4 The Velvet Room

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

『System/Persona Speech』

--------------------------------

Ayato could currently be seen inside of his room inside of the Wangshu Inn, with Onimaru in his hand as he was practicing a few swings. He had been getting guidance from Dagda over the course of the past three days, he wanted to improve his swordsmanship.

He had used some large logs and more as training dummies, and he had been making some good progress. Since he had help from Dagda, that made the process much faster as the guy was a lot more knowledgeable about the subject then he initially thought.

Also, the deity was just as much of a slave driver as he had said he was going to be, making Ayato practice sword swings and different movements for three hours without rest before telling him to go off to train against some of the local monsters around the area.

Nothing too noteworthy about the monster hunting aside from the fact that he gained three levels, and just like in the games, he was levelling up at a faster rate than Dagda was. The deity literally only gained a single level, and it was probably since those monsters weren't all that strong.

In all honestly, he hadn't seen any of those Mitachurls, only running across Hilichurls and some slimes.

Anyway, aside from that. He had also made a plan for what he was planning to do over the next few days or weeks, though it could entirely change depending on events that may pop up. First off, at the end of the week, he was going to start making his way over to that Liyue place.

Being one of the nations of the land, it obviously must have quite a bit to offer there. So naturally, he was curious to go check what it was like. Next thing was to perhaps find a source of income, mainly since he knew he wouldn't be able to rely on the amount he had right now since it won't last forever no matter how much it was.

He still wasn't even certain if 500,000 Mora was actually a lot or not.

Considering how expensive the food was here from what he noticed, this amount of money definitely wouldn't last him forever. Maybe this place was just expensive, he wasn't sure. Anyway, speaking of food, he had been wanting to get some familiar cuisine into his stomach.

But, when he asked if he could use the kitchen, the chef here just told him a simple damn 'no' and shooed him off. Ayato had never been so damn irritated at being treated as a child. The dude literally gave him the shooing motion! The FUCKING shooing motion!

Moving on, Ayato had been very much pleased about his current progress in swordsmanship. He could definitely better understand why technique and all that was really important, just blindly swinging a sword around might get results, but can be very draining and dangerous as well.

『Alright, that's enough, kid. Not too bad』

"Man, I need a shower..." Ayato sighed before dismissing his sword back into his inventory. He took off his shirt as sweat was covering his body, he needed to clean his clothes and also shower. Speaking of clothes, he definitely needed to buy some when he could. He'd been cleaning and wearing the same pair over the past few days. "How is my progress, Dagda?"

『You're a fast learner. Definitely not the best, but you have potential』

"Good enough for me." Ayato shrugged. He had no desire to be the best swordsman in the world, he just wanted to have swordsmanship skills so he could properly fight with Onimaru. Anyway, a hesitant look soon appeared on his face. "Hey, Dagda... there's been something I've been wanting to ask you since I first summoned you."

『What is it?』

"Do you know... Nanashi?"

『...』

Dagda became silent at the question as Ayato mentally wanted to punch himself, maybe he asked that way too damn early. But, he really couldn't help it. He wanted to know whether or not Dagda knew of Nanashi, the protagonist from the Shin Megami Tensei games.

"...Sorry I aske-."

『I was waiting to see how long it'd take you to ask that』Ayato blinked his eyes in confusion upon hearing the reply. That was certainly not the response he was expecting from the deity.『Kid, I'm literally in your Sea of Souls. I know everything about you, even your memories are accessible to me. I know what kind of world you're from and what I am, or was to you. Even your whole reincarnation situation』

"I see..." Ayato never expected that Dagda could literally know everything about him. Maybe it was just never mentioned in the Persona series, but he didn't remember them being able to know everything about the person. The only thing he could connect with that was when Arsene knew about Ren's situation that got him 'arrested'. "So..."

『Yeah, I know Nanashi』Dagda voiced as Ayato sat down on the bed to listen to the deity.『From your memories, you should think of me as the Dagda from the Bonds route from that game. Why were you curious about me knowing him anyway?』

"W-Well, ever since I summoned you I couldn't help but wonder..." Ayato chuckled slightly as he said this. Why wouldn't he be? The Dagda he summoned was the exact one from the Shin Megami Tensei games. Wait... "Hold on, if you're from the Shin Megami franchise, how are you my Persona...?"

『That's something even I don't know, kid』Ayato heard Dagda answer his question with a 'hmph'. 『All I remember doing was chilling in the Fairy Forest before ending up in the Sea of Souls. I only knew about what that was thanks to the memories I could see from you. Truly, an interesting sight』

"Does that mean others originally from your world might also be in the Sea of Souls?" Ayato was really curious about this. If Dagda was here in the Sea of Souls, did that mean the others from his world are as well? "Could I summon them like I did you?"

『No clue, kid. I can't sense anyone else here aside from myself, perhaps you need to call them forth at some point for me to』While Ayato couldn't see it, he felt as if Dagda shrugged his shoulders as he said this.『But, whoever managed to bring me here must be a very powerful entity. Above even -̵̘̐.̵͙̆-̷̞͊.̷̼́-̴͂͜-̵̘̐.̵͙̆-』

"Ow, could you not say his name...?" Ayato winced slightly when he heard Dagda say the name of the creator god that Nanashi defeated. Just hearing it being said caused him to have a headache as the name sounded like a bunch of glitched speech. "Anyway, who could that be?"

『Come on, kid. Use your brain』Dagda snorted with amusement.『Unless there is indeed another entity out there with just as much, or even greater power, then there is only one person who I can think of that has more power than -̵̘̐.̵͙̆-̷̞͊.̷̼́-̴͂͜-̵̘̐.̵͙̆-』

"Who... you don't mean...?!"

『Yep, it's probably the Axiom』Dagda just confirmed Ayato's suspicion's as the Axiom, otherwise known as the Great Will, was a being above YHVH. No, it was more like YHVH was but a small part of the Axiom.『Why the Axiom would do such a thing, I have no idea. Maybe it wasn't even the Axiom that did it』

Ayato didn't really know what to think about that. If it was the Axiom that brought Dagda into the Sea of Souls, was it also possible that it gave Ayato this system? But, that didn't really make sense, wasn't the Axiom something that only presided over the Amala Multiverse? Persona wasn't apart of that...

That could only mean that it is either that the Persona world IS actually apart of the Amala Multiverse, that the Axiom actually presides over more than just the Amala Multiverse, or that an even higher being was actually in play, one that was above even the Axiom. So many possibilities...

『Aside from that though. I must say, ever since I came into the Sea of Souls, I have never in my countless eons had I existed ever felt so pathetically weak』Dagda couldn't help but laugh as he said this.『You should be able to unlock it more as you get stronger, but whether or not you can unleash my true power, I am in the dark』

"Well, I guess thinking about it right now won't do us any good." Ayato sighed as he stood up and began walking towards the door. With nothing else to really go on, there was not much to be gained just from thinking and guessing about how or why they were here.

Also, he'd been wondering how he could get more Personas. He was very much happy that he had Dagda, but he wouldn't mind more under his arsenal. He didn't have things like the Metaverse where he could do things like negotiate or something, he only had Shuffle Time. Speaking of which, he had yet to receive a damn Persona from it.

Was he just unlucky?

The only good item he got was his Onimaru sword, and he wasn't saying that the other things he got were bad, they just weren't as impressive. The other things he had gotten were healing after battle, a few Balance points, and also extra experience.

--------------------------------

"I guess I've held it off for long enough, let's try this."

At the moment, Ayato had just finished up with his shower before fully drying his hair as he was now fully clothed. He had asked one of the attendants to wash his clothes while he was taking a shower, which they thankfully did kindly. How they dried his clothes so fast, he wasn't sure.

Anyway, at the current time, he was now back in his room as he was standing right in front of his door. In his right hand was a small blue glowing key. He inspected it for a second as he took notice of its metallic look as well as its rather cold sensation as he held it.

In all honesty, while he remembered it a few times over the course of the past few days, he had yet to actually try to enter the Velvet Room. Training and all that was mostly on his mind, so he kind of pushed the whole thing to the side. Since he was going to be leaving the inn soon, he might as well try it when he could.

So, Ayato just shrugged before he lowered the key and began to move it towards the lock on the door. He was a bit surprised when the key morphed slightly to fit to the keyhole's shape, though he shook off the surprise as he inserted the key before turning it.

"Woah...!" Ayato stepped back a bit in surprise when the edges of the door suddenly released a blue light before the door itself actually became a royal blue colour along with its design altering a bit as well to become fancier. "Here goes nothing."

When Ayato opened up the door, he was greeted by the sight of nothing but a calm vortex of both blue and white. With a small gulp, Ayato proceeded to walk through the door as his vision was blinded by the bright light, the door he entered closing behind him.

Due to the bright flash of light, Ayato had to cover his eyes. However, as that light began to diminish, he blinked his eyes a few times before lowering his arm to get a good view of where he had ended up. When he did, he was greeted by the sight of what looked to be an endless void of black.

He looked down to see that he was standing atop of what looked to be a floating platform, a blue and silver squared one at that with a checker design. He had seen the different protagonist's version of the Velvet Room, and his was not one of theirs. His was rather... dull, to be honest.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, a place existing between dream and reality, mind and matter." A familiar voice sounded as Ayato turned his head to see none other than Igor himself sitting down on a chair behind a desk at the centre of the platform. "My master has informed me that you may find yourself here. It is truly a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

In front of Ayato was none other than Igor himself, the man who tended to the Velvet Room alongside the residents of the Velvet Room. However, Ayato did notice that none of the attendants were actually present, the only people here were himself and Igor.

However, he did seem to hear a constant singing in the background. From what he knew, that voice probably belonged to none other than Belladonna, one of the original residents of the Velvet Room. He had to admit, she had a beautiful singing voice, more so than the games and such did her justice.

"I am Igor, the master of this place. I was very much interested in meeting you, and it seems that my patience was very well rewarding. From what my master had informed me, you would be quite the interesting guest."

'His master... So, that really was him.' Ayato recalled the butterfly that had flown past his window and also had spoken to him. The golden butterfly that had conveniently appeared after the voice he heard and recognised spoke. 'So, that really was Philemon...'

"Just take a look around this room," Igor spoke as he also turned his head to look around at the empty space that was the Velvet Room. "The state of this place reflects the state of which your own heart is in. For it to be an empty void such as this, it seems that not even a place such as this is capable of reading an individual such as yourself. Hmhmhm~, how truly interesting!"

Ayato really wasn't sure what to say right now...

"Moving on though, from what I've been told, you have already awaken to your powers. Your destiny involves honing your skills of Persona, the power to manifest your psyche, which I will assist in." Igor spoke with his grin never fading. "Persona, a power that you may think of as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships. However, as of right now, your power is still weak..."

"Weak...?" Ayato decided to play along for now as it seems that Igor may not know that he already knows all of this. If the man did know, he doubted that he would be explaining it to him right now. Better to play it safe and act ignorant to it all.

"The ability evolves as you develop your Social Links, your emotional ties with others. The stronger your Social Links become, the stronger your Persona ability. To be able to fulfil the destiny that has been carved out for you, you must become stronger."

"My destiny?" Ayato asked with genuine curiosity. He wasn't exactly one who believed in something like destiny, so naturally he was quite curious to hear just what Igor had to say about the matter. Was there really a reason for why all of this was happening to him?

"That, unfortunately, is something even I and my master are unable to figure out. Only in due time will questions receive answers." Igor spoke as he closed his eyes, opening them again as he continued. "However, you do in fact wield a unique power. One that will truly become a forefront for your future."

"Unique power?"

"Think of it as the number zero. Empty, but holds infinite possibility." Igor stated that as he then gave a small chuckle. "You, my boy, are capable of multiple Persona! Capable of summoning them when needed. That power will grow accordingly as your future unravels, do keep that in mind. For now though, farewell until next time. When I will reveal my true duties to assist you for future endeavour."

Ayato didn't get to say anything else back before his vision was blinded once again by the light he experienced when he first entered the room. Instead of covering his, they unconsciously closed when the light hit. When opened his eyes again, what he saw was that he was now facing away from the door.

Turning around, he saw that the door was back to normal. "That was something..."

『The Velvet Room, huh? Interesting place』

"Dagda? Did you hear and see everything there?"

『Sure did, kid. So, that's the place that your can perform those fusions or whatever with us Persona?』

"Hopefully, yeah. Not sure how it'll work here though, this isn't a game anymore."

『True that, kid. Think about your decisions carefully, we don't know if whatever Personas you decide to fuse in the future will disappear after being used or not. Don't know about you, I don't exactly want to disappear』

"Yeah, I don't want you to either." Ayato wasn't sure how he'd feel if his Personas end up disappearing after being fused. He wasn't sure if there was just a way to 'buy' them back like in the games. In all honesty, he had grown pretty attached to Dagda. The guy, while rude at times, was actually a pretty cool guy to chill with.

This wasn't a game anymore where some people can just throw away other Personas for stronger ones, this was real life. It would kind of hurt him if he ended up throwing away Dagda for something like that. Unless there was a catch, he'd make sure to think carefully before making decisions about fusions.

Plus, he doubted he'd be fusing Dagda anytime soon since the guy was already a very good Persona. His stats were higher than normal starting Persona, and on top of that, he had resistance towards four different elements.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

"Hm..?" Ayato snapped out of his thoughts when he suddenly heard his door being knocked on. He walked back on over towards the door before opening it, and when he did, he saw none other than Verr herself standing there. "Hello, Verr-san. Can I help you with something?"

"Good afternoon, Ayato. I was just asked by Xiao if you were available for speaking."

"Eh, Xiao-kun?" Ayato blinked a bit when he heard this.

--------------------------------

Ayato wasn't entirely sure what Xiao wanted, but he would have to say that he'd gotten closer to the guy over the past few days ever since that fight with the possessed monsters. Xiao was also taken residency here at the inn, so it was natural for them to run into each other.

Anyway, making his way down towards the usual spot where him and Xiao talked, he saw the individual sitting down at the table with what looked to be a plate of food that he was eating. While Xiao didn't show it, Ayato could tell the guy was enjoying the food very much.

"You gotta eat something else once in a while, Xiao-kun. Eating Almond Tofu all the time can't be healthy for you." Ayato spoke with amusement as he walked over before sitting down opposite to the adeptus. Said person looked at him before closing his eyes and swallowing his food, making Ayato chuckle. "So, what'd you need?"

"You said your going to Liyue soon, correct?"

"Yeah...?"

"If that's the case, there's something I'd like you to check on while you're there. Can you do that?" Ayato blinked when he heard the question. He was not expecting something like this, just what was it exactly was he wanting him to check out? Seeing the confusion, Xiao continued. "There is a girl working at a place called Bubu Pharmacy, I want you to check her current state."

"Current state? Is something wrong with her?"

"You know how I told you being around an adeptus like myself for prolonged periods of time can have a negative effect on mortals due to their souls not being as robust as us adepti?"

"Yeah, still not feeling any different though."

"That's because you're an anomaly."

Hearing Xiao's flat response, Ayato couldn't help but grin in amusement. Xiao didn't stay in the inn for a long time each day because he didn't want to affect the people staying here, though Ayato tended to hang out with him every now and then across the land and all that. He usually ran into Xiao quite a bit too when he went out for training.

"Back to the topic. Why do you want me to check up on her?"

"I will explain it simply by saying that she was affected by us adepti a long time ago, and while the adeptal energy that affected her has diminished significantly, it is still present." Ayato narrowed his eyes at this. Xiao did explain to him before that being exposed to adeptal energy for too long can cause normal people to go berserk. "I want you to see if she is still in check."

"Sure, I don't mind. Bubu Pharmacy, was it?" Ayato asked as Xiao nodded his head. "Do you know the girl's name?"

"It's Qiqi."

"Okay, Qiqi-san. Got it."

"Also..." Ayato rose an eyebrow when he saw Xiao turn his attention away from Ayato and was now looking down at his plate of Almond Tofu with a hesitant look on his face. Ayato saw him mutter something, but he couldn't exactly hear him due to how soft his voice was.

"What was that?"

"Can you...ng... again?"

"Huh? Speak up, I can't understand you."

"...Can you sing that song again?" Xiao asked with a hesitant look on his face. Ayato was caught off guard by the question as he blinked in surprise at the adeptus, which caused said person's mouth to wriggle a bit in nervousness.

To clear up some confusion.

It happened around only a day or so ago. Both Xiao and Ayato had run into one another while in the marsh, and both had decided to rest for a bit as they had climbed up onto a large cliff where monsters couldn't disturb them. It was during that time that Ayato decided to sing a song while he was taking a break.

Ayato tended to sing songs to help calm himself, and he mainly did this to take his mind off of his situation back when he was in his old world. Singing really helped him calm down, and it also helped that his own mother was a talented singer which helped him become better and better. Even without instruments, his singing sounded great.

Singing gave him peace.

"Hoh~? Did you like the song that much?" Ayato grew a small teasing grin after processing the question. Xiao just looked away with a sheepish expression on his usually stoic and cold look, something that Ayato rarely ever saw Xiao have. "Don't worry, I got your back, Xiao-kun."

✦ Play Demon Slayer Opening - Gurenge cover by NateWantsToBattle ✦

As Ayato sang, Xiao just rested back against his chair with closed eyes as he listened. It was honestly a song that suited Xiao quite a bit, and it was a song about gaining a reason for one to become stronger. It was even a song used in an anime about slaying demons, so that was a thing.

As Ayato finished singing, he took notice of the crowd of people, both tourists and not, who had gathered to listen as well since the music had obviously caught their attention. Ayato didn't really pay them much attention though as he saw Xiao slowly open his eyes again.

"Thanks..."

"Heh, no worries."

『A mysterious voice rings in your head...』

『I am thou...thou art I...』

『Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Chariot Arcana...』

『The Xiao Social Link has reached level 3』

『Your powers to create Personas of the Chariot Arcana has grown』