Wanting Answers

Outside Grey Dove Monastery, the snowy forest flickered beneath the black-red afterglow.

Six of Cups stood atop a dead pine branch, gazing blankly up at the dark crimson sky.

Black Tower had given it a very clear mission this time.

Infiltrate Grey Dove Monastery, seize the Moon-Crown Lock, and bring it back to Black Tower.

But Six of Cups knew it had fled in disgrace.

It had thought it could pull it off this time, until that sacred pressure descended from above.

In that instant, Six of Cups felt as though even its shadow would be burned through, its soul pressed into scalding holy water.

Six of Cups lowered its head and looked at its hands. Its fingertips were still trembling faintly.

How humiliating.

It slowly curled its fingers, clenching that tremor inside its palm.

But as its fingers closed, a faint prick of pain came from its palm.

Six of Cups froze.

It lowered its head and opened its palm again. There should have been a mark of judgment there.

For some reason, Isolde's figure flashed through its mind.

That woman was so cunning, so skilled at scheming. She should have understood better than anyone that pushing it out would have been the easiest choice.

As long as she let go, it would have been dragged into the Moon-Crown Lock and become the unlucky sacrifice.

That way, the lock would open, the rules would be fulfilled, and she would even have one fewer temporary partner to split the spoils with.

Six of Cups stared at its empty palm, suddenly feeling lost.

Other than their family in Black Tower, it seemed that no one in the outside world had ever treated them as people.

Six of Cups suddenly turned around. Shadows spread from beneath its feet, as though it were about to burrow back toward the monastery.

Try once more.

It told itself inwardly.

The Moon-Crown Lock might still be there. As long as it obtained the Moon-Crown Lock, it would not have failed completely.

Perhaps it could also get an answer.

Six of Cups moved the tip of its foot forward an inch.

The shadow beneath its feet spread soundlessly, about to carry it back toward the monastery.

The next instant, a heavier shadow shot up along the tree trunk and coiled around its ankle.

Six of Cups abruptly halted, and a short blade slid into its palm.

A low voice came from behind it.

"Six of Cups, have you forgotten what Mother said?"

A mass of shadow slowly rose from a branch above, taking human form.

The newcomer wore black as well, a mask covering most of his face and leaving only a pair of steady eyes visible.

A pentacle badge was pinned to his collar, glinting coldly in the snowlight.

"Eight of Pentacles..."

Six of Cups put away its short blade and looked toward the monastery hesitantly, its voice dejected.

"I... I failed the mission."

Eight of Pentacles glanced down at the shadow wrapped around its ankle. Only after confirming that it would not continue forward did he slowly loosen half of it.

"No matter what, your mission is over."

Six of Cups pressed its lips together. "But I didn't get the item."

"If you cannot get it, bring back intelligence."

Eight of Pentacles folded his arms and watched it with lowered eyes, like a stern older brother.

"The Moon-Crown Lock lost control. A large-scale eruption of resentment occurred within Grey Dove Monastery. Only because you returned alive will anyone know about this."

Six of Cups lowered its head without replying. It knew this was merely Eight of Pentacles's clumsy excuse to comfort it, because even if it had not returned, he could still have brought this intelligence back to Mother.

Yet even knowing it would not be blamed, Six of Cups still felt terrible.

At that moment, the sound of accumulated snow shaking loose came from the other side of the dead pine.

A slender shadow landed on the branch. Her footing slipped slightly, making her sway, but she quickly regained her balance.

Her black clothes were lighter than Eight of Pentacles's. A long, narrow sword badge was pinned to each side of her hem, swaying faintly as she landed.

A female voice came from behind her mask, sounding somewhat anxious.

"I was just wondering whether I should observe the monastery first or stop you first. Eight of Pentacles said to stop you first. I thought he made sense, but I also felt that what was happening inside was important."

She paused, as though she had finally reached a conclusion.

"But I was still worried about you, so I came to check on you first."

Six of Cups looked up. "Two of Swords."

Two of Swords jumped in front of it. Only after confirming that it had no fatal injuries did she let out a breath of relief.

"Black Tower's first rule is that, whether a mission succeeds or fails, you must first ensure your own survival."

After saying that, she hesitated before adding,

"Though I think missions are important too. But this situation has already exceeded our original estimate. Forcing our way in would carry a very high chance of death. The chance of serious injury would also be high. The chance of being captured by the Holy Court... would be high too."

After a moment, Two of Swords added softly, "You know Mother worries about you most. That's why she sent Eight of Pentacles and me to meet you."

Six of Cups's mismatched eyes lowered. "Will Mother be disappointed?"

Eight of Pentacles answered immediately. "No."

Two of Swords answered a little more slowly.

"Probably not. I mean, definitely not. The Moon-Crown Lock was already a high-risk target. Mother knew that."

Six of Cups's fingers tightened slightly, but it stubbornly kept its head lowered.

Eight of Pentacles seemed to understand what it was thinking, and his voice softened somewhat.

"Failure does not mean you are useless."

Six of Cups looked up at him. Eight of Pentacles raised a hand, took a tiny badge from his sleeve, and casually tossed it over.

Six of Cups caught it reflexively and opened its palm, discovering that it was a cup badge.

Eight of Pentacles looked at it, his tone as steady as ever.

"Stop giving your badge to those reckless fools. Wear it properly."

Six of Cups held the badge and pinned it back onto its collar.

It brushed off the fine snow on it, and tiny gleams reflected from the metal surface.

Eight of Pentacles continued, "After the mission review, we can break this operation down into three problems. First, insufficient intelligence on the Holy Court. Second, the Moon-Crown Lock's condition did not match our estimate. Third, you are not strong enough yet."

Two of Swords: "..."

Six of Cups: "..."

Eight of Pentacles seemed to realize something and added another sentence.

"The first two are not your fault. You can continue working on the third."

Two of Swords raised a hand and pressed at her forehead.

"Your way of comforting people is really... painfully dull."

Eight of Pentacles replied calmly, "I am merely stating the facts rigorously."

Six of Cups stared at him for a while, then suddenly gave a quiet "Mm."

The bitterness lodged in its throat seemed to finally ease a little.

Two of Swords looked toward Grey Dove Monastery, still sounding hesitant.

"We have two choices now. First, remain on the outskirts and keep observing. Second, leave immediately."

After saying that, she rejected the first option herself.

"No. Holy Radiance is still spreading outside. Staying would make us easy to discover."

She thought for a moment more and muttered, "But if we leave directly, we might miss the Moon-Crown Lock's final intelligence."

Eight of Pentacles said, "A third option."

Two of Swords's eyes immediately lit up as she looked at him. Whenever she could not make up her mind, she liked having someone help her decide.

Eight of Pentacles said steadily, "Withdraw three li and leave a shadow marker at the old northern outpost. Then Mother can decide whether to send another group to take over."

Two of Swords considered it for a moment, then nodded repeatedly.

"That works. It's safe. Not without risk, of course, but it's better than charging in now."

Six of Cups said nothing.

It merely turned its head and looked at Grey Dove Monastery one last time.

In the wind and snow, more than half of the monastery's protective formation had already been torn apart.

Sacred white light mingled with black-red resentment, filling the air with danger.

That clever woman named Isolde might still be alive.

Or she might already be dead.

It suddenly felt that the Moon-Crown Lock was probably no longer there.

Drawing back its gaze, Six of Cups spoke so softly that the wind nearly scattered its words.

"Let's go back."

Two of Swords visibly relaxed, and Eight of Pentacles completely withdrew his shadow as well.

The three figures landed on the snow, sinking into the shadows beneath their feet at the same time.

Before disappearing, Six of Cups looked up once more at the sky veiled by dead branches.

The dark crimson sky looked as though it had been soaked in blood, a color it had never seen before.

Six of Cups thought very softly to itself:

If I ever get the chance to see her again...

The wind and snow finally swallowed the shadows, leaving only cold white specks among the trees.