The Day My Luck Broke

Toma counted gambling debts for a living, so he noticed lies faster than most people noticed their own fear. After his luck path broke during a failed promotion, he started measuring every decision by what it cost him socially, not just what it saved. That calm habit made him useful and lonely at the same time. When a dangerous spirit offered a contract with clean terms and ugly consequences, he took it because his body was already slipping out of balance. His hands shook only when he was alone. The people around him kept calling him careful, while he kept asking what his caution had finally bought him.