The void beneath him did not ripple. It did not echo.
It simply accepted.
All around him, the floating cards pulsed with silent hunger.
Their sizes, shapes, and energies were as varied as dreams themselves.
He walked past the first few slowly, absorbing what they were.
đŤ ăCALLOUSED HANDS [F]ă
'Your grip strengthens slightly. You can now carry heavier loads without pain.'
Its card was small, dull-brown, and hovered ankle-high like an abandoned coin.
đŚ ăFLICKER FLAME [E]ă
'Conjures a brief spark. Enough to light a candle⌠or a hope.'
It glowed faint orange. A candle flickered within its glassy surface.
đŚ ăBALANCED STEP [E]ă
'You won't trip. You won't fall. You might even dance.'
It floated upright, like a street sign stuck mid-air, humming a tune no ear could hear.
đŞ ăIRON PULSE [D]ă
'Reinforces your muscles for 6 seconds. Enough to break a bone. Or save a life.'
This one was heavier, darker, rotating slowly in place like it had its own orbit.
đŞ ăSOUNDLESS STRIKE [D]ă
'Your next movement makes no noise.'
A ripple of silence surrounded it â even the void around it seemed quieter.
He stopped walking.
So many cards. So many powers.
Each one pulsing like a waiting heart.
His eyes narrowed.
"If I can only choose fiveâŚ"
"âŚwhy not look through hundreds first?"
He took a breath.
"System⌠is there any way to take them but not choose? Like⌠I don't know. Save them for later?"
There was no flash.
No voice.
Just⌠presence.
The panel unfolded again in front of him, thin golden lines curving like vines across an invisible screen.
[ You may command unbound cards to accompany you. Observe. Rotate. Whisper. ]
[ But they cannot activate unless bound. ]
[ Consider it⌠keeping a deck of shadows behind you. ]
[ But know this: Unchosen cards are aware. They are not passive. Some want to be wielded. Others⌠want to wield you. ]
He blinked slowly, the meaning settling in.
"A deck of shadows... huh."
He turned his gaze to the spinning cards again.
Their lights pulsed.
And he swore⌠one of them looked back.
"So cards have ego huh...."
He kept walking.
Past the cards. Past the glowing shapes that called to him.
He didn't stop to touch. Didn't stop to read.
Just walkedâfaster, deeperâlike something far away was pulling him.
The further he went, the fewer cards there were.
The colors dimmed.
The lights thinned.
The silence grew heavier.
Here, in this part of the void, only a few cards floated.
Far apart. Like forgotten stars.
And then⌠he saw it.
Something golden.
It wasn't just glowingâit was shining.
Like a small sun trapped in a card.
Not flickering. Not rotating.
Just⌠waiting.
It hung still in the air, far above the others.
Big. Elegant.
Wrapped in thin rings of light that moved slowly around it.
His breath caught.
He didn't know whyâbut he knew it wasn't like the others.
He took a slow step forward.
đ¨ăLORD OF THE COINS [S]ă
Color: Molten gold, etched with ancient currency sigils that shift like liquid logic.
Size: Towering.
Aura: Authority. Domination. Weight.
The air around it vibrates softly, like counting machines ticking through the world's ledgers.
Passive Abilities:
â Currency Perception: You can sense any form of value within a 200-meter radiusâphysical, digital, or conceptual.
â Value Instinct: You can intuitively assess the monetary worth of objects, ideas, and people.
Active Skills:
â Economic Pulse: Detect upcoming shifts in markets, demand spikes, inflation trends.
â Monetary Dominion: Influence transactions within a range; suppress, or redirect money flow.
â Greedcraft: Bind lesser wills through wealth. Even kings can bow to coin.
Hidden Trait:
â [LOCKED â Requires Binding Fusion]
"A lord who rules over coin... may one day rule over the hearts that chase it."
[ You've found one. And it⌠has found you. ]
[ One of the ancient Lords. Not of blade. Not of fire. But of currencyâthe only true god in a corrupted world. ]
[ Bind it⌠if you dare. ]
The card loweredâjust slightly.
Like a crown⌠acknowledging the one bold enough to wear it.
"Big...."
"Lord of the coins...."
The card hovered above him, impossibly stillâyet undeniably alive. Its golden light was heavy, rich, casting shadows that seemed to stretch infinitely in all directions.
Even the white emptiness of the void dimmed around it.
It wasn't just shiningâit was watching.
~
The air around him changed.
The silence thickened. The space behind him felt... aware.
He swallowed and whispered, barely audible, "FâFollow... I'm not gonna choose this early..."
A bead of sweat slid down his temple, even though the void held no heat, no pressure, no wind.
It wasn't the place that made him sweat.
It was the feeling of being seen.
Seen by something that could bend the world just by existing.
The moment the word left his lipsâ
The card moved.
Not fast. Not loud.
Just moved.
Downward. Then back. Then behind him.
It didn't chase.
It followed.
Like a crown waiting to be earned.
Or a lion stalking beside its chosen ruler.
It hovered behind him nowâquiet, patient.
Waiting.
[ 'Lord of the Coins' have acknowledged your will ]
And it had obeyed.
He didn't look back.
Instead, his lips parted again.
"System... the time is frozen here⌠right?"
A soft pulse flickered in his spine, like a tiny bell vibrating through bone.
[ Affirmative. All temporal threads beyond this chamber are suspended. ]
[ Your biological state is paused. Your body in the physical realm is within a suspended mental interfaceâimperceptible to others. No heartbeats lost. No moments missed. ]
[ Within this plane, time is relative only to your choice. Seconds here may be days out there⌠or none at all. ]
[ However⌠decisions made here will echo eternally outside it. ]
The words fell like chimes in a cathedral that had forgotten sound.
He was safe from the clocks of the world...
But not from the weight of consequence.
He looked ahead.
The void stretched further. The cards were fewer nowâspaced like stars at the edge of a dying galaxy.
The silence was no longer empty.
It was waiting.
And deep within himself, he felt itâ
Even this S-rankâŚ
Even a Lord of the CoinsâŚ
Was only the beginning.