It's an interesting idea -debuffing yourself to move forward and progress essentially. It lacks in obvious ways. I think mechanically speaking, where it's weakest is that there is absolutely nothing for me to do or think about beside 'click' at a predictable rate. Some strategy or narrative element to motivate me would have helped a lot.
Atlas, this is the sharpest version of the problem anyone has put in writing. I measured it after your comment and got the number you found by hand: on a tuned hold rhythm the door arrives at 45.05s drafting and 47.82s under the lean-to, constant over 200 seeds. Two prices, one arrival. So the click is a metronome and the cards were a menu with the dishes already priced.
The gap is exactly what you named: nothing in a run spends either currency, so there is nothing to decide, only a rate to hold. More numbers on the cards cannot fix that. I tried it in the last build: the cards got more readable and not more of a choice. A spend is the only honest fix, and I'm testing it offline before it goes near the live build while the rating window is open.
Also sorry about the title. CARRY the light, CARRY THE LIGHT, neither of us checked first.
