The group was silent, yet the air around them buzzed with renewed purpose. A fresh sense of direction had settled over them. They finally knew what had to be done—what remained now were the details of how to do it.


    The lantern pulsed again, casting shimmering glyphs into the air. "The Strength, The Lovers, The Wheel of Fortune, The Chariot, The Hierophant, and The Judgment have already begun their descent into this world, but not all will be on our side. The Dark Arcana are moving, and if we do not reach them first, we may be forced to face them as enemies."


    "What about The Sun?" Diwata asked curiously.


    Zeth and Arden exchanged knowing smiles before Zeth casually dropped the revelation. “My daughter Bliss is The Sun.”


    Silence.


    Dominic’s brain visibly stalled. His expression morphed from confusion to sheer disbelief, his mouth opening and closing as if trying to process what he had just heard. “Wait… wait, wait, wait—what?”


    Leigh covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, while the General simply grinned in amusement.


    Dominic pointed a shaky finger at Zeth. “You mean to tell me that my little sister—my innocent, book-loving, wears-flower-hairpins, never-skips-breakfast sister—is The Sun Arcana?!”


    Zeth chuckled. “That’s right.”


    Dominic groaned, dramatically running his hands through his hair. “Great. Just great. My dad’s The Justice, my best friend is The Fool, my little sister is The Sun… Why does my family tree look like a Tarot deck exploded on it?!”


    Leigh patted his back with an amused smile. “Well, you are The Magician after all.”


    Dominic let out a strangled sigh. “This is too much. I need a drink.”


    Buwan smirked. “We have tea.”


    Dominic waved a hand dismissively. "I need something hard—"


    A loud smack landed on the back of his head before he could finish. "You''re sixteen, you idiot," Zeth scolded, shaking his head.


    Dominic winced, rubbing the spot. "Fine! Tea. I''ll take tea. But make it strong!"


    Arden exhaled. "Then we don’t wait. We move. First, we find the remaining Arcana. And then—" he glanced at Zeth, determination burning in his gaze, "we find our weapons. We’ve fought long enough without them."


    With newfound excitement, Arden turned on his heel, ready to march off dramatically. "Alright! Time to—"


    "Hey, twig, where do you think you’re going?" Lolo Lando’s voice cut through his moment.


    Arden blinked, turning back. "Uh… to look for my weapon and the other Arcana?"


    Lolo Lando raised a skeptical brow. "And do you know where to find them?"


    Arden opened his mouth, then paused, glancing at Zeth, then at the others. Silence.


    Leigh cleared her throat. "Did… did you actually have a plan, Arden?"


    Dominic smirked. "Oh, this is rich. The great Fool, charging ahead without a clue. Classic."


    Arden crossed his arms, huffing. "It was going to come to me on the way!" Talking all high like it’s okay.


    Zeth sighed, shaking his head. "This is why you need supervision."If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Lolo Lando chuckled, stroking his beard. "Sit down, boy. You can’t just wander into fate like a headless chicken. We have a path to walk—but let’s make sure it’s the right one."


    With a subtle motion, he signaled Kasisay. The floating lantern pulsed once, then again, before a cascade of golden light burst forth, illuminating the night sky. As the shimmering light stabilized, Kasisay’s form flickered and shifted, taking on a more defined, human-like appearance—dressed in a formal suit, her hands folded neatly as she adjusted a pair of glasses that weren’t actually there.


    “Alright, class, settle down,” Kasisay said in a crisp, authoritative tone. “It’s time for a proper briefing.”


    The group blinked in confusion.


    “Wait… is she acting like a teacher?” Dominic whispered to Leigh.


    “Shh, you don’t want to get detention,” Leigh muttered, biting back a grin.


    Kasisay cleared her throat, unbothered by the murmuring. “As I was saying, our mission objectives are as follows. First, locate the remaining Arcana. They are dispersed across the world, and their retrieval is of utmost importance. Second, secure the lost weapons, particularly those of Arden and Zeth. Now, pay attention, because this will be on the test.”


    She waved a glowing hand, and images began to appear in the air, each location glowing with ethereal light.


    Each Arcana’s location was revealed in turn, with the group reacting to every revelation.


    Kasisay continued, breaking down The Lovers’ divided fate, The Wheel of Fortune’s three identities, The Chariot’s political influence in Saudi Arabia, and The Hierophant’s role in orchestrating faith across the world.


    Then she turned, pointing directly at Arden and Zeth. “As for your weapons, one remains with Judgment. The other, we must find. Neither are lost. Now, if you fail to retrieve them in a timely manner, I will be forced to assign extra coursework.”


    Dominic snorted. “Okay, now I’m actually scared.”


    Kasisay shot him a look. “Young man, unless you would like a personal pop quiz on spellwork theory, I suggest you focus.”


    Leigh hesitated. “What about Judgment?”


    Kasisay adjusted her glasses. “Ah, it’s your brother. Didn’t you know yet?”


    Silence fell over the group. Leigh’s breath caught. The General’s eyebrows shot up. Marcos tensed. Dominic’s brain short-circuited.


    "Wait—hold on—WHAT?!" Dominic practically yelled. "Who?! Your brother—The Judgment?! Are you serious?!"


    Leigh’s mouth opened, then closed. "I… No. That’s not possible. He’s just a student! He’s studying in Russia! He—"


    “And yet,” Kasisay continued smoothly, adjusting her imaginary glasses, “he holds one of the missing weapons and has been unknowingly preparing for his role his entire life. Fate has a way of aligning the pieces, whether we see it or not.”


    The General frowned in thought. "Why the Valverde? Zeth having The Magician and The Sun makes sense because he himself is an Arcana. But are we just lucky to have two Major Arcana in our family?"


    Lolo Lando chuckled knowingly. "Your ancestors were the closest to us Arcana. Centuries ago, you already knew of our existence, but you chose not to believe it—or rather, you named it differently. You called our world ''Engkantadia'' and us Arcana ''Engkanto.''"


    Lolo Lando smirked, finding it amusing. "You believed in us more than you realized. Your people have always spoken of Engkantadia as a hidden realm, where powerful beings shaped the fate of the land. The Engkanto were seen as guardians of nature, protectors of balance—just as we, the Arcana, have always been. Perhaps your ancestors did not forget us; they merely retold our story in ways they could understand."


    The General exhaled, shaking his head in disbelief. "So they were all real. And here I thought my grandfather’s stories were just bedtime tales." He let out a chuckle before nudging Lolo Lando. "Turns out, we’ve been part of this all along. Damn, I need a drink."


    Lolo Lando laughed, patting the General’s shoulder. "Tea first, my friend. The hard stuff comes after we win."


    The lantern pulsed one final time, and Lolo Lando''s smirk deepened. "And just like those tales, some doors, once opened, can never be closed again. The question is… are you ready for what lies ahead?"


    A cold wind swept through the clearing, and for the first time since they arrived, the forest no longer felt familiar. The air carried an eerie hum, a whisper of something ancient stirring in the distance.


    And somewhere, unseen, something was watching.


    The battle for the Tarot World had already begun. They just hadn’t realized it yet.


    Far from the warmth of the Philippines, under the cold, gray skies of Russia, a young man sat by a frost-covered window, his fingers absentmindedly tracing the condensation on the glass. Outside, the city buzzed with life, but he remained still, staring at nothing in particular.


    Rean Valverde exhaled, watching his breath fog up the window. For days now, an unsettling feeling had gnawed at the edges of his mind—an inexplicable weight pressing down on him, as if something unseen was moving toward him.


    His reflection flickered in the glass, and for the briefest moment, his own eyes seemed… different. Deeper. Wiser. Older than they should have been. A shiver ran down his spine, and he blinked, the illusion vanishing.


    “What the hell is wrong with me?” he muttered under his breath, shaking off the strange sensation.


    The unease didn’t fade.


    Something was coming.


    And deep inside, some part of him knew—whether he was ready or not, his fate was about to change forever.