A.N. (11/6/20) - Again, I feel like this is two short chapters fused into one. Either way, here's another chapter.
DNAngel (8) - The Moon Arcana
It's almost midnight.
The clock in Nagi's room slowly ticked down a countdown to the Dark Hour, and Nagi slowly got up from his bed. Walking down the hallway, he made sure not to make any noise as he passed by his uncle's room. Going downstairs, he slipped on his shoes and exited into the courtyard.
"Maybe next time I should bring a hand watch," Nagi said as he sat down on the steps. "Do they even work during the Dark Hour?"
And before long, the Dark Hour began.
.
.
0:00
Nagi heard the sound of the town bell tower ringing in the distance, and the world around him slowly began to change. Before his eyes, the ground began to split and crack as trees began to grow out of the ground. The steps he was sitting on began to move, and he found himself sitting in a wooden chair without realizing it.
"Oh, you're back!" Misaki's cheerful voice came from right across the table he sat at.
Nagi realized that he was sitting at a small round wooden table across from his cousin with what looks like some kind of tea party happening. The unicorn he met yesterday was lying on the grass a few feet away from them, opening its eyes once in a while to peek at the two.
The young girl began to ramble. "I wasn't sure if you were going to come back or not. Last time, you disappeared so suddenly, and I had no idea how you did that. I asked Mr. Unicorn what to do if any other visitors came, and I was practicing how to host a proper tea party until you suddenly appeared right in front of me—"
"Woah," he held out his hands. "Slow down Misaki, take a deep breath, and calm down."
Her face flushed with embarrassment, but she took his advice and started taking a deep breath. Puffing her cheeks cutely, she gave a quick exhale.
"...sorry. I'm just excited to see you again."
Nagi couldn't help but smile at that. "It's fine. I wanted to see you again as well."
She beamed at that, and Nagi reminded himself that the young girl across him was a lonely girl who only had one other companion to interact with for who knows how many years.
Oh, that reminds him.
"Hey Misaki, so I didn't know at first when we first met, but apparently we're related."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I asked my… uncle about it. I'm your cousin." Better not mention who his uncle is right in front of Misaki.
"Oh wow, that's so neat. I've never met a cousin of mine before."
The two of them continued to talk about various things, with Misaki listening to stories from Nagi, and Nagi listening to what kind of things Misaki liked. The two of them laughed as they traded words, and time passed by quickly.
Eventually, Misaki's face fell. "It's almost time."
Nagi knew what she was talking about. Standing up from the table, he smiled at her. "I'll see you again tomorrow."
"Okay." She still looked a little bit sad, so without thinking, Nagi held out his arms. Seeing her confused expression, he gestured for her to come closer. When she did, he gave her a small hug, to which she reciprocated strongly. "You better come tomorrow."
"I will." The world around him started to shift again, and soon he found himself back in the courtyard.
Making his way back to his room, he reviewed his plan.
Misaki was bound to her painting due to dying tragically at a young age. The only reason she hasn't passed on yet was due to her lingering regrets. But Nagi didn't know exactly what those were, so he had to figure that part himself.
Thus, he came up with a plan.
First, befriend her. Keep her company by telling her stories about anything he can think of. After hanging out with Misaki for a while, try to get her to open up her thoughts. Once she opens up to him, lead the conversation to ask her if she has any regrets, and find any ways to resolve them.
This method makes it difficult to immediately solve the problem at hand, but this wasn't exactly something that Nagi had a lot of experience with. Until he finds a better way to go about this, that plan is the best hope he's got.
Going back to his room, he quickly fell asleep.
}-{
Waking up in the Velvet Room surprised Nagi since his last visit was still quite recent. He wasn't expecting to come back so soon.
"Welcome back, young traveler."
Igor and Elizabeth were still in the same pose and position that Nagi saw them in yesterday. Blinking the drowsiness out of his eyes, he took a moment to gather his thoughts.
"I'm… back?"
"Well, this is quite interesting." Igor had a strange look in his eyes. "The first time you visited, I have to admit, was quite the surprise. The fact that you managed to enter once again shows that you have the potential to become a formal guest at the Velvet Room. And yet, that should not be possible."
"What?" Not possible? "What do you mean?"
Igor gave him a somewhat regretful look. "We inhabitants of the Velvet Room all have a task in aiding our guests with utilizing and understanding their powers. To learn how to grow and further their Personas."
Elizabeth spoke from next to him. "While not a requirement, most of our guests usually have the Persona ability of the Wild Card, the power to control one's own heart and strengthen it by their bonds in reality."
Igor nodded. "True, and in your case, you do have… I can't quite call it an ability, but something special definitely lies within you. Can you guess what it is?"
What? Something special? Nagi couldn't really think of anything, other than…
"Does it have something to do with my memories of my past life?"
Igor smiled. "Precisely. A Persona is a reflection of a person's inner self, and that is what makes you quite the peculiarity. Your sense of self is uniquely indecisive, due to having two separate identities. Your once former self, versus your current self. Yet, this indecisiveness is what allows you to retain the memories of your past life."
A beat passed before Nagi responded. "That… seems interesting, I guess. But what does that have to do with me being unable to become a guest?"
A sigh came out of Igor's mouth. "However, that same ability also makes it nearly impossible for you to manifest your own Persona."
Nagi's thoughts froze as he took in what Igor said.
"Normally, even a fragmented sense of identity wouldn't cause such a problem. But there are many things you have to take into account. The slight difference of your soul, being from a different universe. The retained memories of someone who is you, yet not you. The potential to change, as you are just starting your formative years of adolescence. All these factors combined together make it hard to determine how to resolve this problem."
Nagi couldn't speak. His thoughts kept going over the fact that he might not be able to manifest his own Persona. This wasn't just about having a sense of being special with superpowers either. This was actually a matter of life or death.
Nagi is able to enter the Dark Hour. But that also means that Nagi is forced to experience the Dark Hour and all the dangers associated with it. And with the monsters made from humanity's emotions prowling around, there were lots of danger about. Without a Persona to protect him during the Dark Hour…
Nagi couldn't help but blurt out, "Do you have any idea how I might be able to fix it?"
Igor shook his head, and Nagi couldn't help but feel a sense of panic as the realization of what his future would be like without anything to protect him. He couldn't stay up every midnight in fear of being attacked. Not for the next few years.
Igor saw that he was panicking and slowly spoke. "Do not panic yet, young traveler. The mere fact that you are here tells us that there is a possibility that you may change yourself."
Nagi froze, a small sense of hope forming inside of him.
"All those who enter the Velvet Room are those who are chosen by fate to undergo a "Journey" to find themselves," he explained. "You have somehow entered this realm not once, but twice. And while I may not offer you a contract, I may be able to aid you in another manner."
A card of decks appeared on the table in front of Igor. Drawing the top card, Igor revealed it to Nagi, showing him the tarot card for the Moon Arcana.
"I feel as though this card would fit you quite nicely." He set the card on the table. "Those of the Moon Arcana often have trouble accepting themselves for who they are. The light of the Moon is dim, representing the uncertainty of not knowing if the path you see before you is the right one or not. Nothing is quite what it seems, and what you know may not always be the truth. You must trust your intuition to guide you."
The words somehow sounded like a warning to Nagi. Just because he recognized a few things from his past life, that doesn't mean that he can look to them as gospel.
The card began to glow brightly until suddenly, it slowly changed into a glowing blue feather. Floating off the table, it moved until it was right in front of Nagi. Nagi closed his eyes as he felt the feather slowly fade away somewhere into the depths of his mind.
Thou art I, and I am thou...
Thou hast accepted a facet of thyself.
It shall become the wings of intuition
that will guide you through this moonlit world.
With the acceptance of the Moon Arcana,
the future of uncertainty will no longer
blind you to your dreams and desires…
Nagi didn't recognize the voice that echoed in his head, but the words it spoke resounded within him. Holding his chest, he felt the tiny feather float inside of him for a moment, before opening his eyes.
"This… what is it?"
Igor smiled. "Merely the potential. Once you discover a way to ignite that potential, I will summon you to this room to discuss the possibility of signing a contract. Until then, farewell."
Nagi felt his surroundings start to fade.
So I see that the site's back to normal (at least for me). YAY! Big cheers for those who helped fix this problem.
And this chapter ends with Nagi gaining something from Igor? While he won't be getting a Persona right off the bat, that might change in the future depending on how things go. Don't worry for any DNAngel fans still reading this. The next chapter will take place in school with the rest of the cast.