Consciousness returned slowly, like surfacing from deep water.
The first thing Judas registered was warmth from a comfortable, enveloping heat that made him reluctant to fully wake. Then came the weight pressing against his chest, rhythmic and gentle. Finally, the familiar scent of vanilla.
Sera...?
His eyes opened to early morning light filtering through his apartment's thin curtains, painting everything in shades of grey and gold.
Sera was sprawled across him like a starfish claiming territory.
One arm draped possessively over his torso, the other tucked beneath her cheek. Her purple hair spilled across his chest in a tangled mess that caught the morning light. The oversized hoodie she'd manifested had ridden up during the night, exposing a dangerous amount of pale stomach and the curve of her hip where the fabric bunched.
She was completely, utterly out.
Judas blinked, processing this with the sluggish confusion of someone who'd barely slept. His guide...the terrifying SSR-rank entity who could disintegrate vines A rank opponents with a single finger, was now drooling on his shirt.
She... sleeps?
The realization settled over him with a strange weight. In his mind, Guides had always been different; Always alert, ready and well… awake.
But here she was, breathing softly against his chest, completely vulnerable. His cheeks grew hot as he studied her face. Without that mischievous smirk or knowing look, she seemed younger.
I've never seen her like this before.
Her build was deceptively delicate beneath the baggy clothes. Small shoulders. Narrow wrists. The kind of frame that suggested she'd snap like a twig if someone looked at her wrong.
And yet he'd watched her create barriers that stopped A-rank attacks. Seen her move with speed and grace that defied physics. Felt her casual strength when she'd pulled him upright after the Marcus fight.
The contrast was... disorienting.
Where does she even go when she disappears? The question surfaced unprovoked. Does she have a place? People? Or is she just... waiting in the void until I need her?
He made a mental note to ask her later.
Carefully, trying not to disturb her, Judas attempted to sit up.
Sera made a small noise of protest, her arm tightening around him reflexively. The movement caused the hoodie's neckline to slip even further, revealing the black lace of her bra and the generous curve of—
Nope. Not looking. Absolutely not.
His face grew even hotter.
Last night's memories slammed into his consciousness with devastating force. Her hand around his cock. The desperate relief. The way she'd looked at him afterward with that all knowing smile.
I let her—we—oh God. I kissed her.
"Stop spiraling," he muttered to himself. "You're going to give yourself a panic attack before breakfast."
He managed to stand up carefully without waking Sera.
She mumbled something incomprehensible, rolling onto her side and immediately claiming his pillow as a replacement.
The hoodie rode up further, exposing the full curve of her hip and the edge of pink sweatpants that hung dangerously low.
Judas grabbed his own blanket and threw it over her before his brain could finish whatever thought it was attempting.
She's your guide. She's helping you. That's it. Nothing else.
The lie tasted bitter even in his own head.
He stood beside the bed, running both hands through his hair hard enough to hurt, trying to ground himself in something that wasn't the memory of vanilla and desperate hands and—
[DAILY LUCK: 5/10]
The notification materialized directly in front of his face, cold and impersonal.
[SPIN OR DIE.]
"Right." Judas exhaled slowly, squaring his shoulders. "Morning ritual. Got it."
He didn't bother moving to another room. Sera was out cold anyway, and the slot machine would appear wherever he was.
"Yeah, okay. Let's do this."
Purple light erupted beside his bed, coalescing into the familiar obsidian machine. It materialized with less fanfare than usual. Just a soft hum and the quiet mechanical whir of reels waiting to spin.
Judas grabbed the lever without ceremony.
No big deal right?
He pulled.
The reels spun with hypnotic speed, symbols blurring into streaks of color.
[ABILITY: I CAN'T STOP WINNING! - ACTIVATED]
The notification flashed bright enough to make him wince.
[ERROR - JACKPOT COOLDOWN IN EFFECT (6 DAYS)]
Right. Because of Amelia's quest completion.
[CALCULATING NEXT HIGHEST REWARD...]
The machine shook as it spun. Judas watched with the detached curiosity of someone too tired to care about probability.
CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.
All three reels locked into place simultaneously.
Three purple hearts made of fire.
[S+ RANK SPIN - SUCCESS!]
Judas blinked. "S... plus?"
That was new. That was very new.
[DO YOU WISH TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE, JUDAS CROWN?]
He stared at the notification, processing the question slowly.
I can... refuse? So quests are only mandatory when I hit a jackpot then.
[Y/N]
That changed things. That changed everything.
If he could turn down rewards, he could avoid quests. Could maintain some semblance of control over this insane system that had hijacked his life.
His hand moved toward the "NO" option almost automatically.
Then he stopped.
His gaze drifted back to Sera, still sleeping peacefully under his blanket. Then to his phone on the nightstand, where Amelia's last text glowed on the lock screen.
When the next major quest hits, when the system forces another jackpot on me... will I be strong enough to handle it?
The Marcus fight flashed through his mind. The way his ribs had cracked. The taste of blood. The certainty that he was about to die.
And Sera. Always Sera. Protecting him. Healing him. Keeping him alive because he was too weak to do it himself.
If I can get stronger now, on my terms, maybe I won't be so fucking useless when it matters.
Maybe he could protect the people who kept choosing to stand beside him.
His hand hovered over the "YES" option.
This is probably stupid. This is definitely stupid.
He selected it anyway.
[QUEST PENDING...]
The interface flickered violently, text corrupting and reforming in rapid succession. Static crawled across his vision like digital insects.
[SHE IS LOOKING FOR YOU.]
Pain lanced through his skull, sharp and immediate. Judas clutched his head, staggering backward as the notification glitched harder.
"What the—"
[LEAVE SAFE ZONE NOW.]
The words solidified, clear and commanding.
[REWARD: 50 SP, 350 XP, S-RANK PASSIVE ABILITY (UNDISCLOSED)]
[PENALTY: USER WILL LOSE ALL OWNED SP AND 1 LEVEL]
"Lose all—" Judas's stomach dropped. "Are you serious?"
Fifty SP was massive. Game-changing. He needed it to unlock new abilities and bets… But losing his current thirteen and a level meant gambling everything on success.
High risk. High reward. The story of my fucking life.
[LEAVE SAFE ZONE NOW.]
The notification pulsed with increasing urgency, each flash driving another spike of pain through his temples.
Judas glanced back at Sera one more time.
She was still completely unconscious; One arm now wrapped around his pillow like it might escape. Her face was peaceful in a way that made his chest ache.
I can't keep relying on her to save me. I need to be able to handle things on my own.
He grabbed his hoodie from where he'd discarded it last night, pulling it on as quietly as possible. His phone went into his pocket. Keys. Wallet with his ID and the single crumpled five-dollar bill he had left.
Everything a man needed. Judas paused at the bedroom door, looking back one final time.
Sera hadn't moved. Still sleeping. Still vulnerable in a way that made him want to stay and simultaneously need to leave.
I'll be back before she wakes up. Probably. Maybe.
He opened the door and stepped into the living room, closing it behind him with a soft click.
Too late to back out now.
Judas reached for the front door.
His hand hesitated on the knob, every survival instinct screaming at him to turn around. To wake Sera. To not walk blindly into whatever the glitching system was demanding.
But if I don't get stronger... what's the point?
He opened the door.
The morning air hit him like all at once, cool and colorful with that particular Vegas desert quality. The sun was barely cresting the horizon, painting the sky in shades of amber and rose.
Beautiful, if you ignored the sense of impending doom.
[OUT OF SAFE ZONE.]
[HEAD TOWARDS SECTOR 7.]
Sector 7. Where he was at when he was given the system… The Strip.
The system has a sense of humor.
"I'm already regretting this," Judas muttered, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets and starting down the street.
The walk toward the Strip was surreal in how mundane and normal everything seemed.
Cars passed by with the steady rhythm of morning traffic. A woman jogged past with her dog, earbuds in, completely oblivious to the fact that a death game participant was walking to his probable doom three feet away.
The world kept turning. People kept living. Nobody knew or cared that Judas Crown was currently gambling with his life because a cosmic slot machine told him to.
Just another Tuesday in Las Vegas.
His phone buzzed.
Amelia's name lit up the screen.
Amelia: Good morning my love.
Judas's mouth curved upward.
Amelia: I know we don't have classes until tomorrow but council stuff has me so busy!
Amelia: Come sweep me off my feet and take me far away from paperwork and presentations...
She's so dramatic.
Amelia: Seriously though, I doubt I'll be able to see you until Tuesday... They have us traveling to Henderson for a fundraising event.
His smile faded slightly.
Three days. He'd have to handle whatever this quest was without seeing her. Without that anchor of normalcy that came from her ridiculous texts and even more ridiculous possessiveness.
Probably for the best. If something goes wrong...
He didn't finish the thought.
Instead, he typed out a response, thumbs moving across the screen with more confidence than he felt.
Judas: Hey. Thank you for letting me know. I've been thinking about you. Why don't we go on a date Tuesday? Catch up and stuff.
He hit send before he could second-guess the wording.
The response was immediate and explosive.
Amelia: Oh my God! YES! I LOVE YOU! YES!
Amelia: Nothing makes me happier than you thinking about me <3
Amelia: Please... never stop thinking about me. Always look at me. I love you Judas Crown.
Heat crawled up Judas's neck, spreading across his face in a way that had nothing to do with the morning sun.
She's so intense. So completely, utterly intense. We aren't even official yet.
But he'd asked for this. Had pursued her through that quest and taken her virginity. The obsession and the love and the attachment comes with it.
No regrets. You chose this. You chose her.
His mind flashed to Sera, still sleeping in his bed. The memory of her hand around him. Her breath against his ear.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Guilt and confusion warred in his chest.
He typed quickly, needing to end this before his brain spiraled further.
Judas: It's hard not to think about you Amelia. But I have to go now. Be safe on your trip :)
Without waiting for a response, he shoved the phone back into his pocket and picked up his pace.
The Strip loomed ahead, neon still visible even in morning light. Towering casinos reached toward the sky like monuments to excess and bad decisions. The Luxor's pyramid. The Eiffel Tower replica. The roller coaster wrapping around New York-New York.
All of it familiar. All of it now tinged with the knowledge that underneath the tourist trap exterior, things like the Gambler System existed. Death games. Supernatural combat. People like Marcus who could turn money into weapons and Evie Ashford who trafficked Players for profit.
And I'm walking right back into it.
Judas passed a group of hungover tourists stumbling back to their hotel, still wearing their club wristbands from last night. One guy was carrying his shoes, walking barefoot on Vegas concrete in a decision he'd definitely regret later.
At least my bad decisions are more interesting.
[APPROACHING DESTINATION.]
[SHE SEES YOU.]
Judas's steps faltered.
She? Who—
[SHE IS COMING CLOSER.]
His head whipped around, scanning the street with sudden urgency.
Morning crowds were starting to form with casino workers heading to shifts, early-bird tourists, street performers setting up their spots. Dozens of people moving in every direction.
Any one of them could be—
Then he saw her.
No fucking way.