyes following Jalen like a star tracking a planet.

"Too slow."

It wasn't trash talk.

It was verdict.

Jalen planted, launched mid-range jumper. Beautiful, textbook, wrist flick clean.

CLANG.

The rim rejected it like it wasn't worth the net's time.

GODS — 35 | RAPTORS — 15

Poseidon already had the rebound before the ball even finished bouncing. No celebration. Just a look at Jalen as if to say:

"You never had the right to take that shot."

….

Bleachers

Ethan sucked in a sharp breath, nails digging into his palm.

"They're… not even blocking. They're just existing and it's enough."

Evan didn't respond, eyes wide, lips parted as if forgetting to breathe.

Beside them, Lucas leaned forward, chin resting on his knuckles, expression unreadable. His eyes followed every God's movement like he was studying a puzzle no one else could see.

(So that's Zeus… and he's only at maybe… 40%? Good.)

He smiled.

Ethan noticed and shivered.

"Why are you smiling?"

Lucas' eyes glowed faintly under the stadium lights.

"Because… this is the correct level for a challenge."

….

Back on Court

Zeus walked the ball up like he was taking a stroll through his own kingdom.

The Raptors' defense looked like five bodies but no presence. Fear wasn't loud—it was subtle, invisible. It was when your feet moved slower and you told yourself it was strategy… not hesitation.

Chronos lifted a hand lazily.

Zeus tossed him the ball without even looking.

Three-pointer.

No stance.

No prep.

Just a casual flick, like someone tossing trash into a bin.

SWISH—

GODS — 38 | RAPTORS — 15

The net didn't shake violently.

It accepted.

As if that shot was pre-written in its memory.

In the Raptors' eyes, something finally cracked.

Kobe slapped the floor hard, jaw clenched. "Stop backing up! Meet them!"

Tyrese swallowed, nodding, but the nod felt hollow.

Malik stared at the floor, breathing steady but eyes unfocused. (Why… do my legs feel heavier?)

Zion's mind raced. (I can't see it. No openings. Every pass lane dies before I even look at it. He's… erasing futures.)

And Jalen…

Jalen looked at his hands.

(That wasn't a miss. That was…)

A realization slid coldly into his chest.

(…my shot didn't fail. It was denied the right to succeed.)

….

Bleachers — Again

Ethan exhaled, shaking slightly.

"This isn't basketball… it's hierarchy."

Lucas' eyes burned with excitement.

"No." He leaned forward. "It's ascension."

…

GODS — 40 | RAPTORS — 15 | 0:19 — First Quarter

The arena screen flashed. Zeus didn't smile. Didn't blink. He simply turned his head…

…directly toward Ethan and Lucas.

Like he felt them watching.

Ethan's breath caught.

Lucas' grin widened slowly.

(He noticed. Finally.)

…..

The ball then was inbounded to Zion.

The arena lights felt hotter now, but it wasn't heat—it was weight. Like every lumen carried pressure.

Zeus wasn't guarding anyone.

Yet he was guarding everyone.

He stood at the top of the key, not moving, but the air around him changed—like gravity condensing in a single point.

Lucas straightened in his seat.

Evan clutched his chest.

Ethan's throat dried instantly.

(…Pressure increased?)

On the jumbotron, a simple graphic pulsed over Zeus's name:

AURA OUTPUT: 45%

No animation, no flames just cold escalation.

Court

Zion dribbled, scanning. "Last shot—lock in!"

Tyrese cut right.

Kobe posted low.

Malik flared to the corner.

Chronos and Hades moved, but casually, like shepherds guiding livestock back into their pen.

Jalen called for it, voice sharp. "HERE!"

Zion hesitated

And in that one beat of doubt, Zeus lifted his head.

The court… slowed.

Not literally but perception fractured. Every Raptor felt it differently:

Zion felt like his options froze, his mind lagging behind his body.

Tyrese felt like his feet sank into wet concrete.

Malik's vision tunneled, only seeing his own breathing.

Kobe clenched his fists until his knuckles paled, fighting the urge to flinch.

Jalen's heart rate spiked like a war drum, loud and desperate.

(This… aura isn't pushing us back—) Jalen realized with a cold chill.

(—it's pushing our WILL back.)

Zion forced his arm forward and passed to Jalen.

THUD— the ball slapped into Jalen's hands—

and the moment he caught it, Zeus tilted his chin upward.

Tiny.

Calm.

Commanding.

Jalen's pupils shrank like a shutter snapping tight.

….

Bleachers

Ethan gripped the railing**

"...Why can I feel it from HERE?!"

Lucas didn't blink.

(A king doesn't expand his aura to crush…)

A faint tremor ran down Ethan's arms.

(…he expands it to declare— 'This territory is mine.' )

Court

0:07

Jalen dribbled once.

0:06

Zeus stepped forward.

One step.

Just one.

But the wood groaned, as if the floor itself recognized ownership.

Evan's breath hitched. "Did… the floor just bend?"

Ethan felt sweat crawl down his spine like ice. "This is 45%?"

Lucas, eyes fixed, murmured something only he could find excitement in:

"…Good. Show me more."

Jalen forced a drive. Against logic. Against fear.

0:04

Zeus did not lower his stance.

He did not spread his arms.

He simply existed in the path.

Jalen leaped

And reality narrowed.

AURA COMPRESSION. 45% → 46%.

The sound cut out.

The world muted.

And in that silent freeze, a single thought sliced crystal clear across Jalen's mind:

"He's not blocking my shot… he's blocking my right to contest him."

BUZZER.

The quarter ended, but the echo of that moment didn't.

GODS — 40 | RAPTORS — 15 | END OF FIRST QUARTER

Jalen landed.

Shoulders shaking.

Not from exhaustion… but from rage and humiliation battling inside his chest.

Bleachers Final Frame

Zeus lowered his gaze.

For the first time, his eyes didn't scan the court.

They locked directly onto the bleachers.

On the ones who were not playing, the ones watching.

Ethan. Evan. Lucas and others..

Ethan's breath caught.

Evan whispered without realizing:

"…He saw us."

Lucas slowly rose from his seat, aura flickering in his eyes like a spark.

(So… you do recognize potential pieces on the board.)

Zeus's lips didn't move.

Yet the pressure that rolled across the arena said one clear thing:

Your turn is coming.

…

LOCKER HUDDLE — RAPTORS BENCH | BEFORE SECOND QUARTER

The buzzer had blown, but nobody moved like it was a break.

They walked to the bench like men walking off a battlefield they hadn't realized they'd already lost. Heads low. Breaths shaky. The scoreboard glared above them like a wound.

GODS — 40 | RAPTORS — 15

The bench chairs screeched as they sat. Coach Jenkins didn't slam a clipboard. He didn't shout.

He stood in front of them silently, letting the heaviness sit just long enough that they looked up at him.

His voice came low.

"Look at me."

Tyrese lifted his eyes slowly.

Malik wiped sweat that wasn't from running.

Kobe didn't look up at all.

Coach Jenkins crouched down, meeting their eyes one by one.

Coach Jenkins (calm, steady)

"You're not losing because you're weaker."

"You're losing because you started believing they're untouchable."

Zion's jaw tightened.

Coach leaned forward, voice firm.

"Pressure isn't real. It's a choice."

"You felt their aura… and you let it write your fate before the quarter even ended."

Jalen's fists clenched so hard his knuckles cracked.

Jalen (teeth gritted, voice low)

"Coach… it's like—"

Coach raised a hand, cutting him off.

Coach Jenkins

"I know what it's like."

"You think they're gods? Fine."

"Then remind yourselves gods bleed too."

The bench went silent.

Somewhere in Tyrese's chest, something flickered.

Coach's eyes burned not with anger, but with belief.

"You don't overcome pressure by being stronger."

"You overcome it by refusing to submit."

He tapped his temple.

"The moment you believe their aura controls you… it does."

"So listen clearly— This next quarter… I don't want domination. I want defiance."

Malik's breath steadied.

Kobe finally lifted his head.

Zion's fingers

stopped shaking.

Coach straightened, stepping back.

"You don't win games like this in one quarter…

…but you can take your dignity back in one play."

"So tell me…."

He met Jalen's eyes.

"….are you still here to play… or to kneel?"

Jalen (voice rising like a spark across dry ground)

"...Play."

Coach stared at him.

"Louder."

Jalen's shoulders squared.

"PLAY."

Tyrese slapped his knee.

"PLAY!"

Malik stood. "PLAY!"

The bench roared in a broken chorus not clean, not confident but alive.

And up in the bleachers…

Lucas smirked, just barely.

(Good. Don't die kneeling. Die swinging.)

To be continue