Golden Age 31: ‘We, Persistent Like Stars That Burn Eternally in The Night!! Dare to Take Our Future, Only If You Can!! PSL 8th Match Last Act!!’ (Part 1)

"Are you feeling okay?" Alan asked, handing Aigou his bat after he had just sprayed some pain relief on his jaw and put on his helmet.

Aigou smiled and gave him a quick embrace before taking the bat. "I'm great, don't worry," he reassured Alan as he headed out to the field where Feng was waiting.

Alan narrowed his gaze and sighed.

The fielding positions altered after the powerplay. Wasif was set to bowl the seventh over.

Feng approached the batting crease, scanning the field. "Third man, deep mid-wicket, deep square leg, long on, and long off are covered. Inside the 30-yard circle, point, cover, extra cover, and second slip are still in place," he noted.

"Is he the one who stayed throughout the entire innings against Peshawar?" Wasif asked, glancing at Feng.

"Yeah, if he gets settled, he'll be hard to dislodge. We'd better take him out early," Hamza replied.

Venus raised an eyebrow, gulping at Hamza's words, "You sound awfully ruthless right now."

Hamza exhaled and moved back, "You're too kind, Venus. Honestly, sometimes I can't believe you're the captain of your academy's cricket club."

"Pft!" Ibn Sena and Wasif stifled their laughter.

"That was definitely a dig, wasn't it? And it's not funny," Venus muttered, shooting a glare at the two.

Juhan and Rovan exchanged silent looks.

The fielders dispersed, signaling the start of the seventh over.

"Got a feel for the pitch yet?" Aigou asked Feng.

"Yeah, it's good. It's favoring the bowlers right now, ironically," Feng replied, rolling his eyes. "But I'll manage," he added, taking his stance.

Aigou's maroon hair glowed with a radiant sheen as he moved to the non-striker's end, deep in thought, "I need to play more aggressively since Feng is here, or we might fall behind. But Wasif's deliveries..." Aigou glanced at Wasif, who was making his run-up, "He hasn't even revealed his Realm's second stage yet, and with this injury, I'm not sure how long I can hold out..."

As Wasif stepped onto the popping crease, he whispered, "Piercing Arrow."

The ball shot out fast and sharp, and Feng played a backfoot defense, the ball dropping dead on the pitch in front of him.

"Heavy...!" Feng realized, standing up straight, "Now I get what Senior Elias and Nagi were talking about." His eyes shifted to Aigou, who was scanning the field. "How did he manage to hit those sixes earlier? He's just slightly taller than Adam..." But as he thought about how Adam pulls off such powerful shots despite being short, he added, "Ah, now I get it. I guess there's something about being short that makes you swing harder."

Taking a run on the next ball, Aigou stood on the batting crease looking around. His jaw throbbing, he hissed under his breath. "Not now… not right now…" he thought to himself, gently removing his helmet and keeping it aside.

"Hey, you okay?" Emaad inquired from behind.

Aigou nodded, sweat dripping from his forehead down to his chin like waterfall.

Wasif delivering the third ball of the over, struck it hard to the ground aiming it high. Aigou grinned, in that split moment he reversed his bat and shot a powerful and high reverse sweep over backward point claiming a four.

"Yes!" Azazel clapped Heber's hand.

Adam who had been watching intently, simply stared, his mouth a gape. "Just like him…" he muttered.

"Hm?" Zachariah, sitting closest to him, peeked over.

"Just like him. Sera, Sera, I want to play just like him!" Adam exclaimed loudly.

Seraph, slightly surprised nodded, "Alright."

"Everything! The timing, the precision, the power, the strategy. I want to polish it to that point!" Adam said.

Yusuf smiled, "Then you would have to work twice as hard. Just saying it won't achieve it."

"Of course!" Adam grinned delighted.

In that moment, a six had been struck towards the deep-extra cover sailing into the stands.

"A swing as fierce as a raging storm, Aigou sends the ball soaring over the boundary for six now! What a breathtaking display of power! The crowd is on their feet! They're unstoppable!!" Wasim remarked.

Wasif at a loss of words, simply kept his hand on his mouth smiling while the rest of the fielders exchanged puzzled looks.

Rauf grinned beside Nidou who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself after a long while.

"I don't believe it, Romeo." Leif said, his brows narrowed.

"To think they would give us this much of a hard time." Nolan shook his head.

"Two years ago, they were giving the world such a hard time that you can't imagine. Their drive to win the world cup was so insane that they didn't care whosoever stood in their way. They only wanted to win. Aussies (Australians), Kiwi's (New Zealanders), boys in blue (Indians), Caribbean Calypso (West Indies), Proteas (South Africans), Poms (Englanders), Tigers (Bangladeshis), none mattered. It was just green and white, Shaheens (Pakistanis) all over." Romeo told.

"Do you know what Rauf says?" Romeo asked looking at the boys behind, "He says he would die to win the World Cup. If the world out there would kill him for it then so be it. Let his insignificant life be a sacrifice for that. But if they want him to let it go. He won't. He's put his life on the line. He's going to lead Pakistan to the top of the world with his life on the line."

Leif, Nofel, Basid, Murad and the rest listened wide-eyed stunned.

Romeo once again looked at the pitch ahead. "If the leader thinks that way, how do you think the team will be? Just imagine how far that man will go now that he's back—this is just the PSL," he asked.

All of them remained silent unable to respond.

After a moment of silence, Leif asked, "Then why… if they had so much passion, and if Rauf was willing to go to such extremes, why did they lose the World Cup two years ago?"

Hamit shot him a glance, his expression unreadable.

Romeo, however, gave a fleeting, slightly sympathetic smile as he recalled the sight of Rauf returning, battered and broken, alongside the boys who had once been in middle school. Their eyes reflected the weight of defeat, as though they had lost more than just a world cup... something vital had been stripped from them, leaving only frowns and the hollowed-out remnants of their determination.

In a hushed tone, Romeo responded, "Maybe luck just wasn't on our side. Or perhaps, that man couldn't bear the weight of the world on his young shoulders."

Aigou hurriedly pushed for a quick second run, barely crossing the crease as the ball zipped past the wicket into Emaad's gloves. Gasping for breath, he dropped to his knees, his hands shaking with exhaustion. Wasif came over, extending a hand to help him up. Aigou looked up, momentarily blinded by the floodlights before he focused on Wasif. His hair dripped with sweat as he lowered his gaze.

"Get up, Aigou," Wasif urged, his Realm beginning to glow, "You're not done yet. Get up."

"Shut up..." Aigou muttered, swatting Wasif's hand away and struggling to his feet. His green eyes burned with determination as he gripped his bat tightly. "Stay focused, Wasif... focus. If you don't get serious now, I'll never let you win," he warned.

Wasif, with a fleeting smile masking his frustration, turned away.

Rovan, sensing his unease, gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "If I'd known he'd put up such a fight, I would've activated the second stage much earlier. I completely miscalculated this time. Aigou's become incredibly strong," Wasif admitted, disappointed.

"Can't you activate it now?" Rovan asked.

Wasif clicked his tongue in frustration, shaking his head.

The over ending with a dot ball. Aigou and Feng switched places.

"Your jaw's looking quite bad now, Senior Aigou," Poseidon said worriedly, handing him an energy drink.

Aigou, barely managing a weak smile, joked, "Do I... look ugly, huh?"

"Is that seriously what you're worried about right now?" Alan asked, exasperated, throwing a mock punch at Aigou, who laughed and dodged it just in time.

"Aigou..." Alan's tone turned serious, "I really, don't want to take your place."

Aigou winked, "Don't worry, stand by. Aigou's not leaving without having his share of fun."

The two grinned and high-fived.