Disclaimer: I do not own the Shin Megami Tensei Persona series, as well as any other copyrighted materials in this story. All credits go to their original owners.
Persona: One World
Chapter 3: Phenomena
East Shrewsbury Nightmare Chapel, 8 May 2015;
Melissa stood there petrified as Matt's body lay dead on the chapel's floor, his fresh blood mixing with the bloodstains that had mysteriously appeared.
The evil suit of armor laughed again. A mask appeared where its place is supposed to be, grinning its evil smile.
"Matt...." Melissa fell to the floor, the fear and shock came in as too much of a burden for her. That, and also the fact that she may die soon enough, she had no more strength to stand.
As if accepting her resolve to die, the armored monster stalked towards the girl, armor clanking menacingly. It raised its sword up, ready to bring it down upon the defenseless Melissa.
"PERSONA!"
A sudden shout from out of nowhere caused Melissa to look up, only to be momentarily blinded by a flash of blue light. Metal clashed against metal, and the armored monster was sent flying across the chapel.
"Daijobu desu ka? (Are you okay?)" A guy rushed to Melissa's side, addressing her in what sounded like Chinese or Japanese. He was a good looking guy, at least as far as Melissa knew.
"I don't speak Chinese....."
"I speak Japanese."
Wow, for a Japanese his English is not bad.... Melissa thought with a smile. She then noticed the samurai facing the armored monster. Katana met sword a couple of time, causing sparks to fly.
"Can you stand up, miss?" The boy offered his left hand to her, as his right hand is occupied by his phone.
"Melissa... Melissa Belle..." She said, not taking the guy's hand. She stared at the floor blankly, when a loud explosion was heard.
The armored monster sent a bench flying towards Shibuya and the brown haired English girl. Out of instinct he pinned her down to the ground as the bench sailed over them.
"Tsukuyomi, GETSU-EI!" upon command, the Samurai Persona slashed in front of himself the arc forming a shockwave of energy which exploded upon impact with the armored monster. "Yes!"
"Errr..." Shibuya just realized that he was lying on top of the the whole time. Quickly he jumped to his feet, his face red. "Ahh.... So-Sorry....!" The girl was blushing too, but said nothing.
Suddenly, Shibuya bent over groaning in pain. At that same moment the Samurai Persona was struck in the stomach as the armored monster rushed from the explosion earlier
Alarmed, Melissa ran over to his side. "Hey, are you okay?"She helped him up, and saw blood on his lips.
"I'm okay... Just now when I didn't focus really cost me..." he got up but staggered a bit. "When that Shadow hurt my Persona, I get hurt too..."
"Shadow? Persona? What are you talking about?" Melissa found her voice again at last. "While those two are at it we should get out of here!"she tried to carry him out but he resisted.
"We cannot escape the Nightmare Zone while that Shadow is still here." Shibuya said, his eyes not moving away from the armored monster. "A Shadow is those kinda things that hurt people, and my Persona is the one fighting it!"
"Your Persona? You mean to say that you own that samurai guy there or something?"
"He is me. And I'm him."
"What?"
"It's really... complicated..... Tsukuyomi, Tsukikage-Iai!" the Samurai Persona swung its sword, releasing another blinding flash, this time in form of a beam of light. The blast knocked the Shadow into a wall, but the armor just won't give in.
"What are you waiting for? Summon your Persona as well!"
Bewildered, the girl shouted back. "What do you think I am, some kind of superhero? I can't summon a Persona -whatever that thing is!"
"Ugh!" the samurai Persona took another hit, seriously hurting Shibuya. His eyes began to blur. He wobbled a bit and the light from the Samurai persona dimmed.
"Hey! Hang in there!" Melissa took another look at Matt and fought back a tear. She looked back at the Japanese boy, who's also getting hurt because of her. "Damn it!"
I am thou....
Standing up, Melissa spread her arms between the Japanese boy and the armored Shadow. "You won't harm anyone anymore!"
And thou art I....
"Baka! Move aside, Melissa!" the Japanese boy shouted, but Melissa wasn't listening. Her eyes fixed on the Shadow as the Shadow's was on her. The armored Shadow gave a low chuckle and raised its weapon.
"PERSONA!"
There was a flurry of movements, Shibuya reaching for his phone, the Shadow lunging forward towards Melissa and Melissa whipping out her own phone as everything was covered in a violet light.
"Get 'im! Gefjun!" Melissa's phone projected a card, its face a male and female human under a heart branched tree, which shattered and from within it a woman in a lovely white gown appeared. Her face was obscured by a mask, heart shaped and she had an ornate orb levitating between her palms.
Shibuya watched in awe, as the other Persona stood against the Shadow. Gefjun's aura of lightning raged all over the cathederal.
"Let's go, Gefjun!" The female magician Persona struck up the offensive, sending a bolt of lightning at the Shadow. The Shadow raised its sword which as knocked aside by the electric attack. Roaring, the Shadow rushed forward, the helmet part of the armor opening up to reveal a fang-lined mass of darkness.
"AH!" Melissa shouted, which Gefjun responded with a bigger ball of lightning which shot forward. The ball of lightning struck the darkness mass of the Shadow head on, producing a spectacle of fireworks before the armor itself disintegrated and the darkness fade into the night with an eerie wail.
"That's for Matt!" Melissa shouted at what's left of the monster, tears in her eyes overflowing down to her cheeks. She looked over to the body was and gasped....
There was nothing there....
"Hey, what did you....?" Melissa turned to Shibuya, but suddenly her body lost strength and the last thing she heard was the Japanese boy shouting out her name before she passed out.....
Beijing National University, China, 9 May 2015;
"Damn it, I'm not supposed to be day-dreaming here..." Wang Soi Feng shook the crazy images formed in his head as he's taking notes from the lecturer. Shaking his head physically, he squinted towards the projection again, copying important points into his notes.
Not far from him, Ai Si Ying, a beautiful Korean-Chinese mix, also shook her head as she awoke from a daydream of knights and samurais.
"Soi Feng" a voice called Wang over after the class. The student fixed his glasses and turned to see his lecturer, Dr. Lam Ka-Kyen was beckoning him. Straightening his shirt, he walk agaisnt the stream of student to the lecturer's table infront.
"Yes, Doctor?" He asked. And the lecturer handed him a sheet of paper. It was a form for him to join the professor's research as an assistant. "You serious?" Wang was so jubilant that he could have hugged the lecturer.
"You're a brilliant student," the older bespectacled professor said to him smiling. "Though I would appreciate it if you would stop sleeping in my classes."
Scratching the back of his head, Wang gave his lecturer a goofy smile.
It was midnight, and the University park is mostly empty. Empty except for the sounds of a single person training alone. It was a scrawny bespectacled guy, his short dark hair wet with his sweat. His body was quite muscular, thanks to his nightly training. Wang Soi Feng wiped his sweaty brow with a towel.
Wang Soi Feng had long been a smart kid. For his entire life he had been pushed to excel in his studies, never given any room to do what he wants. The truth is, he really wants to be an athlete. Running is his passion, and only now had he have the chance to live it...
He trained like this every other night, while the rest of the nights would be spent on his university work. Its a hard life, and he knows it...
"Enjoying yourself?"
Wang was so surprised by the unexpected greeting that he tripped over a park bench and fell over. He could hear the female voice giggling as he got back to his feet. He looked up to see who was it that got the jump on him.
"Ai Si Ying?" Wang said, a little louder than necessary. The short haired girl stood next to him, wearing a light blue training attire. Wang had to physically avert his eyes from staring at her beautiful body. "What... are you doing at th-this time of the day?"
" Same as you... Tonight is very cool and comfortable for a jog." She said with a smile.
"I see...."
"So, where are you going next?" she asked.
"Err... I don't know.." He walked away, not wanting to waste so much time. She followed him close behind.
"Errr... Why are you following me?"
"Nothing..."
"Suit yourself then...."
"Hey, what's that?" She pulled on his sleeve and pointed at the Engineering Faculty building nearby. Wang didn't realize it earlier, but there was some sort of red light from inside the building.
"Hey, let's check it out..." She pulled harder on his sleeve.
Wang peeked climbed over the locked building's fence with ease, followed by Ai. When the reached the front doors of the buillding, they looked at each other and nodded. He turned the handle of the door, which was surprisingly unlocked.
"Could it be, that some students are having a party here?" Wang suggested, looking around warily in the process.
"No way, it's wayyy to quiet... This is....?" Ai ran her finger across the wall, over a distinctive red liquid . "B- Blood?"
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" A female scream was heard somewhere from above. Instinctively Wang looked at the stairs and ran up it.
"Wang! Wait for me! Waittt!" Ai shouted while he ran off on his own. He didn't seem to have heard her and ran left her alone. It was then that Ai noticed the scraping sounds coming from down the hallway.
"Who's there.... Who...? AHHH!"
Nightmare University, Second Floor, ?;
Wang ran, following the sound of the screams. It was not until a while that he realized that he had left Ai behind. "Ah.... Damn...." Contemplating for a while, he turned back, not before a mass of darkness blocked the way which he came. "What in the world...?"
He stared into the dark mass. He felt a slow tingling in his chest when he realized that something in the darkness was looking back at him... He scrutinized on it, trying to make out what was it that's staring at him.... When all of a sudden a face jumped, baring its fangs at him.
"Raijin!" Someone shouted, and a large projection of a card, its face a kings holding a mace and a scripture, appreared in front of Wang before the card shattered into a million pieces in a golden light. Within the golden light then emerged a long bearded old man, covered in a white cloth . He also carried a double bladed lance.
With one swing of the golden lance, heavy winds and lightning blasted around Wang, destroying the being that came from the darkness.
"Stay vigilant, Soi Feng."
"Professor Lam?"
"Watch out!" The professor pushed the younger university student aside as more of the dark monsters hurled themselves at the humans. "Raijin!" the white clothed god-warrior swung his lance again, destroying the monsters in a gale force of lightning and wind.
"What in the world was that?" The younger man shouted. He looked at the lightning-god Persona. "And what the hell is THIS?"
"Calm down, I'll explain everything later."
"Professor?" Ai's voice was heard behind Wang. He turned around, looking relieved. "Are you okay, Ai?" he asked. She nodded, he sighed in relief.
"What's going on here, Professor?" She asked. He was about to say something, but stiffened. "Later, we've got company."
Wang and Ai both looked back, and saw a larger mass of darkness approaching. This time there's more masks and also some hands that seems to carry weapons on them.
"Raijin" The elder god Persona took a stance in front of the professor. "You two run away, there's no guarantee I can win this one... Now, RUN!"
"Professor..." Ai wanted to protest, but Wang was already pulling her away. "Wang, the professor... we can't just leave him like that!" she pulled back, but Wang kept a firm grip on him.
"We have to trust him!" Wang shouted at her. She seemed stunned by his sudden outburst. "We have to.. and we have get out of here..."
She didn't resist anymore but instead ran alongside him. They ran until they reached the main hall, which would lead to the exit, where they stopped running. Standing in their path is a 5-foot tall monstrosity, having four arms and a wearing a mask not unlike the ones worn by the dark masses.
Before either of them could even say anything, the monster grabbed Wang by the waist and lifted him up into the air.
"Wang, no!" Ai shouted as the monster's large hands began to crush Wang. "NOO!"
I am thou....
Wang screamed in pain as the monster slowly crush his body like a tin can. "Ai.... run...."
"NOO!"
And thou art I....
"PERSONA!" Ai screamed out. A deep blue light erupted in front of her in the form of a large card with a depiction of a lion fighting a woman on it. The Strength Arcana card shined for a while before shattering, from within it a woman appeared wearing a traditional Korean sea-blue and blue hanbok which beside her was two swords made of water. "Areong Jong!"
Both Wang and the monster was shocked by the sudden appearance of the Persona, which Wang used to his advantage when the monster's grip loosened he slid from its fingers and onto the hard floor.
Seeing his prey had escaped, the furious monster gave out a bone-chilling cry and started to charge towards the fallen Wang. Before it could even came close, a jet of water formed a wall between it and Wang. The impact of the highly pressurized water knocked the monster back, sending it crashing into a wall.
"Wang, are you alright?" Ai helped him up, but it seemed that some of his bones are utterly broken and he is unable to stand. Every time he tried, he winced in pain and fell back to the floor. "Damn..."
The monster also seemed to have gotten back onto its feet and is roaring at the Persona Areong Jong,
"You stay here, Wang." She looked at him straight in the eyes. "I... I'll protect you."