The Card Trials

CHAPTER TEN: The Gauntlet

Noah – The Spade Throne Room

The return corridor felt colder this time.

The torches didn't flicker.

The Spade Chamber waited—no audience, no guards, just the throne, and Lark upon it. Still. Dagger across her lap.

She didn't rise when Noah entered.

She simply said:

> "You were told to remove her."

Noah didn't flinch. "I made a call."

"And calls," she said softly, "have consequences."

The room darkened as the other two Face Cards entered—King Riven of Spades, tall and serpent-quiet, and the Jack, masked, never speaking.

Riven's voice was silk and steel.

> "Is she useful to you?"

"I don't know yet," Noah said.

"Then you gambled."

Noah didn't respond.

Lark stepped down from the throne. She approached until her breath warmed his cheek.

"You're not here to play god," she said. "You're here to become something else. A piece we can use."

Noah stared at her. "I'm not your piece."

She smiled. "That's what they all say. Until we start removing parts."

She stepped back.

> "Your punishment will be handled inside the next game. You're seeded into 5♠ – The Gauntlet."

She threw a card at his chest.

He caught it.

> 5♠ – "THE GAUNTLET"

– BEGIN WITH 3 LIVES.

– OBSTACLES WILL STRIP A LIFE.

– FINAL SECTION IS ONE-ON-ONE. ONLY ONE MAY EXIT.

– INFLICTING A LOSS ON ANOTHER PLAYER ADDS ONE LIFE TO YOUR TOTAL.

– REACH ZERO, AND YOU DIE.

---

Reina – The Lobby

She hadn't seen Noah since the Mirror Room.

His face haunted her thoughts. The lie he gave her to survive. The trust he threw away for her sake.

And now she had drawn again.

The card shimmered in her palm:

> 5♠ – "THE GAUNTLET"

She didn't want to run again.

But the system didn't care.

---

The Gauntlet – Arena One

Players dropped in fast—like chess pieces from the sky.

Twenty of them.

All armed with collar counters showing a glowing "3" on their necks.

No explanations. No time.

A horn blew.

The walls shifted.

> Giant moving blocks. Spiked corridors. Falling panels.

Obstacle Course From Hell.

Reina ran.

Dodged.

A man beside her misjudged a fall—landed on steel rods.

> Collar dropped to "2."

She kept running.

Noah moved like a shadow—calculated. Controlled. Not helping. Not harming. Yet.

---

Arena Two – Trap Maze

Reina was forced to team up with a girl named Mira—lightweight, fast, clearly ex-military. They navigated a shifting grid of motion-activated spike tiles. One wrong move, and…

> A player leapt the wrong square. Spikes impaled him midair.

Noah, meanwhile, ran with Jackal—a tall, brutal former gang enforcer with no allegiance. He smiled as he pushed another player into a collapsing stair trap.

> Noah didn't stop him.

But he didn't push, either.

Still watching. Measuring.

---

Arena Three – The Final Corridor

Only seven players remained.

Each with different life totals.

> Noah: 4 lives

Reina: 2 lives

Jackal: 5 lives

Mira: 1

And three others…

A new message appeared:

> FINAL SECTION: 1-ON-1. PAIRINGS INITIATED.

ELIMINATE YOUR OPPONENT TO ADVANCE.

NO SECOND CHANCES.

Pairs flashed across the air.

Reina's opponent: Mira.

She staggered. "No—she's my ally—"

The corridor shifted.

Steel walls rose.

Reina and Mira were alone.

---

Reina vs Mira

Mira's face was cold.

"I have one life left. You have two. You'll survive. I won't."

Reina tried to speak—but Mira charged. No time.

> Grapple. Blood. Sweat. Screams.

It ended with Reina pinning her, shaking, sobbing, begging her to yield.

Mira only said: "Do it. Please."

And Reina…

Did.

---

Noah vs Jackal

Jackal was laughing as he approached.

"Four lives. You play soft, Eye-boy. I've killed four already."

Noah didn't respond.

Jackal lunged.

> Fight: raw, brutal. No tricks. No riddles. Just fists and bone.

Noah lost one life early—Jackal slammed him into the wall.

Then another.

Down to two.

He grabbed a pipe—smashed it into Jackal's knee.

Another gone.

Down to one each.

> Noah whispered: "I'm not your piece."

He snapped the pipe in half—and stabbed it through Jackal's throat.

The collar blinked:

> +1 Life

---

End of Game

The room opened.

Only three players walked out:

– Noah: 2 lives

– Reina: 1 life

– A boy neither recognized, pale and watching them both.

> 5♠ COMPLETE. CARDS AWARDED. RANK ADVANCED.

As they walked, Reina turned to Noah.

"You let him live last time," she said. "You didn't today."

Noah looked at her.

"I didn't know you then," he said.

"Do you now?"

He didn't answer.

But this time… he didn't look away.