Chapter 243
Thor!? (2)
IAM couldn't even move. All he could do was sit there, staring at the screen in stunned silence as his cards were pulled one by one, the digital shuffle mocking him with each cruel draw. Beside him, Reuel cackled like a madman.
His soulless gaze dropped to the swelling number of cards now in his hand on the screen. His fingers twitched slightly as he processed what was in front of him as bleak didn't even begin to describe his expression. He looked like a man who had seen the bottom of the abyss... and found more cards waiting there.
Henry placed a card down with a shake of his head and a knowing grin. "Couldn't be me," he muttered. Yohan followed next with a slight wince, dragging a Wild +4 across the screen before releasing it like it pained him to let go of it so early. IAM turned slowly to look at Reuel, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.
When IAM saw the stunned look on Reuel's face, something stirred in him. His lips quivered, just slightly—an involuntary twitch threatening to become a grin. But he caught himself. Not yet. He forced his face back into its neutral mask, biting down on the urge to laugh.
Reuel, meanwhile, sat completely silent, staring at the +4 card.
Suddenly, a snort escaped Reuel's lips—too fast to stop...
IAM's body stiffened instantly, he involuntary immediately clenched his ass as if bracing for impact. A single bead of sweat rolled down the side of his forehead, it trailed slow and cold. He didn't dare meet Reuel's eyes.
Reuel leaned in like a predator catching a wounded prey, licking his lips slowly. "Heeeeey IAM," he drawled, his voice honeyed with sympathy. "I'm just wondering… after picking up all those cards, you actually got some smoke?"
IAM shivered involuntarily. He didn't answer. He couldn't. Silence was the only defense he had left.
Reuel's smile widened and with a casual swipe, dropped another +4 on the pile. IAM didn't watch. He couldn't. He only heard the ominous sound of cards being dealt. Eight more.
"No smoke, huh," Reuel said softly,..
Just like that, they played for a while—with IAM sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss. Each round chipped away at his sanity. His hand had become so large it needed scrolling. Reuel was humming to himself like a man possessed. Henry kept tossing out cards with a determined expression. And Yohan, despite his quiet nature, was suspiciously lucky.
Then, as he placed down a colour change card with a thoughtful hum, Yohan casually asked, "So what were you doing? I thought you only had an appointment... but you came back so late. And in a completely different outfit?"
IAM looked up, his face was hollow like a war veteran reliving the trenches. He looked forty years older, spiritually crushed and emotionally wrung dry. He blinked slowly, letting the question process. After a long pause and a glance at his pile of cards, he exhaled.
Thinking it over, he realised... there wasn't much of a point in lying. So after a bit of contemplation, he decided to tell the truth.
As Reuel casually placed down a yellow card, IAM spoke, "I did go to the therapist appointment. There was nothing wrong there. It was actually afterwards..." He trailed off, staring blankly at the mountain of cards in his hand. With a dead-eyed numbness,he reached for the deck—he still didn't have the right colour.
"I was actually supposed to meet up with someone—"
Reuel cut in immediately, grinning. "Wait, wait, hold on—you actually know other people? I didn't know you had friends."
IAM didn't even blink. The insult rolled right off him like rain off glass. He was too mentally damaged to retaliate. Instead, he simply continued speaking, just as Henry placed down a +2 without a word.
"After a bit, they offered to take me home in their truck—" IAM began, only to be cut off again by Reuel.
"Did your parents not teach you not to get in random people's cars? Wait... Needing a shower... Change of clothes... Coming home late…" Reuel's voice started rising, his face twisting with horror. "Wait a minute!"
IAM didn't even glance at him. He was already too far gone emotionally to humour the interruption. As Yohan calmly dropped a colour change card, IAM continued flatly, "And as he was bringing me back here... you wouldn't believe what happened."
"I don't know if I even want to know," Reuel said, recoiling slightly, his expression aghast, like he was bracing himself for some horrible revelation.
"We actually saw a massive car chase between two groups of cars, and they were being followed closely by the police. My friend's connected to the government and is a master-level ascender, so they decided to interfere."
As IAM spoke, Reuel—locked in a growing crisis—faced a brutal plus four, courtesy of two stacked plus twos.
In a panic, he slapped down another plus two with both desperation and glee. IAM's face twisted in silent disgust as the punishment was redirected toward him. Without a word, he picked up the towering stack of cards fate had dealt him.
He exhaled, then continued, "Long story short, we followed them to a warehouse that belonged to a gang called La Blanca. They're currently at odds with Los Chloros, who are apparently trying to expand into the higher sector. My friend said they'd investigate further—there's probably more going on than it looks like."
Reuel's head snapped up. "You actually know someone in the government? Who are they? Are they famous? No—they have to be, they're a master-level ascender!"
"What's their name?" Henry asked, clearly intrigued as he placed down a card, keeping his eyes on IAM.
Yohan sat back slightly, a sly smile spreading across his face as he glanced at the two cards in his hand. Without a word—without even bothering to say "una"—he placed both down in one smooth motion. They were a matching color. A legal move, thanks to the discard-all card.
Before anyone could process the sudden end of the game or complain about the lack of a warning, IAM leaned back in his seat and said casually, almost offhandedly, "Oh… his name is Thor."
The room fell silent.
Like—deafeningly silent.
For a long, stunned moment, no one spoke.