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Back to the Past.
(Fifth Reading)
CW: Violence, Injury, Gore, Mention of Death, Emotional Abuse.
![[Image: mIAwhlo.png]](https://homebrewdeviants.com/static/imgur_mirrors/mIAwhlo.png)
You feel yourself being sucked into a familiar abyss.
The air is cold, the sea breeze envelops your senses.
It’s the armory, your little slice in time and space but…
It’s not yours alone.
Someone else is with you.
You hear the voice echo.
“Took that like a trooper. You pull off the blue look rather nicely.”
It… it couldn’t be.
“Styx?!”
“The one and only.”
You’re ripped back to that time and place where every word and action suddenly had the weight of an anvil for the first time. You may have been 14 but you were expected to work like a adult and punished just as hard in this world.
You made friends…
“You lost plenty too.”
Burned down a cult.
“With every town on the way…”
You don’t know why he’s here.
“Just because you killed me doesn’t mean I’m gone.”
Shut up.
“My body is lost and my soul’s been put through the paper shredder but you know what? That’s fine. The way you remember me keeps me alive in a way that matters just as much.”
Get out of here right now.
“You’re in a rush to make me leave? A pity. I’ll tell you though, no hard feelings for what you had to do.”
You made it that hard.
“I did…. Tell you what though, you’re forgetting something important.”
Something important….
You ponder…
Are you actually here? The war? Have you somehow been dragged back in time?
You feel your body dangling upside down.
You’re reminded of bruises and aches you haven’t had in over a decade.
Your stomach rumbles… it's been a bit since you’ve had a real meal
You miss your grandmother’s cooking…
"Then go back already. You don't need to be fighting out here."
If I don't who will?
"Plenty of others can carry that weight for you, go home and take care of your dear family..."
This isn't real. The angel pocket, the war, the mistakes.
You're seeing them all flash in front of you.
The cat looks down on you from her line of bangs with empty eyes and a croc smile. The presence around her is drowningly oppressive to the point that the air is almost suffocating.
You look over to your friend to remind yourself that you’re not alone but..
Opera is just as scared as you if not worse.
Charon: Are you okay?
Opera: No.. you?
Charon: I'm trying to be.
You hear a intrusive voice echo in your head.
Styx: Time to pay up I do think. Don't disappoint.
What does that mean?
Styx: That's it, the biggest prize of all. Cash in.
This is it.
(Fifth Reading)
CW: Violence, Injury, Gore, Mention of Death, Emotional Abuse.
You feel yourself being sucked into a familiar abyss.
The air is cold, the sea breeze envelops your senses.
It’s the armory, your little slice in time and space but…
It’s not yours alone.
Someone else is with you.
You hear the voice echo.
“Took that like a trooper. You pull off the blue look rather nicely.”
It… it couldn’t be.
“Styx?!”
“The one and only.”
You’re ripped back to that time and place where every word and action suddenly had the weight of an anvil for the first time. You may have been 14 but you were expected to work like a adult and punished just as hard in this world.
You made friends…
“You lost plenty too.”
Burned down a cult.
“With every town on the way…”
You don’t know why he’s here.
“Just because you killed me doesn’t mean I’m gone.”
Shut up.
“My body is lost and my soul’s been put through the paper shredder but you know what? That’s fine. The way you remember me keeps me alive in a way that matters just as much.”
Get out of here right now.
“You’re in a rush to make me leave? A pity. I’ll tell you though, no hard feelings for what you had to do.”
You made it that hard.
“I did…. Tell you what though, you’re forgetting something important.”
Something important….
You ponder…
Are you actually here? The war? Have you somehow been dragged back in time?
You feel your body dangling upside down.
You’re reminded of bruises and aches you haven’t had in over a decade.
Your stomach rumbles… it's been a bit since you’ve had a real meal
You miss your grandmother’s cooking…
"Then go back already. You don't need to be fighting out here."
If I don't who will?
"Plenty of others can carry that weight for you, go home and take care of your dear family..."
This isn't real. The angel pocket, the war, the mistakes.
You're seeing them all flash in front of you.
THE HANGED MAN.
(Arcana 12)
CW: Violence, Injury.
![[Image: S2rWJNZ.png]](https://homebrewdeviants.com/static/imgur_mirrors/S2rWJNZ.png)
(Arcana 12)
CW: Violence, Injury.
Styx: Gathered yourself?
Charon: ....
Styx: What's wrong? Took more punishment than you thought you could?
Charon: I want to go home…
Styx: If you want to go back you need to keep your end of the contract. My kingdom for someone who can break me out. Now do you remember what you’re supposed to be doing right now?
Charon: I… I was in the middle of a fight. I think I managed to find this place by accident but I kinda passed out after.
Styx: Mm… you’re awfully dehydrated and you’ve taken quite the beatdown, you deserve a rest.
Charon: I can’t, I need to go back right now. I just hope they’re all okay..
Styx: They’re more than fine, time doesn’t work the same between worlds. You taking a nap to rest off your injuries here is about a solid minute over there. Of course in most fights that feels like a millennia.
Charon: So in that case….
Styx: Mm. Rules work differently in this place. The armory, a little piece my host spent quite some time working on hoping some little heroic soul might one day find use for its utilities and knowledge. Impressive, right?
Charon: I guess.. I can pop in here anytime?
Styx: Mm… it’s quite large though and you do have to worry about bumping into others who took this same power up. Maybe you’ll meet him here…
Charon: Meet who?
Styx: Hard to say, I’m hoping you recognize him if the time comes and you make the right choices but we have yet to see. Also do be careful of the janitor, he’s quite friendly but he gets a little intense when he’s doing his maintenance routine. Don't want to be stuffed in a soul jar.
Charon: Why do we even have those?
Styx: In due time.
Charon: Noted…
Styx: So tell me kid, what do you need right now? Tools? Archives? Perhaps a nice place to rest?
Charon: I need you to send me back to the fight right now.
Styx: You certain? Don’t you want to sit down for a bite and maybe renegotiate our contract? I don’t think your current one is going to give you enough to make it through this…. Or save your friends for that matter.
Charon: What are you offering?
Styx: Something you absolutely need right now, the power to kill a god. If you’re strong enough you can keep everyone safe and make it back home, and if you're bright you'll keep yourself alive too.
You are reluctantly considering it.
Charon: What’s the catch?
Styx: Nothing you can’t afford.. at least I think you should be fine.
Charon: I don’t like that wording. Don't bullshit me.
Styx: I just want a little more. You promised to get me out of this realm but I need more than a construct shell made of vendor’s trash or a refurbished corpse. You witchy types are pretty good at managing to get your hands on both and calling it a day.
Charon: Alright… so you want guarantee of quality.
Styx: Mmhmm. That cult’s been stockpiling fiend bodies for their elites. They choose to indulge in the blessing of potential immortality that folks like you and I naturally are offered… one you should seriously consider more exploration of.
Charon: I’m not stealing blood.
Styx: You don’t have to with the right friends and money- but fair enough. Not all of us can make the decision to ascend the mortal plane. My point is simple, though.
Charon: Grab you a body?
Styx: The strongest you can find. You’re not the only one I have a contract with in this world and I can tell you for certain that there’s some really powerful things they’ve been working on in there.
Charon: How do I know you’re not going to pull anything the moment we do?
Styx: Because you and your friends have enough firepower to check me easily right now, couldn’t if I wanted to. But… you need to have friends left. You aren’t strong enough right now to save them with how underdeveloped your proxy is but… if you want to speed up its growth I can certainly help you get there.
Charon: Something like that could kill me right now….
Styx: It’s what you have and need the most. You’re weaker than all your friends, you don’t need them to see you as a burden.
Charon: I’m not a burden…
Styx: They certainly think about the fact that they have to work extra to keep you safe. You can see it on their faces when they have to dive in and save you regularly. Erica especially, she’s been putting herself on the line the entire time hasn’t she? Doesn’t even know you’re her grandkid from the future but already has plenty of practice.
You fall silent.
Styx: You want to be helpful don’t you? You want to do everyone a big old favor and keep them safe? Then you know what you have to do.
He offers you a hand.
Charon: I want to make sure all of us make it out safely. I don’t want any sudden doublecrossing or wavering.
Styx: I don’t care what any of you do after all this. The moment I get that body we’re parting our separate ways and never looking back.
You return the handshake.
Charon: I can live with that.
Styx: Now tell me Mr. Hero, are you ready to go back and make up for all your mistakes?
Charon: I’ll do whatever it takes, just let me save everyone.
Styx: Absolutely. I love it when we both get what we want out of a contract.
As you feel the power seep in, you’re yanked about a week forward.
You’ve been planning this raid for months. You’ve torn through the block to get in admin after admin and now you’re finally in the moment confronting the center of it all.
Charon: ....
Styx: What's wrong? Took more punishment than you thought you could?
Charon: I want to go home…
Styx: If you want to go back you need to keep your end of the contract. My kingdom for someone who can break me out. Now do you remember what you’re supposed to be doing right now?
Charon: I… I was in the middle of a fight. I think I managed to find this place by accident but I kinda passed out after.
Styx: Mm… you’re awfully dehydrated and you’ve taken quite the beatdown, you deserve a rest.
Charon: I can’t, I need to go back right now. I just hope they’re all okay..
Styx: They’re more than fine, time doesn’t work the same between worlds. You taking a nap to rest off your injuries here is about a solid minute over there. Of course in most fights that feels like a millennia.
Charon: So in that case….
Styx: Mm. Rules work differently in this place. The armory, a little piece my host spent quite some time working on hoping some little heroic soul might one day find use for its utilities and knowledge. Impressive, right?
Charon: I guess.. I can pop in here anytime?
Styx: Mm… it’s quite large though and you do have to worry about bumping into others who took this same power up. Maybe you’ll meet him here…
Charon: Meet who?
Styx: Hard to say, I’m hoping you recognize him if the time comes and you make the right choices but we have yet to see. Also do be careful of the janitor, he’s quite friendly but he gets a little intense when he’s doing his maintenance routine. Don't want to be stuffed in a soul jar.
Charon: Why do we even have those?
Styx: In due time.
Charon: Noted…
Styx: So tell me kid, what do you need right now? Tools? Archives? Perhaps a nice place to rest?
Charon: I need you to send me back to the fight right now.
Styx: You certain? Don’t you want to sit down for a bite and maybe renegotiate our contract? I don’t think your current one is going to give you enough to make it through this…. Or save your friends for that matter.
Charon: What are you offering?
Styx: Something you absolutely need right now, the power to kill a god. If you’re strong enough you can keep everyone safe and make it back home, and if you're bright you'll keep yourself alive too.
You are reluctantly considering it.
Charon: What’s the catch?
Styx: Nothing you can’t afford.. at least I think you should be fine.
Charon: I don’t like that wording. Don't bullshit me.
Styx: I just want a little more. You promised to get me out of this realm but I need more than a construct shell made of vendor’s trash or a refurbished corpse. You witchy types are pretty good at managing to get your hands on both and calling it a day.
Charon: Alright… so you want guarantee of quality.
Styx: Mmhmm. That cult’s been stockpiling fiend bodies for their elites. They choose to indulge in the blessing of potential immortality that folks like you and I naturally are offered… one you should seriously consider more exploration of.
Charon: I’m not stealing blood.
Styx: You don’t have to with the right friends and money- but fair enough. Not all of us can make the decision to ascend the mortal plane. My point is simple, though.
Charon: Grab you a body?
Styx: The strongest you can find. You’re not the only one I have a contract with in this world and I can tell you for certain that there’s some really powerful things they’ve been working on in there.
Charon: How do I know you’re not going to pull anything the moment we do?
Styx: Because you and your friends have enough firepower to check me easily right now, couldn’t if I wanted to. But… you need to have friends left. You aren’t strong enough right now to save them with how underdeveloped your proxy is but… if you want to speed up its growth I can certainly help you get there.
Charon: Something like that could kill me right now….
Styx: It’s what you have and need the most. You’re weaker than all your friends, you don’t need them to see you as a burden.
Charon: I’m not a burden…
Styx: They certainly think about the fact that they have to work extra to keep you safe. You can see it on their faces when they have to dive in and save you regularly. Erica especially, she’s been putting herself on the line the entire time hasn’t she? Doesn’t even know you’re her grandkid from the future but already has plenty of practice.
You fall silent.
Styx: You want to be helpful don’t you? You want to do everyone a big old favor and keep them safe? Then you know what you have to do.
He offers you a hand.
Charon: I want to make sure all of us make it out safely. I don’t want any sudden doublecrossing or wavering.
Styx: I don’t care what any of you do after all this. The moment I get that body we’re parting our separate ways and never looking back.
You return the handshake.
Charon: I can live with that.
Styx: Now tell me Mr. Hero, are you ready to go back and make up for all your mistakes?
Charon: I’ll do whatever it takes, just let me save everyone.
Styx: Absolutely. I love it when we both get what we want out of a contract.
As you feel the power seep in, you’re yanked about a week forward.
You’ve been planning this raid for months. You’ve torn through the block to get in admin after admin and now you’re finally in the moment confronting the center of it all.
THE TOWER, PART 1/3
(Arcana 16)
CW: Violence, Injury, Mention of Death, Emotional Abuse.
![[Image: Cc0zOZS.png]](https://homebrewdeviants.com/static/imgur_mirrors/Cc0zOZS.png)
(Arcana 16)
CW: Violence, Injury, Mention of Death, Emotional Abuse.
The cat looks down on you from her line of bangs with empty eyes and a croc smile. The presence around her is drowningly oppressive to the point that the air is almost suffocating.
You look over to your friend to remind yourself that you’re not alone but..
Opera is just as scared as you if not worse.
Charon: Are you okay?
Opera: No.. you?
Charon: I'm trying to be.
You hear a intrusive voice echo in your head.
Styx: Time to pay up I do think. Don't disappoint.
What does that mean?
Styx: That's it, the biggest prize of all. Cash in.
This is it.
