LOGINThe fourth quarter started shortly after and the scoreboard never stopped moving, not because anyone scored but because time refused to slow down.Eight minutes.To seven.Nobody on the Frost Wolves looked at it anymore but Coach did. Even when everyone saw a few minutes, he saw very few seconds. Every glance made his jaw tighten a little more."Keep pushing." And nobody needed telling twice. The faceoff dropped and Lukas stole it cleanly before immediately sending it toward Adrian.Not Viktor…not this time.Adrian caught it without breaking stride before spinning away from the first defender. The second Dragon arrived almost immediately.Shoulder.Stick.Pressure. And Adrian refused to panic. He slipped the puck behind himself instead and Joshua appeared from nowhere."...Mine." He fired as though trying to redeem himself.THUD.The shot never reached the net. A Dragon blocked it with his shin before the rebound bounced harmlessly toward the corner but Nikola was already there.He re
The whistle echoed across the arena before disappearing beneath another wave of noise and nobody wanted to rush anymore.Not the Frost Wolves, not the Dragons. Everybody simply moved and observed everything.And one thing was for certain, Coach had been right.The moment they stopped forcing the patterns, the game changed completely.Lukas caught the opening faceoff but instead of looking for Viktor like he had every single shift before, he just spun the opposite direction."Huh?" The Dragon captain actually slowed down, just slightly. Long enough for Lukas to fire the puck toward Nikola instead and Nikola almost lost it."...ME?" Lukas frowned but before he could yell, Coach screamed from outside."Play!" Coach's unprofessional shouting helped Nikola and everyone else get in the game totally. Nikola recovered immediately."...RIGHT!" But instead of passing, he skated. Straight through the neutral zone but one defender stepped toward him and Nikola slipped the puck between the man's s
The final eighteen seconds somehow lasted forever. The referee dropped the puck and nobody even thought about attacking anymore."Defend!" Coach shouted. The Dragons didn't rush and that was somehow worse.They carried the puck around the outside, forcing every Frost Wolf to keep moving. Left. Right. Behind the net, even across the blue line. They weren't looking for another goal, they were looking for another mistake."Stay with him!" Lukas shouted as another black jersey drifted toward the slot.Joshua followed and Nikola blocked the passing lane. Adrian tied up a stick just as another Dragon tried cutting across the crease. The puck moved again.Tap.Tap.Across.Back.Nobody in black seemed to panic, they simply waited.Five seconds.Four.Three. The Dragon captain looked once toward the clock before winding up.SLAP.The puck exploded through three bodies.THUD.Elias caught it cleanly against his chest and this time he didn't wait. He threw both gloves over it immediately.The w
The captain didn't touch the puck. He didn't even touch Viktor. He simply skated beside him,matching every stride, watching and waiting. Almost like he was studying him.Viktor glanced toward him once before pushing harder, trying to create even half a metre of space between them but the Dragon followed without changing expression. He wasn't chasing him, he wasn't even trying to steal the puck anymore. He was simply there.Just close enough to be seen and close enough to be remembered. Of course, Lukas didn't like that. Not one bit.The whistle never came and the game continued flowing around them while Viktor circled behind, waiting for somebody to become available. Usually Lukas would've already been open by now, Adrian would've drifted toward the boards and Joshua would've cut across the middle.Instead, every route already had somebody standing there. Viktor hesitated for one second too long and the Dragon beside him smiled.Not a grin, not even mockery. It was just recognition.
The smile disappeared from Lukas' face when he heard the captain's response.."Yes. That's how we're playing."He didn't even raise his voice. He didn't even look angry. He simply nodded once to the defenseman beside him before skating away from Lukas like the conversation had already ended.Lukas didn't think much of it, he probably should have.The referee skated back toward center ice, waiting for both teams to settle into position again.While around them, the crowd refused to sit down.Thousands of voices echoed through the arena, the Frost Wolves' opening goal still replaying across the giant screens hanging above the rink while commentators spoke over one another so quickly Lukas couldn't understand a single sentence anymore.He didn't need to anyway. The scoreboard spoke clearly enough.DRAGONS — 0FROST WOLVES — 1Nikola kept glancing up at it every few seconds just to make sure it hadn't disappeared."It's still there." Joshua sighed."Yes.""We actually scored.""Yes.""Aga
The cheering didn't stop. If anything, it became louder.The Dragons hadn't even touched the puck yet and the entire arena already belonged to them. Every player they introduced was welcomed by another wave of screams while cameras followed them across the ice like celebrities walking a red carpet instead of athletes preparing for war.Lukas stood quietly behind the tunnel entrance, watching them complete one slow lap around the rink.Nobody smiled, nobody waved, nobody acknowledged the crowd.They simply skated and somehow, that was even more terrifying."They're enjoying this." Nikola whispered and Joshua shook his head."That's the problem." He paused. "They're not."The Dragons eventually gathered around their captain before slowly separating into formation. One by one they tested the ice beneath their skates, passing the puck without looking, never missing a single reception.It looked effortless, like they weren't warming up, like they were reminding everyone else who owned the
The interview should have ended there…it really should have. The reporter looked exhausted, Coach looked deceased and Nikola looked completely satisfied with himself… which was usually a terrible sign."Thank you for your time," the reporter finally said."You're welcome.""You were not helpful.""
Nobody knew what happened for the first few minutes because one moment they were hockey players and the next moment they were screaming.The championship should have ended with dignity but it did not.Players were everywhere. Some lay flat on the ice while others tackled each other repeatedly and s
The bus exploded before the doors even closed shut."WE'RE GOING TO THE FINALS." A voice screamed. Lukas wasn't sure, but it sounded like Nikola."THE ACTUAL FINALS." The voice continued screaming when Lukas turned his head, Viktor was jumping with Nikola."WE ALMOST DIED.""I LOST FEELING IN MY LE
The whistle shrieked. They looked down and suddenly, somebody lost a tooth, but nobody knew whose tooth it was. Players paused and stared at it in shock but the game didn't stop.The crowd screamed, blood hit the ice and somewhere behind Lukas a referee yelled something nobody could actually hear b







