The entity tilted its head slightly at my words.
"Ah crap, I blurted it out."
I straightened my posture before giving my answer with a stutter.
"A-ah... Yes I have."
The bright idea I had was to take the entity itself as my prize. It fits perfectly with the two criteria I need to survive; strength and knowledge!
All I have to do, is win this guessing game!
My mind drifted away from reality, thinking about what I'd do after I've settled these threats.
"Maybe I should start a business in this other world?"
"Or maybe I should go to a bath house if they have those– ah, wait I need money."
Then, it hit me, what about the world I was from? Would I seriously be better off here than there? This world... It's an opportunity for me to start with a clean slate. Then again, I do miss the luxuries of where I'm from... The modern day fan, my phone, my favorite restaurant...
"Should I return? Should I stay?"
Suddenly, the entity—using its shadow veil aura, summoned a coin from thin air.
It spun for a few seconds before dropping down onto the entity's palm.
The coin was silver in color, the motif of an eye was carved into the coin.
Catching a glimpse of its magic trick, my trance-like state was broken.
The coin was then tossed high up in the air.
My reaction was slow, I wanted to call out to the entity to clarify that I didn't want to check but to my surprise, the coin started to circle around us.
I regained my composure closing my mouth shut before opening it once more.
"I choose not to check."
Mainly because the first round is— afterall, the safest round. If I were to win the coin flip and guessed wrong, I would've burnt it without gaining a proper benefit.
The entity nodded once, almost in slow motion before drawing a single card from the thick deck.
The card was placed horizontally on the table, its back faced upwards.
A sudden ring of a bell echoed through the eerie yet serene room.
*ding*
I quickly assumed that this meant one thing; the match had started.
As of right now, only heaven itself knows what fate has in store for me. That fact alone scares me.
"What other choice do I have?"
My lips quivered before giving an answer.
"The middle card is..."
I paused, doubting myself momentarily.
"Valued higher than the card on the left but, valued lower than the card on the right."
The entity didn't reply. The eerily silent atmosphere robbed me of my breath. My thoughts began going against me.
"Had I gotten it correct?"
"If so then, did my answer hit a nerve??"
"Did my tone add fuel to the fire???"
"Was this all a test to determine my worth to the entity???"
"Did I fail???"
My thoughts were a mess, it's like an illetirate person given a pen and paper— the once pure white paper filled with pure chicken scratch!
"Bah! Why do I have to be on death's doorstep thrice in one day!?"
My heart raced.
*badump badump badump*
Subconsciously, I bit my nail, waiting for its reply. Sweat continued to drip down my forehead onto the bridge of my nose.
The room felt bigger with each thump of my heart, my thoughts ran wild—rent free on the top of my head, getting louder with each second ticking by. Everything felt so slow, I could almost pull my hair out before then!
"Did my stupid luck finally run out?"
The entity nodded.
"️Ĉ̵̢̢̱̞̻̣͕͈̱̥̤̳͉o̶̯͎̱͐̇͋̅̃̈́͋̽̊̀̓͊̃́͋̓ŕ̶̛̰̱̈́̀́̑̿̾͛͂̈́͗̓̈́̒͘͝️ŕ̶̛̰̱̈́̀́̑̿̾͛͂̈́͗̓̈́̒͘͝️ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜️c̸̛͕̯͂̐̓͗͊͛͝t̵̏͛̃̍́̈̚͜͝"
My heart dropped, my iris dilated. I became frozen in unmeasurable horror.
During this moment of time, nothing else felt like it truly mattered anymore. Not money, not luxury, nothing. I'm dead.
I could feel fear squeezing my heart.
"Did it read my mind?? "
My knees began to tremble.
To cope with the truth weighing down on me, I asked the entity a single question.
"My answer?"
My voice was notably shaken.
I knew my fate yet I desperately thought that the entity simply didn't mean it that way. I refuse to believe it.
I looked directly at the entity's indescribable face. This time, I stared at it without shifting my focus.
Simply hoping that maybe, just maybe it shows any signs of remorse–
The entity nodded.
I blinked multiple times. Once, twice, thrice.
"Excuse me?"
"Ą̵̘̥͉̘͖̱̥̺̿̀̈̒̂̅̀̅̈́̓̏͊͘͝️ṉ̵͓̬͈̞̥̭̥̇̓̔͋️ş̵̛̳̍̃̏͆̏̂̎͌͘͝͝͝͝ŵ̵̨̢̳̞̤̝̖̠̘̩̞̘̭͍̘̐́̈͑̈́̐̂̔̽̓͋̂̔ͅẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜ŕ̶̛̰̱̈́̀́̑̿̾͛͂̈́͗̓̈́̒͘͝️.️c̸̛͕̯͂̐̓͗͊͛͝o̶̯͎̱͐̇͋̅̃̈́͋̽̊̀̓͊̃́͋̓ŕ̶̛̰̱̈́̀́̑̿̾͛͂̈́͗̓̈́̒͘͝️ŕ̶̛̰̱̈́̀́̑̿̾͛͂̈́͗̓̈́̒͘͝️ẹ̷͓̺̰̽̍͛̉̐̔͋̓̚͜️c̸̛͕̯͂̐̓͗͊͛͝t̵̏͛̃̍́̈̚͜͝."
My shoulders sagged as a wave of relief washed over me, I thought that was it for me. Killed by a strange entity shortly after transmigrating—that'd be one heck of a way to go.
I leaned onto the backrest, letting out a long sigh of relief.
Now that I know the entity doesn't have the level of patience as thin as paper, I shouldn't worry much.
After my panic attack, that same bell rang, echoing in the room yet again—signaling the end of the first round.
*ding*
Both the cards on the right and left side flipped upwards, revealing their faces.
The right card was the Joker card, holding the highest value of all the cards in the deck.
The left, however was the four of diamond, a small number.
The middle card, after the two other cards were revealed, flipped, exposing its face. It was the ten of hearts, a decently high number alongside the third lowest suit value.
The cards flew into the air and back to the top of the deck. The entity grabbed the deck and began to shuffle away just like before. This time however a card did fall off its grip.
My eyes averted their attention away from the entity's shuffling towards the silver coin circling around us.
It is best if I were to use the coin flip check in the next round. My victory would be guaranteed after a second correct guess. Why not take the chance?
That reminds me, what does the entity want as a prize for winning? I had been too entangled by my own thoughts that I forgot to think about what stakes are at hand.
I couldn't ask the entity. The prize is to be kept a secret until the game ends in which the winner, states their prize and claims it.
My eyes shifted back towards the entity who now, finished shuffling and setting up the two cards.
I raised my right hand slightly—just above shoulder height.
"Excuse me, I want to check the left card."
It nodded and the silver coin that circled around us flew right into its palm.
"Heads."
The entity flipped the silver coin up high.
I wasn't worried about what it'll land on, the previous guess boosted my confidence.
Now, the coin is descending back to the entity's palm.
It caught the coin. The entity opened its palm and there it was. The coin had landed on heads.
Upon seeing this I reflexively lifted my long bangs slightly.
"Things are going my way so far."
My gaze altered between the left and right card before coming to a halt. My instincts told me to pick that card.
"Right."
The entity's ghostly hand hovered over the chosen card before flipping it over.
It was the joker card, again.
I rubbed my chin, bit my lip and tapped the table all while forming the answer in my head.
Afterwards, the entity drew another card and placed it in the middle just like before. I can choose to ask for another draw but, my gut tells me not to.
"I choose not to draw."
The bell rang, it's now time for the second round.