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It was stated previously, but Emir\'s deck consisted of 22 unique cards.

Even if you didn\'t know they were all unique, one could figure it out by simply looking at the numbers of the cards.

We had already seen The Devil and The Tower―cards numbered XV and XVI, or fifteen and sixteen, respectively―so it wouldn\'t add up mathematically for there to be multiple copies of each card.

It also wouldn\'t make much sense, at least to me, for there to be multiple copies of only one or a couple of specific cards in the deck.

So, if you think about it seriously for just a second, you will quickly realise that there aren\'t supposed to be duplicate cards.

But then, how come a duplicate appeared now?

"Emir."

"..."

"I thought I asked you."

"..."

"Did you not mix up the decks?"

"I didn\'t! Really, I don\'t know how this happened!"

"..."

"I swear! It\'s never happened before! But... If it\'s because of my ability, it would make sense..."

Would it?

\'Erasing the possibility of bad shuffling due to human error.\'

Could this perhaps be the true essence of Emir\'s Measurement?

\'Whenever he shuffles a deck of cards, it is not to merely shuffle the deck himself, but to allow his power to shuffle the deck for him.\'

Something like that, I suppose.

Or perhaps, it only works when he shuffles a deck of cards specifically designed for divination, like the tarot.

Even then, it doesn\'t make a lot of sense for duplicate copies of cards to appear.

Does that mean, if we check the faces of all 22 cards in the deck, one of them will be missing, having been replaced by the Reversed Emperor?

I don\'t know about that, but let\'s leave that can of worms closed for now.

Anyway, I had already proven my own ignorance when it came to haphazardly assigning names to peoples\' birth powers, so maybe it\'d be good to keep an open mind.

A magical deck of tarot cards.

Or rather, a normal deck infused with the power of his Measurement?

A \'Magic Shuffle\'.

Either way, it\'s clear there has been influence from his Measurement here to make this possible.

...Somehow, I felt myself finally understanding a lick of what Emir was saying before.

That my fate was inexplicably complex.

"Explain."

With a cursory instruction, Emir briefly bowed his head.

"It says... Eh?"

"What?"

Everything seems to be going haywire.

"N-no, just... A-anyway, I\'ll tell you what it means."

A moment passed before Emir nodded in understanding.

"So, there are two... No, three meanings from what I can see: the first is that you should-- No, that you \'will\' stand up or resist against some kind of structure or system. I assume this is the same structure mentioned in the upright The Emperor card, but it doesn\'t state that explicitly, so it\'s not confirmed."

"What do you mean I \'will\'? Is that supposed to be some kind of a command?"

Because if so, I\'ll do the opposite out of spite.

"No, well, it\'s complicated, but it\'s quite vague. It\'s unclear exactly what it means, but I\'m simplifying it slightly and giving you the most accurate interpretation I can by comparing it with context from the previous cards."

"Putting it as simply as I can, it says that \'you will find yourself being pushed over the limit and trying to break free of the confines of the structure\' it mentions. I\'m pretty certain this is related to the binding chains from the previous The Devil card, so when it says \'break free\', it implies breaking free of the chains."

"But, it\'s still quite confusing; because the chains mentioned in The Devil were said to be unbreakable, I think it\'s implying that you will actually fail to shatter them? I\'m not sure since it doesn\'t mention anything about if you will succeed in breaking free, but it definitely says you will attempt to."

He then went on to relay the second meaning.

"The second meaning is... Dark, but undoubtedly more straightforward. Here:"

Emir cleared his throat and parroted the meaning in a grave voice.

"\'You, who cannot bear to abdicate his position of power and resistance.\'"

"\'You, who cannot help but drag those around you into the inevitable maelstrom of despair.\'"

"\'Spare even those pitiful existences far too unfortunate to have ever crossed your path―those viewed as no more than a momentarily cold pillow on a sweltering night―from your narcissistic, self-wrought destruction.\'"

"\'Then, and only then, will you perhaps achieve something like fulfilment.\'"

"\'That is the sole consolation to be offered; your one permitted solace.\'"

As Emir said, it was certainly straightforward.

I wasn\'t entirely sure what to make of it, but there were parts-- Most of it, rather, that I couldn\'t help but feel a little disquieted towards.

There was an explicit intent behind these messages, and that much was clear.

\'Who\', or more likely \'what\' these messages were coming from... Wasn\'t a question that would be answered by Truth.

But, I could still guess.

"Give me the third meaning."

Emir nodded without saying anything, but I didn\'t fail to catch the sparse beads of cold sweat trailing down his skin.

"It\'s... Blunt."

A card with great significance and gravitas.

The Emperor.

A symbol of authority, dominion, and power.

When put into reverse, those qualities were naturally spun on their heads.

Emir\'s response-- Or rather, the final meaning of the reversed card, was simple.

"―\'Relinquish power.\'"

A Reversed Emperor could only be intended to mean such a thing.

❖─────❖─────❖

Once Emir finished the card reading, the surrounding atmosphere once more found itself swallowed by silence.

There wasn\'t much for me to say.

Of course, I would heed their warnings, but I wasn\'t going to bow my head just because of some flimsy cards\' prophecy.

As I said, the only reasonable thing I can do is resist fate.

It might seem futile or counter-productive, but it was the truth.

After all, the only alternative to that is to just sit and accept a miserable end without even trying to do anything about it.

At least, that\'s what I\'ve been led to believe.

That\'s why, I would simply try to make sure that doesn\'t happen.

I might be playing right into the hands of whatever is orchestrating all of this, but at the end of the day, it\'s the only thing I can do, and so I will do it.

For even just a slightly higher chance of successfully proving it wrong.

"...Ciphy..."

All of a sudden, Sana called me and lightly tugged my left arm. I turned my head to look at her, staring back as her blank red eyes gazed at me.

"..."

Those eyes.

Physically, they were the same eyes of the future Sana I had seen; but, at the same time, they were completely different.

They were only subtle differences, but that made it all the more apparent.

The glint of childhood innocence.

The vivid brightness that gave an impression of contentment and satisfied vitality.

Her expression was just as nonexistent as always, but you could always tell what lay just beneath the surface merely by examining her eyes.

All such things indicating \'life\' were missing from the future Sana\'s eyes.

They had been lost, or perhaps more accurately, stolen.

It was a disconcerting look for a variety of reasons, but most of all, it was uncanny.

Eyes like a puppet, or a doll.

Eyes that contained no signs of life or vitality.

Eyes of someone whose soul had become lost.

"What is it?"

"Can we bring friends...?"

Oh, that.

I forgot about that.

In that scene, I was shown the future.

Although Future Sana had claimed she would never be able to, her eyes at the time were those I would rather expect to see looking down on my deceased corpse one day.

She said there was no way she could do it, but could I really trust that?

Maybe it was true that I had forced Absolute Contracts upon them, but even then, it\'s not like they were infallible.

Emir was the only one who could create Absolute Contracts, so the final decision of a contract\'s conditions would ultimately always be up to him.

There was no way for me to force him to make an Absolute Contract exactly the way I wanted because he doesn\'t trust me, and besides, our sense of morals and ethics mix like water and oil―there is no way we would be able to agree on a set of conditions that satisfy the both of us.

He isn\'t the type to cave in to death threats, either.

That\'s why I haven\'t used Absolute Contracts that much until now; there has been no reliable way for me to get one that has all the conditions I would ordinarily desire.

It\'s the reason I will die if I do anything to harm Selina or leave her side for too long, for example.

That way, Emir knows for sure that I can\'t take advantage of her, leaving him satisfied with knowing that she\'ll be safe.

Of course, for me, it\'s not satisfying at all.

Needless to say, I don\'t want that to happen, which is why, even with the possibility of an Absolute Contract, I don\'t want to put my faith in it.

Liam Chiba-Wallace\'s power.

I originally thought it was measuring someone\'s luck or fortune due to how it was described to work by Ella and Truth, but that wasn\'t entirely accurate.

It was more akin to the traditional sense of karma, hence the new name I bestowed it.

From what I\'m aware, karma is heavily linked to fate.

So,

If I assume the vision I saw leads to my fate taking place as it has been foretold, then all I have to do is avoid that vision from coming true, and I would have successfully averted my fate.

It\'s easy.

All I have to do to prevent that vision is to not kill Sona.

It\'s simple.

I still don\'t know what happened that led me to kill her, but whatever it was, I must either endure it this time or not let it occur in the first place.

Whatever happens, I will keep them satisfied and content.

That way, there will be no need for them to cause unnecessary trouble.

And thus, there will be no need for me to kill them.

It\'s a vastly different strategy compared to what I usually do, but I will make it work.

Without a doubt.

I don\'t care if I have to sacrifice everything else, but I will, at the very least, definitely maintain the two\'s loyalty.

After all,

So long as I keep the twins alive and happy, then how can I lose?

Minami Mochizuki.

Selina.

Emir.

Even Sophie Asanami.

The others would never stand beside me if it weren\'t for what I provided them.

But the twins?

Those two, whom I have looked after since the start.

Those two, who have sincerely cared about me in turn.

"Sure. Bring as many friends as you want."

From the beginning, they were the only ones truly on my side.