1 An ordinary soccer game turns extraordinary

In the early 21st century, it was understood that four forces stood at the heart of nature: gravity, electromagnetism, weak nuclear force, and strong nuclear force. Physics was solely based on their understanding and the numerous experiments witnessed over the last 200 years. Following that, marvelous inventions came to be: light bulbs, cars, computers.

Many believe there wouldn't be another force. Introducing a fifth force would mean any science from primordial fire-making to aerodynamics would be, in fact, wrong. If that fifth force were to appear, then "common sense" wouldn't apply anymore. Even walking wouldn't be the same in the presence of a fifth force. Thankfully, the long centuries of experience showed there was no such force.

Only, there was.

--

Altin was there standing on the roof of a five floors building. Ahead of it: a large gap, and then another building. Behind him? Monsters. "This has to be a dream," he thought.

He had to choose between a risky jump promising him a 15 meters fall or a slow death eaten by hideous creatures. He jumped.

And then the impossible happened: Altin didn't fall: instead, he levitated, and as he did, he realized: "I can cross the gap. So I was dreaming after all". Filled with excitement and a growing sense that all of it wasn't real... Altin woke up.

He opened his eyes. Sunlight pierced across the curtain, illuminating the dorm room he shared with three other teens. This year, Altin was 14 and just barely 1m60. He was an innocent-looking teenager with black hair and two large round eyes. He was of a standard build, neither big nor small, of average. There wasn't anything special about him, except perhaps his mixed origins.

For a French boy, he didn't precisely look French. There was something off; for instance, his hair was primarily black, but there was some white here and there. His skin tone was slightly bronzed, and his eyebrows were thicker than for the typical caucasian.

His hair, partly white, was the most distinctive trait among other kids.

His origins were a mystery. The orphanage told him that he was found abandoned as a baby. He has never been able to know wha...

"WAKE UP!" Somebody shouted.

Forced out of his reverie, Altin sat on the bed to look at the origin of the voice. "That was the voice of François," Altin mused to himself.

And... there he was, looking at Altin, a young man 1m70 tall, with light-dark hair and rather powerfully built. François had the body of a fighter, and he certainly was one. Indeed, every so often, he would have conflicts with the other students.

François said: "Altin, it's already 10 am, and you are still sleeping like a baby. That won't do. We have a game in the dorm room on the opposite side of the aisle at 10:30. These idiots believe they can beat us."

Only then did Altin realized he had actually, slightly, a tiny bit, overslept, considering he indeed agreed to play a game with his roommates against another team. "Where are Paul and Julien? " He asked.

François answered: "They already woke up and left for breakfast an hour ago. So, you're the last one. When we saw how soundly sleeping you were, they asked me to fetch you before it was too late. So, you've got 28minutes to get ready and hurry your ass to the field. Otherwise, you can forget about us letting you sleep tomorrow !"

"Ouch, he sounds pissed." Altin thought to himself. "I better not miss the game." Within 28minutes, Altin could do a lot of things. But he could not have breakfast AND digest on time before the game. So instead, Altin opted for the closest thing: good old candies full of sugar for an instant boost. Finally, 20min later, he was dressed and ready for the game. He walked to the school's gym.

It was December 2025 and too cold to play outside. The game was set to be played in the gym because of the weather.

"Hey Paul, Julien, François. I'm ready for the game !" Altin shouted. Three young boys turned to stare at the newcomer: François, Julien, and Paul.

François was the "sporty." He stood the tallest among the three. He looked confident and muscular. For the game, he elected to wear black shorts and a white t-shirt. He usually wore simple clothes, fitting just right at his build. However, because of his rapid growth in recent years, he must have often changed clothes.

On the other hand, Julien, who really was a "geek, " was the smallest. For a 15 y.o. teen, he was quite small, just barely taller than Altin despite being a year older. He stood at 163cm. His peers regarded him as intelligent; he often talked about science and what he learned at the expense of his friends' misery and boredom. He didn't like sports too much. As a result, he was relatively thin. He wore grey sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Of course, he wore glasses.

Paul, "the weirdo," was between Julien and Français in size: 167cm. He was 15 y.o., and wearing an orange pair of shorts and a green t-shirt. That was perhaps the ugliest pair of clothing possible for a game, but he didn't care. He was looking at the other people gathered in the field out of boredom. Contrary to the rest of the team, Paul didn't have much interest in anything. As a result, he didn't care how he looked or what he did. He was doing things as they came.

The opposing team stood at the opposite end of the gym, made of similarly four boys discussing among themselves. A week ago, they had come to the room of the Altin and his roommates to challenge them to this game. The whole dorm heard it, and the challenge quickly became something Altin could not extricate from. At this age, reputation was very important. You couldn't possibly be deemed cowardly in a boy dorm, or else troubles will follow you.

It was Julien who was the most reluctant to agree since he wasn't too much into soccer. He would participate in a math competition rather than take part in a sweaty soccer game. Unfortunately for him, things rarely went his way.

As for Altin, he was well-rounded, filled with curiosity for everything and anything. He was a very curious kid, wanting to try new hobbies and learn new bits of knowledge every day. Perhaps he was also the one needing the most sleep because of that. He would often skip breakfast and be the last one out of the dorm room when he didn't have class.

Altin had many common points with mouses: he was cute, small, shy, and very curious.

Altin, François, Julien, and Paul were roommates, but they were also friends. They were all in the "troisième" in France, equivalent to the 9th grade in other school systems. Next year, they would graduate from middle school and go to high school. They had been together for three years, sharing the same dorm room every year. Given their different personalities, there was quite a bit of argument and even brawling at first. Eventually, they came together around their one similarity: they all came from different French orphanages. This middle school was a public institution that awarded scholarships for kids from orphanages and foster families.

Now, they were all about to start a game.

"I'll be the goalkeeper," Julien exclaimed.

"You always take the goalkeeper," Paul commented. Julien didn't like to run and often relied on the hope that the ball would never come his way. If his mates kept the ball in the enemy camp, there was indeed the possibility he wouldn't be involved. He didn't value working out at all; what mattered to him was how smart he could become.

"Doesn't that mean I have more experience in this role?" Julien argued.

"Yeah, that's fine," Paul answered.

Next came Altin " François, you're the strongest and fastest of all; you should be the striker. Paul and I can take the left and right-wing."

"Aren't you afraid to lack defense if the opposite team manages to go past me? " François voiced in concern.

"I do, so we have to play aggressively and keep the ball in their camp. We are few, so we can't cover the whole field." Altin explained his opinion.

"Alright, let's do it." François, the fighter, agreed.

"Fine." Paul and Julien both said. Julien didn't have much interest in sports, and Paul was not fond of soccer, so they went along quickly. François was, however, a regular player. He had a fair idea of how the game would go, so he promptly agreed with Altin's suggestion. As a well-rounder, Altin made the most propositions. Thanks to being interested in many things, he brought up ideas after ideas, and the team would decide together, with often François taking the lead.

"et's talk to them then," François said while pointing his hand toward the opposite team.

Just like them, they seemed to have finished discussions.

François, Altin, Julien, and Paul walked towards them.

"You're all ready? Jean ?" François engaged.

"Since a while ago." The captain of the opposite team, Jean, answered. "You see the crowd over the stands? They're here to watch you lose, so get ready for it." Since Jean's team had issued the challenge publicly, it had attracted the interest of many in the dorm. As a result, there was indeed a bit of crowd sitting on the stands.

"Losing? Like how you lose time talking ? Tell me more about that, but be careful not to be out of breath". François answered.

"You...!" That angered Jean.

"Let's start now. Let's get into position,". Altin interrupted for fear that the argument would escalate.

Both teams came into position with Julien at the goal, Altin and Paul at the left and right-wing, and François as the striker, facing the opposite team's captain directly. Eye to eye, they had already started the battle. Neither wanted to lose in front of everyone.

A boy stepped in the middle of the field with a red flag and orange flag in both of his hands. He was the referee, a senior student neutral to the two opposing teams. At his neck, he wore a whistle. Blowing into it would stand for the start of the game.

He blew.

He then threw the ball in the air.

François and the captain of the opposite team rushed to the ball.

Altin and Paul spread around them, as did the other opposite team. With his classy look and blond hair, Julien sighed, regretting even agreeing to play. "I hope I don't break my glasses," He prayed.

The ball fell and ...

Was headbutted by François toward Paul in the right-wing.

Paul ran with the ball but was soon blocked. He passed to Altin, who passed then to François.

Altin stayed slightly behind to defend, leaving François and Paul to attack.

The rush happened very fast: they had already passed the center in barely a few seconds and had moved into the enemy camp.

Their teamwork was excellent. The boys knew each other like two sides of the same coin.

François continued to move forward into the enemy camp until the opposite team captain caught up to him. He threw an aggressive tackle, going down and sliding on the floor with both legs threatening to kick François's if the ball stayed near him.

François lost the ball; he had side-stepped to avoid the tackle.

The opposite team's goalkeeper rushed to the ball and gave a strong kick. The ball flew all over the field. As it flew in the air, it drew a beautiful arc that passed well-over François and Paul's heads.

The ball landed next to one of the enemy players, who had never left the center field when Altin's team attacked. He was alone in this area due to having stayed behind.

As a result, there was nothing between this player and Julien. That was a dangerous situation. Julien would have a hard time blocking any incoming strike. François was fast, but he was too far into the enemy base, unable to return on time. Paul had accompanied him, so he wasn't quite quick enough to catch up, although he was closer.

It was up to Altin, who was still relatively close to his base.

"I can't let Julien face him alone. Nor can I let them strike the first goal. I have to rush in".

He ran with all this willpower, determined to stop the opposing player from scoring a goal against the defenseless Julien.

The nearby enemy player saw that, and he, too, ran faster along with the ball. However, due to running alongside the ball, he was a bit slower.

Altin slowly caught up and ...

The enemy player lost the ball by himself. He had done a wrong step in a panic to avoid Altin. The boys were young; they were all lacking experience in soccer. Although they played decently, there was a lot of room for improvement.

Just like that, Altin recovered the ball. François and Paul were still in the enemy camp, closely guarded by the opposite team. Passing to them was impossible without having the ball intercepted. He alone was free to advance, having just successfully bypassed the enemy player that nearly made it into his team's goal.

Altin carefully ran up until a bit further than the center, stepping into the enemy camp.

All players slowly encircled him. Because of that, he still couldn't pass the ball to any of his teammates, so he had to keep the ball.

However, at this rate, he would still lose it. Then who knows what will happen.

He analyzed the situation: "My friends are still rather close to the opposing goalkeeper. So I have to keep the ball in this area. I can't let the enemy team get into our camp anymore. Since I can't pass them safely, then I might as well take a long shot at their goal. If it strikes, we would have scored a point. If it doesn't, there's a chance François get it first and score. There's no better choice."

Taking a deep breath, looking at the far goal,

He...

kicked the ball at full power!

The ball flew high in the air, rushing towards the enemy goal. It was actually flying close to the ceiling.

Time seemed to slow as everyone watched the ball.

Then time seemed to slow even further. Finally, as the ball reached nearly the ceiling, it looked like it flew slower and slower, yet it didn't fall.

"What's going... ? Time is slowing down?" Everyone subconsciously thought. Surely they had entered a state of extreme focus...

But...

Seconds passed...

And the ball still flew in the air, neither falling nor cruising.

It was still.

It was hung in the air.

It levitated two meters from the high ceiling of the gym for seemingly no reason.

However, very clearly, time hadn't stopped.

Nobody knew what was happening.