The Sentient Spirits stood silently beside their masters, their forms shimmering with ethereal energy, exchanging silent glances with one another. Some nodded in understanding, while others smirked with amusement. Arcane Magnus flickered between elements playfully, Venya pulsed in gentle starlight, and Naktala rolled her eyes at her twin. Kasisay stood tall, watching over them all as if preparing to guide a class of unruly students. The silent anticipation was not just for Lolo Lando’s instructions but for the battle ahead—each spirit and master acknowledging the weight of what was to come. A fresh sense of direction had settled over them. They finally knew what had to be done—what remained now were the details of how to do it.

  Lolo Lando flicked a finger, his expression sharpening. "Alright, listen up. Here’s the situation right now." The Hermit nodded at his Sentient Spirit.

  Kasisay cast shimmering glyphs into the air, each symbol pulsing with ethereal energy. Her gaze swept across the group before she spoke. "The Strength, The Lovers, The Wheel of Fortune, The Chariot, The Hierophant, and The Judgment have already made their descent into this world. But not all will be on our side. Some may have already been swayed by forces unknown. The Dark Arcana are moving, and if we do not reach them first, we may be forced to face them as enemies."

  "Diwata’s gaze softened as an old memory surfaced. "What about The Sun?" she murmured, her voice laced with nostalgia. She glanced at Buwan, sharing an unspoken understanding. "She was one of the four guardians of the Palace. Unlike the rest of us, she wasn’t one for politics or strategy—she was a warrior through and through. The only woman General among The Justice, The Chariot, The Judgment, and herself."

  Buwan chuckled softly. "She never did like staying inside the Palace walls. She’d rather be on the battlefield than in meetings with the High Council."

  Diwata nodded. "Where is she right now?"

  Zeth and Arden exchanged knowing smiles before Zeth casually dropped the revelation. “My daughter Bliss is The Sun. The same Sun, the only woman General among us.”

  Silence.

  Dominic’s brain visibly stalled. His expression morphed from confusion to sheer disbelief, his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air. He raised a finger, dropped it, then raised it again before finally managing, “Wait… wait, wait, wait—WHAT?!"

  Leigh covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, while the General chuckled in amusement. "Well look at that. hahaha."

  Dominic pointed a shaky finger at Zeth. “You mean to tell me that my little sister—my innocent, book-loving, wears-flower-hairpins, never-skips-breakfast sister—is The Sun Arcana?!”

  Zeth chuckled, crossing his arms with a smirk. "That’s right. And knowing Bliss, she probably still insists on reading books about diplomacy while knocking people out in combat training. Some things never change."

  Dominic groaned, dramatically running his hands through his hair. “Great. Just great. My dad’s The Justice, my best friend is The Fool, my little sister is The Sun… Why does my family tree look like a Tarot deck exploded on it?!”

  Leigh patted his back with an amused smile. “Well, you are The Magician after all.”

  Dominic let out a strangled sigh. “This is too much. I need a drink.”

  Buwan smirked. “We have tea.”

  Dominic waved a hand dismissively. "I need something hard—"

  A loud smack landed on the back of his head before he could finish. "You're still sixteen, you idiot," Zeth scolded, shaking his head.

  Dominic winced, rubbing the spot. "Fine, fine! Tea. I'll take tea. But make it strong!"

  Arden exhaled. "Then we don’t wait. We move. First, we find the remaining Arcana. And then—" he glanced at Zeth, determination burning in his gaze, "we find our weapons. We’ve fought long enough without them." Zeth nodded in agreement.

  With newfound excitement, Arden turned on his heel, ready to march off dramatically. "Alright! Time to—"

  "Hey, twig, where do you think you’re going?" Lolo Lando’s voice cut through his moment.

  Arden blinked, turning back. "Uh… to look for my weapon and the other Arcana?"

  Lolo Lando raised a skeptical brow. "And do you know where to find them?"

  Arden opened his mouth, then paused, glancing at Zeth, then at the others. His brow twitched as if trying to piece together an excuse, but nothing came.

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  Utter silence.

  Zeth smirked, arms crossed. "You got nothing, do you?"

  Arden exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Okay, maybe I didn't think that far ahead..."

  Leigh cleared her throat. "Did… did you actually have a plan, Arden?"

  Dominic smirked. "Oh, this is rich. The great Fool, charging ahead without a clue. Classic."

  Arden groaned dramatically, running a hand down his face before throwing his arms wide. "It was going to come to me on the way!" he insisted, as if that somehow justified his complete lack of a plan. He then folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently, as if waiting for divine inspiration to strike.

  Zeth sighed, shaking his head. "This is why you need supervision."

  Lolo Lando chuckled, stroking his beard. "Sit down, boy. You can’t just wander into fate like a headless chicken. We have a path to walk—but let’s make sure it’s the right one."

  With a subtle motion, he signaled Kasisay. The floating lantern pulsed once, Kasisay’s form flickered and shifted, taking on a more defined, human-like appearance—dressed in a formal suit, her hands folded neatly as she adjusted a pair of glasses that didn’t actually exist.

  “Alright, class, settle down,” Kasisay announced, her tone crisp and authoritative. She paced in front of them like a seasoned professor, exuding an air of no-nonsense efficiency.

  The group exchanged puzzled glances. “Wait… is she acting like a teacher?” Dominic whispered to Leigh.

  “Shh, you don’t want to get detention,” Leigh muttered, barely suppressing a grin.

  Kasisay shot them a glance over her imaginary glasses but continued as if she hadn’t heard. “As I was saying, our mission objectives are as follows. First, locate the remaining Arcana. They are dispersed across the world, and their retrieval is of utmost importance. Second, secure the lost weapons, particularly those of Arden and Zeth.”

  She raised a glowing hand, and shimmering images materialized in the air—each location pulsing with ethereal light.

  Each Arcana’s whereabouts were revealed in turn, drawing murmurs of surprise from the group. Kasisay continued, her tone unwavering as she outlined The Lovers’ divided fate, The Wheel of Fortune’s fragmented existence, The Chariot’s political web in Saudi Arabia, and The Hierophant’s growing influence over global faith. Then she turned, pointing directly at Arden and Zeth.

  “As for your weapons, one remains with Judgment. The other, we must find. Neither are lost.” She clasped her hands behind her back, her gaze sharp. “Now, if you fail to retrieve them in a timely manner, I will be forced to assign extra coursework.”

  Dominic let out an exaggerated gasp. “Okay, now I’m actually scared.”

  Kasisay arched a brow. “Young man, unless you would like a personal pop quiz on spellwork theory, I suggest you focus.”

  Leigh hesitated. “What about Judgment?”

  Kasisay adjusted her glasses. “Ah, it’s your brother. Didn’t you know yet?”

  Silence fell over the group. Leigh’s breath caught. The General’s eyebrows shot up. Marcos tensed. Dominic’s brain short-circuited.

  "Wait—hold on—WHAT?!" Dominic practically yelled. "Who?! Her brother—The Judgment?! Are you serious?!"

  Leigh’s mouth opened, then closed. "I… No. That’s not possible. He—" Her voice wavered as doubt crept in, the weight of Kasisay’s words settling over her like a cold shadow.

  “And yet,” Kasisay continued smoothly, adjusting her imaginary glasses, “he holds one of the missing weapons and has been unknowingly preparing for his role his entire life. Like you, he has yet to regain his past memories. Fate has a way of aligning the pieces, even when we fail to recognize the pattern.”

  The General frowned in thought. "What weapon, and more importantly, why the Valverde? Zeth having The Magician and The Sun makes sense because he himself is an Arcana. But in my entire lineage, there’s no record of anything supernatural. So, what are the odds that two Major Arcana end up in my family as well? Just dumb luck?"

  Lolo Lando chuckled knowingly. "Your ancestors were the closest to us Arcana. Centuries ago, you already knew of our existence, but you chose not to believe it—or rather, you named it differently. You called our world 'Engkantadia' and us Arcana 'Engkanto.'"

  Lolo Lando smirked, finding it amusing. "You believed in us more than you realized. Your people have always spoken of Engkantadia as a hidden realm, where powerful beings shaped the fate of the land. The Engkanto were seen as guardians of nature, protectors of balance—just as we, the Arcana, have always been. Perhaps your ancestors did not forget us; they merely retold our story in ways they could understand."

  The General exhaled, shaking his head in disbelief. "So, they were all real. And here I thought my grandfather’s stories were just bedtime tales." He let out a chuckle before nudging Lolo Lando. "Turns out, we’ve been part of this all along. Damn, I need a drink."

  Lolo Lando laughed, patting the General’s shoulder. "Tea first, my friend. The hard stuff comes after we win."

  The lantern pulsed one final time, and Lolo Lando's smirk deepened. "And just like those tales, some doors, once opened, can never be closed again. The question is… are you ready for what lies ahead?"

  A cold wind swept through the clearing, and for the first time since they arrived, the forest no longer felt familiar. The air carried an eerie hum, a whisper of something ancient stirring in the distance.

  The battle for the Tarot World had already begun. They just hadn’t realized it yet.

  Far from the warmth of the Philippines, under the cold, gray skies of Russia, a young man sat by a frost-covered window, his fingers absentmindedly tracing the condensation on the glass. Outside, the city buzzed with life, but he remained still, staring at nothing in particular.

  Rean Valverde exhaled, watching his breath fog up the window. For days now, an unsettling feeling had gnawed at the edges of his mind—an inexplicable weight pressing down on him, as if something unseen was moving toward him.

  His reflection flickered in the glass, and for the briefest moment, his own eyes seemed… different. Deeper. Wiser. Older than they should have been. A shiver ran down his spine, and he blinked, the illusion vanishing.

  “What the hell is wrong with me?” he muttered under his breath, shaking off the strange sensation.

  The unease didn’t fade. Something was coming—something vast and inevitable, like the slow turn of a great wheel. Deep inside, some part of him knew that no matter how much he tried to ignore it, his fate was already in motion, pulling him toward an unknown destiny.