Become A Football Legend Chapter 373: Saint Lukas of Darmstadt?

TT didn’t answer immediately.

Rain continued falling over the endless training pitch, drumming softly against Lukas’ face and soaking his clothes as he lay there without moving.

Finally, TT spoke.

[So... you don’t believe in yourself?]

Lukas remained silent.

[Is that what this is? You don’t believe you can make her happier than she was?]

The question lingered in the air.

Lukas watched another drop of rain fall onto the bridge of his nose before quietly answering.

"But that happiness..."

He paused.

"...that one is guaranteed."

His voice was almost drowned out by the rain.

"In my previous life, they knew each other for years. They dated. They got married. I didn’t stay close to them, but I knew enough to know they were happy."

His eyes remained fixed on the sky.

"I don’t know what happens here."

Another silence settled between them.

"This..." Lukas murmured, "...this is uncharted territory."

TT let out what almost sounded like an exaggerated sigh.

[Are you even listening to yourself?]

Lukas didn’t answer.

[I’m supposed to be the artificial intelligence, yet somehow I feel like I’m the emotionally mature one here.]

The corners of Lukas’ lips twitched ever so slightly.

[Everybody lives without knowing what tomorrow looks like.]

[You are treating uncertainty as though it’s a flaw, when uncertainty is simply how life works.]

[Yes, you remember another timeline. Yes, you remember another future. But that future stopped existing the moment you opened your eyes after being reborn.]

The rain intensified.

[Think about everything you’ve already changed.]

[You never joined Atlético Madrid.]

[You never stayed at Frankfurt.]

[You reached Manchester City years earlier than before.]

[You’ve met people you never met in your previous life. You’ve changed careers, friendships, competitions, results, and countless decisions made by thousands of other people.]

[You are no longer walking toward the future you remember.]

[You’re creating a different one.]

Lukas slowly closed his eyes.

"I still feel guilty."

TT immediately replied.

[Guilty about what?]

"It feels..."

He searched for the words.

"...like I stole somebody’s girl."

For the first time since entering the LTC, Lukas sat up.

"When I saw them talking today... I wasn’t jealous."

His fingers dug into the wet grass.

"I wasn’t angry either."

"I just..."

Another breath.

"I felt guilty."

He looked down at the soaked ground beneath him.

"What if Rafael ends up worse off because of me?"

"What if he never meets someone who makes him as happy as Joanna did?"

"What if I’ve changed not just their lives, but an entire family?"

"Children who would’ve existed..."

"Grandchildren..."

"Generations..."

"What if all of that disappears because I wanted to be selfish enough to keep the only girl I’ve ever loved?"

TT was quiet for exactly 2 seconds.

Then it answered.

[With all due respect...]

[...that’s stupid.]

Lukas looked up.

TT continued without hesitation.

[A child who is never conceived does not exist.]

[A relationship that never begins does not exist.]

[You keep judging this timeline according to rules that belong to another timeline.]

[That isn’t how reality works.]

The rain softened.

[There is no universal script assigning Rafael Martinez to Joanna.]

[There is no cosmic law stating they were destined to marry each other.]

[People meet.]

[People choose.]

[People stay.]

[Or they leave.]

[Those choices create lives.]

[Nothing more.]

TT’s voice remained calm.

[If Rafael someday meets a wonderful woman, it will be because of the choices he makes.]

[If he meets someone terrible, that will also be because of the choices he makes.]

[Those decisions will belong to him.]

[Not you.]

Lukas didn’t interrupt.

[The only choices you control are your own.]

[You cannot spend your life trying to preserve a future that no longer exists.]

[Because if you keep doing that, eventually you’ll stop living this one.]

The rain finally eased into a light drizzle.

TT waited a moment before speaking again.

[So let me ask you one final question.]

[Are you planning to be the noble gentleman?]

Lukas frowned.

[Are you going to break up with your girlfriend so she can marry the man she married in another timeline?]

The image was so absurd that Lukas couldn’t help it.

A laugh escaped him.

It started as a quiet chuckle before growing into genuine laughter.

He wiped the rain from his face.

"I’m not a saint."

[Good.]

[Because that would’ve been incredibly stupid.]

Lukas laughed again, louder this time, while the rain continued falling gently across the endless field of the LTC.

The following morning, Lukas woke naturally.

For a few seconds he simply lay there, staring at the ceiling. He turned his head toward the other side of the bed.

Empty.

He smiled to himself.

There was something different about the morning.

He couldn’t quite explain it. The air somehow felt fresher. His chest felt lighter. It was as though a weight he hadn’t even realized he had been carrying had quietly disappeared overnight. The conversation with TT still lingered in the back of his mind, and although nothing around him had changed, something inside him had.

He stretched until his shoulders cracked before climbing out of bed.

After brushing his teeth, washing his face, and throwing on a light T-shirt and a pair of shorts, Lukas stepped out into the living area of the suite.

The smell of fresh coffee greeted him almost immediately.

Joanna and João were already sitting at the dining table, breakfast spread out before them. A basket of warm bread sat in the center beside slices of Manchego cheese, cured ham, fresh tomatoes drizzled with olive oil, fruit, pastries, and several steaming cups of coffee.

João looked up first.

"Well, somebody definitely woke up on the right side of the bed today."

Lukas laughed as he pulled out a chair.

"Did I?"

"You’ve been smiling since you walked in."

"I have?"

"Yeah."

Lukas shrugged.

"I just feel... good today."

He reached for a slice of toasted bread, layered it with a slice of Manchego and tomato before taking a bite, then picked up one of the cups of coffee.

Joanna smiled as she watched him.

"So you slept well?"

"Really well."

João let out an exaggerated sigh of relief.

"Thank God."

Lukas looked over.

"What?"

"Yesterday I thought you were about to swear off Madrid forever."

Joanna looked between the 2 of them.

"Really?"

She turned back to Lukas.

"Did something happen yesterday?"

Before Lukas could answer, João spoke first.

"Oh, nothing serious."

He took another sip of coffee with a completely straight face.

"He was just jealous of Mr. Medicine."

Joanna blinked.

"Mr. Medicine?"

"Rafael."

She looked at Lukas.

"You were jealous of Rafael?"

Lukas stared blankly at João for several seconds before looking back at Joanna.

"I have absolutely no idea what your brother is talking about."

Under the table, he casually nudged João’s shin with his foot.

João jerked upright.

"Ow!"

He rubbed his leg.

"Why’d you kick me?"

Lukas frowned innocently.

"I didn’t touch you."

"You absolutely did."

"I think you’re imagining things."

Joanna looked back and forth between them before laughing.

"You two are unbelievable."

The conversation drifted to their plans for the rest of the trip.

They would spend another couple of days exploring Madrid before returning to Germany. Lukas still wanted to stop in Frankfurt one last time to say goodbye properly to his former teammates before reporting back to Manchester on 25 July for preseason.

"I’m actually thinking of coming with you," Joanna said.