Once, I dreamt I was a butterfly.

I forgot myself and knew only my happiness as a butterfly.

Soon, I awoke, and I was myself again.

Did I dream that I was a butterfly?

Or do I now dream that I am a man?

Yet there is a distinction between myself and the butterfly.

This is the transformation of the physical.

- Zhuangzi

~.~

Naoya Todou fought the urge to yawn as he gathered a bundle of handmade origami flowers, pasting them on the plastic signboard. The school was preparing for the upcoming cultural festival, and each class began working on their projects and booths once school had ended.

Once he finished pasting the last flower, he unconsciously played with the earring on his right ear, a simple hooped design made of a plain stainless steel. It had been a common habit of his; sometimes he would end up playing with it without even realising it. He remembered the time Yuka chided him during class for always fiddling with it, saying that it'll get infected. Of course, Naoya paid it no mind. He had done it for years, and his ear was still the same as always.

"Thanks a lot, Nanjo." He heard his friend Mark grumble, shaking the can of spray paint in his hands before spraying it into the cardboard cutout. "Because of you, Nishida-sensei gave us an extra report to do as an assignment!"

"Hmph." The bespectacled boy simply let out an indignant snort in response as he simply continued helping Naoya decorate the signboard. "All I did was speak the truth. If someone is to blame, it should be Nishida's incompetence as a teacher."

Pushing up his spectacles condescendingly as he gave a shrug, Nanjo continued. "Then again, I'd doubt that an ape like a certain somebody could ever hope to understand."

Mark looked ready to explode. "Why you—!" he started.

"That's enough, both of you!" A female voice, authoritative in tone, barked out, stopping Mark before he could try to retaliate.

Yukino had gotten up from her seat where she had been helping Yuka cut out an origami paper chain. She stalked up to the bickering duo, placing her hands to her hips as she glared at them. "In case you haven't noticed, we've got work to do! I've still got my part-time job this evening!"

"Come to think of it, Yukino… This is pretty rare for you to stick around after school." Naoya said.

Yukino simply shrugged. "Saeko-sensei asked that I ought to help out as well. It can't be helped."

"My…" A soothing feminine voice spoke up. "Yukino-san. You must be really fond of Saeko-sensei, aren't you?" Elly said, shuffling through some paperwork.

Upon hearing Elly's comment, Yukino's cheeks turned a rosy hue as she chuckled nervously. "W-Well, of course! After all, the only decent adults here are Saeko-sensei and Principal Ooishi, right?!"

"Well, I'm done." Yuka let out a yawn as she set down the scissors, stretching out her arms in relief.

"Yuka, what's this?" Yukino frowned as she examined the girl's craftwork. That is, if one could even call it that. It was nothing more than a bunch of deformed shapes that aren't even remotely shaped like people. Shredded paper was scattered all over the desk and floor.

Yuka pouted. "Hey, don't blame me for this! It's not my fault that it's so hard to cut these things out!"

Giving an unimpressed look, Yukino picked up Yuka's work with her finger and thumb as if she was picking up a dirty sock. "I already traced it out. All you need to do is to follow the lines."

"Whatever. I've done all I could." The pig-tailed girl simply responded with a huff in annoyance, getting up from her seat and walked away to look at the rest of the booths. Yukino sighed as she went to clean up Yuka's mess.

Approaching Mark, Yuka looked over his shoulder to look at his work. "Hey, Mark. Your signboard's pretty good." She said.

"Thanks, Yuka-chan." Mark gave a proud smirk. His face then softened as he looked at his work. "Y'know, I've thought about doing this kind of stuff for a living. But it's not like we know what's gonna happen in the future…"

Yuka shrugged, putting her hands behind her head. "If you ask me, I'd rather be better off not knowing about my future. I mean, why stress over living a boring life as an adult when we still have plenty of time to live in the moment?"

Their conversation was quickly cut short by another student pouncing on Mark's back, causing him to let out a startled yell. The student had a messy mop of brown hair, propped up by a large pair of goggles he wore on his forehead.

"Hey! For that sort of thing, leave it to good ol' Brown!" The goggle-headed student declared with a cocky grin on his face, pulling Mark's oversized beanie over his eyes.

"Brown! get the hell off me, you bastard!" Mark flailed about as he managed to wrest himself free from goggle-head.

Brown, the residential class clown, smirked. "I can't help but overhear your little conundrum, Mark. Have you by any chance heard of the Persona game?

"The Persona game?" Mark asked quizzically, adjusting his beanie.

"Oh, I have heard about it." Elly chimed in. "It's become a really popular game in school. There are rumours that if you play the Persona game, you might have the opportunity to have a fortune-telling session with Persona. You might be able to see your future."

Elly paused as a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. "At least…that's what I've heard."

Mark let out a snort and looked at Brown, unconvinced. "Dude, if that really worked and I could see my future, I'd be on easy street. You sure your brain ain't rotting, Hidehiko?"

Brown chuckled, his chest puffing out in confidence. "Hehehe… Trust me, there's more to it than a simple rumour. Maybe you can't see your future, but they say that weird stuff does happen!"

"And I'd say it's a load of crock!"

Brown leaned forward so that he's on the same eye level as Mark. "Oh really? Yuka-chan and I have already played the game before, so I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is. That is, if you are, Mark."

Mark grinned, leaning forward as well. "All right, you're on! I'll bet you an all-you-can-eat dinner at Peace Diner! If you lose, it's your treat!"

"You're on!"

Yuka chirped. "Then I'm betting on Uesugi!"

"I'll wager on Brown as well." Elly said.

"Wait, seriously!?" Mark sweat dropped. He turned to Nanjo and Yukino, pleadingly looking at them, hoping they would bet on him.

The Nanjo heir looked away dismissively. "Hmph…This silly wager is none of my concern. You all can do as you please."

Yukino shrugged. "Same here. You're on your own, Mark."

Mark grumbled as the two literally turned their backs on him. "You two are so cold…! Come on, guys! Back me up here!"

Naoya chuckled and decided to throw his friend a bone. "Relax. I'll bet on you." He placed a reassuring hand on Mark's shoulder, giving him a confident grin. "After all, one-sided bets are boring, right?"

"Thanks, man." Mark smiled gratefully.

Brown soon explained the details of the Persona Game, drawing out the steps of the game crudely on the chalkboard. They cleared away the decorations and pushed aside the chairs and desks, leaving an open space in the middle of the classroom.

Naoya stood at the centre alongside with Yukino and Nanjo, with their backs faced one another as they stood in a triangular formation. The rest took their positions at each corner of the classroom.

"Alright!" Brown clapped his hands, rubbing them with glee. "Yuka-chan, let's go!"

Yuka took in a deep breath before starting the incantation. "Persona! Persona! Please come here!" She chanted, slowly walking away to Brown.

"My turn!" Brown grinned as he stepped forward, allowing Yuka to take his place. "Persona! Persona! Come here!" With confident strides, he reached where Mark was standing.

Mark grumbled under his breath. "Man, why do I gotta do this?"

Brown roughly patted Mark's shoulder, giving him annoyed huff. "Quit your bellyaching, Mark! All-you-can-eat! All-you-can-eat!" He chanted.

"Alright, just shut up already… Persona. Persona. C'mere, I guess…" Mark mumbled, shuffling his way towards Elly.

"Well then..." Elly said as she closed her eyes. "Persona, Persona. Please come to us!" she exclaimed dramatically, and she waltzed her way to the remaining corner of the class.

Once Elly had reached the other side of the classroom, Brown clapped his hands. His body bobbed up and down in anticipation. "Alright, here it comes!"

And then there was silence.

Brown looked confused. He stared up into the ceiling, arms stretched out as if he was some shaman trying to call forth the gods. "Anytime now!"

Silence.

A bead of sweat trickled down Brown's forehead through his signature goggles. "Something should happen right about now…!"

Absolute silence…

"I-I don't understand…" Brown blurted out. "This wasn't supposed to happen!"

Mark hollered in triumph, pumping a fist into the air. "Hell yeah! All-you-can-eat, here I come!"

Yukino simply let out another exasperated sigh. "There, happy now? Now hurry up and get Saeko-sensei and tell her we're done."

Fuming, Yuka stormed over to Brown. "Uesugi!" she snapped, grabbing the poor sap by his undershirt and looked ready to throttle him. "You've made me look like an idiot, you jackass!"

Brown squeaked as he faced the full brunt of Yuka's wrath, futilely trying to pry himself free from Yuka's vice grip. "Hey, not fair!" he weakly protested as he pointed an accusatory finger at Mark. "I call a do-over! Mark probably screwed it up! C'mon, you gotta take it seriously when you do it!"

Mark let out a snort. "Oi, you little…! Don't be a sore loser!"

While the two began arguing, Naoya glanced at Nanjo, half-expecting for the Nanjo heir to interject with one of his usual pretentious remarks. But instead he saw him just standing there, frozen on the spot with his mouth agape, his eyes looking ready to pop out of their sockets.

"Wh-What is…?" Nanjo managed to stutter out.

Mark apparently noticed Nanjo's shocked expression as well, for he broke off from his argument with Brown to focus on Nanjo instead. "Huh? It's too late now to ask—" he said as he turned around to see what Nanjo was gaping at, only to stumble back as he let out a startled cry.

Everyone else turned to look, and there they saw a small girl dressed in white standing there with her back turned away from them. Her brown hair was unkempt and reached her tiny shoulders, a red ribbon perched on top of her head. But what was most peculiar about the girl was that she

"S-See! What did I tell you?" Brown exclaimed, though his voice immediately broke into a nervous murmur. "I mean… it's different from how I experienced it but –"

"My goodness!" Elly clapped her hands together. "To think that I would see a spectre with my very eyes!" Her eyes glimmered with excitement that Naoya had never seen in her before.

The girl in white slowly turned around to face them. Revealing her face, the girl was almost doll-like in appearance. Her skin was porcelain white, her eyes proportionately large as compared to the rest of her face. In her arms was a stuffed teddy bear, almost as large as the girl holding it.

Despite her ghostly appearance, Naoya cannot help but feel something nagging at the back of his mind. That this girl looked familiar, as if he had met her before… And if that's so, then when?

"Help me." The little girl sniffled.

Wait… Was she… crying?

The sniffs became louder. "Please, help me…" The girl spoke again, one of her delicate hands began rubbing at her eyes to wipe away the tears that were starting to trickle down her porcelain cheeks.

But before Naoya could even respond to the mysterious girl, the lights began to flicker. Immediately afterwards, the entire classroom was rocked by a violent tremor, causing nearby objects to topple over.

The ceiling crackled with bright blue electricity. The lights flickered even more rapidly than before, followed by a brilliant flash of light, prompting everyone to shield their eyes. Then suddenly, they heard a terrific bang, as if a gun had just been fired.

"Eek! What the hell is this!?" Yuka shrieked in fright, ducking her head down as several bolts of lightning appeared.

"Holy shit!" Mark stumbled backwards, narrowly dodging a bolt of lightning that struck the spot where he had just stood on. But Yukino was not as lucky. One of the lightning bolts struck the back of her head, and she collapsed.

"Yukino!" Nanjo cried out. He attempted to rush to her unconscious form, but he was immediately hit by another bolt and his body helplessly tumbled to the floor.

Mark too was soon struck down seconds later. But before Naoya could even react, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head, causing him to let out a cry of pain. His body lost the strength to stand, and he collapsed as well.

"Naoya-kun? Naoya-kun!" Naoya could hear a voice calling out to him. He wasn't sure who it was though. It sounded like one of the girls. Yuka? Elly? He wasn't sure. But it didn't matter, for the voice soon faded away and the darkness took over.

~.~

Naoya felt as if he was falling for an eternity.

It felt like one of those dreams he would hear of in those TV dramas, where the person keeps falling, flailing helplessly as they spiralled down the rabbit hole, with no hope of reaching the bottom.

He saw a vortex of a spiralling staircase, in the shape of a square. Surrounding him was an endless loop of cogs… and shapes that resembled skyscrapers. But what was most peculiar, believe it or not, was the golden butterfly fluttering right before his eyes, its beautiful glow illuminating in the darkness.

And suddenly, there was a flash that engulfed him, pure and bright as the light of the sun itself.

Naoya was on the ground, a black and white tiled floor.

On instinct, he immediately stumbled back up to his feet. He regained his balance and breathed, slowly taking in his surroundings. He was in a blue void, as vast and empty as the depths of space. He stood on what seemed to be a platform, with six towering pillars made of gold that encircled him. The atmosphere was eerily calm; so silent that he could not even hear the sound of a single breeze.

And there he saw, right in front of him, a tall lone figure. When did he…! A panicked thought began racing through Naoya's mind, for he knew that the figure wasn't there a split second ago.

It wasn't the Girl in White that he saw in the classroom. No. It was a man this time. He was dressed in a white suit, whose coat reached past his knees. Underneath his suit was a shirt and tie, both black which contrasted with the colours of his suit. He had jet-black hair that was tied up in a loose ponytail, which in spite of the fact that there was not a single breeze, flowed freely in the air. But the most peculiar feature was the mask that completely obscured his face. It was as white like his suit; an intricate pattern the colour of violet, resembling the wings of a butterfly, decorated the right side of the mask. As Naoya looked closer, he could not see any pupils beneath the mask's eyeholes, which made him look even more unsettling.

The man gave a crisp bow before speaking. "Welcome. It is a pleasure to meet you." His voice was deep timbre, yet at the same time there was a soothing feeling to it. "I am Philemon: a dweller in the rift between consciousness and unconsciousness of all souls. And now… a simple test: can you state your name?"

"My…name?" Naoya murmured. He rubbed at his eyes, hoping that this was just a dream. But he gave his answer, nonetheless. "Naoya… Naoya Todou."

Even though Naoya couldn't see his face through the mask, he could tell that the being... Philemon, he called himself, was satisfied with his answer for he immediately nodded his head. "Splendid," he spoke, "there aren't many who can remember their identity when in this domain. It seems you passed that test."

Test…? For what?

But before Naoya could say a word, Philemon spoke once more, pointing at him. "But tell me this. Are you aware of the many varied souls that you harbour…within you? The self effused with divine love. The self capable of demonic cruelty." He then pointed to his own mask. "People live by wearing different masks. Your current self may be one among those innumerable masks."

"You though, have a very firm grip on your identity." Philemon raised a hand and with a flick of his wrist, something glowing appeared in the palm of his hand. It was a strange blue humanoid figure in a crouching position.

Naoya could barely breath and involuntarily took a step back. Whatever Philemon had summoned, he could feel it resonate with something within him, as if there was a connection between them.

"I respect your strong will. And in return, I grant you this power: Persona. It is the power to summon the selves within you. The gods and demons you harbour."

Naoya shook his head, trying his best to rearrange his thoughts accommodate everything that Philemon had just said. Consciousness and unconsciousness, Personas, gods and demons… To him, it all seemed like mumbo jumbo. Yet at the same time, part of him was inclined to believe what he had just said.

Philemon flicked his wrist again, and the figure dissipated into golden light. "There will come a time where you will need this power. But now, you must return, to your proper time and place."

"Wait!" Naoya managed to cry out. "What are you talking about? I don't understand!"

Naoya only blinked for an instant, and saw Philemon standing up close, just a few inches away from him. Philemon reached out his hand and gave Naoya a gentle push.

And suddenly, Naoya felt himself being flung by a great force, as if he was carried away by a hurricane. His body careened over the edge of the platform, and he was plummeting into endless blue void below. Naoya tried to scream out, but nothing came out. He desperately flailed his arms, but there was nothing to grab on to.

As the darkness enveloped him, the last thing he saw was Philemon's mask before him. His voice called to him.

"I am thou. Thou art I… I will always be watching you."

Author's Notes: Now, how to challenge yourself as a FanFic writer? How about you write your first big multi-chapter story for realsies? No? How about making it your first big novelisation project? No? How about making it about a game that is at best a cult classic and at worst an obscurity because even fans of the franchise are turned off by because of its aged gameplay? And the kicker? Why don't I do it just around the start my second year of University? What could possibly go wrong?

In all seriousness, I felt like the first Persona game was an underrated classic. While its gameplay was certainly a product of its time, I grew attached to the story and its characters instead. And with no hopes of a potential remake in sight, I felt like this could be the best way for me to show my appreciation towards this game.

For those who are familiar with the first Persona game, though, you'll probably find me treading on a lot of familiar ground. However, not only will I be simply recapping the events of the game, but I will be incorporating both the SEBEC and Snow Queen storylines together because Persona 2 implies that both events took place. Of course, I would be adding my own twists of certain parts of the story as well.

My main sources/inspirations would be the game itself, the manga adaptation by Shinshu Ueda (a recommended read), and of course the Persona Drama CDs. Feedback is welcome, so feel free to post your reviews!

PS: I'll probably emphasise this in later chapters as well, but for Elly, italics will be used in her dialogues whenever she'll speak an English word. The problem is that I'll do the same thing with character's thoughts.