Millie wasn’t sure when she regained consciousness—only that it happened. As she looked around, blinking wearily, she realized something important.

She was still Astrally Projecting.

She wasn’t sure why. After her vision of the Archmagus had ended, and she’d woken up puking blood, things had spiraled down from there. Still, she thought. I should try to figure this out sooner rather than later. Groggily, she took in her situation.

She was on the ground, not too surprising given how she felt but it did indicate that she may have been projecting while unconscious. She found that somewhat disturbing, though she couldn’t entirely place why. Standing up, she took in her surroundings. The landscape was dark and barren, with black, crystalline structures jutting out from the area randomly, varying from person-sized to literal skyscrapers. They were jagged and rough, many broken and scattered. Above her, the sky was a gray overcast, and below her, was coarse, ashen dirt. She experimentally scooped some up and then watched it spill out of her semi-translucent hand.

Great, she thought. That probably means I actually can interact with my environment. I’ll need to be careful. Slowly, she began to walk around, one hand resting on her glowing stomach where she felt her son’s soul. He felt…restless, somehow. Afraid.

She really didn’t like that.

Without a direction to go, Millie began to explore her immediate surroundings, first stopping to collect a hand-sized chunk of crystal that had worn to a fine point. She hoped she wouldn’t need it, and almost dropped it when a sudden gust of wind cut through the crystal field. Stumbling, she barely caught herself before the short-lived flurry died down. She proceeded more cautiously after that.

Time passed as she walked around. She tried to make sense of the place she was in, but the chaotic mess of crystals proved fruitless in her investigations. Instead, the only thing she noted was that the wind, strangely, only blew in a single direction. It was also rhythmic, if slow. Like breathing, minutes between each breath. She didn’t like that either.

Eventually, after what might have been an entire E-hour, she inadvertently found herself at the source of the wind. Some of her instincts balked at that, but it was also clear the vision wasn’t ending anytime soon unless something happened. So she’d decided to just head to the source and poke it with a sharp crystal.

She quickly realized she’d need a much bigger crystal.

In front of her was a massive crystal hill, no taller than those around it but nearly the size of a football stadium. It also rested in the middle of a nearly cleared field. A few crystals were visible in the dirt, but it was clear everything nearby had been blown away long ago.

Feeling a build of energy, Millie took shelter behind a short, fat crystal over two dozen yards out as another burst of wind, nearly hurricane level in strength, blew by. Once the coast was clear, she stepped closer to try and take a look—though she refused to go too far, lest she found herself without cover.

As she approached, even from her distance, she noticed something peculiar about the crystal hill. There were chains bound around it, and she could see Talismans nailed to its surface, the dark glass-like material splintering like an icy glacier. But as she peered into the crystal, it was like the black color inside it shifted suddenly, noticing her. It became even darker.

Vantablack, she realized. Just like Liam’s stupid—

“You…came,” a voice softly cried out.

Why? Millie thought, closing her eyes in disbelief. Why am I having a vision, or whatever, of his stupid crystal? That’s what this is, isn’t it? Is this his fucking demon then? I got demon AIDS, didn’t I?

With growing dread, she realized CJ must have used the tainted soul bit on her. Had that been needed…to save her? She knew she’d been hurt, but she hadn’t realized it was so bad. But if I had a soul rupture, it makes sense to use the only soul bits on hand to patch it up.

She felt a build-up again. Wide-eyed, she scrambled backward, getting behind her crystal, only this time—no wind came. Instead, the buildup continued, then paused at its crescendo. Like the world held its breath. Then, something appeared in the absolute darkness of the crystal.

An image of a person. A girl, Millie realized.

“Um, hello?” She gently called out. Her voice was soft and kind. Her hair was light blond, shoulder-length, and had hints of curls. She also had blue eyes that went well with her pretty features and wore a courtly-looking cerulean dress. She smoothed it anxiously, as she approached the edge of the crystal, resting one hand against the interior of its surface as she smiled.

“My name’s Shard,” she called out brightly. “What’s yours?”

“Ahh…” Millie hesitated, before shaking her head. She stayed behind her crystal, only her head poking out, as she called out. “Cut the crap. You’re Liam’s demon, aren’t you?”

There was no way Millie was giving anything to a demon. She had enough problems as it was.

The girl, however, cocked her head, staring at Millie with bewilderment. The expression quickly gave way to a lazy, malicious grin.

“It’s alright, Millie,” the demon said. “I just want to talk.”

And great, Millie brooded. There goes that one protection I might have had. She racked her brain, putting her enhanced clarity to the test, trying to remember all she could on demons. Sadly, she didn’t have much.

“Look, I don’t—”

In a flash, the crystal seemed to breathe in and Millie found herself tumbling forward, past her cover, her small crystal shank tumbling away. The quick, violent movement thankfully didn’t hurt her Astral Body, but the next thing she knew, she was only a few feet from the crystal.

“That’s better,” the girl said calmly. “Isn’t this easier than shouting?”

Millie scrambled back, putting distance between them, before standing up. She was still only a couple of yards away, and seriously considering making a break back for the crystals, but paused. What stops her from just doing that shit again?

“Let’s be clear on something,” Millie said carefully. “I’m not interested in making any deals or having any conversations. I’d just like to leave.”

“Oh?” The girl asked. “I haven’t even made my offers yet,” she smiled widely, making Millie’s spine crawl. Now that Millie was closer, she could start making out small details that stood out on the girl that weren’t natural. A strange sharpness to her nails. Bags under her eyes but covered by makeup. A bit of deformation to her iris, giving it a squarish hint. Thinness, to her hair, like she was balding and had fluffed up what remained to cover that up.

“I don’t care what you’re offering, I’m not buying,” Millie insisted. “So, unless there’s anything else?”

The demon paused, before tapping her lip with a finger. “Hmm. How about this—I’ll make three offers, nothing you have to agree with, and if you really don’t like them, then I’ll let you go.”

“Wait,” Millie shot back. “You’re the one controlling this vision?” It had seemed like a reasonable assumption to make, but she wanted to be sure.

Shard nodded. “You did ingest a part of me, Millie. We could end up having a lot of these meetings if we don’t compromise in some fashion.”

God fucking damn it, Millie silently cursed. This had been exactly why she’d tried so hard not to use Liam’s soul bits. I really hope CJ can find a way to get this shit out of me later.

“You look distressed,” Shard said. “Is something the matter? Is talking to me really that worrying?”

Millie scoffed. “I nearly died, and my reward for surviving was a demon in my soul. So yeah, I’m distressed. And stop playing dumb. You are a demon, aren’t you? I know enough to know how dangerous you are.”

The girl gave a tittering laugh. “Oh, Millie. Calling me a Demon barely begins to cover what I am. I could tell you more if you like? What would you trade to know my true identity? What would—”

“You’re the Archmagus of the Void, aren’t you?” Millie guessed. Given what she’d seen in her previous divination of the Weaver, it seemed a reasonable guess.

And apparently, she hit the nail on the head.

The girl’s playful attitude disappeared in an instant. Her blue eyes darkened, reflecting the Vantablack around her, and her hair fell into a stringy, disgusting mess. Her once beautiful features twisted as the makeup on her gaunt face faded and her now yellowed dress appeared rotted, sections sloughing off. She slammed a boney, clawed hand against the inside of the crystal, causing it to vibrate with a near-deafening boom.

“You dare steal secrets from me!? You come here to mock me like the others!? To take and to take and to take!? All I want is something, anything of the outside world and you, like a mulling, sanctimoniously harlot declare your resistance to me!? I should tear you apart from the inside out!”

Millie had fallen backward with the sheer volume of her words. Yet, as she scrambled back, now regretting her flippancy, the twisted Shard before her paused, breathing deeply to calm herself. Vaguely around her, Millie could feel the wind moving about chaotically.

“Fine,” she said. “Well…done, Millie. This must make you the Disciple of the Weaver. It would have been nice to know that before we had this conversation. Blasted Schemer.”

Millie cautiously stood back up, feeling the winds steadying around her. She didn’t reply though.

With a final breath, Shard lowered her hands and took a relaxed stance. Her appearance remained monstrous, however. “Just to be clear on something—does torturing Liam’s soul have any sway over you?”

Millie’s eyes bulged in shock before a burst of laughter escaped her lips. She quickly covered her mouth, regretting the impulse that had caused that reaction.

“I figured,” Shard said with a sad sigh. “Very well, I stand by my…initial outreach. I shall offer three temptations and then you can be on your way. Surely that is agreeable?”

“Okay…” Millie said cautiously. While she still wanted nothing to do with what was now the second Archmagus she’d met, she didn’t know of a better way to get out. Other than running to the hills and hoping that works with her wind-sucking powers.

“How about…” Shard tapped her lips again, her claw playing with her lower lip as she thought. “Ah, how about something straightforward for the first attempt, yes? Give me your most precious childhood memory and I shall give you the ability to cast Arcane Bolt ten times a day at no Mana cost.”

Millie blinked in surprise. “No…Mana cost? Seriously?”

Shard nodded. “Well, to you,” she corrected. “I can’t influence anything directly outside my prison, but my power is yours to command should you make a deal. In theory, if you gave me enough, I could give you thousands of Drams worth of Spells to cast each hour, every hour. That wouldn’t even come close to exhausting someone like me,” she smiled widely, and Millie shuddered.

She hadn’t actually expected to be tempted, all things told. While yes, her childhood memories were precious, ten Spells per day? That was incredible.

Or was it?

Two things, Millie, she told herself. First, never take a salesman's first offer. Second, why the fuck are you considering anything a demon-mage thing is offering? Think of how many strings must be attached!

Shard must have seen something in Millie’s expression. “Now, now, please don’t insult me by thinking I’d renege on our deal. It’s in my best interest to get as much as I can from you, no? What value is there for me cheating you?”

Millie narrowed her eyes. “Plenty, if the way you cheat me lets you take more than’s offered.”

“Perhaps,” she admitted. “However, if that’s the angle you wish to start from, then how can any deal be struck? Do you have any way to verify our deals?”

“No,” Millie tossed back. “I also don’t want to make any in the first place!”

Shard frowned, before growling lightly. “There’s no helping it then. I, the Dark Mistress Nixilia, Archmagus of the Void and Corrupter of Souls, do hereby swear that my words here are true: no deal I make here shall contain falsehoods. Nor will they work to entrap you, through direct or indirect means. Likewise, the consequences of your actions are your own to bear, but I shall not act outside our agreements, now or ever, for good or ill. What I give you shall receive, and what I take shall be mine.”

Millie swayed where she stood, her translucent Astral Body shimmering in response to the power of the Oath. A burst of wind pulsed through the crystalline world around her, and she knew, suddenly, that the words had been true. She knew it like she knew…The Rune of The Wheel of Fortune. Deep in her soul, it resonated like a bright light. Truth.

“Fine, I believe you.” She didn’t want to but she did. “Can we just get this over with so I can go?”

Shard hissed in aggravation, and Millie silently kicked herself for poking the demon again, but a moment later the Archmagus of the Void had composed herself.

“Fine, my second offer shall be…” she paused again, her eyes casting to the side as she considered. “Ah, I offer to you the soul of your once beloved. To use as you wish, to control or to—”

“Hard pass,” Millie cut in.

Shard hesitated. “You could have revenge on him,” she said sweetly. “He would be your loyal servant.”

“Second verse, same as the first. Hard pass,” she made an X with her arms.

“Would it matter to you…” Shard said, shifting her stance, slithering to the side. It was like she was saddling up to a friend, sharing gossip. “…to know that he planned to trade the life of his First Born for freedom from me?”

Millie’s Astral blood ran cold. He what?

“You’re lying.”

He was a monster, yes, but he wasn’t…an actual monster. Right?

Shard laughed, turning her back to Millie as she rested against the crystal. “Ah yes, he was quite panicked, you see. The cost to open this prison was to bind him to it. That’s why he’s dying—he’s slowly withering as his soul drinks in the waters of the Void.”

Slowly, Shard turned her head, one thin cheek pressed against the glass as she stared at Millie. “But a soul for a soul? He was willing to pay that price. He even had a plan, one I’ll admit I helped him devise, to get you to put your son’s soul into my care. What a betrayal that would’ve been.”

“You…” Millie turned away. Restlessly, she then began to pace, back and forth. Oddly, no matter where she walked, the image of Shard seemed to move with her, like a twisted reflection cast on a mirror.

Suddenly, she stopped. She wants me to be angry, Millie said. She wants me to take that second deal. I need to calm down, to just…deal with this later. Slowly, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“I…pass,” she finally said, lifting her gaze back up at Shard.

Her malicious smile faltered before she sighed again. Standing straight, she turned to face Millie once more.

“Fine, my last offer shall be…ah, there can only be one thing, yes? Freedom. Freedom from Magincia, for you and your child.”

Millie pursed her lips. “And the cost to that would be…?”

Shard’s triumphant smile faltered. “It would be…the life of someone close to you. Your friend…CJ would suffice.”

“Really?” Millie said with a flat stare. “You know, if you said the cost was Liam, then maybe, but CJ?”

Shard ground her teeth in frustration. “My magic works through Sympathetic links, child. It has to be someone close to you. As close as your child is, emotionally, if nothing else.”

“Then no,” Millie said, then turned on her heel and began to leave. Will this stupid vision stop soon, or…?

“Wait!” Shard cried out, her gaunt form pressed against the crystal in desperation. “Please, just…I have something you want! I swear it!”

Millie paused, before hesitantly turning back. “What happened to three offers?”

The Archmagus hit her head against the crystal, over and over again. “Knowledge for knowledge,” she said through grit teeth. “I’ll tell you a secret, something that will help you save your child. In exchange, you give me secrets about Liam. Things he’s refused to share with me.”

This time, Millie was definitely tempted.

“How do I know these secrets are any good?” Millie asked.

“How do I know Liam’s secrets will help me?” She shot back. “I can swear the knowledge I share with you will open paths otherwise shut. Can you do the same? This deal favors you in the extreme.”

Millie ground her teeth. “Then why make it? Why risk losing out?”

“Because, Millie,” Shard said, smiling. “Once you know how useful I can be to you, you’ll be more likely to call on me in the future. Unless, of course, you take what I offer now and never return? The choice is yours.”

She pressed her hand against the glass, a strange ripple in the air beside it.

“Do we have a deal?”

Millie slowly came to. It felt like waking up after getting blackout drunk; with achy joints, a strange taste in her mouth, and a lethargy that seemed determined to drag her back down. Yet in defiance of that far too familiar state was a lack of one sensation she’d grown accustomed to: a headache. In fact, for the first time she could remember since arriving in Magincia, her mind felt blissfully clear.

Something squeezed her hand.

Startled, Millie’s eyes snapped open as her body jolted. She groaned in pain from the sudden movement, looking over to see Tanya beside her. The petite blond lifted Millie’s hand, holding it tightly, and squeezed it again.

“Thank god,” she whispered. “Thank you.” Her eyes were red, with bags beneath them. She’d obviously been awake for some time crying.

“Hey there good lookin’,” Millie said, her voice croaking slightly through parched lips. The old pet phrase she used for Tanya came naturally; it was a call back to all the times Millie had visited her when she was sick. “I, ah, don’t suppose you can let up on my hand? Unless you want to pop it off as a keepsake or something.”

Tanya laughed, a renewed wetness to her eyes as her shoulders sagged with relief. She gave one last squeeze, Millie hissing in exaggerated pain before she finally loosened her grip. Then, she climbed into bed with Millie, snuggling up beside her. Millie shuffled over, grateful that the bed she was in was big enough for the both of them, if just barely.

Though, as she looked around, she was confused to see the bed was in the Study. I suppose it’s better than waking up underwater, she thought. She was glad for the Healing Pools, but damn was she getting tired of soaking in it.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Tanya said softly. “You were unconscious for a long time.”

Millie grimaced. “Shit. How long? What time is it?”

“It’s fourth M-day,” Tanya said. “Our rest-cycle’s soon.”

That means I was out for over twenty-four Earth hours, she realized. It had been the beginning of the third night’s rest-cycle when she’d performed her ill-fated divination, one she now felt set up for by the Fortune-Teller. Fuck, this whole thing better’ve been worth a lot of negative Karma. I should have guessed all those Tower omens were happening for a damn reason.

“Not that I don’t love this,” Millie said, “but, uh, can I get some water?”

“What? Oh! O-of course,” Tanya said, quickly scrambling out of the bed to fetch a pitcher nearby. A moment later, she’d helped Millie sit up, propping her with pillows, and offered a glass. Millie drank it greedily, going for a second cup of the crisp, clear water. She knew she must’ve been very thirsty—she couldn’t remember the last time water tasted this good.

“So…how bad was it?” Millie finally asked. She’d noticed she wasn’t the only impromptu patient in the room—Katelyn lay sleeping in her own bed nearby. Otherwise, they were alone.

Tanya followed Millie’s gaze before looking back at her. She bit her lip, glancing away as though contemplating a lie. Millie grabbed her hand, squeezing it, forcing her to meet her eyes.

“Tanya,” she said firmly. The girl sighed.

“It was bad, Millie. You…you were technically dead. No breathing, no heartbeat. The only thing keeping you and your son going was that Talisman they got.”

“Talisman?”

Tanya nodded. “The others, mostly CJ, paid for a tier-three talisman designed to bind a soul to a corpse, to keep it from officially dying. It only lasts an hour, an M-hour I mean, but during that time they had to…to really push themselves to heal you.”

Millie glanced over at Katelyn’s sleeping form again. “How much did it cost them?”

“Millie, you shouldn’t—”

“How much,” she insisted. Nothing would change how grateful she felt to be alive, but it hurt more than she could bear to think how much she was dragging the others down with her. Why does my negative Karma have to hurt others too?

“Katelyn…” Tanya said hesitantly. “She didn’t have enough Mana to heal you, and the Pool was too slow. So she started ordering Mana potions. And when she ran out of RP, others bought them for her. She kept going through them, even using a few healing potions when she started suffering Backlash from the strain. We only had an hour to heal you and…well…”

“And potions take time to metabolize,” Millie said. She knew that from her Death Knell Omen’s vision. “How…many did she take? Potions, that is?”

“I think she had six in the end? She got…really sick. We thought she might die too.”

Six potions? Is it a coincidence that the Loom’s visions had six cups? That seemed unlikely. Also if she nearly died, that means Alchemical toxic buildup is more dangerous than I initially thought.

Breathing deeply, Millie did her best to accept the guilt in her heart. That awful, suffocating feeling of drowning and taking those she cared for with her. Instead, she tried to focus on a new sense, something she hoped to tie to her determination. A conviction to change. To beat Magincia.

Let’s see if this works, Millie thought, turning to face Tanya. The petite girl cocked her head at the sudden change in Millie’s expression. Activate the Sight, Millie commanded.

Nothing happened.

Several awkward moments passed as Millie continued to stare intently at Tanya. The girl coughed politely.

“M-millie?”

“Shh, I’m doing something mystical.”

Tanya stared at her with a long-suffering expression. She didn’t interrupt again, however.

Okay, clearly that’s not how that works, Millie thought, keeping her disappointment from showing. For her second attempt, she turned her mind inward, trying to feel for her soul. It took her a few moments, but when it responded she gasped, eyes widening.

In her mind, she saw the Rune of the Wheel of Fortune. She could also vaguely make out something she’d only experienced in her vision: a Formation. She recognized it as the Formation of Frost Bolt. It was hazy, incomplete, and she didn’t even think she could use it, but…she saw it, alongside the beginning shapes of other Runes she’d learned in her first vision.

With another gasp, the image vanished, and she felt sweat beading on her forehead.

“What’s wrong? Millie!?” Tanya was panicking.

“It’s okay,” she said quickly. “It’s…I can cast magic, Tanya. I can see it in my mind.”

The girl’s eyes widened in shock. “You…you can? Then the soul transfer worked? CJ was going to…oh shit,” she looked away guiltily.

Did CJ want to tell me? “It’s alright Tanya. I…kind of figured out what CJ did already,” Millie decided not to discuss her vision of the Archmagus of the Void just yet. She was still trying to process what had happened. “Do you have my Soul Scroll by chance?”

Tanya nodded. Then, a moment later she handed both it and Millie’s Tarot cards over. Thanking her, Millie quickly flipped open her menu, realizing immediately that it had updated of its own accord.

Name: Millie Anne McArthur

Rank: Initiate

Titles: Bloody Millie, Disciple of the Weaver

Job: Student

Attributes

[Physical]

[Mental]

[Spiritual]

Strength [~20]

Intellect [~60]

Potency [~2]

Stamina [~25]

Willpower [~63]

MPool [~0]

Dexterity [~34]

Cunning [~50]

Flow [~3]

Reflexes [~45]

Clarity [~56]

Resonance [~3]

Attainments

[T1] Eyes of Fate [T1] Mother's Blessing: Soul Cradle

Registered Spells

Frost Bolt (60% Estimated Progress) Wheel Or Woe Consult The Cards

Inventory

Resource Points: 280

[Weapons]

Pocket Knife War Club Sling

[Armor]

Disciple's Robes Leather Bracer (Right)

[Pills (T1 box 5/20)]

T1[G] Strength(x1) T1[G] Stamina(x3) T1[G] Reflexes(x1)

[Potions]

Potion of Competence Growth

[Talismans]

[Attainment Scraps]

[Misc]

[Relic] Tarot Cards [T5] Crystal Ball Student Uniform

I have magic stats, she thought, smiling. Yes!

She could feel it too. Even though the stats were low, and her Mana Pool was listed as zero, she knew for certain it was there. Mana. Inside, waiting at her beck and call.

All three Drams of it. She smirked at the realization. That was a far cry from the base ten Magi were supposed to start with. It ain’t much, but fuck yes! She paused her elation, however, when something dawned on her.

If I have Mana then…how is my son okay? Feeling her stomach, she could actually sense her son’s presence inside her, more keenly after their shared Astral jaunt. He was alive and well, but that still begged the question of how.

From what she knew, the only thing protecting him had been her own soul. So, if her soul became magical, then it would poison his. The Headmaster had made it clear that she needed Attainments, therefor, to protect him, only she’d needed magic to get those Attainments. That awful chicken and egg situation had trapped her, but now…now she felt that had somehow been solved. The first step was taken, and a second glance at her menu made her pretty sure what that was.

She had two Attainments.

What the hell is this Mother’s Blessing Attainment? She wasn’t surprised to see Eyes of Fate in her list, she assumed that was the ‘Sight’ she’d been given in the Weaver's vision (it had also been the thing she’d tried, and failed, to activate). So where had that second one come from?

Didn’t Eden say it's possible to make them? Or had that been in my vision? Or…she paused. It had been Katelyn. She’d told Millie what the group had learned in the Stacks about Attainments. It was possible to create Attainments with only a few scraps, without having to pay for the System's help. It had also been warned against, as the process was said to be too difficult and unreliable.

But…that was what happened, wasn’t it?

Six cups…the Loom. In the Loom, I saw Katelyn had done something. Something to protect my son. I even named her his Godmother for it.

“Tanya,” Millie said, showing her the Soul Scroll. “Do you know what this Mother’s Blessing Attainment is? The Soul Cradle? Did Katelyn do this?”

Tanya read it over, frowning. “I…no, I don’t. I know she…she tried really hard to help you.”

Almost killed herself you mean, Millie translated. “What did—”

“It's probably because of what she did to protect your son’s soul,” a voice suddenly said. Looking up, she saw Catherine leaning through the door. “Sorry, I just…I wasn’t sure if I should disturb you while you were resting.”

“It’s fine, Catherine. Please,” Millie gestured nearby, where a number of chairs had been placed. It looked like most of the class had spent time in the study with her at one point or another.

Almost reverently, Catherine made her way into the room. She paused briefly to check on Katelyn, who murmured in her sleep, before joining them, sitting next to Tanya.

“The Mana in that Spell you cast was too much for you to handle—it caused your soul to rupture,” Catherine said. Millie nodded—she’d gathered that much. “It got worse though. Your soul started to strain itself to protect your child, even going so far as to fight itself.

“Rather than stop that and lose your son, Katelyn worked with it using something she’d gotten a scrap on. It was from the section the Headmaster had suggested to her, and between that, her Spells, and CJ’s Alchemical Runes, they…I don’t know. Shored up your soul somehow, to protect your son. I think it only worked because of that black gem; the one that had a piece of Liam’s soul in it. It broke after the whole ordeal, exploding like a grenade. We all had to soak in the pool after that.”

Millie furrowed her brow. It broke? Looking over, she saw Tanya nodding in corroboration. “But,” Millie said, “between all that and the gem he’s protected? And I got an Attainment out of thin air?”

Catherine shrugged. “I don’t know. We should ask Saras; she’s the Spirit of the fourth floor of the Stacks who runs the Attainment store. If anyone knew how it happened, she would. Plus, you should have a free credit to spend. You still have yours, Tanya.”

Looking away, Millie chewed her lip. That has to be it then, she thought. But what are the odds that they could pull this off? It sounds insanely difficult. Too difficult.

Absently, she squeezed her hand around her Tarot deck.

It did that, didn’t it? Twisted Fate somehow to ensure they succeeded. Was that why it cost them so much? A tier-three consumable and six tier-one potions? That’s five hundred and fifty RP. That Attainment they forged for me couldn’t have cost more than a hundred with all its scraps.

Or a thousand with only one, she realized. Had this entire event been orchestrated by the Fortune-Teller to help save her son? How much had the horror of the situation done to balance out the impact on her Karma? Was she better or worse off now?

It doesn’t matter, she told herself. Whatever the cost, she’d pay it and be glad for it. The impossible speed bump that had been placed in front of her was gone. She still needed the Twinsoul Attainment to protect her son in the long term, but for now she could gather soul donations, she could grow in strength, and she could…

Cast Magic.

“Thank you,” Millie said quietly, tears in her eyes. “Thank you for how much you’ve done for me.”

Tanya blushed, followed shortly after by Catherine. “We…we didn’t do much ourselves,” Tanya admitted.

Catherine shook her head shamefully. “We really didn’t. I…I froze up. I didn’t know what to do when I saw you.”

“That’s better than me,” Tanya said, a wry smile forming on her face. “When I saw how badly hurt Millie was I puked everywhere.”

Catherine grinned slightly. “You did, didn’t you?” She laughed lightly, bemused.

Millie, however, glared. “You saw me hurt and you puked? Really? Wait, you didn’t puke on me, did you?” Vague memories of the night filled her.

Both girls immediately stopped smiling.

“You know, maybe I should go tell CJ that you’re awake,” Tanya said quickly, standing up.

“I’ll…I’ll go with you!” Catherine said, fleeing alongside the petite blond.

“What the fuck, Tanya!?” Millie screamed after them. “Next time you get hurt I’m vomiting on you and your stupid sparrow!”

The two glanced back, Tanya more confused than anything, before running out of the room. Absently, Millie remembered Tanya didn’t have a sparrow—that was just something she’d seen in the Loom's vision. Had that meant anything? She thought. Or was that a metaphor? Imagery associated with the Tarot card? She squeezed her deck once more.

I suppose I can just check, she mused. What was Tanya’s Tarot, anyway? She began pulling card after card. She’d caught the Runes behind her other classmates just fine, but Tanya’s for some reason had eluded her. It had stood out.

She stopped pulling when she saw a young, long-haired man, in a denim suit holding a large staff. His features reminded her of distant relatives in the Six Nations, but behind him was a wall of fire that looked eerily familiar.

It was the Knight of Wands. This was what her image had drawn on.

“What the fuck…?” Millie said, scowling.

There was no sparrow in the image. Confused, Millie tried to focus on the Rune in the card, and the image she’d seen of Tanya, to connect the dots. She felt something respond inside of her at that, swelling at her call, as energy began to be consumed.

One Dram of Mana was expended as Eyes of Fate finally activated.