The sky was too vast.
That was David's first thought when he opened his eyes.
It wasn't blue. Not entirely. Streaks of crimson bled through clouds shaped like ancient runes, while constellations shimmered in daylight. The wind smelled of distant incense and smoke. This place wasn't Earth. And his last memory—
…Was dying.
"You have been chosen."
A voice echoed in his mind, but it didn't come with warmth or explanation. It was layered—dozens of whispers stacked into a single sentence. The tone was neither malicious nor kind. Just inevitable.
Then came the ding.
[Mystery Codex has been installed.]
[Welcome, Designated Heir of the Fool.]
[Location: Dawn Era, Little Garden – Divine Epoch Initiation.]
[Objective: Establish a Pantheon and attain Eternity.]
David blinked. "Little Garden?"
It struck him then—this was Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren't They? But not the era of Izayoi and the No Names. This was before it all. The dawn of civilization, when gods were still new, and myth had not yet taken form.
He stood atop a black spire of stone, overlooking miles of floating islands and shifting landscapes. Some zones looked like battlefields between divine beasts; others gleamed with infant civilizations praying to stars that hadn't answered yet.
[System Tutorial Activated.]
[You possess the ability to manifest anything from the Lord of the Mysteries universe using Mystery Points.]
[Mystery Points are earned by increasing your influence on the world: altering fate, instilling awe or terror, creating myths, or destabilizing or creating systems.]
David exhaled slowly. "A transmigration cheat system, of course. But one that rewards manipulation, and change. Very Fool Pathway of you."
[Starter Pack Granted.]
– Potion: Seer (Sequence 9)
– Tarot Emblem (Summons a Shadow of the Gray Fog)
– Authority Fragment: Mystery Domain I – Illusion of Omniscience
– 500 Mystery Points
His body shimmered faintly. He felt the something absorb into him, and suddenly, the world bent differently.
His eyes pierced illusions. His ears caught the whispers of dying gods from across the void. His mind reached outward—and touched the edge of the fog.
The gray fog.
It was there, dormant and silent, waiting in the cracks between reality and madness. With a thought, he summoned a wisp of it into his palm. The mist curled lovingly, like a pet recognizing its master.
[New Quest: Form a Community – "The First Tarot Club"]
[Objective: Recruit three individuals and establish a divine banner.]
[Reward: Unlock a Divine Name | Tarot Emblem Upgrade | 300 Mystery Points]
David laughed under his breath. "Forming the Tarot Club in the cradle of gods… now that's poetic."
He looked down from the black spire—and there it was: a gathering of warring proto-communities, each led by arrogant fledgling gods. Chaos. Opportunity.
He could hear them even now, mortals and demigods screaming, fighting in rituals to win favors from mythic archetypes. And none of them had even a fraction of what he held in his palm: the fog, the unknown, the source of madness and mystery.
David smiled and stepped forward, walking off the spire.
He fell like a shadow through the wind, the Tarot Emblem gleaming beneath his cloak.
The Fool had entered Little Garden.
And the world would never be the same.