"We have arrived, sir." The driver announced. "Appreciate it."
Sythrik stepped out and closed the door before closing in on the entrance. There a long line of people waiting in line to enter the large, white, and grand building in front of them. There was a somewhat open space in front of the entrance to the road where carriages roamed back and forth constantly.
The sun shone brightly down on the pedestrians, and even brighter on Sythrik whom had a large smile of anticipation! What would this museum reveal? Could it awaken something within himself? Could it show a truth hidden from humanity? Perhaps there lies an ancient artifact ready to aid me in my future battles! Whatever it was, Sythrik held an profound trust in The Hanged Man's guidance, thus, he entered the line and waited patiently.
As he waited and progressed slowly through the line of people, he heard a loud shout from the entrance's area! Curious, Sythrik stood on his toes to see whom it was and why he was yelling. "Witness the stories of Ayesha, The Loving Grace, The Goddess Of Light And Purity, here in the museum religious beliefs and heroic tales of the distant past! Those whom has found themselves interested can sign up on at the reception, for more information please talk with the receptionist!"
It was only an announcer huh... It does sound interesting though, increasing my knowledge on gods in times where I experience supernatural phenomenon would be wise. I don't have to care about my financial situations either as the Reign family is currently taking care of me until I get a job and house of my own... Screw it, I'll sign up!
...
After having waited for about 6 minutes did he finally get inside, sign up for the tale of Ayesha, and pay entry to the museum.
"Where should I go first...?" He pondered about The Hanged Man for a moment, the history of Tarot's previous disputes and current situations of the capital. Though, since he is inside a museum, the current problems hold little weight to what he can find, thus he put it aside.
"Like I've pondered about previously, it might be related to supernatural phenomenon, thus I thought of gods with unfathomable might, heroes from tales that could quell wars single handedly, and even fantasy creatures like Basilisks, fairies and such. That is also why I chose this museum, because its only about gods, mythical creatures, and ancient heroes.
"Though, I have no clue on where to start, nor why the hanged man wanted me to visit a museum... Did I pick the wrong one? No, its too early to say!" Sythrik shook his head and walked toward the section which showed the history of gods and their religion, which made Sythrik think, "It could bear information on heroes and other factors which held great ties with the god in question! Perhaps a hero who was blessed by a god to save his people, or perhaps there are contents about a minion of a god? Whatever it is, the gods' section is the most diverse which is why I believe its a good starting point.
"The Capital's previous war also consisted of a god's intervention. Though, it was stopped and not destroyed, there might be other god's out there whom wishes to destroy the Capital for personal reasons, or just for fun if they are arrogant enough... Though, I believe if that does happen, then maybe, just maybe I could pray and request help from Nicodemus, The God Of War, whom had protected both Instant and Tarot from an unimaginable onslaught.
"Though, that only applies if gods do exist. The only evidence I have of higher existences would be The Hanged Man, sadly, he is seemingly in no state to help..." Sythrik knitted his brows in contemplation and frowned.
"Whatever! If one of the twelve gods exists, then the others must exist as well, thus, there must also exist rules for the gods in order to upkeep neutrality between them! That could mean that even if a god did wish to trash The Capital, it might not be able to just like that. There must be a restriction of some kind, one great enough for The Hanged Man to entrust The Capital with me!
"This is just hypothetical, but if it is true, and I learn how to use the powers given by The Hanged Man, I might really be able to stop The Fall on my own, without involving the 'normal' people! I just have to find out what powers i got except for increased physical prowess..." He gave up his contemplation and simply moved along with a sigh.
...
Sythrik walked down the grand halls, covered in intricate patterns carved into the white concrete walls, surrounded by cases with relic, carved texts, 'evidence' of a god's existence and more. Though, none held valuable information. One talked about how Asarak devoured a whole kingdom two millennia ago, while another described how Nisha birthed an army of horned monsters, one even described how a nameless god deceived another to bestow him a chant that could change his appearance... Am I in the unorthodox section...?
These stories are entertaining though, especially the about the god that deceived another god just because he was fugly. Is he stupid or just plain reckless? Sythrik let out a light chuckle and decided to go over to the orthodox section, however, just before he did, he saw a carved picture of a god he had never even heard of before! All gods are widely known throughout the world, even if it be through name alone, it is hard to not know about them especially in Tarot! Though, the nameless god is one thing as all know him by that name, this one was different... The stone tablet bore cracks in all places and seemed vulnerable enough to crack open any moment now!
"Looks interesting, he has two, no, four wings, the carvings on his face seems to have disappeared with time, thus it looks like there is none at all, he has the body of a human, and is naked... Nothing more really, I expected more. What do they call him? The God Whom Flashed The Heavens? God Of Exhibitionists? The Kinked One? Sythrik joked inwardly.
"What's this?" Sythrik muttered as he caught glance of a text etched in another stone tablet beneath the other one. "He whom defied the heavens, the mortal whom cheated death, the king whom ruled none." Are these riddles or just mere titles? He looked beneath that very text and saw a small sentence hidden beneath the veil of grand titles. Sythrik opened his mouth and muttered the sentence, "Eyes that weep black."
What's that supposed to mean? Suddenly, Sythrik's eyes gradually turned blurry, the tones and hues on objects and people started disappearing, turning black with white-grey outlines. He looked at his hands in confusion only to see a shadow of what used to be his hand. Unlike the others and their clear outlines, he was all black, all shadow.
"What's going on right now!?" Before he could continue his panic, a gust of understanding enveloped him, "This... It must be the power the hanged man bestowed me!!! Judging by the fact that it affected my vision, it must be related to it! Something similar happened before, with the young blonde lady, though different, it must be related!
"Judging by what happened with the young lady, I might have similar powers, I might be able to witness past events or memories of others depending on how you viewed the effects regarding the lady's wallet."
Sythrik looked at the stone tablet again to read the last piece of the sentence, only to find himself flickering, his form disorientated time and time again, swirling and twirling as if though he was limbless, gradually curling into a ball, then, into nothing... Soon after, he reappeared, faced with a large wasteland with nothing but starving beasts that roamed aimlessly about, withering trees that could fall apart at any moment, grass that had turned grey, bereft of all life.
Though, the true spectacle laid ahead. There was statues of a man spread across the wasteland in an uncoordinated manner, the man etched into the stone of art we call "statue", bore four wings, a grim and pale expression that was slightly covered by his long hair that reached his waist, hands outstretched as if longing for the heavens, his waist covered only by a piece of cloth that reached his ankles.
"What is this place? This must be the same thing as what happened with the young lady and her wallet! Then, that means I'm experiencing a past event regarding the scripture I set my eyes on, that is the only explanation right?" Sythrik pondered aimlessly before he realized something abnormal... He could walk now!
"It seems that I can walk as well now! This is much better than levitating after a wallet. Or does it want me to explore this place, meaning that its only a temporary effect? Whatever it is, I had already planned to explore." Sythrik took a step, realizing how effortlessly it felt, abnormally so. "This is weird, it feels as if though I could start floating with a single wrong step!"
He walked in different speeds, back and forth, side to side, experimented as much as he could.
In the middle of his experimentation, a figure with long black hair stepped past him with a motionless stride. Sythrik jumped in surprise and found himself twelve feet in the air! "What's going on today!? And who is that man!?"
As Sythrik landed, scared yet with ease, he observed the man openly as it seemed as though he was invisible to the figure. Makes sense as Sythrik was but lump of shadows with a human figure...
Sythrik took a deep breath and focused, then widened his eyes in shock... "That man... Four black feathered wings, long dark hair, a body covered only by a torn piece of cloth that reaches his ankles... Its THAT man!!!"
The man suddenly stopped and pointed his gaze at the dark clouds, staring at the heavens.
Sythrik steadied his breathing and resolved himself internally, "Since he can't see my, and this is but a moment of the past, whatever his motives are or how grand his strength is, he shouldn't be able to even perceive nor think the thought of hurting me!" Thus, Sythrik walked up to the pale man, and saw his painfully plain expression. It was not joy, sadness, nor joy. It was more as if though the expression existed just to exist.
"What is he even looking at?" Sythrik muttered as he gazed up at the heavens. "There is nothing there, just a dark sky and grey clouds."
Sythrik returned his gaze toward the man and locked gazes. A sudden chill spread through his body, "Can he see me?" echoed endlessly within him. Before he knew it, the man reached after Sythrik despite standing around fifteen feet away from him, his hand looked as though it was planning to grasp him.
Sythrik couldn't run, nor retract his gaze from this man...
"DEATH" Was the only word that came to mind, repeating within Sythrik like a warning, a warning to run despite being unable to!
Sythrik blinked, then found the man's palm right in front of his face, as if about to grab hold of his entire head.
"Do not carelessly pry into gods, whether it be history or destiny, human child." A deep, solemn voice spoke before, at last, Sythrik's vision went black, then, after a small moment, it returned to its original state. His eyes too went back to normal as he found himself in front of the stone tablets.
Though, after he had recollected himself, he realized something abnormal... The stone tablets was gone, they disappeared as if though they never existed to begin with!