✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧.˚ *•̩̩͙ ✩. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. ˚ *•̩̩͙ ✩

“M-Meihua?!” I exclaimed under my breath, staring at the glowing ball of spiritual energy in the sky.

She twisted with stunning grace, raising her pink sword before whipping it right at Daji, her robes blowing back up against her body. They slid up her arms, revealing the large tattoo with large black characters beneath:

“The World.”

Another tarot card—and I had no fucking clue what it meant.

I let out a pained grunt as I felt a massive piece of marble pierce into my side, and I was desperately upgrading my physique level until I could handle the pain—but I was still frugal, and I needed as many coins as I could for the next chapter.

"Stop squirming, Peijin!" Yue ordered, desperately trying to lift the piece with Yang. Finally, it shifted, and I let out a relieved gasp.

A burst of spiritual energy erupted from Meihua’s sword as it landed straight on Daji’s body.

Daji led out a gruesome, animalistic howl and immediately shrunk, trying to avoid her piercing sword, but there was no use.

Wei’s eyes widened in total shock. He lay there, unmoving, except for his eyes that followed Meihua without blinking once. In them was a mixture of awe, hope, and a deep pain.

I’ll make it up to you.

I swore that to myself—I hated to admit it, absolutely despised it, but I could almost understand Karma for a moment.

Why had I written like this? Dumping endless misfortunes on Wei, even if he were only a character… someone who was so endlessly kind, forgiving, and selfless.

I’d written it because I was bitter. Bitter and mad at the entire world around me because I felt as if I’d been dealt an unfair hand ever since I was born.

So, I wrote. And I wrote and wrote and wrote to create a world where I’d never be dealt an unfair hand because I was the dealer.

Tears spilled out of Wei’s face as “The World” brutally sliced and cut into Daji’s fleshy and distorted body. He clutched his heart like it was radiating an uncontrollable pain through his body.

I stared at him and thought about all the thoughts going through his head and how I had originally written his room in Surviving My First Run.

"Wei clutched his chest and felt his entire being split apart. Today, Wei learned that the shattering of a heart made a sound—the sound of the world crumbling before him with the realization that he would never again love or be loved the way he had with Meihua."

That's how Wei felt in the original. I was sure he felt something similar now.

The combination of the serpent’s demonic core and Meihua’s endless assault turned Daji smaller and smaller until she was nothing more than a whimpering puddle of fur and flesh. Her once giant demonic body looked pitiful now. It was like the smeared guts of a bug on an old newspaper.

Finally, Yue and Yang pulled the last piece of debris off.

At once, I leapt forward, diving, stumbling, and limping toward Wei.

I pushed past dozens of civilians who, now that the threat seemingly vanished, turned awkwardly toward one another and Wei before they began to file out. Any who attempted to near Wei I shoved back mercilessly, not caring if they were thrown across the entire temple from my strength.

Observer ‘Socrates’: “The World” tarot: Fulfillment and harmony or emptiness and incompletion. It’s about reaping the fruits of your labor after a tumultuous event.]

… Haaaaaa?! Fruits of my labor?! Bullshit!

“Yang and Yue, stand back a little bit!” I ordered, turning over my shoulder. Yue was leaning against Yang’s shoulder as he supported her. I don’t know when the two got so close, but I felt…

I quickly shook my head.

Wei was gently reaching out a trembling hand toward Meihua’s fluttering pink and blue robes. His jaw trembled like he was in freezing temperatures.

Before he could say anything, she got the first word in, cutting him off before he could come to any ill conclusions.

She bowed deeply before him, practically kowtowing.

“Your Highness. I apologize for all the hardships you have faced,” her tone was sympathetic and civil, but it remained a little distant, not holding any sort of intimacy or affection for Wei.

At once, his face fell with a bit of recognition. I froze in my tracks, too—were there… multiple Meihuas?

No way.

Peijin: Amelia, you can come out. Come to where I’m standing. You’ll see a gross little clump of writhing black fur splattered on the ground. Absorb it into your wristband.

I had hidden her far from all of the chaos. I didn’t want her to see any of it.

Yang: You can use your dire wolf, Amelia. Don’t get too close to Wei right now, alright? Or Meihua.

Of course, that meant Amelia was oblivious to all the slaughter that had just occurred, including Ailun. I’d find a better time to tell her, though, if I came to the conclusion that it was necessary.

Wei shook his head as he stared at Meihua before he looked down at the band wrapped around his arm. He clutched it firmly; it was responding to “The World’s” presence, trying to grab onto her like a curious snake.

“You died two thousand years ago, right? This room… it was just reminding me of that,” Wei whispered, doing his best to try and smile at Meihua, but he could only manage a grimace.

Suddenly, I felt a small tap on my shoulder, and I whipped around, swinging Zhige, but I only met a terrified Chang.

“That’s her!” He cried, grabbing onto one of my shoulders and shaking it. “She’s the one who caused the integration! Can’t you feel the spiritual energy pouring off of her? It’s like karmic restraints can’t even touch her!”

Meihua gently touched the side of Wei’s arm, and she immediately cleaned all of the blood off of his robes. At once, blue sparks lit up around him, and he assumed his typical appearance.

She gave him a pitiful look, her eyes soft and hair flowing gently in the light breeze. There was a haze of blood that gave everything a red tint, but Meihua still looked as lovely as ever.

“Wei, it ruins me to see you like this.”

“I’m sorry," Wei muttered.

“You lost yourself for a moment,” she gently scolded him.

Wei remained silent, tears slowly trickling down his face.

“Heavenly officials will arrive soon, and you’ll be sentenced to two thousand years of isolation before you’re integrated back into the arcs.”

In an act of generosity and kindness, she gently rolled up Wei’s sleeves before attaching a small bracelet around his wrist. It was made of braided red fabric with a small blossom made of gold in the center.

Meihua made no move of explaining the item, but she lightly squeezed his arm before rolling his sleeve down.

Observer ‘Socrates’: Spiritual energy? A spiritual dyad? Just a bracelet??

At such a tender move, Wei’s face twisted into one of sheer agony and regret.

Even though Meihua’s face was full of pity, it was hardened and serious as she repeatedly pat the side of his shoulder. “Get up, get up, get up.”

“M-Meihua,” he finally sputtered, grabbing onto her long sleeves, “Meihua. Meihua.” Wei kept repeating it to himself as if it would prove to him that she was real—that the fabric and flesh in his hands wouldn’t vanish again.

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I raised Zhige firmly toward Meihua, my eyes like slits as I glared at her.

“You’re not Meihua,” I spat.

She turned toward me and bowed deeply, her hands folded together in a formal greeting. “The Tower. It’s very nice to meet you for the first time. I wish it would have been under better circumstances.”

Meihua then gestured toward Zhige, giving the blade a faint smile. "And Haimo, it's always a joy to see you. I do believe your new name suits you more, but your creator might have some protests."

Zhige's eye spun wildly; the blade tried to jerk away from her, but I held it firm.

I grabbed Meihua by the collar and pulled her near, sliding the sleeve of her robes up to expose her pale arm.

“The World” was scribbled, just like "The Tower" was on mine, except hers depicted a woman in long white robes standing atop a blooming lotus flower. The lovely woman held onto a vase of gushing water, and swirls of white foam swirled around at her feet.

I shoved her arm back firmly. Yellow sparks were slowly springing out from Meihua's feet, but she quickly suppressed them.

“So,” I remarked, “You’re the one who integrated us into the timeline.”

“I must apologize,” she bowed again, and my face twisted into a look of disgust. I had to confirm my suspicions now. She looked identical to Meihua, but there was no way this could be the same woman I’d gotten so close to.

“Who are you?” I questioned.

She looked at me simply, her long lashes glistening in the light and her lips bright and red. “The World.”

“That’s not what I’m asking you. You look just like her," I protested, referencing the Meihua I knew.

The World nodded slightly, closing her eyes to avoid Wei’s stare. “I’m not the Meihua you met earlier.”

“Then are you from a different timeline?”

“I don’t think of it that way.”

“Ha,” I laughed cruelly. “So it’s really like that then, right?”

I stood there for a moment, dozens of thoughts swarming through my head. There was one rule—only one—that I held to myself ever since I began Surviving My First Run.

No matter what, without any exception, in any universe, would I ever fuck around with time. I couldn’t understand it, and as soon as it was brought up, nothing was ever set in stone. Suddenly, there were infinite possibilities, and I wouldn’t know any of them.

“Fuck!” I screamed, digging Zhige into the ground before turning around, taking in a deep breath.

Meihua stood there silently, watching me pensively. I hated the feel of her stare on me; it felt so alien and inhuman, and I thought about tearing her down, but I knew that would be stupid.

I spotted Amelia suddenly beside Daji’s tiny mutilated corpse. She was kicking and stomping on her, squishing Daji's tail and smearing it on the ground; but as soon as she felt my stare, she quickly stopped.

Meihua looked over at Amelia and then back at me, noticing the interaction.

“What’s her name?”

I scoffed. “So, what, you don’t know everything? Or has no one saved Amelia before me?”

“Amelia is a lovely name.”

“Don’t play dumb with me!” I shouted, holding back my anger and frustration. I grabbed onto Wei’s arm and pulled him up, holding his hand firmly and stepping in front of him. “If we’re both part of this Major Arcana, then don’t speak down on me! I don’t fucking care who you are! The World is a stupid fucking name, and you come off as a total narcissist!”

Suddenly, I noticed a blue glint in her eyes, and she was staring too intently at me.

Scathing Reviewer activated!

The World winced and drew a hand before her eyes. “You have a strong skill to block me like that.”

“Oh, are you fucking kidding me?! Really?! You’re really fucking trying that right now?!” I roared, infuriated at her attempt to read my profile.

“I’m sorry. I’ll be straight with you now,” Meihua said honestly, “I don’t have much time left before Karma overpowers me.”

I immediately tensed up—so she knew about Karma, too. At least now I knew there was a power that could rival it.

A burst of jealousy and desire spread through me as I recalled my first interaction with Karma. The utter humiliation; the complete ruin of me with a few simple words. I craved the power that could put me on the same level as Karma.

Meihua cleared her throat but never broke eye contact. “Yes, I was the one who caused the integration," she confessed. "It was the only way for Wei to proceed in this timeline. With the charm I gave him, he won’t lose his spiritual powers. He’ll return to the present timeline with them, but they’ll be limited by Karma.

“I’m sorry. I know the integration was cruel. But, I’m impressed by the work of The Tower. For such an abysmal arcana, you surprised me.”

Abysmal?!

This pseudo-Meihua continued to talk however, and I could see her struggle to control the growing yellow sparks beneath her. To have influenced the scenario this much, to have caused an integration, and to allow Wei to keep his power… she was wickedly powerful.

Probably more than most gods I’ve written.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you," Meihua continued, "To answer your question, no, I’ve never met most of you. In fact, the only ones I recognize here are Wei and Yue.”

Then only the characters, huh?

I bit my tongue. She didn’t know I was the author then or who was or wasn’t a character.

Sick and tired of her droning, and growing increasingly mad at the air of superiority she carried, I cut her off, asking questions instead.

“How many runs has it been?”

She shook her head slightly. “I’m the youngest known one,” she trailed off, staring at my arm, “except for you. I’ve been around for… maybe a hundred?”

A hundred runs? Oh, I’m really fucked. Surviving My First Run was 3,649 chapters with just one incomplete run.

Suddenly, I thought back to the start of this arc, when I had tried to get on the train first with my party. Back then, Feiyu's party somehow entered, and on the front of the car were the words "Major Arcana."

More importantly, there was that one obstructed figure at the back of the car with flowing white hair.

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath. So one of the disciples must have gone through the past runs, too.

"Who is it?" I demanded, stepping toward Meihua and closing the distance. "Who the fuck is this goddamn disciple?!"

"You'll meet them in the second chapter of this arc when you compete with the top three parties."

My eye twitched out of frustration at her useless answer, but I took a step back.

“Have you ever tried to destroy the system in any of the past runs?”

“Ah,” Meihua smiled wistfully for a moment. “I’m not supposed to tell you this. In the run just before this, we made it. But, right at the end, this unknown rogue skill sent us ba—”

She winced, a flurry of yellow sparks biting into her ankles. Karma was throwing a complete tantrum, and her spiritual energy could only hang on for so long.

"Rogue skill?" I grabbed onto her, shaking her. "What do you mean? What was it called?! What about the 'Eternal Wish?!'"

“The Tower,” she urged, “I don’t have much time, so let me say this. The timeline will progress as it should. The only anomalies are Bai and Gang. Wei will return with you on the train. The moment you step off it, he’ll experience his heavenly punishment in an instant, since he has already lived it. Wei will retain his powers.

“But, your future is destruction and revelation. That’s why you’ve been picked as The Tower. Back in your room, something blocked me, blocked all of us, from watching your fight with Karma.

"Somehow, you're the god of fate and fortune, but none of us have ever see you before this run. But, here you are, predicting all of it. So, I need you to get to the end!” Meihua hurryingly exclaimed, cutting her arm and letting blood flow out as flowers erupted all around her.

She summoned the train as Yue and Yang rushed toward it, Amelia waiting for me to follow as I held onto Wei.

“Wait!” Wei cried, reaching out to her, “I-Is this the last time I’ll ever see you? You’re here now, right? So that means I must have saved you at some point?! There was a way, right?!” Wei shouted, desperately trying to stay with her.

She gave a weak smile. “I’m the youngest of all the Arcana because my survival meant ruin for many others. None of us can avoid Karma.”

Chang tugged on my ears, dragging me toward the train. The entire world shook, as the integration slowly fell apart. The world seemed to turn to ashes and crumble at the edges.

“Peijin,” Meihua shouted, using my name for the first time, “Let’s meet again!”

My body moved toward the train before I could even process anything that was happening. I stepped onto it and stared out for a moment, not knowing what to do or say. I could feel Amelia clinging onto my leg, Yue shouting at me, and Yang restraining her, but more importantly, I could feel Wei’s heavy body lean on mine.

He held onto me for a moment before he began crying again. He clawed at my robes and grasped at them, sobbing and wailing like a child.

Wei was much larger than me. I was short and never worked out, and now that he maintained his spiritual energy, he almost threw me off my feet. I pushed my weight toward him, making sure to hold him tightly.

“P-Peijin,” he cried, the band whirling up around him, “What am I supposed to do now? Is it true? Is this going to happen over and over? What did she mean when she said she recognized me? Do I have to do this again? Please, Peijin.”

I tightened my grip around him, trying to stop him from squirming. Of course he would panic about Meihua recognizing him. It meant that he had been in all the past rounds, and he was damned to relive his most feared moment over and over.

“No,” I declared, “I’m ending this goddamn thing.”

As I clutched Wei, I looked at my reflection in the train window. Around me were characters—no, people—who I’d grown so close to. I could see their images in the tinted window, comforting me and Wei, but I couldn’t focus on them.

I saw my own reflection twist into a childish smile, and I stared at it, my reflection not matching my own expression.

Karma was pissed.

Divinity ‘Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts’ has rejoined Channel #IS-2948