Lukas appeared in the corridor outside his bunk room, blinking in surprise.

The conductor had sent him back. That had to mean the other players in the vault room had also been teleported to their room, instead of killed.

He stood there for a moment, orienting himself, then knocked on the door in the agreed pattern.

The door opened before his knuckles had finished the sequence.

Melody and Akira were both awake and dressed, and their eyes were alert. They hadn’t slept one wink since he left.

"Well?" Akira asked.

"I won."

They pulled him inside simultaneously, and for a moment the room was full of noise as they threw their hands around him, squealing in delight.

He accepted both hugs, returned them, and then extricated himself and moved to the table.

He reached into his spatial ring and set the Fate Key down on the table.

Melody and Akira looked at it as they sat beside him. A frown appeared on their faces. This was not what they’d been expecting.

"That’s it?" Melody said.

"That’s it," Lukas confirmed.

Akira picked it up, turned it over. "It looks like something you’d find abandoned in a haunted house or something." She set it back down. "And what kind of rank is Null?"

They all looked at each other but no one had an answer to that question. This was the first time they were hearing of Null rank. The only ranks they knew were five.

Awakener, Adept, Elite, Expert, and the new Saint rank.

"The description says it changes your fate," Melody said slowly. "But how? Under what conditions? What does changing your fate actually mean in practice?"

"I don’t know," Lukas said.

Melody frowned at the key, but no matter how long she stared, the description didn’t change.

Lukas sighed, picked it up, and put it in his spatial ring. Now that the key was in their possession, they had all the time in the world to figure out what it could do.

"Did you find the person the quest told you to?" Melody asked.

Lukas sighed. "I didn’t."

"I guess this quest is a failure," she said. "But at least we got the Fate Key out of all this."

"We haven’t failed the quest yet," Akira said. "We still have time before we arrive at Salaria in the evening. Maybe we’ll find the person then.

"Maybe," Lukas nodded. Then he reached into his pocket and set Trent’s spatial ring on the table.

Akira raised an eyebrow. "Where did that come from?"

"A player I fought in the game." He didn’t elaborate. "Let’s see what’s inside."

They retrieved the contents and began working through it.

When they were done, they had three categories of things remaining on the table.

The money, which was quite a significant sum. Trent was richer than he looked. But judging by the fact that he’d wagered so much when they’d first met, Lukas wasn’t so surprised.

He also had a few Awakener ranked [Items] worth keeping.

And they’d also decided to keep a single Deadly Draw deck, which Lukas explained to Akira and Melody. They decided to play a game in the morning.

Everything else went back into the ring, which itself held no value to Lukas. It held the same space as the one Lukas had.

After sorting out everything, they went to sleep.

***

In one of the rooms inside the train, a cloaked man had been pacing for the better part of an hour.

He could barely see in the darkness, but his mind was on far more important things than that.

He checked the pocket watch at his belt, a feeling of dread settling in his chest as he realized it was time.

He reached into his spatial ring and produced a mirror, setting it flat on the table before him.

He stepped back and waited.

The surface of the mirror rippled, the reflection dissolving and darkness spreading from the center until the glass held nothing but black.

"I wish mercy onto you, brother." The voice that came from the darkness was low and deep.

"And I carry it, as it should be." The cloaked man completed the exchange without hesitation, the words automatic from long practice.

"Report," the darkness said.

The cloaked man was quiet for a moment, hesitating.

"I failed."

Silence filled the air. The cloaked man’s hand trembled but he quickly forced it under control.

"Explain." The voice emerged from the darkness.

He exhaled. "I reached the final round, but there was a player, a [Thief], who bypassed the puzzle entirely. He reached the vault door before anyone else and opened it without a key."

He paused. "He claimed the Fate Key before I could reach it."

The darkness did not respond immediately. When it spoke again, the voice had dropped further.

"I arranged for the conductor to offer the Fate Key as the prize for this game specifically. I diverted resources, called in obligations, and ensured the opportunity was placed in front of you."

Another pause. "And you failed to take it."

"I know."

"Punishment will be administered."

"Wait." The word came out faster than the cloaked man intended, his voice filled with panic. "I— I have a solution!"

"The player who took the key is still on the train. He has to disembark at Salaria." He kept talking before the mirror could respond, hoping to save his own life. "I can retrieve the key when he steps off. On the platform. Before he has time to establish himself in the city."

The darkness paused for a few seconds.

"You had one task," it finally said. "And you’re asking me to extend your window."

"I am asking for the chance to correct my failure," the cloaked man said. "The key has not left our reach yet."

Another silence, longer than the others.

"Do not fail again," the darkness said.

The mirror’s surface rippled once, and the reflection returned.

A second later, after verifying the darkness was indeed gone, the cloaked man collapsed onto his knees in relief.