"You got nothing left to bet." Aster remarked as he waited for the old man to make decision.
"Do you believe in fate?" The old man replied.
"I like to write about it. But in the idea of life being predestined? Would make living pretty meaningless in my eyes." Aster replied, the last of his whiskey down the hatch.
"Aster, we have known each other for how long now? 9 years? I'm out of money, but I have something else I can bet. It's a special keepsake of mine, so it should be more than worth the betting pool."
"What is it? If you don't got the money man, we can call it here, fine to just play for fun."
"It's a special card, called Syptor, part of a 17 card set call the Aspects." The gold card mysteriously appeared in the middle of the table, facedown.
"Sounds cool, always been a fan of strange collectables like such. Will make for a wonderful story if I win, so if you are sure Raam, that will more than do for collateral."
"May the gods of fortune be on my side."
"And the river..."
---
[Ownership Transfer Initialized...]
[Owner: Aster Curtail
Age: 26
Sex: Male
Aspect: Syptor
Translation: Perception]
[Announcement: New Syptor born, our thanks to their predecessor for their 85 years of service.]
[Welcome to the Aspects.]
---
"Rae? I thought I would be the only one coming in today." Aster was surprised by his coworker's presence.
"Today is salmon in the cafeteria, couldn't pass on the opportunity." Rae replied as she set up her things at her desk.
[Target selected...]
[Name: Rae Rose
Age: 24
Sex: Female
Aspect: None]
[Would Owner like to perceive any additional information regarding the target?]
"What?" Aster stepped backwards, like a cat whose tail was just stepped on.
"Salmon, in the cafeteria, your hearing going bad old man?" Rae joked.
[Would Owner like to perceive any additional information regarding the target?]
"Yes, my hearing has plummeted since the young age of 25." Aster forced a laugh as he walked back to his desk.
[Consent received...]
[Perceiving additional information...]
[Hair color: Brunette
Eye color: Green
Nationality: Australian
Skin tone: White, tanned at the beach last weekend
Height: 170cm (5' 5")
Three sizes: 36-28-36
Relationship: Single
View of Owner: Enjoys to tease]
[Is Owner Satisfied?]
"What the hell are you?" Aster mumbled, unable to process the information that was fed into his mind.
[I'm a tool for Owner, relaying the owner's perceptions until they are able to do so on their own. Is Owner satisfied with the Target's perception?]
Aster felt a throbbing headache begin, overwhelmed by the situation. His head placed against the desk as a flood of incomprehensible information flowed into his mind. He understood the voice, but didn't know why. It felt strange, unnatural, like his perception of the voice was shifted.
"What if I am not?" Aster asked, this time in his head. He now knew he didn't have to say his answers aloud for the voice, tool, titled Loid, to hear him.
[Owner is able to modify the perception of targets, if Owner so desires.] Loid answered.
Aster's headache subsided as the information flood paused, "I can adjust the perception of those around me?"
[Correct, Owner can modify the perception of the Target if Owner so desires. Would Owner like to do so?]
A sharp needle like pain returned to his head at the question, "Yes." The pain immediately dissipated as if never there.
[Consent received...]
[Loading modifiable data...]
[Hair color: Brunette
Eye color: Green
Nationality: Australian
Skin tone: White, tanned at the beach last weekend
Height: 170cm (5' 5")
Three sizes: 36-28-36
View of Owner: Enjoys to tease]
"Aster, are you feeling, okay?" Rae's face contorted in concern.
"I'm fine, just bit overwhelmed with the new reports being sent over by Castle today." Aster rubbed the back of his neck and put on a fake smile to ease the worries.
"Let me know if you need any help. Okay?"
"Sure thing, thank you."
Aster looked over the information a second time, and quickly made an adjustment to the information.
[View of Owner: Honest, never uncomfortable]
He didn't feel a need to make small adjustments to hair and height to test the validity, he instinctually knew it was all true.
[Information modified...]
[Target's perception...modification...completed...]
He typed out a message to Rae, "You ever wanted to have sex in the office?"
"No, too scared of getting caught."
[New information perceived, would Owner like to modify?]