The gym went quiet.

  Not normal quiet.

  Bro quiet.

  The kind where three hundred enormous dudes hold their breath while someone attempts emotional growth.

  The giant mirror hung in front of John like a boss fight.

  The scoreboard flashed.

  FINAL ROUND

  AFFIRMATION CHALLENGE

  John looked at the mirror.

  The mirror looked back.

  Same jacket.

  Same tired face.

  Same guy who had just been thrown through three universes in one afternoon.

  The Head Bro leaned in.

  “C’mon bro.”

  The crowd whispered.

  “Say it.”

  “You got this bro.”

  John rubbed the back of his neck.

  “You realize I just beat cosmic roulette, blackjack, and mahjong.”

  The Head Bro nodded seriously.

  “Yeah bro.”

  “But loving yourself?”

  He pointed at the mirror.

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  “That’s the hardest lift.”

  The gym murmured respectfully.

  John stared at his reflection.

  The cosmic notification flickered above the mirror.

  CONFIDENCE EVENT DETECTED

  OUTCOME DETERMINES REALITY STABILITY

  John sighed.

  “Of course it does.”

  He looked back at the reflection.

  The reflection looked just as tired.

  John shrugged.

  “Alright.”

  He leaned toward the mirror.

  “I love myself bro.”

  The gym exploded.

  “BROOOOOOOOO!”

  The scoreboard flashed violently.

  CONFIDENCE LEVEL: MAXIMUM

  The mirror cracked.

  At first John thought he broke it.

  But then he realized something else.

  The reflection inside the mirror… moved differently.

  It wasn’t copying him anymore.

  The reflection stood up straighter.

  Smiled.

  And stepped forward.

  Out of the mirror.

  The entire gym gasped.

  The Head Bro whispered.

  “Bro…”

  The reflection dusted imaginary chalk off its hands.

  It looked exactly like John.

  Except this version was calmer.

  More confident.

  The cosmic notification rewrote itself rapidly.

  ANOMALY DUPLICATION DETECTED

  ACE MANIFESTATION

  The reflection spoke.

  “You finally said it.”

  John frowned.

  “Said what?”

  The reflection smiled.

  “That you deserve to win.”

  The crowd leaned in.

  John crossed his arms.

  “Hold on.”

  “You’re me?”

  “Sort of.”

  The reflection pointed at the scoreboard.

  “You’re John Six Aces.”

  The scoreboard changed again.

  ACE OF HEARTS UNLOCKED

  John blinked.

  “Oh.”

  The reflection nodded.

  “You mastered confidence.”

  The Head Bro wiped a tear away.

  “That’s beautiful bro.”

  The reflection stepped closer.

  “Every universe you pass unlocks another ace.”

  John thought about it.

  The gambling universe.

  The Loserverse.

  The Grunge universe.

  The Kindness universe.

  Now the Bro universe.

  He counted on his fingers.

  “That’s… five.”

  The reflection smiled.

  “One more.”

  The scoreboard flickered again.

  Then a new message appeared.

  NEXT REALITY PREPARING

  The gym lights dimmed.

  The mirror cracked wider.

  The Head Bro looked worried.

  “Where’s he going?”

  The reflection answered calmly.

  “The final table.”

  John sighed.

  “Of course it’s a table.”

  The reflection stepped back toward the mirror.

  “Next universe is the hardest one.”

  John squinted.

  “What is it?”

  The reflection grinned.

  “The one where none of this is a game.”

  The mirror shattered.

  Reality folded again.

  The gym vanished.

  John fell backward through darkness.

  Behind him the Head Bro shouted one last time.

  “YOU GOT THIS BRO!”

  John groaned as gravity returned.

  “Yeah.”

  “Hope so.”

  Because somewhere far beyond the broken universes, the House was preparing something it had never tried before.

  A universe with no rules at all.

  And that was the one game John Six Aces had never played.