I burst out of the wall and fell on my back while strange black goop was still latched onto me. Gagging in my mouth, I flung my arms and watched the black goo slide off and splatter the hallway walls. It slowly slid down before being absorbed back into the wallpaper, sending shivers down my spine.

Wait, the hallway walls?

“Peijin!”

The shrill voice cried, and I turned my head to see a blond girl sprinting towards me before she leapt into the air, landing straight on my abdomen.

“Umph-!”

Tears ran down her face as she sobbed, her face buried in my blue hoodie. Her small hands tightly gripped the fabric, and I could feel the hoodie squirm uncomfortably underneath her grasp.

She lifted her face and sniffled to stop the snot from dripping down her face. Finally catching her breath, she let out an even louder cry.

“Wahhh, P-Peijin,” Amelia paused, wiping her face for a brief moment and coughing, “I really didn’t think you’d come back!”

I laid on my back for a bit, still processing Karma’s words. I was staring directly at the ceiling, but I knew that the dungeon room was over. Smiley wouldn’t be there—I was sure of it now.

I finally sat up and tightly hugged Amelia, the sides of our faces pressed together. Her curly blonde hair was suffocating; I gently brushed it aside and continued to hug her.

Karma was right. I had no right to care for or about Amelia after dooming her family and forcing her to kill her puppy. But at this moment, I couldn’t let go of her again.

The last time. This would be the last time I’d indulge in the presence of others. If my bad karma rubbed off on them, I’d never forgive myself.

“Are you alright?” I spoke softly, “You don’t need to worry about me.”

She clung onto me like a koala and wrapped herself around my abdomen. The glint of a spear suddenly appeared just before my throat.

“You should be more worried about yourself right now,” the voice barked angrily. “I’m so pissed off I could kill you.”

I gave an exacerbated look, and the back of my hand pushed her spear away. “Good to see you again, Yue.”

Her nostrils flared and brows furrowed as she hovered above me before Yang shoved her away, causing her to stumble in my peripheral vision.

I could see the sweat dripping down his face, and when I looked into his dimmed orange eyes, I felt an empathetic pang in my chest—he was panicking to find me.

Ha, weird. I was never like this when Scathing Reviewer was deactivated.

“Sorry I’m late,” I smiled before grabbing his extended hand and pulling myself up. Amelia was still clinging onto my abdomen, and my other arm supported her weight.

To my surprise, it looked like I had been fully healed. Bandages were no longer wrapped around my entire arm, and my once shredded arm moved fluidly. Now, the only sign left on my skin of any past arcs was the black tower tattoo.

Yang sighed, looking away. “You really had me worried. Are you alright?” He kept his hand on my shoulder as if worried that at any moment I would vanish before him again.

Before I could respond, Yang was suddenly shoved back as a man in white robes pulled me into a tight hug but made sure to avoid Amelia.

“Agh, Peijin!” He exclaimed, pulling back so I could make out his face. Wei’s eyes were red and puffy like he was trying to hold back tears. “I feel so bad! I was supposed to protect you, and you just disappeared!”

I was paralyzed at his dramatic response before I let my shoulders slump, a humored smile appearing on my face. “You’re like a puppy,” I laughed, putting my hand on his back after a moment's hesitation. “I’m really alright, everyone.”

Yue finally came over and tore Wei off of me but left Amelia hanging. “Get off her! You’re acting like you just saw someone resurrect from their grave. Even Amelia is more mature than you!”

Wei patted his swollen face and obediently nodded at Yue’s words. I watched curiously; those two had hated each other at the very beginning, but here they were working together.

In fact, just watching everyone in my party interact with one another caused a fuzzy tingle and warmth in my chest. I watched them bicker with an odd sense of awe and wistfulness, and my most sincere smile appeared unbeknownst to me.

I quickly shook the thought out of my head.

“Let’s go,” I quickly barked, grabbing Zhige once more and finally placing a calmed Amelia on the ground. “We can leave this house safely now, trust me. I won’t randomly turn into a kid anymore.”

“Wait, Peijin,” Yang quickly chimed in, standing beside me. “What happened in that room? Couldn’t you hear us?”

I stiffened for a moment but quickly relaxed. That must have been what all that banging and chanting of my name was—still, even knowing what it was now, it was still an unnerving memory.

“I couldn’t hear you, but it’s alright. I got out, didn’t I?”

“Don’t start distancing yourself again.”

My nostrils flared in annoyance. “I’m not. Stop being annoying.”

In my defense, I really wasn’t. This was going to be one of the last times I could be honest with them.

Yue shoved my head harshly. “Do you know how worried Wei was? He was so upset that you saw all our fears and saved us, but there you were trapped alone.”

I promptly punched her in the side before sparing a guilty glance and Wei and letting out a loud sigh.

“Fine. But Amelia can’t hear.”

“What?!” Amelia cried out in distress, looking up at me with pleading eyes.

I signaled for Yue to put on the headphones, and Yue tightly held them against the squirming Amelia’s head. She finally relented, pursing her lips and glaring at me.

I grumbled, “I’m gonna speed through my deepest fear or whatever,” I added air quotes as I spoke, “But…”

Wait, should I tell them about Karma?

If I did, then there was no doubt they would act rashly in their weird fixation to repay me for helping them—and at their level and knowledge, I’d only be dooming them. Just by being with me, I was slowly killing them.

That being said, Karma was after me, and I was actively hunting her, too. This was something that affected them as much as it did me.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Ah, Karma was right. My curse really was knowledge.

How cruel.

“But what?” Yang broke the silence and sent me back into reality.

“But I don’t wanna talk about it afterwards.”

Yang stared at me a bit before nodding slowly. “Alright.”

I reached into my bag and pulled out the pack of cookies I found earlier. Everyone stared at me awkwardly before I shook the container, offering them before I began speaking.

“My dad always got these exact cookies for me. We would only eat them with each other, and the rule was it had to be in sets of four,” I murmured wistfully, “That's why they were in the pantry here. I haven’t eaten them ever since, though.”

The cookies crunched in my mouth as I covered my mouth, swallowing. “My mom left when I was around ten, I think? I don’t know,” I began in a nonchalant tone.

Light streamed into the once haunted house now—at least Karma kept her promise.

“My dad and I were dirt poor. Seriously. He ended up turning toward prostitution to make ends meet.

I don’t hate my dad or anything. He did what he had to. I just wish he didn’t do it, you know?”

I felt an odd burning sensation spreading through my arm. I rubbed it in hopes of dissipating the sensation to no avail.

“But when I was about fourteen, one of his clients came into my room and—”

Yue’s eyes widened in understanding, and she quickly clasped her hands over my mouth, silencing me.

“You don’t need to continue,” she blurted.

Pulling her hands back, I replied softly. “That’s when Smiley appeared for the first time. That’s why my biggest fear was a haunted house, since I don’t think I ever faced what happened for a while. I ran from home after.”

Yue gave me a solemn look, her brows furrowed. “Did something happen in the room just now?”

“Nah,” I shook my head, awkwardly looking down at the cookies and refusing to meet her gaze. “Let’s go?”

When I finally looked up, I noticed all of them looking at me with a different expression now except for Amelia. But the last thing it was was judgment or disgust. Rather, it was a look of pity.

The burning sensation on my arm grew, and when I looked down, I realized my tattoo was glowing a faint white now.

“Don’t pity me,” I bluntly added, “I’m not a good person.”

After all, I was the reason my dad was dead.

Suddenly, two warm arms wrapped around my small frame before others joined. All of them, even Amelia who knew not a thing about who I was, gently embraced me.

I blinked away tears but my arms stayed pinned to my side.

“Thank you for trusting us, Peijin,” Yang whispered softly, and I was glad I couldn’t see his expression right now.

Wei’s response was silent and warm, and Yue’s was a tight, almost painful squeeze. But all of it was comfort.

“...thank you,” I choked out, finally wiggling my arms up and hooking the back of their necks, pulling them in tighter.

You have become the Tower.

My tattoo erupted in a flurry of gold sparks—karma. I felt a surge of spiritual energy flood through my body, but I didn’t let go of any of them. They held on, too, until the flurry of sparks finally fell back.

Observer Socrates: JIA LI OH MY GOD I CAN FINALLY COMMENT AGAIN

Observer Landescape: I don’t care what all those “reviewers” say about Peijin, I’m rooting for her to live and succeed!

You have received a new rating.

5 / 5: I didn’t think I’d like Wu Peijin at all. She’s been pretty insufferable, but this room dragged her through hell and back, and the first thing she does is care for her party members.

Don’t make it sound so sappy.

Finally, we all pulled back, and Yue’s face returned to her cocky, demeaning expression.

“So, god of fate and fortune, do you have any explanation for magical tattoos?”

I laughed, briefly wiping my face with the palm of my hand. “I can only read the fate of people beneath me like you, so I don’t have an explanation.”

“...glad to see you’re still bitchy.”

You have received a new rating.

3 / 5: Good, but pretty unrealistic writing. Real people wouldn’t have cared this much.

I snickered before wrapping my arm around her shoulder. “I don’t, but there’s more of them out there. They’re part of the Major Arcana, and I have a feeling Feiyu’s party knows about it.”

I ushered the rest of the party out of the house first, practically dragging them down the hallway.

“I have something to do. I’ll meet you all on the metro train.”

Wei spared a nervous glance back, but I quickly flashed a reassuring smile. Once they all safely made it in, I turned around and looked down the hallway.

Observer Socrates: Jia Li I’m sorry I was mean to you please forgive me TvT You were really annoying before but still I’m sorry. I was so worried when the system shut down

Observer Socrates: Also I figured out what the tattoo was. It’s the Tower from tarot cards. Wait, are you busy?

“No, keep talking. I’m just setting up something.”

I took out some of the chocolate chip cookies and placed a stack of four down in the hallway. I knew this was overly petty and stupid, but so was I.

Observer Socrates: It symbolizes destruction, painful loss, and tragedy.

“...”

Observer Socrates: But the reverse means resisting change and delaying the inevitable.

“You’re great at making me feel worse,” I grumbled, looking down at the cookies.

Observer Socrates: It’s a sign for meeting a crisis head on and rebirth. I’m guessing you either got it because of this challenge or something greater is coming, Jia Li.

I remained still for a moment, and Socrates must have remained silent after sensing my attitude.

“I guess this is as much of a meal I’ll ever be able to share with you, dad."

The rest of the cookies were still in the plastic container on the floor, and I stared down at them.

“As for Karma, fuck you.”

I lifted my foot and kicked the container as hard as I could, and it immediately exploded from my superhuman strength on impact, sending crumbs flying all over the hallway.

The four I had left for my dad remained perfectly untouched as I walked out of the door and shut it behind me.

Observer Socrates: … Jia Li is going crazy.

The silver metro appeared just before me, and I could see all of my party members waiting for me inside. I stepped on, and the doors slid shut behind me with a satisfying click.

“The fuck were you doing in there?” Yue asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You’d laugh at me.”

“Probably. You okay?”

I nodded, and I looked up to see Wei’s anxious eyes.

“Peijin…” he began, “do you know my fate or whatever my room is?”

A laugh escaped my lips. There was no time for breaks in this world—I was thrust back into my element as I felt the metro speed up and grabbed onto the bars.

“I do. Everyone, listen up,” I ordered, my other hand holding onto Zhige.

“Do exactly as I say, because if you don’t, Wei will die at my hand.”