The evening air was cool as Lira stepped away from the tavern, her mind heavy with the conversation she'd just had with Tsukasa. She had learned more than she expected — about his origins, about his abilities — but one thing still gnawed at her. Tsukasa didn't know why he was here.
As she walked through the streets of Dravorn, her thoughts kept turning back to his words, his casual attitude toward the questions she asked. He was so different from anyone she had ever met. "I'm here because I have to be." That was all he had said when she asked about his purpose.
Lira stopped for a moment and leaned against a stone wall, her breath visible in the cold night air. She had been trained in the ways of the temple, in the ancient arts of magic and history, but nothing in her teachings had prepared her for someone like Tsukasa.
Back at the tavern, Tsukasa leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. Lumi and Elara were busy discussing something in low voices, but Tsukasa's thoughts were elsewhere.
"I'm here because I have to be…" Tsukasa had said that to Lira, but deep down, he knew it was a lie. He didn't know why he was here — why he had appeared in this strange world with no memory of how he arrived. His arrival had been as mysterious as his powers.
When he first woke up here, nothing seemed familiar. The world around him was foreign, but his instincts had told him to survive, to keep moving forward. His powers… they had been there, too, but they didn't make any sense. The transformation, the cards, the magic — it was all strange. Yet, somehow, he knew how to use them.
But that was the extent of it. He had no idea who or what had brought him here, or why. Was it fate? A mistake? Something far more sinister?
Meanwhile, at the temple, Lira returned to her teacher, the High Priestess, who was meditating in her private chamber. She had learned a great deal from Tsukasa, more than the High Priestess had hoped. However, the knowledge weighed heavily on her, and the questions it raised only deepened the mystery.
"You've spoken to him?" The High Priestess asked without opening her eyes, her voice calm yet filled with an unspoken urgency.
Lira nodded, feeling the weight of her discovery. "He doesn't know how he came to this world. He doesn't even know why he's here. But there's something about him — something different."
The High Priestess finally opened her eyes, fixing Lira with a steady gaze. "I suspected as much. He has been sent here for a reason, but he doesn't know what that is yet."
Lira furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"
The High Priestess sighed, as if troubled by what she was about to reveal. "Not all things happen by chance. Some are woven into the threads of fate. Tsukasa's arrival… it was no accident. He was brought here, perhaps by forces beyond our comprehension. But even he doesn't know that yet."
Lira's mind raced, trying to piece together the fragments of information she had gathered. "Then… what does that mean for him? And for us?"
The High Priestess stood, her figure casting a long shadow in the dimly lit room. "It means we must watch him carefully. His path is uncertain, but his power is undeniable. He will play a key role in what is to come."
Back in Dravorn, Tsukasa sat alone in the corner of the tavern, lost in thought. As the hours passed, the sounds of the city outside faded into the background. His mind kept returning to one question: Why am I here?
He had fought countless enemies, encountered powerful beings, and faced dangers beyond comprehension, yet none of it had brought him any closer to understanding the truth. Where had he come from? And why was he the one to stand in this world, caught between fate and something far darker?
Meanwhile, Lord Vaelric Drenmor, ever the schemer, paced restlessly in his private chambers. His anger boiled beneath the surface, but it was more than just frustration. It was a sense of urgency, the feeling that something was coming — and he needed to be ready.
"That damned man…" he muttered under his breath, thinking of Tsukasa. The mysterious man who had caught the attention of the High Priestess and the priestesses at the temple. "He doesn't even know how dangerous he is. But he will be the key."
Vaelric's fingers hovered over a parchment covered in strange runes — a contract, one that bound him to a force far darker than any demon. The demon had promised him power in exchange for twenty lives, but Vaelric wasn't just after power. He was after control.
The stage was set. Tsukasa, unaware of the forces drawing him forward, continued his search for answers. Meanwhile, Lord Vaelric's plot was unfolding, one piece at a time.
And Lira, caught between her duty and her curiosity about Tsukasa, felt the weight of her own growing connection to him. What was it that tied her to this mysterious stranger? Was she merely a pawn in something much bigger, or was she destined to play a part in his journey?.