The quiet blue limo echoed with the sounds of shuffling.
Steady, practiced hands cycled through the cards of a small deck as their owner waited patiently for the arrival of the room's treasured guest.
He contemplated the cards that sat patiently below his nose, feeling the energies they contained, the possibilities they held, intermix as the cards were shuffled by his gloved hands.
His gaze rose, staring impassively at the sleeping form of their young, silver-haired guest. The young man had the potential to embrace the true power of the wild card, but only if he was willing.
The old master of the Velvet Room grinned as he watched the sleeping form stir, drawn forth by the call of his soul.
It will be interesting to see if he can endure the trials to come, Igor noted, watching as his guest blinked blearily, his tired gaze sweeping over the car before landing on the wizened man shuffling the cards.
"Welcome." Igor stated, announcing the arrival of the guest.
Yu brought a hand to his forehead, his fingers intertwining in his hair as a befuddled expression crossed his face.
"When did I…?" He began, only to be cut off by Igor's melodious voice.
"Do not be alarmed. You are fast asleep in the real world." The room's master explained, hands deftly shuffling the cards in front of him, "I have summoned you here within your dreams."
Their guest merely nodded, glancing around the room for a moment as he brought his hands together in his lap.
"So… Igor, was it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he studied the old master, "I take it you called me here for a reason."
"Of course, but all in due time." Igor answered, bringing the cards together with a loud snap, "But first, I would like to perform a bit of an… experiment."
With a wave of his hand, the cards seemed to disappear before Yu's eyes. He cautiously glanced between Igor and Margaret, expression blank.
"It is alright. No harm will come to you should you agree." The woman explained, watching Yu's expression with a passive ease.
Their guest's expression relaxed ever so slightly before he nodded, silently giving his assent.
Stretching his hand outward, Igor swept his arm across the table in an outwards arc, the cards he had previously been shuffling appearing before him, face down, as his arm passed by.
"If you would, please step forward and select one of these cards."
A skeptical look crossed their guest's face for a moment before he silently stood and walked over to the table. He stretched his hand out, eyes skimming over the cards on the table. His hand hovered over one card in particular as he hesitated for a moment, before reaching down and pulling the card back across the table's surface.
As he brought the card towards himself for inspection, Igor swept his hand back across the table, the rest of the cards fading away as he did so.
Yu's brow furrowed as he looked over the card, a frown on his face. After a moment, he wordlessly returned the card to the table, setting it down face up.
A faceless man was featured on the card's face, his form obscured by an ancient set of armor. He appeared to be riding atop a wheeled vehicle, with two egyptian burial masks seated in front of it. Below the image was a small V and two I's, forming the roman numeral for seven.
"The Chariot ." Yu uttered, the word feeling familiar on his tongue, despite how foreign it sounded to him.
"An interesting selection." Igor replied, steepling his hands as his eyes studied Yu's expression, "Why did you choose that card?"
"It… felt familiar." Their guest answered, a concerned look on his face.
"As it should." Igor claimed, his grin seeming to widen ever so slightly, "It is a rare day indeed that a treasured guest such as yourself begins forming their world on such an abnormal note."
"The Persona you have acquired, Izanagi, can be thought of as a facade you use to face the hardships of life." Margaret elaborated upon seeing Yu's questioning gaze, "However, your Persona ability is unique in that you are not limited to just Izanagi, like others might be."
"Limited?" Their guest questioned, tone skeptical, "I'm not sure I follow."
"The Persona ability is the power to control one's heart… and the heart is strengthened through bonds." Igor responded, shifting Yu's gaze, "By forming bonds with others, your Social Links will gradually develop. The power of these Social Links is what determines the strength and abilities of your Personas."
"Let me understand this correctly- you're saying that I'll become stronger by making friends with people?" Yu asked, sitting back down as he tried to process the information.
"Indeed. And you may need all the strength you can muster if you wish to survive your coming trials."
The student leaned back, settling against the plush seating as he ran a hand through his bangs.
"That's… I'm not certain I can even begin that kind of task." He stated, nervously glancing at Igor.
"But you already have." Igor countered, his grin seeming to become almost impish as he spoke, "The Chariot is the first of many Social Links you will form over the course of your journey."
"So that's why you had me pick a card… but who could this 'Chariot' be…?" Yu murmured, looking down as the gears in his mind spun.
Silence reigned over the Velvet Room for a moment, then two, before finally the guest spoke once more, breaking the silence.
"It was Chie. Chie's the Chariot."
"Miss Satonaka was your first Social Link, yes," Igor affirmed, resting his hands on the table in front of him, "and it was most impressive that you forged one before even knowing of them."
"I didn't mean to, I just…" He protested, voice trailing off as Igor's eyes watched him with amusement.
"No matter if it was intentional or not, you have still formed the first of many bonds. I look forward to seeing your next one when you arrive here once more. But before you go..."
Igor trailed off for a moment, reaching his hand outward towards Yu, palm facing the ceiling of the limo.
"Hold onto this. It will allow you to return here, should you find need of it."
A sudden drowsiness fell over Yu as he reached out, taking hold of the key. His other hand came up to hold his head as his vision began to blur and fade.
"Re... turn?" He mumbled, the sleepiness slurring his words.
"The next time you visit here will be of your own accord. Until we meet again..."
The last thing he saw before his vision faded into complete darkness was Igor's grinning face, smile spread from ear to ear as he watched the consciousness fade from the student.
Yu awoke suddenly, eyes shooting open as he stared into the darkness of his room, the roof slowly fading into view as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He sat up slowly, glancing around the room for any signs of his dream visitors.
Nothing. The room was silent outside of the patter of rain on the window, and the only one in the room was himself.
Just a dream, he thought, rubbing his face with a hand.
A quick glance at the clock revealed that it was little bit before 3:00 am, meaning he still had some time to sleep before school.
Shrugging off his blankets, he crossed the room as silently as possible, drifting into the hall and into the bathroom across the way.
Splashing cold water on his face, his mind replayed the conversation from his dream.
Social Links, the Chariot… were those tarot cards? He wondered idly, drying off his face with a towel.
No matter, it was just a bad dream. Just hopped up on emotions from earlier today, that's all.
Trying to reassure himself, he laid back in bed, pulling the covers over himself. However, a sharp pain greeted him, as something jabbed into his thigh.
Something was in his pocket, although he didn't recall leaving something in there when he went to bed in the first place.
He reached in with one hand, and brought the contents to his face for inspection.
A small blue key greeted him, almost pulsating with a low light.
It wasn't a dream after all.
Author's Note:
Oh hey guys, it's been a while. How long has it been? Almost three years? Well, shit.
Hopefully this short interlude will satisfy you until my next chapter is done. I'm not sure how long that will be, so don't hold your breath.