Short Story #2

Walking into her room, Audrey looked over at her golden retriever, Susie, giving it a slight nod.

Surprisingly, Susie would respond with a "Yes." before leaving the room and standing in front of the door. Audrey closed the door behind Susie before walking over to her bed and sitting down.

Striking at 2 PM, her vision would be assaulted by a gray fog and when she found herself in an ancient palace covered by fog, she would give an enthusiastic "Good afternoon, Mr. Fool!"

Mr. Fool would simply nod with a smile.

Ever since Audrey became a sequence 4, Manipulator, she felt some sort of connection to Mr. Fool that she couldn't quite describe. Perhaps this is what happens when someone attains godhood under the watch of a God?

Audrey decided to ask Mr. Fool. If she wanted to understand godhood, it'd be the God who ruled the pathway...huh...

Audrey was stumped. What pathway did Mr. Fool have control over? While, yes, he did have the cards corresponding to the Black Emperor, Red Priest and Tyrant, he wasn't the god of the respective pathways. Changing the question she was going to ask, she looked around to look at the other members of the Tarot Club. Seeing that no one needed anything during the trading part of the meeting, Audrey looked at the end table, where Mr. Fool sat.

"Mr. Fool. I have a question I would like to ask if you wouldn't mind."

Mr. Fool smiled and asked, "I do not mind. Do you want this question to be private?"

Hearing this, Audrey looked around at the other members for a brief moment before turning her attention back to Mr. Fool with a smile and replying; "Everyone can hear it."

"Mr. Fool. Ever since I've joined the Tarot Club, you've helped every member in a variety of ways. From helping them advance in sequence to saving their lives, but in all that time, I still don't know what pathway you have control over. Would you mind enlightening me and the others?", Audrey asked and before she knew it, a tense atmosphere would fill the space.

Alger, looking at Audrey with a tense expression. He too would like to know the pathway Mr. Fool had control over, but he didn't dare to bear the price if there was any attached to the question.

This tense atmosphere would be shattered by a chuckle coming from Mr. Fool. "Have I not told you? Alright, I'll tell you what pathways I have control over."

Pathways? Multiple? Audrey and the rest noticed this particular word being used.

Mr. Fool would raise his hand and three fingers. "Three paths. I control three pathways. One, Apprentice."

Lowering one finger, Mr. Fool would continue. "Two, Fate"

Lowering another finger, only having one extended. "And three, Fool."

Audrey watched as the Fool lowered his last finger and grin find itself on his face.

The members of the Tarot Club were processing the information that Mr. Fool made available to them, which practically lit a sea of oil on fire within their minds. Each member had different thoughts regarding this information...no! The Truth!

Hearing that Mr. Fool had control over three pathways, Alger's mind was like a rampaging hurricane. Many thoughts went through his mind at the speed of lightning.

Fate, Apprentice, and Fool, these three pathways...what is the connection? Suddenly, Alger thought back to the prayer ritual for Mr. Fool.

The Fool that doesn't belong to this era;

The mysterious ruler above the gray fog;

The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck!

Each part of the prayer sent a shiver down his spine! Mr. Fool is an ancient god in the process of reviving and reclaiming his authority, Mr. Fool had control over what he could only think of like an endless world of fog, and when he thought about it, everything the Tarot Club succeeded...

The sound of thunder sounded within his mind as one thought dominated his mind, 'He planned it all! From each member joining the Club, our pathways, and those cards of blasphemy!'

Alger turned his head towards Mr. World who had recently reached sequence 2: Miracle Invoker.

'How many Blessed did Mr. Fool have, truly?' Mr. World didn't represent only Gerhman, but all of Mr. Fool's blessed. How many had he met already? How long had Mr. Fool been planning this?'

Seeing that The Hanged Man was staring at Mr. World, Klien made the fake person give him a smirk.

The Sun had similar thoughts to Alger in the sense that his vision of Mr. Fool had increased several magnitudes.

'Mr. Fool controls so many Pathways! Tyrant, Red Priest, Apprentice, Fate, Black Emperor, and the Fool pathway! That means he controls six out of the 22 Pathways! Praise Mr. Fool! The savior of the City of Silver!'

Mr. Moon, or also known as Emlyn White to those who knew him in the real world, was shocked at how many Pathways Mr. Fool controlled. Fate, Apprentice, and Fool Pathway...Had his Ancestor predicted this and gave him the holy task of gaining favor with Mr. Fool? Truly, our Ancestor is divine!

Cattleya dug deep into the meaning of Mr. Fool's control over the three pathways and came to the same conclusion as Alger that Mr. Fool had been planning for a long, long time and his threads were in every corner of the world of beyonders...

Audrey was very happy that her question had allowed her to gain a higher understanding of Mr. Fool and although it was only three words, she knew that she underestimated Mr. Fool! She thought Mr. Fool had control over only one Pathway beside the cards, but this was completely beyond her expectations!

Fors, upon learning that Mr. Fool controlled the apprentice pathway couldn't help have conflicting thoughts...She knew that Mr. Fool held no malice, or at least, she hoped, and she wouldn't be affected like those that worshiped the fallen creator...However, what did that mean for Mr. Door who she suspected to be a King of Angels? Before Fors knew, however, she let a "Why" escape her lips. She instinctually covered her mouth with her hands and grew extremely tense as she felt the eyes of the other members gaze at her.

Then, she heard Mr. Fool's voice and her ******* seemed to simply wash away.

"If you have a question, ask away. I'm not picky at what question are asked."

Hearing Mr. Fool's thoughts, Fors worked up the courage and with a gulp, she asked, "Mr. Fool, if you control the Apprentice Pathway, why does Mr. Door exist? Isn't he a King of Angels?"

Once her question was finished, Mr. Fool gave her a smirk and clapped his hands together which echoed in the endless world of fog.

"Riddle me this. What does being an actor mean and who does the actor listen to? Your answer lies within the question."

Hearing Mr. Fool's question, each member looked deep into the question but were interrupted by Mr. Fool as he said; "Let's end it here. See you all next week." Mr. Fool raised his hand and everyone was sent back to the real world.

In various parts of the world, all of the Tarot Club members thought about the last question.

'An actor is someone who pretends to be a character to act out a story and a story is created by a writer, but who made sure things went the right way?'

Almost at the same time, all members came to the same conclusion. "The Director!"

Alger and Cattleya who had the same thoughts when Mr. Fool's control over the pathways was revealed, shared another thought.

"Mr. Door is a blessed of Mr. Fool!"