The creature—no, the thing with the rabbit skull—grinned wide enough to show its yellowed teeth.
It held something in its clawed hand. "For the first game, this is your card."
He tossed it at me, and I caught it instinctively. The card was cold. Too cold. And it stank. Not like dirt or mold—but like freshly dug graves. A mix of rotting wood, metal, and something worse—something human.
I flinched. "What… is this?"
"We still have rules, Dirga," the creature said casually, as if this were just another board game. "That card is your gateway. It tells you everything you need to know."
I wanted to throw it back. Burn it. Shred it. "I don't want this. I don't want to play anymore."
The desperation spilled out of me like a broken dam. "I never asked for this! I'm not ambitious—I just want a quiet life. I just want her to live!"
I gritted my teeth. My hands shook. My knees wanted to collapse. "I don't care about games or wishes or rules! I'm not part of this!"
The creature's grin didn't fade. It widened.
"You can't quit, Dirga. That's not how this works." Its tone dropped a few degrees, playfulness thinning into something colder. "Since you rolled the dice, there's only one way out."
Its red eyes burned into mine.
"Death."
My mouth went dry.
The thing crouched low, face inches from mine, voice like silk and knives. "So you'd better start learning the rules."
My heart thundered in my chest. I turned my head, trying to speak—maybe to curse him, to beg again—but the air tightened. My throat squeezed shut like an invisible rope had wrapped around it.
The shadows in the room… moved.
Like something living. Watching.
A warning. I realized it wasn't just Sasa threatening me. Whatever realm I'd stepped into, it was bound by something deeper. If I refused again, I wouldn't get another chance.
Not until I saved Naya.
I clenched my fist around the card and nodded, barely.
Only then did the pressure ease. The shadows retreated. My voice returned.
"Good," the creature said cheerfully. "And by the way, you can call me Sasaraksasa. But that's a mouthful, so Sasa will do."
He stood back up, his long legs clicking like old bones. His grin never left.
I looked down at the card in my hand. It was dark, almost black, with golden etchings curling like veins. It reminded me of an old tarot card. In the center was a closed eye drawn in fine detail.
Somehow, I knew what to say.
"…Open," I whispered.
The eye on the card blinked.
And I blinked too, but when I opened my eyes again, I wasn't in that void anymore. Or maybe I was still there, just deeper. It felt like the card had peeled something open inside my mind. A vision, a screen, a profile—
Name: Dirgantara
Age: 21
Karma Points: 1
Grade: F–
Skill: –
Item: –
"What… is this?" I muttered.
Sasa laughed, his voice echoing unnaturally. "Your stat sheet! Or your soul's resume, if you prefer. It tracks everything. Your points, skills, growth."
I was still staring at the card. "Karma point… I have one?"
"You earned that from your dice roll last time." Sasa's grin faltered just slightly, eyes narrowing. "You won a round. Against me. That's why you're alive."
He sounded like he didn't like that. At all.
"So," he continued, forcing cheer back into his tone, "in this game, you can bet anything—your wealth, your memories, your health, even your soul."
"And in return?"
"Anything you want," Sasa said, eyes twinkling. "But the greater the reward, the higher the price. The more impossible the challenge."
I looked up at him, breathing a little steadier now. "I see."
"Good," he nodded, tapping one bony finger to his chin. "So… what would you like to bet? That precious karma point? Your time? Your voice?"
I stared at the card again. Something inside me had shifted. This wasn't a dream. And it wasn't something I could walk away from. Every second wasted could mean Naya slipping further away.
So I said it.
"I want another karma point."
Sasa blinked. Then, he smiled again—genuinely, this time. "Oh? A clever one."
He snapped his fingers.
A golden slot machine appeared beside me with a mechanical clang. Its surface shimmered like molten metal, with carvings of devils, skulls, and strange symbols spinning across the reels.
"This will make things more interesting," Sasa said, patting the machine like an old friend. "Let fate decide your challenge."
I didn't move at first. But the card in my hand pulsed. I stepped closer, raised my hand, and gripped the lever.
I pulled.
The reels spun—clacking, shifting faster and faster, then slowing.
Click. Click. Click.
The first symbol: a devil's face, grinning.
Second: another devil—identical, maybe worse. Its grin had bloodied teeth.
Last: the number 8, glowing red.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
Sasa let out a shrill whistle.
"Well now. Two devils. That meanssss…"
He paused dramatically, eyes gleaming.
"…Nothing good," he said with a laugh. "Better find out for yourself!"
Before I could ask, the space shifted again. A red envelope appeared in the air and dropped gently into my hand.
"What's this?" I asked, panicking. "What do I have to do?! What does two devils mean?!"
Sasa didn't answer. His voice dropped again, darker now.
"This is your task. Retrieve the soul listed in that envelope. You have seven days. Bring it to me."
"How do I retrieve a soul?!"
"You'll figure it out. Or die trying." Sasa stepped back, his body beginning to blur into the surrounding shadows. "That's the fun part."
"Wait! Tell me—!"
But he was already laughing. Shadows clung to his form, swirling like smoke.
"Good luck, Dirga."
And then—
Darkness.
I gasped awake.
I was back in my bed. Sheets soaked with sweat, breath ragged. My heart pounded so loud I thought it might shatter my ribs. I looked around—room dim, curtains fluttering, light filtering in through the early morning window.
But then I felt it.
The weight in my hand.
I looked down.
The envelope.
It was still there.
Blood-red. Warm to the touch. And sealed with wax shaped like an open eye.
I sat there, shaking, staring at it like it might burn me alive.
"What… should I do?" I whispered.
The shadows on my wall didn't answer.