Kael Virex had been banned from thirty-seven casinos.
Not for cheating.
For winning.
"Sir, we're going to have to ask you to leave."
The pit boss was polite. Too polite. The kind of polite that came with security already moving into position.
Kael glanced down at the table.
Blackjack.
Again.
A perfect hand.
Again.
He exhaled through his nose, more tired than amused.
"Let me guess," he said, standing. "Lifetime ban?"
The pit boss hesitated.
"…Yes."
Kael nodded once, already reaching for his coat.
"Make it thirty-eight," he muttered.
He didn't celebrate anymore. Winning had stopped feeling like winning years ago. It just… happened.
Outside, the night air was cold, sharp enough to cut through the noise in his head.
Luck.
That's what people called it. They weren't wrong.
But they didn't understand it either.
Kael crossed the street without looking.
A car screeched to a halt inches from him.
The driver leaned out, furious—
Then blinked.
"…I—I didn't even see you step out."
Kael raised a hand in apology and kept walking. Of course he hadn't.
The timing had been perfect.
It always was.
His phone buzzed.
A message.
"Food delivery confirmed. Shelter 12 fully stocked."
Another followed.
"Job placements complete. 47 individuals employed."
Kael slipped the phone back into his pocket.
That part… that part still mattered.
If he was going to win anyway, he might as well make it count.
Three blocks later, everything went wrong.
The truck lost control at the intersection.
Kael saw it before anyone else did.
The angle.
The speed.
The way the driver's hands were already too late on the wheel.
And the crowd—
Too many people.
No time.
Except there always was.
Kael moved.
Not fast.
Not frantic.
Precise.
He grabbed a woman mid-step, pivoted, shoved her backward.
A kid—pulled by the hood.
An old man—pushed just enough to break his fall away from the impact zone.
The world narrowed.
Angles.
Timing.
Distance.
The truck hit.
Sound vanished.
Kael didn't feel the impact.
Not really.
He felt the outcome.
Darkness took him.
And for the first time in his life—
Luck didn't catch him.