A ring.
Aron's eyes settled on it. The ring was surprisingly small, crafted from a dark silver metal with a strange symbol engraved across its surface.
Something about it drew his attention. He reached toward it. His fingers stopped just above the ring. For a moment, Aron seemed to hesitate.
Then his expression went strangely blank. His hand moved almost on its own, reaching for the ring. He picked it up without seeming to realize what he was doing.
The ring slipped onto his finger.
Click.
The instant it settled into place, a faint sensation passed through his body. Aron blinked. "...Huh?"
He stared at his hand. For some reason, he couldn't remember why he'd put it on. Yet the thought disappeared almost immediately.
His attention returned to the cabinet. Meanwhile, Zekai had completely lost himself in the parchment.
At the top of the page were bold words.
[ CAUTION — RULES ]
Zekai's brow furrowed.
The handwriting was jagged and uneven. Whoever had written it had pressed so hard that the letters had scarred the paper.
He began reading.
[ User blood required for ritual. ]
Zekai sighed.
'Why does everything require blood?' His eyes moved downward.
[ Rule 0: You were already chosen before you arrived. ]
Zekai's expression hardened.
Chosen?
So this wasn't an accident.
Before he had taken Marcus's coat. Before he had entered the convenience store. Perhaps even before he had touched the tarot box—
Someone had already decided he would come here.
He continued.
[ Rule 1: No Return. ]
'Sounds like a scam merchant policy.'
[ Rule 2: No Escape. ]
Zekai's eyebrow twitched. '...From what?' His eyes moved to the next line.
[ Rule 3: DON'T FEAR. ]
The words felt different from the others. The ink had been carved so deeply into the paper that the fibers around it were torn.
It didn't feel like advice. It felt like an order.
Zekai stared at the sentence. '...Don't fear.'
He continued.
[ Rule 4: BE IMPOSSIBLE. ]
A faint scoff escaped him. 'I'm already doing that.' His eyes moved down.
[ Rule 5: Trust your instinct. ]
'That's just laziness from whoever wrote this.' His eyes dropped lower.
[ Rule 6: Formulate. ]
Zekai frowned. 'Formulate what? A plan?'
At the bottom of the page:
[ End of Rules — End ]
That was it. No explanation. No context. No indication of who had written the rules.
Zekai stared at the paper for several seconds.
"Who writes rules like this?"
He folded it slightly. "It's telling me I'm already trapped."
No return. No escape. Don't fear. Be impossible. Trust your instinct. Formulate.
They didn't explain anything. They simply assumed he already understood the situation.
'Great.'
'Sounds like a horrible vacation.'
Then something caught his attention. At the edge of the page, partially hidden beneath the fold, another phrase had been written.
[ THE GOD MESSENGER ]
Beneath the title, another line had been written.
[ Arcana users must pre-select a set number of cards each day. Once used, those cards fade and cannot be used again until rest. ]
Zekai blinked.
"...Arcana?"
The word stirred something inside his mind. Not a memory. More like the sensation of one.
His gaze returned to the tarot deck. "What exactly are you?" He turned the page. Then stopped.
Then he noticed the bottom of the paper. It had been torn away. Zekai's eyes sharpened.
"...What?"
Someone had taken part of the rules. Someone who knew what was written there. Someone who didn't want him to see it.
The missing section wasn't damaged by age. Someone had deliberately torn it away.
Zekai stared at the jagged edge.
If someone had gone to the trouble of removing part of the rules, whatever had been written there was probably important.
'Who tore this out?'
For several seconds, Zekai remained silent. Then he folded the parchment and placed it back inside the tarot box.
"Whatever." He closed the lid. "I'll figure it out myself."
Inside lay an old deck of cards.
Their backs were deep red, bordered with gold. Strange illustrations covered them in black and silver lines that shimmered faintly purple beneath the dim crimson light.
Zekai touched the top card. Hum. The entire deck vibrated beneath his fingers. Once. Like a heartbeat.
He tilted the card. The silver image didn't move. It wasn't a hologram. It felt less like printed artwork and more like something sealed inside the card.
"Enough to tell me I shouldn't trust it blindly." He closed the tarot box and slipped it into his coat.
He didn't notice Aron standing several meters away.
He didn't notice the strange ring around Aron's finger. And he certainly didn't notice the faint symbol beneath the ring briefly glowing.
Then—
CLANG!
A massive sound erupted through the palace.
Zekai's head snapped upward. The enormous doors behind them suddenly began moving. "Aron?"
The doors slammed shut.
BOOOOOOM!
The impact shook the entire hall. Aron jumped violently. "Huh?!"
He looked toward the entrance. The massive stone doors had completely sealed the passage behind them.
Every instinct screamed to run. Zekai immediately turned toward the courtyard. His eyes narrowed.
The serpent. The sword-bearing statue. Both were now beyond the sealed entrance. He rushed toward the doors and grabbed one of the handles.
He pulled. Nothing. He pulled harder. The door didn't move. "...Damn it."
Aron hurried over. "Mr. Zekai..."
Zekai glanced at him. "Did you touch anything?"
Aron froze. "...No." His eyes briefly dropped toward his hand. The ring remained hidden beneath his sleeve.
Zekai didn't notice. Another heavy sound echoed from beyond the doors.
THUD.
Something struck the other side. Aron flinched. "They're still there."
Zekai released the handle. He stared at the sealed entrance for several seconds.
He didn't have any answers right now.
Then slowly looked toward the darkness ahead.
"...Then we're going deeper."
Aron swallowed. "Deeper?"
"We can't go back."
Zekai adjusted his coat. "And standing here won't make the door open."
He started walking. After a moment, Aron followed.
Their footsteps echoed through the ruined palace. Neither of them noticed the faint green glow beneath Aron's sleeve. And neither noticed the ring slowly warming against his skin.
Far behind them—
Something moved inside the sealed courtyard. But this time...
It didn't make a sound.
Then—
Zekai stopped. A voice had spoken. Not from the hall. Not from behind them. Inside his head.
—Use the card.
Zekai's expression changed. He slowly turned toward Aron.
"Did you hear that?"
Aron frowned. "Hear what?"
Zekai's eyes narrowed. "...Nothing."
The voice returned.
—Use it.
Zekai could feel the words inside his skull. They weren't sound. They weren't his thoughts either.
Something else was speaking through him. Then a thin crimson layer appeared across his vision.
The voice returned.
—Use it. A pause. —Or you die.
The screen didn't appear suddenly. It felt like it had always been there—and Zekai had only now remembered where to look.
A translucent crimson surface slowly stabilized. Text bled across it.
[ OBSERVATION — ACTIVE ]
Subject: Zekai Krystan
State: Unaligned
[ External Influence Detected ]
Source: Unknown
Intent: Unknown
[ Anomaly — Pending ]
Zekai's throat went dry. "...Again?" He raised his hand.
Aron watched him with growing concern. "Mr. Zekai?"
"Do you see anything here?" Zekai pointed directly at the crimson screen.
Aron stared at the empty air. "...See what?"
"This."
"There's nothing there."
Zekai lowered his hand.
Of course. Only he could see it. Again. The glow. The voice. The interface. Everything was targeting him.
The screen flickered.
[ External Input Detected ]
Directive: Present
Then a sentence appeared.
—"You've been holding it this whole time... and still pretending you have a choice?"—
Zekai's expression remained calm, but his fingers tightened around the tarot box.
The crimson screen dimmed. The voice returned.
—Use it.
Zekai stared into the empty hall. The deck inside the box suddenly became warm.
Crack!
A sharp sound echoed somewhere behind them. Dust drifted from the ceiling.
Something had moved. Aron turned immediately.
"Mr. Zekai..." His voice trembled. "Something's behind us."
Zekai closed his eyes for a moment. Then exhaled.
"...What a pain."
Death wasn't what bothered him. It was the feeling that this place had already decided what he was supposed to become.
And now—
It was giving him a choice. Or pretending to.
Zekai opened his eyes. Ahead lay the darkness of the ruined palace. Behind them waited the creatures guarding the entrance. And inside his coat, the tarot deck grew warmer.
The spectator phase was over.
Something in this world had already chosen him.
It was waiting. It was watching.
✦ End of Chapter 5 — The Chosen Rules ✦