Halcyon

"...I have no gods."

He hums thoughtfully as he plucks a card from his deck, not sparing you a glance as his attention is seemingly elsewhere. "That's quite alright." he eventually states, voice pleasant, odd, and so very soft you almost entirely miss the strength that lingers behind his words. "You do not need to have Gods for yourself. In fact, you could consider yourself your own God."

He lays the card before you. The Moon. In your vision it is backwards yet it feels like the golden celestial with a face stares at you—

"We all have tumultuous journeys... What matters is how we choose to get through them." he muses, something changing within those envious snake-like eyes of his. Everything shifts.

"But it's still gonna hurt—"

The drake snatches forwards like an eel striking prey, merely only inches from you now, talons kissing the back of your hands in a manner that is painful enough to keep you mentally present. "But it will end. As all journeys do. Which is why, the moment you let that last insect trapped within the box go, you've found yourself reaching a bitter end. It does not matter what you believe... You just have to."

You recoil but there is no blood. "You speak as if belief is religious."

He huffs and turns away again, normal aloof manner returning just as quickly as it had dispersed. "That's only if you wish it to be. You've received your fortune for the day, so you should go now." The tip of his tail, dipped in jewelry, flicks to signal his growing annoyance.

"Goodbye, Sir."

The incense within the oxcart shudders after the fabric covering the entrance entrance flutters close.