MHGA Chapter 194: Jackie Welles!
"The Hanged Man… Is something wrong?" David asked, confused.
He didn't know anything about Tarot cards, and had never been exposed to this sort of thing before.
He had no idea what the Hanged Man represented.
"The Hanged Man is the extension of Justice—it follows the eleventh card, Justice, as the twelfth in the Major Arcana."
"At the same time, the Hanged Man is an inversion of the World, which is card twenty-one. Flip the World upside down, and you get twelve."
Misty looked at David with a trace of concern. "Look closely at the card."
She gestured for David and the others to examine the card face of the Hanged Man.
A young man, hands bound behind his back, hangs upside down from a T-shaped tree trunk. His bound hands form a triangle, and his crossed legs a crucifix.
"The keyword for the Hanged Man is sacrifice. That word alone accounts for most of its meaning. He represents sacrifice and ideals. He is peace and serenity… He observes the world from another angle, and through it, he gains truth—he sees through the meaningless things in life, even though those very things still surround him."
"In terms of love, the Hanged Man often represents unrequited devotion—falling in love with someone who doesn't love you back, or someone you can't be with."
Misty continued: "Rationally, such love should end. But no matter how much friends or family try to dissuade them, the person persists—even if it means bloody failure. Why? Because it brings them joy. Even if it hurts, it's the kind of pain they choose. No one has the right, or the power, to stop them."
She fixed her gaze on David. "The Hanged Man gives up everything he has… so that he can do what he was truly meant to do in this life. But—"
"From the reversed position, the Hanged Man's sacrifice may prove meaningless—everything done in vain," Misty said gently, almost coaxing. "When the Hanged Man turns from upright to reversed, it means he never truly understood what was binding him in the first place. All his sacrifice, his struggle, may dissolve into nothing. The light of wisdom extinguished. In the end, all of it—a waste."
David abruptly stood up, startling Misty mid-sentence.
He realized he'd overreacted and quickly apologized for frightening her.
But Misty's words had genuinely unsettled him.
"I'm really starting to think Misty has some kind of magical power," Kairo Retsu muttered, staring wide-eyed at the card in her hand.
In the game, Misty's reading for V had predicted V's entire ending.
Now, with just a single card drawn for David, she had seemingly read through his entire fate—one that matched David Martinez's future in Edgerunners nearly perfectly.
"Don't worry," Misty reassured him, seeing the fear creeping into David's expression. "Even if the Tarot hints at destiny, it doesn't dictate your whole life."
This was the first time someone had reacted this strongly to one of her readings—as if they truly believed every word.
"Life can't be reduced to a few cards. So even if things look bleak… you can overcome them."
"I…" David opened his mouth, but his mind was reeling. Misty's interpretation overlapped with the scenes of his own fate in Edgerunners all too clearly.
Sacrifice.
Falling for someone he couldn't be with.
A love that should never have been continued from a rational standpoint.
While David fell deeper into reflection, Kairo's hand came down on his shoulder.
"What are you worrying about? Screw fate!"
"Even if fate's got its hands around our throats, we get back up and kick it square in the balls!"
"Your Guildmaster's got your back!" Kairo grinned, arm slung over David's shoulder. "As the head of this Gathering, you think I'd let my members suffer like this?"
"If you keep moping around, I will punch you straight in the face! Wake you up proper!"
"Wait, what?" David blinked. "Why punching? Aren't you supposed to comfort people?"
"I don't have time to coddle anyone," Kairo raised an eyebrow. "If someone's not willing to pull themselves together and do what needs to be done, I'll do it for them."
"In the world of monsters, every living thing is fighting to survive. Indecision? That's a luxury."
"You heard her earlier, didn't you? Seeing the world from a new perspective!" Kairo clapped David square on the back—right on his freshly installed Sandevistan. "Even if you fight for others, you gotta know why you're fighting, and what is truly worth it!"
David froze, taking two steps back before slumping against Misty's shop wall and sliding down to sit at its base.
"When the Hanged Man turns from upright to reversed, it means he never truly understood what was binding him…" David repeated Misty's earlier line, clutching his face. His cold fingertips pressed into his cheeks, grounding him, sobering him.
"What binds me… What binds her…"
David's thoughts turned inward, for once, fully and seriously examining himself.
Just then, the front door of Misty's Esoterica swung open with a loud push—and in walked someone instantly recognizable to everyone present.
Jackie Welles.jpg
"Hey! Misty—huh? Got customers, huh?" Jackie walked in cheerfully, then spotted Kairo Retsu and flashed a grin. "Yo, choom! You got good taste—Misty's readings are legit!"
"Jackie!" Kairo's eyes lit up the moment he saw him. "Long time no see!"
"Long time—wait." Jackie squinted, puzzled. "We've met before? That can't be right. I've got a pretty good memory."
"Who cares if you remember!" Kairo strode forward with open arms and gave Jackie a big, hearty hug. "You're a stand-up guy! Even if this were our first meeting—it'd be worth it! Wanna grab drinks? I'm buying!"
"Hey! You're alright, choom!" Jackie grinned. "You used to roll with a crew? What gang were you in?"
"Didn't used to!" Kairo raised his thumb proudly. "But now I do!"
"The Hunter Gang!"
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