Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter 1: Quest Start!

"Okay, this should be the place," I muttered to myself. My voice bounced around the darkness, echoing off the walls of the alleyway as I crept through it.

I was searching for a particular spot, and located it with just a bit of searching: a rusted door with bars over the window and a faded green Chinese dragon painted onto the front.

Opening the door wasn't hard. Despite the appearance, it still heeded to a firm kick, allowing me to enter.

Of course, intruding in such a way triggered a few defenses, and a swirl of black mist surged up, forming a rather ugly creature. It resembled a pitch-black horse, but with a pair of curled purple horns that sort of looked like a cross between a goat's and a gazelle's. It was a Bicorn, and when it finished materializing it snorted, eyeing me with a gaze that was filled with more intelligence than a mere beast should possess, and it rushed at me soon after.

I wasn't worried. I had a guardian of my own, and raised a hand while calling out, "Nos!"

Heeding my call, a tall figure rose up behind me. The figure that'd appeared was quite ethereal with a black mortarboard hat and a long, flowing black scholarly robe that obscured everything. A pair of white gloves floated in the air, serving as hands. And, in place of a head, there was a floating bronze astrolabe beneath the mortarboard.

It was not a Stand, despite how similar it may have seemed. No, this was a Persona, a resident of the Inverted World and the Akashic Records, and an entity born of my mind and soul mingling with this unusual reality.

The appearance of the floating entity did not do anything to stop the charge of the Bicorn though and it kept coming at me. Still, I felt no fear.

"Zio!" I shouted, pointing a finger at the black, two-horned Unicorn, and a bolt of lightning lashed out, striking it in the head. The electricity conducted along its horns, and it let out a neigh of agony as the element caused extra damage to it.

The Bicorn collapsed, panting heavily, and a second Zio blasted it apart, reducing it to oozing black smoke.

Bicorns were a nasty creature. They were the opposite of Unicorns and appeared within the Palaces of people who defiled and corrupted innocence. For it to appear in this particular location, it meant I was on the right track.

Thankfully, they were weak to Electricity damage, which was my Persona's primary element for offensive Skills, meaning I could bring them down in only two attacks.

"Good work, Nos," I said, giving the specter behind me a thumbs up.

Nostradamus. The Latinized name of French doctor and astrologer Michel de Nostredame. The Doomsday prophet that had predicted the world would end… sort of. He'd made over 6,000 'prophecies' in the course of his life, though they were vague and tended to be interpreted different ways.

Some claimed he'd predicted events as far into the future as the Apollo moon landing in 1969, and the collapse of the Twin Towers in 2001, but really, Nostradamus's biggest contributions in his life were the creation of Almanacs to help farmers.

He'd used Astrology to predict things in the French court, and wrote a book containing 'cures' for the plague and other diseases. In truth, however, the man had been a fraud. Only in death did Nostradamus gain the notoriety and fame that immortalized him.

And here he was, summoned as my Persona. It was fitting, in a way, for that historical-turned-mythological figure to be the entity summoned as my Persona. After all… I knew the future. I knew what was going to happen to the people of this world, and it was not a pleasant fate.

Taking only a moment to check if the Bicorn had dropped any items, I continued onwards into the depths of the Mind Palace I'd found after pocketing some cash.

This particular Palace resembled a butcher's shop, the hallways filled with lots of raw, dripping flesh. Adding to the horror was the fact that it was all parts of humans. Arms, legs, torsos, even heads and organs were impaled upon the hooks dangling from the ceilings.

It was disgusting, but I pushed through the revulsion I felt and carefully crept through the shadows, trying to avoid any capital-S Shadows as I did.

Why was I here? Because Mind Palaces did not just contain Treasures that defined a person's very existence, but also their memories. Most of the times these were vague and muddled by metaphor, disguised as different objects. But these items, called 'Memorials,' could be taken and the memories associated with them viewed, allowing an intruder like, say, myself, to learn what secrets the person hid.

'Now, if I was a sex trafficking scumbag, where would I keep the memories of my merchandise?' I thought to myself as I prowled around.

I knew, from my research before coming here, that this Mind Palace belonged to Chun Gee, a Korean-American and one of the Breakers for the Azn Bad Boyz. His job was to take women and turn them into the prostitutes that served as one of the main sources of income for the Pan-Asiatic parahuman gang of Brockton Bay.

Oh. Did I forget to mention that was where I was? Well, there you go. Through reasons I still question to this day, I'd gone from my own world to the unpleasant Death World of Worm, land of superpowered serial killers, rage dragons, and Neo-Nazis. Oh. And the world was doomed in a few years. That was… not great.

Why was I currently stalking through the brain of a sex trafficker belonging to one of the biggest gangs in a city that made active warzones look peaceful? Because I had to if I wanted to bring down Lung.

I couldn't just go after the big man first, though. I would have to find a way to unlock Lung's Mind Palace, and to do so, I needed to whittle away at his mental defenses. And to do that, I had to destroy his businesses. The more I drove him into a corner, and the madder he grew, the weaker his Mind Palace would become.

I was doing the same to the Empire-88 as well. Kaiser wouldn't let his guard down so easily, so I'd been targeting the one thing that ensured the Neo-Nazis stayed in power: Medhall, their cover in the city.

'Right now, I need to focus on finding out where the ABB's Farms are. And this bastard should lead me right to them,' I thought to myself.

A couple more Bicorns walked through the halls, and I kept out of sight, waiting for them to pass before leaping out behind them.

"ZIO!" I roared, blasting the horned equines with bolts of lightning, and like the one before, they perished after just two hits.

"Ooo! A Life Stone!" I said eagerly, spotting a glowing crystal left behind by one of the Shadows.

It was a health item that would recover 30% of a person's health. At least in game. In this new world, it was a bit more potent than that, capable of mending multiple broken bones and serious cuts.

Couldn't restore lost limbs, but it was still an amazing bit of healing. Not to mention it would be usable in the real world, too, once I left this Mind Palace.

Slipping back into the shadows with my loot, I took a moment to check over my stats, all thanks to a convenient little app on my smartphone. It was basically a video game status screen and it let me check my stats.

The Persona System. A bland name, and rather on the nose, and it worked like a mish-mash of different game systems taken from the various game franchises, mainly 4 and 5, though with elements of the others.

One of the main features of the Persona System was the ability to keep track of my Persona as well as the Shadows under my control. I registered them in the app as 'Contacts' and could call them in, summoning them through the phone.

Depending on the Persona or Shadow, though, it could cost me. Perhaps it was money, an item, SP, or even my health. Some might join the fray willingly if the opponent offended them enough, but I couldn't always count on that.

Personas under my control could have up to 10 Traits at a time. These Traits could be gained through Leveling Up, but also through Tarot Fusion between figures of the same Tarot alignment.

Nostradamus fell under the Star Arcana, which symbolized Wisdom and, fittingly, astrological stuff. As such, if I ever found any Star aligned Shadows or Personas that had useful Traits, I could sacrifice them to Nostadamus to give him new Traits.

And speaking of the doomsayer, I'd currently unlocked three Skills for Nostradamus: Zio, Pulinpa, and Dia. The latter had appeared at Level 5 while the other two had been with me since Level 1.

Zio was the beginner attack Skill for the Electricity element, and dealt decent damage to my foes. It also had a 25% chance of Shocking them as well, which was a temporary stun.

Pulinpa afflicted Confuse in a single foe. The name was stupid, so I generally just called it 'Confusion' in my head. As for what the ailment did, it made it so they couldn't act under their own orders. They'd either stand there dumbly, or do something stupid, like throw money and items away. Sometimes they might even attack other foes, though that was rare.

Normally, Pulinpa only had an 80% chance to inflict Confuse, but thanks to my Persona's Trait Soothsayer, any Skill that inflicted status ailments had the odds modified upwards by 25%. So, Zio would inflict Shock 50% of the time, and Pulinpa would always Confuse, since it had a 105% chance to do so.

Honestly, this trait was kinda broken. There were a lot of Skills that had the chance to inflict status ailments as a secondary effect, though often with low chances. Soothsayer really made combat easier for me.

As for Dia, it was a good healing Skill. It restored a quarter of a target's health, healing broken bones, torn muscles, and other issues. It was expensive, though. The SP cost was five Zios or three Pulinpa, so I only dared use it for emergencies.

'Nostradamus is currently Level 9,' I thought to myself, looking at the screen. 'Based on what I've seen, he should get new Skills every time he hit a level that's a multiple of 5. So 10, 15, and so on.'

Getting to this Level hadn't been easy. I'd been doing this for two whole months, now, slipping into a Mind Palace almost every night and fighting the gangs from the inside of their goons. And the EXP gain was excruciatingly slow.

Nostradamus got EXP for beating Shadows, but not very much. He gained a little bit of EXP for stealing Memorials and Treasures, but defeating the Personas of other people was where the real money, both figuratively and literally, was at.

Both of us were close to Leveling Up, though. Hopefully, completing this Mind Palace would be enough to push us over the edge.

After all, Persona's were a reflection of a person. The stronger Nostradamus became, the stronger I would be, too. And a strong Persona in this place translated to gaining their powers in the real world.

This meant, should I leave the Inverted World, I'd be able to cast Zio, Pulinpa, and Dia all on my own. Very useful, if I do say so myself.

Regarding stats, there were Strength, Magic, Endurance, Agility, and Luck.

Strength was obvious. It boosted physical strength and let me carry heavy loads more easily. It translated to letting my Persona (or myself) deal more damage when hitting things with our fists.

Magic increased the effectiveness of Skills. Zio's damage was modified by it, and so was Dia's healing. It also reduced incoming damage from Skills and Parahuman powers. Though I hadn't tested the latter out myself yet.

Endurance dealt with stamina but also recovery rate. I didn't have Hit Points, just a bar that said how healthy I was based on percentages. Right now, my Endurance let me regenerate 1 percent of my health bar per hour. Not bad, all things considered, as that meant things like scratches and bruises would be gone in an hour or so. It also reduced physical damage done to me or my Persona.

Agility was how fast I could move and react. The higher it went, the faster I'd be, and as well as dexterous. Some weapons scaled off of Agility, like firearms and other ranged weapons. Didn't have any of those yet, but soon, I hoped. Right now, I was on par with a professional athlete. I could hit 20 miles per hour.

Luck was the oddest stat and the hardest to understand. It affected Critical Hits, Dodge percentage (which translated to me as a sort of Danger Sense), and Drop Rate for money and items, but it also created a sort of sense for where I needed to be, what I needed to do, and how I could solve problems.

[Zane Arton – HP 100%

Wildcard

Persona: Nostradamus (Lvl. 9)

Star Arcana

Strength 4

Magic 13

Endurance 4

Agility 8

Luck 11

Skills: Zio, Pulinpa, Dia

Traits: Soothsayer (Boost the chance of inflicting a Status Effect by 25%)]

Stats were able to go up to 100, and Levels went up to 100 as well. Stats rose based on the Persona's themselves, I could not influence them. Ordinary humans typically had between 1 and 5 in any of their stats. Reaching 10 in a stat was considered top human levels, like being an Olympic athletic. Above that, things were in the range of superhuman.

In Worm, people like Brutes, Movers, Shakers, and so on greatly skewed the numbers humans could work with, but in general, 100 was on par with literal deities. Even the Triumvirate only had stats in the 50s based on what I'd been able to glean, and the Endbringers, as far as I could tell, operated within the 60s and 70s. If they stopped holding back, that might rise to as high as the 90s.

After looking over my stats one last time, I decided to get a move on and put my phone away. Time didn't stop passing while I was in here, and I had things to do later tonight. Like sleep.

Sneaking through the abattoir that was Chun Gee's Mind Palace, I made my way to the Vault, the metaphysical embodiment of the man's core thoughts and memories. I'd find the most Memorials here, and hopefully among them would be the information I needed to get rid of the Farm this disgusting excuse for a man operated.

"This must be it," I mused aloud, stopping in front of a door that said 'MANAGER' in English and, presumably, Korean.

A single thick chain stretched across the doorframe, preventing my entry, but a quick check revealed that I could unseal the chains by destroying a Shadow somewhere within.

Heading back into the winding halls, I found it quickly: a Mandrake. In mythology, they were born from the graves and sites of execution of guilty criminals. Plucking one from the dirt caused a horrific scream to ring out, capable of killing those who heard it.

As a Shadow, Mandrakes were a sign of a guilty conscious. They appeared within people who knew what they were doing was wrong, but wouldn't stop for one reason or another.

This Mandrake resembled a blood-red flower growing from a shambling zombie's chest with roots riddling the flesh and skull. If you didn't know the truth, you might assume the zombie was the Shadow and only destroy the head, which would let the flower escape.

'Ah, this is a great find! It's part of the Death Arcana, and I need one of those,' I thought with a grin.

The Mandrake was guarded by a pair of Bicorns, the most common Shadow I'd seen so far, and I quickly leapt from the shadows with a command of "Pulinpa!"

The Mandrake was resistant to Electricity, my main method of damage, and it could also cast Pulinpa. So, I had to take it out first, and the plant-infested corpse staggered as I drove it crazy with Confusion.

This meant that the two Bicorn guards noticed me, and turned to charge, but a quick pair of Zios turned one into ash.

The other suddenly staggered as the Mandrake, in its Confusion, hit its ally with a Pulinpa of its own, and now I had two confused monsters staggering around like drunks.

I folded my arms to wait. The Mandrake dropped a bunch of money for me, and the Bicorn staggered and coughed up an item. Couldn't tell what it was, yet, but it was probably gonna be useful.

After seeing that they weren't going to offer me up anything more, I blasted the last Bicorn and then drew a baseball bat, which was my melee weapon.

I pounced on the Mandrake, wailing away on it, and it cried out in pain. I did not stop, and after a few good hits on the flower, it collapsed. It wasn't dead yet, and I didn't want it to be. Instead, I pulled out my phone and pressed it against it, capturing the Shadow.

I had no intention of using in battle, but it would make for a good sacrificial offering to make another, stronger Shadow.

[Mandrake (Lvl. 3) – Death Arcana

Strength 4

Magic 4

Endurance 3

Agility 3

Luck 3

Skill: Pulinpa

Trait: Savior Bloodline (Boost Healing Effects by 50%)]

"Nice," I declared with a grin. That Trait was going to be very useful for a Healing Persona or Shadow. When I eventually got one.

For now, though, since I'd ripped it from the Mind Palace, the chain blocking the door should have faded.

Returning to the Vault, I was right, and without hesitating I kicked the door down. Inside, it looked like a manager's office, except made entirely out of raw meat and flayed skin from women.

Sitting behind a desk made of a contorted, deformed, and naked woman was Chun Gee, or at least the Mental Cognition version of himself.

"Who are you?" he demanded with a snarl, rising up.

"You can call me Quest," I informed the Shadow of Chun Gee. "And I'm here to take you down."

"Is that so?" he uttered. "You think a pathetic hero can stop me? I serve Lung! He eats do-gooders like you for breakfast!"

Chun Gee then sneered at me. "Though he won't get the chance, because you are going to die right here, right now!"

His laughter shifted pitch, and his body began to writhe and change, transforming into a completely different form.

Dark blue, almost purple, skin replaced his own, with black horns and wings bursting from his forehead and back. A long scorpion's tail lashed the air behind him while his feet morphed into cloven hooves, and the air became hot and steamy, the desk burst into flames and fire began to spew from the orifices of the human-furniture within the Vault.

"An Incubus," I said with a grimace, watching as the man summoned his Persona, transforming into his true self.

This was the third ABB member I'd fought to have one as a Persona, so I already knew how to deal with it. Chun Gee looked a bit stronger than the others, but he wasn't that much tougher.

'He's only Level 10, after all,' I thought with a scoff. That had been the Level of his Mind Palace, and that meant that was the highest Level the Shadows and Persona within could manifest as.

Chun Gee was a weak, pathetic man whose power came not from his own work and effort, but from the control he held over the women he helped torture and abuse. The man whose greatest achievements were being a middle manager to a sex trafficking ring, and knowing the location of one of the ABB's Farms.

I was going to enjoy hurting this man, even if this was just a cognitive version, and I made a show of taking out my baseball bat from my side before pointing it at the Incubus.

"Pulinpa!" I shouted, and Chun Gee staggered, clutching his head in pain.

Before he could recover, I charged in and smashed him in the face, which sent him crashing to the ground.

He roared, the Confusion fading from his mind from the pain, and I grimaced.

"Damn it, he has Pure Body," I grimaced.

That was a Trait that erased a Status Effect afflicting the user if they took damage, or healed damage. A nasty one, and not something I'd expected an Incubus to possess. That was my mistake for not expecting this, and I jumped back.

"Zio!" I commanded, mentally ordering Nostradamus to float in front of me to block the Agi that came lashing out at me.

Sadly, Zio wasn't very effective against it. Incubus weren't resistant, like Mandrakes, but their fairly high Magic stat kept it from dealing as much as it could. But it did its purpose and caused him to freeze as he was temporarily stunned by the Shock Status Effect.

Right now, I needed a friend to come and help out, and I quickly pulled out my phone while Nostradamus shielded me.

'Come on, come on,' I thought, scrolling through the Persona App. 'Where is she?'

There were differences in this world compared to the other Persona series I knew. For one, there was a distinct separation between 'Shadows' and 'Personas.'

Here in the Inverted City, Personas were the manifestation of a human's Id, their subconscious, and were basically who they were at their core. Even a Wildcard like myself could only ever have one Persona.

Shadows, on the other hand, were fragments of a persona's consciousness, given form by their actions, emotions, and thoughts. They were akin to white blood cells, attacking any intruders to the Mind Palace and unable to leave them. They were subordinate to the Persona, the main personality, and could not grow or develop unless the person they came from did.

That was where Wildcards like me came in. By defeating the Shadows of other people, I gained the ability to capture them. I could then summon them to my side through the Persona System app, where I could have them fight for me, borrow their strength to boost my physical abilities in both realms, fuse them to make stronger Shadows, or sacrifice them to my Persona to strengthen it.

This did have consequences, though. Summoning a Bicorn would cause my morals to slip a bit, making it far easier for me to succumb to the desires they were born from. And the more I used it, the more the Bicorn would influence me. I could balance this out by creating and using a Shadow born from positive emotions, but with how few there were in Brockton Bay, I needed to be careful whenever I did use any Shadow.

"Come out, Pixie!" I commanded, and pressed the button on my screen.

There was the sound of a phone ringing, but it echoed through the Vault and did not originate from the device in my hand, and a moment later an adorable little figure appeared in front of me in a flash of white light.

"Behold!" the tiny figured called out like a wrestling announcer. "The Amazing! The Tiny! The Fun! PIXIE!"

[Pixie (Lvl. 7) – HP 100%

Magician Arcana

Strength 2

Magic 9

Endurance 4

Agility 7

Luck 3

Weak: Ice, Curse

Resist: Electricity, Bless

Skill: Dia, Patra, Kouha

Traits: Blessed Aura (Boost Healing done to the possessor of this Trait by 25%)]

She was like a stereotypical fairy from mythology, having a youthful, feminine appearance with beautiful blue and green butterfly wings. She had pink hair styled in a, you guessed it, Pixie cut, and wore a sparkly yellow dress.

One of the first Shadows I'd made a contract with, Pixie was a fun-loving, prank-pulling Shadow, but never malicious in her antics. In fact, she hated bullies, and loved nothing more than beating up villainous Shadows.

She spun in the air, sparkles flying around, and glared at the Incubus who was twitching a little from the Status Effect.

"Another one?!" she huffed angrily. "Come on, Questy, gimme something new!"

"Sorry, but considering who I am up against, this is expected," I replied, and Pixie grumbled before throwing her hands out.

"Fine, fine! Kouha!"

A bolt of Blessed magic lashed out, striking the Incubus in the chest and exploding in a shower of white sparks that caused it to howl in agony.

In this world, Pixies were of the Magician Arcana, and gained Blessed magic, one of the antitheses to evil-aligned entities like Incubi. A few more bolts lashed out as I kept Chun Gee pinned with Pulinpa and Zio, and a minute later, the Persona of the ABB member collapsed with a groan, reverting to its human form.

"P-please…" he coughed out. "Spare me…"

"How many women pleaded the exact same words to you?" I retorted. "But don't worry, you won't die immediately."

I leaned down. "I'm not gonna kill you, no matter how much I want to. For some reason, the PRT frowns on that sorta thing. However! That doesn't mean I can't take your Treasure. And what do you think that will do, hmm?"

Chun Gee's face paled, and I grinned. There was nothing nice about it.

"That's right. You're going to feel incredible guilt for all the things you've done, which will cause you to spill the beans to the cops, the PRT… everyone that matters. The women you've hurt might not be able to escape, but the evidence you'll turn over will save many, and prevent more from suffering the same fate."

"Lung… will kill me," he panted.

"Good," I retorted, before glancing at my tiny ally. "Pixie?"

"Yes, boss!" she cheered, and clapped her hands together. "Kouha!"

Light exploded against his chest as a beam of Holy power struck it, bathing his body in light, and Chun Gee screamed as he was thrown backwards into the Vault, slumping and falling unconscious.

The Persona did not vanish, as I did not want to kill him in the real world, but knew that he'd been subdued completely so I could rip the important bits out of him without worrying about reprisal.

Soon, objects began to appear. One was a golden Shrike, flying through the air. This was Chun Gee's Treasure, the manifestation of his self and all the accumulated sins and deeds. His soul, so to speak. Taking it would be like reversing his personality and make it so his conscience would finally shine through.

I yanked it out of the air and popped it into the Inventory on my phone, feeling the Mind Palace shudder as the object that kept it in one piece was removed. So long as the Persona was alive, a new Treasure would eventually form, but until then, Chun Gee would be a very different person.

Elsewhere, silver- and bronze-colored Memorials, lesser memories that none the less contributed to making Chun Gee the man he'd become, had also popped up, and I quickly looked through them, pocketing a silver butcher's knife that contained his memories of the Farm he ran.

While Chun Gee would tell the police everything, it wouldn't be enough. I would have to act quickly in the real world to ensure that when the cops came to rescue the women, they'd be able to do so without the gangs stopping them, or worse, moving the victims away.

I grabbed the other Memorials as well. They weren't that important, but I could use them for other purposes once I left the Mind Palace.

'And speaking of leaving,' I thought as the Vault began to shudder once more.

It wouldn't collapse, the Persona was still alive, but it would be best to vacate as quickly as possible as losing the Treasure would cause the Mind Palace to start under going changes to its structure.

I ran out of Chun Gee's Mind Palace quick as I could, all while dodging the Shadows left behind, and soon, I was back on the streets, panting a little. I might need to find a Shadow with high Endurance at some point to make running easier. Lord knows Nostradamus wouldn't be able to do that. He was not a physical Persona.

"WHOO!" Pixie cheered, flying around my head happily. "That was fun! Wam, bam, thank you ma'am!"

She then pecked me on the cheek. "Call me again, sometime! Hopefully not against another Incubus!"

Pixie then vanished in a burst of pink and white sparkles, and I rolled my eyes before looking around at my surroundings.

Gods and Demons do not exist in Heaven or Hell, but rather, dwell within in the hearts and minds of humanity itself. They exist beside mankind in a realm of spirituality and mental influence. Or so the saying went.

The realm has many names. In Persona 5, they called it the Meta-verse. The Shadow World of the Midnight Channel was the nickname they gave it in Persona 4, and Tartarus in Persona 3.

In the end, the name didn't matter. It was the function that was important. And in my case, it was quite similar to how it appeared in Persona 5: a gargantuan city, with every building within serving as a Palace that housed an individual's Shadow, their unconscious and true self.

This was the Inverted City, a realm of cognition and chaos shackled and shaped by human thoughts.

The sky of the Inverted City was black, but it shifted through several different colors depending on the location and the emotions nearby. Normally, so many different people made it impossible to discern one emotion out of the multitude, thus, a black sky.

However, if enough people were experiencing a certain emotion, like fear or joy, it could turn the sky bruise purple or sunflower yellow, respectively.

Shadows roamed the streets of the Inverted City, much like Mementos in Persona 5. They generally left me alone unless I approached or provoked them first. Unlike those found inside a Mind Palace, which were extensions of the person in question, Wild Shadows were born from the collective unconsciousness of a location.

Here in Brockton Bay, Shadows embodying despair and vices were the most common, with those that represented hope the rarest. Odd traps could pop up at times as well, resulting in a rather labyrinthine dimension I had to navigate.

Still, despite the dangers, exploring the city was a good idea, as it contained lots of secrets and useful items, and I could basically travel across vast distances by walking just a few blocks. Space was an odd thing in this place, as it wasn't really anchored to anything physical. Some Mind Palaces were tied to physical locations, but if I wanted, I could go from Brockton Bay to Boston just spending an hour walking down the street.

Well, not whenever I wanted. The problem with the Inverted City is that I sometimes couldn't decide where I wanted to end up without some effort. Keeping the destination in my mind's eye was necessary. And focusing on a person instead of an object was much easier, as the city connected to people first and foremost.

'Still, despite all of the problems with it, I save a ton of bus fare this way,' I thought to myself, before taking out the silver butcher's knife.

Using it, I would be able to track down the real world location of the Farm, and would pave the way for the police by taking out the thugs.

Before I went to do that, though, I couldn't help but take a second look up at the heavens. There, looming high over the Inverted City, a golden moon of crystal hung in the sky, shining baleful light down upon the Shadow infested landscape.

That was Scion's – or rather, Zion's – Mind Palace, my ultimate goal. I had no idea how to reach it. Not yet. I just knew I had to get stronger, because there was no way I'd be able to defeat him and save the world otherwise.

Looking at the Golden Moon Palace, I couldn't help but be reminded of the first quest I'd received upon arriving in Earth Bet, and the one that would likely be there for a while longer.

[Find a way to invade Zion's Mind Palace

Difficulty Level: 100

Deadline: June 24th, 2013

Rewards: Salvation of Earth across the Multiverse, x1 All-Dimensional Ticket (Unlimited), 'Savior' Title.

Failure: DEATH

Requirements: ?

?

?

Ascended Moon Arcana Persona

Ascended Sun Arcana Persona

Ascended Star Arcana Persona]

Yup. That was the end goal. Find a way to reach the moon inside of a world where time and space were more suggestions than actual rules.

Most of the requirements were unknown to me. All I knew for certain was that I'd need a couple Personas. Not only that, they had to be Ascended, too. Which meant they'd be a mythical, god-tier figure born from a lesser, ordinary Persona.

Not an easy task. To evolve a Persona, it required a couple of conditions. Fusion was one, but those only went up to a certain level. To reliably get an Ascended Persona required making a strong link with a person via the Confidant System. That meant the Persona had to belong to another person. Which obviously meant I had to look for allies and find a way to grant them Personas.

Based on the difficulty of the one requirement I did know, the other three requirements were likely going to be just as troublesome to plan for. But I didn't want to die, or see the multi-verse burn, so, yeah, I was going to do everything I could to complete this quest.

It was currently Sunday, October 10th, 2010. I'd arrived in Brockton Bay on August 1st, 2010. Taylor had not yet suffered her Trigger Event, and I had around two and a half years to grind, get friends, and save the multiverse. Oh. And tomorrow, I had to go back to high school despite having graduated over a decade ago! No pressure, right?!

Chapter 2: The Daily Grind

'I lost a decade and a half of my life when I ended up here,' I thought to myself bitterly as I stared at the crumbling brick and concrete prison I was about to be entombed within for the next few hours.

For some God Forsaken reason, that long-nosed bastard had made it so I had to go to the worst school in the city… no, the whole state because, and I quote, 'The Wildcard always saves the world with teenagers and the Power of Friendship.'

Daydreaming about picking Igor up by the nose and swinging him around until he was sick, I stepped into a place that should have been condemned and razed to the ground years ago.

Winslow. A place that even outside of the Inverted City oozed with malevolence. I'd taken a peek at it on the other side, once. It was a Level 25 Mind Palace, and one I'd not dare try to enter for a while. After all, a Level 25 Mind Palace meant the highest leveled Shadows within would be Level 25 or so. And that wasn't something I was going to risk until I was stronger.

As for who's Mind Palace it was? Well, it was Sophia Hess's. Shadow Stalker's. Dubbed the Predator's Palace, the parahuman saw it as her territory, her hunting ground, and if that didn't tell you about her mental state, nothing would.

A yawn ripped its way out of me, and I winced, frowning to myself as I trudged into the classroom far too early. Who thinks seven thirty in the morning is a reasonable time to start school? Not me!

I'd stayed up way too late last night making sure the Farm I'd learned about from Chun Gee had been taken care of. The police had eventually shown up after getting tipped off by a suddenly guilt-wracked ABB member, but by the time they arrived every single gangster there was unconscious via repeated application of bat-to-the-head and I'd healed the women as best as a few rounds of Dia could.

Late to the party, as usual. A disappointing, but unfortunately common, occurrence within Brockton Bay.

'Problem is, that Farm was just one of them,' I thought bitterly as I took my seat in Mr. Gladly's class.

This was only the first one I'd been able to take down since arriving. It had taken way too long to scour the brains of the ABB gangsters in the Inverted City to find the identity of even a single one of the Farm's managers, and I'd gotten lucky with Chun Gee as the guy who knew he was the boss of the place was also a high-ranked lieutenant.

'I have to hope that Chun Gee knew the identities of the other Farm managers,' I thought.

I'd need to go through the rest of the Memorials I'd stolen from his Mind Palace to make sure, but if I was lucky, I'd learn what I needed to make a move on the rest of the sex trafficking rings under Lung's control.

'Though I should maybe slow down a bit on the ABB,' I mused. 'With a Farm gone, Lung's gonna be pissed. I should see about dealing with the Empire, next. Haven't messed with them, recently.'

Any further thoughts of what to do after school was put on hold as a tall, dark-haired girl stepped inside the room, hunched in on herself and wearing dark, baggy clothes to try and blend into the background.

It didn't work, because she was, unfortunately, too much of a target for some of the meanest bitches I have ever had the misfortune of knowing.

Taylor Hebert entered the class and sat down in her spot ahead of me and to the right. And, of course, the snide comments began from the pair of girls seated behind me.

"Ugh, what's that smell?" a red-headed bitch asked aloud.

"Dunno, Emma, but I think it's coming from that trash bag up there…"

"Oh, Madison! That's not a trash bag, that's Taylor!"

"Oops! Sorry, they both look and smell the same!"

'Good lord, is that the best you can do?' I wondered. 'What juvenile insults. Seriously, she smells bad? That's it? That's the best they came up with?'

Of course, a moment later, those two members of the Terrible Trio brought out air spray and began to spray it all over Taylor, causing her to choke and splutter.

That was a lot worse than just name calling, and I coughed as well as a fan in the ceiling was blowing some of it back directly into my face.

"OI!" I shouted, coughing a bit more. "Quit spraying that shit everywhere or I start slapping bitches!"

Almost as if they hadn't expected for me – or anybody – to suddenly demand they stop, there was a moment of dead silence in the entire class, and Emma and Madison turned to glare at me.

"Oh? Is somebody trying to stick up for the smelly freak?" Emma demanded.

"They are when you are using that nasty spray everywhere," I shot back. "Some of us like breathing air, thank you very much!"

"Do you know who I am?" Madison snapped.

"A skank-ass ho with daddy issues?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Because I've only been here for two months and that's all I've seen."

She spluttered, and Emma's face turned red. I also saw a shocked look on Taylor's face, followed by a smirk which she quickly buried. Before anything else could happen though, Mr. Gladly finally entered the classroom.

"Alright, class, let's get started for today!" he said aloud, smiling widely. "Miss Barnes, Miss Clement, please sit down so we can begin!"

The two Mean Girls glared at me one last time before strutting back to their seats. I let out a tiny breath, very annoyed and the day had only just begun.

'They are going to try and get back at me now,' I thought. I knew how bullies worked.

Did I regret snapping at them? Maybe a little. But in my defense, four hours of sleep was not nearly enough for proper, logical thoughts and reactions.

'Question now is if I am going to just let them get their kicks in for a day or two before they get bored, or if I start fighting back?' I wondered idly to myself.

I wasn't really a fan of either option, but unfortunately, I was limited. Couldn't just start throwing Zios and Pulinpas around in the real world in my civilian guise.

That was all future me's problems, though. For now, I had World Issues, and I was more than capable of dodging Mean Girls in between class.

111 &&& 111

'Oh thank God and Igor this is finally over!' I thought to myself with a sigh of relief as the final class was let out for the day.

Winslow was so shit they didn't even have bells to signal the end of lessons. Hell, I don't think they had working fire alarms! The teachers would just glance at the clock on the wall every so often and tell us to leave when class was over.

I got up, threw my backpack over my shoulder – I didn't use the lockers because they were crap and I could carry everything I needed in my backpack – so I just ran right out of the building.

Getting back home necessitated riding a school bus, and when I got back to my stop, which was near one of the neighborhoods near the Docks, I had to walk five minutes to get to my house.

When I'd been thrust into this world, Igor had been kind enough to set a few things up for me. Namely, a house, an identity, and a way to avoiding having anybody pay close attention to the fact I lived alone with no adults in sight.

The house was a single-storied bungalow that had seen better days, and the dilapidated state was as much a shield to being robbed as the thick lock on the door. The yard could use work, but since it was fall all the grass was dead so I didn't really care. It also had a basement.

'Igor is a jerk for putting me in this situation, but at least I have a place to sleep and don't need to worry about bills,' I thought.

Electricity, internet, water, and heating were all being taken care of by the master of the Velvet Room. Food was still an issue, but I made money hunting Shadows and completing quests, so that, at least, wasn't too much of a problem.

Once safely inside, I took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh, releasing the pent of stress of school. But I wasn't staying inside for long. I took out my phone, and accessed the Persona App.

With a press of a button the walls of my house seemed to melt before reforming into black and white checkerboard wallpaper, and the cheap linoleum was morphed into black and white marble tiles.

Entering the Inverted City was always weird. It felt like the shadows coiled around me, and there was always an oily feeling lingering on my skin for a bit afterwards. Even within my own Mind Palace, it felt like this, though lessened thanks to the mental defenses I possessed.

And indeed, I did have my own Mind Palace. I could enter the Inverted City from anywhere in the real world if I chose, but going home and appearing in my Mind Palace protected me from roaming Shadows. It was like a Hub World in a video game, letting me take stock of my various items and Shadow companions. And, in time, keep track of my Social Links.

'I just know I'm going to have to play a Tower Defense game with my Mind Palace at some point,' I thought to myself as I dropped my backpack down and walked through the halls.

I'm not sure what it said about me that the form my Mind Palace took was a silver tower that sort of looked like a Rook piece from chess. Or that the interior was full of checkerboard patterned floor tiles and wallpaper with several rooms full of nothing but old-school arcade game cabinets.

Was it a reflection of my mind seeing this whole situation as a game due to the Persona games I'd played, and this system I had resembled?

'At least it's not as bad as Mitsuo Kubo's Void Quest realm,' I mused with a hint of relief. That had been a weird place. Not sure I could handle a pixelated home.

Another change was that I'd gotten a new outfit. My jeans and hoodie were gone, replaced with white full plate armor with cobalt blue stripes and a bit of gold along the edges. I looked like a knight, or maybe a paladin, and I had to admit, it was actually pretty neat. I could even transform into my costume in the real world! Very helpful when it came to acting out vigilante justice.

After a bit, I reached the foyer of my Mind Palace, and found one of the other inhabitants of this place waiting for me.

"Welcome home, master," a Shadow said as she floated over to me, her maid outfit billowing a little in a wind only she could feel.

"Hey, Silky," I said, greeting her.

[Silky (Lvl. 5) – HP 100%

Priestess Arcana

Strength 3

Magic 7

Endurance 3

Agility 5

Luck 5

Weak: Fire, Electricity

Resist: Ice, Wind

Skill: Bufu, Garu, Dormina

Traits: Intense Focus (Boost Single Target Damage by 20%)

Housekeeper (Random chance to provide items)]

She was one of my Shadows that I kept out and let freely roam my Mind Palace. Aside from her and Pixie, I only let one other do this.

In truth, I had a dozen other Shadows, but they were nothing more than materials for Tarot Fusions, and I kept them locked away in my Dungeon. Yes, I had a Dungeon. It wasn't a sex thing, get your mind out of the gutter!

Now, you might be wondering why these Shadows were so human-like when most others tended to be… feral. Well, that was because they'd spent a lot of time with me. The more they spent around a Wildcard or a powerful Persona, the quicker they'd develop their own personalities.

Since they'd been so weak to start with, Silky and Pixie's minds had grown quickly with each Level Up, and staying in my Mind Palace helped greatly.

"Are you going out?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm planning to do a bit of grinding with Slime," I told the Shadow.

"Of course, master," Silky said, bowing.

She was a model maid: kind, good at cleaning and cooking, but with a hint of mischievousness. Being a spirit of Maidenhood, she typically appeared in the Mind Palaces of young women, but I'd found her wandering the streets of the Inverted City, like Pixie.

I'd gotten her help by promising to deal with the ABB and their Farms, and Silky had been an excellent ally ever since. She also kept my Mind Palace tidy, which was nice.

And sometimes, she also provided me cooked meals. No idea where she got the ingredients to make anything, but they acted like potent healing items and provided temporary buffs, so she'd been the best damn investment I'd ever made.

"Keep up the good work while I'm gone, Silky," I said. "And try to keep Pixie out of trouble."

"I will do my best," Silky said dryly, knowing as well I as did that Pixie would do as Pixie does. And that was act like a brat.

"Oh, and please do my homework as well!" I added as an afterthought.

"You really should be doing this yourself, master," Silky said with a hint of disapproval.

"I have much better things to do than complete some pointless math worksheets," I told her dryly. "Plus, I already did my time. I am not doing this all again!"

She rolled her eyes at my antics, but I was dead serious. I was trying to save the world, I did not have time for homework!

Having given my Shadow her instructions, I opened the door and stepped out of my Mind Palace. When I did, a shiver ran up my spine as the billowing mists of the Inverted City washed over me.

It was as dark and gloomy as always, and the streets filled with rows upon rows of Mind Palaces.

Most were pretty plain. Some looked like whatever building the owner of said Palace lived in, others resembled their place of work, or perhaps a location that made them feel safe. There were regular townhouses next door to churches, and storefronts beside apartment buildings. A real hodgepodge of architecture that all blended together in the gloom.

There were some buildings that were completely different. They looked like castles, mansions, or had eclectic assortments of other structures fused to them. Buildings that were twisted by the inner thoughts of the people who dwelt within them and reflected their hopes and dreams.

And here and there, scattered across the Inverted City, were buildings that had crystalline parts jutting out. These were the minds of the people who had a Corona Pollentia, the tumor-like structure that meant a person was capable of Triggering into a parahuman.

Those who had triggered and developed a Gemma, the active presence of a Shard, were a bit rarer, but just as visible. The jagged crystals became smoother and fused more deeply with the Mind Palace.

I had a theory that I could remove parahuman powers by fighting the Shard inside of the Mind Palace. Expelling it or stealing it as if it were a Treasure. Which should be possible, as the Inverted City was a realm of metaphor and endless possibilities.

However, I had yet to enter one. Corona Mind Palaces tended to be between Level 10 and Level 20. Even without an active power, the Shards still had a way to connect to their hosts, and protected them. Active Shards and Gemma Mind Palaces tended to be Level 20 at a minimum, and the stronger the power the more dangerous they were.

The amount of power a Level provided got exponentially greater the higher the Level. A Level 40 individual was many times more powerful than somebody who was Level 20 or 30. Scion, as the source of all powers, was Level 100, and when he stopped playing... well, he could wipe entire cities off the map with barely a care.

I took a deep breath to calm down. Two years. I had at least that long to prepare. No use worrying about it just yet. All I had to do was get stronger, and develop Social Links with other people so I could

'Of course, that means I have to actually be an extrovert and make friends,' I thought with a grimace. That wasn't going to be easy. Especially not with Winslow being… Winslow.

Deciding to put that off for another day, I instead got my phone and pulled up a contact, calling the number on the screen. As it rang, I heard the sound of an engine revving in the distance, and looked down the street as a blue and silver limousine with an oversized muscle car engine and a racing spoiler pulled up in front of me. The ringing from my phone stopped as a door swung open, and I slipped inside.

Within, I was greeted to the sight of blue everything. Blue upholstery, blue carpet, blue tinted windows, and blue tinted lights. This was the Velvet Room, or at least the Inverted City's version of it.

Very similar to the Velvet Room of Persona 4, it looked just like the interior of a fancy car, though it had a few oddities within.

First off, the presence of Igor was missing. I had only met him once, and he'd warned me he would not be able to appear often. Likely due to Scion's presence in this world.

That left me with his three minions, though: The Handler, a dark-skinned woman in her twenties wearing a black and blue Victorian ballgown, who had a silver hairpin keeping her fire red hair back in a bun.

She was responsible for, well, handling me. In Igor's place, she performed the various Persona related updates and modifications, and was in charge of keeping me alive and my brain unmolested.

Thanks to the Handler, I did not have to worry about the Simurgh or any Masters and Thinkers meddling with me. Though because of this, the Handler always looked very tired.

The Messenger was the second member of the Velvet Room troupe. Appearing as a very young Asian girl in a blue and white school uniform, she was essentially a shopkeeper. Somehow, she had access to items from across the multiverse, and I could sell Memorials and Treasures to her.

And lastly, the Driver, who drove the Velvet Room around the Inverted City. He was an older white man in his late forties or so with a scruffy appearance and a black suit and chauffer's cap. He'd never spoken to me once, just grunted whenever I asked a question. He did serve a purpose though. I could pay him and he'd drive me anywhere in the Inverted City.

Basically a Fast Travel service, which was very much needed considering this realm was essentially an endless city and distance was often just a suggestion than anything else.

"Welcome back, Wildcard," Handler said politely, giving me a bob of her head.

"Heyo, kiddo!" Messenger said, grinning at me without a care in the world.

"Hey there, guys," I said, feeling myself relax a little as I looked at my assistants in this terrible world.

"Got any neat stuff for me?" Messenger asked, leaning in, and I nodded.

"A Treasure, and some Memorials," I said, pulling them out of my phone's Inventory and dumping them on the table between us. "Can you see if any of the Memorials can tell me who the other ABB Farm managers are?"

"Sure, I can take a look. What do you wanna do with the others?" she asked as she scooped them up with a greedy giggle.

"Sell the silver and bronze," I replied. "What do you think you can turn the Treasure into?"

"Hmm… it's not exactly all that impressive," she said, examining the golden Shrike that was Chun Gee's inner self. "I could maybe turn it into a couple hundred XP for a Shadow, or maybe create a minor Skill."

"About what I expected, I huffed. "Alright, XP, please. I want to bump Nos up to Level 10 at last."

"Gotcha!" Messenger said, snapping her fingers.

Beside me, Nostradamus appeared, and he began to glow as the Shrike broke apart into golden sparkles that he absorbed. My phone made a little beep as it alerted me to the Level Up, and I whipped it out to see what had changed.

[Nostradamus (Lvl. 10) (NEW!)

Star Arcana

Strength 4 - - 5

Magic 13 - - 14

Endurance 4 - - 5

Agility 8 - - 9

Luck 11 - - 12

Skills: Zio, Pulinpa, Dia, Psi (NEW!)

Traits: Soothsayer (Boost the chance of inflicting a Status Effect by 25%)

Apothecary (Boost the effect and duration of Healing Items by 25%) (NEW!)]

"Well alright, then!" I said, impressed, before turning to my Persona. "Well done, Nos! Every stat went up, and a new Skill and Trait as well? You've been eating your Wheaties!"

Nos shrugged, and I chuckled. The new Skill and Trait were quite good. Psi did bonus damage to targets suffering from a negative Status Effect. It was very useful, since Nostradamus could inflict Shock and Confusion, which Psi would help with.

As for the new Trait, Apothecary would make Silky's food buffs last longer and healing items cure even more health! That was very important.

"Well, that went well. Thanks, Messenger."

"No problem-o!" she replied. "Now, I did find some information on another manager. It's a guy named Alex Shinosuke. Not much else. But! Chun Gee does know the name of a guy who would conduct deliveries for the ABB's prostitution ring. This person, Ho Luong, knows the locations of most of the Farms and brothels, as his job was to bring the victims from the Farms to the places they'd be… used."

"Two names to work off of…" I muttered. "Alright. Okay. I can work with that. And it sounds like this Ho Luong might be the person I want to go after if his head if full of all this information."

"So, what do you wanna do to the Memorials?" she asked.

"How much can I get for them?" I inquired.

"All together? Four hundred and sixteen dollars."

"Ugh, not a lot," I sighed, and Messenger just shrugged.

"Low-quality humans have low-quality Mind Palaces to loot, which means low-quality rewards," she stated.

"Fine, give me the money," I requested, and a moment later my phone dinged from the deposit in my account.

"Thanks," I said, before tapping on the window between me and Driver. "Hey, can you take me to the Mind Palace of a low-ranked Empire goon? I want to grind with Slime."

A grunt was my only response, but I could hear the engine turn on and a moment later the car took off at ridiculous speeds, my back pressing into the blue leather upholstery. The ride ended a minute later, jerked to a stop, and the door was flung open, allowing me and Nostradamus to scoot out.

"See ya later, guys!" I said, waving at the trio.

"Try to make new friends soon, Wildcard," Handler urged, giving me a tired, pleading look, but Messenger just waved cutely before the door slammed shut and the car zoomed away, leaving me and Nostradamus alone.

"Okay, let's see what is in store for us today," I muttered, looking at my surroundings.

This part of the Inverted City was covered in riveted, rusting steel and all sorts of Nazi iconography. The minds of the Empire 88 thugs were bleeding into this reality and shaping the district into a reflection of the twisted ideologies.

The gangs all had their own clusters in the Inverted City, creating their own distinct neighborhoods. Empire, ABB, Merchants… all had influenced the real world so much, it now carried over into the immaterial.

On the outskirts of the 88th District, as it was known, I could see a number of low level Mind Palaces. These were the realms of those who were both skeptical of the gang's rhetoric, but too weak-minded to leave. And at the center was the Medhall building, but twisted, riddled with rusted spikes and oozing rivers of blood from its windows.

'Let's see… a couple Level 5 Mind Palaces ought to be a good way to grind till dinner,' I mused, before summoning my phone to my hand. A quick press of a button latter, and I sent out a call for the Shadows I wished to train.

A wobbly, teal-colored blob of goo the size of a Great Dane appeared from a blue flash of light at my side, and immediately began to scoot towards me, burbling excitedly.

"Hey, buddy," I said, leaning down to pat the Shadow on a head.

[Slime (Lvl. 5) – HP 100%

Chariot Arcana

Strength 6

Magic 2

Endurance 5

Agility 2

Luck 4

Weak: Fire, Wind

Resist: Physical

Skill: Tarunda, Evil Touch, Self-Destruct

Traits: Shiny Attraction (Boost Money and Item Drop Rate)]

Slime was a cutie, and about as intelligent as a dog. He likely wasn't going to get much smarter, either. Not entirely unusual, as they were the bottom of the barrel in terms of Shadows.

They were the bottom feeders, the cleaners who 'ate' excess emotions that might pollute the Inverted City. They were embodiments of Greed and Gluttony, but very minor ones, and treated as pests by most other Shadows.

Slime was, at the moment, the physically strongest and most durable of my Shadows. Nostradamus, Silky, and Pixie were all Magic based combatants, but not Slime. I wanted to raise his level in order to help act as a tank in the future.

He also had a rare Trait, which was why I'd kept him as an active Shadow in the first place. Getting my hands on more money and items was absolutely useful, since money makes the world go round, and items could change the way a battle goes.

"Alright, let's grind, buddy!" I declared, pointing to a random Mind Palace that looked like a bar. Slime hopped up and down, eager to fight and loot the brain and soul of a Neo-Nazi!