I got another two followers and a positive review. Thanks guys, I really appreciate you all. Now it's time for our first social links to form. I hope you enjoy reading.

I opened my eyes and the saw the white ceiling above me. The bright sunlight from the right of me was shining down on my face.

"You're awake. Thank God."

I turned to face the person calling out that voice. It was Lazard, sitting on a chair. His red eyes has bags on them, and he looked like he was going to pass out any second. Has he been staying here all night?

"W-where am I?"

"You're in the town hospital. You passed out last night and we carried you here. Doctor said that all you had was some minor exhaustion, so you'll be discharged immediately after you were awake"

I sat up, and looked out the window. It was a very sunny day, perfect to go out, it's too bad I'm stuck here. I turned back to him. There were some things that needed explaining.

"What was that yesterday? There was a large…bull…thing and I summoned something inside me…I think. You better start explain yourself."

I was still trying to remember tomorrow, but despite my best efforts, I couldn't do much apart from muster some images in my mind. He looked down, and frowned.

"Sorry for not telling you anything. We were actually going to explain to you today, but it seemed that we had some really bad luck. Um…what you fought was called a Shadow, and what you summoned was called a Persona."

That same word again, Persona.

"Um…I can see that you're confused. Um, think of Shadows as your darkest emotions that becomes physical, and your Persona is your good qualities taken shape. I'm sorry, I'm not good as this. We'll explain later tonight, with all of us at the dorm."

I could sense that he was feeling guilty, and I decided to try to comfort him.

"Hey, what's wrong? I'm not mad at ya."

He looked at me, his eyes widening.

"You're not? I lied to you…and then I failed to protect you."

"Nah, I'm not really angry or anything. How can I be mad at someone who tried to protect me? And as for lying, I'm sure you had your reasons."

He finally looked at me and smiled, and I felt my heart light up a bit.

"Thanks for protecting me. I owe you my life now, so you bet I'll try to even us out…Just don't ask me for any special favors in school…hahaha."

I chuckled alongside him. Despite starting off fairly well, I felt as though I've really come to know him here. It feels like I was finally forming a bond with him.

Suddenly, I heard a shattering sound in my head, like glass breaking. Time stopped, and my head was filled a loud booming voice that rings with power.

I art thou, thou art I

Thou hath formed a powerful bond

It shall be the power that drives you forward, the key needed to open the door

Thou shall receive our blessings when using Personas of the Chariot Arcana

The voice was over, and time seemed to resume. I couldn't help but recall what Igor said, that Social Links are provide me with a tremendous power. Could this be what he meant?

"Hey um, if you'd like we can hang out after school. I'm usually free on Wednesdays and Fridays, and I could show you the town more."

"Yeah, that'd be nice."

They quickly discharged me after I regained consciousness. Lazard said he had some things to do, so he took off in a hurry. Poor guy, he waited in my room till I got better and he still had to attend to student council stuff.

Seeing as it's already close to the end of school day, I decided to head back into the dorm. As expected, no one was there. I sighed and simply lied down on a couch and watched some TV, slowly waiting until evening came.

Evening, 4th floor observation room

I went into the room, still not exactly sure what to think about all this. When I entered, Lazard was already there, greeting me with a smile. Beside him was James, who gave a slightly concerned look, but otherwise stayed silent.

Behind the both of them was an incredibly beautiful woman wearing a lab coat and glasses. She has silky red hair and a very stunning face, with eyes that seem to look directly into me. Her tall stature and curvy hips only seem to accentuate the already confident aura she gives off. She gave me a light smile.

"We're all glad you're alright. My name is Dr Valeria. Please, take a seat. It's time we talked about the situation."

With that, everyone took a seat on the three couches.

"Now, to be very blunt here, what if I told you that there is a hidden danger that can threaten all of us between the hours of midnight and 3 in the morning?"

I was dumbfounded by the question, I suppose that "hidden danger" was that Shadow thing, but what did she mean by "between midnight and 3am?"

"Before yesterday, I would have said ya were crazy, but I...kinda saw it for myself, didn't I? So I definitely believe you. But what are they, why do they attack people?"

The woman adjusted her glasses, prepared to say something heavy.

"We don't know much about Shadows, like how long they have been around, or what even are they truly. From the data gathered, all we know is that they come out in the dead of night, preying on unsuspecting people. Those who get attacked…they suffer what we like to call "Shadow Possession""

"Shadow Possession?"

"From some minor tests we got, Shadows seem to be composed of negative human emotions, particularly rage and aggression. People who get attacked by Shadows get imbued with such emotions, turning them violent, attacking anyone without reason. So far, the public believes that all the victims sudden burst of rage was due to extreme stress, but the true cause…is Shadows."

"And the only way to fight them…are these Personas?"

"Indeed. Personas are someone's psyche taken form, much like Shadows. While normal weapons are possible to kill Shadows, it's simply…ineffective. The best way to eliminate them is with Personas, as they possess the same power Shadows have."

Now it's time to answer the hard question. I didn't think Dr Valeria would lie, but I'm about to ask some pretty sensitive stuff.

"Um…so what is your role in this? I can't really imagine that you just happen to know this stuff."

In an unexpected turn of events, Dr Valeria chuckled.

"I suppose I should tell you, if I am to gain your trust. I represent a…certain organization, with ties to this city. We have been researching cases involving Personas and Shadows for years. Since those concepts would be absurd in the eyes of the government, we decided to handle this case with our own hands. However, we had no means of producing Persona users. Before you, there was only Lazard and James, and they awakened naturally."

With that, Dr Valeria gave me a badge. It looked like it was made of silver; and on the golden outline it said "E.S.T" and had a picture of a knight engraved in the middle, putting his sword on the ground.

"I know you just arrived here, but I'd like you to join us. We Persona users are the only ones who can solve this case. If you join, we will authorize exploration of where the Shadows originate, which might give us some clues. So, what do you say? If you'd like some time to consider, we shall grant you that time."

It took me all of three seconds to answer.

"I'm in. Those things hurt people, and I wanna put a stop to them. I feel...no, I know that I can do this."

Dr Valeria smiled at me, Lazard looked ecstatic, and James retained his stoic face.

"That's good to hear. Kurea Von Herz, I now appoint you an official member of the Extraordinary Subjugation Team."

I felt elated; this was going to be an interesting ride, that's for sure.

Then, the familiar shattering sound entered my head.

I art thou, thou art I

Thou hath formed a powerful bond

It shall be the power that drives you forward, the key needed to open the door

Thou shall receive our blessings when using Personas of the Fool Arcana

Another Social Link. Another bond formed.

The rest of the meeting was just telling me stuff that I need to know about Shadows and Personas, as well as filling me in on certain stuff. It ended with Dr Valeria saying that tomorrow we were going to explore the first parts of the Shadow's origin point.

Afterwards, I just entered my room and lied on my bed, trying to take in all the information. She had warned us that any of us could suffer Shadow Possession should we lose, or even get killed. Still, I wasn't scared. Let those Shadows come, me and my Persona can deal with them, and also whoever was making this happen in the first place.

And that's chapter 3 done. Next up, we explore our dungeon of this little story, and finally activate that Wild Card of hers. Until then -ArcanaHermit