THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

"DING!"

A system notification sounded in Zachary's mind when he entered his bedroom later that night.

"The system has detected that the user is now an active member of Juventus' 2014 Supercoppa Italiana squad," the system AI's apathetic voice sounded in his mind immediately after. "Conditions for the 2014 Supercoppa Italiana challenge have been met, and the respective system mission initiated successfully."

"Does the user wish to view the mission details right away?"

"Of course," Zachary replied after switching on his bedroom light. He settled on his bed before continuing, "Please bring up the mission details."

"Command received," the AI's voice sounded in his mind again. "Mission details have been displayed on the interface."

The space before Zachary shimmered with bluish light, and a translucent crystal-like display manifested before him. Zachary took a deep breath and focused on the mission details that had appeared on the interface.

****

GOAT MISSIONS

#NEW MISSION: 2014 Supercoppa Italiana Challenge

->The system has detected that the user is part of Juventus' 2014 Supercoppa Italiana squad. The system has designed an associated mission for the tournament.

->The user needs to accept the mission first to stand a chance of winning rewards after completing the objectives below.

*Objective 1: Become the leading playmaker for the 2014 Supercoppa Italiana final by providing the most assists during the game.

*Objective 2: Help Juventus win the 2014 Supercoppa Italiana final by scoring at least one goal during the game. (To meet the objective, the user must meet two conditions. One, he has to score at least a single goal, and two, he has to ensure that Juventus wins the game)

*Objective 3: Become the Man of the Match for the 2014 Supercoppa Italiana final.

*Objective 4: Score a hat trick during the 2014 Supercoppa Italiana final.

*Rewards:

->Objective 1 completion reward: 5,000 Juju-points

->Objective 2 completion reward: 10,000 Juju-points

->Objective 3 completion reward: S-grade Agility Enhancement Elixir

->Objective 4 completion reward: The second of the twelve shards required to learn Ronaldinho's Step-Over and Feint Kingly Magic. (Note: This objective is also a partial fulfillment of the conditions to complete the Giant-Killer Hattrick Challenge)

->The user can choose not to accept the mission.

*Accept *Reject

*Punishment if the user doesn't realize at least one objective by the end of the game: Minus 50,000 Juju points.

*After accepting the mission, the user has to complete at least one milestone before the game ends to escape the penalty.

*Remarks: The only way to attain greatness is by never giving up while taking small but consistent steps forward.

****

Zachary's eyes lit up with excitement after reading the mission details. His hopes had already soared high as the system had again offered him a chance to win bountiful benefits if he performed well during the Supercoppa Italiana final. He thus readily accepted the mission.

Among the rewards was an S-graded agility-enhancement elixir which could potentially elevate his speed, body control, and dribbling skills to the next level. There was also a shard of Ronaldinho's Step-Over and Feint Kingly Magic, which would push him closer to obtaining one of the most effective dribbling styles in the world. Zachary felt even more motivated to try his best during the Supercoppa Italiana as he wanted to go home with all those rewards.

"Phew!"

Zachary took a deep breath and glanced at the clock on the opposite wall. On noticing that it was already 9:00 PM, he decided to prepare and go to bed as soon as possible. He wished to get ample rest that night before setting off with his teammates to Qatar the following morning.

After making the decision, Zachary proceeded with haste. He was soon in autopilot mode, washing up, brushing his teeth, and packing his luggage for the following day's trip. Zachary completed everything around 10:30 PM and then jumped in bed, hoping to descend into the land of dreams as soon as possible. But just as he was about to cover himself, his phone vibrated from a nearby table, causing him to furrow his brows. He wasn't expecting any call that late in the night.

"Who could it be?"

While suppressing his annoyance, Zachary scooped up the phone and noticed that the call was from yet another unknown number. The number began with +61, meaning that it was from overseas.

"Hello," Zachary said after pressing the accept button and holding the phone next to his ear. "Who's this?"

There were a few seconds of silence at the other end of the line before a familiar and feminine voice sounded in his ear. "Zachary! It's me. How are you doing?"

Zachary's mind short-circuited at that moment. "Camilla!" He called out. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me," she replied. Her voice was barely audible.

Zachary took a deep breath and asked, "Are you okay? I haven't been able to reach your phone for over two months. You also rarely reply to my WhatsApp messages!"

"Well..." she said. "I got an abrupt offer for a job in Australia some months back. It was a dream job for me. I acted quickly and moved there to begin work immediately. That's why I have been out of reach recently."

"Oh..." Zachary said, feeling a bit down. He decided not to ask obvious questions, like 'why didn't you call me before you moved' or 'why didn't you send me your new number when you arrived in Australia?' Deep within his heart, he knew the answer to all those questions.

"Zachary..." Camilla said after a few seconds. "Let me ask you something. Do you think we have been happy as a couple?"

Zachary's heart skipped a beat. He answered, "We had our good times together. We were happy before we got out of touch due to the distance."

Camilla sighed audibly from the other end of the line. "Zachary!" She said. "I have been doing some thinking over the previous few weeks. We should take some time apart to sort out our lives."

"Time apart..." Zachary's voice trailed off. He felt a bit empty on the inside.

"Spending time apart would be the best for both of us," Camilla continued. "Firstly, time apart will allow us to concentrate more on our individual careers. You will have more time to focus on your football, and I'll have more time for my new job. Secondly, time apart will allow us to sort out our feelings for each other. It's the best solution for our situation."

"Seems like you've got everything sorted out," Zachary said lightly.

"Zachary!" Camilla's voice rose up a notch. "This is also hard for me... I don't wish to do this, but we can't continue on like this..."

They continued talking for a few more minutes, and Zachary finally consented to Camilla's suggestion. Moreover, in essence, he had no other choice but to accept her terms. They both agreed to take an indeterminate period apart, with the excuse of needing more time to focus on their careers without distractions. They then ended the call on a seemingly positive note and wished each other blessed and good lives.

Zachary sighed again after placing his phone back on the table. He collapsed back into bed and stared at the ceiling for minutes. A fresh lump of emptiness grew within him, and he couldn't help but wonder when everything had started going wrong with Camilla.

Was it when he signed for Juventus and moved to Italy? Or was it before?

Zachary's mind turned and whirled as he thought of the days past when he was still a Rosenborg player. He had shared intimacy with Camilla, and they had seemed like the typical couple in love. Their lovemaking was always breathtaking, and there was mutual respect between them. Those were the good times.

But again, Zachary hadn't failed to notice that nothing else was holding together their relationship aside from their intimacy. They were the perfect couple when they made love, but aside from that, they didn't have many more things in common. They didn't even share many hobbies, beliefs, or cultural values, and their bond was not that firm.

Their fundamental worlds would not easily intersect since Zachary, himself, was a footballer determined to make it big, while Camilla was a corporate lady doing her all to rise up in the business world. Unless some sort of compromise was reached on both their parts, they would always be like two shining stars that only chanced upon each other and collided before following the natural laws and diverging to continue on along their innate trajectories. Their love was not just deep enough to survive the endless difficulties the world could inflict upon them.

"Life is not easy."

Sighing with dejection, Zachary switched off the light and entered between the sheets. He continued thinking about moments with Camilla until he dozed off and entered deep sleep around midnight.

The following morning, Zachary managed to wake up early, at around six. His previous night's conversation with Camilla was still so fresh in his mind, and his mood was low. But as a footballer yearning to achieve big things, he still forced himself to focus on his priorities. He couldn't allow himself to be bogged down by just one hardship in life.

He worked quickly with all the haste he could muster and finished all his preparations by seven in the morning. Then, after having breakfast, he entered his Audi RS 7 and drove to the Vinovo, Juventus' training center, where he linked up with his teammates. From there, their group boarded a team bus to the airport, thus beginning their long journey to Doha, Qatar, the venue for that year's Supercoppa Italiana final.