Soccer

Soccer - James Yi (OCSA, Twelfth Grade)

“And he GOES!” The commentator roared out with countless mouths, wings, pheromones, telepathic receptors, sign languages, flight patterns, radiations, electric signals, vibrations, and the total of 1,023 registered modes of communication within the universe.

Shooting across the space field was Badarra, a storm of tentacles flashing as he grabbed onto meteoroids and propelled himself towards the goal. Spectators cheered from all spaces and dimensions of the universe.

“He’s closing in fast! Seven million kilometers! Six-point-five million! Six–oomph!”

A beam of energy crashed in Badarra, disintegrating a hole through his body. The ball that had been stored within his third stomach was released and sent flying backwards before abruptly slowing down and coming to a stop, demonstrating its anti-inertial capabilities.

“Great play from Haslun! Badarra will be incapacitated until he can regenerate. But it seems that the shot has exhausted Haslun too! Now it is up to the rest of the players to see who can get the ball first.”

From Badarra’s side, a living machine reconstructed itself into a cylinder and was inhaled by a giant mouth. With the sound like a demon egg being crushed by a celestial’s palm, the mouth deflated and shot out the living machine. The remaining fires of the propulsion dribbled out of the mouth as it tiredly drifted in space.

The cylinder sped towards the ball. Part of its body disintegrated and rematerialized in the form of a propulsion jet, accelerating it further. It was within a hundred kilometers when a black sphere appeared next to the ball, ejecting an Isjun.

“A decisive decision from the Halflions! Krayon has opened a worm hole and transported Fina, capturing the ball! However, Isjun are not possessed with the capabilities of withstanding such a journey unassisted. Fina is heavily injured, and it will be seen what she can do in such a state!”

Fina rapidly closed in on the goal, jumping from meteoroid to meteoroid despite her crushed body. She was nearly to the goal when grasping hands appeared out of nowhere, camouflaged in the blank expanse of space. Its fingers, flickering with starlight, rushed from above and below to close around Fina in an inescapable prison.

“And there is Uranus, who had been missing from the game since the beginning! It seems they have been waiting for the critical moment. The patience and gameplay is incredible! There is no way for Fina to escape–WAAAAAAA!”

Fina escaped the hands by exploding her body, only leaving her central nervous system attached to the ball as it crossed the last distance to the goal. The opposing team could only watch as she passed through the goal and marked the victory of the Halflions.

The crowd went wild. Exploding planets and stars decorated the night sky while medics rushed to the teams. The greatest number went to Fina. As her sensory organs reformed, she smiled to hear the chants of her name rolling across the universe.