A.N. (1/21/21) - Double release today! This is the first chapter.


Interlude (36) - Velvet Room

Yawning loudly, Nagi opened his eyes and found himself in a place he wasn't expecting.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor said. "I've been eagerly awaiting your visit for some time now."

The same library-themed room greeted his sight as Nagi took in his surroundings. Igor was alone this time, with no sight of Elizabeth next to him.

Nagi blinked. "I'm back?"

"Yes," Igor replied. "Do not be alarmed, you are fast asleep in the real world."

Nagi vaguely recalled his last memory of going to bed. Then again, so far that's been the only way he's visited the Velvet Room.

"Where's Elizabeth?"

Igor grinned. "She is busy attending to her newest guest. Time flows rather differently here, so while it may have only been recently you've met with us, that was not the case for Elizabeth."

Guest? Isn't she the attendant for the P3 Protagonist? Who undergoes their journey in the year 2009? So Igor's talking to him from 2002 while he's working with Elizabeth in 2009? How does that work?

Nagi chose to ignore the thought for now. It's probably some complicated timey-whimy logic.

Igor smiled at him. "But that's a conversation for another day. Do you recall what I told you at our last meeting?"

Nagi shook his head. To be fair, it was a long time ago. A lot has happened since.

Igor explained, "In your daily life, you subconsciously found yourself growing to your full potential." A deck of cards appeared on the table in front of Igor. "While it has not completely manifested yet, it has grown leaps and bounds beyond what I last saw of it."

A familiar spread of cards appeared in an array on the table. Turning one card over, it revealed the familiar sight of the Moon Arcana.

"I once gave you a small spark to ignite the potential inside you. Your own growth has made that spark grow into something greater than before."

His face turned somber. "But that growth did not come without loss, did it?"

Nagi turned his face away, feeling hurt at the reminder. The reminder that Misaki was gone still stung...

Igor saw his reaction and closed his eyes. "I apologize for my thoughtlessness. It was not my intention to bring you grief, but rather to speak of something regarding that incident."

He held out his hand. "May I ask for that shining object in your pocket?"

Shining object?

Nagi looked down and saw that his pocket was shining indeed. Pulling out what was inside, he brought out Misaki's drawing and held it in his hand.

That was weird. He didn't recall putting it in his pocket. He was pretty sure he left it inside his dresser at home. Nagi passed the object over to Igor.

Igor held the piece of paper in his hand and began to explain.

"This drawing is a result of one man's magic being purified to its most innocent state." The paper began to glow brightly. "And because of that, it holds infinite possibilities within it…"

The paper disappeared into particles of light, shocking Nagi. Where the paper once was, a small glowing tarot card laid in Igor's hand.

"Now Traveler," Igor held the card towards Nagi. "Look at what it has become."

Nagi took the card and peered into the card. Through the light, Nagi was able to make out a familiar image.

"Is this… Mr. Unicorn?"

The image of the winged unicorn in a static pose was finally revealed. Nagi felt a familiar presence coming from the tarot card.

What did this mean…?

He looked up and met Igor's gaze. "What is this exactly?"

"Hmm, that is an interesting question." Igor hummed to himself. "Let me first explain a few things about yourself. While you have grown since we've last met, you are still unable to manifest and wield a Persona."

That didn't come as a shock to him. He figured that would be the case. He's still not exactly sure how he's going to get a Persona, but he knew that the problem wasn't a simple one.

"But something seemed to have changed in yourself. An outside power seemed to have graced you with the ability to grow beyond your perceived limits. I am unsure as to how that is so, or for what reasons it has decided to do so, but it seems to have an unexpected effect."

Outside power?

The memory of his body exploding with pain came back to him, and the gaze of the Black Wings staring down on him.

"With my current skills, I am able to fashion something that may aid you in your journey from this point on. If you may, I would like to ask you to please crush that card with your hand."

Crush the card? Nagi did what Igor asked and increased the strength of his grip, the card in his hand shattering into shards of glass when he did.

The feather in his body shifted, and a voice echoed in his head.

I am thou, thou art I...
Thou hast established a new covenant.

It shall become the wings of intuition
that will guide you through this moonlit world.

With the aid of the Priestess Arcana,
the hidden knowledge within thyself
shall lead to awakening your true potential…

Nagi felt something inside of himself change dramatically. It was as if his body was stronger, his magical reserves bigger. But all of that was overshadowed by something else.

'That voice…!' With a start, Nagi realized that the voice speaking was Misaki's voice. He looked to Igor for answers.

"Congratulations, you have finally gained a Persona."

Nagi blinked at that. "I did?"

Nagi felt for any changes in his body. It didn't really feel like he's gained a Persona. He still felt the same as before.

No, wait. His magical reserves seemed to be a bit bigger than before. But only marginally, so there was definitely something that changed within himself. But not to the extent that Nagi could say that he's gained a new power.

His doubts were showing on his face.

"Let me clarify further. You still have not awakened to your own Persona, and because you are not a Wild Card, this Persona will not manifest its full abilities for you."

Oh, Nagi thought. It did kinda sound too good to be true.

"While you have yet to awaken your 'main' Persona, this will merely act as what would be considered a Sub-Persona."

"Sub-Persona?" Is that an actual thing?

"Yes, quite an unusual talent you have awakened to." Igor began to mutter to himself. "Strange… you definitely do not possess the Wild Card ability. Yet it seems that you can somehow take on the abilities of multiple Personas, albeit in a limited manner."

Nagi sweatdropped as Igor ignored him. "Um, I'm still a bit confused."

"Tell me," Igor's attention was back on Nagi. "Did you encounter anything unusual during the past few days? Beings of unknown power that wished to speak with you?"

"Does meeting the Black Wings count?"

"It does not," Igor replied. "I know of what you speak of, but that incident was only the being increasing your natural aptitudes in magic. The ability to grant a partial Wild Card onto you is beyond it."

Nagi thought for a moment and shook his head. "Then I have no clue. That's pretty much the weirdest thing I encountered."

Igor sighed at that. "Nevertheless, I may finally offer you my services from this point on. Whenever you find another vessel for a Persona, I shall craft it into a new Sub-Persona for you to use. Hold on to this..."

Something appeared in Nagi's hand, and Nagi looked at the glowing key resting on his palm.

"From this night onward, you are now a guest in this Velvet Room." Igor smiled at him. "Your new power now allows you to switch between multiple Sub-Personas and use their abilities. I will assist you in developing that power, until the day you finally manifest your own Persona."

Nagi had complicated feelings at that. How was he supposed to react to finding out that he finally has a special ability that came out of nowhere? Was he supposed to be excited? Confused? Worried? All three at once?

"I look forward to seeing how far you progress. 'Til we meet again."

Nagi felt his surroundings begin to dim, and soon, he found himself unconscious.


And thus, this is officially the end of the Misaki Arc. Today is a double release since I'm too lazy to wait another day to release it, so watch out for that!

Nagi's finally attempting to move on. And apparently, there's something special about him. I'll try not to make him a Gary Stu, so I'll be careful to limit how much of a benefit his new abilities will help him. Hope you guys are okay with this new story direction.