He wakes up in Leon's bakery with a loud groan. Two concerned faces hurry over, peering over him. He blinks, and they both back up. Setting his neutral spawn point here was a good idea, after all. 

“Rainman! What happened?” Leon asks, and he sighs. 

“An Erthan. He killed Yir, and...” 

“You were forced to use your Gods blessing?” To NPCs, those from Earth were from a hidden continent blessed by a god of undying. Those deemed worthy by god wouldn't die until their mission was complete. 

”Yeah. He's the second strongest Erthan.” 

“The Sword Saint?” Nora asks. 

“Yeah. Goliath. The fucking Sword Saint.” 

“What a vile man, to use his strength to kill Yir,” Nora says, eyes alight with fury. “He will be punished by Great Enira.” 

”The Elven God? Is it because we're in Tartrost?” He knows little of religion in game. Nora opens her mouth, and Leon glances at her. 

”Yes, Rainman.” He says with a sigh. 

“Alright... well. How long was I out?” 

“A day, more or less.” He sighs and stands up, and Leon watches him with eyes full of something. “Nora. Head to the back.”

“But-“

“Not now.” Nora nods, slinking to the back, and Leon sighs, a hand coming up to touch his brow. “Come, sit with me.” 

Rainman obliges, coming to sit at the seat to the window. While it’s technically rare for an NPC to ‘break post,’ for this long, they’re friends. Good ones, too. So even though he doesn’t play often, and time moves faster over here, he’s the exception.  

“Leo and Aria, well… I know it must not be easy to raise them without a mother, but I was-“ Rainman laughs in a startled sort of way.  

“They’re my siblings. And… what about them?” 

“Well…” his eyes stray to the window. “Where are your parents? I thought they were your children…” He smiles easily, the motion unfamiliar, before a brief flicker of regret crosses his face.    

“Our parents died, and I was old enough and stable enough to take them. It’d be a dick move not to, really.” 

”‘So, you understand what it means to protect someone, right?” Rainman furrows his brow, but nods.

“‘With all my heart.” 

“If… if something happens to me. Please, take care of Nora. I’m sorry. I know this may be an unreasonable request, but we have been friends for a long time now, and you are kind.” Leon hesitates, but meets his eyes boldly. “And, if it comes down to it, I know you have the potential for strength to protect her.”

Rainman blinks in surprise, and then immediate concern. “What’s wrong, Leon?” 

“There is no threat to my safety- don’t worry about it. It’s just… the older she gets, the older I feel. I…” he pauses. “I will live for a long time, but it wouldn’t be strange if someone came after us, or I was killed. Erthans are… it is as if you all do not see us as people. And, I was able to avoid that kind of thought for a while, but with Yir-“ 

“It’s alright, Leon-“ 

“She has a lot of dreams, and dreams are punished in this world more than anything. Especially for those of us unrecognized by Erthans. Please. Protect her.” The System notifies him of a conditional quest, and he stares at it for a second. 

[

You have been offered the conditional quest: A Fathers Worry (B) 

(First of Explanation: Due to the nature of conditional quests, there are unique activation conditions. These quests cannot be triggered until activation conditions are met.) 

Unique Activation: 

The Death of the Unnamed NPC {Leon}

Conditions: 

Protect the Unnamed NPC {Nora} until maturity, currently three years in Ada's time

Reward:

Title {Faith of a Father} (A) 

Perk {!LOCKED! Favor} (?) 

] 

“You can have time to think. It’s a hard ask, I know.” 

“No. I'll do it.” 

[

You have accepted the quest: A Fathers Worry (B) 

Unique Activation: 

The Death of the Unnamed NPC {Leon}

Conditions: 

Protect the Unnamed NPC {Nora} until maturity, three years in Ada's time

Reward:  Title {Faith of a Father} (A) Perk {!LOCKED! Favor} 

Failure Penalty: 

Death of Unnamed NPC {Nora}

Tartrost Reputation points -5

Personal prices in {Tartrost 'Tintin' Smithery} and {Tartrost 'Leon's' Bakery} go up by 2%

] 

“Thank you, Rainman. Thank you.” Leon whispers.

“Is there anything else? I’ve spent so much time out…” 

“No. Go home, Vesper. And remind your siblings how much you love them... I fear that sometimes as guardians we never say it enough.” 

He nods and logs out with a bright blue flash, something heavy inlaid in his heart. 

—

The capsules already opened when he’s logged out, and he heads to the kitchen to grab something to eat. He wavers in the threshold at murmurs and laughter, and he peeks his head around the corner.

“I see love in your future, ooh… a great conflict… money issues?”

“Huh?”

“That’s what the cards say,” his sister says, and he steps into the room. “Uh- Vesper!” In a strange attempt to hide her tarot cards, she grabs Leo’s face and slams it into the counter.

“I don’t care that you're reading,” he says impassively. “Don't let me bother you.” Aria lets her brother go, smiling awkwardly, and Leo pushes her off her kitchen chair. She stumbles to the floor, and he laughs, and Vesper ducks his head over the table to check out the spread. “Also, did you still need to fact check?”

“Oh, uh, we can do that tomorrow- the assignments due date got extended for everyone.”

“Alright.” He looks at the cards again, eyeing the pretty art. “You know, one of my squad members used to read Tarot for everyone. I let her keep the cards, because it was fun and took everyone’s mind off of things.”

They both perk up, and Aria scrambles onto her chair, eager. “Oh, you want to know more?”

“You never talk about the war,” Aria supplies, and he shrugs. His eyes flicker as she looks to Leo than to him, and they meet eyes, some sort of mutual understanding forming there. 

“We don’t even know what you did!”

“That’s classified,” he says with a tone meant to annoy, and they groan. “I was a squad leader, though.”

“Really? Did you-“ Leo shakes in an almost rabid sort of excitement, “Did you-“

“He wants to know if you ever met the World's Strongest Soldier,” Aria supplies. 

“Well, that’s classified.” Leo frowns, turning his head down, “but, uh, I do know him.”

“What the hell? Really?” His brother asks, bounding forwards. “You know his identity, then, right? Who is he?”

“That’s really classified.” He turns back to Arias tarot cards, and in a desperate attempt to get his brother to stop drooling over him, motions to the cards. “Well, read me?”

“Uh- wait, really?”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s not like Pria is here to read them anymore. And it was fun. I always drew the, uh, big ones.”

“The Major Arcana? Really? Oh my god, I really do have to read you! Is, uh, general future alright?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

She nods, grabbing up the cards with a smile. “I’ll just do, like, a general reading, but… I’ll make it… yeah.” He nods, and she shuffles quickly with practiced ease. “What does Vesper need to hear right now?” 

She spreads the deck wide across the table in a perfect arc, and she looks at Vesper for a moment. Her eyes are like his, really. That same shade of brown that was given by their mother. 

“I’ve got it,” she murmurs, reaching for a card, and pulls two- one from the first end of the arc, and one not too far away from the right. “You really do pull major arcana… though,” She hisses in a breath, and Leo peaks over the cards, before laughing. 

“Maybe we’ll finally have a faux mom, right? Or… dad…” 

“Shut up,” he deadpans at Leo, before turning back to Aria. “Well?” 

“The Lovers,” she sets the card down, two figures intertwined with the sun beaming behind them in front of the old Chicago landscape. “And, the Tower.” She sets down the second card, an old-style skyscraper split into two by a bright purple lightning bolt. “Well. This is interesting. I think I’m gonna pull a clarification card.” 

“At least tell us what those two mean,” Leo intervenes, slapping his hand on the lovers card with a wink embarrassing enough that even he himself recognizes it. 

“Well, alright. The Lovers signifies a lot of things, but most commonly a new relationship or partnership. Since this is a general reading and not a love reading, I’d actually say this is closer to partnership or one of its alternate meanings, a big choice or crossroads. And, the Tower… Well, it’s kind of the dreaded big bad of the tarot world. It’s destruction, chaos, upheaval- massive change.” 

Vesper looks at the cards, and tilts his head. “Huh.” 

“I know, right? Well, that's what clarification cards are for.” Aria looks at him again, this time only a glance, before she pulls too more- one near the end of the arc, the other near the others at the beginning. “You have to be kidding me,” she murmurs, and Leo looks at the cards again. “You got more major arcana? What are they putting in your water, man.” 

“Protein powder,” he mumbles. 

“Wouldn’t it be your water? You’re the one pulling the-” 

“Shut up, Leo! The universe decides what cards I pull.” Aria sighs, and lays the cards down. “So… Justice, which I’m guessing you can understand, and the Emperor in reverse.” 

“What does in reverse-” 

“It means it has a different meaning, dumbass,” Aria says. “How many times have I told you? I read your tarot about your stupid crush every-” 

“Aria!” Leo slaps a hand over her mouth, and she rolls her eyes. He chuckles sheepishly at Vesper’s raised eyebrow, and Aria shrugs him off before continuing. 

“So, Justice is, well, justice, responsibility, the right choice, cause and effect, that type of stuff. Basically, the bad guys get what they deserve. And the Emperor in reverse is, well, that bad guy- I assume. It’s a petty tyrant, or like, someone in your life who’s just being a massive piece of shit. The classic whiner who wants to be served at every moment.” 

She sets the cards down next to the others. Justice is the image of a young boy holding a sword up to the sun amongst rubble, with the-

“Is that the old statue of liberty?”

“This card was made in remembrance of the statue from the golden age, because they felt the new one wasn’t really ‘justice’ or whatever. The American way.” He shakes his head in disbelief. 

The Emperor shows a man shadowed by a cowl, hands raised in the air as others bow beneath him. The art is pretty, but the American flag waving in the background is a bit obnoxious. Not to mention the bald eagle. “Okay… and? What am I supposed to do with this information?” 

“Well… I mean. We’ll try and see who the Emperor in reverse is? Clarification card!” 

Aria doesn’t even look at him this time, just zeroes in on a card right in the middle, and pulls it. “Oh, thank god. It’s not a major arcana. Though, I have to say, this only really restates what the Emperor in reverse said. Tyranny, abusiveness, bad guy, etc.” 

“Well? What card is it?” 

Aria sets it down, and Vesper stares at the King of Swords in reverse. 

“King of Swords. First minor arcana…” A figure, shrouded by swords in a circle, bearing a crown, again cowled. They hold a sword of their own.

The world fades to the background as his heart thumps in his ears. He sees the strange, high level white armor in the intonation of the artistry.

It’s a coincidence, he reminds himself. Nothing to take a meaning out of. Pink Kudan would tell him there's no such thing as a coincidence, and draw another card. 

“Vesper?” 

He snaps out of his momentary disbelief. “Thanks, Aria. I appreciate it, really.” Her eyes widen, ever slightly, and it feels like that wall between them, stiff as a proofed frame, has lowered further. 

“Thank you. If you ever need anything mystical, you can come to me,” she says, pointing a thumb right at herself with a self-assured smile, and he laughs. 

“Of course. And, for both of you, if you ever need anything- I’m not so sure about mystical- you can come to me.” They quiet, a bit, and he gets down to their level, looks them both in the eyes. “Anything. And I’m serious. If you need a quarter for a vending machine, or to hide a body.” 

“Thank you, Vesper,” his sister says, and his little brother smiles a bit awkwardly. 

“You’ve done a lot for us. Thank you. Not sure I’ll need to hide any bodies, though.”

“If we do, we’ll let you know!”

“Alright, I’m going to bed. Anything else?” They look at each other, and Leo hesitates. 

“Do you… what to watch ‘Star Battles: The Two Brothers’ with us? We always watch it before we head in for the night.” 

“Sure,” he says, and a smile lightly comes to twitch at his face. They gape, but manage to smooth their emotions before he acknowledges it. “But you’ll have to catch me up.” 

“Of course. So, long long ago, these two brothers were born in the den of a Illic- an alien creature that has mysterious powers-“ Vesper nods sagely and listens, as the television turns on.