The Foreigner (Lord of the Mysteries Fanfic)- (HIATUS)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Pathways of Blasphemy

         To take a step to become a Beyonder, there are important facts that must never be forgotten. To become a Beyonder, you need to consume a potion that was made from the Magical creatures. All Beyonders start from Sequence 9. Consuming the potion has some benefits and side effects that can cause you to lose control and become a monster.

Yareth sighed. Currently, he was sitting on a chair and had his hands resting on a table and it was folded together. And a bunch of Tarot Cards was laying on the table.

He remembered the recent lessons that came from his tutor. Sir Levan Septimus started teaching him new knowledge after what he said about his decision yesterday.  As a result of that, he was now receiving more lessons. Not just a general lesson about the supernatural world of Beyonders but also some important fact that his tutor knows. So far, Levan Septimus is very helpful in helping him to narrow down which pathway should he take. The information on his past life also helped to narrow down his current list inside his mind.

To become a Beyonder you must choose one of the 22 pathways that are loosely derived from the Tarot Cards. The Major Arcana. He decided to ignore some part of his past life of his that was shouting “PERSONA” on his head when he thought of the information regarding Beyonders. Yareth thought that his past life was really interesting. (And he missed everything on it. Even the shitty ones.)

22 Pathways and with 10 Sequences on One Pathway. From Level 9 to 0. The number 9 is the lowest while the 0 is the highest. (Yet it wasn't the highest level. There was still the Above the Sequence level)

Overall there were 220 sequences. He already decided that he wouldn't go in the Sequence Group of the Lord of the Mysteries. The Fool, Magician, and the Error (Lover) were out. He doesn't want to kill himself by being an Enemy of the Protagonist. And he also doesn't want to encounter that Thieving Villain who has a monocle obsession. A general rule of the story was that the Protagonist always gets what he wants. With the only exception if the story was a Tragedy Genre. But as far as he knows, the Lord of the Mysteries isn't a tragedy.
There are indeed a lot of deaths and horrors. But it wasn't a tragedy. It was a Fantasy Genre. Other than the protagonist being an obstacle, no matter what, Yareth doesn't want to encounter 'that' villain. He would stay far away from that as possible.

As for the door, he would still be in trouble if he choose that path. There was still another villain that was on that Sequence. And sooner or later, you would encounter both the Protagonist and the Main Villain if you choose that pathway.

On the table, Yareth instantly pulls out the Fool, Error, and Magician Tarot Cards.

There are only 19 Pathways left in consideration. But before a minute passed, Yareth decided to remove the Judgement and Emperor Card.

The Justiciar (Judgement) and the Black Emperor (Emperor) pathway was incompatible with him. The union of his parents who were Beyonder of those Pathways resulted in him. An ordinary person instead of a Beyonder Infant.

His mother tried once to see if he could still have hope when he was 3 years old. Though he doesn't still understand much at that time. It resulted in nothing but failure on his part. And disappointment from his parents. If he digest a potion on those two pathways, it would result in nothing. It was both a subject of interest and disappointment of his parents for some time before they completely lost their interest in him. So there are 17 choices left for him to choose who would be his Allies and Enemies.

After hearing his tutor's opinion, Yareth was firm on his decision to don't choose the Mother (World) and Moon Pathway. Memories from his past life have also pointed out one important detail regarding that Pathway. Other than being in danger of a corrupted Pathway from one of those Chtulhu Outer Gods, Yareth also doesn't want to turn into a Girl. Nope... Nada. Nada. Never once in his life did he consider himself as someone other than a man. That was one of the important reasons why he doesn't want to be Reincarnated into this world.

Madness. Just pure Madness was the ingredient of this world full of danger and strange stuff.

Other than those 2 Pathways, there were also those other dangerous paths. Just like the former two, the Pathways of the Demoness (Empress) and the Red Priest (Chariot). The Demoness pathway can turn a man into a woman just like the Mother and Moon Pathway. On the other hand, the Red Priest can turn a woman into a man.

Yareth removes the World, Moon, and Empress cards on the table. There are 14 Major Arcana cards left on the table.

He has considered the Red Priest since if he took that Pathway a man would still be turned into a man in the end. Nothing would change on him. The Red Priest and Demoness also happened to be a Pathway that wasn't corrupted.

After a while, Yareth then remembered that the Chained (Temperance) and Abyss (Devil) Pathway are also corrupted by an Outer Deity. He forgot who it was but he hoped that he would refresh his memories once he become a Beyonder.

He removes their corresponding cards from the table.

Finally, there were 12 Major Arcana cards on the table. The equivalent of 12 pathways left for him to consider. The Red Priest (Chariot), Paragon (High Priestess), Tyrant (Hierophant), Twilight Giant (Strength), Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Visionary (Justice), Hanged Man, Death, White Tower (Tower), Darkness (Star) and the Sun Pathway.

Most of those pathways belong to the Pathways of the Tarot Club. If he choose one of those Pathways, would he become an enemy of the dear protagonist and his fervent believers?

Choosing a Pathway was a tough choice. The Death was a good card. The same could also be said on the Star. Unfortunately, there are already the Evernight Goddess on those Pathways. The same could also be said on the other cards. Some of the Pathways are already occupied by the Orthodox Gods of this world.

After a moment of dilemma and contemplation, Yareth decided to ask himself. Does he need to become a God? He wanted to survive. Maybe, being just a High Sequence Beyonder is enough.

He looks at the remaining Tarot Cards on the table. All of them are good choices. Sighing, he decided to forgo the Star and Death Card. The Evernight Goddess was on the Protagonist's side in the story. But for his taste, he considered her to be full of schemes and ambitions. A greedy Transmigrator that Yareth doesn't want to attract her attention.

After that, he also decided to take out the Justice, Hanged Man, Hermit, and the Sun on the table. It wasn't a reasonable reason to take them out. But he feels that he was copying the members of the Tarot Club if he choose those cards. (And maybe, there was some little thought deep inside his mind on what it feels like to be part of the Tarot Club)

6 cards are only remaining... What was the most suitable card for him?

Involuntarily, his eyes drifted to one of the cards. Yareth can feel a sense of irony. His expression turned into one full of bitterness and mockery.

Living in a world of stories... What's better other than that Card?