1 The Fool's Beginning

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

『System/Persona Speech』

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Ayato was as confused as confused could be. From the hospital bed to the current scenery, just how in the heck did he get here? He remembered very vividly that he died right in the hospital, but now he was here standing confused in the middle of a large vast grassy area with weirdly shaped mountain formations in the distance.

'Is this the afterlife? If it is, it's not what I expected...' Ayato shook his head as he thought this to himself. He knew for a fact that he had died, and he accepted that fact. But, considering his current situation, was he even truly dead? He thought he would find himself in a place to get judged, this certainly wasn't what he expected. 'Maybe this is limbo...'

Ayato was a young man who appeared to be sixteen or so in age, with smooth black hair and a pair of silver eyes. He had a rather lean build, though you could tell it was an athletic one due to his thin clothing. Speaking of clothing, he wore a tight white t-shirt along with sleek black long pants, and finishing off with a pair of tall black combat boots.

Ayato sighed as he walked on over towards what looked to be a nearby lake, and he couldn't help but admire the crystalline blue colour it had. Unlike the lakes he had seen in the past, just something about this one really stood out, and that being its vibrant blue colour. Anyway, Ayato simply sat down and dangled his legs over the small elevated ground above the lake as he stared up at the sky.

"What do I even do now...?" Ayato wasn't entirely sure what his next steps were now. He was expecting to meet someone to help guide him to Hell or Heaven, hopefully Heaven. But, considering his situation right now, he doubted that would be happening. "I guess I can explore, not much else to do really."

Seriously, the last thing he remembered was him dying in the hospital bed due to the incurable disease he had received at the start of his birth. While it didn't affect him mentally or physically over the years, it was something that would cause a heart attack so great that it would kill him instantly when the time came.

Ayato chucked a small rock into the lake before sighing as he pushed himself up onto his feet.

『Optimisation complete』

"Huh...?" Ayato was about to walk off, but froze at the sudden voice that invaded his mind. He narrowed his eyes as he looked around for the source. When he didn't see anyone around him, he was really confused. Was he just imagining it? It sounded so clear though... "Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

『Welcome, user』

『You have been chosen as the host to the Persona System』

"Either I'm hearing things or I'm going crazy, or both..." Ayato was on guard as he wasn't sure who's voice this belonged to. From the nature of it, it sounded kind of robotic in nature and a mix between male and female. Rather emotionless too. "Okay, who are you? Is this the afterlife, or is it some other place?"

『To proceed, please say or think 'Menu'』

"Fine, ignore me then..." Ayato's eyebrow was twitching at his questions not being answered, though he could only sigh once again as he figured there was probably no point in even trying. Whoever this person was, if it even was a person, was obviously not present with him, physically at least. 'I'll humour you. Menu.'

Ayato watched with surprise as a strange screen soon appeared in front of him, the screen displaying what looked to be a number of options. Though, there was something very familiar about what each of the options were called. His suspicions being confirmed when he looked at the top of the screen.

.

『Persona System』

● Character

● Social Links

● Personas

● Inventory

.

"No freaking way..." He could only stare at the thing with a stunned look as he processed what he was seeing. Just looking at the titles of each option, whatever this system was, was indeed originating or inspired from the Persona series. Something he was really interested in back when he was alive. "This can't be real..."

He wasn't ashamed at all to admit that he was a massive Persona fan, his first ever experience with it being when he played through Persona 3. If this system allowed him to do what the characters in the series could do, then he was more than ecstatic about this. He had heard of systems as well, mainly in novels that he read in his spare time.

The most popular ones he had found were Gamer systems, which allowed the person with it to live a life as if they were a game character. While looking at the system in front of him, he had his doubts that it was a Gamer system per say, he was still not complaining if he could summon a literal Persona for real!

Ayato quickly shook his head to snap himself out of his stupor before reaching forwards with one hand, curious to touch the screen that appeared. When he did, he felt like he was touching glass, cold glass. The place he touched was the first option, which was the one that was labelled as 'Character'.

.

『Character』ⓘ

Name: Kuragasaki Ayato

Age: 16

Level: 1

Balance: 10,000

Hit Points: 60/60

Skill Points: 41/41

Current Psyche:『None』

Arcana:『The Fool』『The Universe』

.

Ayato curiously looked at everything that was shown on the new display, which seemed to be giving some information regarding himself. It said things like his name, his age, and other things too. The majority of what he was seeing made him form a small grin, it was exactly like in the games! Hit Points, Skill Points, and also the level!

There was even information regarding the Arcana that he had!

"The Fool... and The Universe?!" Ayato couldn't hold back his surprise when he saw the last Arcana. The Universe was an immensely powerful Arcanum, which the protagonist from the Persona 3 games had attained at the end when they fought back Nyx. It was thanks to this Arcanum that they were able to win. That very same card was something he had according to this system... crazy.

Shaking his head once again, he decided to ignore it for now, he doubted he'd be able to utilise its incredible power any time soon. He wasn't even sure if he would even need to. He doubted a situation similar to Nyx would happen any time soon that would warrant its use, though he hoped like hell that he didn't just jynx himself.

Moving on, he was a bit confused on the second last thing. What did it mean by 'Current Psyche'? He took notice of the information icon next to the title of the menu screen, so he quickly tapped onto that, and he was more than pleased to see a new screen appear to show a list of information explaining everything.

.

『Character』

Name - [The name of the user]

Age - [The age of the user]

Level - [The level of the user, which in turn increases both the Hit Points and the Skill Points of the user whenever a level is gained]

Balance - [The amount of currency that the user currently has stored within the system. It can be thought of as a supernatural bank account. This amount can be converted into any form of currency, vice versa]

Hit Points - [The points that gauge the user's wellbeing. Once the number hits zero, the user will perish]

Skill Points - [The points that gauge the user's energy levels. These points are what are used to allow the user to utilise the Skills of the Personas that that user has under their belt. Without a sufficient number of Skill Points, Persona Skills cannot be used. Skill Points regenerate slowly over time]

Current Psyche - [This is the Persona that the user has placed at the forefront of their mind. Similar to when the Persona has been summoned, the user will gain the increased power depending on what Persona was summoned and how strong said Persona is. However, if the user simply has the Persona placed at the forefront of their mind instead of summoning them, they will only gain a fourth of the power that the user will normally achieve]

Arcana - [The different classes of the Tarot Cards, consisting of the Major and Minor Arcana]

.

"I understand now..." Ayato smiled with a glint in his eyes. While he may not be showing it visibly, he was very much excited about all of this. His suspicions were most definitely verified now, this system allowed him to summon actual Personas! 'Man, I feel like a little kid! I wonder what kind of Persona I'd be able to summon.'

Moving on, Ayato wasn't surprised to see that there was nothing available within the Social Link and Persona menus. He hadn't unlocked a Persona yet, and he had also yet to make any kind of Social Links from the looks of it. Perhaps in the future though. Anyway, the last thing to check was his 'Inventory'.

He was a bit surprised to see an explanation also appear alongside the Inventory.

.

『Inventory』

The inventory can be accessed by simply going into this menu, but the items can be taken out and placed inside through mere imagination. The space within the inventory is infinite, but you cannot hold any living entities within the space.

● Evoker - [A specialised item that allows the user to simulate the idea of Death by 'shooting' it at one's own temple. By doing so, the user will experience a simulation of the process of Death. This is utilised to summon forth one's own Persona from the Sea of Souls]

● Velvet Key - [A very special key that allows the owner to summon forth the door to enter the Velvet Room. The key can also be used on any door with a key-hole, which will allow the user to enter the Velvet Room through that door instead. Once the Velvet Room is entered through using this method, the door the key was used on will return to normal]

.

"Hell yeah, Persona 3 style, huh?" Ayato wasn't complaining as he saw that the inventory held the Evoker, which was what SEES utilised to summon forth their Personas. In normal people's eyes, someone shooting themselves with a gun was bat-shit crazy. But, it was necessary. To summon forth the Persona, they had to simulate the feeling of death. "The Velvet Key too..."

Reading over the information regarding the Velvet Key, Ayato couldn't help but wonder if he would end up running into Igor. He was the one that resided within the Velvet Room, along with his many assistants over the different series. Maybe he'd even eventually run into one of the protagonists, that'd be pretty damn cool.

He'd definitely have to use it at some point, for now though...

"W-What the?!" Ayato had to take his attention away from the menu when he felt a sudden chill down his spine, which made him unconsciously roll to the side. Quickly regaining composure, he looked to see what he had almost been attacked by. "The hell is that thing...?"

In front of Ayato was what looked to be a strange humanoid creature, and this one looked to be a bit shorter than he was, though it's posture was slouching a bit. It had a strange tribal mask covering its entire face, or was that it's actual face? He wasn't sure. Though, it appeared to be wielding a wooden club, which was what it used to almost hit it.

Ayato narrowed his eyes as he watched as the creature growl at him, obviously ready to attack him once again. He quickly got into a guarded stance as he kept his gaze locked onto whatever this thing was. He had never seen anything like it before. He would have mistaken it for a human, but it had an unnatural body structure which was unlike normal humans.

"Okay, it's not too fast..." Ayato stepped to the side as the creature charged and swung its weapon at him. He would have to say that it was as fast as an average human, though that might be thanks to the club it held, which might be slowing it down due to its size. 'Shouldn't be too hard to deal with this thing.'

The only thing he really had was his fists, he didn't have a weapon on him. He had his Evoker, which he could try to summon his Persona, but he wasn't even entirely sure if it'll work. Though, if this ends up getting out of hand, then he'll definitely try to summon it. He didn't want to end up dying a second time, especially right after his first death.

He was glad that his dad taught him some combat skills as Ayato dodged a swing once again before delivering a punch to the chest of the creature, which made it stumble a bit as the air in its chest seemed to have been knocked out. Ayato then grabbed its head before slamming it down onto his raised knee.

"Shit, that hurts!" Ayato grimaced a bit as he jumped back. That mask or whatever that was on this thing's face was harder than he thought. He assumed it might have been made of some form of wood, but he could tell it was definitely made of bone. 'Alright, if I can steal that club, then I can smash this thing's face in.'

Ayato narrowed his eyes as he waited for the creature to charge at him again. He could tell by its rather simple movements that this thing didn't exactly have the greatest intelligence, so he just had to wait for the right opportunity. Great things come to those who are patient, and that was true as the creature charged at him like a wild beast.

When the creature got close enough, Ayato stepped and twisted his body to the side. He then smacked down onto the thing's wrist, more specifically the wrist of the hand that was holding the club. The creature gave a small cry of pain as Ayato then forcefully yanked the club out of the creature hand.

He then proceeded to trip the creature with a simple low sweep, which caused it to fall onto the ground. Ayato then raised the club before swinging it down with as much force as he could possibly produce, which he aimed it all right down onto the head of the creature. Since the creature had rolled onto it's back, Ayato managed to avoid the thick mane it had and smashed the mask on its face.

When the club made impact, the mask shattered into small pieces. Ayato quickly raised the club again and smashed it down once again, this time all the force directly into the now vulnerable face of the creature. He knew that he had to strike twice as the mask had protected the creature from being injured too badly from the first strike.

However, the second strike was fatal as it caved the creature's face in.

"Fucking hell..." Ayato panted slightly as he let go of the club. Just looking at the thing now was pretty gross, there was some blood splattered all over it now after being used. He wasn't sure how he felt about taking this thing's life like that, but it did try to kill him, so he did what he had to do to survive. Shaking his head, Ayato kicked the creature slightly to make sure it was dead.

Even if he had this system, he was still a normal human being right now, he didn't have supernatural powers until he summoned his Persona. So, maybe he should try and summon it now? If he ends up getting attacked by something else, he'd want to be able to defend himself easier. That would be the best course of action before he started walking around.

"You're fucking kidding me." Ayato's face twitched when he heard multiple growls. He backed up a bit when he saw that same creature appearing from past the elevated cliff area nearby, but this time, there were multiple of them present. He may have been able to deal with that other one, but he had no doubt that he'd be overwhelmed with this many.

Especially if they all attacked him at once, then he would not be able to make it out of this alive. From a simple quick count, there were around ten of them that were all staring at him ready to attack. Similar to the previous one, some wielded clubs, others had wooden shields, and some with both.

"No time like the present..." Ayato smiled nervously as he quickly got some distance as he hopped back a few steps. Remembering the info he was given before, Ayato quickly imagined the appearance of the Evoker. Soon after, he felt the feeling of cold metal in his hand. 'A real Evoker, huh?'

Ayato glanced down at the small gun that was present in his hand, the simple yet beautiful silver design along with the the four simple capitalised letters imprinted onto the body of the gun. The gun spelled out the word 'SEES', which was the group that the protagonist of Persona 3 had joined to fight back against the Shadows.

While making sure to keep an eye on the approaching enemies, Ayato raised the gun up towards his head as the muzzle of the gun was kissing his temple. Ayato could feel the cold metal on his head, along with its round shape. His finger on the trigger, though if you looked closely enough, his hand was shaking.

'Shit... this is harder than I thought it'd be.' Ayato gulped slightly as he was honestly hesitant to pull the trigger. He knew that it wasn't a real gun, he knew that he wouldn't die if he pulled the trigger. But, he still felt as if he was about to die... again. Even the Minato, the male protagonist of the Persona 3 series who was apathetic towards death, had found initial difficulty in pulling the trigger.

So, naturally, someone like Ayato was the same.

It was true that he experienced death before, but that was a different situation altogether. He had accepted the fact that he had a short life span due to his disease, but that didn't mean he was fearless of the fact that he was going to die. He just accepted it as a fact, there was no point in him denying it.

However, he felt as if he was going to commit suicide, and anyone with the right mind would be hesitant to actually go through with it. While he knew this wasn't truly a suicide, but jut a simulation of such, he still found major difficulty in being able to pull the trigger. It was just human nature to be afraid of potential death.

'Calm down... you can do this.' Ayato mentally encouraged himself as his entire arm tensed, he was trying to stop the shaking. He soon gained a hardened look in his yes before taking a deep breath, a small grin soon appearing on his features. He could hear and feel his heart beating rapidly. "Per...so...na!"

With a pull of the trigger, Ayato's head recoiled to the side as the sound of shattering glass echoed through the area, causing the creatures to stop their advance. Blue glowing shards of glass had exploded outwards from the opposite side of his head, and his eyes were glowing a vibrant ominous blue as the grin was still present on his face.

His face was shadowed upon having pulled the trigger, but his eyes glowed through all of that as the creatures that were going to attack him felt unnerved under the gaze. Soon enough, a bright blue light began to shine behind Ayato as the shards of glass began to gather behind him with the light as they formed a small calm twister of shards.

The creatures all backed up upon seeing this as they all felt a strange dread wash over them, and the grin on Ayato's face didn't help either. They all watched as the shards and the light began to condense as a strange figure began to take shape within the beam of light. Ayato's clothes and hair fluttering calmly as this all happened.

The figure that took shape behind him towered over them all, arms crossed over its chest as the figure was revealed to most definitely not be human. A body of dark grey and gold, along with what looked to be something reminiscent of that of a lion's mane. Behind it donned a black split cape that flowed as if gravity was being defied.

As it was revealed, its powerful voice sounded through the area.

『I am thou...thou art I』

『From the sea of thy soul I cometh』

『I who reign as the most powerful among the Tuatha De』

『Dagda!』