Sinner of the Spades

'For the time being, I can use the knife that Thomas gifted me so long ago… I think I left it back at the monastery…'

As soon as Lumière left the private room, watching as Juno walked back towards the bar, he felt a strange presence standing right beside him. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw a man in pitch-black performer's attire glancing up at him. He had stark black-and-white hair, like a skunk, which had been pinned up on one side, falling down to his jawline on the other. 

"Hello." Lumière spoke calmly, a bit perturbed by the man's sudden appearance.

"You're… the one of spades, aren't you?" The man's tone was like gravel, cold, but a hint of excitement following his words.

Lumière's guard immediately went up, cautiously reaching to his side to grab at a weapon. He made sure that the man noticed this movement.

"I am. Do you have business with me?" 

The man smiled jubilantly, reaching into his jacket quickly. Lumière immediately pulled out Cerces, pointing it directly at the strange man's head. This caused the man to shiver, replying, "I am two of spades, I just wish to offer you something… it is not a weapon, believe me… violence is prohibited here, y'know…"

Lumière didn't drop his stance, urging the man with his gaze to slowly pull the item out of his jacket.

'The two of spades? Does he wish to duel with me? But can he propose a duel if the Joker is gone? And what would be the purpose of him dueling me? I'm a tier below him in terms of power, there's nothing for him to gain…'

Lumière watched as the man pulled out a silver-glowing card, turning it face-forward towards the magician. Lumière glanced at the card in the man's hand, his eyes widening in shock and disbelief. There was an image of a man holding two blade spades, looking down towards them despondently. Pitch-black tears dripped down the man's cheeks, falling towards his jawline before pouring onto the black spades.

Was this symbolic? Was the craziness of a Heretic the source of its uniqueness? How strange…

The man twitched erratically from time to time, almost as if he were someone who had realised a spider sat on his skin, jumping out of his own body in fear and shock. He was definitely crazy, as a Heretic should be!

"You want to offer me this card?" Lumière's eyebrow twitched. There was definitely something suspicious about this! Then again, perhaps this man was just that crazy…

The man twitched once more, smiling slyly as he spoke, a hint of lucidness entering his gaze. "You see, the three of spades is a real… crazy bastard."

'You're one to talk…'

"I really don't want to confront him in a duel." The man continued, shaking his head. "Well… let's just say that I'll definitely die. Ascending would be too much of a challenge for me at this time…"

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Switch cards with me. You will become the two of spades, and I the one of spades. Isn't this a good deal for you?"

'He wants to give me the card in exchange for mine? This would definitely give me more power, and as how things are going currently, that might not be such a bad thing…'

"How do you benefit from this?" Lumière questioned the man suspiciously.

"Well, if you were the one to duel three of spades, I think there might be a better chance for you winning than I… at that time, maybe you wouldn't forget this deal I've done with your benefit in mind."

"You think I can kill someone that you can't? What gives you faith in my strength?"

"Maybe not strength, but opportunity." The man replied, his voice now calm and still, as if the conversation had pacified him slightly. "Haven't you noticed? You've become one of the singular ires of the House of Cards in recent days."

Lumière didn't respond to this comment. Of course, that much was obvious. It was because he had gotten into the 'good graces' with stronger members of the House of Cards as a fledgling, at least from the eyes of onlookers. They didn't know the truth, that he had really subjugated them all under a series of lies, all to aid his benefit.

"When you do face that three of spades, you have to be careful with the card. He has a 'red card'. I'm still not sure who has the 'black card' corresponding to three of spades."

Lumière had once heard of the red cards. However, he had not encountered such a thing yet. Were they not just the same as the black cards, duplicates of each black suit?

"What's so different about the 'red cards'?"

"They can be used to ascend to a higher power, and are perfectly compatible with the black suits, but they are a bit more… unstable. You know the detriment of our Domain, right? Our mental states can be a bit… stringent. It is more so for the red cards. This is why the three of spades is quite scary. Once you receive the card, you'll have to find some way to support your lucidity, or you might slip into a crazed state."

'Once again, aren't you one to talk? However, this is good information. In the future, if I can't find the subsequent 'black card', there is still a chance of me finding the next 'red card' holder and switching over to that colour in the suit… there is always two chances of ascending at all times!' 

'When I first received the card, the reason for it finding its way to me was unknown. But after seeing it was able to be used to unlock the exit in the Sinner's Labyrinth, it became clear that it was meant for me, for some strange purpose. What did Thomas once say- how can we manage to comprehend the thought processes of such a supreme being?' Lumière chuckled inwardly. 'Is this event also meant for me, crafted in part by my evil Lord? Well, I will gladly accept.'

"I'm up for the challenge, but if you also want me to face three of spades in your place, I'll need something more."

"Like what?"

"I want you to do a favour for me, whenever I ask of it, just once. No questions asked, no refusal. Of course, this favour won't be something that will put you in too much danger, not too much risk, and I won't ask anything of you that seems unreasonable or impossible."

Two of spades didn't waste any time in considering his offer, nodding his head in acceptance. After all, what crazy man would act logically? 

"So, how will you trust I will abide by this deal? Shall we create a binding deal with the help of an Alchemist? I know one who can do such a thing…" the two of spades glanced around the room, that strange craziness slowly returning to him.

The magician smiled in response to this, shaking his head. 

Lumière turned towards the crowd of attendants in the House of Cards, a beaming smile on his face as he raised his arms exuberantly. Of course, many were already shooting him glances, so it didn't take too much to get their attention. Beside the crazy two of spades, he exclaimed, "this man beside me, the two of spades, will give me his card! This is in order for me to kill the three of spades and ascend even higher! In exchange, he has promised to owe me a favour for my contributions! Isn't this wonderful?"

While one could always create a magically-binding deal, sometimes it was better to choose other options. After all, there was no guarantee that the Alchemist two of spades spoke of would not request a fee. Something like this… to create a public spectacle to shake two of spade's willpower…

Fear was free.

If the two of spades broke favour with Lumière by failing to uphold his end of the deal, those in the House of Cards would also begin to distrust the man. If he ever sought favours or deals from the others, they would remember how he treated the deal with Lumière, and never accept his offers. He was depending on fear to keep the pact in place. Of course, Lumière didn't quite know how he would make use of a crazy pawn that would soon be less powerful than he was. Perhaps in the end, pawns could only be thrown away towards their deaths as a distraction. And there was definitely no one in his life he trusted enough to promote to a queen.

As he glanced over at the twitching man, he felt the accumulation of fear in his body grow even further. He grinned, placing a hand on the two of spades shoulder as he reached out his hand.

"Alright, let's trade. From now on, I'll be referring to you as 'one of spades'. I hope we can do good work together in the future."

The man, a little timidly, handed Lumière the two of spades card, taking the one of spades in return.

As soon as Lumière's fingertips made contact with the card, Lumière felt a surge of pain radiate through his body, like his blood was freezing cold. A sharp piercing pain shot through his head like a bullet at the same time, similar to the first time he had received a spades card. The world became a bit darker, but it wasn't like when he had first became a Heretic. He knew the burgeoning eyes and tendrils to be the sight of Lord Sinner's messengers. 

So that the world was turning dark… meant…

Lumière reached a hand toward his cheeks. When glancing back at his fingertips, they were… wet. Stained, with pitch-black blood. His mind began to race, intense thoughts circulating through his mind. He was definitely going crazy! 

The descriptions of his newfound abilities entered his mind, but also deteriorated perversions of his personae, thoughts of violence and madness churning about. He thought of his formative and tragic experiences, of all the deaths and happinesses he had witnessed. All of his emotions and histories came to the forefront, threatening to overload him.

His one lucid train of thought shouted over the rest, trying to retain his sanity as he stumbled backwards, heading for the door that led to the private room. Juno, noticing the commotion from the bar, furrowed his eyebrows as he saw the black blood drip from Lumière's cheeks. 

'Madness? Is Lumière Croft going crazy? Is this something that Mr. Ophelia can't deal with? No, maybe it's something that Mr. Ophelia wants him to do himself in order to temper himself… but isn't a vessel too rare to risk like this? Well, who am I to question a Demon?'

Still, Juno trailed behind the magician. It was partly so he could see what was going on, as he hated lacking information, but also partly because he wanted to try and help Lumière. It was a selfish reason, in the fact that he was still owed two wishes from the Demon of the Garden, but it was a strong enough reason to want to help.

He watched as Lumière Croft touched the door handle to their private room, and stepped inside the room, shutting the door behind him. However, when he followed him into the room, he was shocked to see that Lumière no longer remained.

When Lumière opened his eyes, it was to a deep, incorrigible void that stretched into the distance, a massive sprawling labyrinth surrounded by massive shadowy tentacles lying in the center.

The half-crazed magician had appeared before the Sinner's Labyrinth once more.