The Black King's Gambit

The sky above the Grand Arcana Academy was a sea of ink, scattered with distant stars. Midnight winds carried the faint scent of old parchment and lantern smoke, whispering through the labyrinthine corridors of the ancient fortress.

Noir Vale moved through the dimly lit halls, his footsteps silent against the polished obsidian floors of the House of Spades' inner sanctum.

He wasn't heading to his dorm.

Not yet.

Caius's warning still echoed in his mind.

"The Executors are watching."

It wasn't surprising. The moment he shattered Caius's sigil, the academy had shifted. The instructors watched him with measured scrutiny. Students whispered behind his back—some in admiration, others in quiet fear.

He had broken a rule no one thought could be broken.

And now the game was changing.

Noir exhaled softly, stepping into one of the academy's abandoned training halls. The room was vast—pillars of black stone stretching into the shadows, sigils of ancient card-wielders carved into the walls. This was where past students had honed their craft.

And tonight, it would be where he figured out what the hell was happening to him.

Testing the Ace of Spades

Noir extended his hand, summoning his Card Sigil.

A dark glow flickered above his palm—the Ace of Spades, sharp and distinct. Unlike other students' sigils, which burned bright with elemental hues, Noir's was like a void—pulling light inward rather than emitting it.

He flexed his fingers. The power-negation effect was clear. When he fought Caius, a single touch had unraveled his connection to the Arcana Codex, rendering his magic useless.

But…

Was that all?

Noir narrowed his eyes. He needed a real test.

His gaze drifted to the training dummies lined up across the hall. Most were infused with enchantments—designed to absorb magic attacks, counter, or adapt to students' abilities.

Perfect.

Noir flicked his wrist. The Ace of Spades' sigil flared.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then—

The space around him wavered.

Like ink bleeding into water.

Noir's breath caught. The training dummy in front of him—its sigil shattered before he even touched it.

He hadn't negated the magic.

He had consumed it.

A sudden rush flooded his veins—a sharp, electric pulse, like raw magic coiling beneath his skin.

His vision blurred.

His pulse quickened.

This wasn't just power negation.

It was absorption.

And before he could even react—his body moved on its own.

Unleashing a Second Ability

Noir flicked his hand forward.

The magic he had just stolen erupted from his palm—but it didn't return as the original spell.

It came out as something else.

A black, spectral flame roared to life, twisting unnaturally in the air. It wasn't fire, not in the traditional sense. It didn't crackle or spread like normal flames. Instead, it coiled and flickered, devouring everything in its path.

The instant it touched the training dummy, the enchanted wood and cloth collapsed into dust.

Noir's heartbeat thundered in his chest. He clenched his fist, snuffing out the lingering traces of the black flames.

He hadn't just absorbed magic.

He had converted it.

Transformed it into something unnatural.

His ice-blue eyes flickered as he exhaled.

"...Interesting."

The True Power of the Ace of Spades

Negation was only the beginning.

What if he could steal magic and twist it into something else?

What if the Ace of Spades wasn't just the card of ruin—but the card of reinvention?

A quiet chuckle escaped Noir's lips. So that's why they called it a cursed card.

Because if he could erase, consume, and reshape power itself…

Then he wasn't just a threat.

He was an anomaly that shouldn't exist.

"You look like a man who just figured out how to cheat the system."

Noir turned at the sound of Selene's voice. She stood at the entrance of the training hall, arms crossed, crimson eyes alight with amusement.

Noir smirked. "I thought Spades liked that kind of thing."

Selene strode forward, her silver hair catching the dim glow of the torches. "We do. But there's cheating, and then there's rewriting the rules entirely."

Her gaze flickered to the smoldering remains of the training dummy. "...And something tells me you're doing the latter."

Noir didn't confirm or deny it.

Selene tilted her head, studying him. "You know, the Executors aren't the only ones interested in you."

Noir raised an eyebrow.

Selene grinned. "There's a Fifth House. One that doesn't exist on academy records."

Noir's expression darkened. "...The Suit of Void."

Selene's smile didn't fade. "You catch on fast."

She leaned in slightly, her voice dropping lower. "You should be careful, Vale. There are some people who really don't want you figuring out what you are."

Noir met her gaze, his own unreadable. "And you?"

Selene smirked. "Me? I love watching chaos unfold."

She turned to leave but paused at the doorway. "Oh, and one last thing."

Noir waited.

Selene's crimson eyes gleamed. "The Executors are here."

Then she was gone.

Noir exhaled, rolling his shoulders. The game had just gotten more interesting.

The Ace of Spades was more than just a cursed card.

And soon, he would prove it.