The Glorious Evolution

Noticing the heavy emphasis on ”Problem”, Levi kept his emotions and heartbeat in control, not allowing himself to give off any hint. In this cycle of freaks, he knew nothing escaped their senses.

”Does he know about my situation? How?” Levi frowned.

”Don’t overthink it... he can’t know about the Equilibrium of Chaos, don’t even mention the Three-Body Problem... this theory is as old as the universe, and only ancient deities and a few upper echelons heard about it,” Ash’Kral assured calmly.

If Ash’Kral weren’t sure that Levi’s situation would remain hidden, he wouldn’t have allowed him to pick the Three-Body Problem nickname.

This made Levi understand that the Dealer might have figured out something weird about him, but he had no clue what it was... hence, why he wanted him to play a Tarot game.

”Still not talking?” The Dealer smiled, not giving up.

He waited for the countdown to finish and then revealed both his cards to Levi. As he had said, he had picked the Joker and an Ace defensive card.

Levi wasn’t fazed... he showed his cards as well, and since he had the offensive priority, he used the Joker card to cancel the Ace defensive card.

Joker cards couldn’t cancel each other.

The Dealer did the same to Levi’s offensive card... which was the Three of Swords.

”Oh... smart, you picked an average offensive card and a Joker in case you won the priority and chose Drayven... you can still finish him off with those two-card combo.” The Dealer soon shook his head. ”Though... you can’t avoid our fated meeting.”

”I wish I did... You talk too much,” Levi responded emotionlessly.

”How mean...”

The Dealer merely chuckled, not taking it to heart... the fact Levi talked to him was already a win in his eyes.

”Unfortunately... we have ten minutes of free time if others didn’t finish early... so, how about I give you a free Divination since you aren’t interested in a game?”

The Dealer’s smile widened, tapping his lean, stellar gray fingers on the Tarot deck like an ASMR creator.

-A Divination from a Fortunari for free?! Lucky bastard! I had to wait two days in a queue during their bi-annual Blessed Fortune Festival!-

-Fortunaris’ Divinationsare known to be the most accurate... It’s like a free insight into one’s future.-

-My idol will never accept it!-

Levi didn’t bother to respond... he just kept standing in silence; his answer was clear to all.

He might not be too familiar with how amazing this opportunity was, but he didn’t care. There was no way in hell he would do such a thing in public, which meant exposing his identity.

”Well... I’m doing it anyway.” The Dealer chuckled playfully. ”What can you do? Attack me?”

”....”

Levi’s brow twitched... but he kept his words to himself, understanding that the Dealer could only work with what he had as accurate information. He could deviate all he wanted; nothing precise would show.

The Dealer shuffled the deck with a deliberate intention of creating chaos amidst them... then, he closed his eyes and pulled the card on top, placing it on the table.

Five of Wands.

The Dealer felt his heart skip a beat after seeing this card show up again... the exact card that was linked to Levi from the deck before.

It was of five figures holding long brown sticks in a chaotic setting... they were pushing and swinging at each other with no real aim, like each one had the right vision to build something with those sticks, and they were stubborn in choosing their way.

’Five of Wands... this card shouldn’t connect to the Celestial logically... it shows at the start only if it affected five distinct individuals heavily, having their fates entangled chaotically... if the Celestial is one, and his Nightcrawler is another, what about the other three?’

The Dealer had gone through plenty of Divinations, and this card never showed itself right from the start.

”This is inside you...” The Dealer said calmly. ”Five forces fighting. Five wills that can’t agree... I don’t know if it means anything to you.”

Levi didn’t react on the outside... however, he was taken aback on the inside, not expecting the Dealer’s Divination to be this good.

He could tell that the card considered him, Ash’Kral, and the Three Origin Seeds as individuals since each one had its own will. But he refrained from actively participating and kept watching in silence.

The Dealer took a deep breath and pulled a second card, placing it on the table.

The Hermit.

It showed an old man with a white beard and a gray robe holding a lantern.

The Dealer nodded to himself.

”This means you’re searching for answers... you’re trying to understand who you are or figure out the solution to escape from the other wills.”

The Dealer drew another.

Strength.

It showed a woman patting a lion-like beast.

The Dealer tapped the card with his finger. ”Something inside you is trying hard to keep everything under control... to stop the conflict from tearing you apart.”

’He is good...’ Levi praised inwardly.

Next card.

The Moon.

The Dealer’s eyes narrowed. ”You’re hiding things. Or... no. Things are hiding themselves inside you. Shadows, secrets, instincts, thoughts, you don’t fully know...”

Levi remained as still as stone... giving him no confirmation or denial, like the Dealer was talking to himself.

Seeing this, the Dealer sighed and reached for the last card in the spread... the card meant to show the future or the final outcome.

He flipped it.

The Tower.

It presented a harrowing scene of a broken tower set in flames with people jumping out of it... a lightning bolt hitting its top, and the ground looked uneven.

The moment the card was placed, a very subtle vibration moved across the screen, making the rest of the cards shift faintly. The Dealer stiffened for a moment and then glanced at Levi.

”This card means collapse,” he said faintly, ”a sudden fall... everything breaking at once.”

Levi was left slightly stunned behind the mask... he might not believe in fate, deviation, and such to a reverent extent, but still... to hear that collapse awaited him in the future, he wasn’t too fond of such news.

”Maybe I’m wrong... let me go for it again.”

The Dealer reshuffled and tried again... he wanted to see if the reading could shift or stay the same.

He laid down new cards:

However... even when he shuffled them, the first card showing was the Five of Wands again. The Dealer ignored it and placed three more cards:

These were different: Temperance, The Sun, and Judgment.

The Dealer showed a faint smile after telling Levi that those cards almost always lead to a good future.

Levi could feel it too. The line looked brighter, almost reassuring.

But then... he drew the last card.

The Tower.

Again.

The Dealer’s face tightened... he shook his head, gathered the cards, and reshuffled fast. He set down another spread:

High Priestess... The Chariot... The Lovers...

But the final card...

The Tower.

He swallowed hard, and Levi swallowed harder as he watched him try again and again... four spreads, five spreads, six spreads... different positions, different intentions, different card lines.

And yet... every single time, without fail, the last card was always the same:

The Tower.