Reincarnated As A Wonderkid-Chapter 548: The ultimate test.

The history book was heavy. It was full of dates, wars, and pharaohs.

Alex sat in the airport lounge in New York. He was reading about the Great Pyramid of Giza.

"The Pyramids," Alex muttered. "Built to last forever. A testament to human ambition."

Mark sat next to him. He was wearing a turban made of a hotel towel and sunglasses.

"I AM A PHARAOH!" Mark whispered loudly. "BOW DOWN, MORTALS! I WANT GRAPES! AND A CHARIOT! A VERY FAST CHARIOT!"

"Mark," Alex sighed. "We are going to Egypt for the Semi-Final, not to rule the ancient world."

"Why not both?" Mark asked, peeling a grape. "I would be a great Pharaoh. King Tutankhamun? No. King Mark-ankhamun! The Fastest King in the Desert!"

Maya was typing on her laptop.

"Analysis of Al-Ahly," Maya said. "The Red Devils of Africa. They have won the African Champions League 11 times. Their fans are passionate. The Cairo International Stadium will be a cauldron."

"We played in Naples," Alex said. "We played in Turkey. We can handle Cairo."

"Statistically," Maya said. "The temperature will be 35 degrees. Hydration is critical. Also, I have calculated the height of the Great Pyramid. It is 138.8 meters. Mark cannot climb it."

"Challenge accepted!" Mark yelled.

"No, Mark," Alex said. "It is illegal. And dangerous."

"Fine," Mark grumbled. "I will just run around it. Very fast. Until I create a sandstorm."

They boarded the plane.

Destination: Cairo. Egypt.

The Club World Cup Semi-Final. Arsenal vs Al-Ahly.

Cairo.

The heat hit them as soon as they stepped off the plane. It was dry, dusty, and intense.

The city was a blur of traffic, horns, and history.

They drove past the Nile. It shimmered in the sun.

"Look!" Mark shouted, pressing his face against the window. "A crocodile!"

"That is a log, Mark," Rico said.

"It is a sleeping crocodile!" Mark insisted. "He is meditating!"

They arrived at the hotel. It was right next to the Pyramids.

Alex walked out onto his balcony.

There they were.

The Great Pyramids of Giza.

They were huge. Ancient. Eternal. They made everything else feel small.

"Wow," Alex whispered.

"THEY ARE POINTY!" Milo screamed from the balcony below.

Milo was wearing an Indiana Jones outfit. Fedora, leather jacket, and a whip (which was a skipping rope).

"ALEX! I AM THE ARCHAEOLOGIST! I AM SEARCHING FOR THE LOST ARK! I AM SELLING MAPS TO THE SECRET CHAMBER! IT IS JUST A MAP OF THE HOTEL BUFFET! BUT THE FOOD IS TREASURE!"

"Milo, please be careful with the whip," Alex said.

"IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM!" Milo yelled, cracking the skipping rope against a sun lounger.

Steve, the manager, gathered the team in the conference room.

"Al-Ahly," Steve said. "They are the kings of Africa. They are disciplined. They are proud. They will not be afraid of us."

He looked at the team.

"They have El Shenawy in goal. He is a wall. They have Tau on the wing. He is fast."

He looked at Alex.

"Professor. The Pyramids were built with precision. Stone by stone. Build our victory the same way."

"Foundation first," Alex nodded.

Cairo International Stadium.

It was packed. Seventy-five thousand fans wearing red. The noise was a constant roar.

Alex stood in the tunnel.

Mohamed El Shenawy stood next to him. The Al-Ahly captain. He was tall. He looked calm.

"Welcome to Egypt," El Shenawy said.

"Thank you," Alex said.

"The Pyramids have stood for thousands of years," El Shenawy said. "Tonight, we stand like them."

"Everything erodes eventually," Alex replied. "Even stone."

El Shenawy smiled. "We will see."

The whistle blew.

The game started.

Al-Ahly were organized. They defended in a block. They didn’t leave gaps.

Arsenal controlled the ball.

Pass. Move. Pass. Move.

But they couldn’t break through.

In the twentieth minute, Percy Tau broke away. He ran down the wing.

He crossed.

Kahraba headed it.

Raya saved.

"Focus!" Gabriel shouted. "They are dangerous!"

Alex stood in the midfield.

He looked at the Al-Ahly defense. It was a pyramid shape. Solid at the back, narrow at the top.

"To break a pyramid," Alex thought. "You don’t hit the sides. You hit the base."

He looked at Mark.

"Mark! Wide! Stretch the base!"

Mark hugged the touchline.

This forced the Al-Ahly defender to move out.

A gap appeared.

Alex passed to Rico.

Rico danced into the gap.

He passed back to Alex.

Alex was on the edge of the box.

He saw the goal.

He shot.

Blocked.

"They are solid!" Rico yelled. "Like rocks!"

Halftime. Zero zero.

It was frustrating. The heat was draining them.

"Patience," Steve said. "Stone wears down. Keep chipping away."

He looked at Alex.

"Professor. Find the weakness."

Second half.

Sixtieth minute.

Alex had the ball.

He remembered the history lesson.

The Pyramids align with the stars.

He looked up.

He saw Saka. Saka was pointing to the sky.

Alex lifted the ball.

A high, looping pass.

It went over the defense.

Saka ran onto it.

He volleyed.

Goal.

One zero. Arsenal.

"The stars aligned!" Alex shouted.

Al-Ahly tried to fight back. But Arsenal were too strong.

Eighty fifth minute.

Mark got the ball.

He ran.

He ran past three defenders.

He was one on one.

"PHARAOH POWER!" Mark screamed.

He smashed it.

Goal.

Two zero.

Mark ran to the corner. He did the "Walk Like an Egyptian" dance.

"I AM KING TUT!" Mark yelled.

The final whistle blew.

Arsenal 2. Al-Ahly 0.

They were in the Final.

Against Manchester City.

Again.

Alex walked off the pitch.

He looked at the sky. The moon was rising over Cairo.

It was beautiful.

"We did it," Alex whispered.

Milo ran onto the pitch. He was wrapped in toilet paper.

"THE MUMMY!" Milo screamed. "I HAVE RETURNED FROM THE DEAD! ALEX! I AM SELLING CURSES! CURSE YOUR ENEMIES! ONLY TWENTY POUNDS!"

"Milo, you are unraveling," Alex laughed.

"I AM UNBOUND!" Milo yelled, tripping over his bandages.

The next day.

They had a free morning before flying to the final.

"We are going to the Pyramids," Alex said.

"YES!" Mark shouted. "I will race a camel!"

They took a taxi to Giza.

The Pyramids were breathtaking. Huge blocks of limestone rising into the blue sky.

The Sphinx sat guarding them.

"It has no nose," Mark observed. "Did it lose a fight?"

"It is erosion, Mark," Alex said. "Wind and sand."

"I think it sneezed too hard," Mark decided.

They walked around the base of the Great Pyramid.

Alex touched the stone. It was warm. Rough.

It felt like time itself.

He thought about his three lives.

Danein Blake. The foundation. The rough stone buried in the mud. Leon Fischer. The structure. The building blocks. Alex Finch. The capstone. The golden tip.

He was a pyramid. Built layer by layer.

"Hey Professor," Mark said.

"Yeah?"

"If you were a Pharaoh, what would you be buried with?"

Alex thought.

"A football," Alex said. "And maybe a book."

"Boring," Mark said. "I would be buried with a pizza oven. And a jetpack. And a TV that only plays cartoons."

Alex laughed.

"You would be a very happy mummy, Mark."

"The happiest!" Mark grinned.

They stood there for a moment. Just two kids from London, standing in the shadow of eternity.

"We have to go," Alex said. "The final is waiting." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"City," Mark said. "Haaland."

"The Robot vs The Pyramid," Alex said.

"The Robot vs The Pharaoh!" Mark corrected. "I am going to outrun him."

"Let’s go," Alex said.

They walked back to the taxi.

Milo was there. He was trying to sell sand to a tourist.

"IT IS PYRAMID DUST!" Milo shouted. "IT GIVES YOU ETERNAL YOUTH!"

"Milo, get in the car," Alex said.

"BUT I AM ALMOST A MILLIONAIRE!" Milo complained.

They drove away.

The Pyramids faded into the distance.

But the feeling remained.

Stability. Strength. Legacy.

The Dynasty was built to last.

And the Professor was the architect.

"Class dismissed," Alex whispered to the desert wind.

The final exam was coming.

Manchester City. The ultimate test.