Chapter 1: The Legend Begins

Chapter 1: The Legend Begins

Thomas Lowe wore a listless expression on his face as he inanely flicked through social media posts on his smartphone. He was seated on an uncomfortable plastic chair, his legs crossed and resting on the billing counter. The convenience store he worked in was empty and to be honest, thomas still didnt understand the point of a twenty-four hour store in an especially out of the way part of Rural America. Not that it was surprising, city folk had more money than they knew what to do with and he definitely wasnt complaining getting paid to scroll through his phone, even if it was a shitty minimum wage, was a good gig.

A bell lightly chimed accompanied by a short, chilly burst of wind.

A customer? Tom thought, finding it odd. It was 3 a.m. in the morning, for christsakes. It would be a miracle if someone stepped out of their homes after nine in his town.

He perked up, hastily getting back to his feet. His gaze went to his shotgun that was concealed beneath the desk, but things hadnt escalated to the point that he would need it.

After all, in their small town of ten thousand people, there were few faces that werent familiar to him.

A bearded man stepped into his field of view, a sly smile resting on his face. He was dressed in what seemed to be a victorian-era outfit, with a black tuxedo, lacquered cane and a beautiful emerald brooch that was pinned to his chest. The top hat though, was truly what seemed to give Tom some warning signals. He wasnt sure that the man in front of him was entirely sane.

No sane man walked at 3 a.m. in the morning dressed like a seventeenth century noble, atleast not in their town. But the pure gold pocket watch that the man held in his right hand gave him pause, especially when he noticed that it seemed to be inlaid with precious gems.

Whoever this man was, he seemed too refined for a stick-up. Toms gaze shifted to the mans face, and realized that he was stunningly handsome his silver beard trimmed to perfection, his light blue eyes seeming to almost shine as light landed upon them, making him wonder if they were some form of coloured contact lenses and his face lacked any sort of blemishes at all, making him wonder if he was a model or an actor or something along those lines.

How can I help you, sir? Tom asked, his voice rather strained.

Thomas Lowe, he stated calmly, his voice betraying none of his supposed insanity.

A chill ran down Thomas spine. There was no name tag on his work outfit so how did he

Beginning to freak out, his hands inched closer to his shotgun.

A flicker of movement distracted him, his gaze shifting to the cosplaying man. Toms hands began to tremble as he ceased moving for he found himself looking down the end of a barrel, the cold, black steel of a modern handgun pointed right at his head.

T-The money Ill open the register, Thomas stuttered, hoping desperately that the man just suffered from an advanced form of kleptomania instead of being an outright lunatic.

I dont want your money, The bearded man replied, his voice growing colder.

What do you want then!? Thomas screamed back in response, unable to maintain his cool in such a situation. Inwardly, he was wondering if he should risk grabbing his shotgun, but the stakes were so high that it left him trapped in a cycle of indecision.

I want you to play a game, The bearded man replied calmly.

A. game? Tom replied, his voice projecting a blend of fear, trepidation and confusion.

The rules are simple, He spoke, waiting for Tom to look directly into his eyes before continuing, I will ask you a question. You will answer. If you lie, I will shoot you.

If I lie.? Tom muttered, shaking from fear at this point. How would this lunatic know if he was speaking the truth or not. This was sick. A sick, twisted fucking joke at his expense.

He was a coward. His entire life he had been a coward. But. but. if he was going to die anyway at the whim of some cruel, deranged psychopath then.

His hands blurred as he reached out for his shotgun. In a moment of pure rage, he overcame his nigh crippling fear because that was the only path to survival that he saw.

He felt the cold metal barrel of the shotgun brush against his skin as he yanked it out from below the counter. He hastily pointed the barrel towards the bearded man, his heart hammering his chest as he primed himself to shoot. Oddly enough, despite never having shot at a living target before there was no hesitation in his actions.

A gunshot rang out and with it came the onset of tinnitus. The loud, beeping sound in his ear would normally cause great alarm, but at that moment Tom could barely care.

He had not fired the shot.

With dread in his eyes, he angled his gaze downwards, hoping for a miracle.

Utter shock flashed in his eyes as he patted his chest for a wound, but found none.

Wait-, he muttered, realizing that his hands were free. Where was his

He swiveled his head to the left, having noticed a blur of moment in that direction. His shotgun lay lodged in a display stand, a steaming bullet hole visible in its grip.

The man had he had shot the firearm out of his hand?

How the fuck.. was that even possible?

Struggling not to hyperventilate at this point he slowly creaked his neck to face the bearded man, who stood there, his pristine visage still placid, unmoved by Toms actions.

Was this was this a dream?

Are you done? He asked, his words tinged with an air of finality a veiled warning, if Tom ever saw one.

Ye-yes sir, He hastily replied, raising his trembling arms in the air to show that he was not a thread.

Very well, listen carefully then. I shall only ask my question once. If you fail to answer., the bearded man pressed the barrel close to Toms head, the cold metal making him wince upon contact.

My first question, He stated. A bead of sweat ran down Toms forehead as he begged his mind to operate at full, no beyond full capacity. He hoped dearly, prayed to anyone who was listening, that the psychopath would pose a question he could answer.

You are walking through a crowded marketplace. A black SUV drives past you, crashing into a streetlight. An armed man slams open the car door. His eyes are bloodshot as he scans the area. He unholsters his gun, a pistol and points it at the crowd. The man is an escapee from an armed robbery and he is looking for a hostage. The crowd begins to flee and the man screams at them to stop. You have concealed yourself behind him, the only weapon in your possession that shotgun you tried to use on me. It does not have the range to shoot from this distance. The man is about to shoot into the crowd. To stop him, you need to charge at him and unload a shotgun slug. But the odds that he will hear your footsteps are high. Thomas Lowe, what would you do in this situation?

What would I do? He repeated the question aloud, stunned by its oddity.

You have sixty seconds to answer, the man retorted coldly.

Thomas knee jerk instinct was to reply brusequly that he would repeat what he had done just now. That he would charge at the armed man and shoot him dead. Why? Because thats the answer that this odd victorian man most likely wanted to here. The whole get-up smelled of someone with a fetish for justice and he had almost convinced himself that it was the right thing to say.

But.

When he looked into the mans crystal clear blue eyes.. Those were not the eyes of a deranged man. But those were definitely the eyes of a killer.

If you lie, I will shoot you. The mans words rang out in his mind, causing Tom to twitch. He couldnt lie. His tells would probably be too obvious under such duress. The man had to be ex-military. That would make sense, sniffing out a lie shouldnt be difficult for him with such a background.

So what would he do?

Who was Tom? Someone who worked minimum wage in a convenience store. Someone who had given up his ambitions at the first signs of setbacks. Someone who was too afraid to get close to others, for fear of abandonment. Someone who had lost once, and was too afraid to lose again.

Someone who blamed the world for his problems.

I would, A tear trickled down Toms flushed face, though he did not consider it to be due to the stress, stay hidden, he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Trash, the bearded man muttered with disdain, spitting on the ground.

Tom winced.

You passed the first question, he added after, causing Tom to sigh in relief. Though he didnt know why he should be relieved, this lunatic would kill him either way.

For the second question, look into my eyes, he blandly stated.

Thomas pulled the trigger.

An ear splitting bang rang out, as the tattooed mans head exploded like a smashed tomato.

The next second, a while fog swept the world.

Towering above him was the bearded man who stood aloof in the world of fog.

Your resolve is weak. Your approach is foolish. What would you have done if your shot missed? Instead of aiming for the body, you chose the head. Fucking idiot. When you said that you would have cowered behind a car in the first scenario, I believed you. The second question though, I didnt. I instanced you a thousand times you know? Each time you gave me the same answer. I would save the girl. You really did fucking save her.

The bearded man landed a kick against Toms abdomen, causing him to cough out a mouthful of blood.

Why did you save her? You would let an entire crowd of people die just to protect your insignificant life, but youre willing to stake your life for just one human? How does that make sense? Why are you grinning?

You., Tom croaked out weakly. ...said her. Shes real isnt she?

The bearded old man remained stoic for a long minute, before finally answering with a curt Yes.

Tom began to laugh, sputtering out blood every few seconds.

I dont understand any of this. What this is. Who you are. Why Im bleeding out on a fucking cloud. But. If you want to know why I saved her that I can answer.

So why?

Because Im selfish. Because when I saw that six foot tall piece of shit criminal inching towards an innocent girl with a gun in his hand.., Tom aggressively spat out another mouthful of blood, It fucking pissed me off, thats why! It reminded me of myself. When I was huddled up, head buried in my arms waiting for . It to stop, all I wanted was for someone to save me. So I.. saved her instead.

You, the bearded man spat with disgust, are illogical. Driven by emotions. Rash. Easily prone to anger.

You are a Fool.

With that, the bearded man snapped his fingers.

Tom stumbled as he tried to get a hold of the situation. The pain had disappeared. He felt the ground underneath his feet so he was standing. He scanned the surroundings, only to see the now comforting fluorescent lights lighting up a convenience store. His convenience store.

The bearded man stood in front of him, in his hands a deck of cards that seemed to be made out of solid chips of gold, with a red crystal embedded in the center. The cards were face down, so Tom couldnt make out what was behind them.

Choose one, The man held out the cards, a deck of fifty two it seemed like.

I dont want it, Thomas replied bluntly, no longer as afraid of the man. He had brushed with death once, and if this being wished to harm him, then there was nothing he could do to fight him.

The moment you passed the trial, you consented to making a choice.

What fucking consent!? Tom protested. You pointed a gun at my forehead and forced me to do whatever this is. Wait, I passed?

You did. This is your reward.

What happens if I refuse?

I will shoot you.

Thats getting real fucking old now, man.

Fine, fine, Tom raised his hands in mock protest. How do I make the choice? And what are these cards?

You are to close your eyes and expand your senses. You will feel varying degrees of pull from each card, depending on your personality, actions and the life you have lived. Choose the one to which you feel the strongest attraction. As for what the cards are, they. represent supernatural power, like the kind I wield. But individually, I do not know, for the cards shield them from myself. Simply put, I am a messenger. The questions I asked you were merely the will of the cards, kid.

Will of the cards? Supernatural power? Well..you arent exactly giving me much of a choice, Tim sighed, closing his eyes and attempting to expand his senses, whatever that meant.

For a long minute he could sense nothing but then a tall spire of golden light came into focus in his minds eye, tethered to himself. There were other spires of light that continuously formed and shattered as tendrils from the golden spire stretched out and snuffed their light before they could get anywhere near him.

Ten minutes passed as he simply watched in marvel and the golden spire shattered spire after spire with ruthless efficiency, as if it had a personal vengeance with the other cards.

Was that supposed to happen?

Tom didnt exactly have a reference point but what would happen if tried to reach out for the other cards? His face paled as he imagined the golden tendril snuffing out his light as easily as it did the others.

That was not the outcome he wished for so he followed the bearded mans instructions and reached for the spire of light.

When he opened his eyes, he was holding on to a Golden Card that seemed indistinguishable from the others.

What no-, Tom stopped mid sentence as the Golden Cards surface began to crack, revealing a pure diamond exterior underneath. He gasped as tendrils of energy snaked out from the card, reaching for his mortal body. A second later it was replaced by a spire of energy that seemed to engulf his being, but surprisingly the energy didnt hurt or seem physical at all, more like an aura that was seeping deeply in every inch of his body.

His gaze shifted to the diamond card, chills running down his spine when he saw the creepy visage of himself dressed in a jesters outfit gazing back at him.

[Card Name: The Fool]

Status: Soul Card [Level Requirement Waived]

Rank: Unique-Legendary/Ephemeral

Current Abilities:

Shroud [No Level Requirement] [Passive]

Oho. A [Rare] Grand Illusionist Card as your Soul Card? The bearded man seemed happy, overjoyed even, when he saw the result.

Whats this blue screen? Tom felt his unease building up as he gazed at the words, a chill running down his spine.

Oh thats the Card Script. Dont worry, youll get used to it.

But it says here that I have a [Rare] Grand Illusionist Card!? Tom protested, or attempted to protest. The horror in his heart spiked when he realized that. He didnt manage to say the words he wanted to. He had meant to say that he had a [Unique-Legendary Fool Card].

Hm. Thats what I said? The bearded man replied quizzically.

Sorry I must have misheard.

Well thats my job done, kid. Remember, it was nothing personal.

Oh and Welcome to Artezia.

Wait what the fu-

A gunshot rang out in the convenience store, alarming the nearby residents who stormed the door armed to the teeth fifteen minutes later. There was no body to be found, not even the casings of a bullet. The man known as Thomas Lowe disappeared, and multiple efforts were made to find him. But all trails were cold, as if the man had disappeared of the face of the earth.

Seven years later he was labelled missing, never to be seen again.