Disclaimer:This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.

Warning: This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.

Prologue

Darkness.

Darkness everywhere.

How long has it been since I had last seen anything but the darkness? Months? Years? Decades? Centuries? Or perhaps it had only been but a few minutes? But in the end, do I even care? When all I could do was stare into the darkness, when all I had to occupy myself with were my own thoughts, did the passage of time truly matter anymore?

One moment it feels as though I have been here for an eternity. The next, it's as though I had been awake, truly awake, just seconds ago. It is confusing, almost to the point of maddening.

Moreover, I had lost all feelings in my limbs long ago. No, that was inaccurate. Rather, I could no longer feel any part of my body. From my fingers to my shoulders, from my shoulders to my waist, and from my waist all the way down to my feet, I felt nothing at all.

In truth, I do not even know if my eyes have remained open. Were they open? Was I truly in a place that was devoid of all light? Or were my eyes shut, and thus only capable of seeing darkness?

But then, that, too, was not entirely correct.

Every now and then, I would see something. I don't know what it is for certain. Was it real? Was I somehow, truly, seeing something amidst the darkness? Perhaps it was merely my imagination. Has the emptiness of this world, perhaps, affected me so much that I have begun to hallucinate? I don't know. All I knew for certain, was that he was right there, standing in front of me.

At some point, I had come to believe that, despite everything, we had failed. I had come to believe that the Fall had come and that this darkness is the 'Salvation´ many have spoken of or wished for. Considering all we had lost and given, all he had lost and given, in the fight to prevent the Fall, such thoughts were shameful. And yet, when I first considered that possibility, I felt strangely at peace.

Even if we had failed, even if humankind has reached its end, at least we no longer had to suffer. At the very least, he, who had suffered and lost much over the past ten years, could finally rest. And not just him. Now, the rest of us could finally rest as well.

After fighting for so long, would anyone blame us, blame me, for choosing to rest? Would they accept that we had tried our best, or would they condemn us for not trying harder? But, here and now, none of that mattered any longer. With our failure there was little need to think of such things. All there was left to do, was accept that we failed and accept the consequences of such.

With such thoughts in my mind, I embraced the darkness for the first time. And while I no longer needed sleep or any such necessities to continue existing, I somehow felt more rested once I had acknowledged that painful truth.

It was shortly after that - or perhaps it was a long time, I'm uncertain as there are no indications of the passage of time - that I began to see him. At first, it was just a quick flash of his silhouette, somehow visible despite the darkness and faster than a blink of an eye. The next time it was slightly longer, long enough for me to make out the finer details of his silhouette before he faded once more.

The third time was slightly longer than the second, but it was enough for me. I had seen his face. Was it wrong for me to be disappointed when he wasn't smiling? Was it wrong to for me to want to see his smiling face even when I had already chosen to accept this perpetual darkness, the same darkness that we all fought to avoid?

Though I may have thought of him as nothing but an illusion at that time, his face brought a stirring beneath my chest. And the longer his image stayed, the more I felt this feeling welling up within me. And the more I felt it, the more it hurt.

And so, despite how I longed to see him once more, I tried to will the visions away. But instead, they persisted and the image grew clearer while the amount of time I saw his image also grew in length. Where I use to only see his silhouette, now I see him clearly as though it were the middle of the day. Where he would disappear before I could blink a second time, now he would remain for so long that his absence grew more noticeable.

The times his image was gone slowly became unbearable just as a different kind of pain blossomed within me every time the vision disappeared. The pain and discomfort I felt when I saw his image, grew every time I saw him again. But this new pain I felt always started weak but grew the longer I did not see him.

And then, there were his words. It did not take me long to notice that he was speaking whenever I saw him. But even after seeing him so many times, I still could not understand him. His words were muted, sounding as though I were listening to him while I was under the water, and he above.

Or perhaps I have merely been adding more to this vision I am receiving. I do not know. I know too little of the darkness that surrounds me, of what happened to the world itself.

And now, I was alone again. His image had faded some time ago. But unless I misjudged it, the time between his disappearances and reappearances were growing shorter. While it meant that the pain I felt in his absence did not have a chance to grow, the pain I felt when he was present was one I had to bear for much longer. Were I capable of it, I'm certain I would have been crying due to the pain in my heart a long time ago.

It wasn't long before his image faded into visibility once more. But this time, something was different. I could feel an immense pressure coming from him. It was power. But, how could a mere vision produce such an effect. Unless…

Then, as though waking from a dream, my eyes opened. Everything changed at that very moment, and yet everything remained the same.

Darkness still surrounded me but it no longer lulled me into a sense of peace. Instead, the darkness around me seemed… eager? Almost as though the night had been waiting far too long for the sun to herald the coming of the day.

I still could not move my body. But I could feel it. I was aware of my body once more. No longer did I feel like a specter, a mere consciousness, lingering in the void. Now I feel as though I have just awoken from a very long slumber.

And finally, him. While the image I had been seeing in the past was an exact likeness, something was very different about him now, even though his appearance had not changed in any way. The only words I could think of to describe it was that he looked more… alive. But whether he was alive or not, I now knew one thing for certain. It had not been an illusion, nor was it a dream or my imagination.

He was here.

How I wished that I could move, that I could speak, that I could do anything at all to let him know my feelings. Feelings that have been left unspoken for so long. And when he began to walk closer, I tried even harder to will my unresponsive body to move. With every step he took I struggled even harder, I raged and thrashed with my entire being, cried out from the very depths of my soul, and yet my body refused to obey me.

And finally, he stood right in front of me, close enough that if I could have touched him had I been able to reach out even one arm. But I could not. My entire body remained as it was, standing still and completely unmoving. It was vexing to be so close to him yet unable to do anything about it.

And then, as though somehow knowing of my struggle, he smiled. It was a small, soft smile, comforting and supportive. And seeing that, I tried even harder to move. But then he shook his head, his uncovered eye telling me that I did not need to do anything. Then his smiling lips parted, moving and forming words. Hearing his voice calmed me greatly, the pain deep within me disappearing along with all my burdens.

And then, when he finished speaking, he smiled once more and then everything faded away into the darkness. But this time, I had nothing to fear. Somehow, someway, I knew that the next time I gained awareness, it will no longer be in this world of darkness.

Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear young man.

…

Wait… that's not right. Let's try that again.

OST Selected: (A Poem for Everyone's Souls)

Welcome to my newest story, my dear readers. My penname is LeiCiel. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This is Elizabeth. She is a resident here, not like myself. This story exists between genius and insanity, my computer and yours...

It's been a years since I last wrote a crossover. Only those who have signed this imaginary contract can see this story. Henceforth, you shall be welcome to read my newest story. You are destined to read a great story, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return… That you abide by the imaginary contract, and submit your honest opinion for each chapter you read.

YOU
"I understand."
"I don't understand."
-"Is this a dream?"-

Precisely wrong. You are wide awake in the real world as you read this. This story you see is no mere dream. However, you will be seeing this story in your dreams, sooner or later. Hold on to this…

YOU
Obtained Story URL

'Til we meet again…