My name is not Lirius anymore; let that be the end of that.

Yes, my name was Lirius at one point, but not anymore.

Two years ago, the entirety of this world was shattered. The prophesied heroes failed. The antagonists ruled.

Apparently the Ace of Spades was the prophet, and the new rulers were determined to rid of all the Aces. The prophet did escape, at the cost of a life. The Clubs tried to protect their Ace, and they were killed.

But that was two years ago, or maybe a century in the world they came from. The rulers did disappear one day, out of the blue, and we rebuilt the world.

Then, all suits split up.

We built different towns, different places, away from each other. The Spades stayed at the castle, while the Diamonds and Hearts went to build their own civilizations.

I was the Ace of Hearts. 

I was.

...

But not anymore.

After the targeting of the Aces, the leaders decided that it would be better if we just left it at equity.

No more Aces, no more Jacks, although they did leave Queens and Kings, just because everything would be chaos if without a leader.

No more rankings, no more battles.

Life just had to throw something at us while we were rebuilding.

The Infection, or otherwise known as The Glowing Sickness.

It was completely unexpected, many fell prey to this specific sickness. It hollows out the victim, and acts as a parasite. Orange liquids drip from cuts and wounds, and their eyes turn turn lifeless and yellow, with no pupils.

The first ones to fall were the explorers, after all, they found it first.

The oldest record of the sickness was just after the heroes' death, many suspect that the new rulers were the cause of this, but all the people who dared to question were shut up quite quickly.

The record came from an old journal of a renowned adventurer. He documented it and made his way back to the old town, not knowing that he would be the downfall of that town.

He had already been infected.

He carried the parasite to the town, where it could have spread much quicker with the mass of people. 

The town fell.

And however indirectly, he caused it.

The Spades were the closest to that small trading post, but they refused to acknowledge the sickness and thus we, the Hearts, were the ones that had to deal with the sickness, the ones that had to clear it out.

The Diamonds didn't bat an eye, and turned their backs.

I was one of the few that was chosen to contain the sickness is whatever way possible. We were chosen for the task that no one else wanted.

The town was the ones you would read about in horror stories, the windows were broken,  and the place was completely empty.

We call it Coffin Town nowadays.

Amond lit the torches blue, which sealed unwanted vengeful spirits of the dead. Everything seemed to go according to plan.

Until the last torch.

One of the infected still lingered, it was a girl with white eyes, and sunken cheeks. Seeming around 11.

She carried a wooden stick, which was often used for those who've lost their sight.

Even in death, she looked pitiful, small, and weak.

The orange was seeping from the cuts on her arms, her sleeves tattered and torn. Her hair was wild, and from her expression, it seemed like she died with vengeance.

She raised her hand, and an orange glow surrounded it. She moved quickly and lightly, and she instantly had Amond by his neck.

We did manage to get rid of the infected, and get Amond back on his feet.

Or so we thought.

On our way back to our suit... Or do they call themselves a clan now? Amond changed. He was infected just by a mere touch.

This was the first time we seen it happen.

No experience whatsoever, I couldn't do much. Most of them fell victim within the day that Amond changed, two or three was able to get away.

I... Was one in between those categories.

I fought alongside the ones still self-conscious, and tried to take down the infected. Of course, now I see how utterly stupid I was, back then.

We were no match for the undead, and we ran. We were naive and stupid, and when we retreated, we crashed into a ditch.

It seemed like someone had been planning for this to happen, because they had scattered Corpse Dust in it. Corpse Dust was extremely poisonous, and perhaps deadly if you inhale it.

I lost my sight from it.

Without sight, I couldn't fight, and the others, terrified, scurried out.

They left me for dead.

I wasn't going to survive it, but I really had to thank the person that showed up. I never knew who it was, but they saved me.

They did not talk at all, never answered any of my questions.

For as far was I could tell, they were at least a Jack. Their movements were graceful and light, they parried the attacks of the infected swiftly, and got me away from them.

I owe my life to them.

...

Whoever they are.

However, after I gained my sight, I was already in the town, and whoever saved me was nowhere to be found.

Many people commented that my eyes were different, and I suppose they're right.

My eyes weren't blue before.

...

Sorry, I'm getting carried away.

Alright, alright, back on the topic about hierarchy of this world. We work just like how the cards work in the overworld, Spade is the strongest, then Hearts, and then Diamonds, and lastly, the Clubs.

Aces were above all, Kings were next, then Queens, and then Jacks.

Jacks become Aces after they finish their training under the teacher named Wanderer Bonsai, he came from the renowned immortal.

The immortal lived up a certain mountain near the Diamonds' settlement, and collected pupils and taught them the ways of sword-work and spells, talismans and summoning.

There were only four that left her guidance, and the first two both died tragic deaths. 

The third was Wanderer Bonsai, and the fourth...

...

No one knows.

Not who they were, nor what they look like, it was even possible that the fourth was just a random traveler at the wrong place, wrong time.

I knew all the Aces, after all, I studied alongside them as Jacks, and we were able to tolerate each others' many differences.

The Ace of Spades was Roche, his whereabouts are somewhere in the forest of Spades, if I ever needed to contact him, I could leave notes on the tree stump in the clearing, which is how I got my sword to him.

The Ace of Hearts was me, I've dropped my name and my status to avoid further conflicts with the more powerful people. I look forward to live an adventurous life, yes, but I would like to stay alive.

The Ace of Diamonds was Song, who I haven't heard from since the suits split.

The last Ace, the Ace of Clubs, was Edmund. He was executed not far into Venus and Moonshine's rule, two years ago. 

Where am I now? 

I'm a guard at the Hearts' settlement, and I fend off the infected for my suit. The suits don't rely on each other anymore, we are all independent, and have not talked for two years.

There won't be anymore conflicts coming our way anymore, after the Infection and the who prophecy failing...

...Right?