[ Rule 0: You were already chosen before you arrived. ]
Zekai's face darkened.
So before he even grabbed this coat, before he even entered the store—the entire thing had already been decided. This wasn't an accident. It was a pre-calculated abduction.
[ Rule 1: No Return. ]
'Sounds like a scam merchant policy,' Zekai thought.
[ Rule 2: No Escape. ]
'...From what?'
Then, his eyes stopped.
[ Rule 3: DON'T FEAR. ]
Zekai stopped reading and exhaled slowly.
The words felt different from the others. The ink had been carved deeper into the page. Zekai stared at the line silently.
'…Don't fear.'
The sentence didn't feel written. It felt enforced.
The paper had nearly torn under the pressure of the ink.
Without realizing it, his fingers tightened around the paper. This wasn't a warning. It was a final testament from someone who had learned the truth too late.
He continued reading.
[ Rule 4: BE IMPOSSIBLE. ]
Zekai scoffed. 'I'm already doing that.'
It wasn't advice. It was a requirement for survival.
[ Rule 5: Trust your instinct. ]
'That's just laziness from whoever made this.'
[ Rule 6: Formulate. ]
He frowned. '...Formulate what? A plan? Or something else?'
At the bottom:
[ End of Rules — End ]
No explanation followed.
Zekai stared in silence before looking back at the deck.
"Who writes rules like this?" he muttered. "It's telling me I'm already trapped."
No return. No escape.
'Great. Sounds like a horrible vacation.'
Then his eyes caught another line buried at the edge.
[ The God Messenger ]
The title hung there without context. Below it, a system restriction appeared.
[ Limit: Arcana users must pre-select a set number of cards each day. Once used, the cards fade and cannot be reused until rest. ]
Zekai blinked.
"...Arcana?"
The word felt strangely familiar. It felt like a locked memory trying to claw its way out of his brain. He stared at the deck. 'So what... magic tricks? Symbols to scare people?'
Then he noticed something else.
The bottom portion of the paper had been torn away completely. The rip was fresh and deliberate.
Zekai's eyes turned razor-sharp.
'...What?'
Crucial information was missing. Someone had removed it intentionally. But why? And more importantly—who read these rules and tore the paper away before he arrived?
Aron walked back over. "Mr. Zekai, what are you reading?"
"Nothing useful," Zekai said, his face turning blank as he folded the parchment. "Just useless information."
He shoved the paper back into the box and dropped it into his coat pocket.
'Whatever this thing is, I'll decide when to use it.'
'I'm not obeying a piece of paper blindly.'
He had enough problems. He wasn't going to trust a cursed deck of cards.
But the world didn't care about his choice.
Just then...
THUD!
A deafening explosion of sound rocked the courtyard.
Without warning, the massive stone gate behind them slammed shut. The heavy iron bars ground together, sealing the exit completely.
Both of them reflexively twitched. The impact exploded through the courtyard like a shockwave, forcefully sealing them inside.
They turned immediately. A low metallic echo resonated across the ruins.
Every instinct screamed to run toward the exit, but witnessing the shifting reality around them, they couldn't take a single step forward. Fleeing blindly would only get them killed.
Zekai pressed his lips into a hard line. He didn't have any answers right now. He couldn't tell whether the closed doors were a trap or if the system text was an absolute promise.
[The Hunt has begun.]
Zekai didn't want to go deeper into the palace. But at the same time, he knew the answers to this place were waiting somewhere ahead.
With bitter reluctance, both of them slowly stepped forward.
Aron's shoes scraped against broken stone as they entered the palace hall, the sound echoing far too loudly in the dead silence.
The inside was worse.
The moment they crossed the threshold, it felt like the outside world stopped existing entirely. They entered a massive throne hall. Parts of the ceiling had collapsed, and thick dust endlessly drifted through the air.
Long crimson banners hung from the walls, torn apart and faded with age, swaying softly like ghosts whenever the wind moved through the chamber.
At the far end stood a giant throne. It was cracked directly down the middle. Broken stained-glass windows scattered fragments of colored light across the floor.
"This place gets worse the deeper we go," Aron said quietly.
He wasn't wrong. Every step made the atmosphere heavier. At this point, even Zekai had no idea what would happen next.
Aron unconsciously tightened his grip around the stone card. "Mr. Zekai..." Aron whispered, trembling. "What kind of kingdom was this? And what the hell destroyed it?"
"I'm wondering the same thing," Zekai said flatly.
Ancient kingdoms usually fell for two reasons: an outside invasion or internal corruption. But this place felt different. This wasn't a war. It wasn't a natural disaster. It felt like someone had destroyed this entire world on purpose.
The longer Zekai stared, the heavier his chest felt. The air was suffocating.
"I really don't like this place."
Zekai silently agreed. If anything—it felt like things were only beginning.
Then—he froze.
A voice reached him. Not through the air. Inside his head.
—Use the card.
A voice that didn't pass through the air. They were simply... already there.
Zekai stopped mid-step. "Aron," he said slowly, "do you hear anything?"
Aron frowned immediately. "No. I don't hear anything."
Zekai's eyes narrowed. Then it wasn't sound. It was directed strictly toward him. Again and again, strange anomalies kept targeting him alone. The glow, and now the voice. None of this was random anymore.
Then, something flickered in front of his vision.
Not outside. Directly before his eyes. For a second, he thought it was another distortion in the air. Then, it stabilized.
A thin layer of crimson surfaced over reality itself.
"…What?"
The screen didn't appear suddenly. It felt like it had always been there—and Zekai had only now remembered where to look. Text bled across the crimson surface.
It was unreadable for a fraction of a second. Then, it snapped clear.
[ OBSERVATION — ACTIVE ]
Subject: Zekai Krystan
State: Unaligned
[ External Influence Detected ]
Source: Unknown
Intent: Unknown
[ Anomaly — Pending ]
His breath paused. His throat suddenly felt dry.
His body reacted before his thoughts did.
"…Again?"
He didn't look away from it. "Aron."
"Yeah?"
"Do you see anything in front of me?"
Aron blinked. "…What?"
"This."
Keeping his voice steady, Zekai slowly raised his hand and pointed in front of himself. His fingertip stopped just short of touching it. The surface didn't react. It didn't feel real, but it absolutely existed.
Aron stepped closer carefully, squinting at the empty space. "…Zekai? There's nothing there." His voice lowered. "…Are you okay?"
Silence filled the throne hall.
'So only me. Of course.'
Zekai returned his gaze to the screen. The text flickered once, then changed.
[ External Input Detected ]
Directive: Present
— "You've been holding it this whole time… and still pretending you have a choice?" —
Zekai's expression remained calm. But his fingers tightened slightly.
The red screen dimmed slightly without disappearing. The air around him suddenly felt thinner, as if even sound itself had stepped away.
It was waiting. It was watching.
It didn't need to explain anything else.
Zekai slowly exhaled. "…Yeah. This just keeps getting better."
Then, the voice returned. It was clearer this time, echoing directly inside his skull.
—Use it.
A heavy pause followed. Then—
—Or you die.
The words sank straight into his chest.
The deck felt warm.
Crack!
Dust drifted from the ceiling. Something was walking.
A sharp cracking noise echoed somewhere nearby. It was too sharp. Too unnatural.
Aron turned his head immediately, his body rigid. "Mr. Zekai... something behind us moved."
Zekai closed his eyes briefly before exhaling once more.
"...What a pain."
Death itself wasn't what unsettled him. This was different. It felt like the ending had already been written, and he had only been handed the script.
Something in this place didn't follow normal rules.
"Mr. Zekai..." Aron's voice trembled violently. "We should leave. Right now."
Swish!
Something shifted at the edge of his vision.
It was too fast to follow. It definitely wasn't the wind.
The spectator phase was over.
Something here had already decided what he would become.
✦ End of Chapter 4 — The Chosen Rules ✦