Reincarnated As A Wonderkid-Chapter 579: Are you ready?
Alex Finch lay in the bed. He was old now. Eighty-five. His hair was snow white. His face was a map of wrinkles, each line telling a story.
He looked at his hands. They were thin. Frail.
"The machine is breaking down," Alex whispered.
Mark sat next to the bed. He was old too. He wore a hearing aid and walked with a cane. But he was still wearing a bright red tracksuit.
"Don't say that," Mark said, his voice raspy. "You are just resting. Halftime."
"This is full time, Mark," Alex smiled weakly. "Injury time is over."
Rico sat on the other side. He was holding a small bongo drum, tapping it gently with one finger.
"The rhythm is slow today," Rico said softly.
"Adagio," Alex nodded.
Milo stood by the window. He was wearing a suit made of black velvet.
"THE UNDERTAKER!" Milo tried to shout, but his voice cracked. "ALEX! I AM SELLING... I am selling..."
Milo stopped. He wiped a tear from his eye.
"I am not selling anything today," Milo whispered. "Today is free."
Alex looked at them. His team. His friends.
They had been together for sixty years. Through the wins. The losses. The pizza.
The door opened.
Leo walked in. He was a man now. Fifty years old. A legend in his own right.
He was holding a football. An old, scuffed football.
"Dad," Leo said.
"Hey, son," Alex whispered.
"I brought it," Leo said. "The ball from the park. The first one."
Alex touched the ball. It felt like leather and memories.
He closed his eyes.
He saw the rain at Griffin Park. Danein Blake falling. He saw the sun at the Emirates. Leon Fischer rising. He saw the stars in Como. Alex Finch conquering.
Three lives. One soul.
"I am tired," Alex said.
"Sleep," Mark said, holding his hand. "Dream of speed."
"Dream of samba," Rico said.
"Dream of gold," Milo said.
The monitor beeped faster. Beep-beep. Beep-beep.
Alex looked at Mark.
"Mark," Alex whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Did we win?"
Mark squeezed his hand. Tears streamed down his old face.
"We won, Alex. We won everything."
"Good," Alex smiled. "Good."
His vision started to blur. The white room began to fade.
He saw a blue screen flickering in the distance.
[SYSTEM SHUTTING DOWN.]
[MISSION COMPLETE.]
[LEGACY SECURED.]
[DO YOU WISH TO RESTART?]
[YES / NO]
Alex looked at the screen.
He looked at his friends. He looked at his son.
He had lived three lives. He had been a failure. He had been a wonderkid. He had been a legend.
He had loved. He had lost. He had laughed.
"No," Alex thought. "No restart."
"This was enough."
He closed his eyes for the last time.
The beeping stopped.
A long, flat tone filled the room.
Mark put his head on the bed and sobbed. Rico stopped drumming. Milo turned away from the window.
Leo kissed his father's forehead.
"Goodbye, Professor," Leo whispered.
The funeral was not sad.
It was a celebration.
It was held at the Emirates Stadium. The pitch was covered in flowers.
Thousands of people came. Fans in Arsenal shirts. Fans in Como shirts. Fans in England shirts.
There were speeches.
Saka spoke about his vision. Odegaard spoke about his leadership. Yamal spoke about his inspiration.
Then, Mark stood up.
He walked to the microphone. He was wearing his old, faded Arsenal shirt over his suit.
He looked at the crowd.
"Alex Finch," Mark said. His voice echoed. "He was my best friend."
He paused.
"He was smart. He knew physics. He knew math. He knew things I still don't understand."
Mark smiled through his tears.
"But he also knew how to eat pizza. And how to laugh when I fell over."
"He taught us that football is not about the score. It is about the feeling. It is about the people next to you."
Mark looked at the coffin. It was draped in an Arsenal flag.
"He ran his race," Mark said. "And he won."
Mark pulled a whistle from his pocket.
"One last time," Mark shouted. "For the Professor!"
He blew the whistle.
PEEEEEEEEEEEP!
The crowd erupted. They cheered. They sang his name.
ALEX FINCH! ALEX FINCH!
It was the loudest sound the stadium had ever heard.
The Afterlife (Maybe).
Alex opened his eyes.
He wasn't in a hospital. He wasn't in a stadium.
He was in a park.
The grass was green. The sun was shining.
There were goalposts made of jumpers.
He looked down.
He was young again. Ten years old. Wearing his old, baggy kit.
He looked up.
A man was standing in the goal.
He was wearing a faded blue Brentford kit. He had tired eyes, but a warm smile.
Danein Blake.
"Hello, kid," Danein said.
"Dad?" Alex asked. (Or was it himself? It didn't matter).
"You did good," Danein said. "You did real good."
"I tried," Alex said.
"You did more than try," Danein said. "You changed the game."
Another boy ran over. He was small. Blonde. He was wearing an academy bib.
Leon Fischer.
"Did we win?" Leon asked.
"We won," Alex said.
"Cool," Leon grinned. "Can we play now?"
Alex looked around.
Mark was there. Young Mark. Fast Mark.
"ALEX!" Mark screamed, running in circles. "I AM A ROCKET! CATCH ME!"
Rico was there, dancing with the ball. Milo was there, trying to sell tickets to the angels.
"It is a game," Alex realized. "It is just an endless game."
"Are you ready?" Danein asked, kicking a ball to him.
Alex controlled it. Perfect touch.
He felt the grass under his feet. He felt the wind in his hair.
He looked at the goal.
"I am ready," Alex said.
The park in the afterlife was perfect.
Too perfect.
The grass was cut to exactly 15 millimeters. The sun was always shining at a pleasant 22 degrees. The wind only blew when you were sweaty, and it always smelled of lavender.
Alex Finch trapped the ball. It stuck to his foot like a magnet.
He looked at the goal.
Danein Blake (his past self) was in goal.
Alex shot. Top corner.
"Goal," Danein said, not even diving. "Nice one, kid."
Alex sighed.
"That is the thousandth goal in a row," Alex said.
"You are a legend," Danein shrugged. "Legends don't miss."
Mark ran over. He was wearing a halo. It was crooked.
"I am bored!" Mark shouted. "I am too fast! I raced a beam of light, and I won! I arrived before I left! It is confusing!"
Rico was sitting on a cloud, playing a harp.
"The acoustics are perfect," Rico complained. "I cannot play a wrong note. It is annoying. Where is the struggle? Where is the chaos?"
Milo walked out from behind a pearly gate. He was wearing a robe made of clouds.
"BAD NEWS!" Milo screamed. "I CANNOT SELL ANYTHING! EVERYTHING IS FREE HERE! I TRIED TO SELL A TICKET TO PARADISE, BUT WE ARE ALREADY IN PARADISE! THE MARKET HAS CRASHED!"
Alex sat on the perfect grass.
He looked at his friends. They were young again. Healthy. Happy.
But they were bored.
"Perfection is a trap," Alex whispered. "Without the risk of failure, winning feels like... nothing."
Suddenly, the sky flickered.
It wasn't a cloud passing over the sun. It was a glitch. Like a bad TV signal.
The blue sky turned purple. Then green. Then static.
A giant blue screen appeared in the air, blocking out the sun.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[ERROR: PLAYER SATISFACTION LEVELS CRITICAL.]
[DIAGNOSIS: ETERNAL BOREDOM.]
[SOLUTION: HARD RESET.]
Alex stood up. "Hard reset?"
Mark looked at the screen. "Does that mean we get pizza?"
[NEGATIVE. IT MEANS DEATH.]
"We are already dead!" Mark yelled at the sky. "You cannot kill a ghost! It is double jeopardy!"
[CORRECTION: DELETION OF CURRENT SAVE FILE. REINITIALIZING SOUL DATA.]
[NEW GAME PLUS MODE ACTIVATED.]
[WARNING: PERMADEATH ENABLED. DIFFICULTY: IMPOSSIBLE.]
The ground started to shake. The perfect grass began to pixelate and dissolve.
"What is happening?" Rico asked, dropping his harp.
"The server is crashing," Alex realized. "The System... it wants us to play again. But for real."
[DO YOU ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE?]
[YES / NO]
"If we say no?" Alex asked.
[YOU STAY HERE. IN THE PERFECT BOREDOM. FOREVER.]
Alex looked at Mark. Mark looked at the dissolving grass.
"I hate boredom," Mark said. "It tastes like unsalted crackers."
"I want to feel my legs burn again," Rico said. "I want to miss a trick."
"I WANT TO MAKE A PROFIT!" Milo screamed. "I NEED AN ECONOMY WITH INFLATION!"
Alex looked at the button. It was glowing red.
"If we press this," Alex said. "We die here. We lose this peace. We go back to the chaos. And we might not remember each other."
Mark stepped forward. He adjusted his crooked halo.
"Professor," Mark said. "We are best friends. We are a magnetic force. Even if I am a worm and you are a bird, I will find you. And I will race you."
Alex smiled.
"Okay," Alex said. "Let's die."
He reached for the 'YES' button.
But Mark was faster.
"LEEROY JENKINS!" Mark screamed, sprinting at the button.
He headbutted the 'YES'.
CRASH.
The world shattered.
The sky broke into a billion pieces of glass. The ground opened up.
It was a black hole. A swirling vortex of code and light.
"HOLD ON!" Alex shouted, grabbing Mark's arm.
"I AM FLYING!" Mark yelled as he was sucked into the vortex. "I AM A SPACE GHOST!"
Rico grabbed Alex's other arm. Milo grabbed Rico's leg.
They formed a chain. A human (or spirit) chain falling into the abyss.
[DELETING ASSETS...]
[DELETING MEMORIES...]
[RETAINING CORE PERSONALITY TRAITS...]
[LOADING NEW WORLD...]
Alex felt his body stretching. It hurt. It felt like fire.
It was the feeling of being born. The feeling of dying. It was the same feeling.
"See you on the other side!" Alex screamed.
"BRING PIZZA!" Mark's voice echoed as he vanished into the data stream.
Then, silence.
Darkness.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The sound of a monitor.
Alex opened his eyes.
He was... where was he?
He looked at his hands. They were small. Very small.
He tried to speak. Only a squeak came out.
He looked around.
He was in a crib. A high-tech, futuristic crib with neon lights.
Through the window, he saw... flying cars? Giant skyscrapers that touched the clouds?
"Where am I?" Alex thought.
A woman walked in. She was wearing a silver jumpsuit.
"Hello, X-7," she said kindly. "Time for your nutrient paste."
X-7?
Alex tried to move his legs. They were weak.
Suddenly, a blue screen popped up in his vision. But it wasn't the old interface. It was sleek. Holographic.
[WELCOME TO THE YEAR 2145.]
[SERVER: NEO-TOKYO.]
[SPORT: GRAVITY-BALL.]
[CURRENT STATUS: BABY (LEVEL 1).]
[POTENTIAL: INFINITE.]
Alex blinked.
Gravity-Ball?
"Oh no," Alex thought. "I have to learn physics all over again."
Then, he heard a noise from the crib next to him.
A baby with messy hair was trying to climb out. He was rattling the bars of his crib like a prisoner.
"Waaaaah!" the baby screamed. "Goo goo ga ga PIZZA!"
Alex's eyes widened.
"Mark?" Alex whispered (or gurgled).
The baby stopped rattling the bars. He looked at Alex. He winked.
Then, he did a backflip out of the crib.
A perfect backflip.
[ALERT: SPEEDSTER ANOMALY DETECTED.]
Baby Mark landed on the floor. He started crawling. Fast. Incredibly fast.
"Mama!" Baby Mark shouted, crawling towards the door. "Zoom zoom!" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Another baby in the corner started tapping on the bars of his crib rhythmically. Tap. Tap. Tap. It was Rico.
And under the bed, Alex saw a baby hoarding all the pacifiers.
"MINE!" Baby Milo squeaked. "I TRADE FOR MILK!"
Alex laughed. A bubbly, baby laugh.
They were all here.
The team. The family.
They had died. They had reset. They had lost their trophies and their titles.
But they had found each other.
Alex looked at the floating blue screen.
[MISSION: BECOME THE GALACTIC CHAMPION.]
[DIFFICULTY: LEGENDARY.]
Alex clenched his tiny fist.
"Challenge accepted," he thought.
He looked at Mark, who was now trying to eat the carpet.
"Mark," Alex gurgled. "Don't eat the floor."
Mark looked up, carpet fuzz on his mouth.
"Paaaa!" Mark cheered.
Alex smiled.
New world. New game. Same idiots.
The Dynasty wasn't over. It had just gone intergalactic.
"Class is in session," Baby Alex thought.
And the first lesson was: How to escape this crib.
He looked at the latch. He calculated the angle. He calculated the force required.
He reached out.
The door opened.
Alex crawled out. He stood up on wobbly legs. He took his first step.
Then his second.
He looked at Mark.
"Run," Alex gurgled.
