When I awoke, I stretched out, which was when I realized there were no covers on me. I propped myself up, and saw that I was in some kind of dark void, except I myself was lighted. What is this place?, I wondered. How did I get here?

The last thing I remembered was lying in the futon Mr. Kirisame had provided me. Somehow, I had been transported to this place, but there was no sign of how I could have gotten here. Was it related to the cognitive world, I wondered? After all, I fell through a black void as I was being thrown from Shido's Palace to Gensokyo.

I looked around me to see if there was anything else here, and behind me was a set of blue doors. I approached them, and when I got close I could see they were styled like the wooden doors of a cathedral, complete with hand rings with which to open it. With no other objects in sight in the void around me, I tried the doors, and after some resistance they creaked open. I went inside.

Within the doors was a large, blue room resembling a courtroom. Unlike the courtroom in my previous nights' nightmare, this one had an oddly calming atmosphere, with blue drapery, carpets and banners with a Gothic, golden letter "V" emblazoned on them. The benches were all empty, as was the jury box. In the center of the room was another "V" symbol, this one much larger than the others. Unlike the impossibly high judge's desk of the nightmare, only a single step led up to it and the desk was a realistic height, and topped with a piece of paper and a pot of ink with a quill in it. A small set of wood doors allowed me to cross through the bar and into the middle of the room.

At first, there was no one else in the room besides me. Once I passed the bar, however, a young girl with flowing platinum blonde hair tied with butterfly pins walked in from the left. She was dressed in a wide blue dress and had puffy black pants, she had eyes of gold, and under her arm she held a very thick grimoire. She stopped just to the left of the judge's desk, bowed and smiled. When I looked back up, all of a sudden there was an old man at the desk dressed in a black suit, who had a long nose and a constant grin, and who was lacing his fingers together.

He reached out with a gloved hand. "Welcome to the Velvet Room."


I paused. Velvet Room? What was this place, and where was I right now, I wondered.

"...I beg your pardon?" I asked.

"It is as my master said," the girl told me. She did a curtsey. "My name is Lavenza. I am the attendant of my master."

"My name is Igor," the man announced, "and I am the master of this place. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

This was very strange, I thought. Who were these people, exactly?

"I don't understand," I said. "One moment, I was lying in bed, the next, I was brought here. Is this another part of 'Gensokyo?'"

Lavenza shook her head. "This place is separate from the realm in which you have found yourself."

Igor held out his hand again, "this place exists between dream and reality, time and space. It is the place which lies at the heart of the collective unconscious, around which flows the Sea of Souls."

Lavenza stepped forward. "You are experiencing this as a dream. Your body in reality is fast asleep. In other words, the you in this room is the manifestation of your mind, heart and soul. This room reflects the state of your heart, as well."

I looked around again at the courtroom-seeming place, and asked the logical question, "why does this place appear as a courtroom, then?"

Lavenza closed your eyes, and looked down. "You're an unusual guest, by the standards of our past guests. You were granted the power of the Wild Card by a being which impersonated and imprisoned my master. But because of the state of your heart, you could only manifest two Personas: one for your lies, and one for your hate."

Igor then cut in to explain, "the Wild Card represents the power to wield multiple Personas, built up and nourished by the bonds which you form with others. Only those who have signed a contract may enter this place, and use this power to its fullest potential."

"But since you never entered a formal contract, your Wild Card was incomplete, leaving you only with your broken and distorted bonds with yourself, and that of your father," Lavenza added. "Until now, you have never been able to enter this place as a proper guest."

I scratched my head. So, that power, which that god had given me, was called the Wild Card? And it was properly handled by this room, by these people? And a contract…

...I had made a deal with Ren, back on that ship, when I begged for him to bring down Shido. And before that I had formed a bond with him during our repeated visits. Even though I knew I was going to kill him, I couldn't help but form a relationship which came the closest to me making a real friend. In the end, I wound up not wanting to do it, but by that point was obligated to...

"Tell me," I asked, "was Ren also a 'Wild Card?'"

Igor chuckled. "Indeed. Your intuition is very sharp. It was through your bond with him that the contract could be sealed, and allow you access to this place."

Lavenza continued, "the evil god's machinations left him to come to this place in a distorted state. I was split in two, and my master here was imprisoned. Only through his will could this place be repaired, and its torch passed to you."

Well, he was known for doing the impossible, I supposed. And I guessed fixing an otherworldly space wasn't far out of the question, especially if he overcame the chains society bound him in and rebelled against the god.

"How does that relate to this room being a courtroom?" I asked.

"As I said before, it reflects the state of your heart," Lavenza said. "This room takes a different form based on the guest who visits it. In your case, you feel as though you are to face judgement."

"Judgement?" I wondered.

"Think back to the crimes you committed at your father's direction: the numerous psychotic breakdowns, and the mental shutdowns, particularly of the parents of two of the Phantom Thieves you knew. These sins are what you are running from, and you fear the weight of them will bring dire consequences later."

I looked down. The crimes I committed… the sheer hatred I had for my bastard father, and the broken childhood he left me as a result. My desire to be respected and adored, but even more my incessant lust for revenge, so strong I was willing to kneel to him and do his bidding long enough to get close to and kill him, no matter what it took. But… all of that was moot, now. My dreams of recognition were gone. All that was left was those innumerable crimes I committed. Crimes which would surely damn me to Hell. Crimes for which I would never be forgiven.

"...I see," I said. I looked up again. "What can you possibly do to help me? A killer without remorse, a criminal, a person no one likes?"

"It is true that you are in a dire situation," Lavenza said. "But circumstances have put you in the best place to start over, to overcome the darkness which taints your heart."

"...Gensokyo?" I asked.

"That is correct," Lavenza replied. "When your father's palace was destroyed, everything in it ceased to exist in the public's cognition, including you. Out there, there is no longer any trace of Goro Akechi. Only those who formed a bond with you, such as Ren, recall your existence. That is why you appeared within Gensokyo, a place where all those forgotten and disbelieved end up."

So I was correct, I realized. I ended up in this realm because, effectively, there was no longer any trace or memory of me out there. Somehow, I felt very relieved, because it meant my crimes would be unknown. Even if Shido remembered me and tried to pin the blame on me, everyone would simply regard him as a babbling madman.

...but at the same time, I had been completely forgotten. All proof of my existence, my fame, my fangirls… okay, I could have done without the fangirls, to be honest. But still, all of that was gone. My whole identity was erased. I was no one, once again. And it was worse than before, as I still had all those crimes on my head, even if no one could ever know of them.

"So I have been forgotten, and am back to being alone…"

"Nonsense," Igor smiled. "This is merely a new beginning, a chance to reinvent yourself and build a new circle of bonds."

I looked up and scowled, "but how can I restart my life if I have nothing but my crimes?"

"Your crimes are not known in this new land," Lavenza explained. "And the people who call it home are not like the people who live out in the broader world. I've observed it, and I'm sure it will be the perfect place in which to base your journey."

"...my journey?" I asked, puzzled. "What sort of 'journey' am I on?"

"A journey to rediscover the Justice you have lost," Lavenza said. "You possess a naturally strong sense of Justice, which has been blackened and distorted by the tortured life you have led, and the blood on your hands as a result. While there is nothing you can do to right the wrongs of your past, you can rebuild yourself and reestablish the Justice you hold so dear. By doing that, you can escape the negative judgement that awaits you. But it will require substantial effort on your part, and that is why we wish to assist you."

"We will help you develop your Wild Card to its fullest potential," Igor added. "You are already well-versed in the power of Persona, so there is little I can say that you would not know. But to fully realize the power of the Wild Card, one must establish mutual bonds with other individuals with a wide variety of personalities and lifestyles."

I thought for a moment. "Mutual bonds… friends, in other words?"

"Yes," Lavenza nodded. "By forming these bonds, the power of your own heart increases and you can assume multiple Personas."

A chance to make real friends. Unlike the Outside, Gensokyo presented none of the barriers that kept me from associating much with others before. It would be difficult for me, as all those years of neglect and isolation left me what others would call a jerk, and I readily admitted I was a jerk. But if I came out of that shell, perhaps I could become a more sociable person, and actually become the pleasant boy I projected myself as.

"I see no downside with this offer," I said. "What do you want in return?"

"Only for you to commit to your journey," Igor grinned. "I eagerly await the outcome of your trials."

Behind me, the doors opened again, this time with white light pouring out of them.

"The night is winding down," Lavenza said. "If you walk through those doors, you will wake up. There is nothing more we can do for you today, but we will summon you once again when the time is right."

I bowed, "understood." I turned around, and walked toward the doors, the light overtaking me as reality around me seemed to fade.