In this world, those who obtain the power known as Arcana are destined to starve.
An Arcana is more than a gift; it is the manifestation of one's Persona. It awakens during a "Persona Split"—a violent psychological fracturing where the mind loses its grip on reality. Caught in the wreckage of who they once were and what they have become, the user enters a state of futility. They lose their morality, their heart, and their humanity. They become a Tarot.
Even in this shattered state, a Tarot can still summon their power, but it manifests as a twisted, polar opposite of the soul they held before the split. This inversion is a death sentence for anyone standing nearby. The only way to end the nightmare is for another Arcana user to "slay" the Tarot using a weapon born of their own power. If successful, the victim's Persona is made whole again, the split mended by the strike.
It is a heavy, blood-stained responsibility. In the United States and most other nations, this duty is the primary law. To ignore a Tarot's rampage is an act of treason—yet it remains the most broken law in history. Many who awaken their Arcana find a sense of godhood in the chaos, defying their nations to seek dominion over the weak.
For those of us waiting for the spark, attending a Mage Academy is technically a choice. In other nations, however, enrollment is mandatory. It is a draft. They send children to war the moment they break. I don't think it's fair; you awaken an Arcana through pain you didn't choose to feel. Everyone should have the right to a normal life.
But who am I to talk? I am just a "privileged" silver-haired boy enrolled in Arc High, an elite forge for the next generation of top-tier mages.
My family name is a legacy built on the scars of my parents. Unlike the rest of the Archive clan, my mother, Jetta, and my father, Gin, were born with no natural talent. They had to claw their way to the top. They refined their powers—Arcana VI: The Lovers and Arcana IX: The Hermit—until they were recognized as the greatest mages of their era.
My siblings and I, however, were born into the light. My brother, Gen, holds The Moon, and my sister, Maki, holds The Star. In this world, the Arcanas aren't ranked by raw power; the history we are taught begins at 0: The Fool and climbs through the archetypes: I: The Magician, II: The High Priestess, III: The Empress, IV: The Emperor, and V: The Hierophant.
The sequence continues through the trials of the soul, from the strength of VIII and the justice of XI, past the darkness of XIII: Death and XV: The Devil, all the way to the finality of XX: Judgement and XXI: The World. The numbers are labels of identity, not strength. True power is decided by the user's will and their ability to wield the weapon their Persona creates.
To call upon this power, one must weaponize their very soul, summoning a unique blade or tool by chanting their Arcana's name and number. I haven't awakened mine yet. I haven't felt the split.
But this isn't just the story of how I find my power. This is the story of how I break my fate