The evening following the tie match held a silence different from the ones Raj was used to. Not calm. Not centered.
This silence was full of glances—players nodding to each other in hallways, captains lingering by windows instead of walking off with conclusions, system monitors quietly updating in the background with no pings, no alarms. Like even the machines needed a pause to process what they had just recorded.
He sat alone under the half-lit trees that bordered the Flame Zone dorms, still in training gear, shoes dusty, wristband idle. It was the first moment in days that no one had asked him to lead, explain, adjust, or observe.
The bench beneath him was cold. His water bottle was still full. But his shoulders, strangely, felt lighter than usual.
Behind him, footsteps approached softly. Uday.
"No messages?" Uday asked, slipping into the bench beside him.
"None yet."
"System's scared of what to say back?"
Raj cracked a smile. A real one. Small, but not faint.
