Persona
The Second Fall
Prologue
Call
The warm summer did nothing to prevent the cold empty space he resided in. Alone in this world he did not complain. He simply existed. Not physically, nor mentally but in between. Was this a heaven or Hell, he did not know. His consciousness simply existed to exist. But it was true that he was lonely. Separated from the world he saved he had no regrets. Saving the people he loved and cared for only to remain alone forevermore. Three years have passed since that day. The day he gave up his life to save everyone. Three years since The Fall. As the great seal he remained firm and sturdy. Preventing the harbinger of Death from taking the lives of everyone. But exactly how long would this last? Why is it that his thought returned and that he could feel the cold and emptiness? Why did he feel dreadful?
And in a spark of realization his eyes shot open
The train passed the city and into the countryside much to Yu's excitement. Yu stared out the window into the dark, nocturnal countryside. After a long delay, Yu is finally about to return to Inaba. He smiled to himself thinking about how much time has passed since he last visited Inaba. The friends he held so dear are probably still waiting for him at his uncle's house. Yu let out a sigh. There was still a long way before he could reach his destination. The train was well-lit although not many people were on. It was almost midnight. Even though his parents suggested him to go the next day he couldn't bear to wait an extra day. The moon was full, illuminating the fields and trees he passed by. "How much longer?" He thought to himself. Sitting alone in one of the train's compartments Yu chose to silently drift off in thought. He closed his eyes smiling thinking of his friends, his cousin even his uncle. He truly missed all of them. The clock ticked away as he silently waited for the train to reach Inaba.
Opening his eyes again. He wasn't greeted by the empty seats in front of him. But a single silver chair. The rustling of the train he'd been on was non-existent. His mind instantly recognized the room.
The Velvet Room.
But it wasn't the same as before. Rather than a limousine it was an empty room. Devoid of anything but a chair. But the glowing velvet color of the room couldn't be mistaken with anything else. He sat on what felt like an armchair the same color as the room. He focused on the Silver Chair. An extravagant looking chair shaped like a Lyre. He looked for Igor or Margret but neither of them were present. He thought back to the time he saw Teddie in the Velvet room. But it was the Velvet room he knew. Not whatever this was. Wasn't the contract over? Why was he here? The moment he blinked he saw someone.
He saw young a man with dark blue hair covering his right eye. His other eye was closed. He had a light build, wearing a familiar looking uniform with a loose black bow-tie. He wore an Mp3 player like a necklace, listening to music as he leaned against the chair with his hands inside his pockets. He gently opened his eyes to look at Yu, who is now analyzing the situation.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room"
His voice was clear yet heavy. There was something otherworldly about it, in a manner of speaking.
"A room that exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. But I'm sure you know already."
Yu slowly nodded. He still felt the need to be cautious. He did not understand the situation in the slightest.
"Narukami, I require you to sign a contract."
Yu finally spoke back "I've already signed one before."
"I am aware of that. And I am aware that you have fulfilled yours as I have fulfilled mine. But it's not the same kind of contract as before."
This piqued Yu's interest. "You knew Igor too?"
"Yes. Like you I also possessed the ability to use multiple personas and form new ones." He took off his earphones and looked straight towards Yu with a piercing gaze. "I need your assistance."
Yu was all too familiar with this. It happened to him before. But he didn't feel as welcome as he did when he was brought to the velvet room and was greeted by Igor. Something about him felt strange. As if the other residents of the Velvet Room weren't strange enough. He claimed to be Persona user. A persona user who possessed the same ability as him. He wasn't from the Velvet room but from the same world he lived in. But why does something about him feel so peculiar? "What for?" Yu asked holding on to his poker face.
"A calamity is about to begin. And I need your assistance to stop it. Three years ago in Tatsumi Port Island something happened, something called The Fall."
"I need more detail." Yu said.
"The Fall was a Calamity of sorts caused by the personification of death called Nyx. A group called S.E.E.S , a group I leaded, did everything we could to stop it. In the end I sacrificed my life to seal it. Acting as the seal myself. But it is becoming weaker. I'm afraid its avatar has returned."
"The Avatar?"
"The harbinger of The Fall, Death. How he came back I don't know. But it is in both of our best interest to find out. As a fellow wild card this concerns you as much as it concerns me. I don't want to lose the world I saved. I'm sure you don't either."
Yu nodded in agreement. This does concern him. There was no reason to distrust him. But now a different matter comes to hand. The contract. "What kind of contract was this one? He said it was different, but different how?" He wondered. "What's your name?" He asked.
He seemed slightly surprised as to how he could forget to introduce himself. "My name is Minato Arisato….um nice to meet you?" He said sort of awkwardly.
"Nice to meet you too" Yu said smiling.
"Back to the matter at hand. I need you to sign this contract. By signing it, you agree to share your consciousness with me, allowing me to speak to you in real time. Without it I cannot contact you outside the Dark Hour." He said summoning a clipboard with a contract attached to it. He extended his hand passing it to Yu.
Although he had to share his own consciousness with Minato, Yu didn't hesitate. He would do anything to save the people he loved. And he could feel that Minato felt the same way more or less. But he didn't understand one thing. "The Dark Hour?" He asked curiously.
"Sign the contract and I can show you."
As a pen appeared within his hand in a spark of blue flames he wrote his name without hesitation.
Yu found himself back in the train. But something felt off. It wasn't moving. There was a dark green-ish tint in the air. Puddles of blood surrounded the compartment and the moon shone pale yellow. "Check your watch." The voice of Minato was clearly audible in his mind. He spoke the same way but softer.
He checked his watch to find frozen exactly at 12 AM, Midnight. "This is the Dark Hour. An hour hidden between time. Around midnight an extra hour is added. In this time shadows are present everywhere. Even this train so be cautious. Not everyone can experience this. Only those with the potential."
"Persona users?" Yu asked. "Yes but not always. There are times when some people can experience this without the ability to summon a persona. But they usually end up dead because the shadows attack anyone who aren't inside their coffins. I'm sure you know what shadows are. Oh yes, all those who lack the potential turn into coffins at this time. They are immune to the shadows. At least you can have an extra hour of sleep."
Yu looked around scanning the horizon which was quite unchanging. "We eliminated the Dark Hour. Its return is one of the many signs that The Fall is about to start again."
A sweat dropped from Yu's cheek. The heat of the summer wasn't apparent to him until now. "We?"
"Me and everyone from S.E.E.S. Something like a team of Persona users. This train was delayed, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
"What for?"
"Someone got himself run over. Like a suicide."
"The situation is dire. It seems the Apathy Syndrome is back."
"Apathy syndrome? What's tha-
The train suddenly began shaking. A thumping could be heard in the distance gradually coming closer. "It's a shadow. It's coming your way. It can sense your presence." Yu stood up and took a cautious stance. "Judging from your experience, this should be a piece of cake. Don't worry. You can summon your persona during this time."
Yu smiled a coy smile and opened his train's compartment and turned right to see a shadow emitting a purple aura around it. It multiple hands like a spider and a body so tall it had to slouch, a shadow unfamiliar to Yu. Its structure was skinny and its hands moved frantically around as it ran full speed towards you. It bore a mask on its face. A blue mask with a sad pattern and the number '1' on its forehead.
Yu raised his hand and a card appeared spinning clockwise just above it.
"It's a shadow of the magician Arcana."
Per-
"It's weakness is Lightning and Light skills. Its abilities aren't anything to be concerned with"
So-
"It's nothing special. You got this."
NA!
Yu smashed the card with his hand, blue fragments flew everywhere. A light surrounded him as he smiled wickedly. Behind him hovered a tall figure sporting a black long jacket with a peculiar design and a white mask only revealing its yellow eyes.
"Izanagi!" Yu yelled as he pointed towards the Shadow. The Persona immediately charged towards it in the narrow hallway positioning its spear for a forward strike. The shadow clicked all its limbs excluding its feet. This prompted Izanagi to burst in flames and smoke. But Izanagi immerged barely scathed and stabbed the shadow with its spear. The shadow grabbed the blade which pierced inside of it and use its remaining limbs to trap Izanagi. Immediately afterwards Izanagi shone white and exploded. But it still stood firmly with little to know damage. "Although it knows some pretty strong moves its Stats can't make up for them."
"Ziodyne!" Yu yelled as Izanagi shrugged him off and pointed his spear toward the shadow, shooting it with a huge amount of electricity rendering it paralyzed. "That's the weakness, Now launch the final strike."
Izanagi readied himself as if waiting for the next command. "Vorpal Blade!" Yu commanded.
The shadow was being demolished as Izanagi slashed away, its blade moved like a blur until in a puff of purple smoke it disappeared. "Not bad." Minato remarked. "It seems your lack of training in the recent few months hasn't rendered you weak. As you could see I cannot help you directly in battle. I can only offer assistance. But I guess you can do well without my help."
"Hey, your speech." Yu began.
"What about it?" Minato asked in a confused manner.
"It's much less formal than it was before." As Yu said this he smiled.
The train suddenly began moving. The lights turned on and everything became the way it used to be.
"We will arrive at Inaba shortly. Thank you for accepting our services." A speaker in the train bellowed out.
"Good. Going to Inaba is absolutely necessary right now. I'm afraid your summer vacation won't be as relaxing as you wanted it to be."
"Not at all." Yu said returning to his compartment. "This will be fun." Yu ended as he sat down looking outwards again and smiling to himself.
Thank you for reading the Prologue to my very first FanFiction. If you enjoyed the story please follow and or favorite this. It'd be great if you could take the time to review it as well. If you think the story, writing style or the general format of the story can be improved in anyway please let me know through a review, since I am completely new to writing. Thank you for your time, have a wonderful day.