The scene shifted smoothly, fading into another room that mirrored the same eerie symmetry as the one Vayunesh and Jaya had occupied. The same dense silence hung in the air, punctuated only by the soft flutter of cards being shuffled and placed. The room was split by the same translucent wall, glowing faintly blue, its surface occasionally pulsing as if alive. On one side sat Ryota , relaxed yet alert, legs spread slightly as he leaned forward in his chair. His fingers moved with fluid ease as he glanced through the cards on the square desk before him. His lips curled into a faint smirk—familiar terrain for a teenager who had thrived in high-stakes environments.
On the other side sat a girl whose presence commanded a different kind of attention.
Enkhtuya Sodbaatar.Her name carried the sharp edge of Mongolian royalty, and her demeanor didn't fall short. She was tall, graceful, and radiated a cold, surgical confidence. Her raven-black hair was tied into a sleek ponytail, her eyes focused like a hawk scanning prey from afar. She hadn't spoken for nearly ten minutes—not because she lacked words, but because she preferred precision over chatter.
Still, after fifteen minutes had passed, she finally broke the silence, her voice smooth and low.
"You've won quite a lot in casinos, haven't you?""Is that supposed to be your strength, or your weakness?"
Ryota looked up, mildly amused. His fingers tapped twice on the desk before he spoke.
"A little bit of both," he replied nonchalantly. "Luck's like a knife. Depends on how you hold it."
He leaned back and stretched, eyes flicking toward the digital painting and he knew that ,Plenty of time was left.
"But luck is never random in my case," he added with a wink. "It's all about observation. Microexpressions. How their fingers twitch before bluffing. The way they breathe. Even gamblers have tells."
Enkhtuya raised a single eyebrow, but said nothing. Her fingers continued flipping through Ryota's data cards, sharp as razors. From academic history to childhood incidents, criminal records to medical conditions—nothing was off-limits in this game. This wasn't blackjack. This was psychological warfare, and the cards were more dangerous than any dice.
Meanwhile, Ryota had been steadily building something. One by one, he had begun stacking Enkhtuya's information cards into a small structure—an actual pyramid, deliberately arranged in layers based on what he deemed to be her psychological vulnerabilities.
She finally noticed it and narrowed her eyes. Ryota smiled wider.
"Looks like you've got plenty of weaknesses to gamble on," he said casually, adjusting the top card like it was a crown atop the fragile pyramid. "Insecurity from being second-best to your elder brother... chronic need to prove yourself... fear of abandonment after your mother left... yeah, we've got a buffet here."
Enkhtuya's fingers froze.For a moment, Ryota swore he saw something flicker in her eyes—rage? Pain?—but it was gone just as fast.
"You really like the sound of your own voice," she said flatly.
Ryota chuckled.
"You should hear me during poker night."
The temperature in the room felt like it dropped several degrees.Enkhtuya suddenly stood up, stepping toward the translucent wall. The artificial blue glow bathed her in ghostly light.
"You're making a lot of noise, Tsukino," she said, voice firm now. "But in games like these, loud players tend to fall the fastest."
Ryota raised his hands as if surrendering, but the grin on his face didn't budge.
"Maybe. Or maybe loud players are just the ones that get remembered."
The two locked eyes across the glowing divide.Two minds, two strategies. One relied on intuition honed through chaos. The other on clinical, calculated judgment.
But neither of them would win just by talking.The next step would demand something more.
Suddenly, a mechanical click echoed through the room. A new slot opened in the table. A single card slid out from inside—gold-trimmed, heavier than the rest.
Both of them instinctively reached for it at the same time.
It read:
"The Second Phase Has Been Unlocked: VERBAL DOMINATION.""Time until collapse: 1 hour and 44 minutes ."
Their expressions shifted in sync.This was no longer about just knowing. It was about twisting, breaking, and shattering the mind of the person across from you.
The game had truly begun.