Lost In Fatal Existence

The ticking clock seemed louder now, its rhythm a heartbeat of impending doom. Ryuta could feel the weight of the moment pressing down on him as the air grew dense with tension. Across from him, the two figures—Joker and The Magician—stood unmoving, their eerie presence dominating the ruined battlefield.

Joker tilted his head, his grin widening as if he were savoring the moment. "A show? A tragedy? Or perhaps a comedy?" he mused, his voice dripping with amusement. "Either way, the curtain rises, and the audience awaits."

The Magician, his eyes concealed beneath the brim of his hat, simply raised a hand. A single tarot card appeared between his fingers—the Magician. "A master of fate, a wielder of will. Let's see if you can break free from destiny, Ryuta."

Ryuta's team stood firm beside him, each gripping their weapons, their faces set in grim determination. They had fought together through countless battles, yet this felt different. This wasn't just another enemy; it was chaos and control, deception and manipulation embodied in two figures.

The battle erupted in a storm of movement.

Joker's laughter rang through the air, unsettling and distorted. It wasn't just sound—it was power, a force that twisted reality with each breath. The ground beneath them shifted unnaturally, shadows morphing into grotesque illusions that clawed at their feet. Ryuta dodged, barely avoiding a tendril of darkness that cracked the stone where he once stood.

The Magician moved with precision, flicking his tarot cards like daggers, each imbued with a different effect. One sent a gust of wind powerful enough to throw Ryuta off balance; another turned into chains of energy that lashed out, aiming to bind him. He barely managed to deflect them with his blade, gritting his teeth.

Beside him, his teammates fought strategically, adapting to the unpredictable battlefield. One weaved through Joker's illusions, slicing through the twisted shadows that lunged at them. Another fired off bursts of energy, disrupting The Magician's card attacks before they could fully manifest. They were holding their ground, but just barely.

Joker let out another laugh, his body twisting unnaturally. "Oh, how delightful! A battle of wits, a clash of souls! But tell me, Ryuta… what happens when the joke is on you?"

Before Ryuta could react, Joker's laughter reached an unbearable pitch. Reality cracked. For a brief second, everything around them distorted, and in that moment of chaos, The Magician's final card activated.

A rift split open beneath them, an abyss that pulled with an unnatural force. Ryuta reached out, trying to grab hold of something, anything—but it was too late. One by one, his teammates were dragged into the darkness, their screams swallowed by the void.

Then, silence.

He was alone.

Joker and The Magician stood before him, unscathed.

"It seems the show must go on… without them," The Magician said, placing his cards back into his deck with an air of finality.

Ryuta's breath came in ragged gasps. His team was gone—summoned away to another world. And he… he was left behind.

His grip tightened on his weapon. "I'm not done yet."

Joker clapped, slow and mocking. "Ah, I do love an underdog. But tell me, hero, how do you fight when the audience has left the theater?"

The fight continued, but this time, Ryuta was alone. Every step felt heavier, every attack met with merciless counters. The Magician's cards bound him, Joker's laughter shattered his focus. Blow after blow landed until his strength faltered, and at last, he fell.

Darkness consumed him.

He expected to wake up before the battle, to return to the past as he always did. But when his eyes opened, he was met with something different.

Nothing.

A black void stretched endlessly in every direction, an abyss without light, without sound, without anything.

He was trapped.

Again.

But this time… there was no way back.

The last thing he heard before the void swallowed him whole was the echo of Joker's haunting laughter.