More than two weeks had passed since that night, yet its shadow refused to leave him completely. It lingered at the edges of John’s thoughts—never clear, never whole. Just fragments. Broken flashes that felt distant and unreal, like memories that didn’t quite belong to him.
Sometimes, he wondered if it had even happened.
The feeling was strange—like remembering a dream that slipped away the moment you tried to hold onto it. And so, slowly, deliberately, he chose to let it fade.
He buried it beneath routine.
Days blended into one another—work, home, sleep—until the memory dulled, losing its sharpness. It became something easier to ignore. Something manageable.
Life, at least on the surface, returned to normal.
Mornings came quietly. The soft light of dawn filtered through his window, and the distant hum of the city slowly pulled itself awake. There was comfort in it. Familiarity. A rhythm he could trust.
And yet—
The world outside felt… unsettled.
Every evening, the news told the same uneasy story. Strange accidents. Sudden violence. Incidents that made little sense, explained away with practiced calm. The anchors spoke of gangs, of rising crime, of unseen networks tightening their grip on the city.
A simple explanation.
Too simple.
But people accepted it.
Because it was easier that way.
John wanted to believe it too.
And eventually, he almost did.
A quiet relief settled within him—the comforting thought that what he had experienced was nothing more than a one-time घटना. A cruel twist of fate that had brushed past him and moved on.
He was lucky.
That’s what he told himself.
Lucky that he survived.
Lucky that he never told anyone.
There had been moments—late at night, staring at the ceiling—when he almost spoke about it. Thought about telling his family, a friend… anyone.
But the words never came.
They felt too heavy.
Too unbelievable.
Better left unsaid.
Better forgotten.
Or at least… pretended to be.
And yet, there was one thing he couldn’t leave behind.
The cards.
There were only two.
The first had come to him without warning. A simple object, yet it carried something far beyond its form. When he held it, he could feel it—not physically, but somewhere deeper. A subtle distortion, as though the world bent slightly in response to it.
The power of attraction.
That night, it hadn’t been just an idea.
It had been real.
Wild. Uncontrolled. Dangerous.
And yet—
It had saved him.
Even now, he didn’t understand how.
Or why.
The second card was different.
He had never truly touched it.
It existed somewhere else—within something he couldn’t explain. A strange, intangible grid, like a system etched into reality itself, yet bound only to him.
When he focused, he could almost see it.
Rows stretching into emptiness.
Empty slots.
And one of them—
Occupied.
The fire card.
It rested there, sealed, as if waiting. Even without touching it, he could feel it—a low, steady heat. Not burning, but alive.
Contained.
Watching.
Waiting.
Two cards.
One in his hand.
One beyond it.
And no answers for either.
He had tried to get rid of the one he could hold.
More than once.
Thrown it away. Left it behind. Tried to destroy it.
Every time—
It came back.
Not with force.
Not with sound.
Just… there.
Waiting for him.
Unchanged.
Unavoidable.
The second card… he couldn’t even try.
Because it wasn’t something outside him.
It was something within.
And slowly, an unsettling realization began to form—
This wasn’t just something he possessed anymore.
It was something he had become part of.
For the first time in weeks, John felt at ease.
Not completely. Not fully.
But enough.
The fear had faded into something distant. The memories had dulled, losing their edge. What once felt overwhelming now seemed manageable.
He allowed himself to believe it.
That it was over.
That nothing else would happen.
That life could go back to what it once was.
Normal.
And on one quiet morning, that illusion felt real.
John lay sprawled across his bed, wrapped tightly in his blanket, sinking into the deep comfort of sleep. Soft sunlight filtered through the curtains, warming the room just enough to make getting up feel unnecessary.
For once, his mind was calm.
Then—
BANG!
The door slammed open.
“Bro! Wake up!”
Before he could react, a weight dropped onto him.
His younger sister.
She landed right on top of him, completely unconcerned about his existence as a human mattress.
John groaned, barely opening his eyes. “What… is wrong with you…”
“I’m getting late!” she said, shaking him. “Get up—you have to drop me to college!”
He turned his face into the pillow. “Go yourself…”
“No chance,” she shot back, already pulling away his blanket. “You promised yesterday!”
A long sigh escaped him.
There was no escaping this.
The argument that followed was predictable.
“I’m not going.”
“You are going.”
“Take a cab.”
“I don’t have time!”
“That’s not my problem.”
“It is when you promised, bro!”
“That doesn’t mean I meant it.”
“Wow.”
She crossed her arms, glaring. “Fine. I’ll tell Mom you’ve been oversleeping every day.”
John paused.
“…That’s blackmail.”
“That’s motivation.”
A few minutes later, resistance turned into surrender.
“Fine. Five minutes.”
“Three.”
“…Deal.”
Soon, they were on the road.
The city had already woken up—vehicles moving in restless streams, people rushing through their routines, the air filled with that familiar urgency of morning.
John rode lazily, still half-asleep.
His sister, on the other hand, was wide awake—and fully committed to being annoying.
Their conversation drifted from college life to placements, from the future to responsibilities.
And then—
To him.
“You should get a girlfriend,” she said casually.
John groaned. “Not this again.”
“I’m serious. At least before I graduate.”
“Why?”
“So I don’t have to introduce my boring single brother to my friends.”
“I’m not boring.”
“Then prove it.”
He shook his head, but a small smile escaped him.
For a while, it was just this—
Normal conversation.
Light teasing.
Familiar warmth.
By the time they reached the college, she still hadn’t stopped.
“Think about it, bro,” she said, stepping off. “Don’t stay single forever.”
“Go to class.”
She laughed and walked off.
John watched her for a moment, then turned his cycle around.
That’s when he saw him.
“Lucas?”
Lucas stood near the roadside, waiting.
They rode together, talking about work, laughing about strange customers. The ease of conversation made everything feel normal again.
Before they split, Lucas warned him about a local goon stealing deliveries.
“Stay away from the old market,” he said.
John nodded.
Then they went their separate ways.
The day passed smoothly.
Too smoothly.
Every delivery was quick. No delays. No issues.
By the time John checked his app, he was already done.
Early.
Satisfied, he headed home.
That’s when it began.
A feeling.
Subtle at first.
Like someone was watching him.
He looked back.
Nothing.
He kept riding.
The feeling returned.
Stronger.
Again, he checked.
Still nothing.
Then—
The road felt wrong.
Familiar… yet not.
The same shop appeared again.
Then the same broken wall.
His grip tightened.
“That’s not possible…”
He turned into another lane.
But seconds later—
The same road.
Again.
And again.
The streets twisted into themselves, folding into a loop. Every turn led him back to the same place.
A maze.
Invisible.
Inescapable.
His heartbeat quickened.
“No… this isn’t real…”
He tried again.
Another turn.
Another failure.
The world around him felt distorted.
Wrong.
And then—
He saw him.
A figure.
Standing near a pole.
Still.
Silent.
Watching.
In his hand—
A black card.
Darker than the shadows around it.
The man tilted his head slightly, his gaze fixed on John.
And in that moment—
John understood.
This wasn’t coincidence.
This wasn’t normal.
And whatever had begun that night—
Had never ended.
The man didn’t move.
He simply stood there, the black card resting between his fingers as if it belonged to him… as if it had been waiting.
The world fell silent.
No sound.
No movement.
No escape.
John didn’t turn this time.
Didn’t try to run.
Because he knew—
There was no way out.
The man slowly raised the card.
A silent invitation.
Or a challenge.
A chill ran through John.
His hand tightened around the card he carried.
Deep within, the fire card stirred.
Quiet.
Contained.
Waiting.
Everything aligned.
The past.
The cards.
The maze.
This moment.
It had never been over.
Not even for a second.
John took a slow breath.
And met the man’s gaze.
This time—
He didn’t look away.
The game had found him again.
And now—
It was his move
