My name is Ayaan. I am just a normal boy.
Or at least… I was.
Three days ago my life changed completely.
Right now I am sitting inside a small prison cell. The walls are dirty and the air smells bad. The light above my head keeps blinking again and again.
I never thought my life would become like this.
"I didn't do anything…" I said quietly to myself.
But nobody believed me.
Outside my cell, the guards were talking and laughing loudly. One of them stopped and looked at me.
He smiled in a cruel way.
"Kid," he said, "get used to this place. You are not leaving anytime soon."
Then he walked away.
His footsteps slowly disappeared in the dark hallway.
Silence returned.
I felt angry and sad at the same time.
Suddenly lightning flashed outside the small window.
For a second the whole room became bright.
And that was when I saw something strange.
There was a loose brick in the wall behind my bed.
I frowned.
"Was this always here?" I wondered.
Slowly… I walked toward it.
My heart started beating faster.
I pushed the brick with my hand.
The brick moved.
Then suddenly—
Thud.
Something fell onto the floor.
I stepped back in surprise.
It was a small black box.
The box looked old and dusty, like it had been hidden there for many years.
"Who put this here?" I whispered.
Carefully, I opened the box.
Inside was a deck of playing cards.
But something about them felt… strange.
They were shining a little in the dark.
Almost like they had magic inside them.
"That's weird…" I said softly.
I slowly picked up one card.
And the moment my fingers touched it—
Something crazy happened.
A blue light suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.
I jumped back in shock.
"What the—?!"
Words started appearing in the air.
[Card System Activated]
My heart started racing.
I rubbed my eyes quickly.
"Am I dreaming?" I whispered.
But the blue screen was still there.
More words appeared.
Name: Ayaan
Level: 1
Title: Beginner Card User
My mouth opened in shock.
"What is this system thing?"
Before I could understand anything—
One card slowly floated up from the deck by itself.
It was the Joker card.
The card started glowing with a strange light.
New words appeared on the screen.
Ability Unlocked: Lucky Trick
I stared at the card in disbelief.
These were not normal cards.
These cards had power.
Real power.
For the first time since I came to this prison… I smiled.
Maybe my life was not over.
Maybe this prison was not the end.
Maybe…
It was the beginning.
I looked at the Joker card in my hand and whispered,
"Maybe one day… I will become the King of Cards."
But at that moment…
I didn't notice something terrifying.
The Joker card in my hand slowly moved.
And for one second—
The Joker on the card… smiled.