The apartment was dark. The streetlights outside cast bars of orange across the floor. Kaito sat at his desk. The cards were spread out before him. He was cleaning them. Wiping dust. Checking edges. It was a ritual. It was meditation.
A card vibrated. It was not in his hand. It was on the desk. The Epic card. The one with the hunter's silhouette. Orion. The Unending Hunt.
Kaito said: "Report."
The card glowed. A figure formed from the light. He was tall. He was lean. He wore armor made of shadow and bone. His eyes were yellow. They did not blink. He held a spear that was not there.
Orion said: "I have tracked them."
Kaito said: "How many."
Orion said: "Forty-seven. In the last six hours."
Kaito stopped cleaning. He put the cloth down. He looked at the entity. Orion did not move. He did not fidget. He was still. He was focused. He was the hunt.
Kaito said: "Pattern."
Orion said: "Not random. Not drifting. They converge."
Kaito said: "Where."
