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Title: Lord of Chance

At the age of twenty-five, the world as everyone knows it ends — or so they say. When sleep finally claims you, you never wake again in your old life.

Chester, a brilliant but reckless gambler obsessed with unpredictability, has spent weeks defying sleep’s pull, terrified of the unknown that awaits beyond. His family — parents, sister, even his twin brother Solon — have all succumbed to the eternal slumber, leaving behind only silence and mystery.

When Chester and Solon finally surrender to the inevitable, they awaken not in death, but in a world far larger, stranger, and more dangerous than anything they could have imagined. Here, every choice is a gamble, every moment a roll of fate’s dice — and only those who master the Pillars of Power can survive.

Among sixteenothers trapped in this cruel trial, Chester embraces the Pillar of Chance, wielding chaos and probability as both shield and weapon. But in a game where trust is scarce and betrayal lurks in every shadow, can he outsmart fate itself — or will he become another lost soul swallowed by the nightmare?

Lord of Chance is a dark, gripping tale of survival, mystery, and the thin line between control and chaos in a world where destiny is the ultimate gamble.


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The twisted echoes of laughter bounced off the walls as Chester's clones were being torn to shreds.


Riven slammed a clone's head against the wall, his fingers coated in flickering energy. "Tch. How many more?"


"Too many," Vex snarled, cracking his knuckles as a distant clone exploded into black confetti. "These things die like rats, but there's always more."


They had killed dozens already. Still, the Chester clones giggled, taunted, and insulted them with the same devil-may-care smile. Even as they were destroyed, they whispered:


"The game resets, but you're still just pieces."


Vex's eyes narrowed. "That one felt different "


Marlo staggered through the decaying buildings, his breaths ragged. His body ached from Shadow Step overuse. Flickers of black shimmer trailed behind each stumble.


He didn't need to look to know. He could feel the monster's desire—like hunger gnawing at his back.


Still, he whispered under his breath: "Lysa. Torren. I warned you both... But maybe I didn't try hard enough."


Regret burned, not like fire, but like frostbite. Numb and spreading.


He raised his arm in vain—then a blade of golden-white light split the creature in two.


Chester stood with the Blade of the Lord of Chance over his shoulder, grinning like he'd won a game of cards.


"You good? You look like you just saw six ghosts."


Marlo collapsed against a crumbling wall. "You died."


Chester spun the sword once and sheathed it in a flourish. "Six of me did. Clones. One of the perks of the first roll."


He wiggled his fingers and summoned the Dice of Providence into his palm. A shimmering, multi-faceted artifact that pulsed with unpredictable magic.


"First roll: Clone Replication. Second: Opened that rift. Sucked Vex and Riven into a pocket I made just for them. Rest of the rolls? Buffs and breadcrumbs."


Marlo narrowed his eyes. "Breadcrumbs?"


"Information," Chester said, suddenly serious. "About this nightmare... and the world beyond it."


"He's still playing around," Keen muttered, crouched beside Veyla, watching the scene unfold below.


Veyla exhaled. "He's been lucky. But it's never just luck with Chester. Not anymore."


Keen tilted his head. "He's rolled twice already. If he rolls again..."


Veyla's lips twitched. "He'll break something."


Chester held up the dice. "The last roll gave me... whispers. There's more than one Nightmare. Layers of them. And above all of that—another realm. A world that's watching this one burn."


Chapter 32 - CHAPTER 32:THE FINAL THROW