After sharing a quiet, heartfelt dinner with his mother and checking in on his sister one last time, Logan finally returned to his room, knowing that this would be the last moment of normalcy he would experience for a long time.
Tonight marked a turning point in his life. Tonight, he would leave Earth behind and step into the Vast Expanse.
He stood alone in the dimly lit room, the faint glow from outside barely illuminating the space, while excitement simmered beneath the surface of his otherwise calm expression.
His heartbeat was steady, but his mind was anything but. The room itself was painfully simple, almost empty. A single narrow bed rested against the wall, its sheets neatly folded with care rather than comfort in mind.
There were no posters, no decorations, and nothing that suggested a teenager truly lived here. It was the kind of room that told a story without words, one shaped by survival instead of warmth.
Logan exhaled softly and glanced at Sage, who stood quietly nearby.
"Alright… let's go, Sage," he muttered, recalling him back into his card form without hesitation.
The nightmare dissolved into light and vanished, leaving the room silent once more.
Logan placed the card away and lay back on the bed, his hands resting at his sides as his eyes fixed on the ceiling. He waited patiently, listening to the slow rhythm of his own breathing as time crept forward toward the inevitable moment.
Midnight.
That was the rule carved into every Walker's fate.
After forming a successful nightmare contract, every Walker would be summoned to the First Expanse precisely at midnight. There were no delays, no loopholes, and no exceptions.
Logan was painfully aware of that fact, and as the seconds passed, he counted each one with quiet anticipation.
The instant the clock struck twelve, the world folded in on itself.
There was no sound and no warning. One moment, Logan lay on his bed, and the next, his body vanished from the room as if it had never existed at all.
When he opened his eyes again, Logan found himself standing within a vast white space that stretched endlessly in every direction. It reminded him strongly of the Bridge he had experienced before.
Despite the unsettling familiarity of the place, he did not panic this time. Instead, his gaze sharpened as he carefully scanned his surroundings.
"Where is she…?" he muttered quietly.
Before he could take another step, a sudden flash of light appeared in front of him. The glow condensed rapidly, forming a tiny figure that hovered effortlessly in the air.
She was small, barely the size of his palm, with delicate features. Her presence felt strange and unreal, as though she existed halfway between reality and something far beyond it.
"Greetings, human," the tiny being said, her voice was clear and calm. "I am a guide. Before you enter the First Expanse, I will awaken your battle mode."
Logan straightened immediately, his posture sharpening as his full attention locked onto her. He had heard of guides before. They were beings responsible for overseeing Walker transitions, but seeing one in person made the situation feel undeniably real.
The guide floated closer and gently tapped the back of Logan's left palm. A sharp warmth spread across his skin as a beautiful symbol etched itself into his flesh, glowing softly before the light faded and the mark settled into a dormant state.
"This is your Mark. You may store your cards within it. By tapping the mark and focusing your thoughts on the Vast Expanse, you will be able to enter your race's designated zones."
She paused briefly, allowing the information to sink in, before continuing.
"It also activates your battle mode."
Logan nodded slowly, absorbing every word without interruption.
Battle mode was a temporary transformation unique to each Walker, a state in which the human body partially synchronised with the nightmare they had contracted.
When activated, the Walker's physique and abilities would change accordingly, granting enhanced strength, speed, perception, and other attributes depending entirely on the nature of the nightmare they commanded.
However, that power was never free.
Battle mode placed immense strain on the body and could not be maintained indefinitely without consequences.
"I understand," Logan said quietly, his voice steady and resolute.
"One last thing," the guide said, her attention shifting toward empty space, as though she were reading something invisible that only she could see. "Let me check if you have any innate ability that needs to be activated."
Logan waited quietly.
The next moment, the guide's voice exploded through the white space.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Logan turned toward her, his expression calm and composed.
"Hmm? Are you all right, ma'am?" he asked, his tone carrying mild concern rather than alarm.
"You… you have awakened the Wheel of Fortune!" the guide shouted, her voice filled with disbelief. "How is that even possible? Someone from such a low race being chosen by it? Why would it acknowledge you? This makes no sense at all!"
She continued rambling to herself, barely aware of Logan's presence as she tried to reconcile what she was seeing. Only after several moments did she finally calm down. When she looked at him again, the shock in her eyes had been replaced with unmistakable interest.
"The Wheel of Fortune is one of the rarest innate abilities a being can awaken. It is an ability that even higher races consider mythical."
She gestured lightly, and the endless white space shuddered in response.
"As the name suggests, it manifests as a wheel engraved with multiple abilities, and each one is absurdly powerful, to the point of being capable of breaking the world itself. Whosoever awakens it is granted only a single opportunity to spin the wheel.
One spin. One ability. Whatever the wheel lands on becomes yours permanently."
Logan remained silent as he listened, committing every word to memory.
"Call it forth in your mind. It will respond."
Logan followed her instructions without hesitation.
The air in front of him distorted violently, as though reality itself were being peeled apart, and a moment later a massive golden wheel materialised within the white expanse, hovering in complete silence.
Countless inscriptions lined its circumference, each one emanating a suffocating pressure that made it clear none of them were ordinary abilities.
Logan did not need to read them to understand that every single one was completely unreasonable.
Just then, a translucent system window appeared before his eyes.
[You can spin the wheel three times.]
Logan stared at the message for a brief moment before reading it aloud.
"WHAT?!"
"Three times?" the guide shouted. "Do you have any idea how absurd that is? The Wheel never grants more than one spin. Never, under any circumstances."