5/5
We stumbled out of the Snowblind, battered and bruised, but elated nonetheless. We had fought Alvaldi, the strongest foe we'd ever seen, and come out on top. Injured and exhausted, but victorious nonetheless.
"I must say… you've all surpassed my expectations, and by a lot," Hrafn said. Yasuhiro looked at him quizzically.
"That bird's talking," He said casually, gesturing to Hrafn. The bird in question just sighed.
"As I was saying, I didn't think it was possible to surpass a Jotunn in terms of strength. Especially not one of Alvaldi's caliber." Hrafn hopped up on a nearby bench. "I'm impressed."
However, the celebratory mood was only temporary. I felt a pulse from my pockets, coming from the crystal ball Alvaldi left behind. Apparently, it was as real as we were. I'm not sure if that was comforting or alarming. Upon fishing it out, we saw a faint white trail getting sucked into the orb, coming from behind us. But the only thing back there of note was…
The Snowblind. I glanced around. By the looks of it, everyone else noticed the same thing. We said nothing, though. We just shuffled back home.
My head hit the pillow like a sack of bricks. Almost instantly, I found myself back in the Velvet Room for the first time in a while.
"Mister Misaki… Welcome back!" Igor said, still grinning his creepy grin.
"Glad to be here…" I said wearily.
"It would seem that you have overcome a great challenge," Adelia said.
"Yes. Truly impressive… your allies, I mean. It's a shame you were downed so easily," Edwin sneered.
"Now, now, brother. He is alive, is he not? Hale and whole?" Adelia turned to her brother.
"You are… not… completely incorrect, no." Edwin turned away, flustered.
"Putting aside your injuries, it is truly impressive that you overcame such a foe so quickly, and that your circle of allies has grown so rapidly as well," Igor said. "It would seem as though you have a question," He added.
"Yeah. See, when Alvaldi died…" I began, and, sensing some confusion, added, "the big Jotunn guy we laid out, when he died, he left behind this little snow globe-thingy. When we left the Snowblind, it seemed almost like it was sucking the entire realm into itself." Moving on autopilot, I reached into my pockets, and, somehow, pulled out the globe. After a moment of confusion, I handed it to Igor, who inspected it carefully.
"Fascinating." He said. "I've never seen anything like this. If, as you said, it absorbed the Snowblind, I can only assume that it is responsible for summoning it in the first place."
"Huh? So, you mean, that's it, then? Now that we have this, nobody else will go missing and die?" I asked, incredulously. I leaned forward in my chair.
"Perhaps… though circumstances being as idyllic as that are rather slim. There are likely more, elsewhere. Held by others like Alvaldi."
"Wait, there's more of them!?" Just one Jotunn took a team of five of us, and even then, we almost died twice each. And if they were more powerful than Alvaldi, we stood exactly no chance.
"However, take pride in the fact that you survived and won against one already," Adelia said. "From here, you'll only get stronger."
"Yes… for now, however, it would be best to rest your mind and body. Use the coming time to deepen your bonds." Igor's word sounded increasingly distant as I felt myself return to the real world.
"There is incredible power in the Arcana…"
5/6
The gang had assembled in the plaza outside the dorm at mine and Takata's behest.
"Now, you may be wondering why I've called you all here today…" Takata said, putting on a faux-serious voice, before breaking down and chuckling. "Man, I've always wanted to say that!"
"But seriously, I was thinking about the little orb we found in the Snowblind. And, I think we're all curious to hear anything Yasuhiro has to share about his experience." I gestured to him.
"Yeah. Well, I got nothing, to be honest. Aside from some scrapes caused by being lobbed through a window, that is." Yasuhiro shrugged. Yuzuriha whirled to face him. "Yeah, a window. No idea what did it, or how they got in. All I know is that my window's covered in plywood and I had to sweep for the first time in a year."
"Hmm… The only ones who could've gotten into his room is someone with a key. The lock wasn't forced or anything, and, as far as we know, it's impossible to shift between the Snowblind and the real world that quickly… not without leaving a trail, that is," Hrafn said.
"Right! I saw footprints outside the building! That's how I found the entrance to the Snowblind in the first place." I snapped my fingers. "They were gone when we got back. Whoever it was came back to cover their tracks."
We sat in silence, thinking hard. The only person I could think of was… but that was impossible. Unless…
"In other news, I think I figured out what our mystery crystal does," I said. Everyone turned to me. "I was up last night thinking about it, and… well, I think it's a key into the Snowblind." I was just repeating what Igor had said last night, but it was the only lead we had, so…
"What?"
"Well, think about it. We got it from Alvaldi, the primary… master, I guess, of the Snowblind. And, when we left, we all saw that trail coming from the entrance, the one going into the crystal?" I pulled it out of my pocket. "Considering all that, I think that somehow we can use this to open the way in somehow. Maybe it summons it? I don't know. Point is, it's our way in."
They all nodded in agreement. After that, we sat in silence some more, which was broken by Yuzuriha's stomach growling loudly. She scratched the back of her head, chuckling awkwardly.
"I guess it is almost that time of night," Yasuhiro said. "Alright. Let's go somewhere. It's on me, after causing so much trouble for you guys. C'mon."
We ended up eating at a ramen stall, the same one I'd treated Yuzuriha to a while back. It was delicious, just like before. We all left with empty bowls and full stomachs. One day I'd have to try that "mega beef bowl challenge" they were advertising.
"Hey, Misaki." Yasuhiro tapped my shoulder.
"Yeah?"
"I gotta say, I'm sorry for causing you guys trouble. I can't possibly thank you enough for all the help you gave me back there."
"No, it's alright! You more than made up for it already," I said.
"Huh… well, i-if there's anything you need from me, you can just ask, I guess." He shrugged.
"Actually… I'm sure the others'd love to have you help out in the future. Your Persona seems pretty strong."
"Per… sona? You mean the big guy with the sword I summoned back in that… Snowblind, you called it?"
"Yeah! We'd love to have your help, if you feel like it. I can't promise it'll be easy, or even safe, but still!"
"Yeah, sure thing!"
The moment was capped off with the sound of breaking glass.
I am thou, and thou art I…
Thou hast established a new vow…
With the birth of the Sun arcana,
Thou shalt be blessed with harmony and achievement.
Sun arcana, huh… I'm stacking them up at this point. How many are left, anyway?
While we were walking back to the dorm, I saw a glimmer out of the corner of my eye. I turned towards the canal and saw a gleaming, ephemeral blue door, with an ornate butterfly engraved on the surface. It matched the key I'd gotten from the Velvet Room a while back. I crossed the street and fished the key out of my pocket.
A soothing piano melody filled the air. Igor looked up from his desk.
"Ah! Mister Misaki. It's good to see you again, and so soon! Is there anything you need?"
"Huh? Uh, no, not really. I just saw the door and, well…"
"Then why are you bothering us? The master has much to do! Go on, out!" Edwin attempted to shoo me out.
"Now, now, brother. Do you recall that he has only been able to access the Velvet Room through sleep? His curiosity at seeing the door in his world is warranted, to say the least." Adelia corrected. Bless her, really. What the hell would I do if it was just freakin' Edwin on his own?
Jeez.
"Oh, that reminds me! I agreed to show you guys around Akita sometime. I assume you're still interested?" I asked.
"Ah, right! Yes, that would be lovely!" Adelia beamed, then glared at her brother.
"Eh? Oh, uhh… Well, I suppose I could take time out of my busy schedule. A little fresh air may help quite a bit." He said, turning away. Yeah, right. Busy schedule of fuck-all, that's what.
"I'll come by tomorrow and show you around a bit, how does that sound?"
"That sounds alright," Adelia said.
"Cool! See ya!" I waved, and she waved back. I stepped back to reality.
"-saki. Misaki!" I heard Takata say.
"Huh? What..?"
"You spaced out a bit. You ok?" Yuzuriha asked.
"Eh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Still tired from yesterday, is all. That doesn't just go away instantly, y'know." That seemed believable. I doubt they'd understand the Velvet Room whatsoever. Better to save that for another time. And, of course, it was half-true.
Oh well. Hopefully we had a while to rest. Or, even better, hopefully there was no more danger left whatsoever. That would be nice, wouldn't it? As unlikely as it is.
Heh.