The dice rolled across the table, producing a dull, rhythmic clatter.
Tick... tock... tick... tock...
Time seemed to freeze as Lin Han's breath slightly hitched.
Across from him, the other Lin Han wore a half-smile, his eyes dark and bottomless, like an abyss with no end.
Six.
Lin Han looked down at the dice on the table—it was still a six.
Another tie.
"Walau eh…" Lin Han muttered under his breath, his fingers subconsciously tightening.
This wasn't gambling anymore. This was an endless loop.
He was gambling against himself—same luck, same dice, the same results over and over again. No matter how many times they rolled, nothing changed.
But the rule of this game was—there must be a winner.
So—eventually, the dice would have to break the cycle.
First Round: Endless Probing
Lin Han took a deep breath and gripped the dice again. He needed to shatter this repetition.
Closing his eyes, he held the dice tightly, feeling the warm texture against his palm, as if it was pulsating—like a beating heart.
This time, instead of staring at the dice, he focused on his opponent.
The other Lin Han still had that knowing smirk, as if he had already foreseen this move.
"You know what this means, don't you?"
Lin Han remained silent.
Of course, he knew.
The dice wouldn't remain the same forever—at some point, fate would tilt the scale.
But—victory wasn't just about luck.
Second Round: Fate Intervenes
The dice landed with a heavy thud.
Five.
Lin Han's heart skipped a beat as he looked up.
The other Lin Han narrowed his eyes slightly, his smile faltering for just a fraction of a second.
Then, he reached out, lifted his dice, and threw—
Six.
Lin Han's pupils shrank.
No. This was impossible—if they were the same person, if fate had balanced them perfectly, why did the dice suddenly favor the other side?
The other Lin Han shrugged, spreading his hands slightly, his eyes glimmering with an almost pitying look.
"Looks like… you're the one who should disappear."
A chilling sensation crawled up Lin Han's spine, his fingers trembling ever so slightly.
No. He couldn't die here.
"You cheated," Lin Han said flatly, his voice carrying no emotion.
The other Lin Han blinked, then laughed—a slow, eerie chuckle.
"Do you have proof?"
"Proof?" Lin Han's lips curled into a cold smirk. "Your expression just now… that moment you flinched."
He suddenly lifted his hand and slammed the dice onto the table.
Third Round: Breaking the Loop
The dice tumbled mid-air, twisting unnaturally.
It no longer obeyed the laws of physics, instead floating in place, spinning faster and faster—
The surrounding space began to distort, and Lin Han felt an invisible force pulling at him. Distant sirens from Bangsar wailed, coming closer, then fading again, like echoes from another world.
PAH—!
The dice landed.
Silence.
Lin Han lowered his gaze—
One.
He froze.
…One?
How was that possible?
He glanced up at his opponent—the other Lin Han's face stiffened instantly.
His dice was a six.
Fourth Round: The Erased Existence
Lin Han exhaled slowly, a victorious smirk forming at the corners of his lips.
"Looks like... you're the one who should disappear."
The air seemed to thicken as the other Lin Han's smile faltered, then cracked.
Then—his body began to distort, as if an unseen force was tearing him apart, unraveling him into nothingness.
"You… cheated…" His voice wavered, pointing a trembling finger at Lin Han, disbelief filling his eyes.
"Cheated?" Lin Han scoffed, amusement lacing his voice. "Did you really think… I'd play by your rules?"
He lifted his hand, revealing something faintly glowing between his fingers—an extra dice.
The real rule was the one he had set.
The other Lin Han opened his mouth as if to say something, but before he could, his entire body disintegrated into the void, swallowed by the surrounding darkness.
The world went eerily still.
Then—
BOOM!
A powerful shockwave erupted, consuming everything in its path.
Lin Han felt his body being sucked into the abyss. His consciousness blurred—
Reality, A Teahouse in Penang
"…Lin Han?"
A familiar voice pulled him back.
Lin Han's eyes snapped open. He found himself sitting in a dimly lit teahouse, an old wooden table in front of him. On it, a steaming cup of teh tarik rested, curls of fragrant steam rising.
His palm still stung slightly as if something had burned it. He looked down—
The dice was gone.
"You don't like the smell of that ah-neh's curry?" Across from him, Noya raised a brow, her sharp gaze scanning his face.
Lin Han hesitated for a second. In the distance, he could still hear the faint wailing of police sirens—the sound of Bangsar's chaotic streets, a voice shouting 'Jalan! Jalan!' in the rain.
…He was back?
But deep inside, he knew—something from that world was still unfinished.
Raindrops pattered against the aged wooden window frames. The night in Penang remained humid, the air thick with the damp scent of mildew and a faint trace of bak kut teh.
Lin Han lifted his head, staring at the cup of teh tarik that had long gone cold. The foam had mostly dissipated, leaving a thin brown residue along the rim.
Was it really over?
His fingers absently traced the wooden table's surface, still warm from the heat of the night, as if that last gamble was still in play.
Across from him, Noya swirled the amber liquid in her glass, her narrowed eyes betraying a hint of suspicion.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked casually, though her tone carried an underlying wariness.
Lin Han didn't answer immediately. Instead, he slowly stirred his tea, watching the faint ripples spread across the surface.
Outside, neon lights reflected off the rain-slicked cobblestones, distorting into eerie colors.
Lin Han knew, deep down, that he hadn't truly left that world.
Just when he thought he had won—thought he had returned to reality—
A shadow flickered in his peripheral vision.
"Lin Han."
Noya suddenly called his name in a hushed voice, laced with an unreadable emotion.
He jerked his head up, meeting her furrowed gaze.
"You're still inside the casino, aren't you?"
A chill ran down his spine, fingers involuntarily clenching.
Her instincts were as frighteningly sharp as ever.
He had thought he won the final round, but when that "self" disappeared, a nagging doubt settled in.
If that gamble had been a closed loop, then the roulette should have stopped.
But now...
It was still spinning.
He could hear it—
Tick, tick…
Not the rain, but a timer, ticking right next to his ear, urging him to place his bet again.
And then he remembered a saying from the casino:
"If you're still wondering whether you're inside the gamble, it means you haven't won yet."
He hadn't won.
He was still playing.
"I need to go somewhere," Lin Han said, his voice unnervingly calm.
Noya raised an eyebrow, taking another slow sip of her drink before nodding. "Where?"
Lin Han stood, casually tossing a few bills onto the table.
"The Snake Temple."
The Snake Temple in Penang—a place where, according to legend, gamblers cursed by fate could glimpse their true destiny.
"You sure about this?" Noya's voice carried a warning undertone.
Lin Han simply met her gaze, unwavering.
"I've escaped death before. This won't be any different."
She sighed, downing the rest of her drink in one go.
"Walau eh, why did I even think you'd just go home and sleep peacefully?"
Shaking her head, she grabbed her coat and followed.
The night wind blew, flickering the temple's incense flames. The dim oil lamps cast long, wavering shadows on the old stone walls.
Standing at the entrance, Lin Han caught a strange scent in the air.
The sour stench of durian, mixed with an oddly metallic hint of blood.
A flash of lightning illuminated the temple's towering spire, revealing the ancient stone tablet standing just beyond the entrance.
Etched into its surface were countless names—some worn away by time, others appearing freshly carved.
Lin Han's gaze drifted downward, scanning the newest inscriptions.
His breath hitched.
There, at the bottom of the list—
"Lin Han"
His name was there.
He was still inside the gamble.
Behind him, Noya exhaled sharply, her face paler than before.
"Lin Han… do you see it?"
He didn't answer. Slowly, he raised his hand, fingertips brushing against the carved letters.
The moment he touched it—
A vision flashed before his eyes.
His own body, lying in a pool of blood.
The Final Round—Or Not?
Darkness wavered at the edges of his vision. A voice, eerily close, whispered:
"You lost."
"Or… would you like to place another bet?"
Lin Han inhaled sharply, his fingers curling into a fist.
This time, he couldn't afford to lose.
This time, he had to win.
Even if it meant betting everything.