In a darkened bedroom, eyes of a dark origin hesitantly open to the sight of a star covered ceiling. With only the creaking of the singular queen bed in the room filling the void of silence, Fuyukawa Honoka sits up slowly from her bed,
nightgown hanging loosely from her petite form. The young adult wiped any lingering sleep from her eyes, rousing herself from dreamland. School was resuming today. Dark scars from a long time past revealed themselves from beneath her ivory clothing, their owner moved from her bed to gently unveil her empty bedroom to the light of the outside. With slightly narrowed eyes, Honoka started towards her bathroom to absentmindedly go through her regular, morning routine. Take a shower, change
clothes, brush teeth. Tying up her hair into it's normal ponytail, she finally reached the best part of her mornings: Daily Tarot Reading.
The god, Gospel, had bestowed upon her a gift only a few days ago. The Prophet Diary, which gave her the unprecedented ability to accurately predict the future... for anyone and anything besides herself. However, this did not mean that the young adult would start to misemploy her longtime companions. Her tarot cards had guided her throughout her admittedly short life, sending her down paths she would have never even contemplated without them. They were Honoka's silent friends in the dark, keeping her company when no one else could. To be quite honest, when her mother left the house for the last time, those first days of solitude without her were quite nerve wracking, only the constant, subtle presence of her cards kept Honoka calm and collected as she usually was. The dark-haired woman reached for the cabinet by her bed, and pulled out the deck tarot cards she held dear.
She slowly started to shuffle the deck, clearing the "residual energies" of her last reading. The cards are prone to keeping latent memories of previous dealings, so it was best to clear them for the most accurate readings. Kneeling on to the floor, Honoka finished her current shuffle and closed her eyes, her right hand tensely gripped the deck and her left hand gently covered it.
'What do you have in store for me today?' She mentally asked, fixating the question in her mind as she set the deck onto the floor, perfectly cutting the deck with her left hand, and placing the top half away from her. With a practiced hand, she gently drew the tarot card for her reading from the top of the closest deck, placing the card face up in front of her with an unnatural display of confusion.
The Fool. Number Zero. The Beginning of Everything. Independence and Freedom. God's trickery and sense of humor. Humanity's dealings with God: Adoration or Hinderance.
She had only drawn this card once before, and it was during her first tarot card reading. When she first met the god, Gospel, and when everything she knew became part of a greater whole. It was one of the Major Arcana, meaning that the reading connotated a significtant happening. What exactly it would be, she didn't know, but Honoka knew that it would change her life, and potentially the lives of those around her. Suddenly, as if the card had called upon the deity, she felt a subtle tug within her soul, notifying her that Gospel wished to bring her into his dimension. With no resistance on her part, the dark haired lady closed her eyes only for a moment, reopening them to the grand stature of the Colosseum.
What once was a dark ceiling with bright stars within it become the backdrop of a beautiful, expansive sky. Twelve, thirteen if she counted herself, platforms were situated within the realm, with one of them elevated above the rest. The elevated platform supported the stature of the god of the world, while the lower ones held the silhouettes of fellow humans, eleven in total, each of them with varying body structures. One of which, she noticed, possessed the height and presence of a child. Why would Gospel summon such a gathering? The answer to the unvoiced question within Honoka's mind came from the loud, boisterous tone of previously mentioned god.
"Greetings Players!" Gospel raised his voice to boom that resonated throughout the Colosseum,
"As you all know, I am Gospel, the God of this world. You are all here today as you have been enlisted into the Survival Game-" Already, the scarred female regretted answering his call so willingly. A Survival Game? Honoka knew that Gospel was different. He was god, after all. No mere mortal would truly be within his league when it came to being... Him. But...
"-and your reward shall be my spot. The basic rules are that you must kill off all other players and survive to be the last one standing. In return, you shall become a God." Her charcoal eyes ignited with an innate fury, barely compressed emotion focused onto the masked being high above.
Why, of all times, must his personality make him so difficult?
"Simple, no? If you have question, you know where you can find me." No, never simple. Nothing, when it came to dealing with god, was simple. A thousand questions, unable to be voiced without a notable outburst, blurred through Honoka's mind, her expression slowly slipping further and further from her usual apathy. Why would he be giving up his position of power? What could possibly cause such a drastic measure from the confusing deity? She usually took most of Gospel's shenanigans at face value, but a game of killing and death? With a child involved?
Now that we have the formalities out of the way, let the games begin! Maybe fortunate be ever in your favor!"At once, the young adult was forcibly pushed from Gospel's dimension, eyes unable to focus as the scenery changed back to her dark bedroom, The Fool still central within her sight. Near instantly after she had regained her normal 20/20 vision, Honoka irritably shoved the Major Arcana back onto her deck, taking both cuts and shuffling them back together. She took a deep, calming breath, allowing an old
tune unearth itself from within her psyche, relaxing as it enveloped her within a void of soothing, haunting melodies.
This would not be the first time that her practiced indifference was shattered by an event in life. Many of these events were the witnessing of others in danger, and this was no different, except that she would be apart of this danger. She let out a long exhale, standing up to finish her preparations for the day. Eat breakfast, pack needed materials, leave the house. Mundane tasks she executed to cool down her unusually heated heart. The uneasy stares and sneers pointed her way were ignored or unseen, the tune circulating throughout her being and returning her emotions to an equilibrium. This "survival game" would be carried out, regardless of her feelings about it, so she would just have to soldier through it, and win with the least amount of death possible. Her reasoning may seem harsh to others, but to her nothing else mattered except those whom had acknowledged her, and whom she had acknowledged as well. She had already accepted that her soul may become tarnished by her actions, permanently scarred like her body was, but she would carry on as she always did, for the sake of her friends and family.
Speaking of friends, her phone's
ringtone notified her that one of her few friends had messaged her. Checking the text, a small, unnoticeable smile flashed across her face. Miye, her currently longest lasting friend. The same way that Gospel was associated with The Fool, the bubbly woman was associated with The Three of Chalices, which signified the successes and beauty of relationship. Through thick and thin, Miye had followed her throughout her life, ever since that fateful day where Honoka had saved her from that pack of bullies. Even when her mother had disappeared, her friend was there to brighten her normally dull days with her perpetual happiness. Sometimes, there would be a nearly unnoticeable crack within her aura, just barely seen under the surface, but Honoka knew not to pry. All humans had their secrets and struggles that they wouldn't share with anyone, not even those closest to them. It was just how we were, in our sinful and prideful existences.
Typing out her reply, the scarred lady sent it out as the school came into sight, ready for the start of her now slightly of-course life to resume once more.
To: Aikawa-san @sakurasan
I am well, and have just arrived. I'll meet you inside, okay? 
