onabebesh

When quiet, observant Noah Imai is selected in a twisted version of his city, he’s forced into a series of brutal survival games—each tied to a playing card. Spades test strength. Hearts test trust. Diamonds test logic. Clubs test chaos.

Each win earns time. Each loss means death.

But as Noah rises through the ranks, he begins to suspect there's more to the game—hidden rules, missing players, and a force watching from behind the curtain. To survive, Noah must do more than play.

He must outwit the deck itself.

The Card Trials

He was led beneath the atrium—through a corridor that felt older than the rest of the game. Stone walls. Torches flickering. This was no glitch or illusion. This was real.

At the end stood three figures, cloaked in black and red.

A tall man with silver rings on every finger.

A woman with a half-mask and a sword across her back.

And in the center, Lark—Queen of Spades.

"Noah," she said, lounging on a stone throne, "you passed a 3♦ with zero hesitation. Impressive. Dangerous."

"You're not one of the bleeding hearts," she went on. "But you're not like us yet either. That… can change."

The masked woman spoke next. "We want you in the next Club round. It's multi-player. Team-based. But no team survives intact."

The silver-ringed man added: "We've seeded agents inside. You'll follow orders."

Lark grinned. "Think of it as… auditioning for royalty."

But the system didn't care what she wanted.

She opened her palm to reveal the card pulsing inside it now.

When the game pulled her in, she didn't scream. She just held her breath—and hoped the next players wouldn't try to break her the way the last game had.

Twelve players appeared in a chamber made entirely of mirrors. Walls. Ceiling. Floor. An endless kaleidoscope of shifting reflections.

In the center: a glass table with twelve masks—each marked with a symbol: Sun, Moon, Wolf, Snake, Flame, Eye, and more.

A screen above them glitched to life:

> WELCOME TO 4♣ – "The Mirror Room"

– EACH PLAYER MUST SELECT A MASK.

– YOU MAY NOT REMOVE YOUR MASK DURING THE GAME.

– FALSE ANSWERS WILL RESULT IN INSTANT DEATH.

– HINTS MAY BE TAKEN… AT A PRICE.

They stood across from each other—neither recognizing the other just yet.

> A FACE CARD PLAYER IS AMONG YOU. TRUST WISELY.

Whispers. Panic. The seed was planted.

Now all they had to do was survive each other.

Noah recognized her before she saw him.

> Same stance. Same haunted look. The girl from the Hearts board.

He didn't say anything. Neither did she.

Instead, they were paired in the second puzzle chamber—tasked with solving a shifting logic grid projected onto the mirrored floor. It required perfect coordination, spoken directions, and trust.

As they worked, she finally asked, "Do I know you?"

But something in his voice told her he was lying.

Noah had been given an earpiece before the game began. It now clicked on.

> "Eliminate the girl in the Flame mask before the third room. She's unstable. She won't last long-term."