"CHAMPIONS!"Hugo's voice cracked on the word as he hoisted the Inter-Academy Championship cup above his head, the crystalline trophy catching the arena lights and throwing rainbows across thousands of screaming faces.Confetti cannons exploded from every corner of the stadium. Gold and blue streamers rained down like metallic snow while the Xerkes fight song blared from the amplification crystals so loudly that several windows in the upper decks actually shattered.Coach Viriam was sobbing. Not crying—full-on, shoulder-shaking, snot-running sobbing as he grabbed random players and hugged them like they'd just returned from war."Thirteen years," he kept saying to anyone who would listen. "Thirteen years we've been shut out of this tournament, and now look! LOOK!"The scoreboard still glowed with the final numbers: Xerkes Academy 48, Aelwin Academy 45. Three points. After ninety minutes of the most brutal, exhausting, beautiful Krozball any of them had ever played, it had come down to three points."GET DOWN HERE!" Serena screamed at the crowd, waving her arms like she was conducting an orchestra of chaos. "GET DOWN HERE AND CELEBRATE!"She didn't need to ask twice.The barriers that were supposed to keep fans in the stands lasted approximately four seconds before being overwhelmed by a tide of delirious Xerkes supporters. Students, faculty, random citizens of Northhaven who had decided they were Wildcats fans as of five minutes ago—they all poured onto the field in a wave of jubilation that made the earlier celebrations look restrained."GHOST! GHOST! GHOST!"The chant had started the moment the final whistle blew and showed no signs of stopping. If anything, it was getting louder as more people joined in. Someone in the crowd had even composed a song about Adom on the spot, and it was spreading through the celebration like wildfire:"He came from nowhere, moves like smoke,The Ghost (...)