"The body type, strengths and weaknesses of your new body. When your body will stop aging. The reputation of your family. Your demonic heritage. Your bodyguard. The supernatural strengths of your demonic body, and the tomes of forbidden knowledge that will come into your possession."

Boredom and half-interested cruelty, as its lips are shaped and moulded by the magic.

"Is it the Hanged Man in particular that would have demonic heritage or do the other ones have that too?"

"No. The others do not descend from demons."

Even the Lilim are as shadows to us...

Hanged Man: body things, demon things.

"What are all the more things the Empress lets me choose?"

"The magical and physical aptitudes of your new body. The style of your transformation. The Focus, Element and Signature of your magic."

Hmm, I wonder if I'll get to play dress-up with this one...

Empress: body things, magic things, transformation style.

"What are all the more things the Fool lets me choose?"

"The natural aptitudes of your new body. The lifespan of your new body. The general appearance and body type of your new body. The companions that you would have. The anomalies you would encounter in your life. Your overarching fate."

Cambiare are always so boring.

Cambiare: too many things - no, she should try to remember them anyway. Lots of body things and some fate things.

She takes a deep breath (because this is scary and she needs to focus) and stares hard at the creature, and at its reflection, and she asks: "What exactly can I choose about the Hermit's body - what different," what was it all again, "strengths and weaknesses can it have, and what else can I choose about it exactly?"

"You may specialize your body towards improved learning skill, agility, or dexterity. You may also choose your general body type, in terms of appearance."

"Can I have the Hermit's appearance be just like mine is now? Learning and agility and dexterity are strengths; what are the weaknesses?"

"Even with the closest possible body, you will lose about an inch of height. As for weaknesses: if you specialize your body towards learning or strike a balance between dexterity and learning rate, your strength or overall health will suffer: if you specialize it towards dexterity, your learning rate will suffer."

"What if I specialize it toward agility, or don't specialize it at all?"

"Agility comes with either learning ability or dexterity. In the first case, strength or health will be affected: in the latter, learning rate. If you do not wish to specialize, I will select a choice for you."

Hmm. Do you care more about your body, or your mind...?

Then it sounds like what she wants is agility and learning ability, and the closest possible appearance to her own. And that is all the body things.

"What exactly can I choose about the Hermit's aura, and," what was it, "the talent?"

"Your aura's manifestation and etching, and the techniques of its use that you will know. There are seven possible talents: Dance, Vocals, Instrument, Gymnastics, Acting, Scholarship, and Programming."

The faint sound of a snare drumroll.

"What about the Hermit's lifespan, what can I choose about that and what difference will it make to other things?"

"The longer your life, the more obvious your aura, and the more unsettling you will be to others."

Live a long life alone, or give up your future for a chance at companionship? Decisions, decisions.

That's a tough one. Maybe she should come back to it.

"What do the Scholarship and Programming talents do exactly?" she asks next.

"Scholarship will grant you mastery of a single area of academia. Programming will grant you fluency in a single coding language, and the talent to learn others."

Useful, but... she doesn't like the idea of just putting talents in her head like that. Maybe one of the ones for the body.

"What about the Gymnastics talent?"

"You will be a prodigy of physical movement, having mastered one area of gymnastics."

A sense of absence, as the golden chains shape the shadow's mouth.

"Can I choose which area, too? What are the areas?"

"Yes. Any that you can think of. Aerial acrobatics. Tumbling. Parkour. And so on."

How generous.

Parkour is closest to what she already knows... okay.

Quick review: She wants agility and learning ability, the closest possible appearance to her own, a Gymnastics talent in parkour, and she isn't sure about the lifespan and she still needs to pick the manifestation and etching and techniques of her aura.

"What can I choose about the manifestation of my aura, and what other effects will the choice have?"

"There are six possible aura manifestations: The Dread Lotus, the Lilting Lotus, the Jade Lotus, the Hidden Lotus, the Brilliant Lotus, and the Spectral Lotus. They have no effects on your other selections."