Tony shifted in his seat, breaking the silence with the practiced ease of a man who refused to be intimidated by the infinite. His eyes were like two blue lasers fixed on Aryan.
"Okay," he said, leaning over the stone table. "This has been bugging me for a while."
Aryan glanced at him, a flicker of amusement in his calm gaze. "That's gonna be a remarkably long list, Tony."
"No, this one is specific," Tony countered, his expression tightening. "How did you know the honorific? You spoke it like you'd been practicing it in the shower for years. How did you know those specific words?"
The table went quiet. The swirling gray mist seemed to stall in the air, as if the castle itself were listening. Even Namor, who had been brooding over the existence of surface dwellers, turned his predatory gaze toward Aryan.
Aryan didn't hesitate. "I was the first," he said simply.
Wanda blinked, her brow furrowing. "First… how? You make it sound like there was a line."
"When I was first summoned to this place," Aryan continued, his voice dropping into a storyteller's cadence, "there was someone already present. Someone who held the keys before I did."
Tony straightened, his scientific mind immediately categorizing the information. "Someone like us? Another guest?"
"Yes," Aryan replied. "But not from this universe. His name was Klein Moretti."
A ripple of unease passed through the group. The idea of other universes was one thing, but a predecessor was another entirely.
"He wasn't one of us," Aryan went on, his gaze drifting toward the throne at the head of the table. "Not in the way you're thinking. He belonged to a universe that had already reached its conclusion."
T'Challa's gaze sharpened, his regal composure masking a deep-seated curiosity. "Conclusion? A world does not simply… end."
Aryan nodded solemnly. "They saved it. Every member of their group did their part against impossible odds. When their story reached its final page, the Sefirah Castle moved on—seeking a new universe to anchor itself. Our universe."
Silence followed. Tony frowned, tapping a rhythm on the armrest of his chair. "So… we missed the party? We're just the clean-up crew?"
"Yes," Aryan said calmly. "All of them had already departed. That gathering, as I heard from Klein, was their final visit to this reality."
Namor crossed his arms, his muscles rippling under his golden armor. "Then why was he still here? If the story was over, why did this Klein remain?"
"Because," Aryan replied, meeting Namor's gaze, "Klein was like me. He was the first in his universe. The one who arrived before the rules were written, before the chairs were filled. When the others departed for whatever lies beyond, he remained behind for a time—to close things properly."
Wanda swallowed, her voice a mere whisper. "Alone?"
"For a time," Aryan said softly. "Long enough to pass on what mattered to the next era."
Tony ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit he couldn't quite shake even in a phantom body. "Let me guess. He dumped the user manual on you and clocked out?"
A faint smile crossed Aryan's face. "Something like that. He explained the honorifics. The structure of this sanctuary. The reason it exists across the veil. He told me what they called themselves—the Tarot Club."
Namor tilted his head, intrigued. "A collective?"
"A circle," Aryan confirmed. "Each member represented a different card, a different identity, and different goals. They helped one another across the world—but they were never truly face-to-face."
Wanda's brow deepened. "What do you mean? They sat at this table, didn't they?"
"They didn't know each other's real names. Or their true appearances," Aryan explained. "They wore masks, titles, and roles. Their trust was built on shared action and results, not familiarity or bloodlines."
Tony let out a appreciative whistle. "That's… efficient. Safer, too. And absolutely terrifying from a psychological standpoint."
"They believed closeness created weakness," Aryan continued. "Distance kept the balance of power."
Aryan voice steady. "He only explained what this place was—and what it could eventually become. That is why, when I first introduced myself to the three of you, I did so as 'The World.' In the era of the Tarot Club, the chair I sat in belonged to that card. Each chair at this table is linked to a different tarot card, a different destiny."
He paused, looking around at the unmasked faces. "During our second meeting, it was Tony who made the request. He didn't want to talk to shadows or masks; he asked for the 'unveiling' so that everyone could see each other, know each other, and—as he put it—properly annoy each other. Everyone agreed, and that was when the fog lifted from your forms for the first time."
Namor's eyes flicked to Tony, then to T'Challa and Wanda. "So, you were all once strangers behind masks."
"Total strangers," Tony confirmed with a smirk. "I just figured if we're going to be talking about the end of the world, I'd like to know if the guy sitting next to me has a decent haircut. When the fog actually dropped and I saw a King, a CEO, and a Sokovian refugee... well, let's just say my jaw hit the stone floor harder than yours did today."
Wanda smiled faintly at the memory. "It was terrifying. One moment you are alone in your head, and the next, you realize the person you've been debating with is a man you've seen on the news every day."
T'Challa inclined his head. "It was a moment of profound vulnerability. But Tony was right—without the masks, the trust became real. We saw the weight each of us carries."
Namor looked at the group, a new layer of understanding settling in. He hadn't just joined a secret club; he had stepped into a circle where the world's most powerful figures had already stripped away their anonymity to stand as equals.
Wanda asked quietly, her eyes searching the fog, "Do you think he's still watching?"
Aryan shook his head. "No. His role ended the moment I stepped into the light. The door is ours now."
Tony smirked, trying to regain his usual bravado. "So the senior member finally clocked out. Typical corporate transition."
"More like," Aryan corrected, "he made sure the door didn't close behind him before he left."
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