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The freshly polished floor was covered in crimson almost immediately. Everything went so fast. Asra had shown the tarot deck to Nadia. He placed it on the table that separated the empress and the magician. His apprentice, Calin, didn't know that it would happen. Nadia didn't either. If she did know, she would've had a chance to defend herself. "Which one will you pick Nadi?" Asra asked. He laid out four cards. "And remember," his eyes rose from the cards to meet Nadia's. "Choose wisely." After waiting a few moments, Nadia picked up the second card. "The Chariot," she mumbled. "Reversed." Nobody caught the smirk on Asra's face as the empress gazed at the card in shock and confusion. He rose from his seat, making his way over to Nadia. "What is it telling you?" The empress sighed before answering.
"Apparently," she said in a shaky voice. "I am not fit to rule. I am too naive. I am too soft. I..." Asra nodded, urging her to finish. "Vesuvia would benefit i-if I were dead." Calin looked at the card. "That can't be right." he got up from his chair. "Asra, can't she pick another-" Asra quickly put a hand up to silence him. "I'm afraid not," he looked at Nadia. "If you could hear what the Chariot said, then you know what must be done, right?" Calin's eyes traveled to the dagger that hung out of his bag. "Asra no-" This time Nadia put up her hand. "This is what I must do." Calin knew that she had frequent headaches but he didn't expect them to affect her mental health. Before the apprentice could say another word, Asra pulled out the dagger, and slit the empresses' throat.
Tears began to roll down Calin's cheeks. "A-Asra why-" Faust suddenly slithered around his leg, just like she always would. Except this time, it wasn't comforting, nor was it playful. It was threatening. "Honestly Calin, what did you expect me to do?" As Asra slowly stalked toward him, Calin just stood in his place, attempting to comprehend what just took place. Nadia was bleeding to death on the ground, Faust was smiling like nothing was wrong, and Asra... This wasn't Asra.
It couldn't be.
Asra smirked at his apprentice, slowly wrapping an arm around his waist. "She was in the way of something much bigger than what you thought I was fighting for," he whispered in his ear. "My travels aren't always in this world. I go with my patron. The Magician. And recently, I've found some..," he glanced at Nadia's corpse. "..Interesting things about dear Nadi here." Faust tightens herself around Calin's leg. "Traitor!" she growled. "Exactly." With his other hand, Asra lifted Calin's chin. Green eyes stared into purple ones. Fear stood in front of deceit. "Forgive me for this." he mumbled. "For what-" Faust wrapped herself around Calin's neck. "We'll see you when you wake up." he said. The last thing that Calin heard before he was knocked out was the sound of quiet laughter. "Goodnight."
And then everything was black.