Disclaimer: I do not own Persona. The characters and story belong to Altus, the amazing company that brought us the games.

Spoiler: I do not recommend reading this if you haven't completed Persona 3, Persona 4 or Persona Arena as it contains spoilers of these video games.


Author's Note: Here is Chapter one of the continuation of Persona: Spectrum. This is simply a short introduction, but there's definitely more to come. Also, I've decided to place my Author's Notes and comment to the reviews at the beginning, so readers will get any questions they might have asked answered before reading the chapter. Lastly, helpful criticism is extremely valued. Please do not hesitate to point out any mistakes or anything you think will help improve me as a writer and the experience of this story.

(Please Read)

It was a fierce voting and a lot of you had great reasons why and why not a female protagonist should be included. In the end, she will not be an addition to the story. And, while even I am a little disheartened by this, it won't affect the story in any matter-even if she was included. There will be many charming characters (OC's) that I hope you all will enjoy and the canon characters (Persona 3 and 4) are all major factors. Thank you.


Comment To Reviews:

Elmion: I'm so glad you enjoyed the story. I hope this one keeps up the standard and that you enjoy it just as or more so than Spectrum.

Bigdtwag: Here it is, the new chapter/story. Thank you for your participation in the voting process. I hope you'll like this re-write.

MegaPotato: You've been a great reviewer and reader since I've began my experiment of writing a story. Thank you. Also, hot damn, you are perspective. Yes, I purposely made Yu less responsive and active in chapter four of Spectrum. Good eye. And, yes, the I got the titles from one of my favorite artist: Zedd, Spectrum and Clarity. Just seemed to fit well.

Amecandy: I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I'm sorry the FMC won't be included, but I promise there are many charming characters to make up for her absence.

MagatsuIza: Here it is. And, yeah, I'm glad the ending left the lasting impression I wanted. Thank you.

NicoxMaki: Thank you for your vote. I hope you like this story as much as its predecessor.


Clairvoyance

Was as it possible to be in immovable motion? To be fixed in place, yet feel as if he was moving at the speed of infinity. The scenery was a painting brought to life. A sea of darkness and enchanting stars. It was the most mesmerizing sight the young man had ever seen in his nineteen years alive. It called out to him, internally, to a microscopic level, granting every atom in his being a sense of fulfillment—a sense of purpose.

YU NARUKAMI had never felt so absolute—in a state of perfect harmony. Conscious yet unconscious. Very much solid and alive yet transparent and free. He understood everything and, at the same time, nothing. A massive golden door towered over him, six diverse eyes peering down at him. The statue of a lone boy hung chained to the center by vines of thorns and roses like he was crucified.

Something, usually always present, nudged Yu's head: common sense. Everything about the current situation was off and bizarre. A reminder that he shouldn't be so at ease. While he knew this deep down, he couldn't bring himself to care. The sensation stirring in his heart was too pleasant to ignore—was what he thought when a tremble shook the entire domain.

He wanted to jump, turn around—anything, but his body wouldn't respond. Something sinister was inching closer, its heavy, pacing steps disturbing the domain's standstill. Yu held his breath as he felt the presence of absolute evil right behind him. A massive, tar colored hand reached out, casting a shadow over him, aiming for the statue of the crucified boy.

Yu shut his eyes. When he opened them again, he was somewhere else: in the center of a soulless black and white street. To the asphalt under his feet, to the buildings to each side of him, everything was lame. A cool mist hovered above the ground like a sheet of ice. Yu exhaled slowly. Once again he found himself fixed in place; except he found no rapture in the current environment. Replacing the enchantment from the space-like nebula, neglecting whatever monstrosity had crept up behind him, was an eerie dread.

"Where are you!?"

The dread nesting in Yu's chest flared, but he ignored it. Just the notion of another human being eased his mind—or should have. He tried opening his mouth but at no avail. Nothing of his body was under his control. Thankfully, the individual's footsteps were becoming louder, yet, strangely, the less distance between them, the more anxious Yu become.

The individual stepped out from a corner, roughly twenty feet away. And she was stunning. Long, straight brunette hair, flawless milky skin, striking bluish-green eyes and a physique that could make any man weak in the knees. Yu's heart stopped but for entirely different reasons. He was petrified, heart frozen by the cold hand of fear.

The girl locked eyes with him, smiling a strange smile. "There you are...darling. Freaking finally stopped running away...good."

She proceeded, slow and mesmerizing, like a predator stalking its prey. Beyond his control, Yu's knees buckled and he fell on his back. The girl laughed like a maniac. "Oh, perfect. Just perfect...just accepting it, huh? Maybe if you had done so before, I maybe, maybe would've forgiven you...but no."

She gazed down at his prone form for a moment before settling down on his stomach. "Aren't you making this too easy," she said, patting his cheek. "I kind of enjoyed the chase y'know. Just made me want this more you big tease!" She slapped his right cheek, hard, making his head snap to the left. "Ooh, I'm sorry darling. Damn, it left a mark...let me fix it." She sent a trail of kisses from his bruised cheek down his pale neck, stopping at his collarbone. "You know," she said, leaning in to whisper into his ear, "I kind of really do want to forgive you. Even if you did betray me, leave me to rot, forgot about me...I...just want to hold you."

She leaned away and, observing from his peripheral vision, Yu saw a lone tear run down the girl's cheek. A mountain of questions were piling up in his head, and he, instinctively, opened his mouth and said, "Who are you?"

He didn't get time to ponder why his mouth finally decided to function, because an expression of pure hatred formed on the girl's facade. Yu opened his mouth again just as the girl reached behind her and produced a wickedly sharp knife then, without remorse, plunged it into his chest.

000

Yu screamed and thrashed, managing to smack his elbow against the arm of the loveseat. Gritting his teeth with a hiss, he quickly collected his bearings. No longer was he beneath a psychotic brunette in the center of the lame street. Instead, Yu found himself in a spacious, eerie courtroom that fancied the color blue.

His eyes swept the area. There was a raised bench to the front of the room with two doors on the adjacent wall. The doors featured animal heads at their base: to the left was a sheep with the letter E on its forehead and to the right a lion's head with the letter M.

A marble top table was positioned in front of Yu; the table diverged into two colors: grey and a sea-like green. To the far-left was a similar seating arrangement expect the marble top table was split into a dark blue and bright purple.

"Welcome, my dear young man," said an otherworldly voice, "to the Velvet Room."

Yu's gaze traveled to the raised bench, meeting the bloodshot eyes belonging to Igor, the proprietor of the Velvet Room. With his black suit and snow-white hair, not to mention incredibly long nose, he was just as the young man remembered: surreal. "Aw, it seems you once again find yourself a guest to our services," continued the old man. "How very interesting..."

"Fate once again has presented a question," said the tall platinum blond, claiming the assistant judge seat, to Igor's right. Similar to her master, Margaret hadn't aged a day since their last encounter. She was attired in her usual dark blue dress, matching heels, and gold and black accessories. Her impeccable beauty had always left Yu a bit dumbstruck and now was no exception.

The silver-haired man shook his head. "Igor...Margaret, what's going on?" He touched his chest where he had been stabbed. That felt too real to have been a dream, he thought. And even before...that door...

The two in question merely stared, detached. "I...was dreaming before I woke up here," Yu said. He realized the paradox in his statement. Was it possible to wake up from a dream into a realm that existed between dream and reality?

Igor smiled as if sensing his bewilderment. "If that were so, that would mean your consciousness was below the median that this room is located in. Perhaps, your dreams began in the deepest form of consciousness and slowly rose here."

Even when trying to be helpful, Igor's cryptic messages only left Yu's head reeling. Thankfully, Margaret was readily available with an explanation. "Think of the human consciousness as a building. When asleep you are in the in the middle levels. When awake you are in the upper levels, and the lowest levels are...restricted, unless deemed necessary by circumstance."

"What would those circumstances be?" Yu asked.

Margaret tensed, perhaps not expecting the question or reluctant to answer. Igor chuckled knowingly. "The circumstances of such an occurrence may vary." He gave the silver-haired man a hard look. "Although, such an event is similar to clairvoyance."

Clairvoyance?

Igor cleared his throat, subtlety dismissing the topic. "Now, on to more pressing matters..." A red folder and fountain pen materialized on the marble top table. Igor waved his hand and the folder flew open, a transparent veil separating the cover, and a single document: a binding contract.

Yu skimmed through the contract, puzzled by this new sort of agreement. Back in Inaba, a verbal confirmation of his name was the sole requirement. Was the Velvet Room keeping written documentation now?


Through trial and tribulation, I offer myself to my contractee to ensure their success.

I will uphold my responsibilities and accept the aftermath of all my choices.

This fate I chooseth of my free will.


Those three simple lines contained so much unspoken depth, correlating to the near future. Yu was not naïve. Just the reappearance of this room foreshadowed a new hardship, which would likely affect the lives of distant bystanders. He knew signing the dotted line was similar to signing his life away, dismissing his—he believed—earned peace. But then he recalled the ordeal in Inaba, the constant struggle and anxiety, his friends and what they had achieved.

Images of his earlier dreams surfaced to mind: the young man barred to a golden door and mysterious girl wandering the theme-less city. Were they in need of his help?

Yu took a calming breath, before taking the pen and signing his name. A heavy pressure instantly lifted from the room. He looked up to see Igor and Margaret smiling, and the room evaporating in a white mist.

"In the coming days," said Igor, his voice muffed and senseless, "you will experience hopelessness beyond your wildest imaginations."

"But do not fear," Margaret said. "Because, you are not alone."

Everything began to blur, consumed by the heavy white mist.


March 26, 2014 (Saturday)

Early Morning

Sunny


Within seconds he adjusted to the room's vibrant yellow walls. Yu sat up on the bed and slowly began the process of pending his current situation.

My name is Yu Narukami. I'm nineteen years old. I am in Tokyo, Japan soon to begin my freshmen year in Tokyo U...I have just signed my life away in a room where a man with a very long nose and beautiful blond reside.

Yu chuckled softly, stood to his feet and inspected the hotel room he was now occupying, provided to by his parents. Bright yellow walls, a king-size bed, to the room's focal point, a plasma TV on a stand, to the left wall, and a small cabinet to the right, adjacent to the bathroom door. It was a simple alignment that only required a fresh sheet of paint.

A spectrum of colors came to mind, although some, like blue, were instantly discarded. After rummaging through his mind for a moment, one particular color persistently refused to be forgotten: sea-green. It actually would have been a great contender if not for his recent, nightmare-like experience. Pushing the unpleasant memories away for another time, Yu ventured to the bathroom to commence his daily rituals and start of a new day.