The card flickered between Luca's fingers as he flipped it back and forth. At first sight, it looked like any ordinary paper. The front - depicting The Fool in his splendid colorful clothes, while the backside was matt and black - resembling the starless night outside of the window. Yet, it lacked the texture of the paper or the scent of ink...

After a few more seconds of observation and close scrutiny, Luca concluded that it was made of a metal-like material. The card was denser than paper, more durable, and surprisingly smooth to the touch. But unlike most metallic substances, there was no luster to its surface. Luca thought that perhaps it was crafted from an element he had never seen before.

Staring at the card in his hands, one of Luca's eyebrows twitched. Besides the medium itself, he temporarily couldn't find anything particularly suspicious or noteworthy. Just as he was about (in resignation) to flip through the whole apartment once more, the unpleasant mechanical voice rang out in his head.

[You have acquired the Arcana of the Beginnings successfully entering the repair route Path of Life. The dissipation of your soul is temporarily alleviated, and you have received 5 days rest time.]

At the same time, burning pain arose from Luca's right wrist, as a small digital clock was engraved on the back of his hand. It was composed of four pairs of numbers. The first showed 04, and it obviously referred to the days, while the other three were most likely counting the hours, minutes, and seconds - 23; 59; 47 respectively. The last number was decreasing rapidly in front of Luca's eyes.

[For more information, please refer to The Fool.]

With this line, the voice entirely disappeared from Luca's head, as if it was too busy to mind such an insignificant being any longer.

|04;23;54;21|

After some time (5 minutes and 39 seconds, to be precise), Luca looked away from the clock as he tried to soothe his beating heart. Finally, he could enjoy the passage of time.

Before, Luca had always taken it for granted. He could open his phone, look at a random clock, or just ask a stranger. No, even without a horologe at hand, the nature around him was full of time-keepers; The sun in the sky, the flowing seasons, the migration cycles of animals, or the blooming and withering plants. Even he, himself, was an embodiment of the passage of time. His internal clock was always ticking, making him fall asleep or waking him up, telling him it was time to eat, drink or excrete. But after his death, time had frozen. This spotless room was not any different than the perpetual darkness outside. He felt no hunger nor thirst, and his mind stayed sharp without feeling fatigued. It was unexpectedly terrifying.

However, now his time was stably moving again...And it was decreasing!

Anyway, five days was long enough; If Luca used this time well, he could analyze the situation and prepare himself for what would occur next.

But first, he finally had a chance to think through and come to terms with his own end.

Luca was unsure how he felt about this.

There was a bit of shock and fear. It was natural. Ultimately, everyone feared the unknown, and there was nothing more obscure than death itself.

There was sadness and grief. Luca missed his friends and family. He imagined his mother and father learning the news of his departure, their tear-stained faces, eyes filled with despair. He imagined his sister's helplessness and his best friend's confusion. Luca felt dejected for forcing such feelings upon them.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

There was also a bit of ridicule and amusement deep down. Luca believed he had accepted it. However, as an ordinary human, it wasn't easy to just brush the matter under the rug, moving forward.

But, unexpectedly, in his heart, there was some excitement and thrill too. He loved reading novels and playing games. He often dreamed about fantastical worlds and creatures, magic and future technology, survival at the edge of the knife. Who would have foreseen that Luca really would have the chance to experience such a fate? He couldn't lie to himself and deny his interest in this predicament. And currently, thanks to these mixed feelings, he could calm down quickly and think about what he should do.

...

In the next 5 days, Luca stabilized his mood and psyche while at the same time twirled with the card, poking at its secrets.

What he learned was that The Fool played a role of a guide. After bending it slightly, white lines of text would appear at the pitch-black backside of the card.

In the past few days, Luca immersed himself in this information. He had to gain as much as possible before making his final decision. And according to the descriptions, Luca learned the following:

First, this card was proof of identity and entry to the Path of Life. The path itself consisted of 22 challenges following the 22 major Tarot Arcana. It existed as a form of redemption for the exiled souls.

One of the symbolism of the Major Arcana deck was the progression of life. Including the name of the route (Path of Life), Luca speculated that by walking it, a soul could imitate a complete life sequence from beginning to end. Therefore, being acknowledged by Samsara and rejoining the Cycle.

Second, the soul was the core principle of one's existence. In a sense, it could be described as a set of information representing the most core rules of a being. Usually, every soul was intrinsically connected to the Karmic Cycle. Therefore, after the loss of the flesh, the principles would reenter the Samsara and be reborn as something else. When, where, and as what would one be reborn was out of their control. The guide didn't give any information about who or how it was decided either. And currently, Luca could only give up on thinking about this.

Besides the aforementioned type of death, which was considered regular; For one reason or another, sometimes the death itself could lead to splitting the soul from the Samsara. This was described as an irregular or broken end. The card was too vague on that point, so Luca could only use his imagination to flesh out some possibilities.

As he compared Samsara to a system and the soul to information. After some contemplation, Luca came to the conclusion that there were two most likely scenarios. The first one: After being reborn, the soul would leave behind an imprint(copy of itself) on the Cycle. The second possibility: The data would be sent out to the flesh, keeping an intangible connection to the origin. After death, the information could track down this line and return to the Cycle. Whatever the real explanation was, it was clear that every irregular death was nothing simple. Especially in the first case, something or someone would have to 'delete' the backup copy of the soul from the system itself. What type of power would be required for such a thing? And why?

Anyway, one thing was definite - a soul could never exist by itself. It needed a medium; Just like words had to be written on a piece of paper or typed on a screen in order to be preserved. Otherwise, once spoken, they would dissipate in the surrounding noise. The souls needed a medium to keep them from disappearing. This was what the voice meant by oblivion or echo of the soul; The state of dissipation and dissolution into nothingness.

In life, the soul would dwell into a body. It was a temporary medium that could stabilize the soul and permit interaction with the world. With time it would be slowly eroded by the soul, aging and breaking down. In death, the Great Karmic Cycle was the perfect medium for the soul. It was a stable system containing all information.

According to the guide, the Path of Life was the most stable medium a stray soul could access. The principles could exist freely without a time limit once they challenged an Arcana. However, outside of the game, they could endure only in specific locations and for a limited time;

Just like his personal space...

[00;07;15;03]

On the back of Luca's wrist, the digital clock was counting down. Once it hit the [00;00;00;00] he was undoubtedly going to disappear.

Looking at this familiar room, he felt a bit wistful. Probably the easiest way was for him to give up. His life may have been short, but it was not a bad life. He had a loving and understanding family. His mother was kind and warm. His father, albeit stern, was always ready to support him. Even when he was not very agreeable to his decisions or desires. Luca's baby sister was a bit of a nasty jerk. They were often bickering with each other. Yet, she was on his side when he needed her the most. Luca had only one best friend, but he had always preferred quality over quantity. This friend was like his brother, and Luca was very willing for them to really become brothers by "offering" his little sister as a tribute.

Remembering the past, Luca chuckled slightly.

He had no memories of his previous incarnations. Therefore, even if he managed to somehow reenter the Cycle and be reborn, he most likely would not be who he is now. He couldn't meet his family. And even if he could, they would be just unknown strangers. Then was it even worth it to strive hard and challenge so many 'games' for a future self who will not even remember his efforts? For the present Luca, dissipating or being reborn was not all that different.

After quite some time, he finally made his decision. He had to give it a try. He wanted to know why and how he died. Perhaps he could learn it if he persevered and kept moving forward, perhaps not. Anyway, he wanted to try reaching the end and seeing what was waiting for him beyond the last Arcana. He wanted to see what The World had in stock for him.