49. The Storm at Lusail

 The world was learning: Caos wasn't just a player; he was a phenomenon, rewriting the possible under Doha's blazing sun.

The Lusail Stadium in Qatar pulsed under a blazing midday sun, its 80,000 seats a riot of color and sound, the air thick with desert dust and anticipation. The U17 World Cup quarterfinal pitted Spain against England, a clash that carried personal weight for Caos.

His Deus Machina Pain, born in the Bernabéu's solitary showers, fueled him, a steel forged from Maat's betrayal, Vesta's intense love, and Salma's playful challenge. Caos's 17 group-stage goals were a record, and his new tricks—the Eclipse Vortex, Meteor Pulse Shot, and Aether Spiral—had left opponents reeling. England, led by the tenacious Archie Gray, stood ready to test him.

 

Caos struck early, his Eclipse Vortex—a triple step-over with a 360-degree spin—leaving Gray and Ethan Nwaneri dizzy. In the 6th minute, he unleashed a Meteor Pulse Shot from 42 meters, the ball skidding erratically past keeper Oliver Whatmuff, igniting Spain's fans.

By the 25th minute, he'd added two more: an Aether Spiral free kick from 28 meters, curling then plummeting, and a header off a Diego López cross. His fourth came in the 55th minute, a 50-yard Meteor Pulse that pulsed like a heartbeat, defying physics.

 England scored once, but Caos's fifth goal—a volley after an Eclipse Vortex carved through three defenders—sealed a 6-1 rout in the 78th minute.

 

In the tunnel, Pablo García grinned, sweat streaking his face. "You're a bloody machine, Caos," he said. Caos's Birmingham accent cut sharp. "Not a machine, Pablo. Chaos. Maat's watching, and I'm carving my name." Vesta's text buzzed—"Mio cuore, you're a storm"—but Leonor's hair sparked in his mind, a lighter fire. His 27 goals now, an absurd tally, sent shockwaves through Qatar.

"You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,

Love like you'll never be hurt,

Sing like there's nobody listening,

And live like it's heaven on earth. At least, that is what I have heard. I really need to work out things to articulate things," says Caos, looking at them.

 

"Oh dude. You gotta know Friendship ... is born at the moment when one man says to another "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . ." says Pablo Garcia, trying to console him

Maat's Barcelona faltered in senior leagues, and Caos's dominance was a silent dagger, his Deus Machina Pain a forge for glory under Lusail's relentless sun.