The shadow lunged.
It moved with unnatural speed—distorted arms flailing, eyes glowing with hate. Its voice echoed with a broken familiarity, like a memory twisted out of shape.
"You should've saved me!" it howled.
Shoji barely had time to react, stumbling back as the monstrous figure of his best friend's shadow closed in. But he wasn't alone. The fox darted ahead, agile and precise, intercepting the shadow's strike with a burst of bluish fire conjured from his claws.
"I'll keep it busy—use that Persona of yours!"
Shoji steadied his breath. His heart still raced from the awakening, but the ring on his finger pulsed with power. He threw out his arm.
"Charon!"
In a burst of azure flame, the cloaked ferryman emerged. Tall and skeletal beneath his tattered robes, Charon gripped a long oar-like staff crackling with spectral energy.
The battle began.
The shadow struck first, launching a barrage of jagged, black tendrils. Charon blocked them with a swirl of blue flame, countering with a powerful sweep of his staff that sent the creature sliding across the sand.
"Don't hesitate," the fox called out. "That thing feeds on your doubt!"
Shoji nodded, gritting his teeth. "Then I won't give it any."
He focused. A command rose naturally to his lips. "Charon, Agilao!"
Charon raised his oar, and from it, a surge of fire spiraled outward, striking the shadow dead-on. It screeched and staggered back, the mask-like face cracking.
The enemy struggled, then burst forth again, enraged. The fox leapt in, swift and agile. "Let's finish this," he growled.
From a silver ring around his paw, a brilliant flash of light erupted, and beside him materialized a jackal-headed figure cloaked in regal black and gold.
Anubis.
With the grace of a god, Anubis extended his hand, conjuring curse spell that struck the shadow. Charon followed with a blast of spiritual force, pinning the enemy down. Shoji moved in sync with them now, his movements guided not by thought, but by something deeper—resolve.
"Why didn't you save me, Shoji!?" the shadow bellowed, slamming its fists into the ground. Shadowy spikes erupted from beneath, narrowly missing Shoji.
The fox dashed forward, slashing at the creature with ethereal claws, drawing its attention. "It's faltering! Hit it again!"
Shoji nodded, summoning Charon once more. "Now—Bane of Regret!"
A ghostly wave surged from Charon's staff, engulfing the shadow in shimmering blue flame. It let out a final, mournful cry as it dissolved into smoke and silence.
Shoji stood there, chest rising and falling with exhaustion. The battlefield was quiet.
The fox trotted to his side, tail flicking. "You held your own. Not bad for a first-timer."
Shoji gave a small laugh. "Couldn't have done it without you."
The fox turned, ears twitching. "Come on. This place won't stay quiet forever. Let's get out of here."
As the shadow dissolved into the desert wind, the swirling blackness faded, leaving behind only silence. Shoji stood still, his breathing heavy, eyes locked on the space where the figure of his friend had once stood. The desert around them seemed to shift subtly—less hostile now, more subdued.
The fox stepped forward, glancing at Shoji. "Are you alright?"
Shoji didn't answer immediately. His gaze was distant, focused inward. Finally, he gave a slow nod. "Yeah... I think I am."
The fox's ears twitched. "Come on. I'll show you the way out."
After walking for a while, Shoji and the fox arrive at a big gate. Most likely the way out.
"This is the exit. I can only guide you until here. " the fox said.
"Um thanks Mr. Fox for the help. " Shoji said.
"Yeah yeah whatever. Now get out of here. " Hakuo said while pushing Shoji out of the gate.
After being pushed, Shoji return to the real world. Still a bit confused about what just happened. A talking fox, the Desert of Regret, Charon. Too much to process but he decided to just go home. Once home, Shoji tossed and turned in his sleep, still haunted by the lingering images of the strange desert, the shadow that resembled his friend, and the mysterious fox that fought by his side.
And then—silence.
Suddenly, the world shifted.
He opened his eyes, but it wasn't his room. Instead, he found himself seated on a blue velvet chair in an elegant, dimly lit room. The air felt surreal, heavy with a sense of mystery and importance. Everything around him was bathed in deep shades of blue. The room felt like it didn't belong to any world he knew—floating in some abstract space beyond time and place.
Across from him sat a peculiar man. His long nose curved down like a beak, and his wide, unsettling grin was strangely welcoming. Beside him stood a young woman in a formal velvet uniform—her expression calm and composed, her eyes sharp but not unkind.
The man leaned forward slightly, his fingers steepled.
"Ah… you're here," he said, his voice deep and gravelly, filled with otherworldly resonance.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room."
Shoji blinked, still not fully grasping where he was.
"My name is Igor," the man continued. "And the woman next to me is Kara, my assistant and also a resident of this room."
Kara gave a polite nod. "A pleasure to meet you."
"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter," Igor went on. "It is a room that only those who are bound by a contract may enter… It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future."
Shoji leaned forward slightly, his brows furrowing. "A contract?"
"Indeed," Igor replied with a chuckle. "But let us not concern ourselves with that just yet."
He gestured with a gloved hand.
"Now then… Why don't you introduce yourself?"
Shoji hesitated, then slowly replied, "…Shoji. Shoji Akiyama."
Igor nodded approvingly. "A fine name. Remember it well… for your journey is only just beginning."
"Shoji," Kara spoke softly. "You have taken your first step into a world hidden beneath the veil of the ordinary. That power you awakened—your Persona—was born of your resolve."
"And as such," Igor added, reaching beneath the table and placing something on its surface, "you will need this."
It was a key. Small and elegant, made of glimmering dark blue metal with a faint white glow along its edge.
"This is the Velvet Key," Igor explained. "It shall serve as your guide, allowing you to return to this room… should fate demand it. You may find it in your possession when the time is right."
The room began to tremble faintly, and Shoji felt the weight of sleep pulling at him again.
"Until we meet again," Kara said gently.
"May your journey be one of purpose and awakening," Igor said with a grin.
In the next moment, Shoji's eyes fluttered open.
He was in his bed. Morning light spilled into the room from behind his curtains. He sat up slowly, heart still pounding.
"…Just a dream?" he muttered.
But when he looked to the side, there on his desk, resting as if it had always been there—was the key.
The Velvet Key.