CHAPTER 74: STORM DRAFT – ENTRY INTO CAMP LEVEL RED

The field wasn’t marked.No scoreboard.

No spectators.Just two squads placed on opposite ends, system-linked for private data capture.The Silent Scrim wasn’t about loud strokes or highlight reels.

It was a bare-knuckle psychological scan — how you moved, how you adapted, how you held your rhythm when no one cheered.

A whisper-level war.

Raj’s team wasn’t seeded.They were pushed into Group C — unranked zone.

The system didn’t offer warm-up time.

Just a pulse:

[Scrim Activated]

Match Begins in: 120 seconds

Target: 78 in 10 overs

Visibility: Dimmed Mode

Evaluation: Real-Time Adjustment Scoring

Commentary: Disabled

Emotion Sensors: On]

"Visibility dimmed?" Veer muttered.

Zoya answered, "Eyesight challenge. They want reaction reads."

Raj didn’t react.Just rotated the strike order silently: Uday first. Harish second.

Veer padded up as third — the stabilizer.

Raj stood beside the field boundary, watching his players.Not controlling.Just measuring their stitch.

First ball: slow length — disguised cutter.

Uday didn’t flinch. Let it go.

Second ball: wide yorker — Harish stretched, toe-poked for two.

Third ball: full toss — driven hard, no run.

No noise.No umpire signal.Every move went into system logs.

By the end of over 1, only 6 runs.But no false steps.

Other side?

Specter Eleven.Big names.Top-scorers from major academies.

Flashy styles.System-aided gear.They started with full aggression.Tried to dominate the silence.

But two mistimed slogs later?

System alert pinged.

▸Strike Instability Detected

▸Confidence Overcompensation – Negative Drift Triggered

Raj read it on the shared observer board and smiled.

Because this match?

Didn’t belong to those who could shout through silence.It belonged to those who could listen through pressure.

By over 4, The Stitched Flame had stitched together 38 runs.Not spectacular.But silent.

Controlled and the system was noticing.

Over five began with Veer on strike.The bowler switched to reverse angle spin — a delivery meant to test patience, not power.

Veer didn’t flinch.Didn’t attack.He defended twice, then tapped a single.But it wasn’t the run that mattered.It was how he played it — balanced, centered, calm.

The system pulsed:

▸Candidate #17 (Veer Saxena)

▸Still Flame Stability Index: 94.7

▸Value to Cohort: Rising

Two balls later, Harish danced down and swatted one over mid-on.

Four runs — unexpected.

No reaction from him.Just a soft whistle under his breath as he returned to stance.

Zoya, watching from the dugout, smiled faintly.

"Didn’t know he had that shot."

Raj replied, "He didn’t. He just found it in silence."

Other side?

Specter Eleven had faltered.A runout from miscommunication.An edge no one called.

One fielder slammed his glove on the ground.

The system marked it immediately:

▸Behavioral Drift: -16

▸Flame Sync: Fragmented

▸Penalty Risk: High

Raj’s squad continued without falter.No boundaries for two overs.But the ball moved.So did the score.

Single. Double. Leave. Guide.

It wasn’t cricket the audience remembered.

It was cricket the system respected.

Over eight began at 62/2.

16 needed off 18.

Pressure?

Minimal.

But test?

Still active.

Harish got bowled on a slow bouncer.Didn’t flinch.Just jogged off.

Veer passed him with a nod.That was all.

No blame.No noise.

Just a signal: "Your thread stitched us till here. Let me finish."

Uday flicked a single.Zoya stepped in.

Sharp eyes. No smile.She placed the ball past point like she’d been waiting her whole life for that one square gap.

Three more.Only 9 to go.

Raj folded his arms.Not because he doubted them.But because this was why he’d picked them.

Ninth over began with Pranay padded up in case of emergency.But inside the dugout, he leaned forward and whispered, "They don’t need me today."

Raj didn’t reply.Because he already knew.

On the field, Zoya kept rotating strike.Uday stayed calm.

And Veer?

He became a wall stitched from soft pushes and pure trust.

6 runs needed off 10 balls.

Then 4.

Then 2.

The penultimate ball—Uday glanced a full-toss down leg.They jogged.The system paused the feed for half a second.

Then flashed:

[Stitched Flame – Trial Match Win Logged]

▸Run Target Achieved: 78/3

▸Overs: 9.4

▸Match Type: Silent Scrim

▸Qualifiers: Raj, Uday, Veer, Zoya, Harish

▸Draft Score Contribution: +7

▸Cohort Trust Sync: 92%

▸Bonus Flame Sync Unlocked.

They didn’t cheer.They didn’t celebrate.They walked back toward Raj like nothing had just happened.

Only Zoya flicked a glance toward the rival squad.Not as mockery.But as message.

"Louder threads snap.Ours stitch quietly. And last longer."

Later that night, system updates pulsed across all squad wristbands.

Some names flickered red — removed.

Some flickered orange — on edge.

But The Stitched Flame?

All five flashed green.Then pulsed again.

Raj’s device glowed twice:

Captain Rating Elevated: Level 4 Flame Strategist

New Skill Unlocked: Thread Conduction

→ Effect: Your presence subtly increases tactical clarity of squad members during active match states

→ Bonus: Can nullify one emotion drift per innings for any one teammate

And below that,a new message.From someone unseen.

"You weren’t supposed to survive Day 1.Now we’re watching."

No signature.No crest.Just silence.

And in that silence?

Raj smiled for the first time since entering the camp.Because now, the camp wasn’t ignoring them.Now, it was nervous.

At exactly 4:00 a.m., Raj’s system pulsed again.Not a normal update.Not a flame sync.This time, it was sealed with a black glyph at the corner of the message — something even the system didn’t explain.

[Red Room Access Granted]

▸Entry Clearance: RC-042

▸Time Window: 04:15 – 04:30

▸Location: Sublevel -2, Camp Grid South

No squad access. No camera relay. No observer sync.

Raj didn’t hesitate.He pulled on a plain hoodie over his practice wear, slid into his shoes, and walked alone.

No words.No wristband signals.No flame sync visible.Only a path that didn’t exist on any map.

The south grid was silent at this hour.Even security drones blinked in standby mode.But Raj’s system lit up softly as he passed certain doors.He was expected.

Sublevel -2 was behind a camouflaged wall under the hydro-unit storage.A single red light blinked on the ceiling.When Raj stepped forward, the wall melted open like it had been waiting for him all along.

The room was dark.Lit only by red panels on either side.No chairs.No personnel.Kust a chair in the middle, facing a curved black screen and a message glowing above it:

"Welcome to the Match That Doesn’t Exist."

A voice followed.Not robotic.Not human either.Filtered.Measured.

"Candidate RC-042. You are here because you broke the silent scrim curve. The system registered it. So did others."

Raj said nothing.The voice continued.

"You have two choices. Decline and continue normal trials. Or accept this match — and play against a candidate whose score was buried to avoid media scandal."

Raj looked up.

"Name?"

The screen flickered once.Then stabilized.

A face appeared.Male. Broad-shouldered. Older.Eyes sharp.Brow furrowed and a record below:

▸Name: Kunal Mirza

▸Age: 19

▸Flame Level: Classified

▸Drafted once. Disqualified once. Hidden once.

Raj whispered, "Why is he back?"

The voice replied:

"Because sometimes, fire isn’t erased. It’s hidden. You want Level Red? Prove you can fight the flame they tried to bury."

Raj didn’t sit.He didn’t ask more questions.

Because some truths didn’t need full light to be recognized.

And this one?

It smelled like a cover-up stitched too deep.

Still, he nodded once and the room responded.

The screen dissolved into a flat simulation grid.Pitch loaded.Stadium virtualized.

Opponent already placed.

System text appeared mid-air:

Black Match Initiated

▸Visibility: Shadow Mode

▸Audience: None

▸Umpiring: AI-Sync

▸Overs: 10

▸Victory Condition: Mental Stability + Technical Edge

▸Warning: System assistance restricted

This wasn’t about showing off.This was about stripping down the player to raw pattern and seeing if that was enough.

Raj stepped into the simulation booth.The synthetic turf adjusted under his feet like it had memory of real matches.

Wind simulation?

Minimal.

Lighting?

Flickering low red beams.This wasn’t a match.This was a trial inside the silence others weren’t allowed to see.

First over began.Kunal Mirza bowled from the far end.No warm-up.No setup.Just pace and intent.

Ball 1: 143 kmph — short, targeting the ribs.

Raj leaned away.Didn’t swing.Didn’t flinch.

Ball 2: yorker, dipped late — inside edge, dot.

Ball 3: bouncer.

Raj ducked.But the system didn’t log reaction time.It logged nerve hold.

[Candidate Raj: Inner Pulse – Stable

▸Cognitive Drift – 0.3%

▸Focus Thread – Locking In]

By end of over 2, Raj had 7 runs.No boundaries.Only reactions.Calculated calls.

Kunal didn’t smirk.But the way he walked back to his mark?

Said everything.He wanted blood.Not wickets.Because some returns to the field weren’t for redemption.They were for revenge against the game that once forgot you.

Kunal’s third over wasn’t speed.It was pressure.He switched to wrist spin — deceptively slow, but overloaded with variations.

Raj watched the seam.One ball drifted in.

One dropped flat.Then came the sharp turner — pitched middle, spun past off.

Stumped?

Almost.But Raj’s back foot never left the turf.

The system noted it:

▸Balance Retention: 96.8%

▸Eye-Drift Deviation: -0.01%

▸Strike Flow: Thread Stable

Kunal’s eyes flickered toward the red panel.

His frown deepened.This wasn’t the rookie silence he expected.

Raj wasn’t just reacting.He was absorbing pressure without letting it echo back.

Fourth over began.Raj went forward.

Stepped out first ball.

And lofted it—not for six.But for two.Over cover.Just far enough to signal: "I read you now."

Next ball: swept for one.Then pushed back a dot.

Three balls later: reverse tap for two.

It wasn’t dominance.It was threading rhythm where none was offered.

Kunal shook his head.He hadn’t bowled badly.But somehow, Raj wasn’t letting the overs define him.He was defining what kind of silence he needed.

Over five started with a bouncer again.Raj ducked.But this time, he smiled as he stood back up.Because that smile wasn’t for arrogance.It was for recognition.

"You’re better than this, Kunal."

The bowler flinched for the first time and the system caught it:

▸Opponent Mental Flare Detected

▸Flame Control: Wavering

By the end of over five, Raj stood at 28 runs.

No sixes.No flashy cover drives.Just a steady score stitched across 31 balls — and a presence Kunal couldn’t unravel.

Sixth over began with a sudden change.

Kunal charged.Then 148 kmph.He wasn’t holding back anymore.

He wasn’t testing Raj.He was targeting him.

Ball slammed short, then full, then short again — mixing pace with pinpoint aggression.

Raj didn’t play shots now.He played survival.

Each ball left marks on the bat handle.Each block echoed inside the chamber like a stone hitting an empty well.

But Raj’s mind?

Still calm.

The system updated silently:

▸Nerve Saturation Index: 88%

▸Flame Surge Risk: 0.8%

▸Mental Armor: Active

Kunal screamed after one bouncer that clipped Raj’s helmet.System didn’t warn him.Because this wasn’t a real match.This was a filtered zone where outbursts were logged, not punished.

But Raj?

He didn’t touch his helmet.Didn’t even glare.

He tapped his bat once.Faced the next ball.and sent it gently through cover for three.

That was worse than a six.

Because it told Kunal:

"You can’t break what’s already stitched tight."

Last four overs passed in a steady burn.Raj didn’t dominate.But he didn’t yield.By the end, he stood at 49 runs.

Retired out by system rule.

Kunal finished with 1 wicket, 0 celebrations.

The screen froze.Then loaded final metrics.

BLACK MATCH COMPLETE

▸Result: Simulation Win – Raj

▸Mental Clarity Index: 93.4%

▸Adaptability Under Shadow Pressure: 91.1%

▸Bonus Trait Unlocked: Shadowproof

→ Description: Immune to opponent mind games when silence is weaponized

→ Effect: Hidden stability boost in non-broadcast games

The screen flicked again.Voice returned.

"You’re not loud. Not branded. Not trained by legacy academies."

A pause.

"But you’re what this field forgot it needed."

Raj didn’t speak.Just waited.Then turned back toward the exit and the voice whispered after him.

"Next time, you won’t be alone in the Red Room. The next player won’t be buried. He’ll be invited."

To be continued....

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