Extra Basket-Chapter 180 - 167: 10 minutes….

Ethan’s arms trembled as he held Lucas’s limp body.

Blood soaked into his hands.

His vision blurred not just from tears — but from sheer desperation.

"No... no, no, no... he can’t be dead."

"There has to be a way!"

He closed his eyes tightly.

His mind screamed.

(System... please. There has to be something! Something that can save him!)

[SYSTEM ANALYZING REQUEST...]

[Searching for probability... searching... searching...]

His heart was hammering in his chest like a war drum.

The sound of Charlotte crying, Ayumi sobbing, the shocked silence of his friends — it all faded.

[DING.]

[Skill Found: TIME REVERSAL]

Description: Allows the user to rewind time by exactly 10 minutes.]

[Cost: 100% of SP (Shop Points) and UP (Upgrade Points).]

[Cooldown: 2 Years (System Lockout for active skills).]

[Confirm Use? Y/N]

Ethan didn’t hesitate.

His eyes flared open.

(YES.)

[Confirming: TIME REVERSAL – ACTIVATED.]

[User’s SP: 0 | UP: 0]

[Commencing Rewind...]

Time, fractured.

The sound of the sirens blurred and reversed.

The screams folded in on themselves.

The lights dimmed and spiraled back like tape being rewound.

And then—

The bullet reversed.

Coonie staggered forward again, and Lucas was there standing. Breathing. Smiling.

The sidewalk filled with laughter again.

The sun had returned to its golden hue.

Ethan gasped and dropped to one knee, his chest heaving.

His hands were clean.

The blood was gone.

The nightmare... undone.

(I did it...)

(Lucas... you’re alive.)

He stood up slowly, trembling, but his face was calm.

He turned toward Lucas, who had just laughed at a joke Ryan made.

Ethan whispered, "Not this time."

He bolted forward and grabbed Lucas by the shirt.

"WHAT THE—Ethan?!" Lucas blinked in confusion.

Ethan looked him in the eyes, dead serious.

"Don’t ask. But when I say get down — listen."

Lucas frowned, confused... but nodded.

"...Alright."

Ethan turned to the others.

"EVERYONE DOWN! NOW!!"

They blinked startled but obeyed.

Charlotte crouched, Ayumi ducked, Ryan and Brandon looked at each other in confusion but followed.

Then—

Bang.

The bullet missed.

It sliced through the air where Coonie had just been standing but he had hit the ground, Lucas dragging him down just in time.

Ethan’s eyes locked onto the rooftop across the street.

A glint of metal.

A figure.

(Got you.)

He didn’t hesitate.

"CALL THE COPS! SOMEONE’S SHOOTING FROM THE ROOF!"

Charlotte scrambled for her phone.

Lucas was panting on the ground, looking at Ethan.

"...What the hell just happened?"

Ethan looked at him... and smiled.

A pained, relieved smile.

"I bought us ten minutes."

Lucas blinked.

"What—"

But before the words could form, the voice crackled from above.

A low mutter. Cold. Detached.

"Tsk. Missed. I need to shoot before I go."

On the rooftop, the sniper realigned.

His gloved fingers adjusted the scope one last time.

The .50 caliber BMG rifle was heavy customized, suppressed, loaded with an armor-piercing round that could rip through metal like paper.

He steadied his aim.

Target: Lucas Graves, the closest one to the kill zone.

"Adiós."

The trigger was pulled.

BOOM.

The sound ruptured the air like thunder split the sky.

And—

Ethan moved.

No thought.

Just instinct.

(MOVE.)

He lunged toward Lucas, shoving him to the side.

"LUCAS!!"

Lucas tumbled with a yell, crashing behind a nearby bench.

Ethan didn’t stop.

He reached for the nearest thing a chunk of broken pavement, a jagged rock.

He swung it up, shielding his face—

CLANG.

But it wasn’t enough.

The rock shattered on impact.

The bullet that monster of a round pierced through.

CRACK.

Time snapped.

Blood sprayed.

The back of Ethan’s head jerked.

He staggered once.

Twice.

Then collapsed hard.

The world fell silent.

Lucas blinked.

His ears rang.

"...Ethan?"

He scrambled to his knees, crawling forward.

"Ethan?"

Then louder.

"ETHAN!!!"

Charlotte turned.

Ayumi screamed.

Brandon’s jaw dropped.

Everyone froze as the air went still.

Lucas grabbed Ethan’s shoulders blood coated them like paint.

"No—no—NO—ETHAN!!!"

But Ethan didn’t respond.

His eyes were open...

But unfocused.

The bullet had already done its damage.

Ethan Albarado lay sprawled on the pavement, blood pooling fast beneath his head.

His body twitched once... then went still.

Then, inside his mind—

A faint flicker.

A dying spark.

[BASKETBALL SYSTEM—CRITICAL ALERT]

(WARNING... WARNING... VITALS FALLING...)

(...DYING... DYING...)

(Activating emergency medical nanoprotocols... Insufficient data.)

(All medical stock consumed. No regeneration possible.)

FINAL ACTION: Preservation Mode Activated.

SLEEP MODE — INITIATING IN:

5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

GOODNIGHT, HOST.

Silence.

Inside Ethan’s mind, the light that had guided him, helped him rise, trained with him...

It flickered one last time—

And disappeared.

On the Street, it was filled with chaos

"ETHAN!!!"

Charlotte screamed so loud it echoed down the block.

She shoved past Lucas, dropped to her knees, and cradled Ethan’s bloodied head.

"No—NO! No no no no!! Ethan, wake up!"

Her hands trembled.

"WAKE UP!!"

Louie, eyes wide in disbelief, shouted:

"Ethan!!! SAY SOMETHING!!"

Evan stood frozen. His body shook.

"...he... he saved Lucas..."

Ayumi dropped her clipboard, tears already blurring her eyes.

She collapsed beside Charlotte, grabbing Ethan’s hand.

"Ethan, no. No—please, not like this. You promised... you promised we’d win Nationals..."

Lucas’s voice cracked. He was shouting, screaming—

"SOMEONE CALL THE DAMN AMBULANCE!!"

Kai already had his phone pressed to his ear.

"Yes—yes! We need help! A student’s been SHOT! We’re at Main Street, outside Grandhill Bistro—PLEASE HURRY!!"

Coonie sat against the wall, hands over his mouth, whispering broken prayers.

Brandon backed away, fists clenched, eyes wide with rage and terror.

Ryan slammed his fist on the bench.

"DAMN IT!!! DAMN IT ALL!!!"

Josh had knelt down beside Ayumi, trying to stop the bleeding with trembling hands.

"Pressure—we need to stop the bleeding!"

Aiden looked away. He couldn’t even speak. His fists were clenched so tight they bled from his nails digging into his palms.

Jeremy stumbled to Ethan’s feet, whispering:

"...we just made it... we just made it..."

The sirens grew louder. Deafening.

But to the Vorpal Basket team, they sounded far away like echoes from a dream that had long since turned into a nightmare.

Blue and red lights reflected in puddles of blood and tears. The screech of tires. Doors slammed open. Paramedics rushed.

But none of that mattered.

Not yet.

Charlotte Graves couldn’t stop shaking.

She was still clutching Ethan’s head in her lap, as if doing so could stop time. Her palms were soaked in crimson, her breath hitching between sobs.

"I-it’s okay... they’re here, Ethan... just stay with me—just... stay..."

Ayumi Brooke knelt beside her, pressing gauze onto the wound with everything she had.

"We have to stop the bleeding... we have to..." she whispered, her voice cracking. "Please... please don’t leave us."

Lucas was on the ground, frozen.

His knees burned on the pavement, but he didn’t care. His hands were curled into fists, still stained with Ethan’s blood. His eyes were wide unblinking.

It was supposed to be him.

He was supposed to be dead.

Ethan had pushed him.

Ethan had taken the bullet.

"Why..." Lucas’s voice was barely audible. "Why’d you save me...?"

The EMTs Moved In

"Clear out! Give us space!"

A pair of EMTs knelt beside Ethan immediately, checking for vitals, breath, response.

"BP dropping!"

"Pupils unresponsive—he’s slipping!"

"Prep the stretcher! Get the crash bag ready!"

Charlotte was pulled back gently by another paramedic, but she screamed.

"Let me stay—PLEASE! HE NEEDS ME!"

Evan caught her from behind, holding her tight as she broke down in his arms.

Louie stood off to the side, his fists clenched, teeth gritted so hard they ached.

"I swear... I SWEAR I’ll find who did this..."

Ryan punched a nearby streetlight pole, skin splitting on impact. "WHY!? Why now?! We were supposed to win together!!"

Jeremy sat against the curb, eyes unfocused.

Josh stood frozen, arms limp by his side.

Coonie looked at his trembling hands at the blood.

Brandon had knelt beside Lucas now, pulling him into a hug from behind.

Lucas didn’t move.

The Stretcher Rolled In

They hoisted Ethan’s limp body up with care.

A sheet was quickly placed over his torso, wires connecting, tubes inserted, oxygen mask sealed over his mouth.

His arms hung like they were carved from stone.

Still.

Colorless.

And just before they closed the ambulance doors—

Ethan’s hand twitched.

Not enough to wake.

But enough to be noticed.

Ayumi screamed, "HE’S ALIVE—HE’S ALIVE!!"

The team swarmed the doors, desperate to follow, but the EMTs barked:

"Only one can come!"

Lucas didn’t wait.

He leapt into the back without a word, grabbed Ethan’s hand, and refused to let go.

As the doors slammed shut and the ambulance pulled away—

Charlotte dropped to her knees.

The rest of the team watched it disappear into the night.

...

Meanwhile — In Ethan’s Mind

A void.

Dark. Empty. Quiet.

And then—

A flicker.

A single voice.

"(...host condition... critical... still detecting will to live...)"

"(Analyzing consciousness... fragments of memory detected.)"

And then, a light.

Far away, but approachhing.

Soft at first.

Then bright.

Then blinding.

A door opened within the darkness.

And Ethan...

Began to walk toward it.

To be continue

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