Part 6

Ahsael rested, exhaustion in every limb, on the edge of falling asleep, yet willing himself to remain awake, much as his body tried to defy him. He leaned back against Selene, using her to steady himself, even as her arms wrapped around him, though not to hold him. Instead, they held the newest contraption and gift of the entity that Ahsael had no doubt now ruled this world, even if it was still largely in secret. He had been trapped in his new body for over five months now, though his form had started out slightly older than a newborn, so he was biologically closer to an eight-month-old.

On the screen of the 'Gamebrick', as it was so labelled, was a new game, one added recently. Ahsael wasn't sure how the device connected to a wider network. The idea that it might be connected to the Mechanicus' noosphere had crossed his mind, but the idea that the Tech-Priest would utilize the technology for a children's entertainment device was too ludicrous to bare credence.

To call the game a new one might have been overly generous, in truth. It was an updated version of the Tarot Arcana game that Selene had been playing almost every day. Sometimes, she would invite other children to come and play it with her, though other times she would play alone against the device's machine spirit or even against what were apparently other players from across the hives.

More of the 'Gamebricks' had been distributed as well, so many adults had taken to playing their games as well. Selene's mother, Cory, would sometimes play the game with her, though she had a hard time understanding the game. Selene was quite the patient teacher, however, though Cory was not her only pupil. Some of the other children and, indeed, even 'Calba' were being taught to play by her, albeit some less willingly than others.

Ahsael had little interest in the game. Beyond the fact that it was designed for children, was likely created by the greatest enemy he had ever faced, and had little to do with actual Tarot, Ahsael was not one for idle distraction. Not when he could be practicing with his ill-used psychic abilities.

At least… that had been true at first.

Training one's psychic abilities required more mental strain than physical, but it was also difficult to do when one was under near-constant supervision. Ahsael knew well what superstitions surrounded witches in the Imperium. While this world was unlike any he had ever visited, there was no reason to believe that hatred would be any different, so he could not reveal his abilities without risking himself. He also suspected that any attempts of his to escape would result in the servants of the entity coming to retrieve him or, at worst, eliminate him.

So, he had restrained himself to relearning his non-sorcerous powers at night, during those times when he was able to stay awake and quiet. The days were his exercise routines, as rigorous as could be expected of the body of a child not even a year old. Unfortunately, he was forced to take as much time to rest as he did to move about.

Was it any wonder he wanted a distraction during that time?

"Which card should we play?" Selene asked him, giggling as she held the gamebrick closer to him.

Selene's Tarot Arcana deck was a mismatched mess, Ahsael had come to discover after a few weeks spent watching her play the game. Players were allowed forty cards and the new game allowed the option of having as many as sixty, though that made it more difficult to draw the cards one wanted. The cards they could choose from had initially only been a small number, but now had increased to over five hundred, many with abilities that allowed them to work well together.

Selene's choices for her deck had largely been dedicated to whichever monsters and spells she thought looked cute or 'cool', as she put it, something he suspected she used as a replacement word for impressiveness rather than their temperature. Her favorite monster, Poki Draco, was similar to a mythological dragon, albeit one that had been drawn in an insultingly cute way. Ahsael was displeased by how many similarities he saw in its design to his own, chubby body and had decided it had been designed that way as an insult to him.

He had otherwise found the game to be rather… deeper than he had first thought. The sheer number of available cards allowed for a large number of playstyles. Certainly, it wasn't a game he'd be caught dead ever indulging in, unlike regicide… At least, under normal circumstances.

There was little mental stimulation he could garner from this environment. He was sure a child would have found the various toys that continuously appeared outside their door to be… 'fun', but a Space Marine multiple centuries old? No. This 'Tarot Arcana' was the best option he had.

He gestured with one hand, nearly slapping the bottom left corner of the gamebrick's screen. The card he had chosen was the best one Selene had, the Dark Magician. It was not the most powerful monster in terms of attack points, that was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon (An overly descriptive and boring name if he had ever heard one), but it was the strongest available. Oddly, despite being a magician, it lacked any special abilities as some other, more rare monsters had, instead, just boasting powerful attack and defense.

Still, he could hold a certain appreciation for the card, for obvious reasons. That Selene liked it as well showed that his so-called 'sister' at least had some taste.

Selene selected and played the card. Another few rounds of the game passed, but it was clear she would win. Ahsael found himself, not for the first time, that his hands were strong enough to manipulate the controls himself. Cory possessed a gamebrick, though she rarely used it, and he had attempted to try and play it himself in a moment of boredom while Selene was off playing with other children. He hadn't even been able to push the sliding button to turn it on with his graceless fingers.

The sound of a chime played and Ahsael and Selene were each treated to the sight of the Dark Magician rising out of its card and blasting away the last of the enemy's life points with an arcane blast that looked similar to a doom bolt. Ahsael couldn't help but wonder if the entity responsible for this game actually was related to Chaos, or if this was some small method of announcing their supremacy over it.

"We won!" Selene said happily, rocking back and forth and taking Ahsael with her as she hugged him. "Couldn't have done it without you!"

He was quite certain that she could have. In spite of how poorly her deck was built, Selene tended to win more than she lost. He supposed it helped that no one else seemed very good at building decks either.

One day, that would all change. He would grow strong enough that he could play the game himself and…

What was he doing?

He shook his head, aghast at the idea that he was getting into a children's game to such a degree. Him.

It was the entity's fault, that had to be it.