I was pretty average. Average grades, average looks, and definitely the average number of girlfriends in high school. One was average, right? I went to an average community college and got an average degree in an average subject. Not math, ironically, because actually doing averages was something I hated. I would probably go on to some average job, at an average desk in an average building in an average city. Tim Shara, totally average dude. But none of that really mattered.

Not after the car accident, anyway.

The last thing I remember was laying on the hot uncomfortable sidewalk and bleeding out, the truck’s owner standing over me and crying while calling 911.

I suddenly jolted, finding myself upright in a chair, instead of flat on my back.

“W-what? I-” I stammered, before being interrupted.

“Welcome to Terah’s Legion, congrats on making it here, yadda yadda,” a figure in the somewhat dark room said to me, holding a clipboard. I started to say something but I got interrupted again.

“Hold your questions for now, kid,” He held out a finger. “You’re the fiftieth one today and I don’t have any more patience,” My eyes finally adjusted, and I suddenly noticed he had wickedly curved horns and dark, purple skin. I decided to keep my mouth shut for now.

“You’ve been ah… reincarnated. You are currently under the surface of Illudia, inside Lady Terah’s domain. This place is home to her army of devils that mortals like you can challenge, and become one of, if you wish,” he paused, raising an eyebrow at me, his flame-wrought irises piercing straight through me. He waited, and I realized he was waiting for me to say something.

“Ah… well that is… a lot….”

“Sure, kid.”

“Well… why would I do that? Fight demons? Can’t I just go live a peaceful life somewhere else?”

The fiend grunted, folding his arms defensively.

“Devils, kid. No demons here. Demons are chaotic, and frankly, really dumb. Devils, unlike other fiends, follow a hierarchy, make deals, pull strings. We ain’t no brutes.”

“Ah, sorry.”

“And sure, you could skip the whole fighting business. But the more devils you defeat, the stronger you’ll get, and the more favor you’ll earn with Lady Terah. If you beat ‘em all, even, I hear that she grants her highest ranks just about anything- even a wish.”

“So… it’s like an RPG? I can level up, and there’s rewards for getting to the higher tiers?”

The devil grinned, a sickly twisted smile carved from a gargoyle’s lips.

“Yeah… yeah. It’s exactly like that. You got it, kid. You can stay right here and never go nowhere. But you got a second chance at life, so are you gonna take it? Or sit around on your lazy ass?”

I stood up, suddenly filled with determination. He was right- this was the best chance I ever had to make something of myself. Back on Earth I was just some average guy with nothing to look forward to but the mediocrity of it all. But here- sure, the devil was in the details, but better the one that I sorta knew, right?

“That’s what I thought, kid,” the fiend grinned, snapping with his claw. His clipboard disappeared, and a quill and scroll with lines and lines of intricate cursive unfurled itself in front of me. I grimaced, suddenly reminded of every piece of media I had ever seen about making a “deal with the devil”. He seemed to notice my sudden apprehension.

“Oh, this? This is just a legal waiver saying we’re not responsible for anything that happens to you down here,” he waved his hand dismissively. I inspected the contract closer, skimming over phrases like “unfortunate demise”, “brutal dismemberment”, and “tax audit”.

“C’mon kid, I don’t have all day!” he spat at me with impatience. I hurriedly signed my name with the feathered pen, and he grabbed the scroll, the parchment disappearing in a burst of green infernal flames from his claw.

“Welcome to the club, kid.”

“Thanks, mister, ah…?”

“The Fool. But you don’t have to call me that, since that’s technically your title now.”

“Ah… what?”

The Fool shrugged, grinning.

“Sorry pal. Fine print and all. I got a nice gig here welcoming in mortals, and I don’t need no ambitious imps or devils trying to cut me down while I’m working my cushy job, y’know? I’d stick around but I'm sure you’re eager to get to it, you look like the type to get a handle on things pretty quick on your own. Let me know if you have any luck with climbing those ranks!”

He gestured vaguely to a wooden door behind him. “City’s out that way. Can’t miss it. They’ll get you set up with whatever you need.”

I didn’t even have a chance to protest before he vanished in a cloud of green flame. I sighed, standing up and dusting the ashes from the fiery burst off myself, following his indication to the one exit I could see.

I pushed open the creaky door, not sure what to expect, but being totally surprised anyways. I was in an enormous circular cavern, tiered up in a spiral somewhat resembling a quarry. Most of it was cut from brown dirt and gray stone, and at the highest point of the path, the quarry spiral transitioned into a dirt road cut into the walls of the cave. Natural-looking stalagmite pillars lined the outside, giving the recessed region the appearance of prison bars.

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The very top of the cavern was lit with something bright, but it was definitely not the sun, the colors were too warm. The air was cold and damp, not hellishly hot like you might expect from a devil’s lair. I became suddenly aware that the black t-shirt and blue jeans I was wearing were pretty unsuited for this whole debacle, wishing I had some kind of armor instead.

The door I emerged from was at the very bottom of a long slope spiraling up the outer cliffs of the cavern. Looking to my left, I could see doors following the clockwise ascent, spaced out about 100 feet apart from each other. I could see there were some designs on the doors, but it was difficult to tell what they were from here.

Directly ahead of me was a set of stone brick stairs, leading down to a settlement of some kind. A permanent camp was set up in a sunken circle at the very bottom of the cavern, only about 75 or 100 yards in diameter and looking like a mix between a dingy flea market and a dirty circus camp. Shops, stalls, and tents were arranged partly in neat rows and partly in hodgepodge clusters. The paths between were lit with dim yellow lantern light, some of it from the stalls or doorways and others from the occasional wooden lamppost. It looked cozy, almost so cozy that I forgot I was deep beneath the surface of an unfamiliar world in a cavern full of devils.

Well, I guess it’s the start of a new adventure then.

I jogged over, heading down the rough stone steps, glancing around. The “city” seemed relatively quiet, even for its small size. A few imps and devils poked their heads out to look at me, murmuring amongst themselves. I stopped in the very center, a tall rectangular stone structure jutting out of the middle with a door in the center. A few humanoid-sized fiends were milling about, most in ragged old clothing or slumped over in a drunken heap, reminding me of the hobos that were prominent in the cities near my own home. Guess things never change, even in another world.

Looking around the hub, I spotted a hanging wooden sign that said “Blacksmith”. Alright, it would be good to get a weapon. I walked over to a nearby open space covered by a canopy.

A devil girl, maybe only five and a half feet tall, was hammering away at a red-hot sword on an anvil, sparks flying and sizzling in the dirt. Racks of smithing tools and finished weapons were hanging up around the forge.

She wasn’t huge and burly, but she had clear muscle definition and deep red skin. Two upward-curving horns poked through her jet black hair, tied back in a long ponytail. She was wearing a leather vest, but she didn’t seem to notice sparks flying right into her bare arms.

“Hi, uh… hello?” I cautiously gave a wave. I had been pretty confident up to this point, but I just realized I had willingly walked right into a camp full of devils, unarmed. My adventure could easily end right before it began. Luckily, she didn’t seem hostile. She looked up at me and shot a quizzical look, cocking an eyebrow.

“A human? Can I help you?” Her voice was deep but smooth, like obsidian.

“Uh… I’m here to take on the Tarot Legion, and I think I’ll need a weapon for that?”

She snorted, turning to pump a nearby bellows. “You mean you want to fight the meanest devils in all of Illudia, and you didn’t even bring a dagger?”

“I- uh, well-” I stammered. She shrugged.

“Hey, it’s your life, I don’t care if you have a death wish.”

“I didn't exactly get a chance to prepare, some devil was talking at me so fast, and now I guess I’m the new Fool, was I supposed to get a wish or something to help me out? Or-”

“Wait, wait wait,” she waved her arms, shaking her head. “Back up. You’re the new Fool? You're a Major Arcana, a human?”

“Uh… I guess so? That's what the other fiend, The Fool, said my new title was. Like he was passing it on to me. In hindsight, I probably should've had my lawyer present before signing a contract that a devil gave me.”

“So you even signed the contract… huh. Guess that makes it official,” she looked over me, as if sizing me up again with this new information. “Yeah… I can see why he went with you. So, you're set on fighting the other Tarot Devils then, Fool?”

“...you can just call me Tim. A title like that doesn't really suit me,” Not to mention it sounded like she was insulting my intelligence.

“Ten of Swords. Pleasure to meet you, Fool. Tim. Sorry,” she extended a hand, relatively human-like besides her crimson complexion. I took it, giving it a firm shake. Her grip was tight, clearly she was much stronger than she looked. I shook my hand out a little after releasing the handshake, wincing a little but trying to force a weak smile.

“Alright then, boss. So what's your plan to fight The Magician?”

“Huh?”

“You said you were taking on the Tarot Devils, right? The Magician is one step above you in the hierarchy. So if you want to fight, he's who you gotta start with.”

“What if I want to just skip to the end and fight the fiend at the top?”

She laughed, hard. Like, bent over in hysterics, clutching her abs and wiping away tears. It went on for at least a minute, maybe two. I thought she might collapse on the ground. She finally calmed down, catching her breath and looking back up at me.

“...wait, you’re serious?”

“Well….”

“Okay, well, besides the fact that your feeble human body would probably get destroyed instantly the second you walked into the line of sight of any of the higher level devils, even if you DID somehow manage to kill one of the Major Arcana out of order, that’s a huge faux pas. You’d probably get ganged up on by every devil you skipped, plus one or two above. No chance you’d survive that.”

“Point taken….”

“Speaking of taking points, though, you should definitely take a sword.”

“Wait, really?” I rifled through my jean pockets, realizing they were totally empty. “I don’t have any money, though.”

“It’s the least I could do for the new Foo- I mean, Tim.”

“But, won’t that make you the Nine of Swords?”

She hesitated for a moment, then laughed again. I chuckled along a little nervously, only just realizing how stupid that sounded.

“I like you Tim, you’re a real hoot. Tell you what, if you survive, first round at the Dead Draw tavern is on me,” she grinned, tossing me a plain-looking sword from a nearby rack. I nearly sliced my hand off trying to grab it, but I managed to get a grip on it before I lost any limbs.

“...thanks, Ten. I won’t forget this.”

“Good luck, you’ll need it.”