Half in Fire

Alícia fell silent and lowered her eyes to the floor. Tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks, ran along her neck, and soaked her clothes. “I need to rest. I’m sorry, my dear, but I need to rest.”

I held her hands and helped her walk to the bed.

Before lying down, Alícia stroked my face with her warm touch. “We’ll talk when I wake up. I imagine you have a lot to process.”

“Yes…” My eyes smiled. “Liana?”

She entered the room. “I’ll take care of her. Thank you.”

I stepped into the corridor and leaned against the wall. Time still seemed frozen. So much finally made sense. I had fitted almost every piece into the puzzle. But one was still missing.

I walked slowly to the living room and contemplated the emptiness. Maia’s motives remained shrouded in mist, but now I understood the root of her pain. It was far greater than I could have imagined. Maia, what did you go through?

I brought my hands to my throbbing forehead. Bit what little remained of my nails, nearly reaching the flesh. Saymon and Maia had the original NB-Mend, a QN-Tec? They had endured all of that while I had lived only twelve cycles. I hadn’t even grasped the scale of what had happened. Of what was happening. Of what…

A light kindled in my mind. Of course. It made perfect sense. I shook my head, trying to keep up with my own discovery. They were doing to the Aether Network and Sessota what had been done to the Luminaries and Nanoverse. I lifted my head, eyes widening. The 3-R…

Immediately, I went looking for Saymon. Fuck it. If my suspicion was correct, that meant…

I found him beneath a tree. He laid cards on the grass with an air of complete disinterest. He seemed to be waiting for me. I had already learned that patience was one of his most powerful strengths.

Saymon raised his eyes. “Know how to play cards?”

Perhaps I could mention blackjack, but my experience had been so embarrassing that I preferred not to. I sat cross-legged before him. “No.”

“Alright.” Saymon gathered the cards and began shuffling with impressive agility. They slid from side to side, disappearing and reappearing between his fingers. Then he split the deck into two stacks. “The suits represent the solar cycle’s four seasons. The thirteen cards in each suit represent the thirteen lunations. And the fifty-two cards represent the cycle’s quartelunas.”

He spread them in a cascade. “Each has a meaning, whether a goal or a power. There is, however, a special card. Its value changes according to the combination of the others.” Saymon raised an eyebrow. “You must know I’m talking about the Joker.”

I swallowed. My anxiety was so intense I gripped the grass beneath my hands. “I didn’t know.”

“Yeah… It has extraordinary power, because it can change the course of an entire game when it appears.” He stopped shuffling. Then spun the Joker card between his fingers. Its pixels gleamed. “Think some individuals have that gift too.”

His gaze seemed to pierce my spine.

I smiled awkwardly. Wanted to draw back. Perhaps it was because I now knew his past and understood how his connection with Gagner worked. The fact was, I could no longer gauge how unpredictable Saymon was. Or could become.

“Presume Alícia told you what happened.” He slipped the cards into his pocket with apparent nonchalance.

I couldn’t even disguise it. Sometimes, simply breathing near him seemed enough for him to know what I was thinking. I nodded discreetly.

Saymon gave an amused smile. “I’ll let you ask whatever you want.”

My heart raced. I breathed deeply, trying to contain my nerves and organize my thoughts. But the task proved far harder than I’d imagined. Especially beneath that sidelong gaze. “Th-the… The 3-R…” I closed my eyes. The words seemed trapped in my throat. “A-are you planning to bomb Brasil?”

Saymon’s sinister laugh sent a chill through me.

I opened my eyes and found his wild smirk.

“Yeah. That was the plan.” He raised his eyebrows. “But a wild card entered the game and changed the course of events.” Saymon stared at me. “In this case, the wild card was you, Akiko.”