Limitless Pitch-Chapter 71 – Smoke Before Fire

The sky over São Paulo hung low with clouds, swollen and heavy, as if the weather itself was holding its breath. The air smelled of damp earth and distant ozone, the kind of charged stillness that comes before a storm. At the Palmeiras training ground, the atmosphere was no different—tense, expectant, humming with unspoken energy.

The final against Corinthians was days away, but the weight of it had already settled in. Staff moved briskly through hallways, clipboards tucked close, murmuring tactics in hushed tones. Security presence had increased—journalists loitered beyond the gates, drones buzzed overhead like mechanical vultures, fans crowded the perimeter, all desperate for a glimpse of the storm about to come.

Thiago stood at the far end of the pitch, arms crossed, his breath fogging in the early chill. He wasn’t dressed for the weather—just training kit and a thin jacket—but he didn’t feel the cold. Not really.

Not when something else sat heavier in his chest.

Camila.

She hadn’t replied.

Not since the café.

Not since the quiet, broken moment when she’d stood up, wrapped her scarf a little too tightly, and said, "I need to think about what you’ve just told me," before walking away.

She hadn’t blocked him. Hadn’t ghosted him.

But the silence screamed louder than anything.

And in that silence, Thiago trained.

Every drill, he completed with precision.

Every press, every pass, every movement—sharper than it had ever been.

But something was missing.

"Again," he said after a five-a-side ended in a draw.

The assistant coach raised an eyebrow.

"You’ve done enough for today."

"Again."

Eneas stepped in, his voice low but firm. "Thiago. Save the fire."

The other players had already begun cooling down, stripping off their vests, gulping water. Rafael looked at him from across the field, eyes narrowed with quiet concern.

Thiago nodded once and dropped to the turf for stretches, his muscles burning, his breath still uneven.

The final wasn’t just a match now.

It was a lifeline.

A way to reclaim focus, to drown the ache of something ending.

Later that night, he lay in bed, the ceiling above him painted in shadows from the streetlights outside. The dorm was quiet—just the occasional muffled laugh from down the hall, or the buzz of a phone left on vibrate. He hadn’t touched his phone since training.

Instead, he opened the System.

SYSTEM STATUS

Level: 15

EXP: 212 / 600

Skill Points Available: 11

Attributes:

Pace – 70

Dribbling – 71

Shooting – 67

Passing – 69

Physicality – 66

Mentality – 64

Sub-Attributes:

Ball Control – 73

Trick Execution – 63

Stamina – 64

Vision – 68

Perks: Anchored Presence

Active Quest: Crowning Glory

Objective: Win the Campeonato Paulista Final against Corinthians

Reward: +1 to all base attributes

Penalty: None

He stared at the numbers. Static, unchanging.

Camila’s silence weighed more than any metric.

He turned over and tried to sleep.

Morning brought more gray skies.

And something new.

A tactical briefing.

The team sat clustered in the film room, the projector humming softly as footage of Corinthians’ last three matches played on the screen. Their style was bruising, tight-marking, direct—a stark contrast to Santos’ fluidity.

"They won’t play like Santos," Eneas said, pausing the video on a frame of Corinthians’ defensive shape. "They’ll want to break rhythm, not chase it."

He tapped the screen with a pen.

"They’ll press Thiago every time he receives wide. Two on one."

Thiago leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

"So we overload the left," he said.

Eneas nodded. "Exactly. Rafael will pivot deeper to draw midfield out. Nando will float into the right channel to stretch their back four."

The plan was clear.

But Thiago wasn’t.

His movements were crisp in training, but Rafael caught it—he was too clean. Too mechanical. No spark.

"Want to talk about it?" Rafael asked as they walked off the pitch, the evening air cooling their sweat-dampened skin.

"No."

"Alright." He slung an arm around Thiago anyway, squeezing his shoulder. "But you better bring the chaos Saturday. Because you and I? We’re not letting this be anyone else’s final."

Thiago gave the smallest smile, the first in days.

That night, Clara called.

She didn’t ask about Camila. She didn’t need to.

"Mom said you’re not eating properly," she accused, her voice crackling slightly over the line. "Also, she’s knitting you socks. Please make sure not to wear them in public."

Thiago chuckled, a real sound for the first time in days.

"I’m fine."

"You’re not," she said. "But I think you will be."

Then softer: "I saw what you did out there. Against Santos. You belong in Europe, brother."

He closed his eyes. "I’m not sure Camila agrees."

"She’s not the only person in your story."

He didn’t respond.

Because deep down, he didn’t want her to be just another character in it.

Friday’s final training was behind closed doors.

Thiago lit it up.

Two assists in the scrimmage. One goal—a curled finish into the far corner that even the reserve goalkeeper couldn’t reach. Three nutmegs, each met with groans and laughter from the defenders he’d embarrassed.

Eneas didn’t praise him.

He just wrote on the whiteboard in bold red marker:

Final – Starting XI.

Thiago’s name was there.

No. 17.

Left Wing.

Beneath it, in small writing:

Stay wide. Stay brave. Be first.

That evening, the squad gathered one last time before the final.

Eneas stood in front of them, calm, centered.

"Corinthians will come to rattle you. They’ll elbow you off the ball. They’ll shout, stall, complain. They’ll try to drag you into their chaos."

He paused, letting the words sink in.

"But you don’t match chaos with chaos."

He pointed at the screen behind him—highlights of their win over Santos, the fluidity of their play, the precision of their counters.

"You answer it with control. With precision. With ruthlessness."

Thiago felt his pulse steady.

This wasn’t just about Camila.

It wasn’t even just about Europe.

This was about proving that every moment of grind, every early morning, every day spent alone on a pitch—meant something.

That he belonged.

That he was more than potential.

That he was inevitable.

As the players filed out, Rafael nudged him. "You ready?"

Thiago finally smiled, the weight in his chest lifting just enough.

"Yeah. I am."

Somewhere across the city, the Corinthians squad did their own final prep.

Tomorrow, Allianz Parque would crackle with more than just fans and fireworks.

It would hold stories, futures, rivalries—and for Thiago, something even deeper:

Closure.

And a new beginning.

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