CHAPTER 35: CHAPTER 36: THE VALUE OF HIS NAME

A new day begun.Two days after the shipment, Raj received a call.It was early morning. He had just come back from a run and was sitting under the same neem tree near the east net, sipping lemon water.

His phone buzzed.

Caller ID: "JH Sports – Official"

He quickly answered.

"Hello?"

"Raj, this is Mr. Jaiswal. I saw the batch. Good quality. You delivered ahead of time. That’s rare."

"Thank you, sir."

"We have a proposal for you. We’d like to schedule a meeting — 5 p.m. today. Conference Room 2. Come sharp. Bring your brand designs."

Raj’s heart skipped slightly."Yes, sir. I’ll be there."He hung up.For a moment, he didn’t move.

This is real, he thought. This is how it starts.

He felt like smiling.But he didn’t.Instead, he picked up his notebook, flipped to the section labeled "RajCraft Vision," and stared at the flame-inside-glove logo he had drawn last week the one inspired by Spandana’s note.Then he packed his sketches and got ready.

At 5:00 p.m. sharp, Raj stood in front of Conference Room 2.He wore a clean collared shirt, black jeans, and carried his files in a stitched brown folder, the same one he used for school in his past life.He took a breath and then entered.

Inside sat two people.One was Mr. Jaiswal ,the scout from JH.The other was a woman in a navy blazer, thick-rimmed glasses, and a silver badge that read:

"Aisha D. – Brand Licensing Head, CoreAthletica"

Raj recognized the name.CoreAthletica was a Tier 1 cricket gear company far above any level he’d ever worked with.

"Raj," Mr. Jaiswal said, standing to shake his hand. "Meet Aisha. She works with CoreAthletica’s Youth Branding Division."

Aisha nodded. "We’ve seen your gloves. They’re clean. Minimalist. Honest."

Raj sat down.His heart was steady.But his fingers curled slightly under the table.

"I was told you had a proposal," he said.

Aisha opened a folder."CoreAthletica wants to offer you a partnership. Not as a vendor but as a design supplier. Your SR2 line would be folded into our upcoming ’NextGen Series.’"

Raj blinked."Folded in?"

Jaiswal added, "You’d be paid a bulk license fee. Handsome. And given credits internally."

Aisha continued, "In return, CoreAthletica would hold the rights to distribute and brand the gear as part of their own line."

Raj’s voice lowered. "So, not as RajCraft?"

She nodded. "The glove would be renamed. It would carry our brand."

Silence.

Raj looked down at the folder.Inside was a sample image mockup.Same glove.Same seam design.Same thumb strap.

But the logo on the wrist?

C.Athletica FlameLite

No "Raj.",No "Craft."No name.

Just function.

[System Warning: Ownership Conflict Detected]

▸You are being offered rebranding at the cost of name identity.

▸Estimated Reward: ₹65,000 – ₹1,00,000 upfront

▸Estimated Brand Impact: -100% Identity

▸Decision will affect all future product quests.

Aisha leaned forward."You’re young. You’re talented. But your brand is unknown. This deal brings you scale without the headache."

She smiled."This is your shortcut to the top."

Raj didn’t smile.He looked at the glove mockup again.Then back at his hands.

These hands built something from scratch and now they were asking to cut the name off the body.

"Grow with name... or vanish behind power."

Raj didn’t answer right away.He looked at the glove mockup again, then back at Aisha.

"Can I... think about it?" he asked.

Jaiswal and Aisha exchanged a glance."Of course," she said. "Take your time. But not too long. Branding windows close fast."

Raj stood, thanked them quietly, and left the room.The folder stayed on the table.He didn’t want to carry something that didn’t have his name on it.

Outside, the evening air was heavier than usual.Raj didn’t go back to the dorm.He walked slowly toward the edge of the campus, past the practice nets, the gym wall, and the faded banner from the last youth cricket camp.

He found a quiet bench under a tree near the parking lot.Sat down and stared at his hands.

They were offering money,

Recognition,

Exposure,

A platform.

But at the price of identity,at the price of his name ,at the price of RajCraft.

He remembered how hard it was to build the first glove.How scared he had been.How he had stitched that name into it not as a brand but as a promise to himself.

His phone buzzed.

It was Priya.

"Heard about the offer. You okay?"

He didn’t answer.

A moment later, she showed up anyway.

Priya sat beside him and handed him a bottle of water.

"So," she said, "they want your glove. But not your name."

Raj nodded.

"And what do you want?"

He paused."I want people to wear it because I made it. Not because someone big said it’s good."

She smiled."Then that’s your answer."

"But what if I’m wrong?" he whispered. "What if saying no ruins my only chance?"

Priya didn’t answer immediately.Then she said, "Sometimes the road is longer because it’s yours. Not because it’s wrong."

[System Trust Level Updated – Priya: Anchor Stable]

▸She helps you remember why you build, even when the road gets unclear.

Later that evening, Raj walked past the amphitheater.To his surprise, Spandana was there alone on the open-air stage, stretching with slow, focused movements.She didn’t notice him at first.He waited.She stopped and ooked up.

Their eyes met.

"You heard?" she asked.He nodded.

"They offered you a future, without your name on it."

"Yes."

"And?"

"I don’t know yet."

She didn’t speak for a moment.Then walked over to the edge of the stage and said:

"In your old life, they took your name before they took your dream."

Raj froze.Spandana’s eyes softened.

"You gave it up once. You don’t have to do it again."

She turned to leave, then paused."You’re not the fire. You’re the hand that holds it."

[System Trigger: Past Life Echo Matched – 100%]

Spandana remembers the contract you signed before.

The one that erased you.

New Quest Unlocked:

▸"Keep Your Name or Lose Your Flame"

▸Path A: Accept the offer → Earn ₹100,000, lose all brand XP

▸Path B: Reject offer → Unlock "Brand Soul Signature" title + growth quests

WARNING:THIS CHOICE CANNOT BE REVERSED, SO CHOOSE CAREFULLY.

Raj stood silently under the open sky.This wasn’t just a deal.This was the same test he failed in his past life.Back then, he had signed.Back then, he had let go of his name.

He didn’t want to repeat that mistake.

But this time, it wasn’t just his heart on the line.

It was his legacy.

Raj didn’t return to the dorm right away.

Instead, he went to the old stitching room, where the first RajCraft glove had come to life.The light was dim.The fan spun slowly and on the wall above his desk was a faded strip of cloth, torn from the first glove that ever fit perfectly.

He picked it up.Held it and remembered.The day he signed away his name in a past life.

The day no one remembered who made the glove, only who sold it.The day he became invisible.

Not again.Not this time.He pulled out a blank sheet and began writing.Not a contract,not a resignation.

Just a letter.

To CoreAthletica,

Thank you for the offer.But I’m not a supplier.I’m not a hidden name in someone else’s catalog.I am RajCraft and that name wasn’t stitched with thread.

It was stitched with everything I once lost.I hope you understand.

Thanking you,

– Pavan Raj

He folded the letter neatly.Walked to the campus admin building.And slid it under the door of Conference Room 2

, where the meeting had taken place just yesterday.

Then he walked out.

[System Alert: Decision Confirmed – Path B Selected]

▸Quest Completed: Keep Your Name or Lose Your Flame

▸Reward Unlocked:

▸Title:Flameholder

▸Your name now carries power beyond print.

– Brand XP: +250

– Brand Soul Signature Unlocked

– "Founder’s Mark" now imprinted on all future official gloves

– Passive Boost: Reader Emotion +12%

Raj didn’t stop to read the entire alert.But he felt it.Like a thread pulled tight across time, memory, and effort finally holding its shape.

Later that evening, Spandana met him again by the campus garden.This time, she didn’t speak first.

He did."I said no."

She nodded."I know."

He looked down.Then said, "Thank you."

She looked at him."I didn’t do anything."

"You remembered when I forgot," he said. "That’s everything."

They stood in silence.And the wind moved gently between them.

In another part of the country, a woman wearing a dark blue business coat and high heels opened her email on a train.She was a regional director for an upcoming sports accelerator brand.

She scrolled through scouting reports.Paused on a flagged summary.

Name: Pavan Raj

Alias: RajCraft

Age: 17

Role: Glove Designer

Status: Declined CoreAthletica Licensing

Flag: Creator Integrity / Potential Long-Term Brand Lead

She tapped the screen and smiled.

"Let’s keep an eye on this one."

Back at the campus, Raj returned to the stitching room one last time that day.He took a fresh roll of fabric, cut a clean piece, and stitched the flame-inside-glove logo in red for the first time.

At the bottom, he wrote:

"Let the name carry the fire."

And hung it on the wall.

To be continued........

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