"You know, it always bothered me. You don't look much older than I am", Akira Kurusu addressed the Master of this... place, whatever it was, through the bars of his prison cell.
The Velvet Room, or so the Master called it during his visits, although, in Akira's personal opinion, there was nothing "velvet" about this prison he was stuck at.
"Looks can be deceiving", the silver-haired young man answered, taking a moment to adjust his glasses. "But I suppose I owe you some answers. After all, you are in the final stretch of your Journey."
"Caroline, Justine", the Master ordered, motioning to his bodyguards, "If you would be so kind to release our guest so we could chat properly face-to-face."
"On your feet, inmate!", one of the twins barked out, eyeing Akira over suspiciously, as the other twin unlocked the cell for him. "And don't try anything funny!"
Akira was promptly paraded by the guards to the center of the room, the Master sitting across the desk in front of him, his hands resting on the desk.
"It's probably one of the very few opportunities we'll have to discuss things before your Journey comes to an end, and I am interested in... further cooperation, so to speak", the Master offered thoughtfully. "Allow me to introduce myself."
The man in front of Akira made a dramatic gesture before continuing.
"I was once known as Yu Narukami, and just like you, I also once was a Wild Card", the man in front of Akira admitted freely. "But right now I serve as the Master of this place."
"So... do I still call you Master or...?", Akira asked curiously.
"Yu is fine", Yu answered calmly. "I've never had much attachment to my title in the first place. Truth be told, I'm not even the original Master of the Velvet Room."
Now that piqued Akira's interest.
"Why does the place even look like this, you know, the prison and all that? Did the guy who was here before you ever tell you about it?"
"That's a question you should be asking yourself. From what I managed to gather when I was the guest of my own respective version of the Velvet Room, the visitor's psyche is responsible for the Velvet Room's appearance."
"I... what?", Akira managed to let out confusedly.
"I'm hardly an expert on the topic", Yu shrugged noncommittally, "but the room's appearance reflects its visitor's ideals, motivations, beliefs, feelings. That kind of stuff. If I had to hazard a guess, the Velvet Toom looks like this for you, because you are a firm believer in freedom."
"...That doesn't make sense. Why would I associate freedom with a prison?"
"It's not just freedom for its own sake, but rather freedom from authority this prison represents, freedom as an act of rebellion. Hell, even my assistants", Yu motioned at his adorable subordinates, who were still standing guard near Akira. "I'm pretty sure they have taken form of jailers because of your inherent belief that there must always be an oppressor, a yang to the yin's oppressed. At least, that's my best guess."
"I... see", the teen in the prison uniform intoned hesitantly, not really trusting the man's conjecture. "Still, you haven't told me about your predecessor."
"My predecessor, huh...", Yu pondered aloud. "If I had to describe him, I'd say he was one hell of an asshole."
"Margaret, would you be so kind?", Minato Arisato gestured at his assistant, who dutifully refilled his cocktail glass. "Thank you. Now, where were we, Yu?"
Stuck inside a luxurious limousine cruising through the fog-covered streets of Inaba, Yu Narukami looked at the young Master of the Velvet Room being doted upon by his servant.
"You were going to tell me about the previous Master of the Velvet Room", Yu said, careful not to voice distaste at the lackadaisical attitude of the man in front of him. "But you seem to be more concerned with the contents of your glass."
"Hey, you can't fault me for enjoying the simple pleasures of life", Minato shrugged dismissively, letting the hairbang fall back over one of his eyes. "Try being stuck as a seal for an eternity to prevent the downfall of humanity. Then we'll talk. Anyway..."
"First there was an ancient god. Let's call him... Phil", Minato smirked fiendishly. "He's the one who created the Velvet Room. Then there was Igor, Phil's assistant who took over the Room once Phil disappeared. Igor's the one who was the Master of the Velvet Room before me."
"What is the Velvet Room anyway?", Yu interrupted the man.
"A place for people like you and me, I suppose. For you, it looks like a limousine cruising through fog of uncertainty in your search of truth. When I was its guest, it looked like an endlessly ascending elevator, probably because during my life I've never had a place where I felt I truly belonged. It mirrors its visitors, yanking the blueprints out of the visitors' subconscious expectations and beliefs. I honestly couldn't tell you more. If the Room's creators were here, they could've explained it better than me."
"And what happened to them?", Yu asked impatiently.
"Honestly? Who knows?", Minato answered nonchalantly. "I've never met Phil directly, although he occasionally leaves me messages even to this day. He seems to be genuinely concerned about humanity's wellbeing, and that's one of the very few things that unites all previous Masters of the Velvet Room", Minato commented casually, engrossed in his monologue. "As for Igor, well... I suppose he wanted to do something more important with his time. Otherwise, he wouldn't have ripped me out of the Great Seal."
"So... who's the one maintaining this supposed Seal now?", Yu shifted in the limousine seat, the thought that there might be yet another genocidal goddess on the loose making him uncomfortable.
"Oh, I am", Minato waved off the question. "Or rather, he is."
"...Huh?"
"I guess I can show you, now that you no longer require my assistance. Margaret, please", the blue-haired man handed off the cocktail glass to the blonde woman sitting beside him. He made a simple sweeping motion across his face, and looked directly at Yu with his piercingly bright golden eyes.
"You!", Yu exclaimed, panicking a little. "You are...!"
"Yeah, yeah, calm down, kid", Minato repeated the motion, sweeping the palm of his hand over his eyes, and seconds later, his appearance was again undistinguishable from that of a human. "If I wanted to kill you, I would've done that before you managed to beat Izanami into submission, don't you think? Besides, you never reacted that way to Margaret."
"...What's your angle?", Yu demanded, unbalanced by the sudden revelation that the man he relied upon in his Journey was actually a Shadow.
"Do I really need to spell it out for you?", Minato sighed in exasperation, running his hand through the hair on his head. "Have you never wondered why you've never fought your own Shadow? The power of the Wild Card helped you to suppress it, but now that your Journey is over, I want to make you an offer."
"A Wild Card is a natural choice to be a mentor for another Wild Card. I'd like to extend my invitation to join the Velvet Room to you personally, but I think that you've earned your rest. You deserve to live out your life in peace and quiet."
Minato leaned towards Yu, offering a handshake, and it slowly dawned upon Yu where the current Master of the Velvet Room was going with this.
"But somebody has to guide the humanity on its path to salvation. Someone..."
"Yes, he was one hell of an asshole", Yu said thoughtfully. "But I don't think he was a poor Master. After all, someone..."
Yu paused for a moment, still immersed into his memories, and turned his gaze towards his current guest, who was standing in front of his desk, guarded by Caroline and Justine.
"Someone has to carry on our legacy", Yu echoed the words of his predecessor, and a barely noticeable golden glimmer twinkled through his glasses. "Speaking of which, I have an offer for you..."