The air in the room was thick with tension.
Anna was breathing heavily, her body trembling as everyone's eyes were fixed on her and her opponent.
This was the fifth time they had tied, an almost impossible occurrence in this game.
Some spectators, initially disinterested, were now crowding around the table, curious and astonished.
It wasn't common for someone as young as Anna to hold her own against such a respected player, who was known for his skill and cold-blooded betting style.
Sweat beaded on the forehead of the man with the ponytail, something that didn't go unnoticed by those watching.
He had discarded more times than anyone had seen in a long time. And though he maintained a confident smile, he was showing signs of fatigue.
Anna, on the other hand, was on the verge of collapse.
Her mind was spinning, exhausted from the repeated use of her ability to rewind time.
Each time she did, it felt like her head would explode, but one thing was clear:
She couldn't lose.
The man looked at her with a mix of respect and challenge, raising an eyebrow before speaking.
"I'm raising the stakes," he said in a calm but firm tone.
The spectators fell silent, waiting for Anna's response.
The dealer leaned toward her, his eyes sharp, and with a dry voice, he informed her:
"You need to raise your bet as well, miss."
Anna swallowed, looking at the chips in front of her.
"But... I've already bet everything I have."
The dealer shook his head.
"If you can't match the bet, you lose automatically."
A murmur spread through the room.
Some people started to feel sorry for Anna, thinking it was unfair for her to lose just because she didn't have more money.
She had come so far, playing on equal footing with a formidable opponent.
Would this be the end of her streak?
A voice rose in the midst of the buzz, whispering with pity:
"It's a shame... to get this far only to lose because of a lack of money."
Anna, with her head bowed, felt the ground crumbling beneath her feet.
But then, she remembered Leo's words, her friend from the orphanage:
'Never back down from a challenge.'
With that determination rooted in her mind, she looked at the dealer.
"Isn't there any way I can keep playing?" she asked with a trembling but resolved voice.
The dealer stared at her for a moment before sighing.
"There is one option... but I wouldn't recommend it."
"Please, tell me what it is," Anna insisted.
The dealer hesitated but finally spoke:
"You can go into debt. That is, you can play with money you don't have. If you win, you pay off the debt with your winnings. If you lose... you'll have to repay what you bet with interest. And if you can't pay it back..." He paused, observing the growing tension in the room before adding seriously, "If you can't pay, you could get your family into serious trouble. Or worse, you could end up as a slave yourself."
A chill ran through the room, and the murmurs from the crowd intensified.
Some spectators began criticizing the other player for his strategy.
"It's a dirty trick," they whispered.
"It's dishonorable to win like that, knowing she can't match his bet."
Others murmured that Anna had lost her mind, that the thrill and excitement of the game had gone to her head.
But Anna, her eyes fixed on the dealer, didn't let herself be intimidated.
"I'll do it," she said before the dealer could finish his warning.
An even louder murmur spread through the room, this time filled with surprise.
Some looked at Anna in disbelief, while others shook their heads, thinking she had made the worst possible decision.
"Are you sure?" the dealer asked once more, his voice serious. "If you lose and can't pay, the consequences will be severe. You should think it through."
Anna held her determined gaze.
"I'm sure. I'm not going to lose."
The dealer watched her for a long moment before looking at the security guards standing at the corners of the room.
With a signal from his hand, the guards approached the table, ready to intervene in case Anna tried to escape after a possible loss.
It was common for indebted players to do anything to avoid the consequences.
"Then, Anna will match Mr. Darius's bet," the dealer announced, mentioning her opponent's name for the first time, a name that resonated throughout the room.
Silence reigned for a moment as the bets were evened out.
The game would continue, and both players were at the limit of their abilities.
Anna felt her body trembling from exhaustion, but her will to win was the only thing keeping her standing.
The dealer began to deal the cards.
Anna watched every move closely, discarding when necessary and asking for new cards when the situation demanded.
But every time she went over 21, the burden of rewinding time became unbearable.
Over and over, she returned to that moment, correcting her play, but the fatigue in her body was accumulating.
Darius, for his part, also discarded instinctively, but he was visibly sweating.
Both had discarded so many cards that the deck was starting to run low.
The murmurs among the crowd grew louder.
Every move Anna made felt like an internal battle.
She knew she couldn't fail.
If she couldn't rewind... everything would be lost.
Finally, the crucial moment arrived.
Anna had discarded and drawn until she got a perfect 21 with her body on the verge of collapse.
Darius, for his part, watched her every move with the same coldness as always, though fatigue was evident in his eyes.
"Are you staying?" asked the dealer, his voice neutral, though his eyes showed the same interest as the rest of the room.
Anna nodded, unable to speak from exhaustion.
Darius did the same.
The dealer looked at both players before revealing the cards.
The air was so thick with tension that every sound seemed amplified.
"Anna..." said the dealer, and then, with a dramatic flair, he announced: "Wins."
The murmur erupted into a shout of surprise.
The room filled with voices and questions.
The spectators couldn't believe that the young woman had won after such an exhausting duel.
Some began asking loudly for her full name; others wanted to know what family she came from.
But Anna didn't hear any of it.
As the noise grew around her, her vision blurred, and before she could process what had just happened, exhaustion overwhelmed her.
Anna, sitting in front of the table, with the cards still in her hand, fainted without warning.
The commotion paused for a moment as everyone realized what had happened.
Anna had won... but she had fallen unconscious before she could even savor her victory.