“Hold on tight, we’re getting out of here!”
Unable to look at who or what abducted me, I used my left arm to hold my broken right arm to keep from flailing.
“Well I’m holding on tight, to myself.”
“They’re escaping through the air! Shoot them down! Shoot them down!”
Some of the blacksuits transform into different creatures, firing off fire and wind attacks at us. We, or rather it, swiftly dodged each shot; swerving left and right even dipping down and swerving back up. Felt like a free-hanging speed demon roller coaster ride except with the added extreme danger of falling off to one’s death.
Bwoosh! Zrrrr! Booom!
“Quite annoying, could you do something about them? Just a little more and we’ll be out of this situation.. You’re heavier than anticipated.”
“I am wearing full armor holding a shield! I’ll try this then.. Arthur! Shield of Retribution!”
Arthur holding the giant shield appears, absorbing the onslaught of attacks for a few seconds before unleashing a light beam back at the enemies.
Zzzrrrr! Kaboom!
With that we slipped through the portrait of the Mayor transporting us outside the building. Now flying over the courtyard, we fly over the tall marble wall landing at a parking lot not too far away. It gently placed me on the ground before standing in front of me.
“Thanks for saving me there.. I don’t think I’d last any more fighting.” Shaking as I slowly stand up, I finally take a glance at my savior. In all black with a beak it stood just up to my waist. It also had a very long feather sticking out the side of it’s head like the feathers on an archer’s hat.
“You’re a-”
“A Raven. Yes, I can talk. No, I won’t eat you.”
“I- uh appreciate you answering my first few questions out of the many.”
“I’ll answer all your questions when we escape to safety, can you walk?”
“Surprisingly yes, my legs seem to be working.. But unfortunately this arm is broken.”
“Ah, I can see that. Here, try this, it should be potent enough to resolve your problem.”
“Well painkillers are better than nothing.” Downing the whole bottle, I feel a strong tingling sensation throughout my body. After a minute, miraculously, my arm and the rest of my body felt no pain. Inspecting myself, somehow my arm isn’t broken anymore and my body doesn’t feel to have any bruising from the battle with the psycho earlier.
“Woaah! Do you have more of this stuff??”
“Yes, but for now do you have a phone.. With a mysterious app?”
“Mysteriou- Oh mean that weird red-eye app?” Pulling out my phone I open up to the app.
“Just say ‘I want to return to reality’ and it’ll transport us out of this world, it’ll only work outside the palace’s area of control. That is why I brought us here where the distortion is weakest.”
“Okay, simple enough.. I want to return to reality.”
Warble Warble Warble Warble
“You have returned to reality. Welcome back.”
“It’s good to be back. Oh yeah I never got your…. Uh”
“Yes, I’m still a raven. Yes, I can still talk, let’s get going before someone sees us. Now.”
“Good point.” With the raven on my shoulder I continued where I left off, heading to my car. Getting in it hopped onto the headrest of the passenger seat and comfortably sat down. Already late into the afternoon, the crescent moon hovered over the tall buildings with the street lights illuminating the road.
“My name is Elizabeth, I am here to help you, Merlin. Despite appearances, I am a friend of humanity. What you’ve just experienced is another cognitive world brought into being by the strong distortions of a person’s heart. In short, a Kingdom with a King. You have awakened a Persona, the other self that resides within you. It’s like a suit of armor, by wearing it you bring forth the power of the Persona. The person.. or rather the monster you fought... Is another Persona user.”
“Wait, so is he somewhat of a good guy? I don’t think a psycho like him would be a friend of anyone.”
“He isn’t, far from it even.”
“What about those monsters dressed in black suits?”
“I call them Shadows, they are the soldiers of the kingdom. The shadows come in many forms depending on the King’s distorted heart. Aside from the ones you’ve encountered there’s also very powerful shadows, which I called ‘Commanders’.”
“Huh... so then those people I saw. They aren’t actually real either, just the Mayor’s cognition of them. Right?”
“Correct, it will do no good for us to try and save those people in that world. No matter how much suffering you see them going through, it’s best to stop the King to stop their suffering.”
“Sooo.. About that medicine from earlier…”
“If you believe it can heal anything in this reality, don’t. It only works in the cognitive world, otherwise this is now a simple painkiller. Things… like logic works differently between the worlds.”
“Oh.. I see.. And the app on my phone?”
“It’s called a Metaverse Navigator, or MetaNav for short. The Metaverse is what I call the other world, anyone bestowed with the app can travel between realities as they please.”
“So that means I was transported to that Kingdom because of this app. But all I did was tap it, and I don’t know why it chose me.”
“... You probably said the keywords needed to activate it before tapping it.”
“Keywords?”
“For example, The King’s name, His Kingdom, and in reality the place he believes is his Kingdom.”
“...Nathon Mahuney… Nathon’s Mansion… and… the LA trade college..?”
“Correct, those are the prerequisites needed to activate the MetaNav.”
“Okay.. well other than all that you just explained… I’d assume you were in the Kingdom looking for something?”
“I was, till now.”
“Am I the one you were looking for?”
“Well.. yes. Annd.. no, it could’ve been anyone else waltzing in there and awakening their persona as you did. But I am glad it is you that I happen to stumble upon. You got quite the potential.”
“I’m flatt- OH NO MARY!!”
“Who?”
It’s been hours since she hung up and I haven’t returned a call or text. The drive was only 15 minutes away which works, since I needed to make sure I could get back to Mary as quickly as I could, if anything were to happen.
“I’m finally home! I’m so so sorry Mary stuff happened and it took a lot of time, I hope I didn’t worry you!”
“And here I thought my Big bro finally found himself a girl, I guess you are hopeless. Alsooo… did that ‘stuff’ include getting a pet raven?”
Caww caaaww caaaww
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“She can’t understand me, only you. She probably hears an actual raven’s call.”
“Thanks Elizabeth, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You named it Elizabeth too? You really are hopeless big bro..”
“Hey! She has nothing to do with any of that. I just happen to… adopt her that’s all.. I thought you’d be lonely without me being here as much anymore. So I got us a pet.”
“You do know cats and dogs exist right? Kind of preferred a cute kitten.” Elizabeth hops onto Mary’s bed as I sit besides her, and she gently climbs up the bed to nuzzle Mary. Cawing softly and clicking her beak as my little sister finally pets her.
“Hmmm… okay I’ll guess she is kind of cute. I bet she likes me better than you hehe.”
“Weell.. I’d have to agree since my sweet little Mary is the grea-” She softly smacks me with her hand to shut me up.
“Shush. It’s late now so you should get some sleep okay? You got classes tomorrow and I wanna get our shopping done before you start.”
“Good point”
After washing up and getting dressed for bed I set up the chair and wrapped myself into a blanket burrito.
“Goodnight, Mary”
“Night, Big bro. Goodnight, Elizabeth.”
I felt cold air softly caressing my face waking me up to an unfamiliar sight. A spacious room, the floor and parts of the walls covered in blue velvet, the roof had an opening showcasing a black sun, and windows showing the dark outside city. I sat up on the couch turning to see a man in a suit with a distinctive long nose sitting behind a desk.
“You’re finally awake.”
“H-huh?”
“Welcome to the Velvet Room. My... we finally have someone with a great amount of potential, Master.” Another man in a blue uniform stood beside the long-nose, he had a pretty face, one glance from him could make a number of women fall for him in seconds. His hair in a ponytail rested on his left shoulder topped with a blue hat. His appearance is similar to a bellhop.
“Velvet Room…? Who are you?”
“Rude. You interrupted my Master as he was going to speak. I think I might have to retract my statement of him, ‘being great with potential’.”
“Hehehehe.. Now now. Welcome, ‘Sovereign’. My name is Igor, The master of this room, remember it well. This place exists between dream and reality.. Mind and matter. Only those bound by a ‘contract’ are granted entry. I see that you have already awakened your Persona. A power held within one’s heart. Once freed it can be used to change destiny itself. I have summoned you to speak of very important matters. It involves your life and the fate of your world. I’m quite surprised that an Observatory is the reflection of your own heart. You truly are an ‘observer’ of fate. In the coming days it is inevitable that ruin awaits you and your world.”
“Ruin awaits me and my world? How do I prevent that from happening?”
“You’re quite eager, I see. Hehehe.. Good. You must be ‘reintegrated’. Reintegrated into humanity… to save you and the reality you reside in. Do you have the will and strength to change the path of the world?”
“As long as I save Mary, I will do anything.”
“Hahaha.. Such passionate honesty. Very well, I shall observe your reintegration. Oh. And do pardon my assistant, he will be aiding you in your path to prevent ruin. His name is Abel, I shall explain our roles at another occasion.”
“As long as you hold your tongue when my Master speaks, I will have no issues in aiding your quest.” Glaring me down from where he stands.
He already has issues with me..
“The moon is setting, we shall meet again, eventually. Take your time to learn about this place.”
Dong! Clang! Dong! Clang!
“Try not to die, it’ll inconvenience my Master.”
August 5th, Sunday
When I awoke my neck was aching, turns out Elizabeth used my head as her perch to sleep on all night.
“Could have chosen any other place to sleep, Elizabeth..” Stretching the rest of my body I unwrap myself to get up letting the raven fall onto the chair.
“How dare you?! Having me fall onto the chair, I am a lady of high caliber!”
Caaw! Caaww! Caaaw! Caww! Caaaw!
“Ngggh… Big broo… alarm… off..”
“Shhhh! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, okay I’m sorry I’ll make it up to you, Elizabeth.”
“Hmph.. be more considerate next time. Your sister is right, I do like her more than a brute like you.”
“That.. kind of hurts.” Opening a bit of the blinds letting the sunlight flood part of the room. I flip on the T.V. to the news channel, listening to it in the background, as I clean the room a little then getting dressed afterwards.
“Hmm.. curious, why are you two here? And from the looks of things.. You’re also living here?”
“We have uh... ‘Special’ permission to be staying here. The head of the hospital is a good friend of our parents. And after they passed away.. she took us in and allowed us to stay in this special room.”
“And Mary’s condition?”
“After an accident she couldn’t walk, let alone feel anything waist down… according to all the doctors we’ve had, her condition is unknown with recovery being very unlikely.. Also.. days go by her condition gets worse too..”
“Nghh.. mm.. Morning Big bro… oh good-morning Elizabeth how are you?” Sitting up slowly and coughing. “Cough cough cough, don’t worry it’s just my throat being dry.. Could you hand me some water please?”
“Sure, anything for my sweet little Mary.” I hand her a cup of water before pulling out a wheelchair from the closet and setting it by the bed.
“You sure you got it this time? I can call the nurse to help you dress.”
“I’m sure, stop being such a worry bug. I’ll be fine.. I want my best outfit okay?”
“You got it boss, one knock-em-dead outfit coming right up!” Sifting through her clothes I put together the outfit she always loves showing off in.
“It's a little embarrassing that you have to bring All my clothes to me..” She picks up the dress and unfolds it, her eyes light up as if it’s the first time seeing it. It was a simple yellow dress that ran down to her shins. And to complete the outfit was her yellow sneakers and small sun hat with a black bow tied around the top. She always loved simple over intricate things, always finding a way to convey beauty out of something so plain.
“I’ll wait outside, Elizabeth take care of her okay?”
“Hehehe.. Well I do trust her more. No. Peeking.”
“I would never.”
“I’ll poke his eyes out if he does, lady Mary.”
Caaw Caw Caaw
“Right what she said!”
“You’re both getting kind of scary.”
Standing outside the room by the door, I check my phone for the red eye app to find that it’s still there. Tapping on it only brought up a search bar of some sort, nothing else.
“So… enter keywords in order to access a ‘Kingdom’ I wonder…”
Putting in ‘Velvet Room’, ‘Igor’, and ‘Abel’ had no reaction on the app. However, putting Nathon Mahuney, LA Trade College, and Mansion had a reaction.
“Interesting.. So.. how would I prevent the ruin..?”
“Kyaaaaaah!”
Caaww! Caaw! Caaaw!
“Mary?! Are you alright?! I’m coming in!”
“NO! Don’t come in! I’m alright.. I just fell on accident, that's all!”
“Oh.. okay well there’s no need to rush. We got more than enough time for shopping today.”
After finishing our preparations to head out. Passing by the nurses’ desk and saying our goodbyes, we walked to my car. Putting up the handicap placard, I helped Mary onto the passenger seat and put her wheelchair in the back. Elizabeth gently placed herself on Mary’s lap as she got in. We drove 10 minutes down to the nearest indoor mall. One of our favorite places to go hangout in because of the shops like Gamedays and JapanByte. Today, Mary wanted to get herself a new dress. She’s been eyeing down a certain one every time we passed by the widely popular boutique, Garden of Gowns. The mall had a 'no animals allowed only service animals' policy so we had to hide our pet in Mary’s tote-purse. Luckily, she wasn’t too big of a raven. She’d still pop her head out to see what was going on from time to time.
“Hey Big bro I’m gonna check out these dresses, hold this for me okay?”
“Sure thing, if you need help call out for me okay? I’ll be sitting in this comfortable seat here.”
“You know I can ask the lady working right there, I don’t want my brother waltzing into the Ladies dressing room.” I smile and nod to her remark as she heads up into the dressing room. Elizabeth pops her head out to see the dresses in the store.
“Ohhh that one over there is just.. Scrumptious. That one I can definitely see myself in for the summer. Ugh.. that dress looks like a designer’s nightmare.”
Caww caww caaw caaw
“Not too loud okay? I don’t wanna get kicked out.”
“By the by.. That awful scarring on lady Mary’s legs. That is no regular condition if I ever seen one.”
“Yeah, it’s been like that since the accident. She acts fine with it and believes it’ll heal one day… but seeing her smile as she talks about it.. I feel that.. she’s very frustrated.”
“Hmm… I see.”
“By any chance does it have to do with the ‘cognitive world’, ‘kingdoms’, and ‘kings’?”
“Not that I know of. I’m very sorry, Merlin.”
“No, it’s alright. I’ll find a way to cure her, I promised her.”
After a bit of waiting Mary comes out. At the same time a group of obnoxious girls bump into her. Having no time to react she runs over a girl’s foot.
“Oh I’m very sorry!”
“You better be sorry! You just ruined my shoes with your stupid wheelchair.”
“I didn’t mean to.. I apologize, I-I guess came out the door a bit too fast.”
“Ugh, a crippled like you dressing up? Think you look soo pretty huh? In this boring ass dress.” The blonde girl flips up Mary’s dress in anger, showing her scarred legs. The girls behind the blonde point at Mary's legs, mocking her.
“Ewww look at that! Hiding two meat sausages under that raggedy piss yellow dress.”
“S-stop it..”
“What did you say you ug-”
“Hey. Excuse me, but you should step back and let her through.”
“Excuse yo-” Seeing me looming over them, hiding every ounce of anger behind my smile, cut the blonde girl’s charade short. She tried to regain traction of her power play by standing up straight and facing me.
“W-well she ran over my foot, and ruined my nice shoes.”
“Oh I see, allow me to apologize on her behalf. I’m sure you wonderful ladies have somewhere to go, and I wouldn’t want you especially to be held back from trying a dress that would look.. sexy on you.”
“I-I guess that’s true. W-whatever apology accepted.”
“Thank you, we’ll go now.” Fixing Mary’s dress and putting the dresses she had back, I then walked her out of the store. Sniffling and wiping her eyes as I pushed her wheelchair.
“Are you alright, Mary?” She grabs my hand and arm holding it tight, nodding without a word.