Claiming one’s destiny is not a simple task, Solus and Arc will both face countless trials and tribulations as they tread down the path that awaits them.

A few days after Arc had his talk with Alexander, Bacchus knocks on the door to his house. Bacchus looks at the door he’s knocking on in annoyance, and several thoughts cross his mind. Thoughts about how to stop Arc from following the Fool Arcana. But those thoughts quickly leave his head, replaced by a tired look on his face.

“This boy… He hasn’t had the guidance of a parent in 2 years. Maybe I shouldn’t be this hard on him. I’m sure once he truly understands the error of his choice then he’ll beg to change to a more suitable Arcana. Hmph, and I’m sure the elders would agree to a request as long as I put a good word in. I’ll give the boy some kind words of advice when he comes out, after all as caretaker of the younger generation it is my duty to lead kids onto the right path.”

He laughs in self satisfaction, and he again knocks on the door waiting for Arc to come out. Some more time passes and Arc still doesn’t come out of the house, and so he knocks again, and again, and again. His face begins to fill with anger, and he knocks on the door once more with enough power to almost break it.

“Hey! Are you Lord Bacchus?”

Bacchus turns around to the voice he just heard, and sees a young man walking towards him.

“Yes, I am. What is it boy?”

The young man fishes a note out of his pocket and hands it to Bacchus.

“Arc said to give you this.”

The note reads a very simple message.

“I left for the Fool island yesterday.”

From, Arc.

Bacchus stares at the note for a moment with a blank look on his face. He neatly folds it and puts it into his robe, all the while not making a noise or making any particular expression. Only one thought enters his mind.

“That boy isn’t deserving of my advice.”

While this was going on, Arc leans on the railing of deck on the boat that’s taking him to the Fool island. He closes his eyes and listens to the sound of the waves hitting the ship. He mentally prepares himself for his arrival at the Fool island and the tribulations that awaited him.

His concentration is broken by the voice of the ship captain, Waite.

Waite was a man who had traversed the oceans around the Rage Continent for many years, and the countless experiences and journeys he had voyaged on were all reflected in his eyes.

They were eyes that could read a man he had only just met, ones that bored into the very depth of one's soul. If one were to describe him to another person, they would surely begin with his eyes.

Apart from his eyes, Waite was like any other time worn sailor. He had nothing truly special about his looks, he was an average man through and through. His brown hair had grown long and was tied back so it would not get in the way of his face, and stubble wrapped around his chin.

His voice was not a loud one, but it contained a heavy weight behind it that demanded attention from any who heard it. His presence overwhelms those around him, and anyone who meets him can instinctively tell that he is someone great.

The difference between his plain looks and his domineering presence had earned him a nickname from the people of the Rage Continent. “The Slumbering Beast”.

What was such a man doing transporting a single child to the Fool Island? The answer was simple, because he thought it would be interesting.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

He was not a man of intense conviction or desires, he simply reacted to the world around him. He followed what interested him, and his crew would follow blindly behind him. But Waite did respect those who had convictions unlike himself, he respected those who have a dream.

Arc was one such person who he respected. Waite had docked and was having a drink at a bar when Arc had come up to him and asked him to take him the Fool Island. Normally, Waite would ignore such a request and continue on his merry way without a second thought, but Arcs eyes had garnered his attention.

His eyes were filled with an unrelenting dream, his body carried confidence that was undeserved and strange coming from a young boy heading to the Fool Island, the worst of the worst of the Arcana Chain.

This intrigued Waite, and so he decided to take Arc to the Fool Island. And now he intended to chat with him, he wanted to understand why the boy had chosen to go here and what drove him forwards.

“Young lad Arc! I’ve seen you’ve grown accustomed to the waters already? Have you ever been sailing before?”

Arc slowly opens his eyes and looks over to the man that called out to him. Every single sense in his body told him, this man was his superior in every way. The aura Waite put off, the experience behind his eyes were all terrifying to an extent that Arc had never felt before.

“Not that I remember, no. But if I couldn’t get used to a little water, then how am I gonna get anywhere in life?”

Waite smiles in response to his answer and fires back a response immediately.

“Good answer! You have a good head for someone going to the Fool Island. Which brings a question, why would you ever go there? You seem like someone with talent, you could learn anywhere else, so why there?”

Waite cut immediately to the chase. This was always how he acted when he was interested in something, and now was no different.

Arc takes a moment to respond to the question, a bit of surprise flashing in his eyes.

“Why? I’ve been asked that a lot lately. I haven’t answered anyone who’s asked yet. But for some reason I feel…compelled to give you an honest answer. So I will, I’ll tell you what makes the Fool so enticing to me.”

Stepping back from the deck he was leaning on, Arc turns fully towards Waite and looks at him in the eyes.

“Most people believe that the Major Arcana is the path the Fool stepped down. His encounters, the people he met, his own beliefs were all inscribed onto each of the 21 Major Arcana. That is a common belief everyone on the Arcana chain shares. But, that is about the only thing the entire Arcana shares as a belief. The 21 Major Arcana all have differing beliefs as to what the proper Arcana is. They believe that you should focus on a single aspect of the path, not the whole thing. That’s where the Fool Island differs. They believe the Fool walked the right path, and try to emulate him. But, the problem is that the benefits someone gets by following the Fool is minimal compared to what the other Arcana have to offer. And that’s why they’re the weakest.”

Waite shows an intent interest into what Arc is saying, but interrupts him before he can continue on.

“I get it, that all makes sense. But what about you? Why are you going to the Fool if it doesn’t offer as much as the other Arcana?”

Arc clenches his fists and speaks resolutely, every word he speaks carrying an invisible weight that crushes down on those who hear them.

“The Fool Arcana is the beginning and the end, it’s not a part of the 21 Major Arcana. That’s all it is, not a path to follow or a goal to reach. Anyone who thinks it’s anything more is deserving of the name The Fool. Emulating a man who’s long dead? What’s the point in that, you’ll just end up the same as him! But those idiots who follow one aspect of the path are no better. Taking one aspect to the extreme sounds alright in practice, but the fact that they’re using the Fool’s own experiences as their foundation is just asking for themselves to be limited.”

Arc takes a deep breath, never having told anyone these thoughts of his before, he got excited and lost control of himself for a moment.

“But… saying there’s nothing to take away from the Fool is wrong as well. I don’t want his experiences or the path that he walked down, but what I am interested in is the concept of the Arcana themselves. And once I grab onto that concept, I will create my own path to walk down. Sadly, the only way to begin that process is by going to the Fool Island.”

Waite looks on in amazement at the boy in front of him, the words he spoke had lit a flame in him.

“Good, Yeah! Yeah! Follow that dream of yours. If you can actually pull it off, you’ll shock the entire Rage Continent!”

A huge grin comes across Waites face, and Arc smiles back at him. By finally vocalizing his thoughts, he had again reaffirmed his resolve. In the back of his head however, he knows that in reality the one who had planted this idea in his head was his mother. She had taught him constantly about the Arcana Chain since he was young, and she was quite vocal about her interpretations and beliefs.

The rest of the trip to the Fool Island went uneventfully, and Arc had finally departed and began his first step towards his pursuit of strength. Waite watched the boy as he walked away and made an off hand comment towards one of his crew.

“With a dream as crazy as that, and such a heavy resolve it’s possible that boy might come for the title. The strongest in the rage continent!”

The sailor he said it to looked a bit shocked, but was long used to Waite and his absurdities. He spoke back with a tired voice.

“Really? You think he’ll be able to challenge you one day? That’s a pretty hefty guess.“

Waite laughs at his response, but then a defeated look covers his face.

“You can’t call me that anymore… Not since that monster showed up.”

The sailors sighs and rubs the back of his head.

“Yeah, that thing is on another level. But I kind of have to thank it. If it didn’t show up those 10 years ago, this place would have already been destroyed by war. Maybe I’ll go give it a thank you basket next time I’m near where it’s holed up. Uh… actually where was that again?”

The sailors ask with a nervous laugh, clearly not actually wanting to visit but wanting to avoid the place. Waite laughs a bit, and responds to the sailor with a somber tone.

“How could you even forget something like that? That monster is in the number one most dangerous place on the Rage Continent. The Abyssal Mountains.”