When I woke up, I was sitting on a chair. I tried to look around but my vision was blurry.
-Where... am I?
-Did You already forget?-I heard a familiar voice.
-Igor? Then that means...
-Indeed. Welcome to the Velvet Room. Although I'm saying his for a second time.-Igor's voice seemed amused.-And, it looks like you decided to bring someone with You.
-What? I brought no one.
-I didn't say that You did it on purpose. But please calm down and wait for Your eyes to work again.
I did as he asked me, and soon I was able to see his face. I was surprised, because Theo wasn't anywhere in sight. Instead, there were two women, both sitting on the arms of the couch.
-It seems that You have awakened to Your power. Well done. And what a mysterious power it is.
-What was that... that... thing?-I could't find words to describe what I saw. Just when I was about to be shot by a robot, a voice echoed in my head. In the next moment, a warrior with a katana defeated this robot. Then I passed out and don't remember anything else. Igor snapped with his long fingers. On the table before him, a set of twenty-two cards appeared.
-Your power is Persona.
-Per...sona?
-Yes. It is a manifestation of Your own soul, that takes a visible shape and protects You from evil. You can say, that it's a mask that You wear during hard moments in Your life. To awaken it, You had to be in the life-death situation, and fortunately, You had.
-Wait a sec. Did You send this robot after me?
Igor lauged. It was really soft laugh, almost soothing.
-No, I did no such thing. But, thanks to that, You have awakened a Persona, but...
-But what?
-It's not the end of Your power. You see, many people are able to summon a Persona, but those who can enter this Room are able to do much more.
-Much more?
-To put it simply, Your power is like number zero. It's empty, but at the same time, it holds infinite possibilities. Your power is „Wild Card".
-Wild... Card?
-It is a Persona that can take shape of any other Persona. You can switch them whenever You want.-Said woman with short blond hair. She was wearing blue flight attendant suit.
-Oh, forgive my manners. I forgot to introduce my other assistants.-Igor pointed the woman with short hair.-This is Elisabeth. She used to be the resident here, but She embarked on a journey to save someone, and she's still at it.-Then he pointed at the woman with long blond hair. She was wearing the same suit as Elisabeth, but she was holding a book with a mask symbol on its cover.-This is Margaret. She will be Your guide in training of Your Personas. But, let us return to the matter at hand. As Elisabeth explained, Wild Card have no shape on its own, however, it can take shape of any other Persona. In Your case it took a shape of Susano'o. It is a powerful Persona indeed.
-I understand what You explained to me, but earlier You mentioned a guest. Who did come with me?
-A woman who fought You.
-Wh...what? She's here?
-I am.-said someone behind me. I turned and faced the same robot who fought me on the rooftop.-Don't worry, I now know who You are, and I know that terminating You is prohibited. I'm sorry, for what happened, but...-She suddenly stopped mid sentence
-But?-I tried to persuade her to talk.
-Nothing, nevermind.
-?
-Well then, shall I fill him in as well?-She asked Igor.
-By all means.
She turned her face to me and spoke.
-My name is Aigis. I am an anti-shadow weapon, first generation. Or should I say, I used to be. I was fighting alongside a Wild Card user. But, he sacrificed himself in order to stop the end of the world two years ago. After his death, I was granted Wild Card as well. Thanks to this power, I was able to find out the truth about his death, and decided to find a way, to prevent this cataclysm from ever happening again. In the end, I „died" as a machine, and became human. My body is still that of a machine, but I have a soul, and my Persona. I also can enter my special battle mode called Orgia Mode, as You saw. But, I can only do this by using the remnants of my Wild Card. You see, i was granted that Power, but only for a time. Now I have only one Persona that I can change, and only thanks to it, I can enter Orgia Mode.
-I see... but why did You attack me?
-Two years ago, a team of Persona-users managed to destroy Tartarus, and The Dark Hour. These were the remains of a failed experiment held by a certain madman. The Dark Hour was a phenomena, where normal humans transmogrify into a coffin for a period of one hour. For some reason, the Dark Hour is still on the rooftop. No one knows why. That's why we decided to close the entrance. The password was given to me and Mitsuru Kirijo. That's why I was shocked when you knew the password, as well as Your ability to experience The Dark Hour.
-About this code...was it an important date?
-Yes. 5th of March 2010. The date of His death.
-Oh, I see. I'm sorry for entering, but I was just curious.
-It's okay. We'll meet again in Inaba.
-What? How did You...
-You'll find out soon enough. Well then, I'll be off.
With that she disappeared.
-It seems that Time marches on in Your world. Next time we meet, will be when you enter on Your own. Until then Fare-thee-well.