I lowkey expected her to be asleep in the kitchen again, but Alice wasn’t home, and I almost missed a dull yellow note on the fridge.

“Going 2 our folks till 2morrow. Pls don’t run around the town all night, xoxo.”

All is well that ends well. She won’t see me all scarred and battered, and I won’t have to come up with sitcom-tier implausible explanations. I hoped the healing effect would bring me into shape even before Alice returned. Well, it did work right away, and I felt much better, while the bruises became less noticeable. Nobody would tell I got kicked in the face. Twice.

A surprise awaited in the room, in the form of an ominous black box in the middle of my bed. An unfamiliar angular symbol was engraved on the lid, and it was slightly glowing in the dark.

For some reason, I didn’t want to touch it. Suspicious chests can grow teeth and bite curious in the ass.

“Looks like you won a prize.” Whispered the voice. “Oh! Remember that message? One you ignored in a fit of misguided heroism?”

Right. I completely forgot about that one. While the system information is always on your mind, it takes a conscious effort to access most of it. I was too busy getting kicked and lying in the dirt.

I focused on the symbol and brought the message forward.

“Hello, Mr. Kim.

You don’t know me, however, I had to contact you directly. It seems like you were gifted with something rare and very precious. There’s a long dangerous journey ahead of you. Would be a shame if it ended too soon, so I want to help you as much as I possibly can from my position. A package is delivered to your house right now. I’m sure, you’ll find it very useful. Consider it a helping hand from an old friend.”

“Who is this mysterious benefactor? And most importantly, how did he do it?” The windows did not seem to be broken, nor was the door. The only other set of keys is with Alice. It shouldn’t be possible to get inside the flat but here we are.”

“A stable portal tuned onto the place you consider home. It’s simple, Arthur. Try to keep up.”

“Yeah. Sounds totally reasonable.”

It’s good that they are friendly, though. I don’t want to make enemies of people who can create tiny wormholes anywhere. Especially over my bed, or in the toilet. Those are serious people.

“I need to tell you something.” Said the Fool. “You should know what exactly you are going to do for me.”

“Why? I like stumbling around like a blind kitten. Why would you explain any… It’s about fucking time!”

“We need to be discreet, it’s very important. There’s a lot of dangerous people in this world, and it was a gamble making you my host. For now, you are beneath their notice. Even Observers mostly don’t care about beginners. We should use this opportunity.”

“There were a lot of dangerous people even before your system got here. Stop mumbling, tell it like it is.”

The symbol grew ten times its size and started spinning slowly in the air, like a creepy hologram. Now I could see it was some kind of spiral with pointy bits and a weird sword stuck in the middle.

“This box is from my acquaintances in the Cradle. My former host told them how to track me without Stigma noticing. By the way, we are working for Stigma now. That’s a long story.”

“Less foreshadowing, more details please.”

“As you wish. Imagine your whole law enforcement system is run by a bunch of constantly quarreling noble families. That’s “Stigma”. It’s like the police, FBI, federal court, KGB, NASA, and Game of Thrones mashed into a single vast interdimensional bureaucracy. They maintain peace and order in the Cradle of Amaravathi and beyond. When I say beyond, I mean worlds like this one, full of sleeper agents.”

“Digital complex.”

“Exactly. An invasive system which turns locals into useful force.”

“Eh, I knew that.” I shrugged.

“Shut up. Yes, you are an agent of Stigma and it’s very important to help people and kill the Stranded, but it’s not really why I’m here. Not really what you are supposed to be either.”

I don’t like sudden changes in rhetoric. Those always sound dubious.

“Arthur, we’ve met for a reason. Others don’t know anything about the cards and you shouldn’t tell anyone. [TIES THAT BIND] is not a common ability.”

“I had a feeling it’s going to turn out this way. But what does that mean?”

“You are the host of Zero. The Fool. Point of origin in the Arcana Major. That’s why you are going to finish what your predecessor started.”

“Wait, and you…”

“The cards don’t have set personalities. We are archetypes, memories, and reflections. I am what you are, except unrestrained by chains of mortal mind."

“If my head cracks, I know who to blame. How can you have friends in high places, if you are not actually a person though?”

“Friends of that other guy, what’s the difference? Don’t bother with the science and metaphysics of it all, otherwise your head will crack. Do what you’re told and you’ll be happy.”

Like hell! If my life depends on it, I will ask all kinds of questions. Except, I didn’t want to ask anything right there and then. It would not change anything, and I was exhausted.

“We’ll discuss everything later. Just tell me what that ultimate task of yours is.” I said yawning.

“You are not ready for that yet. Focus on gathering the cards for now.”