September 25, 7:45 PM
After finishing his office work, Yuto started walking towards the station. He remembered Joseph, even though he was badly drunk. He was walking on the streets, thinking about yesterday. He remembered most of it but was only fixated on one thing: Joseph was losing on purpose. Yuto had been a gambler for years, and now he could tell if anyone was losing or winning intentionally. The odd thing was, Joseph was winning the big bets but losing the small ones. The most surprising thing was when Yuto went home last night he found a lot of money in his jacket pocket. The money he had won was in his bag, so whose money was that? Joseph's?
Yuto reached the station and looked for Joseph. He had forgotten to give him his phone number, so now he had no idea how to find him. Yuto sat on a bench and took out his phone to check his gambling app, but surprisingly, his phone wasn't working. It had enough charge, so what happened? "Great, just what I need," he whispered. As he sat there holding his phone, the lights in the station started flickering. Yuto felt a little worried he'd been sitting for an hour and still hadn't seen Joseph anywhere.
9:00 PM
Yuto grew impatient and angry. "That brat I never should've trusted him!" he yelled. Just as he stood up to get on the train, he felt a cold sensation behind him. His body refused to move for a moment. When he turned, he saw Joseph standing behind him.
"Yo, been a while," Joseph said. Yuto furiously approached him, grabbed his suit collar, and yelled, "You idiot! I've been waiting for two hours!" Joseph didn't say anything, simply smiled, and said, "I'm sorry. I had some business to take care of." Yuto gripped him tightly and said, "What kind of business?" The very next thing Joseph said shocked Yuto and made him terrified. "I gambled my wife and daughter. Now they're dead." Upon hearing this, Yuto stumbled back in a hurry and fell to the ground. His hands shook, his face sweated. Joseph stood there, saying nothing—no words, no movement. A dead man looking at another. Yuto got up, managed to calm himself, backed away a few steps, and asked, "Why would you do that?" Joseph looked at him, put his hands in his suit pocket, and pulled out the Joker's card. He held it between two fingers and said, "Shift."
Upon saying this, Yuto and Joseph teleported into a void—pitch-black darkness. As far as Yuto's vision went, he only saw endless darkness. Absolute nothingness. Yuto and Joseph stood face to face—Yuto terrified and scared, while Joseph was calm, like a hunter before pulling the trigger. Joseph took out a bundle of cards and cash from his pocket and said, "Welcome to Death Gambling."
Yuto was scared and terrified but didn't overreact. He calmed down after a while, still standing in the void, his footing somehow keeping him steady. He yelled at Joseph, "What have you done, you bastard? Is this drugs or some illusion?" Joseph walked a bit closer and asked, "Aren't you scared?" Yuto smiled a little and said, "Scared? Of what? Your little magic trick? I know it's some kind of trick—I know it!" Joseph raised his hand slightly and snapped his fingers. The sound echoed through the void. Upon snapping, a table appeared in front of them with two sets. Yuto kept yelling and shouting, demanding to be let out and asking what Joseph wanted. Joseph didn't say a single word. He walked closer, sat on the chair, placed the money and the deck of cards on the table, and said, "The only way you can leave this place is by winning." Yuto somehow mustered the courage to step forward. He didn't fall. An invisible surface held them, but not for long. Yuto came closer and sat down quietly. He slammed his fist on the table and said, "I don't know who or what you are, but I will kill you." Joseph didn't say anything. He pulled out a pistol, placed it on the table, looked at Yuto, and said:
"One game. Two men. One bullet. Each time I draw a card from the deck, you have to guess which card it is. If you fail, you have to shoot yourself. If the bullet fires, you're dead. If not, congratulations—we continue. If you guess it right, you win, and I pull the trigger. Deal?"
After hearing this, a cruel and evil smile appeared on Yuto's face. At this point, he had completely become a gambling addict—the higher the stakes, the more exciting it was for him. Yuto agreed, and they began the game. A gamble to death.
Round 1
Joseph pulled a card from the deck, held it in his hand, and told Yuto to guess. Yuto had completely lost his mind, smiling continuously. In his mind, he was thinking of a possible card. A deck has many cards the stakes were high and risky. One wrong answer, and it was over. But the right answer would lead him out. Joseph said, "Hurry up. We don't have all night, Yuto." Yuto looked at him, eyes filled with confidence. At the brink of death, he still thought of himself as the greatest gambler and took pride in it. "Two of Diamonds," Yuto said. Joseph smiled, didn't say anything, and flipped the card. It was the Nine of Spades. Yuto's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what had just happened. His forehead sweated, his hands shook. He looked at Joseph, but Joseph remained silent, simply passing the gun to Yuto. Yuto, both terrified and excited, held the gun , a classic six-round revolver. He gripped it tightly, pointed it at the side of his head, and at the last moment, he smiled and breathed heavily. Joseph's face showed no reaction. He simply waited for Yuto to pull the trigger. Yuto screamed loudly and pulled the trigger. A blank. He survived. Joseph smiled at him and said, "Look at you. How pathetic. You really think you can win just because you survived?" Yuto slammed the gun on the table and said, "I will. I can. I always win I always win. Just wait and watch!" His endless gambling addiction had made him crazy. He told Joseph to begin the second round. Joseph sighed. "Fine then. If you want death, then death it is." He smiled and passed the cards to Yuto.
Round 2
Joseph pulled a card. Yuto guessed. He failed again. He held the gun, pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. He survived again.
Round 3
The same game repeated, but only Yuto was enjoying it. Joseph's face had no reaction no smile, no guilt. A dead man staring into nothingness.
Round 4
Before beginning, Yuto told Joseph to stop for a moment. Joseph asked, "What happened?" Yuto said, "Soon, one of us will die. I need to know something." Joseph was completely shocked after hearing that one of them would die. Yuto still believed he could win, but Joseph knew nothing would change the outcome. Joseph said, "What do you want to know?" Yuto leaned back and said, "Where are we? Is this some kind of illusion?" Joseph hesitated. Giving any information was forbidden not by the system, but by someone else. Yuto asked again, but Joseph remained quiet.
"Well, I guess I'll never find out. Too bad I can't play this game with you again," Yuto said. Joseph lost his temper and yelled, "You bloody fool! You still think you can win, huh? Well, too bad only one more round, and you'll drop dead!" Yuto laughed and said, "Bring it on! As long as I'm breathing, I have endless possibilities to win!" Joseph furiously took a card from the deck and yelled, "Say it!" Yuto slammed his fist on the table and yelled, "Jack of Hearts!" Joseph flipped the card. It was the Queen of Clubs.
Yuto leaned back, eyes wide open and terrified. After a moment, he said, "No... No, it can't be. I didn't win a single round." Joseph crushed the card in his fist and said, "You fool. It's a game where you can never win even if you play it infinitely. It's a false game, just to toy with someone before killing them. So far, I've played it with many, but you were the first to survive this long." Yuto said, "So the next round will kill me?" Joseph looked away and said, "It took you this long to figure it out." Yuto smiled at him and said, "Thank you." Suddenly, he grabbed the gun, pointed it at Joseph, and pulled the trigger. Joseph had no time to react or dodge.
Upon pulling the trigger, a shot fired. The gunshot echoed through the void. The moment felt cold. Joseph, still sitting in his seat, didn't flinch or move. The gun was blank it had no bullets. The whole game was a setup, a false gamble. So, where did the gunshot come from?Joseph watched as Yuto was shot in the head from behind. Someone had shot him. But who? Yuto's body became lifeless. The gun fell from his hand and sank into the void.
Behind Yuto, a man stood. Darkness covered his face as he approached. The light from the table didn't reach him. He came close and said, "I hate people who don't play fair." Joseph, looking at Yuto's body, said to the man, "He was playing fair." The man replied, "Don't try to defend him, Joseph. I know you got emotionally attached to him that's why I warned you not to get too close. I knew he'd do something like this." Joseph watched as blood covered the table. He didn't say a word just stared at Yuto's lifeless body. The man snapped his fingers, and Yuto's body began sinking into the void. A lifeless corpse falling into nothingness. The man turned and said, "Remember, Joseph. Your job is to bring me the targets I give you. Don't get emotional while you're on a job." Joseph nodded. The man left . A shadow disappearing as if it had never been there.
[System - Next Sinner Located]