"Red Team! Red Team!"

"Go Blue Team!"

"You can do it!"

"Pink Team! Stay united! Don’t create another team again!"

The audience cheered for both sides, and even the people playing in the other areas of the gymnasium had stopped entirely just to watch the intense match between that particular class.

Earlier, everyone had only been watching out of curiosity to see how the Blue Team would bend the rules once again. Some parents even had to quietly scold their older children.

"Stop taking notes! No, you’re not getting a new phone. Not like this, young lady!"

Now, however, part of the audience had begun siding with the Red Team simply because they no longer looked pathetic. Somehow, the spirit that had initially been crushed by the Blue Team had revived. They complained less, and their morale kept rising to the point that it began moving the audience as well.

Even Team Pink had split apart, with some cheering for Blue while others rooted for Red. They weren’t fighting, though. They simply cheered for whichever team they felt like supporting at the moment.

"Go Blue!" Red jumped to his feet, shouting at the top of his lungs as though he were cheering during a major league championship. The moment the Blue Team scored another point, a roar burst from his throat as he clenched his fists and pumped his arm into the air.

"Nice!" Rum echoed while clapping enthusiastically. "One more and this game is yours!"

"Don’t let it go into overtime!" Vodka shouted from behind them, fully invested in the match more than anything else at the moment.

But honestly, that was partly thanks to the Red Team, who were finally putting up a good fight and making everything more exciting.

Nolan, quietly seated nearby, smiled from ear to ear. His eyes shifted between Red’s group and Khan’s group, both of whom were genuinely invested in the game now. Earlier, the two sides had remained neutral observers, but now, nobody would think they were merely watching third graders and parents playing school festival games.

He chuckled softly and shook his head, simply letting the guys enjoy themselves.

"It seems they’re enjoying the game just like everyone else," he whispered as his gaze drifted toward Lucian, Ashley, and Primo.

His smile widened at the sight of the family looking slightly exhausted, sweat dampening their hair just like the other participants.

Even so, the determination in their eyes remained. The seriousness on their faces as they discussed strategies with the rest of their team looked more fitting for deciding Dominion’s future rather than a school event.

And it wasn’t just them.

Every parent and child on their team looked just as determined.

Another chuckle escaped Nolan as he enjoyed the game himself. But what he enjoyed most was how new and normal all of this felt.

Nobody looking at Lucian and Ashley right now would ever guess they were involved in the underground world.

"Maybe it’s not that impossible," he muttered to himself with a quiet sigh of relief.

Not long ago, Nolan had genuinely worried. After Ashley’s abduction, he couldn’t stop wondering whether that family would ever have a chance at living a normal life.

But this moment answered that question.

Maybe.

Maybe it wasn’t as impossible as he once thought.

Maybe they really could balance both worlds.

Who knew?

If it were Lucian—or rather, if it were Ashley—it might actually be possible.

After all, Nolan never thought he would see Lucian, or even Primo, taking something as silly as a school game event this seriously if not for her.

Nolan’s smile softened warmly.

"I hope this continues."

*

*

*

Meanwhile, during the short break between rounds, Raka stared at the scoreboard.

The opposing team was ahead by one point.

This was the deciding game.

The deciding round.

Raka turned toward his team, his expression just as determined as before.

"Let’s take this round!" he shouted, earning equally determined yells from both the parents and children on his side. "We can do this!"

"Yeah!!" the students and parents roared, their morale soaring high.

Raka smiled as he glanced at his son, who nodded back at him with determination. He reached down and ruffled Sammy’s hair before turning his attention toward the opposing side.

His gaze swept across the Blue Team before stopping on Lucian.

Earlier, Lucian had been the one coaching them. But now, Ashley and Julius were the ones hyping everyone up and raising morale.

Raka narrowed his eyes as he studied Lucian from afar.

"Is he okay?" he blurted out, catching the attention of several teammates nearby.

Everyone turned to look in Lucian’s direction, but none of them saw what Raka was seeing.

To them, Lucian merely looked slightly exhausted.

But who wasn’t exhausted at this point?

At this stage, the only thing driving everyone forward was the determination to win alongside their children.

"Raka, what do you mean?" one of the parents asked. "He looks fine to me."

The others nodded in agreement, but Raka kept staring at Lucian.

His brows tightened further as he tilted his head slightly, assessing Lucian from head to toe.

It was true that Lucian looked normal aside from the exhaustion. He had always been naturally pale, which made his dark eyes stand out even more.

But something about him now bothered Raka.

"Nah, forget about him," Raka muttered, shaking his head. "We need to focus on this game first."

He clicked his tongue and looked back at his team, only to glance at Lucian once more.

"Can’t anyone else see it?" he wondered aloud again, earning puzzled looks from his teammates. It wasn’t that he particularly cared about Lucian, but his profession required him to notice these kinds of things. "I mean, the guy looks like he’s about to pass out."

"I don’t see it," the others shrugged.

So Raka shrugged it off as well and stopped dwelling on it.

"Never mind then." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

*****

Meanwhile, on the Blue Team’s side...

"Let’s do this!" Ashley roared, earning an equally loud chorus from their teammates.

She smiled in satisfaction, momentarily forgetting everything else just like everyone around her. At this point, the game genuinely mattered to them, especially after seeing how hard their children were trying to win.

But when she turned toward Lucian, her brows crinkled slightly.

After signaling everyone else to prepare for the next round, she walked over to him.

"Hey," she said softly. "Are you okay?"

Lucian raised a brow at her, but before he could answer, Julius suddenly spoke up.

"You look a little pale." Julius furrowed his brows. "Everything alright?"

"Yes," Lucian answered with a nod. "I’m alright."

"You sure?" Ashley and Julius asked almost at the same time, both staring at him closely.

Then Ashley added, "Boo, if you want, you can sit this one out."

Julius nodded immediately. "She’s right."

"No, it’s alright." Lucian kept his eyes on Ashley. "I’m fine."

A brief silence fell between the three before Ashley and Julius finally nodded in understanding. Taking Lucian at his word, they stopped pressing the issue and returned to helping the team prepare for the next game.

But unlike what Lucian claimed... he was not fine at all.

Sitting down on the bench, he carefully controlled his breathing as a painful tightness slowly spread through his chest with every beat of his heart.

His head began to feel light. His vision started spinning.

Inside his head, he whispered to himself;

Not... now. He lifted his gaze to his son and wife. Don’t... fall now.