That night, the sky was cloaked in darkness, illuminated only by the pale glow of the moon.
And beneath that light — something… or someone — was moving.
A shadow lingered near Kevin's house, silent and still, as though studying it from afar.
"At last… I've found you, Claire," whispered the figure to himself. His eyes fixed on the window above, his voice barely audible — cold, deliberate, and almost longing.
Moments later, the man turned and began to walk away. But before he could take another step, Kevin suddenly appeared before him — as if he had materialized out of thin air.
As a bearer of the Moon Arcana, Kevin possessed the ability to teleport — to move from one place to another in the blink of an eye. He had sensed the presence long before, a prickle at the edge of his awareness that refused to fade.
Now, standing before the stranger, his expression was calm but deadly.
The mysterious man stiffened, startled. His face was hidden beneath a thick hood, his entire body wrapped in a heavy coat — concealing not only his identity, but perhaps, his true intentions.
"Who are you? What do you want, and why are you lurking around my house?"
Kevin's voice was low but firm — the kind of seriousness that carried a threat all on its own.
The stranger didn't answer. He stood completely still, wrapped in his thick jacket, hood pulled low over his face. The darkness of the night made it nearly impossible to see his features; only the moonlight carved a faint outline of him.
He didn't know Kevin — that much was clear. His attention had been on Claire and Claire alone. And now he seemed just as confused as he was startled… unable to understand how Kevin had suddenly appeared in front of him, like a phantom materializing from the shadows.
"Speak," Kevin demanded again, irritation slowly brewing in his tone. The silence, the evasiveness — it was pushing him to the edge of his patience.
Still, the stranger remained quiet.
Kevin took a single step closer, and the air around him shifted — colder, heavier, dangerous.
"If you're not going to say anything…" he warned, voice dropping to a deadly calm,
"…I will make you talk. And trust me — it won't take me more than a second."
Gripping the Moon Arcana tarot card tightly, Kevin activated Mist Step once more — his body dissolving into a thin veil of smoke before vanishing from sight.
His plan was simple: appear behind the stranger, seize his wrist, and bring him to the ground in one swift motion.
A clean takedown.
A forced confession.
But the moment he reappeared behind the hooded man — just as his fingers were about to clamp down on the stranger's hand —
time stopped.
Kevin's breath caught in his throat. His muscles locked. His body refused to move.
Everything — the wind, the light, even the sound around him — froze in place.
And then, just as quickly,
time resumed.
Kevin stumbled forward, the momentum of his halted movement snapping back into him.
But the stranger… was gone.
Completely.
Effortlessly.
He stood alone in the moonlit street.
"Tsk."
A sharp click of his tongue — irritation boiling beneath his calm exterior.
His mind raced, replaying what happened. Only one Arcana could toy with time like that.
Only one could appear and disappear without leaving a trace.
"The Fool…" he whispered to himself, eyes narrowing.
Anger surged through him — a frustration so sharp it almost felt like madness. Then, without warning, Kevin burst out into loud, echoing laughter. A laugh born not from joy, but from pure, uncontrollable rage and humiliation.
He tilted his head back, laughter spilling into the night.
But beneath that laughter was a vow — cold, unwavering, absolute:
He would not stop.
Not until he found the Arcana who dared to stand before his house.
In a narrow alley far from Kevin's house, the mysterious man finally stopped to hide — trembling violently, breath unsteady.
He was terrified.
If he hadn't activated his ability in time, he knew he would've died right there.
It was his first time encountering another Arcana besides himself, and he never expected that Claire's own relative possessed such a terrifying power.
He pulled back his hood with shaking hands, desperate for air after sprinting for his life.
And when the hood finally fell away, the stranger's identity was revealed.
It was Glenn.
He had once experienced death — and in that moment between life and the afterlife, he awakened as an Arcana.
Though he still didn't understand his purpose or why he was given a second chance at life, one thing was certain:
he had a power inside him…
and a tarot card clutched in his hand.
THE HANGED MAN
Ability:
The bearer of this card can stop time itself.
However, every second he freezes comes at a terrible cost —
his own lifespan is shortened in exchange.