Mysteries: Arcana Wars

The Three of Diamonds hid behind the building, staring blankly at the Five of Clubs who was acting crazy outside the door.

He didn't know what had happened to the woman opposite him, but he saw her suddenly kneel down on the ground, her crazed laughter growing louder and louder. Finally, she pulled out a piece of obsidian lens and, without hesitation, stabbed it into her right eye.

"...Five of Clubs!!"

The three of diamonds teleported through a portal, instantly appearing behind the five of clubs, grabbing her arm, and dragging her back into the safe corner through the portal.

"Damn it, you crazy woman, you wasted another one of my teleportation records. You have to treat me to a good meal when we get back!"

Mei Hua Wu was roughly thrown to the ground, but she seemed completely unconcerned. She simply lay on the ground and refused to get up, staring blankly at the ceiling and laughing foolishly.

She covered her bleeding, tear-filled right eye with her hand, the crystalline obsidian lens still wedged between her fingers. Pain tore from her eyeball all the way to her brain, but she remained unresponsive, as if the pain didn't exist. Only her instinctive reaction remained, unable to resist the invasion of pain. Her body, lying flat on the ground, convulsed uncontrollably in agony and filth.

Seeing his companion thrashing about on the ground like a dying fish, Three of Diamonds couldn't bear it. He quickly stepped forward, picked up the other's upper body, and let Five of Clubs rest his head on his chest.

"How are you? Uh... do you need to stop the bleeding?"

"Five of Clubs? Hey, don't just stay silent!"

"Don't be so silent, it's kind of scary..."

"whee……"

Plum Blossom Five's eyes remained lifeless and empty, but his crazed grin suddenly stretched exaggeratedly to his ears, revealing a chilling smile.

"Three of Diamonds, do you know why we're here?"

"...Huh? Why?"

Three of Diamonds was taken aback.

Upon hearing such a philosophical question, he instantly forgot about the bleeding and bandaging, his thoughts immediately drawn away by the frenzied Plum Blossom Five.

"Because...we have fallen into the trap of the gods!"

"Or rather, we are part of the gods' scheme!"

Do our actions truly stem from our instinctive desires? Do our thoughts truly originate from our inner reflections?

No, no, wrong, incorrect, failure...

“Every action we take, every thought we have, is arranged by the gods!”

"He determines our actions, our thoughts, and everything about us."

“We are here today because God wants us to be here; we uphold these beliefs because God requires us to think this way.”

"From the moment we picked up this obsidian lens... no, from the moment we were born, our fate has been in the hands of the gods. Every trajectory of our lives serves the schemes of the gods in their game of chess."

"So do we really have self-awareness, Three of Diamonds?"

"……what?"

Three of Diamonds scratched his head. He somewhat understood what Five of Clubs meant, but as the other person spoke faster and faster, Three of Diamonds' comprehension gradually couldn't keep up with the other person's racing thoughts.

"We... are merely puppets manipulated by the gods."

"Our belief that we have self-awareness is nothing but a lie told by the gods."

Mei Hua laughed heartily. Her right eye stopped bleeding tears; instead, a thick, black liquid began to flow, dripping into the air and disappearing.

"Or perhaps, no one really has a true sense of self."

"For example, you, for example, me, for example... the gods!"

"We are manipulated by the gods, becoming their pawns; aren't the gods also manipulated by other wills, becoming puppets of another will?"

Cough cough! Plum Blossom Five coughed out two puffs of black smoke, but his expression became even more energetic.

"I've got it! I see it! I know it!"

"Yes, that's right, that's correct, I'm sure, that's it..."

"Beyond the distant world that our souls can perceive, there still exists a will that controls everything!"

"It is above all humans, above all extraordinary beings, above all gods, and even above all worlds and the worlds of worlds!"

"This will cannot even be called 'He'; ​​it cannot be summarized by such a superficial concept as a god."

"Superficial, superficial!"

"hahahahahahahaha!"

Not only his stabbed right eye, but also more viscous black liquid gushed from Mei Hua Wu's eyes, like two wide streams, leaving hideous black marks on Mei Hua Wu's face.

"What exactly is that feeling like?"

"...It's a real shame that I can't describe its full scope to you. No language in this world can accurately capture the core of this will."

"It is like an author writing poems, a conductor leading a musical movement, a director weaving a film..."

"And beyond our world, there are still poems, musical pieces, and films—one after another divine deception and trickery."

"—Everything came to a close amidst conspiracy, deception, and trickery!!"

"...Hiss, I'm not quite understanding..."

The Three of Diamonds completely forgot the reality that the other player was injured and needed help, and was completely immersed in the Five of Clubs' absurd remarks, trying to understand his good teammate.

The more I thought about it, the more confused I felt, and in the end I gained nothing.

"Plum Blossom Five, who told you all this?"

"Hehe, as expected of you, Three of Diamonds, you really guessed it."

Mei Huawu laughed.

"I was just thinking, frantically exploring, recklessly digging into the magnificent schemes of the gods, admiring those supreme artistic masterpieces, until I rose up, floated upwards, and finally broke through the boundaries..."

Then, I encountered a demon from beyond the realm…

"He said that He had seen the Seven of Hearts and admired my obsession with trickery and deception..."

Mei Hua gritted her teeth and finally removed the obsidian lens from her right eye.

With this action, the nose, mouth, and ears of the plum blossom, like eyes, began to continuously gush out black, viscous liquid, flowing like a waterfall.

However, his right eye had no trace of wounds, but the iris was a hollow and eerie black, with no visible texture or structure.

"...That's taboo knowledge I shouldn't know, knowledge I'm not worthy to touch, truth I shouldn't reach..."

"...I should have lost my way...fallen into depravity...disappeared from the world..."

"...But...I encountered a demon from beyond the realm...and gained His favor..."

"...and then...He said..."

“…He said…”

“…He…”

Mei Hua Wu's voice grew softer and softer until it was just a faint murmur, repeating the same half-sentence over and over again.

“…He said…”

What did He say?

The Three of Diamonds couldn't hear the Five of Clubs' babbling, but eager to know what would happen next, so it couldn't help but lower its head and lean closer to the Five of Clubs' head.

“…He said…”

Suddenly, the five of clubs sprang up, laughing wildly, and stabbed the obsidian into the right eye of the three of diamonds.

“SURPRISE!!”