If you’ve made it this far, let me take a moment to thank you sincerely. I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey so far or, at the very least, found it intriguing.

Your continued trust and interest mean the world, and I’m excited to share what lies ahead.

Happy reading, and thank you for staying with the story.

Chapter 32 – The Jester Against the Titan

> "A fool who stands in my way. I don’t know whether to admire your courage or laugh at your madness."

Requiem made a grimace, raising an eyebrow.

> "Well, you can do both. I’ve always been a fan of multitasking."

Urano took a step forward, and the ground beneath him cracked.

> "You’re not capable of stopping me. Do you know who I am?"

Requiem brought a hand to his chin, pretending to think.

> "Urano, emissary of the Sky, the one who bends gravity to his will. Yes, I’ve heard of you. But you know what? You’re not the first 'invincible' I’ve encountered. And usually, those like you fall faster than they expect."

A flash of irritation crossed Urano's face.

> "You assume too much, jester. Your resistance will be short-lived."

Requiem shrugged, with a smile that seemed to mock everything.

> "Resistance? Oh no, my dear, this is a dance. And I lead."

With a theatrical gesture, Requiem extended his hand and made a deck of sparkling cards appear, swirling around him like satellites.

His left eye began to spin, the pupil changing quickly like a die being thrown.

When it stopped, it showed the number "2."

The cards aligned in the air, glowing with a bluish light.

Urano raised an eyebrow, watching the scene with a mix of curiosity and disdain.

> "Illusions and carnival tricks. Ridiculous."

> "Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong," Requiem replied with a theatrical bow. "These 'tricks' are much more real than you think."

With a swift gesture, he threw one of the cards toward Urano.

The card flew like a blade, slicing through the air with a sharp hiss.

Urano raised a hand, and the card stopped in mid-air, bending under the effect of gravity.

But in that moment, another card materialized behind him, exploding in a brilliant light that forced him to step back a pace.

Urano slowly turned, his face now marked with a shadow of irritation.

> "Interesting. But not enough."

Requiem simply smiled, spinning another card between his fingers.

> "Oh, it wasn’t meant to stop you. Just to get you to move a little. After all, a dance is boring if one of the partners stays still."

Urano raised both hands, and the air around him seemed to constrict.

The ground trembled, and debris began to float toward the sky, as if sucked by an invisible force.

> "Let’s see if your irony will hold up under the weight of the stars," he said in a threatening tone.

Requiem fixed his gaze on him, the smile still on his lips, but his eyes now focused.

> "Oh, dear Urano, let me show you what it truly means to play with fate."

And with that gesture, the dance truly began.

Requiem watched Urano with a mocking smile as his left eye began to spin once more, the pupil changing quickly like a die in motion.

Urano, impassive, raised a hand, and the air around them grew heavier, as if an invisible force was pressing everything to the ground.

> "Another illusion, jester?" Urano asked, his tone low and threatening.

Requiem raised his eyebrows playfully.

> "Oh no, this time we’re playing with something more tangible."

The eye stopped, showing the number "3."

The cards floating around Requiem changed color, turning a deep red, and positioned themselves in front of him like a shield.

Urano took a step forward, and with a gesture of his hand, a stone column collapsed toward Requiem.

The distorted gravity pushed the massive mass with incredible speed, but when the column touched the cards, they exploded into a rain of red sparks.

In their place, three indistinguishable figures appeared, perfect copies of Requiem, each with his unmistakable hat and enigmatic smile.

Urano stopped, eyeing them with suspicion.

> "Do you really think this is a challenge for me?"

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The three copies moved simultaneously, each throwing a card toward Urano from a different direction.

The cards were not illusions; they glowed with a palpable energy and headed toward their target with lethal precision.

Urano, with a fluid motion, spread his arms and created a gravitational barrier that curved the space around him, causing the cards to deflect.

> "Is this all, Lirion?" Urano asked, sarcasm creeping into his voice.

Requiem, or perhaps one of his copies, responded with a light laugh.

> "Oh, the game has just begun. Are you sure you want to continue?"

Urano, now annoyed, focused his power.

The copies of Requiem began to tremble, as if affected by the increasing gravity.

Two of them exploded in a shower of red lights, leaving only the original.

Requiem, still intact, clapped slowly.

> "Not bad, Urano. But I still have many cards in the deck."

Urano, not wasting any time, raised both hands toward the sky.

Around him, the debris began to rise, but this time they didn’t float randomly: they arranged themselves into precise orbits, as if responding to an invisible choreography.

The gravity distorted around him in a field that seemed to pulse like a living heart.

The ground itself rose in small waves, cracks widening toward Requiem.

Requiem tilted his head, observing the phenomenon with interest.

> "I must admit, it’s quite impressive. But I wonder… how much concentration does it take to maintain this whole spectacle?"

Urano didn’t respond.

He gestured with his right hand, and the debris began to hurl toward Requiem at terrifying speed.

Every piece of stone was a deadly projectile, capable of piercing anything in its path.

Requiem, with a fluid motion, threw a handful of cards toward the debris.

Each card expanded in the air, forming a luminous barrier that absorbed the blows.

However, a larger shard found its way through the defense, grazing his side.

Blood shimmered under the pale light.

> "Touché," Requiem murmured with a smirk. "But you know what they say: when the game gets tough…"

Urano interrupted his speech, pushing both hands forward.

The gravity around Requiem increased drastically.

The ground beneath him cracked, his legs beginning to bend slightly under the sudden weight.

Requiem threw another card, which exploded in a blinding light.

The illusion distracted Urano for a moment, long enough for Requiem to free himself from the pressure and leap backward with the grace of an acrobat.

> "You’re persistent, I’ll give you that," Requiem said, catching his breath.

> "But don’t forget: the dice never stop in your favor."

Urano clenched his fists, and the air around them filled with static energy, a tense silence signaling the arrival of something devastating.

Urano focused, his hands trembling slightly as a wave of gravitational energy gathered around him.

The ground curved as if the world itself was bending to his will, the soil giving way beneath his command.

"Requiem," he said, his voice as deep as distant thunder.

> "You’ve had your fun. Now, show me that you’re more than a carnival trick."

Requiem stood still for a moment, then lifted his face, revealing a smile that was both friendly and full of subtle provocation.

> "You know, Urano," he said in his playful tone, "I’ve always found gravity fascinating. Such a simple force, yet capable of holding the universe together. It’s a shame you’ve made it so… boring."

Urano didn’t answer, but with a sudden motion, he made a fragment of earth collapse toward him.

Requiem didn’t move, his cards floating around him like leaves in a storm, forming a shield that blocked the blow with an explosion of light and fragments.

> "Not bad," Requiem said, running his hand through his hair.

> "But perhaps it’s time we raised the stakes."

His left eye began to spin again, a hypnotic movement that caught the enemy’s attention.

When it stopped, the die showed a "6."

The cards around Requiem lit up with a deep blue glow.

Urano clenched his fists, the gravity around him increasing devastatingly.

> "Let’s see if your number can save you now, jester."

The cards moved, each turning into a portal that distorted space.

The debris Urano hurled dissolved as they passed through, appearing in random places, far from the two combatants.

A portal opened directly above Urano’s head, raining fragments down on him.

The emissary raised a hand, stopping them mid-air with another burst of pure gravity.

> "Clever, but useless," he said, stepping forward decisively.

Requiem, with a light laugh, responded,

> "You’re too focused on what you see. The real trick is what you’re not looking at."

Behind Urano, an unnoticed card that had slipped to the ground began to glow intensely.

An explosion of energy shook the field, enough to make the emissary lose his balance for a moment.

Requiem took advantage of the moment to gain distance, his movements as quick as a feline.

> "I’ll tell you one thing," he said, his tone more serious as he prepared for the next exchange.

> "Gravity is an impressive force, but it can’t hold back will. And that’s what I’ll beat you with."

Urano straightened up, a hard expression on his face.

> "Let’s see," he said with dangerous calm. "In the end, every illusion falls under the weight of reality."

>

> Illusions and rigged cards...

>

> These are your tools, Requiem. But in the end, gravity always wins. It’s a universal law."

Requiem smiled, his tone still playful, but with a hint of seriousness he hadn’t shown before.

> "Laws, huh? I’m sorry, Urano, but I’ve always found it boring to follow them. I prefer to rewrite them."

Requiem’s eye stopped on the "4."

The cards around him changed shape, taking on an almost liquid consistency, floating like waves in the air.

With a swift motion, he threw them at Urano.

The cards, instead of striking directly, broke into thousands of glowing fragments, creating a mist that obscured their view.

Urano stopped, scanning the area with penetrating eyes.

> "Do you really think this will stop me?" he asked, his voice full of disdain.

Requiem moved silently in the mist, his voice echoing from different directions.

> "I don’t want to stop you, my dear Urano. I just want to make you doubt. And doubt, you know, is heavier than any gravity."

Urano, irritated, raised both hands, intensifying his gravitational field.

The luminous mist twisted, compressing until it dissolved into sparks.

But Requiem was already at a safe distance, a triumphant smile on his face.

> "Congratulations," Requiem said, clapping slowly.

> "But while you were trying to dissipate the mist, you forgot about my cards."

The explosion had injured him, a streak of blood running down his face.

"You’re skilled, I’ll admit," Urano said, his tone calmer but dangerous.

> "But skill is nothing against the inevitable weight of destiny."

Requiem tilted his head, his enigmatic smile seeming to hide a thousand secrets.

> "Perhaps," he replied, "but destiny, dear Urano, is a gamble.

>

> And I’m very good with dice."

Urano’s altered gravity bent everything around him.

Requiem, however, stood with his enigmatic smile, surrounded by a dance of cards floating like feathers in chaotic wind.

Urano advanced, every step a tremor in the ground, the amplified gravity crushing the soil beneath him.

His imposing figure seemed like that of an unstoppable titan.

> "You’ve run enough, Requiem. This game ends here."

Requiem raised his gaze toward him, his eyes glowing under the effect of their power, where the die stopped on a "5."

For the first time, his voice lacked sarcasm.

> "Perhaps, Urano. But let me show you one last trick before we close the curtain."

With a flick of his hand, a golden card appeared between his fingers.

He threw it into the air, and it multiplied, filling the space above them with a whirlwind of sparkling blades.

Urano raised a hand, and with a sharp motion, he collapsed the gravity onto the cards, trying to crush them all in one blow.

But the cards bent and contorted, slipping out of his grasp as if they had a will of their own.

> "Distracting you is my specialty," Requiem said, suddenly appearing behind him.

With a quick movement, a deck of cards exploded in his hands, forming a wall of energy that surrounded Urano.

Urano, however, was not unprepared.

With a cry of pure force, he freed himself from the energy, sending the cards crashing to the ground like fragments of glass.

"Illusions!" he shouted, pointing his hand at Requiem.

> "You can’t hide forever!"

The gravity around Requiem intensified in an instant, pulling him to the ground with a force that would have shattered anyone else.

But Requiem, instead of fighting, slid gracefully with the force itself, like a skilled player using the weight to his advantage.

> "I’m not trying to hide," he said, rising with grace.

> "I’m just trying to make you understand that a good trick is the one you don’t see coming."

The air around Urano shimmered, and for a moment, his eyes scanned the void, searching for a sign of Requiem’s next attack.

That’s when he realized he was no longer alone.

Behind him, like a silent shadow, one last card lit up.

A blinding flash exploded, and Urano found himself on his knees, not from the pain, but from the weight of the distraction.

Requiem advanced, his step decisive yet still light, like a dancer nearing the climax of a performance.

"You’re powerful, but your mistake was underestimating unpredictability. And unpredictability, my friend, is the deadliest weapon there is."

Urano rose, his face twisted with fury.

> "You have no idea what it means to face the weight of duty, jester. I can’t afford to fail."

> "Isn’t that what you’re already doing?" Requiem replied, with one last enigmatic smile.

With a fluid movement, he sent an entire cascade of cards into the air, exploding into fragments of light and shadow, covering the battlefield in a momentary chaos.

When the light dissipated, Requiem was gone, and Urano found himself alone, the field devastated around him.

Urano clenched his fists, his gaze fixed on the horizon.

> "You haven’t won," he hissed through his teeth. "I’ll find you. And next time, there will be no tricks to save you."

Far away, hidden among the shadows, Requiem watched carefully.

> "Perhaps, Urano," he murmured. "But for now, it’s my turn to exit the stage."

Thank You for Reading!

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Teo