In an unknown corner of the universe, deep within the void, a lone tower glimmered with resplendence. But even with its innate majesty, the very laws of the universe demanded silence, and so the tower remained muted to the outside. None but those who seek it out may find it, and even among them, only those who are granted an audience may enter.
At the very peak of the tower was a humble throne, quite lacking in extravagance and charm compared to the rest of the tower, but still it retained its majesty and the imposing air of authority. Sat upon the throne was a lady who seemed engrossed in reading a rather thick book. Her mature black and purple dress was designed for ease of movement yet still carrying the allure of charming innocence as it sported a motif of butterfly wings.
Her long hair was of a beautiful ash lavender hue, a rare colour in any world or universe for sure. And yet it did not seem at all artificial. Her hair was as natural as it could get. But to add to her mystifying beauty was large witch hat adorned with purple flowers. Its brim cast a long shadow over her face, hiding her enchanting amethyst eyes underneath. But as she was flipping the page of her book, she raised her head in mild confusion as she looked to her side.
There, standing a few feet away, was a large mirror that reflected nothing but the star ocean. It was a tool she had personally created, but it was never meant to be used other than for display. After all, if ever she needed it, it meant something she needed to be cautious about would happen. And with her power, very few things could force her into caution. This was why when she saw the small ripple on the surface of the mirror, her eyes instantly turned sombre.
She closed her book with a snap, waving it away as it disappeared from her grasp like an illusion. With another wave of her hand, the mirror floated toward her, stopping right in front of her. She still could not see anything on it which made her warier, but she knew that those who could create a ripple on her mirror would be able to hide from it if they truly wanted. But she did not need the mirror to show her who, she only needed it to tell her if anything was to happen.
Her right hand reached for her neck, or rather, the glass pendant that hung from it. Without focus, no one would be able to notice it at all. And yet, it too was a tool of great power. The lady brushed fingers against the pendant before pulling her hand forward and waving it in front of her. From the pendant came a kaleidoscope of butterflies, each shimmering with varying colours. They arranged themselves before her before morphing into a glass cards faced away from her.
And once more, her hand moved. She picked one card from the top-right and brought it close to her before flipping it. While the backs of the cards looked like clear glass, their fronts were beautiful artworks made from stained glass. These beautiful cards were meant for divination, however, there was something different about them. Upon the card the lady picked was an image of a star glowing with a deep purple light that only grew darker the closer to centre it was. And the words written on the card were unreadable as they hung upside down.
"Eclipse... reversed?"
The lady was confused. Eclipse was meant to be an omen. Whether good or bad, it did not matter. It symbolised a certain eventuality in an otherwise uncertain future. But in reverse, it meant the opposite. Not that there is an uncertain eventuality in a certain future, but that the uncertainty is in the past. And the certainty is unfolding in the present. If that was the case, then what is left of the future? The lady picked another card, this time from the centre of the spread.
"Spirit..."
The new card depicted a silhouette of a person with no clear details to be discerned. Unlike the Eclipse card, this card was completely clear just like ordinary glass. Perhaps out of all the cards the lady had, this was the singular card with no colour at all. But this also proved that whatever was about to happen, it would be caused by a person rather than being a natural phenomenon. The only problem is that neither the mirror nor the card managed to reveal to her who this person was. With a frustrated sigh, the lady moved her hand once again. She would choose the last card she would flip to complete her divination, but something unprecedented happened.
Before she could even choose a card for herself, the entire deck began trembling as a strange power began influencing them. One by one, cards flew out from the arrangement in front of her, revealing themselves as though telling a story of their own. The first was a flower, beautiful but faded. It seemed both alive and dead, yet a purple butterfly still landed upon its petals. The second was a mirror reflecting the previous three cards alternately. And finally, the last card depicted the image of a woman in reverse.
"Blossom... Mirror... and reversed Maiden. Could it be...?"
She turned her gaze away from the cards, searching the wall on her distant right for a particular piece. The wall was filled with many portraits, each shifting with and showing many different scenes. And unlike other ordinary portraits, these ones were moving as though an entire world was contained within them. In one corner of the wall, the lady found the portrait she was looking for. The portrait depicted the silhouette a woman, unmoving. Amidst all the portraits on the wall, only this one did not move whatsoever. But she was certain that it was. Time within the scene depicted by the portrait continued to progress, just that the woman within was seemingly in deep slumber.
The reversed Maiden, although the lady did not understand what it meant for it to be reversed in the context of her current divination, she understood that there were only a few whom the card could be referring to. And the most likely case would be the woman in the portrait. But just as she was wondering what her strange divination meant, the cards began trembling once more, catching her attention. With eyes widening in further shock, more cards left the spread before her, revealing themselves to her on their own.
The first among this new batch of cards was one that depicted the statue of a man made from gold. It was a golden idol with images of people prostrated at its base, seemingly in worship. The second card had an image of deep crimson serpents. The image itself seemed inexplicably alive with the serpents seemingly slithering about chaotically, each engaging in strange acts that did not seem at all natural to them. Some were engaging in brutal blood sport, raining down a deep red upon serpents intertwined in a strange manic passion, separated only by lonely serpents who gazed upon the rest with a very familiar human arrogance and disdain.
And finally, the last card had only a singular dot, a black point that seemed to contrast against the other cards greatly. It might seem the most tame and plain out of them all, but if one were to focus solely on the singular dot, they would find themselves drawn into an endless abyss of blackness. The lady herself had to summon her authority to protect her mind from being drawn in. By now, her breathing was haggard and her hands were trembling. Her eyes showed great confusion and a hint of fear. This... was no longer a divination. It may have started as one by her own will, but at some point, she had already completely lost control.
To be more specific, these last three cards were not even ones she had ever seen before. But how could that be the case? She was the one who created this deck of cards. How could she not know what she had created? And that was precisely the reason why she was growing more and more unsettled and afraid. Something or someone had managed to influence her authority to the point of tampering with her cards. They created cards that she had never seen before, cards that she could not understand.
"Is it you?! Are you doing this?! I've been quiet all this time! I never once meddled in anything! I'm just seeking shelter, can you not let me have my peace?!"
The lady stood up in frustration and anger as she shouted to the air around her. Whoever her intended recipient of those words was, they did not seem at all bothered. Whether they were the one who tampered with her cards or not, she could not know. The lady gritted her teeth, deliberating whether it was time for her to move. The Crucible had been tolerant of her presence for so long, but it seems she can no longer stay. The only problem now was that given the sudden tampering on her authority, she might not even be allowed to leave anymore.
"Fine. This old witch has had enough of hiding."
With her words, the entire tower began to tremble. It spun in place for a while, deep within the void, before disappearing in a brief flash of light. Where it reappeared, no one would know.