The city was loud. Always loud.
Honking horns. Screaming traders. The static hum of a thousand screens flickering with red numbers.
Kaito Fujimoto had once stood tall in the middle of it all—top floor, glass office, tailored suit, eyes like razors. The market had been his playground. Until it wasn't.
Now, he sat alone in a dingy apartment that smelled of burnt coffee and regret. His trading terminal—once his weapon of choice—lay shattered on the floor. A final failed bet. A margin call he couldn't cover. Everything was gone.
No friends. No family. Just debt and silence.
As the rain painted grey streaks across the window, Kaito stepped out onto the rooftop. Forty stories above ground. He closed his eyes.
"Maybe... in the next life, I won't screw it up."
He fell.
No pain.
Only darkness.
When Kaito opened his eyes, he was no longer in Tokyo.
The air was still, impossibly clean. He stood barefoot on a field of white, stretching into eternity. There was no sky. No sun. Just light.
And then he saw Him.
A being, impossibly tall yet intimate in presence, sat cross-legged in mid-air. Clad in a white robe with golden embroidery that shimmered like code, He wore a serene expression. A symbol hovered above His head: a glowing G.
"Welcome, Kaito Fujimoto," the being spoke, voice echoing as if through the inside of Kaito's mind.
"Am I... dead?"
"Quite. Instant cerebral hemorrhage. On impact."
The being offered a gentle smile. "But fret not. I am the Great G—some call me God, others the Game Master."
Kaito blinked. "So... what now? Judgment? Hell?"
"None of that boring nonsense." G gestured lazily, and a glowing interface appeared mid-air, like a translucent RPG menu.
"I like your spirit, Kaito. Ambition. Risk. You just played the wrong game."
He leaned forward. "So I'll make you a deal. You get another chance. Reincarnate in a world of your choice—with three powers of your choosing."
Kaito's eyes widened. "Any world?"
"Any. You want to be born in a fantasy kingdom? A sci-fi megastructure? A beast world full of sword-wielding cats? Dealer's choice."
Kaito smirked. "And the powers?"
"Within reason," G added, raising a finger. "No omnipotence. But be creative."
Kaito crossed his arms, thinking. This wasn't a reset. It was a rebirth. He wasn't going to waste it.
"I want..." he paused, then looked up at the divine figure. "Wait. Before I make my choices—what if I could raise the stakes?"
G's golden eyebrows arched in mild amusement. "Oh? Already trying to gamble with a god?"
Kaito smirked. "Old habits die hard. What if... I could earn extra powers? Let's say, three more. But only if I win."
G stroked his chin. "Interesting. And if you lose?"
"No second chance," Kaito replied without hesitation. "You send me to the worst hell you've got. No reincarnation. No reset."
A long silence followed. Then, slowly, the Great G grinned.
"You mortals never cease to entertain me."
With a wave of His hand, the endless white void shifted. A velvet-covered casino table materialized between them, complete with two chairs, a deck of glimmering cards, and a glowing dealer's shoe. Gold tokens floated in the air around it like fireflies.
"Blackjack," Kaito said, sitting down. "One hand. I win—I get three extra powers. I lose—I disappear."
G took the seat opposite him, rolling His neck theatrically. "Very well. But I'll deal. Fairly."
He shuffled the deck, each card flipping in a blur of sparks. Then, the deal began.
Two cards to each. G's face card was an eight.
Kaito peeked at his: a queen and a six.
"Sixteen," he muttered. "Damn. Not great."
G leaned forward, fingers steepled. "Hit or stay?"
Kaito didn't answer immediately. His gaze lingered on the cards.
Sixteen against an eight. Odds were terrible. But there was one move…
He raised his eyes. "Can I double down?"
The Great G paused. Then He let out a low chuckle.
"You want to double the stakes? For a single facedown card?"
Kaito nodded. "All or nothing. You said I had guts. Let's see if the universe agrees."
"Very well," G said, eyes gleaming. With a flick of His fingers, the table shimmered.
The words Double Down burned into the air above them in glowing letters.
"One card," G intoned. "Face down. You may not look."
A glowing rectangle slid across the table to Kaito.
He didn't touch it.
G flipped His hole card: a six. "Fourteen."
He drew. A ten.
"Bust."
The light dimmed. The cards dissolved into gold dust. Only Kaito's hidden card remained, facedown and glowing.
G waved a hand, and the card flipped.
A five.
Kaito's jaw tensed. Twenty-one.
G let out a slow, rich laugh that echoed through the void.
"Of course. You mad bastard."
He stood, clapping with genuine applause.
"You doubled down on death itself—and won."
With a gesture, the void exploded into cascading lights. The ability selection screen appeared before Kaito again—this time with six glowing slots instead of three.
"Six powers. One new world. Choose wisely, Trader of Fate."