On the outskirts of Grey Dove Monastery, the snowy forest flickered under a dark red afterglow.
Six of Cups stood on the branch of a withered pine tree, staring blankly up at the dark red sky.
The mission the Black Tower had given him this time was very clear.
Infiltrate Grey Dove Monastery, seize the Mooncrown Lock, and bring it back to the Black Tower.
But Six of Cups knew he had fled in a pathetic state.
He had thought he could pull it off this time, until that holy pressure bore down from above.
In that instant, Six of Cups felt as though his shadow was about to be burned through, his soul plunged into boiling holy water.
Six of Cups looked down at his hands. His fingertips were still trembling slightly.
How humiliating.
He slowly curled his fingers, squeezing the trembling into his palm.
But just as his fingers closed, a faint, stinging pain came from his palm.
Six of Cups froze.
He looked down and opened his palm again. An inquisitor's mark should have been there.
Isolde's figure flashed inappropriately through his mind.
That woman was clearly so cunning and calculating. She should have known better than anyone that pushing him out was the easiest choice.
As long as she let go, he would have been dragged in by the Mooncrown Lock, becoming the unfortunate soul sacrificed to it.
That way, the lock would open, the rules would be satisfied, and she would even have one less temporary partner to share the spoils with.
Six of Cups stared at his empty palm, suddenly feeling a bit lost.
Aside from their family in the Black Tower, people from the outside world never seemed to treat them as human beings.
Six of Cups suddenly turned around, the dark shadow spreading from beneath his feet as if he wanted to slip back toward the monastery.
He told himself in his mind: Just one more try.
The Mooncrown Lock might still be there. As long as he got the Mooncrown Lock, he wouldn't have completely failed.
Perhaps he could also get a clear answer.
Six of Cups nudged his foot forward an inch.
The dark shadow beneath his feet spread silently, about to carry him back toward the monastery.
In the next instant, an even deeper shadow surged up the tree trunk, wrapping around his ankle.
Six of Cups abruptly halted, a short blade sliding into his palm.
A low voice came from behind him.
“Six of Cups, have you forgotten what Mother said?”
A mass of dark shadow slowly rose on the branch above, condensing into a human figure.
The newcomer was also dressed in black, with a mask covering most of his face, leaving only a pair of steady eyes visible.
Pinned to his collar was a Pentacle badge, glinting coldly in the snowy light.
“Eight of Pentacles...”
Six of Cups withdrew his short blade and looked toward the monastery hesitantly, his voice tinged with dejection.
“I... I failed the mission.”
Eight of Pentacles looked down at the shadow binding Six of Cups's ankle. Once he confirmed that Six of Cups wasn't moving forward, he slowly loosened it halfway.
“Regardless, your mission is over.”
Six of Cups pursed his lips. “But I didn't get the item.”
“If you can't get it, bring back intelligence.”
Eight of Pentacles crossed his arms, looking down at him like an authoritative older brother.
“The Mooncrown Lock has gone out of control, and a massive eruption of resentment has occurred inside Grey Dove Monastery. Only by coming back alive can anyone know about this.”
Six of Cups hung his head and didn't reply. He knew this was just a poor excuse for comfort from Eight of Pentacles, because even if he hadn't returned, Eight of Pentacles could have brought this intelligence back to Mother himself.
But even though he knew he wouldn't be blamed, Six of Cups still felt terrible inside.
Just then, the sound of snow rustling down came from the other side of the withered pine.
A slender shadow landed on a branch. Her foot slipped slightly, causing her body to sway, but she quickly regained her balance.
Her black clothes were lighter than Eight of Pentacles's, and a slender Sword badge was pinned to each side of her hem, swaying gently as she landed.
A female voice came from behind her mask, sounding rather hurried.
“I was just wondering earlier whether I should observe the situation at the monastery first or stop you first. Eight of Pentacles said to stop you first. I thought he made sense, but then I also felt the situation inside was very important.”
She paused, as if she had finally reached a conclusion.
“But I was still worried about you, so I came over to check on you first.”
Six of Cups looked up. “Two of Swords.”
Two of Swords hopped over to him. Only after confirming he had no fatal injuries did she sigh in relief.
“The first rule of the Black Tower: regardless of whether the mission is completed, you must prioritize your own life.”
She paused, hesitated for a moment, and added:
“Though I think the mission is also very important. But this time, the situation has exceeded our initial estimates. Charging in blindly carries too high a probability of death. The probability of severe injury is also very high. The probability of being captured by the Holy Court is... also high.”
After a moment, Two of Swords whispered, “You know Mother worries about you the most. That's why she sent Eight of Pentacles and me to back you up.”
Six of Cups lowered his heterochromatic eyes. “Will Mother be disappointed?”
Eight of Pentacles answered quickly, “No.”
Two of Swords answered a bit slower:
“Probably not. I mean, definitely not. The Mooncrown Lock was a high-risk target to begin with, and Mother knows that.”
Six of Cups's fingers tightened slightly, but he still stubbornly kept his head down.
As if seeing through his thoughts, Eight of Pentacles softened his voice slightly.
“Failure does not make you useless.”
Six of Cups looked up at him. Eight of Pentacles raised his hand, took out a small badge from his sleeve, and tossed it over.
Six of Cups caught it instinctively. Opening his palm, he found it was a Cup badge.
Eight of Pentacles looked at him, his tone remaining steady.
“Don't go giving your badge away to reckless fools again. Wear it properly.”
Six of Cups clutched the badge and pinned it back onto his collar.
He brushed away the light snow on it, and the metal surface reflected tiny glints of light.
Eight of Pentacles continued, “After reviewing the mission, we can break this operation down into three issues. First, our intelligence on the Holy Court was insufficient. Second, the state of the Mooncrown Lock did not match our estimates. Third, you are not strong enough.”
Two of Swords: “...”
Six of Cups: “...”
As if realizing something, Eight of Pentacles added another line.
“The first two are not your fault. You can keep working on the third.”
Two of Swords pressed her hand to her temple.
“Your way of comforting people is truly... dry.”
Eight of Pentacles said calmly, “I am merely stating the facts rigorously.”
Six of Cups stared at him for a moment, then suddenly let out a low “Mm.”
The sourness lodged in his throat seemed to finally ease a bit.
Two of Swords looked toward Grey Dove Monastery, her tone still somewhat hesitant.
“We have two choices right now. First, remain on the outskirts to continue observing. Second, leave immediately.”
She finished speaking, then dismissed the first option herself.
“No, the Holy Radiance on the outskirts is still spreading. Staying makes it easy to be discovered.”
She thought about it again and muttered, “But if we leave directly, we might miss the final intelligence on the Mooncrown Lock.”
Eight of Pentacles said, “The third choice.”
Two of Swords immediately looked at him with bright eyes. She loved it most when someone helped her make a decision when she was indecisive.
Eight of Pentacles said steadily, “Retreat three miles and leave a shadow marker at the old northern outpost. After that, Mother will decide whether to send the next batch of people to take over.”
Two of Swords pondered for a moment, nodding repeatedly.
“This is good. Safe. Though it's not entirely without risk, it's much better than rushing in right now.”
Six of Cups didn't speak.
He merely turned his head, taking one last look at Grey Dove Monastery.
In the blizzard, the monastery's protective arrays had already been mostly torn open.
The holy white light was intermingled with dark red resentment, permeating the air with a dangerous aura.
That clever woman named Isolde might still be alive.
Or maybe she was already dead.
He suddenly felt that the Mooncrown Lock was probably no longer there either.
Withdrawing his gaze, Six of Cups's voice was so quiet it was nearly scattered by the wind.
“Let's go back.”
Two of Swords clearly breathed a sigh of relief, and Eight of Pentacles fully withdrew his shadow.
The figures of the three landed on the snow, sinking into the shadows beneath their feet at the same time.
Before disappearing, Six of Cups looked up once more at the sky obscured by withered branches.
The dark red sky looked as if it were soaked in blood, a color he had never seen before.
Six of Cups thought softly in his heart:
If there's ever a chance to meet her again...
...
The wind and snow finally swallowed the dark shadows, leaving only cold white specks in the forest.
Rate on N.U.
