The World Arcana

A Persona 5 fanfiction by Facelessmist64

I do not own anything related to Atlas or the Shin Megami Tensei series.

Chapter 1: A Sleepy Town

The night was silent.

No cars could be heard driving down the roads. Nobody was out and about at this time of night. There were no massive buildings whose lights could be seen from across the city.

The only sounds were the chirping of crickets, and even those gave the feeling of quietness. The only light came from the stars and the moon, which shone brighter than they ever did back in the city.

Everything was so much calmer here than in Tokyo... and yet, sleep evaded Akira Kurusu.

The young man grew to love the bustle of Tokyo, the loudness it gave off, and the vast amount of people who lived there. In spite of the reason he had to move to Tokyo in the first place, he found that he wished to return to the city he had spent his probation.

He chuckles. 'That's Stockholm Syndrome, buddy.' He tells himself. Tossing and turning in his bed, he was unable to find comfort in his own bed.

Indeed, when the year had started he would have done anything to get out of the situation he faced, not knowing the grand adventure he was about to undertake.

He had made friendships to last the test of time, brought justice to some of the most crooked people in Japan, almost got assassinated by a politician, was erased from existence for a few hours, and stopped the apocalypse.

'Not to mention I got Satan to head-shot God to save Christmas.' He reminds himself, cracking a smirk.

And yes, he shot a false God.

It was an interesting year, to say the least.

And as guilty as he was to admit it, he wanted to go right back to then. When they were more than just a group of friends, when they were the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. As horrible as the year should have been for him, and how he had nearly died on several occasions, he wouldn't doubt for even a moment that it was the single best year of his life.

At the same time... there was more than a few things he regretted while there. He could have been nicer to Mishima back then, he only treated him like a bother...

And it wasn't just him... he could have connected better with many more people he had formed bonds with. He was never able to help out Shinya or Hifumi with their parental issues...

And Akechi... he was easily his biggest regret. If only he reacted a second sooner... or if he researched the breach system Akechi had set off... then maybe he wouldn't have had to die.

He had too many regrets than he could count. The world was saved, and yet...

'I wish I could just do it over again. Talk about distorted desires...' He laments, moaning in annoyance and shoving the pillow into his face. After a moment, he sits up and tosses the pillow back onto the bed.

"I can't sleep." He whispers to himself, rising from his bed. After pacing around his bed trying to decide what to do, he eventually decides to get some air, and gets dressed in a winter coat to head out.

He slips out of his bed room and sneaks his way through the house. Spotting Morgana sleeping in his cat-bed, he makes sure to be extra quiet as he tip-toes down the hallway, making his way down the stairs, and reaching the kitchen. 'If Morgana caught me awake... Yikes, I'd never hear the end of it.'

"Hmmmm..." Akira hears a low hum and the faint sound of footsteps. He quickly darts behind a corner, remembering his experience as a master thief. While he might not have the same powers he did in the Metaverse, that didn't mean he didn't pick up a few things about actual sneaking.

He peaks around from behind his cover to check the scene. The rather large form of a man, his father, was searching the fridge, looking for a drink. His dad reached in and took out a carton of milk, uncapped it, and drank directly out of the container. He took a long swig of it before putting the cap back on and shoving it back in the fridge. Afterwards he turned back and made his way into his bedroom.

Akira feels a chill go up his spine as his stomach lurches. 'I think I'll wait until we buy a new carton to eat cereal...'

He sneaks through the rest of the kitchen and makes it to the front door. He cracks it open ever so slowly, trying to not make any noise. It barely makes a creak as he steps through the door frame. He stepped off of the property and onto the sleeping streets of the town.

There was no particular path planned out, so he just walked anywhere he could without leaving town. The night air refreshed him, the night sky capturing his imagination.

'It really is beautiful out here. Weather really cleared up since I've been gone.' He realizes, enjoying every bit of it. For about an hour and a half he walked, reflecting on his journey. Afterwards, he decided to head back home. As he's walking, he passes by the gas station. Normally, he wouldn't pay much attention to the place... but something catches his eye.

Further down the sidewalk he saw a glowing haze of blue. The light strikes him as familiar, and he approaches to investigate. As he got closer, he could recognize the blue outline of a door frame, and the form of a child standing beside it.

He couldn't help but smile when he realized who it was.

He walked towards his former warden, who returned his smile. "It has been quite some time since we have last seen each other." Lavenza said kindly, her piercing yellow eyes giving Akira a sense of strange comfort.

Akira gets onto one knee so as to be on the same eye level as her. "It's good to see you too, Lavenza." He said, happy to see someone he thought he had made his permanent goodbyes with.

At the same time, he knew that she couldn't have been here for a simple visit. If a Velvet Room attendant was here, it meant something was wrong. But he had gone through a lot of shit within the last twelve months, so he was pretty sure he was up to the task.

"So, you need me to take on some demonic overlord who wants to destroy the world?" He asks casually, kinda hoping she would say yes.

Lavenza gives a giggle, before shaking her head. "No, you needn't worry about such conflicts anymore. My master would like to have a word with you, should you wish to."

That last phrase: 'Should you wish to.' Confused him a bit. He was normally dragged into crap like this, so what did this mean for the teenager?

"So... wait. You mean it's totally optional? It's just like a... casual meet up?" He asks bluntly, put off by the change of circumstance.

Lavenza takes a moment to ponder this, as if trying to designate what this conversation was ranked as on the 'End of The World tier list.'

"Not exactly." She says after a moment of deliberation. "Instead, it is a discussion of yourself, and what you can do from here on out." She explains in her normal, cryptic tone.

Akira shook his head and takes a wild guess. "I'm guessing that it will make more sense once I see Igor?"

Lavenza gives a nod. "That would be preferable, yes."

Akira looks up at the blue doorway which he had entered so many times before. He should have been worried about what the meeting entailed, but the idea that his adventure wasn't quite over... That the Phantom Thieves could play another role...

He was just excited.

He looked back down to see that Lavenza had took her leave, having disappeared into thin air. He gives a sigh, not at all surprised by this. As he stands up he stares through the doorway with anticipation.

He steps in without hesitation.

~-J-~

The darkness fades away and he finds himself in a faintly familiar space. A calm blue permeated the space, calming the teenager's nerves. He looked around, noticing the roof shortly above where he sat, and the cushioned seating around him. Instead of the prison he had once believed was his heart, it seemed he was in a limousine of sorts.

He looked ahead of him, only now noticing the long nose of an old acquaintance.

"Welcome... to the Velvet Room."

Akira smiled, glad to see the mentor who taught him how to break free from society. Granted, for most of the past year the Igor who he talked to was a fake, but it was this Igor who taught him the only truth he needed.

"Hello, Igor." Akira said politely, looking around a bit more.

Igor chuckles. "Greetings. It is an honor to receive you back into this place of nurture." Igor says with his usual creepy smile.

Akira just shrugs. It really wasn't that big of an honor... "What's with the new place? I thought the Velvet Room was a prison."

"The Velvet Room takes whatever form is fitting of the current Wild Card's journey. Since the previous form the Velvet Room took has since faded from existence, I have taken the liberty to use the venue a previous Wild Card had as his mental escape." He explains, motioning to the limo they were sitting in. "I trust you find it suitable?"

Akira nods, not seeing any reason why this place would be somehow be detrimental or uncomfortable. "Yeah, I don't mind. It's pretty nice, honestly. So... what'd you call me over here for?" He asks, getting to the heart of the conversation.

"I have asked you here to discuss the fruit of your journey: the bonds that have strengthened your heart and unlocked the secret of true freedom." He starts, opening the palm of his hand to show a glowing blue card having appeared in it.

"That's..." Akira starts, recognizing the Arcana in his hand.

"Yes. At the end of your journey you had been prepared to give your life to protect the happiness and free will of a population in need of guidance, thus proving your dedication to humanity. Your spirit created a lasting bond with the very world itself, granting you infinite power in the form of the ultimate Arcana... The World."

Akira raises an eyebrow. "Yeah... but you already told me this. Lavenza said that The World would allow me to take on any challenges life threw at me. Is there anything else this thing can do?"

The young man had enough intuition to know where this conversation was heading, yet he still found Igor's ensuing chuckle unsettling.

"No Arcana has any strength in their own respect. Each are meant to develop a strength specific to the one that you have made a bond with. It is meant to nurture them, and provide comfort and respite from the hardships of the world, much like the Velvet Room itself." Igor explains, the card in his hand vanishing.

"However, producing a link with The World means the ultimate completion of one's journey, and the fulfillment and maturity of the ego. A bond of that scale... offers limitless power onto the beholder. The very world is yours to shape."

That part leaves Akira speechless. 'The world is mine to shape?' What did THAT mean?

He slowly leans forward towards Igor. "So you mean... I'm like a... a god or something?" He asks, dumbfounded at this revelation.

Igor chuckles a bit louder this time, shaking his head. "The World now wishes for a world with no gods, so your will is not absolute. However, should you wish to revisit that which the world has given you, it shall grant you the choice to relive the journey which has been completed."

Akira leans back in his seat, staring at the ceiling of the limo to process that information. Everything he had done over this past year, everything he had worked for, everything everyone else had sacrificed before...

He could wipe away with a wave of his hand.

"... Has anyone else done this before?" Akira asks quietly, not looking away from the ceiling.

"The one before you had declined this opportunity... though the one before him had done so hundreds of times before accepting their fate." Igor says, the smallest hint of sorrow in his voice after mentioning the latter.

'Accepting their fate? Did they die? I can't handle this right now...' He thinks to himself. This was sickening. Doing so would mean betraying everything they had worked so hard to reach. They had found their freedom after all, what more could they want?

'... But...'

"I needn't an answer right away, you're the one with the power, after all..."

Akira looks back down at Igor. "What can I bring with me?"

After a moment of silence, Igor's ever present grin grows slightly wider. "Anything materialistic is too trivial for The World to take notice of, and you will have full access to every Persona you have ever accepted onto yourself. You will revert back to the same physical state as you were when your journey began, and all of the connections you have made with your confidants since then shall be erased, waiting for you to reforge them. Do you understand the terms of this agreement?" He asks, madness and intrigue brewing within his eyes.

Akira looks into them solemnly, and nods. He had to do this, he had left too many regrets behind to waste this chance. He had to fix his mistakes...

Even if he had to reset the world to do so.

Igor chuckles in delight. "Very well. Whenever you wish to travel back to the moment fate had begun spinning your tale... it shall be done."

The room began to shine, and Akira had to shut his eyes as the light became too much to bear. When he opened them again, he found himself standing on the sidewalk outside of the gas station. Dazed, he began walking back to his house.

The walk back was a mindless blur, and before he had even realized it he was pulling the covers on his bed over himself. He lay down and looked to the ceiling in thought.

Did he truly want to do this?

'Yes.'

Would this bring him happiness?

'Yes.'

Would he be satisfied after this was done?

"..."

In spite of his doubts, his decision had been made. He closed his eyes, and felt an unnatural coolness envelope him. His mind became clouded, and sleep soon greeted him. As his conscience faded, he could swear he heard singing...

Like a poem for everyone's' souls...

~-J-~

Akira's head was fuzzy. His senses were dulled and muffled as his conscience floated in his head. Soon he could hear the faint sounds of rolling metal. His face scrunches up as he slowly wakes from his paranormal slumber. Soon, voices added to the noise of the place, and light started to swell in his vision.

His body fully awake, and his mind fully aware, he rises his head and opens his eyes.

He was sitting in a train, it's destination: Tokyo.

In slight disbelief, he looks down at his pocket and reaches for his phone. He flips it open and checks the date.

April 9th

He stares blankly at the date for a while, before looking around him. People sat all around him talking about all manners of things. They didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary.

Ding!

Arriving shortly at: Tokyo. Approximate time: Five minutes.

Akira lets that sink in and looks out the window of the train. Before him was the grand city of Tokyo, the most populous city on Earth.

He felt a smile force itself onto his face. He was about to relive the golden year of his life.

In his content excitement, he let's out a sigh. He chuckles to himself. 'Well... time for another year of probation!'

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Author's Notes: Welcome to The World Arcana! If you have played Persona 5, then you'll know that this will detail my own imagining of a New Game+, but with some deviations from the plot. Akira will also be aware of this the entire time and will speak more than what little dialogue he has in the game.

Also, if you're wondering why I chose "Akira Kurusu" over "Ren Amamiya", it's because I think Akira sounds cooler, and it's easier for me to remember.

Hope you enjoyed reading so far!