"So tell me, Uncle, how is the club doing? What's our situation?" Mystic asked the moment his uncle took his seat.
He remembered from his past life's memories how dire things had become, so bad that he had been forced to sell the club after his father's death.
But now, given this second chance, he was determined to salvage the situation.
"It's really bad, Dark. I won't lie to you," Alfred sighed.
"The club was already struggling financially, but after your father's passing, everything came to a halt, the rest of the family fought over his assets, which only made things worse for the club."
He hesitated before delivering the worst news.
"We don't have any players left, they all abandoned ship and signed with neighbouring clubs. But the one I can't accept, the one that really stings–is Adekunle. I never thought that, even if everyone else left, he would too."
Alfred clenched his fists against his pants, his gaze dropping to the floor as if ashamed of being unable to keep the team together.
"What? How could this happen?" Mystic's voice rose in disbelief.
"Losing players is bad enough, but Adekunle? That's unacceptable! I remember Dad always saying he was the most talented striker he ever had, and he invested so much in him!"
Mystic trembled with anger, he could begrudgingly accept that the rest of the squad had left, painful as it was.
Their actions made it clear, they had no loyalty to the club, only to the paychecks, their departure spoke volumes, especially since they hadn't even bothered to pay the termination fees for breaking their contracts.
Under normal circumstances, Mystic would have sued them, but right now, wasting money on legal battles wasn't an option.
Most of the ex-players likely couldn't afford the cancellation fees anyway, as much as he wanted them to suffer for their betrayal, he lacked the power and influence to punish them from afar.
But Adekunle was a different matter entirely. Mystic had heard too much about how highly his father regarded him, how he was the club's biggest investment, the ultimate game-changer.
"What's the deal with Adekunle?" Mystic finally asked, his anger simmering beneath the surface.
He stared straight into his uncle's eyes, demanding answers.
"It's true that your dad invested heavily in Adekunle, but I'm not sure he told you much about it, you were still being kept out of the club's major affairs," Uncle Alfred said.
"But you're familiar with the football ranking system, right?" he asked.
Mystic nodded before replying,
"Ordinary footballers, Bronze Rank, Silver Rank, Gold Rank, Diamond Rank, Legendary Rank, and Demi-God Rank, almost everyone knows this, Uncle. So what does this have to do with Adekunle?" He had a bad feeling about where this conversation was headed.
Alfred sighed heavily before continuing.
"Your father was desperate to push the club past its losing streak, and he spent his savings to acquire a Bronze Rank elixir, hoping to advance Adekunle to that level, along with other resources he gathered, he made sure the process would be successful. And fortunately, it worked—Adekunle advanced to Bronze Rank."
Alfred's expression darkened as he reached the painful part of the story.
"The bad news? Before your father even got to witness the fruits of his efforts, before he could see what Adekunle was truly capable of… he died, and the moment he passed away, Adekunle, the first Bronze Rank striker in this area in years, was one of the first to abandon the club, his departure caused a chain reaction, as the others followed since there was already signs of bankruptcy, and just like that, everything fell apart."
A single tear slipped down Alfred's rugged face as he finished speaking.
For the first time, Mystic saw his uncle cry, despite always keeping a composed front, Alfred had been just as deeply affected by his brother's death as anyone else—perhaps even more.
"Don't worry. It'll be alright," Mystic said, placing a reassuring hand on his uncle's shoulder.
Though he had no idea how he was going to fix this mess, one thing was clear, he had inherited not just a struggling club, but an empty one.
No players. No managers. Even the staff had resigned.
This wasn't just rebuilding a team, it was reviving something that had already been declared dead.
At this moment, Mystic couldn't help but wonder if the club even had any fans left, but that was the least of his concerns. Right now, he needed to build a team.
Funny enough, he already had a line-up in mind.
Using his memories from his previous life, he planned to seek out players he knew were immensely talented but never got the chance to shine past the streets —players who, unlike him, weren't born into wealth and lacked the support to make it big.
Now, with his second chance, he was determined to build his team around these hidden gems.
His only concern was whether they had changed too much in this alternate universe, he could only hope they were still the same players he once admired, but before anything else, he had unfinished business—his father's investment.
There was no way he would allow such a crucial asset to slip away without a fight.
"Do you know which club he ran to?" Mystic asked once his uncle gathered himself.
"Of course," Uncle Alfred replied.
"Despite our financial struggles, we're still the home club of this area, we still have some influence because of our charity work, so I had some boys keep an eye on him, and they found out that he signed a contract with Bariga Young Boyz FC."
"Hmmm… Alright then. Let's pay them a visit and try to get our player back—peacefully, if possible," Mystic said.
His uncle smiled in response.
"Before we go, there's something I need to give you."
He reached into his pocket and handed Mystic a small box.
"This was your father's last gift to you, he made me promise only to give it to you if anything ever happened to him."
Mystic's eyes flickered with emotion as he slowly opened the box, what he saw inside made his heart tremble.
A small Rubik's Cube necklace, he would recognize it anywhere.
Just like in his past life, his father had left him this same necklace, a relic known as The Dark Legacy.
History was repeating itself, the similarities were glaring, and at that moment, Mystic remembered something crucial—the day he died in his previous life.
He had been wearing the exact same necklace on the field.
And he was certain—without a doubt—that just before his head hit the ground, sending him to the great beyond, the necklace had glowed.
A shiver ran down his spine as he reached for the Rubik's Cube pendant, his fingers hovering over it hesitantly, as he wanted to touch it, to confirm if it was truly the same, the moment his skin made contact, sharp spikes shot out from every angle of the pendant, piercing his thumb and drawing blood before retracting just as quickly.
[Ding!]
[System Key found. Manager status tab is now available.]
[Players tab is now available.]
[Financial tab is now available.]
[Store is now available.]
Mystic's eyes widened.
So, it really wasn't just a necklace.