"Exactly, but that doesn't mean you die instantly. If I load a bullet, I'll spin the barrel at random. One bullet, one in five chance you die. Two bullets, two in five… and so on."
"Until I have a loaded gun, and one mistake becomes a true death sentence."
"So those are the death cards. What about my life cards—the ones I wrote 'I'll live on'?" she asked with a smile, sliding a card on its side before turning it. Then she flipped another.
A twisted gamble that paid off—both read I'll live. They weren't a pair, but they were as good as one.
"Then I'll take a bullet out of the revolver—if there isn't already one in it…" He loaded one anyway.
Swssss.
He spun the chamber, standing with a smile as he waited for it to stop. Then he brought the gun to his temple. "Then it's my turn to play Russian roulette."
Click.
Qiren spun the gun again after its hollow click. "What a shame. I'm still here," he said as a wave of relief washed over him. "That's bad news for you—the game continues."
"So you risk being shot too if I get two life cards. Bad matches add a bullet, and death cards make it possible for you to shoot me whenever," Missy summarized, flipping the unmatched cards before picking two more at random.
Two sevens of spades.
Her eyes lit up, unable to believe her luck.
"Whoa, would you look at that. Lady Luck must be on my side." She gestured toward the small stack beside the bullets. "You still haven't told me what those cards are for."
She pointed at them..
"It's the penalty deck," he said. "Filled with all the lettered and named cards—K, J, Queen, King, and Joker."
Her ears perked up at the word penalty. "What kind of penalties?"
"I haven't finished setting them up yet. Nor did I say you could start playing, mind you."
Eh.
Wait—didn't he say I could play? Missy froze mid-card. No. He started explaining the rules, and I started fidgeting with the cards.
"Yeah… you didn't. My bad. How about we treat this as a practice round?"
"That was my intention in letting you continue," he said, sweeping his arm across the desk and erasing her progress. "But don't worry. The real game will start shortly. I just have some penalties to deal with, my lovely contestant."
He took her hand and kissed it.
"Hasn't anyone told you how much of a flirt you are?" she teased, holding his palm. "We haven't even known each other that long, and you're already kissing me. At least take me to dinner first~"
He released her fingers and looked her directly in the eyes. "If you win, I'll consider it."
"Really? Then I'll have to make sure I win," she flirted back, moving dangerously close to his lips before winking and pulling away. "I'll take you straight home afterward—for some home cooking, of course. Nothing naughty on the first day. Unless you own a cool bike."
He ignored the last comment, wondering if it really was that easy to get her pants off.
"It's been a while since I've had home cooking. As for a bike, I can work something out as a bonus treat for my number-one fan—if you survive one of my games before I make it to the big screen," he chuckled. "I'll sign it too, so you can show all your friends."
Missy clapped her hands. "What model? An M1 Road Hog? A BKC? Or a Hot Ride with off-road tires?" Her excitement shot through the roof, treating him like some wish-granting deity who had stumbled into her life.
"Who knows. I'll have to steal it first. If you couldn't tell, I don't think I'd be allowed in a dealership anytime soon," he said, walking over to the penalty cards. "For now, let me finish setting things up. Then we'll talk afterward."
He took a deep breath. Clearing his mind.
In the demon realm, I had found a way to create talismans.
A medium. Spirit fragments. Qi, karma, and intent.
Using a medium I had a high connection with—such as Abyssal Ash—I formed a thick structure for my talismans, allowing me to add spirit fragments. Those fragments painted the framework of my creativity, which could be molded with Qi, karma, and intent.
I made sigils to mark my intentions: a heart, a yin-yang, and the Abyss Awakening formation were my most developed.
By shaping the compression talisman into a heart, I could form a mental gateway in the flow of Qi forced into it—a faucet controlled by my spirit fragments, opening and closing at my will, sending minor compression at a controlled pace.
The other talismans followed the same rough structure.
Now he wanted to try that same method on the cards before him.
He opened his eyes, turned a card over, and studied the image.
Then he closed them again. I was used to applying emotions, Qi, and karma to my talismans—finding new ways to use my Dao and rift affinity—but rarely had I used memories.
What would happen if I tried applying memories to my talismans?
Qiren thought of how he had sent all his memories into his soul and revived on another version of Earth. If he hadn't done that, who knew what would have happened to him?
Because of that, he wanted to explore that aspect of his abilities more—now more than ever.
And he would start with the memories he now had in excess.
...
Author's Note:
I know, I know… I'm blue-balling you with these short chapters. 😅 But don't worry—I'll be posting another one in a few hours!
In the meantime, I'd like to direct your attention to a novel I've been teasing that's officially released:
Astral Immortals: Digital Path of Cultivation
Hope some of you who are still looking for a thrill will head on over!