1 Encounter

The sky was covered by dark clouds, you could see that it was about to rain. Skycraping buildings stood silently below the dark clouds, making the surroundings people seemed tiny and insignificant, they stood there unchanging as if for millions of years already.

Near these buildings, there was some kind of aerial transportation that moved around constantly at an extremely fast speed. Outside the perimeter of the city, massive walls spanned hundreds of kilometers long with heights of hundreds of meters high covering the city.

It seemed to be made from an unknown type of metal that reflected a shade of dark blue brightness whenever lights shone on them.

The surrounding residents had already activated a sort of device with a similar function to an umbrella, few tried to find a spot to wait for the rain to pass by, and some returned to their homes and relaxed. This silence other than the sound of rain and the constantly moving vehicles was quite rare considering that this place was quite a technologically advanced city.

Its active trade and businesses with other cities made it a prosperous city that always seemed to be filled with the sound of people going back and forth. A large majority of these people had a great life within the walls and enjoyed luxuries and comforts that'd make a tycoon from before the apocalypse envious.

....Most of them were part of The Divine, after all.

A few decades ago, mysterious fragments belonging to unknown beings fell down from the universe beyond. When they came into direct contact with Earth, the entire world suffered from massive mutations.

Humans, Animals, Insects, Plants,....turned into monsters that seemed to have come from nightmares. They wreaked havoc upon the world, causing chaos and the near extinction of humanity.

During the darkest times when all hope seemed to be lost, individuals who were able to survive the mutations appeared, they had gained incredible power and abilities to fight off against those monsters, and with their strengths they had managed to slowly establish order within humanity by created cities that were the strongholds of humans, keeping them safe from the dangers of the outside world.

Eventually, those who gained these incredible powers became the order of the new world, being worshipped and going by the name of The Divine. And the mysterious thing that granted them these powers was called Remnants of Divinity.

In the southwest area of the city, people who were wearing torn clothes and a few pieces of dirty clothes were currently running around trying to find shelter to hide from the ongoing rain.

They all had tired expressions on their faces and seemed to be quite skinny and malnourished. Unlike those in the main area of the city, residents of the slum were mostly composed of the Abandoned — those who weren't bestowed with the Remnants of Divinity.

Most of these people didn't have a house, so they just ran to nearby buildings in order to avoid the rain, constantly shivering in the process. Those who did have a home, however; weren't much better.

The house they lived in could barely be considered one, most of the rooftop was already torn to pieces, and the walls of the houses were filled with cracks and moss, the stench of something that died for a long time lingered in the air. It looked like they'd shattered just by a mere blow of the wind.

...These people were at the bottom of society.

As the rain continued to get heavier, a young man who seemed to be around the age of 20 was walking towards the inner section of the slum, he had medium-length black hair that seemed like it hadn't been cut for a while. Despite being a bit skinny, his complexions seemed much better than those of the slum; the clothes he wore were also of slightly better quality as well. His appearance created quite contrary sight to his surroundings.

...But the look that was devoid of any life in his eyes was exactly similar to those around him.

His name was Mark, he was currently heading to a designated meeting spot with a group of mafia gangs known as Muscles Bros, to finish a certain deal with them regarding information about another gang situated near their territory.

'Muscles Bros.....quite a suitable name for those dumb*ss sack of sh*ts'. Mark couldn't help but swear a little when he thought about that name.

The appearance of gangs in the slum was no news to the Abandoned since the government paid no attention to people here due to the little to no usefulness that they brought to the city. Thus gangs made the slum their territory, making this place became a lawless land.

Murders, rapes, and thefts,...were common occurrences here.

As Mark moved through the outer perimeter of the slum and entered the inner area, he suddenly noticed a shabby tent, candles were lit outside the tent, giving it a mysterious vibe, one can see a little bit inside because of the half open door.

There were classic tools for divination: crystal balls, tarot cards,...

'Strange....why would someone build a divination tent in this place? Most people here can't even afford a meal for themselves, why would they care about divinations?'

As Mark pondered to himself, he unconsciously let his feet carry him near the divination tent for a closer look.

He peeked inside the tent and noticed a small, old black wooden table and 2 chairs next to it, the crystal ball and the tarot cards from before were lying on the table.

He also noticed some objects in the corners of the tent, but due to the low lighting inside the tent, he couldn't make out what those things were.

'The owner sure is brave, leaving stuffs unattended like this...'

Just as Mark was a little surprised at how careless the owner was, a small, hunched figure emerged from the right side of the room, the figure wore a long hooded robe covering half of its face. Its nose was long and curved, along with the wrinkles on its face giving it an unpleasant look.

The figure sized up Mark for a bit, then let out a low squeaky voice that was quite jarring to the ears:

"A visitor....my, my. Do you want divination, sir? I consider myself to be quite a talented seer."

Mark looked at the figure who was supposed to be an old lady for a second, he unconsciously lampooned in his mind:

'In the middle slum listening to words of a hunched old lady wearing black robes...Definitely not a problem at all....'

He didn't let his thought show on his face though, instead he lingered for a moment, then asked with a calm tone, seemingly unperturbed by the old lady's appearance:

"May I ask why did you open a divination house here, I don't think this is a very good place to do business?"

The hunched old lady was silent for a moment, then let out a low chuckle:

"It is not my intent to do business here sir. I am a seer, I travel around the world, offering guidance to those in need."

The old lady paused a little, then she continued in a flat tone:

"Fate has guided me to come here; thus, I am here."

'This woman is such a weirdo, normally in web novels these kinds of people usually have ulterior motives.'

Despite Mark's suspicions, he was still quite curious about the old lady's words, and considering how he still had enough money because of his habit of saving, he decided to test this old lady out.

...As long as she wouldn't demand an exorbitant amount of money, of course.

"I want to have a divination, how much does it cost?"

"I do not desire money, sir. I've already told you, the reason I am here is to offer guidance to the fate of those who require help, I have no need for Nero."

Nero was the currency currently in use in this city. A Nero was roughly equivalent to a dollar of the nation known as the USA that existed before the mutations.

Mark didn't know why there was such a similarity between the two but he guessed that it was the leader's way to keep things simple and work efficiently.

Mark maintained his silence for a few seconds in contemplation before saying:

"...Alright then."

The old lady slowly moved to sit on the chair at one end of the table, then pointed at the chair at the other end, she revealed a smile and said in a pleased tone:

"Please take a seat, sir. May I ask what is your name?"

Mark went to sit on the chair and placed his hand on the table, the black wooden table and chairs though seemed old, were actually of good quality. The table and chairs looked like it made out of top-grade type wood and their surface was carved with ancient patterns and symbols, giving them a rather mysterious style.

After considering that it wasn't a problem to tell the old woman his real name, he spoke shortly:

"Mark."

The old lady gave him a glance before saying:

"Mr.Mark, what kind of divination do you wish to have? I am skilled in various methods of divination like a crystal ball, and horoscope...I'm certain I won't disappoint you."

Mark touched his chin and looked at the objects that were used as mediums for divinations, his gaze silently went to a bunch of stacked cards filled with mysterious patterns at their backs for a second, before saying:

"Tarot cards."

When he was a child, Mark found a deck of tarot cards in his parents' room. He didn't have any friends at the time, so he spent most of his time alone entertaining himself with different toys.

The finding of those cards was like uncovering a great treasure. Thus Mark dug around a little bit about tarot cards so naturally, he had a bit of knowledge about them; hence, the reason he chose them.

The old lady collected the deck and reorganized them a bit, then said:

"May I know what do you want to divine? I can divine about your past, present, and future, or perhaps do you want to know about your health, finances, and love?"

"...The former." Mark decided after a moment of pondering. He was perfectly aware of his health and financial situations, which pained his heart whenever he thought about the latter.

...As for love, he didn't even think for a second that he could ever find a woman whom he'd love, so it wasn't worth wasting time on such.

"Very well, please shuffle the cards then cut the deck. Draw 3 cards and place the first one to your left, the second one in front of you, and the third one to your right."

The old lady paused a bit, then continued:

"They will represent your past, present, and future respectively."

'Similar to what I know...'

Mark shuffled the cards, then cut the deck, he drew 3 cards on top of it and placed them in the order the old lady had told him. After that, he put the deck next to these 3 cards and looked up to meet the old lady's gaze, waiting for her response.

The old lady observed the cards for a bit and said in an indifferent tone:

"What do you wish to know first?"

Mark maintained his silence for 2 seconds, before saying:

"The present."

The old lady extended her right hand towards the middle card, flipped it open, then retracted her hand.

The middle card depicted a person dressed in colorful clothing and headgear, on his shoulder was a wooden stick with a piece of cloth tied to the end of the stick.

He was standing at the edge of a cliff with his face looking upward towards the sky, by his side was a dog that was constantly barking. At the top of the card written the number "0".

"The Fool." The old lady spoke with her lips curved upward a little bit.

'Wait what? Why does this situation seem so familiar...?"

Mark was reminded of a certain "Fool" who left a deep impression on him a few years ago.

The old lady continued to speak, her voice strangely carried a hint of excitement:

"It seems to mark a new beginning for you. From this moment forth, every step you take will bring about drastic changes to your future and the future of those around you."

"A long and arduous journey awaits you, it's going to be a tiring and seemingly endless journey. But as long as you have the will to move forward, the fruits of your efforts will be wonderful."

...Mark had an odd feeling in his heart, he felt a peculiar sense of excitement and anticipation, but at the same time a frightening and dreadful sensation.

He maintained a neutral expression on his face and turned his head to the old lady and uttered:

"Future next please."

Being a master at deception made it easy to control his facial expressions. As a kid who was born in the slums, he was taught to lie his way through just to survive. This made his ability of trickery top-notch.

The old lady moved her hand to the card on his right and flipped it open. When Mark was able to take a glimpse of the card, it made all of his previous thoughts come to a halt as his eyes widened a little bit in surprise.

'What...?'

"The Death."