Aamir sat alone in the contestant's waiting area, perched on a wooden table with his head resting in his hands. The quiet hum of anticipation in the arena reached his ears, muffled by the weight of his thoughts. The usual energy and adrenaline that accompanied his matches were absent, replaced by a gnawing unease that he couldn't shake off.
Raj's collapse lingered in his mind like an open wound. The image of his closest friend—his rival, his anchor—falling to the ground, pale and unconscious, replayed over and over. The host had announced that Raj was stable, but the uncertainty of his condition still made Aamir's chest tighten.
Raj had always been the unshakable one, a force of nature that no obstacle could topple. Seeing him weakened had shifted something inside Aamir, as though the very foundation he stood on had been shaken.
A sudden roar of the crowd snapped him out of his thoughts, followed by the booming voice of the host.
