Chapter 1 - A New Start
/_\
Present Day: Unknown Date - Unknown Location
"Queen to H6." A young, calm, male voice called out. The sound of stone tapping stone echoed throughout the room. His Queen piece lands in its square with an audible click.
"Bishop to G7." A much more… sinister voice breath out. Responding in turn to the young mans maneuver.
"Queen takes Pawn, G6." The young man responded, watching as his piece moved to take the pawn in question. There was a brief pause, an eerily creepy silence. The young man knew exactly why this was. He knew it was because of his last move to take the pawn. He knew his opponent was smiling without even having to look at them. He didn't need to see or hear anything, he could tell.
"Pawn takes Queen, G6." His foe retaliated, voice full of… triumph? Joy? But the young man could read his foe better than that. What his felt foe felt in this very moment was satisfaction.
He'd taken his Queen.
Perhaps the most valuable piece on the board.
There was a pause in the match after that move, the sacrifice of the Queen, as if to let that loss sink in.
His opponent reached out and picked up the young mans Queen, examining it, inspecting it. Looking for a deeper meaning to it. And judging by the soft, laugh like hum the young man heard, his foe believed he'd found one.
"It seems you've lost your most valuable piece." His opponent stated. It was clear it was not only a statement, but a taunt.
One the young man understood all too well if the slight clenching of his fist was anything to go by.
Not another word was spoken, a deafening silence descended upon the two. Allow unspoken words to be passed between them, and allow both to think on the situation they find themselves in.
The sound of a soft sigh broke the pensive silence, their breath turning to condensation immediately due to the cold that surrounded them. The atmosphere was heavy, tense, with a bone-chilling cold sweeping the dark halls of the dimly lit throne room.
In the centre of room, two individuals sat facing each other. A single light shining down from above illuminating the two figures. A chess table between them, with their game being clearly on going. Moves still to be made. A winner yet to be decided.
"So close to the end now." The young man couldn't help but think as he glanced at the chess pieces on the table. His black pieces, and his foes white ones. Many of the pieces taken by one another.
This game his foe had been playing from the very beginning was coming to a close.
It had been an incredible journey to get here.
Bonds made, friendships formed, battles fought, mysteries solved, and lives saved.
And the sacrifices, the loses, the very possibility of death.
All in the span of such a short amount of time.
"You continue to surprise me." The voice of his opponent sounded out, a voice full of intrigue, respect, and also… no small amount of disdain.
"How so?" The young man asked, despite already knowing what his foes answer was going to be.
"I never once thought you would make it past every obstacles you faced on your journey." The voice admitted, "To think you'd overcome so many hurdles, and uncover the truth at the end of it before finally facing me. Here and now."
The voice paused, silence falling between the two. The young man having nothing to say in response to his opponents arrogance.
The voice of his foe continued shortly after, "You truly have achieved the impossible."
"We achieved the impossible." The young man countered with a controlled fire in his tone. Despite the intensity to his words, his foe ignored them, brushing them off without a care.
"Your mind, skills, determination, and willpower are traits few possess. Using them to dismantle my plans piece by piece, and finally deducing who the mastermind behind it all was. Deducing my identity." The voice complimented, although it sounded as though it hurt to admit it. "Despite that, I believe you could do so much more than you already have. You could surpass what you are now if only you would listen to me."
The young man said nothing, he merely gazed at his foe through his mask.
"Everything you've done up until now has been to uncover and dismantle my plans, undo whatever damage I might have done, and protect anything I sought to change." The voice remained calm despite recalling everything the young man had done to disrupt their schemes. "All because of your ignorance." The voice trailed off.
"Ignorance?" The young man questioned, his voice remaining stoically neutral.
"Indeed," The voice confirmed, "You act on a sense of common justice, that is the only reason that puts you at odds with I." The voice almost sounded disappointed before it continued, "But we're actually not all that different from one another. We seek the same thing, boy. We both wish to make this world a better place."
"We do." The young masked man agreed. "However, you would create a better world, but not one where everyone is welcome to be apart of it."
A hum was his initial response, "The perfect world requires the perfect people to run it."
"And you would sit atop them all, would you not?" Mask man countered.
"I would." His foe confirmed, "But I don't have to alone."
The young masked man said nothing.
"Imagine what could be achieved if we were to combine our efforts? Just envision the world we could build, mold to our desire." The voice sounding more… confident with each word it spoke. "Would you be willing to help change the world for the better? We don't have to fight, we don't have to argue methods, we can simply work together instead of using mere proxies, as partners, and achieve everything we want together. We could achieve Perfection."
A hand extended from across the table toward the young man as a sign of his offer.
An offer to join the very person he worked so hard against. Someone truly powerful and dangerous. An individual who could decide the course of the world.
The young man looked upon the hand for a moment, contemplating what he would say before slowly reaching out to grasp it.
/_\
17 Months Ago: August 20th
One would imagine the excitement one would feel when traveling to a new country, to a new start in life. One with opportunities for the dedicated, and driven. Moving to a place that could make your future among the brightest.
The worlds' first international University.
Aeon University.
Within the past few years, Aeon University has been responsible for some of the brightest minds in recent times across the world. From politicians, doctors, lawyers, psychologists, and philosophers, the list went on. Invitations are given to potential students around the world, regardless of place of birth or status, for achieving some of the best grades across the international education system. Valedictorians in their school years.
People from across the world all come to meet in one place. A place where they can reach their absolute peaks of potential.
And nobody knows its secrets. How they manage to bring the best out of its students. How it drives people to be the best of the best society has to offer, how those who graduate its grueling years of education come out as the best their home countries have to offer. No other further education institutes can match Aeon, in theory, or on paper, despite its relatively short existence.
But somehow Aeon manages it.
Manages to be number one in the world, taking the number position on the international stage.
It had become synonymous with the word: Perfection.
That was the word people used to describe Aeon, and its graduates. They were the perfect individuals. The people who represented a perfect human being, the peak of mankind and the potential that most people wasted during their life.
With a reputation like that, you'd think everyone would be thrilled to have an invitation to such a place.
But not everyone was.
Raylan Sinclair certainly didn't feel that way as he sat waiting on a train, watching the world go by as the train made its way to the city of Domhanda.
Domhanda, the city, or town, that held Aeon University within its boundaries. The train line ran from one town across the state, cutting through Domhanda to its main station which had become a sort of hub. As trains from all neighboring states lead there, before going onto who knows where. It was clearly designed as a way to ease access to the city, allowing people to come in from various airports across the country before making their way to Aeon by train.
Domhanda had become an up-and-coming city with development projects, renovations, innovations, and big investments all coming to this town, turning city, within the last few years. After the success of the previous years, how could they not? With Aeon, it had taken center stage for next-generation thinking and improvements.
Job opportunities were plentiful in Domhanda, with all sorts of apprenticeships, courses, and jobs. When people graduated from their final year, they were literally walking into a town with infinite opportunity for them, with people practically begging some of them for their service.
And all it took for this town to become something was a single university.
Was that impressive? Probably.
Did Raylan care though? Not really.
Raylan Sinclair was a young twenty-year-old male. Quite well built for his age but that would be thanks to his personal training in martial arts since he was fifteen. His hair was brown, short, and rather unkempt too.
Physically, he was a lean-built young man. Clearly having trained for most of his teenage years up until now. It showed with his muscle definition and physique. If one could see it that was. All that was covered over by clothes, however, so he wasn't showing the goods as someone he knew once called it.
He'd graduated from his school as valedictorian, before going on to pass an exam given to college students without any prior preparation.
Needless to say, Raylan was a smart guy when he wanted to be.
Hence his invitation to Aeon.
Yet the young man wasn't as excited for it as others would be. He'd seen from online media and videos of how people reacted to getting their legendary invitation, how some literally jumped for joy, hugging close friends and family, the interviews that surely followed after the news media discovered they had an Aeon University prospect sitting in their own backyard.
He could understand why they would react in such a way. Aeon was considered a life-changing experience for many.
In all honesty, Raylan saw it for what it was. He wasn't some dreamy optimist who thought all of lifes' woes would be sorted at the drop of a hat, or a drop of an invitation in this case, knowing full well that some hard years of study lay ahead of him. And further beyond as well.
Life was like that.
This was merely a set-up for a good start in life, not the solution to all its flaws.
And to be frank, he wasn't even sure what it was setting him up for.
Raylan was just a realist. He knew life wasn't always meant to be sunshine and rainbows, as struggles were apart of life. They were certainly apart of his, he knew that all too well.
People thought that graduating from Aeon meant your life would be perfect.
They were in for a rude surprise.
What Raylan was hyped for were the new experiences he'd surely have in the coming years. Good and bad. His home, in Ireland, had gotten pretty boring in the last few years having to deal with the same asinine shit on a daily basis, with other major issues notwithstanding. But now that he had the chance to live alone, and make his own way in this world, he'd use it to its fullest extent.
He'd set forth to make a name for himself, using his own wits to make it through any and all obstacles that stood in his way.
And possibly, he'd find someone to challenge him to better himself.
The young man's attention was drawn to the ding of the intercom system coming to life.
"We shall be arriving at our next stop, Domhanda, shortly. All passengers please prepare to disembark. Thank you." The system dinged once again before falling silent.
Raylan tilted his head down, brushed a hand through his hair, before releasing a soft breath. His gaze turned back to the approaching cityscape in the distance.
Soon, he'd arrive at his new home for the next few years.
"Let's see what life has in store for me." Raylan thought to himself, imaging how life might turn out here.
Life, however, was about to throw the young man a curveball he could never see coming.
/_\
The station was busy.
Very busy.
A decent-sized crowd swamped the train platform. Everyone was there to go about their day it seems, as many paid Raylan no mind as he stepped off the train. As soon as he left the train, it was filled again by others taking his place. Heading off to who knows where, whether for work or leisure.
None of that mattered to Raylan though.
He glanced toward the envelope in his hand, the Aeon University symbol stamped onto the front of it. His invitation, to be specific. Attached to it with a number of other documents, from his Golden Passport that allowed him to stay here indefinitely if so desired, an acceptance letter, instructions on what to do on arrival to the city, and a map of both Domhanda and of the University campus.
Domhanda would be confusing most when first arriving, however, Raylan had taken to studying the map before he had left.
He memorized the map for one reason. In regards to his acceptance, it came with an unforeseen problem. Raylan would be living off-campus, in his own small studio apartment.
He'd been accepted later than the others, and as such Raylan wasn't going to be living on the campus grounds with all the other new students. All the rooms were reserved for other students, with those who were accepted first being placed in the dorms closest to the University itself.
It was rumored that the individual dorms all had their own appliances in them, divided into four areas. A bedroom, a living area, bathroom, and kitchen/dining room. Something unprecedented for other institutes, but apparently Aeon would pay for that and more.
It was all done on a first-come, first-served basis.
Unfortunately, due to… complications at home, Raylan was the last to receive his acceptance letter since he had been quite late about getting his academic records sent to the university.
At first, he had thought it odd that they went out of the way for him like this but a correspondent from Aeon had explained that they do not wish to lose any potential students solely because of late recommendations.
They said; "Someone of your accomplishments would be a true shame to lose over something as trivial as tardiness."
It seems his abilities spoke for themselves.
And so, they had gotten him a small apartment of his own within the city itself. Given a bus/train pass to travel the city and to university every morning, and was compensated for his trouble by being given a small gift.
What that gift was, the young man couldn't say. He was only told that he would get one upon arrival at his new apartment.
Before that though he was asked to visit Aeon before the semester started to speak to the Headmaster and Founder of the academy.
Supposedly, the Headmaster likes to personally meet every new student that enters his academy on a yearly basis.
Raylan suspected that the Headmaster wanted to see from first-hand experience what their new batch of students were capable of. If some didn't meet his expectations then they would surely turn them away to protect Aeons reputation. After all, Aeon was only for the best of the best.
Raylan grunted at the thought of it.
Pushing those thoughts to the side, the young man re-focused his attention to the task at hand.
Getting to the University.
Raylan made his way through the station. To be honest, it wasn't really a station. It was as big as an airport to some extent, so you could call it a transport hub. There had to be hundreds of people all going about their business.
As he glanced to the activity around him someone collided with him, bumping shoulder to shoulder. Raylan stumbled for a moment but maintained his balance, nor did he drop his bags.
He turned to see it had been a young woman that had collided with him, she too managing to remain standing. Long, flowing black hair that reached lower than her shoulder blades, sun-kissed tanned skin, slender figure that was quite easy on the eyes, and comfortable yet formal business attire with a bag on her back.
"Sorry about that." Raylan spoke, drawing her attention toward him, "I was distracted and wasn't watching where I was going." He raised a hand in a calming, gentle manner to go along with his words.
The young woman smiled softly at him, "No need to apologize, we're both to blame. You weren't the only one not paying close attention to their immediate surroundings."
The young man noted her words and pondered them for the briefest of moments. Raylan nodded in acceptance a moment after, "Regardless, I apologize for bumping into you." He turned to leave, heading in the same direction he had been before the young woman called out to him.
"Hey," he glanced over his shoulder back to the young lady, "You're not from around here are you?" Her eyes scanned him up and down for a moment, noting his bags amongst other things. "You're heading to Aeon, am I right?"
"I am." Was the young man's clipped response. Turning slightly so his body was facing her side on.
"I knew it, your accent is a dead giveaway." The young woman continued to smile softly toward him. "A newly enrolled foreign student to the prestigious university in this little utopia."
He wasn't sure if she knew what she was doing but Raylan's instincts were immediately on edge despite the warm and inviting smile she wore. Her words, expression, and intent were all friendly, but a gut feeling told him otherwise.
Was there something wrong with her? Unlikely.
For all he knew this young woman might merely want to get better acquitted with a future "prospect". Whether purely professional or personal, he couldn't say, but frankly, he couldn't care enough to find out.
Although, he wouldn't be… rude about it.
"I'm actually on my way there now to meet with the Headmaster myself to discuss some… things about my stay here," Raylan informed the woman. "I'm what you might call a last-minute applicant."
The woman seemingly got the hint but didn't outwardly take any offense to it. "Oh, my apologies for keeping you then!" She bowed her head slightly, "We wouldn't want you to miss your meeting with the prestigious Headmaster!" She waved him off with a smile as if to give him permission to leave.
Except her smile wasn't quite… natural. Like an artificial smile, one that didn't quite reach their eyes. Whatever she was thinking on the inside didn't match the positive exterior she wore.
It honestly made his skin crawl.
"It's not an issue," He replied in an attempt to ease his own concerns, attempting to keep the situation as normal as possible, "Enjoy the rest of your day, ma'am." With a nod of respect, he turned to leave.
But that's when he saw it.
Faint but there.
A small, blue, glowing butterfly.
The mere sight of this… creature was enough to flood his body with this strange energy like his body became something more before the feeling swiftly faded leaving him as he was.
It fluttered past him and over his shoulder, forcing him to momentarily turn back in search of the strange anomaly. But when he did it was gone. As quickly as it had appeared it vanished.
For a moment he stood frozen, confused, but all that quickly left him as his eyes caught sight of the woman once again, eyeing him even as she walked away. When her eyes found his she turned away and disappeared into the crowd.
Raylan turned away, forcing himself to walk away from whatever the hell that situation was.
He had somewhere to be right now.
/_\
With that encounter done with, Raylan quickly navigated the station to the main entrance. The first thing his eyes searched for was a taxi stand. His next destination was Aeon itself, for the meeting with the Headmaster as was mentioned before, so the final details could be ironed out and he could be assigned housing.
"Oh, how I wish they'd have just told me where I'd be living." The young man thought to himself as he spotted a parked and seemingly available taxi.
As he reached the taxi he called out to the driver, "You available for a trip across the city?" He asked.
The driver, a middle-aged man with graying hair, maybe an inch shorter than Raylan, a well-worn leather jacket, jeans, and black leather shoes, nodded his head.
"Yeah, get in." He snubbed the cigarette he'd been smoking out against his car, which was a Toyota Prius in silver, before entering the driver seat.
Raylan quickly jumped in the back with his luggage with him, "We're heading to Aeon University, the most direct route possible, thanks." He informed the driver as the vehicle started before it started to pull away from the station.
"Aeon, huh?" Driver hummed, "You one of the new first years starting soon?"
"I am."
The driver hummed in response to his passenger's clipped response. His eyes remained fixed on the road ahead, whilst Raylan merely watched the world go by out his backseat window.
"Be careful when you're up there, kid." The driver warned him, which momentarily drew the young man's attention. "The standards that university has can really stress people out, so much so that some just can't hack it."
Raylan remained quiet, choosing to not respond. The driver took his silence as cause to continue.
"There have been incidents around town as of late, the pressure of this town really gets to people. They practically become different people under it all." The driver explained, "Just look at those who wander the streets and you'll see what I mean. People always seem to be right on the edge of snapping under the pressures of it all. It's an intense city to live in, it really is."
"So the rumors are true, it seems." The young man thought to himself.
"Be careful when you're out after dark," The driver warned a second time, glancing at the Raylan through his rearview mirror. "Violence at night seems to be on the rise in certain parts of the city."
"Thanks for the warning," Raylan responded before glancing back out his window. After that, the driver went silent for the remainder of the journey.
Raylan, on the other hand, was thinking on the driver's words.
Everything the driver had mentioned wasn't completely new to the young man, he'd read up on the city before coming here after all, but to hear it from a local was more of an eye-opener. These rumors weren't so much rumors around here, more real known facts apparently.
You wouldn't think the city of progress and innovation would have a violent dark side to it. From what Raylan knew, many cases of violence went unsolved by the police. Which is interesting considering the funding the DPD got on an annual basis. One had to wonder where that money went if they couldn't handle spouts of violence.
Something Raylan would have to look into further at a later date, for more than just curiosity's sake.
Raylan's life just got more interesting, both inside and outside of university life.
The remainder of the trip was silent, with Raylan just thinking more on his own plans for the future during his time here. The journey took close to an hour before the, rather egotistical, big university, and its surrounding grounds hoved into view.
The main building was truly a sight to behold. It screamed it modern, artistic, and progressive in nature. The building was a symbol of what this university represented as a whole and what it aimed to achieve.
Or so they say.
Regardless, the main building, surrounding buildings, and the grounds themselves were almost perfect in every way possible. Clean, maintained, modern, and efficient. It really screamed high-society life, which to be fair it was considering how difficult it is to get in, it almost seemed a bit… arrogant, as if the grounds around the main buildings were meant to emphasize their significance and how much better this place was to anywhere else.
The thought of that irritated the young man but he quickly brushed it off.
"We're here," The driver announced as Raylan took note of the cost of the trip. He quickly handed the driver a note large enough to cover the price.
"Keep the change," Raylan said as he hauled himself and his belongings out of the car. A quiet thanks pal from the driver was heard before he slammed the door shut. The taxi was gone moments later.
Which just left Raylan standing at the open gate leading toward his new life.
C1: End
New story, for reasons.
Yes, it's a SYOC of sorts but you'll need to contact me first for details as characters should fit nicely into the story. Create their own Arc for them, etc. So certain things are required for submissions. I don't have a Format either or update my profile about availabilities, so again, talking to me first might be the best move as I can inform you of do's and don'ts when it comes to this story. You can submit a character first and we can talk over the submission as well, whichever you prefer. When it comes to characters you can make main "hero" characters or the "social bond" characters for the protagonist.
Edit 1: (10/1/22): The Hero slots for this story are taken. Only social link slots remain available for some submissions.
And don't expect updates to be frequent, I have a lot on my plate. I'm just doing this because I enjoy Persona and felt like tossing my hat into the ring. Expect rare or non-existent updates for this one, at least until I clear some crap off my plate.
This could go nowhere or go everywhere.
Short Chapter 1, I know, but that might be the norm for this story. I don't want to go too far with the first chapter before I finalize everything I need for the first major arc of the story.
Not much else to say this AN, so cya next time.
Disclaimer: I don't own Persona, merely my own concept of a story in the Persona series, all rights go to their respective owners and creators.
AlcatrazDGold - Peace!