With his hands cuffed in front of him, Tristan glowered at the one-way mirror in the interrogation room. He understood why he was here, and the policemen—or enforcers as they were called in this world—were polite enough.

Still, it rankled.

Three days had passed since the events of the Serenity. After their first day, he, Eila, and the other survivors of the pirate invasion were met by the Justice Alight, an interceptor airship piloted by the brave men and women of the Aerial Guard, this world’s equivalent of an air force. The Justice had safely transported them the rest of the way to Advance; the journey had been rather boring, but it was much needed following what had happened on the Serenity.

Tristan didn’t want to think about that. Not right now. He distracted himself by looking around the room. It was a rather bleak sight. Hard, gray stone comprised most of it, giving the room the feel of a dungeon than anything else. A metallic table with seats sat square in the middle, and on the wall in front of Tristan was the aforementioned mirror. Beside that was a door.

The only thing that really differentiated this room from something back on Earth were the veins of Order energy criss-crossing the stone. This room, and the entire enforcer station as a matter of fact, was underneath a lockdown effect. Unsurprising, considering the powerful, magical cards and such. He didn’t envy the police—enforcers—here. In the game, he never paid attention to these NPCs.

The door opened, and Tristan straightened. In came a familiar face—this was the lead enforcer who’d been waiting for the former passengers and crew of the Serenity when they landed at Advance.

Master Enforcer Marikov Dileen, a woman whose hard face made mountains look like jelly. Her hair was gray and cut short, curling at the ends, and her build was short but compact. Her dark brown skin and blue eyes were indicative of those who lived in this region of the Continent, the Province of Waves. That had been a feature of the game as well, the NPCs being designed as such, so he was familiar with the different ethnicities that comprised this super landmass.

She wore a crisp Water-colored uniform with five silvery tassels—indicating her rank—arranged neatly over one shoulder and a badge over her breast. Underneath one arm were a thin folder, and she walked over, her boots click-clacking satisfyingly on the stone.

Marikov pulled out the seat opposite of Tristan and sat, laying the folder down on the table. She studied him for a few moments, not saying anything. Tristan didn’t flinch away from a good stare-down, so he returned her prying gaze coolly.

Finally, she relented and opened the folder. A few sheets of papers were clipped together here, and Tristan poked his head closer to try to see.

“Tristan Ford,” Marikov started reading, her voice oddly soft and quiet despite her iron exterior. “Adept cardbearer but unregistered with the Cardbearer’s Association. Age 18. Height, 5’6. Physical appearance indicates you hail from the Province of Balance, but there are no records of you existing there.” She looked up from the sheet. “In fact, there’s no record of you existing at all.”

Ah, shit. Here we go. Tristan knew this was going to happen eventually, but he’d hoped it wouldn’t come up in a god-damned interrogation.

“Really?” he said, trying to sound confused. “I’m from Balance. It’s a pretty small town, though. That’s probably why.”

“Ah, yes. Maybe that’s it. What’s the name of your town?”

Tristan quickly racked his brain for names of the different towns in the Province of Balance that he remembered. Unfortunately, there weren’t many. He never was good at paying attention to the world-building details of a game, really only caring about the progression side of them.

“Barristead,” Tristan finally answered, injecting confidence where there was none.

Marikov slammed her fist down on the table, making him jump. She stabbed a finger at him, eyes narrowed.

“Barristead hasn’t been a small town in over fifty years,” the enforcer growled. “You’re lying to me, and I want to know why.”

Tristan cursed inwardly. He’d been debating on the ride to Advance whether or not to tell Eila the truth about his situation. If he had, she likely could’ve helped him create a more believable cover story. Or, she would’ve thought I was crazy and never talked to me again.

“Look,” Tristan said, leaning forward and splaying his cuffed hands. “What exactly am I in trouble for? Am I even in trouble? I understand that me doing what I did on the Serenity wasn’t exactly sanctioned by the law, but come on! You expected me to just sit back while the pirates slaughtered everyone? Surely there’s some sort of… I don’t know, good samaritan law or something? Right?”

Marikov glowered at him. “There is. The Right to Act, which empowers cardbearers to do as they see best in a hostile situation where there are no higher agents of the law, regardless of proper procedures.”

Tristan brightened.

“However,” Marikov continued, “the Act only applies to registered cardbearers. Of which you are not.”

Tristan slumped back down.

“In fact, you are, as far as the records are concerned, a non-existent identity. A ghost in the system. That is what you are in trouble for, young man. Failing to disclose your identity to the appropriate governmental bureaus is a serious offence. That, combined with your… actions aboard the Serenity has made you a very suspicious figure in my eyes. I intend to—”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The door opened again, this time with a slam. Tristan and Marikov both looked as a rather smarmy-looking older man with receding hair and a cheap suit barged into the room. His face was rather pudgy, the slightest hint of a pot belly behind his stained shirt, but his red eyes were sharp.

Behind him, a frazzled and anxious-looking enforcer tried to follow, but the stranger just shut the door in her face with a grunt.

“Who in Aquos are you?” Marikov asked, baffled. The door opened immediately again and the enforcer stomped through, face red, but Marikov raised her hand to stop her.

The man snorted, walking over beside Tristan. “Who am I? I’m your worst nightmare, lady. What are you doing talking to my client without me present?”

“Client?” Tristan and Marikov both echoed.

“That’s right.” He summoned his [Binder], and the slight movement made Marikov jerk to her feet, summoning her deck in turn. Tristan saw that the lady was an Adept, and her cards were sleeveless.

“Relax,” the man said with a roll of the eyes. He flipped through his [Binder] and pulled out an [Item Card]. A quick conversion revealed two business cards. He slid one over to Tristan and one to Marikov, who didn’t pick it up.

Tristan eyed his. The card looked rather cheap and flimsy, as if he had been printed on regular paper instead of something laminated. It depicted a set of scales with a pile of chips weighing down one end and the words “THE LAW” written on the other side.

The card read: Transcendent* Lawyer Jevian Destroyer. Cardbearer civil and criminal attorney. When you’re in trouble with the law, just cast me.

There was an address as well, and at the bottom a little note.

*Note: the word “Transcendent” is used as an adjective and is not indicative of Jevian Destroyer’s rank.

“Is your last name really ‘Destroyer?’” Tristan asked, looking up at the man.

He winked back. “Had it legally changed. Now, you,” Jevian said, pointing at the enforcer who’d followed him in. “Get me a chair.”

The enforcer looked to Marikov, who nodded her assent after a minute. The enforcer pulled out an [Item Card] and converted into a chair before shooting a glare at Jevian and leaving.

“Excellent,” Jevian said, sitting down beside Tristan. He cracked his knuckles and grinned at Marikov glowering at him. “Let’s Duel.”

—🃁—

An hour of confusing legal jargon later, Tristan was set free. He had to pay a fine of 10 fire-chips for not properly registering himself in the government records and had to register immediately. All-in-all, not bad, considering he didn’t even have to give back the cards he absorbed from the pirates, as he was worried they would make him.

Before he’d parted from Marikov, the enforcer had stopped him.

“Young man,” she said. “For what it’s worth, I admire and respect what you did on the Serenity. You saved lives, and you deserve commendation. But I have a feeling you are not what you seem, and that worries me. My instincts say you’re dangerous, so I will be keeping an eye on you. Keep that in mind.”

Jevian had rolled his eyes at that and led Tristan out, but those words stuck with him. Specifically, he knew that word of what he’d done on the Serenity had reached the general population, but he wondered exactly how much people knew and what that would do for his anonymity. He didn’t plan on staying anonymous for long, but he wanted to do it on his terms, not anybody else's.

“Hey, kid,” Jevian said, drawing him out of his thoughts. The two of them stood in line to a receptionist at the enforcer station, where Tristan could register himself properly. Eila and Rivingtol were still under questioning it seemed.

Tristan looked up at the lawyer. “Yeah?”

“Did you really kill that pirate captain?” Jevian asked, looking down at him with a raised brow.

“I did.”

Jevian seemed to ponder something, then came to a conclusion. He stuck out his hand at Tristan. After a moment, Tristan shook it.

“Kid, I got a good feeling about you,” Jevian said. “I want to be your lawyer. Exclusive rights. No one else gets you.”

Tristan opened his mouth to answer, but Jevian barreled over him.

“When I heard the news about the Serenity Takeover and what you did on it, I knew I had to snatch you up. I came straight to the station here after one of my sources told me old Marikov was going to interrogate you personally. Thank the gods for that because without me, she would’ve squeezed every last drop out of you and thrown the peels for the rats. Never, ever talk to an enforcer without a lawyer present.”

Tristan grunted in amusement at that. It seemed like some things were universal.

“I gotta be honest with you,” Tristan said as they shuffled forward in line. “I don’t think I really need a lawyer. I appreciate your help today, and I’ll pay you for it of course, but moving forward? I don’t really see myself getting into legal troubles like that anymore.”

Jevian laughed so loud the other people in line turned to look at them. Tristan scowled.

“Kid, you may be gifted with cards but you got a lot to learn about life,” Jevian said, clearly still amused. “Everyone needs a lawyer, and cardbearers like you doubly so.”

It was their turn. Tristan walked up and with Jevian’s help, he got himself registered in the government records and paid the fine.

As it turned out, Tristan was rich now. Really rich. All the [Binders] he’d absorbed from the pirates had cards they’d absorbed from the passengers and crew they’d stolen from. He did his best to return the cards to those who still lived, but unfortunately—or fortunately to the more cynical, greedy side of him—there weren’t too many of those.

There was some talk on the ride back to Advance about returning the absorbed cards to the families of the deceased, but there was little chance of that happening. Too many people had died, the cards were all shuffled around, and not every one of the dead were from Advance. It would take a momentous amount of effort and coordination.

Once the paperwork was all settled, Jevian drew Tristan away to the doors of the station.

“Just think about it, kid,” the man said. “You have my card and address. Come visit me whenever you have a chance. I assure you, and this is not just me trying to get your business, you’ll need my help in the future. Especially if you continue to make waves like this.”

“All right,” Tristan assented. He summoned his [Binder]. “Thank you for your help today. How much do I owe you?”

Jevian waved his hand dismissively. “First cast’s always free. When you need my services in the future, we’ll talk price then.”

They exchanged goodbyes, and Tristan sat down at the waiting area for Eila and Rivingtol, musing about how his life in the new world was much stranger than he’d ever imagined it’d be.