The card pulsed once, faintly, then went dead in Jack's hand.
Silence.
Blake stared, then barked a jagged laugh, like firewood snapping in a blaze.
"You thought it would save you? Pathetic. That card's nothing. For a second, I thought it was some kind of time-stopper. Almost fooled me."
Mia's blade glowed as she lunged, hoping to use his distraction.
But Blake's fire whips snapped out, curling around her strike, blasting her back across the pavement. She hit hard, sliding until her sword spun out of reach.
"Mia!" Jack stumbled forward, panic scraping his throat.
She coughed, forcing herself upright, her glasses cracked, uniform scorched.
"Jack? You idiot—what are you doing here? Run! This isn't your fight."
Jack dropped beside her, jaw clenched.
"Believe me, I wanted to. But I can't just leave you to die."
Her gaze locked on the black card in his hand. Even in the dark, its gloss reflected the fire.
"You're… a cardholder?"
Jack shook his head furiously.
"I don't know. It was my father's. He's dead now. This is all I've got left of him."
Mia's eyes darkened. Her voice was grave.
"Then you're part of it. The Miracle 52. The Death Game."
Jack's stomach twisted.
"Death Game? What the hell are you talking about?"
Blake's footsteps drew closer, each one scorching the pavement. The air shimmered with heat, smoke stinging Jack's eyes.
Jack forced his brain to work.
"He's slowing down. You noticed, right? He never chased me earlier—just kept throwing fireballs. If he runs, his heart pumps faster. More blood loss."
Mia's eyes flicked up at him, surprised. Then she nodded once, tight.
Jack hooked her arm over his shoulder, dragging her upright.
"We keep him busy, he bleeds out."
Mia's lips pressed thin.
"Then we fight."
Blake's grin split his burned face.
"Fight? You're both already ash. My hour's almost up, and I don't waste kills."
He roared.
Fire whips shot from the pools of blood at his feet, cracking like molten chains. His mouth opened unnaturally wide, vomiting fireballs into the night. The ground beneath him bubbled, glowing red.
Mia's sword flared brighter. She pushed forward, blade a streak of light. Each swing cleaved a whip, sparks exploding. She parried claws of flame, steel ringing against fire.
Jack circled wide, coughing in the smoke. He hurled stones—pathetic, desperate, but each pebble made Blake twitch.
Blake sneered.
"Throwing rocks? That's your contribution? Your father must be rotting with shame."
Jack's chest tightened.
"Screw you."
Mia pressed harder, her stance shifting. Her sword lengthened, glowing with white fire. The blade nearly doubled in reach, her swings sharper, faster. She was tapping deeper into her card, her movements almost inhuman.
But every strike cost her. Her breaths grew ragged, her body trembling as if her own stamina was burning away to fuel the blade.
Blake saw it. He laughed, a horrible cracked sound.
"Oh, that's rich. You're burning yourself out, girl. Look at you. Your 'Miracle' is eating you alive."
Mia gritted her teeth and kept swinging, parrying whip after whip, but her hands shook, her cuts grew sloppy.
One whip broke through. It wrapped her leg, searing cloth and skin. She screamed, collapsing to one knee.
Blake loomed above her, his molten claw curling back for the kill.
"Pathetic. A fake swordswoman pretending to be a knight. You'll die crawling in the dirt."
"No!" Jack ran forward, raising his card instinctively. But nothing happened.
Blake slammed Mia with his fire claw, smashing her across the ground. She hit hard, coughing blood. Her sword flickered, dimming.
"Mia!" Jack dropped to his knees beside her. Her blouse was burned away at the front, her chest scorched raw. She tried to push herself up, but her arms trembled uselessly.
"Jack…" she gasped. "Run… this is my fight. Not yours."
Jack shook his head violently.
"I can't. You were the only one who was ever kind to me. I'm not letting you die here."
She saw the black card still in his hand, unlit. Her voice was weak but urgent.
"Remember its name. That's how it activates. Cards… only answer to their names."
Jack's heart hammered. Its name… its name… Dad, what did you leave me?
Blake's shadow fell over them. His fire whips lashed the ground, cracking earth, sending waves of heat. Smoke burned Jack's lungs, his skin blistered where flames licked.
I'm useless. Dead weight. Just like they always said.
He looked at Mia, broken, struggling to lift her sword.
If only… if only there was another her. Another Mia, keeping him back. Not me. Not this dropout trash.
The thought stabbed into memory.
He was eight years old, standing on stage at a school recital. His father—no, the fake—kneeling to straighten his collar.
"I'm not your father," the man whispered, smiling too widely. "I'm a duplicate."
Those moments became frequent. Especially when he started school and his father was always away for important business transactions. That same, lifeless expression, silently mouthed, marred Jack's childhood.
I'm a duplicate.
A secret he was too scared to ask about.
He uttered the words.
"Duplicate."
His card shimmered before bursting into white.
Light burned across its surface, etching a mark into existence: X2.
Jack's eyes went wide as he saw the symbol.
X2?
A voice spoke inside his head, answering his confusion right away.
[MIRACLE 52 System Notice: New Cardholder recognized]You are now a Player in the Miracle 52 Death Game.
Card: Duplicate (X2)Effect: Duplicate a target.Restriction: Duplicates disappear after 1 hour.
Welcome, Jack Corbin. I am Duplicate. How can I help you today?
Jack's vision warped as time slowed around him. The flames licked the air in stop motion, and the smoke hung frozen. Blake's sneer lingered in midair.
Jack's hands trembled as he gripped the glowing card. Cardholder? Miracle 52? What's going on here?
One command. Choose a target. Duplicate them for one hour, the voice said.
Jack's lips trembled.
Duplicate anything?
"Yes," the voice answered, flat and mechanical.
His eyes darted to Mia's sword — still glowing faintly, trembling in her scorched hands.
If I duplicate that… she could dual-wield. Hell, even I could grab one and try. Two blades against him instead of one.
He brushed the idea as quickly as he had envisioned it.
No. I don't know how to fight. Mia's already half-dead. Another sword won't be enough. We'd still lose.
He scanned the surroundings, thinking of anything he could use to change the situation. Nothing came up.
This is still a worthless card. How do we get out of here if this card can only double anything?
And then an idea hit him.
It's not the sword that matters… It's the person holding it.
"Hey voice, when you said anything, do you mean, err, anything at all?"
"Depends. You cannot duplicate intangible things, concepts, or other objects that the system deems unduplicatable. I will give you a fair warning if such a wish is asked," the voice repeated.
His grip on the card tightened as he eyed the helpless Mia in the distance.
Here goes nothing.
"Duplicate Mia."
[Command Recognized]Target: Mia ParkStatus: Duplicating…
White light burst from the card, flooding the scorched battlefield.