The morning sun stung my eyes as I scrambled out of bed. My heart was already racing, the adrenaline from the night before still buzzing in my veins. I didn't look at the window; I looked at the wall.
The crack was there. A jagged, spiderweb fracture in the plaster where the 2 of Hearts had struck. Itwasn't a dream.
"Crap, crap, crap," I hissed, grabbing a "Captain Celebrity" poster from my desk and frantically taping it over the damage. I was barely four—explaining how I'd localized a demolition zone in my bedroom was not a conversation I wanted to have with my parents this early in the morning.
I sat back on my bed, breathing hard. The night before, when that Joker laughed and the card turned into a kinetic ball, something had shifted inside me. Ifelt... full. Like a vessel that had finally been plugged into a power source.
I closed my eyes and focused. I didn't just want to see the cards; I wanted to know them.
Manifest, I thought.
Slowly, a weight materialized in my palms. It wasn't just one card. It was a heavy, spectral stack that shimmered with a digital, holographic glow. The Infinite Deck. As I fanned them out, the information flooded my mind, categorizing itself into the language of the game I used to play.
I sat on the floor, spreading the spectral cards out. They didn't feel like paper; they felt like concentrated possibility.
1. The Standard Suits (Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, Spades)
These are my "Ammo."
* Two to Ace: In Balatro, these determine your base score. Here, they represent the magnitude of force. An Ace is a heavy hit; a 2 is a flick.
* The Suits: For now, they have no elements—just pure force. But I can feel it; eventually, Hearts might heal, or Spades might pierce.
2. The Planet Cards (The Scalers)
These don't attack. They level up my hands. In the game, they increase "Mult" and "Chips" permanently for specific poker hands.
* Earth (3x): Levels up Full House.
Using these makes my "Full House" attacks significantly more destructive.
* Venus (2x): Levels up Three of a Kind.
* Mars (1x): Levels up Four of a Kind.
* Jupiter (1x): Levels up Flush.
* Saturn (1x): Levels up Straight
* Pluto (1x): Levels up High Card. (The weakest hand, but the easiest to play).
3. Tarot Cards
* The Empress (3x): Enhances two selected cards into Mult Cards. Each of these cards adds +4 Mult to your total whenever they are scored.
* The Fool (2x): Creates an exact copy of the last Tarot or Planet card you used during this run.
* The Magician (1x): Enhances two selected cards into Lucky Cards. Every time these are played, they have a 1 in 5 chance to grant +20 Mult and a 1 in 15 chance to earn you $20.
* The High Priestess (1x): Grants you up to 2 random Planet cards, which can be used to permanently level up your hand strengths.
* Justice (1x): Enhances one selected card into a Glass Card. This provides a massive x2 Mult boost, but it is fragile; there is a 1 in 4 chance the card will shatter and be destroyed forever after it scores.
* The Chariot (1x): Enhances one selected card into a Steel Card. As long as this card is held in your hand and not played, it provides a x1.5 Mult bonus to your scoring hand.
4. The Jokers
Floating beside the deck were three distinct, grinning figures—the primary modifiers of my power.
*Joker: The baseline. A reliable, straightforward source of power that provides +4 Mult. It's simple, effective, and forms the foundation of my scoring.
*HalfJoker: A specialist's tool. This provides a significant +20 Mult, but only if my played hand contains 3 cards or fewer. It rewards precision over brute force.
*IceCream: A powerful but melting asset. It starts by providing a massive +100 Mult, but every hand I play causes it to lose -5 Mult, slowly melting away until its power is gone.
5. Spectral Card
* The Spectral Card: Wraith (The Rule Breaker)
This card doesn't just glow; it vibrates with a jagged intensity. It feels heavy, cold, and fundamentally "wrong"—like a lingering bug in the code of the universe that was never meant to be accessed.
The Function: It manifests a Random Rare Joker and grants an immediate x1.5 power spike to your output.
The Cost: It is a desperate gamble. Using it triggers massive physical exhaustion and locks your Quirk entirely for 3 days. It is the "Nuclear Option," used only when the alternative is total defeat.
I stared at the Wraith card. It pulsed with a faint, eerie purple light. My hands shook slightly. I wasn't just a kid with a "transformation" or "emitter" Quirk. I was a walking, breathing engine of probability.
I looked at the poster covering the crack. If a 2 of Hearts with a basic Joker could do that, what would a Flush leveled up by Jupiter do?
"Takeru-kun! Breakfast!" Aina's voice drifted from downstairs.
I dismissed the deck. The cards dissolved into digital motes and flowed back into my skin. I had to act normal. I had to be a toddler who didn't know how to "double his mult."
But as I headed for the door, I realized something. My Quirk didn't just give me power; it gave me a job. I am a gambler now, and the stakes were the lives of my family.
"Coming, Mom!" I yelled, putting on my best innocent face.