Backdoor Connections

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Lux sat on the couch looking outside as his muscles ached, and his hands were still tingling from the last burst of electricity he had unleashed.

He exhaled slowly, watching the way the wind carried the embers into the sky. Life was a deck of cards, wasn't it? You could shuffle, stack, and play your hand as carefully as you wanted, but in the end, luck still played a role. Some people were dealt aces, their lives lined with privilege and ease, while others got stuck with a losing hand from the start.

He had never believed in destiny. If fate existed, then it was a cruel dealer, giving power to people like Jay while throwing people like him and Chloe into constant survival mode. But the thing about a deck of cards? It wasn't just about the hand you were dealt—it was about how you played it.