It had been a full week since his encounter with Vincent and Emil was, in a word, struggling.

His apartment was a bit messier than he would usually like to keep it. Dirty clothes scattered the floor and his sink piled with dishes. The mailbox was approaching full, and soon would overflow with mail that he had no interest in looking at.

Emil himself was a wreck. Heavy, dark bags had formed under his eyes. He stopped feeling hungry as often, and found himself only eating maybe once a day. He barely allowed himself sleep, knowing his dreams would only be haunted by the Keepers.

He devoted his time to research. Although he assumed he would find no answers, all he discovered were the origins of the terms used by the figures in his dreams.

Philosophical and psychological ties, nothing more. Nothing to help him with the very tangible things he was experiencing.

And as the next night drew closer, he knew he'd have to get a full night's rest. His body couldn't handle living off of one or two hour naps.

…maybe tomorrow I'll look into dream suppression.

Emil set his laptop down, and dragged himself to his bathroom. He hadn't left his house since his encounter with the blue butterfly, and showers were sparse.

Undressing, and avoiding looking at the state of his body in the mirror, Emil stepped into the warm shower. Instantly, he felt as if everything that had been weighing him down could just melt away and flow down the drain.

His mind wandered. Vincent had started to feel like an old friend in his mind as, despite the many questions he had left him with, he was the only one who had given him any sort of insight into what his fate was like.

I suppose he's not the only one anymore, though.

Emil couldn't get the strange dream out of his head. It felt like a Keeper's memories, that was certain, but he couldn't discern anything past that. All he knew was that Vincent's memories left him uneasy and on guard. The stranger's memories left him… calm. Nearly at peace, despite everything. It was the only solace to come out of his dreams thus far.

It… confused Emil. How could any Keeper feel so at peace with their fate? Maybe…

His train of thought stopped as a wave of dizziness washed over him, nearly causing him to pass out.

Emil quickly turned the shower off and sat down on the edge of the bath, taking calm breaths while quickly drying off.

His body was hitting its limit and soon he'd lose consciousness, just so he could get some sleep.

Emil threw the most basic clothes on and dragged his feet to bed, passing out as soon as his body lay flat.

Once again, Emil was floating through that starry void. The Collective Unconscious.

Emil's mind was blank, trying his best to keep calm and rational for… whoever he was about to meet.

They'd soon come into view.

Past Erebus, attached to the stone monument he now knew was the Great Seal, was the next Keeper.

A woman hung in the same crucified position that Vincent did.

Emil reached his hand out, and the moment he touched her he was whisked away.

An open clearing surrounded by woods, the grass a vibrant green contrasting against the ominous dark gray sky.

The wind blew through the field like a strong storm was approaching.

Standing in the center of that field, staring at the sky, was a woman. Easily pushing 30 years old, she stood taller than Emil. Dressed in normal clothes, a simple purple top and dark blue jeans. Her hair reached her shoulders and was a steel gray.

Emil began to approach quietly, as if his presence would disturb her.

"Emil, right?" She said suddenly, nearly knocking Emil off balance in surprise.

She turned around to look at him. Her eyes were a stunning purple, like her shirt.

"Yeah… were you expecting me?" He asked cautiously.

"Well, I was expecting someone. Didn't know it would be you until a few minutes ago." The woman looked only slightly disinterested.

"Okay, well can I ask you some questions before we… y'know." Emil sheepishly said, thinking about what was about to unfold.

"What, before you invade my head and look at my memories? You approach it like it's unfair, but how do you think I knew your name?" She said with a small smile on her face.

"I was right then. Just as I'm seeing yours, you see mine." Emil muttered, suddenly feeling just a little bit better about all of this.

"Wow, Vincent didn't do a very good job, did he?" She scoffed in disbelief.

"I suppose that depends on what you mean by 'a good job'." Emil laughed a little bit, a welcome change to how his mood had been recently.

"He did explain to me everything I needed to know, but not much more. He was… angry with the way I reacted to what he told me. Immediately forced me into his memories after that, and was too drained by the end to explain much more, I think."

A wistful look passed across her face.

"I think anyone would be, having to relive something like that…" The woman said, looking away and seemingly lost in her own head, only for a moment.

"...I can't promise I'll be any better when this is all over, so if you have questions then you should ask them now."

Emil thought carefully.

"Vincent told me that Keepers don't get to 'pass on' when their soul fades. And when we parted he said, 'you get to go back to your bed, I get to go back to the Throne', what is the Throne?"

The woman looked deep in thought before she let out a small sigh.

"It's our own personal afterlife." She said with a big smile. "The Keepers are brought there once their souls fade, and we Keepers keep each other company."

Emil, ever curious, wanted to inquire further.

The woman, that smile still plastered across her face, looked at him with… emptiness in her eyes.

"Don't." She said, softly. Almost begging to not go into detail.

"...okay." Emil said, backing off.

A moment of silence graced that field, only broken by the strong wind threatening to knock them off balance.

Her reaction to his questioning frightened him, and left his mind scrambled in terms of what to ask next.

The woman, having regained her composure upon knowing the mess she left in the poor kid's head, tried to set things on a lighter path.

"My name's Ophelia, by the way. I don't think it's very fair that you don't even know that yet."

"...it's nice to meet you, Ophelia." Emil said, trying to compose himself the same as her. It wouldn't do him well to be so scattered when she showed him her Ascension.

"I think I only have one more question, but I don't know if you'll be able to answer it."

"Don't worry, Emil. I'll answer it if I can."

He pondered how to phrase this before asking.

"I've been seeing another person's memories in my dreams. It's… not like you guys. I don't have time to meet with him beforehand, I'm just dragged into his memories when I fall asleep."

Ophelia, now invested in what he was saying, leaned a little closer to him.

"That… isn't normal. But, then again, nothing about your Ascension is. What do you see?"

"I can't see anything very well when I'm there. But… I'm in a dormitory of sorts. It feels… warm. Like all of my loved ones live there with me. And I feel calm, almost at ease with my place in the universe. Towards the end of the dream, he says something that I can't quite make out, then I wake up. Does that sound like any Keeper you know?"

Ophelia's brow furrowed in thought. She had met and spoke with most of the Keepers that resided within the Throne, and none of them fit his description.

"...did Vincent tell you about the First?" She said cautiously.

"Only that he created the Seal. Is there something more I should know?"

Ophelia sighed. "Well, maybe I can answer another question of yours and spare a different Keeper from having to talk about it."

"The First is a mysterious figure to us Keepers. None of us know who he is, what he looks like, or what his Ascension entailed. We really only know that he created the Great Seal because the Velvet Room told us so."

Emil looked confused. "What… do you mean? How can none of you know him?"

Ophelia looked at him as calmly as she could, but Emil could see the subdued fire in her eyes.

"He doesn't reside in the Throne. He escaped that fate, and we don't know where he is now."

Her words had a dull edge to them, like she held a grudge against him that she was trying to keep hidden.

"I think you're seeing the memories of the First, Emil. That means your Ascension just went from a strange anomaly to… something unprecedented for a Messiah."

The weight of what she was saying was clear to him, but he didn't feel it.

"It's okay if you don't understand the importance of it now. If you really are seeing the First, you will soon."

Yet another moment of silence was held between them, this one longer than the last. Emil, deep in thought, had a sad and troubled look on his face.

Ophelia looked at him with a soft smile on her face before placing a hand on his shoulder to break his train of thought.

When he met her eyes, he saw that she had hidden everything beneath her mask again.

"If you're out of questions, shall we begin?"

Emil nodded his head, and she gently cupped his head with her hands.

Ophelia Erlanger was in a similar situation to Emil when her Ascension started. A normal woman, unknown to the truth of the universe.

Emil found himself once again in that trance, seeing flashes of the town where she grew up. It… wasn't unlike his own.

On my 19th birthday, my dreams were invaded for the first time.

The Velvet Room.

You were lucky to have your fate dished out to you by another human. I had to listen to that freak tell me everything.

Emil saw Igor, his permanent smile plastered onto his face.

I was just a kid at the time. I thought it was just some fucked up dream. But when I woke up with the Key in my hand, I knew it had to be real.

He saw a young Ophelia, curled up in a ball and panicked under her bed covers.

I didn't waste much time. I wasn't going to die for something like this.

That same girl, packing a backpack and stealing money from her parents, only to disappear into the night.

I just… ran. Wherever the wind would take me. It sounds silly now, but I really thought that if I got far enough away that maybe they wouldn't find me again.

Now, Emil saw quick flashes of all the places she'd seen along that journey.

I started on the west coast of America. It took awhile, but eventually I found myself on the east coast. There wasn't a night of that journey that I slept peacefully.

Back in the Velvet Room, its long-nosed proprietor repeatedly tried to convince the young girl to stop running. To do the right thing.

…by then, I was painfully aware that I was dooming all of existence by defying my fate. Igor wouldn't let me think otherwise. But, there had to be another way. Whatever that Seal was made to keep locked away, there had to be a way to get rid of it for good.

Emil saw a group of people come into view, and a feeling of comfort seeped into his chest.

It was on the east coast where I met a group of Persona users. They had been through some wild times, but it had been over for years at the time I met them. Their leader, Andrew, had sensed something in me when I first met him.

A vague image of him came into view. He looked… familiar to Emil. He couldn't place where he'd seen him before.

It took some coaxing, but eventually I opened up to them. They had all been to the Velvet Room, in their own Journey. They knew I had the Potential in me, and began to teach me about Personas.

As these memories passed by, Emil felt the happy times wash over his mind.

During this time, they help me awaken to my own power.

Sisyphus, Cheater of Death.

I ended up staying with them for longer than I had intended to. Years passed, and I was beginning to forget what brought me here. It… couldn't last.

Emil saw a vivid image this time. Ophelia, now maybe 21 or 22, resting in the field he met her in. It was a warm and sunny day, the breeze was gentle, and Ophelia looked quite peaceful as she admired the nature around her.

Something began to float into her vision, something that sent a shocking chill through Emil's mind.

The blue butterfly, steadily flapping its wings and approaching her.

The curious girl reached her finger out for the butterfly to land on.

The moment it touched her, she felt the ground below her give way and found herself in a starry void.

Emil knew it well. It was the Sea of Souls.

The man in the butterfly mask soon approached her, and began to speak.

It was the first time Emil had such a clear view of the man. His long brown hair was brought up into a ponytail, his black turtleneck clashing with the white and gold butterfly mask that left only part of his face exposed.

That man… he spoke so calmly. Less unnerving than Igor. But his words were nonetheless just as suffocating.

"Young soul, you must understand. Your fate is set in stone, and there is nothing you can do to stop it."

The more that he spoke, the angrier and angrier I became. What did he know? Who was this mysterious man to tell me what I can and cannot change?

As he continued to speak, Ophelia reached her breaking point.

Feeling her soul well up within her, she reached out to summon Sisyphus.

He did not come.

The man in the butterfly mask stopped, if only for a moment.

"Who do you think allowed you that power?" He asked simply, with no malice in his voice.

Ophelia, shocked, scared, and still seething with rage, resorted to the only thing that was truly hers.

She balled up her hand, and slammed it into the man's mask.

He reeled back slightly, and the mask slipped off his face.

To her horror, she saw an image that would be burned into her mind for the rest of her days.

The face behind that mask, the one staring Ophelia Erlanger in the eyes, was her own.

The man let out a small chuckle, as if this reminded him of an old memory, before bending down and picking up his mask.

"Hear me." He said, his tone calm but his voice reverberating around the space.

"I am one who dwells in the rift between consciousness and unconsciousness… I am thou, and thou art I. I shall always be within you, watching over you."

And with those words, Ophelia found herself back in that field, the butterfly nowhere to be seen.

I… didn't even say goodbye to everyone. I did what I do best, and ran away.

The Velvet Room stopped appearing to me, and I spent a long, long time traveling.

Emil caught glimpses of each location she detailed.

Anywhere I could find some semblance of peace. Anywhere that wasn't complete isolation was a destination.

South America.

Eastern Europe.

Australia.

Even island nations such as Japan.

I met so many people along my journey, normal or Persona users, it didn't matter. The moment I caught sight of that butterfly, I shipped off to someplace new.

I… I knew, deep down, he was right. I knew that this was a useless struggle. But I had to continue on. Meet new people, become stronger, all in hopes of evading my fate.

I just didn't know that's what was bringing me closer to it.

Suddenly, Emil saw Ophelia as he met her.

I had been drifting for over a decade. My travels in that time had always been… inviting. Like I was welcome wherever I went. That changed.

Emil saw what she meant. Places that used to be warm and bright were now gloomy and desolate. The sky darkened wherever she went, and…

Many people were being affected by a strange illness. They would become unresponsive, wouldn't eat, wouldn't speak, they would just watch the sky with pale skin and glazed-over eyes.

I… I watched a lot of people die from this illness. Everywhere I went. Nowhere was untouched from this plague.

Emil could hear her struggling to keep her composure.

I knew it was my fault. But what was I supposed to do? I didn't…

Emil felt something change as she went quiet. The scenery around him began to skew and morph.

I didn't want to die.

Suddenly, he was back in his own body. In that field where she first encountered the butterfly.

He watched as she watched the sky.

…My time had come. The world… was coming to an end. I knew I could run no longer. I returned to that field, where I had once relaxed like I hadn't a care in the world, and I waited for him.

What was once a warm and vibrant place, now was just as Emil had found it when he arrived. A harsh wind blew through and the sky looked dark and imposing above.

He watched as the blue butterfly slowly flapped its wings towards her. It gently landed on her shoulder, and they were floating through that starry void.

In this place, approaching the one thing she tried with all her might to escape for all these years, she still wasn't ready to die.

Emil found himself back in her mind, the picture crystal clear as if he was in her shoes.

As she stood suspended above Erebus and the Seal, she was still looking for a way out.

The masked man was with her, and offered her no choice.

"If… if I can kill that beast, there won't be a need for a seal, right? Right?

He offered no answer. Not even a reaction. He just stood like a statue, staring at the Seal.

Ophelia, in desperation, assumed his silence to be an answer. And with a leap, dived towards the Great Beast.

The battle was fierce. She had never gotten much life or death battle experience, but she needed to try.

She pushed and pushed. And as she reached her limits, something new blossomed in her heart.

Sisyphus was beginning to transform, and Ophelia awakened to her ultimate power.

Ananke, Embodiment of Inevitability and Necessity.

With all of her might, every ounce of power, she eradicated Erebus.

And as it melted away into nothingness, she had a small moment of celebration. Bruised and battered, she had overcome what she thought was impossible.

"Are you ready?"

Her heart sank. She spun around to see the man in the butterfly mask staring at her, awaiting her response.

"What… What are you talking about? I killed it. I killed it! There's no need for-"

"That beast, Erebus, is not something you can kill and be done with. It is the embodiment of humanity's unwavering will to die. All of the negativity that permeates your hearts, all of the hopelessness, it is all consolidated here. You have slain it. But it will be back, make no mistake.

You have not escaped your fate.

So, I ask you. Are you ready?"

Ophelia felt her soul crush beneath the weight of his words.

"No… no! I'm not! Please… please…"

"I… am sorry. This is the only way."

She felt her body lift off the ground.

Screaming, begging, pleading, Ophelia cried out. But, that fire didn't last long.

She resigned herself to her fate, and was placed upon the seal.

Emil was back in his own body, the crushing despair of her final moments still weighing on his heart.

She took her hands from his head and stepped back. She looked… empty. Like a walking corpse, and almost as bad as the sick men and women he saw in her memories.

"...I understand why Vincent didn't want to talk for long after that." She mumbled, barely audible.

"Ophelia, I-"

"Don't." She said simply, her expression unchanging. "I hope I've accomplished whatever they wanted me to."

She looked him in the eyes one last time.

"I'm sorry, Emil. I wish you didn't have to do this."

And with that, she gave him a swift push on his forehead, and he was sent back to sleep.

He awoke in his bed, still processing what had just happened.

That crushing despair, still rotting away in his chest.

Emil stared at the ceiling and wished for it all to end.

Author's note:

another two chapters done. some more lore, some more set up, another keeper.

things are progressing nicely for the story I want to tell.

once again, this will only be 10 - 12 chapters and I'll probably stop writing author's notes as much until the end.

I hope you're enjoying the stories! until next time.

-alex