The game consists of twenty cards for each player divided into five categories, White, Green, Yellow and Red with a Black card. The players have to draw five cards in exchange for the given White Cards but each card they draw if it's a regular White Card will cost two cards, however, if the player draws a Green Card, there shall be no need for an exchange, if the player draws a Yellow Card the cost of exchange would be one card instead of two and lastly if the player draws Red Card, the cost would be three cards. It was quite a simple game as within those cards lay the victory, the Black Card titled The Joker. So they had to draw cards using a given twenty before they run off the cards or find the victory Black Card Joker. "This young lady would be the croupier of our game." Rose pointed her finger to a young lady by her side in the clothes of a commoner as she bowed down to greet the troupe of three and so the game began.
The croupier shuffles the cards and hands them over to Rose, who then slides them to Athena equally while another deck is put in the middle of the table turned backwards. There will be three matches for the victory. As Athena gazes over her given cards, naturally there wasn't The Joker in them, rather only white ones. Hence, the Black Card lay somewhere in the middle deck which she had to draw using these white ones. But there was a keen interest Rose had in the black cloak, so as an act out of kindness, she let Athena draw the cards first which most of the time considered a big lead. However, there has been no hint of such a game they play in Athena's knowledge, and there was no other choice but to play the game while learning it, so the Lady of Olympia keeps two white cards at the table out of ten for the exchange from the middle deck.
She draws The Red Card. Hence as per the rules, she has to give three white cards and without much hesitation, she bestowed them. Next was Rose and so she put two cards and drew one from the middle deck and pulled out The Green Card. It, of course, startled Zera a little, but the game continues and again Athena turned came, and once again she kept two white cards on the table facing upwards and once again draws one card from the middle deck and again she draws The Red Card which then cost three cards for the exchange and thus the ticker turns to Rose again but surprisingly she again draws The Greed Card, hence she didn't lose any cards at all. The game continues with the same pattern, over and over until Athena's fourth time. "I would like you to draw this time…" After losing twelve cards Athena spoke looking at Rose, after all, she can not trust the croupier who perhaps can set the cards in a cyclic pattern. "Well, there aren't any rules that say you can't pass it. So… sure why not!?" Rose seemed frank and at ease rather than what Athena expected. She then pulls out the card from the middle deck. Up until now Zera just felt this slight unrest somewhere back of her mind but the curling smile on Rose's face gave her shivers. She suddenly just realized the game they play was never heard of, hence it has to be something one of her own came up with, or perhaps… she, Rose herself was the one who invented the game itself, therefore, suddenly an intense pressure occurs in the air, after all the realisation of knowing their opponent was someone far worse than who they imagined. Athena goes mum and wanders her gaze over the table, then cards as turning to Rose's face who had a smile of victory. She understood this was a trap as Rose pulled out The Green Card once again and the hunch turned into certainty. It was simple, Rose out-mastered her just because Athena knew next to nothing about her. After all, she perhaps got a little deluded upon spending time with someone carrying high morals, she glanced over at Hatim then spun her eyeballs back to her given cards, and she overlooked that humans are second strongest with their intellect. The Lady of Olympia let out a sigh.
For a moment, everything stopped as Zera whirls her eyes toward Rose in quivering shock. The Empress was smiling, shivers ran through her spine again and again, late to realise but she understood Rose is deceiving them with unknown tricks, she clenches her fist in anger that turns into a rage upon knowing there was nothing she can do but believe, and yet, that doesn't seem hard, whether it was her faith in Athena or maybe most of her life was believing in destiny. Her breaths calmed down as she turned her gaze over to Athena, not seeing what kind of face she was making beneath that good, she had to be determined in her destiny because it was the path she chose for herself.
The game continued, and Athena lost the first match with her not drawing anything but Red Cards while her opponent had all the Green Cards. The silent victory told countless words. The smile on Rose's face affirms her superiority as if she looks down on them. For her, the victory was already determined, but that excitement didn't last more than a few minutes. The Empress of Red Line had destructive habits, one of them is losing interest in the things she liked once after attaining them, she knows everything is in her grasp. Her smile dissolves as the croupier prepares the second match, she gazes over Black Cloak, then turns to Zera and lastly, to him, to the lad titled Warrior, who had that tanned skin, she blinks a few times affirming that this is her awaiting prize. Although it didn't excite her much further upon knowing she will have him in a few more minutes. She let out a sigh.
'How long has it been since I felt high spirits for more than a few minutes…?'
Lost in her thoughts, she kept gazing at the lad of Paladins, unknown to why, but his eyes had… a story, a tale, a will she once used to have, throbbing and dominant. She once knew a person who had the same unwavering will as him…
The match was ready with the croupier moving her hand upon the table, without speaking a word, she placed and opened the middle deck to players. Rose didn't even bother to glimpse at her opponent before drawing a card from the middle deck, not that she could see anything beneath the hood, thus, as usual, it was a Green Card and at this point, it didn't even fascinate the troupe of three but merely upheld acceptance. Yet the little young lady's nerve couldn't calm itself down, her will began to waive as her heartbeat haste slight, not only, this was the last chance to reclaim the continuation, but if Athena did not find the trick behind Rose's stunt, she would lose the second match, whereas well it would be irredeemable since the game was for only three matches. Suddenly a familiar palm laid upon her head, she looked over her left shoulder, and there stood Hatim, his Golden Eyes refused to relinquish before someone as low as Rose, there wasn't a single wink of hesitation, and yet, it wasn't his belief in Athena, but something far more perplexed that she may never understand, she may never…
'How are you this strong…you truly are the mighty… Hatim…' She did not know how they would win against Rose, but wavering before someone like her would be absolute disgust to her mother, Cleo, and Hatim because then her journey means nothing.