Chapter 67: HERETIC
<hr>
Through the mask, I peered with mounting anxiety. Unsure of what I''d see, I remained motionless as my eyes adapted to the view—the names and statuses of each Jingozi in the tribunal came into focus.
Xh*qr [Paradox Dealer]
Tier: 7 [Black Diamond] Rank 2
Faction: Jingozi [Order]
Vly*th [Paradox Dealer]
Tier: 7 [Black Diamond] Rank 4
Faction: Jingozi [Light]
Tz*r [Paradox Dealer]
Tier: 7 [Black Diamond] Rank 3
Faction: Jingozi [Light]
Kz*hr [Paradox Dealer]
Tier: 7 [Black Diamond] Rank 5
Faction: Jingozi [Chaos]
Qn*l [Paradox Dealer]
Tier: 7 [Black Diamond] Rank 6
Faction: Jingozi [Dark]
Zh*yrn [Paradox Dealer]
Tier: 7 [Black Diamond] Rank 8
Faction: Jingozi [Dark]
Lk*th [Paradox Dealer]
Tier: 7 [Black Diamond] Rank 7
Faction: Jingozi [Dark]
Yr*xl [Paradox Dealer]
Tier: 7 [Black Diamond] Rank 9
Faction: Jingozi [Light]
Frr*yx [Paradox Dealer]
Tier: 7 [Black Diamond] Rank 10
Faction: Jingozi [Chaos]
Thz*k [Paradox Dealer]
Tier: 7 [Black Diamond] Rank 11
Faction: Jingozi [Order]
Jhl*n [Paradox Dealer]
Tier: 7 [Black Diamond] Rank 12
Faction: Jingozi [Order]
Dr*zx [Paradox Dealer]
Tier: 7 [Black Diamond] Rank 13
Faction: Jingozi [Chaos]
Above each Jingozi''s head, glowing text materialized in the darkness. Names I couldn''t fully pronounce appeared first. Each bore the title "Paradox Dealer" beneath their name, but they were all different ranks, with the highest in the front of their formation.
Rank 1 was noticeably absent.
Jingo was the lowest-ranked by far, with a name I didn''t even try to pronounce. They clearly didn''t believe in vowels.
Kll*th [Prophecy Dealer]
Tier: 7 [Black Diamond] Rank 91
Faction: Jingozi [Light]
After more adjustment, shimmering rainbow columns materialized around me, their translucent surfaces casting prismatic light in every direction. It was like a cathedral built by advanced aliens on psychedelics.
Light pulsed between the columns like neural pathways in a vast cosmic brain. Each beam split into mosaic patterns too complex for my mind to process. The network stretched endlessly upward and outward, creating an infinite lattice-work of connections.
When I shifted my gaze, the perspective warped. What looked like a straight column from one angle became a spiral staircase from another. Following any path with my eyes led to impossible loops and intersections. The harder I tried to make sense of the space, the more it defied logic.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Whenever I blinked or moved my head, the entire structure reconfigured itself. Up became down, inside became outside. This must have been what Pipp meant by existing in multiple dimensions simultaneously. The mask translated the higher-dimensional reality into something my brain could barely attempt to process. The result was still overwhelming—beautiful and terrifying at once.
The Jingozi froze in their positions, their masks tilted at various angles as they stared through their rainbow-lit eye sockets. The silence stretched uncomfortably as we faced each other in the bizarre dimensional cathedral.
All hell broke loose.
"BLASPHEMY!" shrieked one.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" howled another.
Their unified formation dissolved as several broke away, swooping and swirling through the rainbow columns like agitated bats. Their black cloaks glitched and rippled with impossible geometries as they flew.
"The vessel speaks madness!"
"We should execute—"
"SILENCE!" commanded the highest-ranked Jingozi, Xh*qr. The others ceased shrieking and returned to their positions, though their cloaks still writhed with agitation.
"Vessel," Xh*qr''s voice resonated through the dimensional space. "Repeat what you just said."
Before I could speak, they erupted again.
"We cannot allow—"
"This defies all proto—"
"The dimensional barriers—"
"ABOMINATION!"
I clenched my fists, sick of being talked about like I wasn''t even there. These beings weren''t the omnipotent force I''d been led to believe. They were arguing like politicians in a debate.
Yet, their disarray gave me an odd confidence. I took a deep breath and projected my voice through the mask.
"I said Alphathir!" I bellowed. "The god who created you all."
"We recognize no such name," they all seemed to hiss at once.
"Like hell, you don''t. Alphathir, the god who will destroy all other gods."
"HERETIC."
"Wrong again," I spat. "I think the word is PROPHET." I screamed the name Alphathir again for good measure.
The dimensional cathedral itself pulsed in response to their collective outrage. Several Jingozi broke formation again, their masks flashing with rapidly changing colors as they swooped through the rainbow columns.
This is either working, or I''m so dead right now.
I turned to Jingo, who remained still through it all.
"Well, Jingo, what do you think?" I asked. "Are we having fun yet?"
No response.
"Earth to Jingo?"
Jingo remained catatonic, with only the tentacles of its cloak continuing to writhe.
* * *
After what had to have been an eternity of Jingozi squabble, they returned me to my quarters. I took off my mask to make the room stop spinning. Peering around the luxurious room, my heart skipped a beat.
Jingo stood motionless in the center foyer.
"Um, Jingo?" I said, approaching cautiously. "Hey?"
No response. The rainbow lights in its eye sockets had dimmed to a dull flicker.
I waved my hand in front of its mask. Nothing.
Pacing the room, I took inventory of everything I''d observed. On the positive, I wasn''t dead… yet. But something was wrong. The other Jingozi had utterly lost it when I mentioned Alphathir, but Jingo hadn''t reacted a smidge. It was like someone hit the off switch.
After my fifth lap around the room, I stopped in front of Jingo again. His mask gleamed in the dim octranite light, and the intricate alien patterns carved into the metallic surface drew me in. Curiosity took over.
My hand moved almost on its own, reaching toward Jingo''s face. My fingers were inches from the smooth surface when—
The room vanished. I stood once again in the obsidian arena, surrounded by the tribunal. But the chaos from before had vanished. They floated silently in perfect formation, all looking directly at me. An eerie calm replaced the wild energy that had filled the space earlier.
I suddenly felt very alone and vulnerable.
"Hey, why isn''t Jingo here?"
"You have won the tournament," they all spoke in unison. "You have been granted your prize. We will return you to your dimension."
"About time," I huffed. "That''s it? Just like that?"
"Yes, but—"
"I knew there was a but coming…"
"Release and return the Jingozi deck to us."
That didn''t sound right at all. After all that I''d seen and learned, especially what happened to Katorro after he surrendered his deck. What would my vessel do without a Jingozi deck after I was gone?
"We permitted you to play the game with our card deck," the Jingozi continued. "You fought well and earned the highest prize. We designed it to show the factions of this dimension your potential. Well done, Ember."
I raised an eyebrow. Something was off.
"Do you accept?" they asked.
"Give me a minute," I raised my hand.
"Consider carefully, champion," one of them said. "You''ve achieved what you wanted. Return home. Leave this dimension''s troubles behind."
Another chimed in, "Your life awaits you. The poker tables, your fans, your comfortable existence."
Where was this sudden generosity coming from? Something was definitely off.
"And all I have to do is give up my deck?" I crossed my arms.
"A simple trade. Your deck for your freedom."
An image of Katorro''s withered form after surrendering his deck flashed in my mind.
"Ember-san," the Shogun''s voice interrupted. "Remember our agreement."
"If you designed this deck for me," I said, ignoring him, "tell me what power cards I have."
The circle went silent.
"That is irrelevant," one finally spoke. "The deck has served its purpose."
"Humor me," I pressed. "You created it, right? Should be easy to list off the power cards you gave me."
More silence. The rainbow lights in their eye sockets flickered erratically.
"Unless..." I grinned. "You didn''t design this deck at all."
"The offer stands," they said in unison, voices tight with tension. "Your deck for your return."
"And if I tell you to go fuck yourselves?"
"You are trapped here in this dimension forever."
It made sense now—my deck wasn''t physical cards they could just take. It was part of my inventory, bound to me. I''d be as good as dead otherwise. They were trying to trick me into willingly giving it up.
"Nice try," I said. "But I think I''ll keep my deck."
The Jingozi enclosed, their cloaks writhing with barely contained anger.
"You do not understand what you are refusing," they hissed.
"What about Overlord Edric''s deck?" I asked. "If he had power cards you didn''t give him, why didn''t you take his?"
The Jingozi went so still that it was like the air pressure in the room had changed. My ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton balls.
Something else clicked—the Shogun was right. Edric was like me—another vessel with power cards. But unlike me, he must have struck some bargain. Or he took over the Emperor faction on his own. That''s why he was still here. But where did Edric, of all maniacs, get his cards from?
"You''re scared of him, aren''t you?" I said.
More silence. But this time, it felt different—heavier and charged with danger.
In poker, a bluff catcher is a mediocre hand that can only beat a bluff. It''s when you know your opponent is acting strong to hide weakness, like holding rags while pretending to have aces. I''d seen it a thousand times at the tables—the more aggressive someone acted, the more likely they were bluffing.
This tribunal reminded me of amateur players wearing sunglasses at the table. They thought the shades made them unreadable, but classic tells like bouncing legs, twitching hands, and voice changes gave everything away, just like these Jingozi douchebags hiding behind their masks and dimensional technology.
It all reeked of insecurity, like how dogs bark the loudest when terrified. When amateur players puff up and get aggressive? That''s when they''re most vulnerable. If they legitimately had the power to kill me, they would''ve done it already instead of trying to convince me to give up my deck willingly. Something… or someone, was holding them back.
If anybody was the real danger, it was Overlord Edric. He was the one playing a monster hand. The Jingozi were oblivious, even foolish. But I saw it. And at this moment, I had the bluff catcher in my hand—the truth about their fear of Edric and inability to take my deck.
But to call this bluff, I''d have to risk everything. In poker terms, I needed to push all my chips to the center of the table. One wrong read, and I could lose it all.
"My answer is no," I said firmly. "I''m keeping my deck. And while you''re at it, go fuck yourselves."
I gave them two middle fingers and spun around. Was it childish? Absolutely. But it was the best I could do to hide my terror.
The Jingozi whispered to each other, their voices too low for me to make out the words. Their cloaks writhed and twisted as they conferred, rainbow lights flickering rapidly in their eye sockets.
Finally, they turned back to me in perfect unison.
"We accept your stance," they said. "We will send you home now."
I blinked, caught completely off guard.
"Wait, what?"