My fist passed the threshold.

I could only be surprised as I saw my hand actually enter a solid object. It's speed now slowing down significantly, my fist began to inch it's way towards my intended target. My temporary rage couldn't help but be overcome by overwhelming fear, now soaking my body in a cold sweat.

Even worse, I was given time to reflect on my impulsive actions.

Why in the world had I just given in to a clear sign of insanity? Seeing things? I'm crazy, I must be. And yet, here I could see, feel even, that my hand was actually moving through a solid object. Indeed, rather than through, it seemed to be moving into something, crossing over into another world, into something more outrageous than could be discerned from just the mask and a fleeting retreat during my sleep.

As if sensing the presence of an intruder, the fog began to react. Taking on form and autonomy, it rushed out of the mirror, consuming my fist and crawling up my forearm.

"Shit!" I yelled, desperate now for some sort of purchase. I had already committed, my fist was already mid-flight, what else was there to do but continue it's path? And, even deeply afraid, there was no way I could give in to whatever was lying on the other side of the mirror. A mask? My mask? Impossible. I wear no masks, I hold no facades. That is my one admirable trait, my one truth. Unlike those who refuse to acknowledge themselves and live in deluded complacency, I know for a fact who I truly am. No person, be it Yukinoshita or Igor, could tell me otherwise.

I wanted that mask gone.

Despite my desire, however, the fog continued to consume. It ate my shoulder, holding my body in a solid embrace, anchoring me to it. From there it took my torso, restraining my breathing, suffocating me.

I was going to die.

I felt it, I knew it. It was a certainty I only decided to recognize when my life was blinking out before my eyes. For certain, this fog was going to squeeze every drop of air out of my lungs and absorb my lifeless corpse into it's endless hell.

I'm about to die.

It taunted me, taking my legs next and pulling me slightly towards the mirror.

Then, slowly, it began on my neck. Chocking me directly, it continued up my chin and funneled into my mouth. My consciousness was starting fade. I could feel the fog tightening around my entire head, my eyes no longer reflected anything but white.

I felt a sharp pain on my hand, followed by a loud crack, before my entire body was lunged forward, presumably into the mirror.

My face felt cold.

"Ugh..." I groaned as I lifted my body off of a hard floor.

"What the hell? This shit again?" I exclaimed as I looked around, taking in my new environment.

I was in handcuffs, locked behind bars in a dark cell. Dark brown brick surrounded me on all sides, except for the gated entrance.

Holding my throbbing head, I remembered what brought me to this situation.

"Did the fog bring me here?" I asked no one but myself.

Looking at my bruised knuckles, I could tell everything that happened before was real. Either that, or the coma I was in was producing some very realistic dreams.

That was a thought. Touching the cold floor beneath me, I couldn't convince myself this wasn't reality.

I stood and walked toward the bars, looking outside. There were only similar cells in front of me and to my left and right. I could barely see a staircase coming down on the other side of the hallway to my left, but other than that there was nothing to indicate where I was or why I was here.

"Anybody here?" I called out.

I heard the distinct flapping of wings before a response sounded out.

"How ya doin'?"

I blinked.
I could swear I just heard a woman's voice.

"Hey, you listenin?" Once again, the silky voice echoed through the hallway.

Directly across from me was a bird, a Crow to be exact, staring meaningfully in my direction, as if expecting a response.

"Was that you speaking?" I decided to leave out the 'I must be crazy part.' If I was able to travel through a mirror, then surely talking crows weren't too far off...right?

"Indeed it was, my young friend. Seems you're in quite the pickle." And once again contrary to normal human understanding, the bird did indeed respond to me, it's beak opening and closing as if to mimic human words. I had to squint to make out her form in the dark, but there was no doubt about it, she was communicating with me.

"Do you know how I got here? Where we are?"

"Well, some guards lugged you in here about 10 minutes ago and tossed you in that cage. As for where we are, you know best as me right now. I'm not familiar with this person's palace."

Palace?

"What's a-"

Before I could voice my question, I heard metal clanging coming from my left. Large hunched forms with silver masks covering their faces approached. All of them were wearing suits of armor, like knights or something to that effect. Following behind them was the very last person I expected to see here. It wasn't a policeman, or even an acquaintance planning a rescue. Instead, it was Yukinoshita Haruno.

Surprising me even more, she was wearing a long flowing robe and a crown. She had an aura befitting a monarch, her breathtaking beauty only multiplied with the overly flashy clothing.

"Haruno, what the hell are you wearing? What are you doing here? Can you get these guys to let me out of here?" She didn't deign me with an answer to any of those questions until she finished her slow and purposeful journey to the front of my cell. Only then, after she had stopped and turned to meet my eyes, did she begin to speak.

"I'll make this simple for you, Hachiman." Her voice carried with it the expectation that she was to be obeyed, the command and majesty of a queen. "Become mine." Her entrancing voice almost made me respond with "Yes Onee-san!" instantly. Only, too many things were going on, too many things didn't make any sense.

"You can't be serious. What are you talking about?" I responded, bewildered by the situation. This can't be real, it can't be.

"My request is very clear. Forget about my sister, irresponsible as she is, and be mine. I'm tired of waiting for you to get bored of her."

...what?

Ignoring the question of why Haruno would even want that, the further question of what that would mean for the Service Club ate away at my mind. Sure, Haruno was attractive, but experience told me that she only ever wanted to ensnare people and use them. Whatever the meaning behind this event, it hinted at more of Haruno's idea of "fun," something I was willing to do anything to avoid.

"I don't know if that was a confession or something, but no. That's not a request I can accept."

A smirk grew on her face, indicating that my resistance was humorous. Her eyes grew colder and the armored figures around her placed their hands on their weapons.

"I like that about you Hachiman, your futile attempts to run from me." She waved down the knights. "You'll stay here for as long you think my sister is the more appealing option."

With that, she turned on her heel and started a brisk walk in the other direction. Her knights following behind loyally.

I collapsed against the wall, releasing tension from my body.

"What the hell is going on here!?" I yelled, the sound echoing throughout my cell and to the crow quietly watching from the other side.

"Looks like that one is obsessed with you. Care to share the story?" She asked, humour evident in her tone.

"I didn't ask for this, dammit. Being crazy is one thing, but being locked up in some dungeon by Haruno is a level of torture I don't deserve."

I looked back and forth examining the minimalistic cell in the hope that I'd find some insignificant clue that allowed me to escape, there was no such clue.

"You do realize I can get you outta here, right? By the way, my name is Koda." Suddenly, the crow was standing right in front of my cell, staring directly at me.

"How did you get out of there? Didn't they throw you in just like me?"

"No, I can squeeze through the bars no problem. I followed you here from the entrance. One moment I'm flying through the air and the next there's an unconscious high schooler slumped over on the ground. Curiosity got the better of me and I stayed around long enough to see the knights capture you, one thing led to another and here I am. My guess is you somehow slipped into the metaverse unawares."

Less slipped and more like forced into.

"What's the metaverse? Is that where we are?" Finally, some answers. Even if they did come in the form of a talking crow.

"Indeed. It's a sort of seperate dimension created and influenced by the human unconcious, most will never see it their entire lives. Sure is a big coincidence that you ended up here at all."

Something told me it was definitely not a coincidence.

"Human unconcious?"

"Yeah, people's understanding of the world takes physical form here, almost like taking a literal walk through people's minds."

"You mean Haruno sees, or rather understands herself as a queen so she appears as one in this...metaverse, you say?"

"Indeed. Though, places like the one we're currently in are called "Palaces," they only appear if someone's understanding of the world distorts so much it takes on a life of it's own within the metaverse as an actual place. Most people's distortions exist in the normal metaverse, a foggy wasteland that's hard to navigate.

I use the metaverse to travel. Places here can connect to places outside in ways you don't expect."

This was a lot to take in, but in a way it sort of made sense. More sense than anything else had so far, anyway.

"Wait, I was pulled in here by fog, it almost killed me. Was that to say that I'm wanted dead by the general public?"

"No, things in the metaverse tend to interact with each other only, we're outsiders. I've never seen the fog act that way though, sounds interesting." She cawed, the Crow version of laughter I guessed.

"And what are you supposed to be? I've never seen a talking crow before."

"I'd be more respectful if you want me to get you outta here, kid." She asked, flapping her wings again.

"Alright, where's the way out? How do we leave?"

"Before that, I'm gonna have to find a key to this cell. I might be able to get through these bars easily but you'd have a much harder time of it."

Before I could say anything, she sped off, leaving me alone to ponder what she said. I could only hope she'd make good on her promise and get me out of here.

This had to be what Igor was referring to, right? Unexplainable Events? I definitely can't find a normal explanation for anything going on.

There was nothing for me to solve though, no problem that required ny attention. The only thing I wanted to do was get out of here and never look back, and Koda was that ticket out of here.

Before long, Koda returned holding a keyring. She landed on the bars and skillfully maneuvered her beak to unlock the gate.

"Before I do this, you have to agree to do exactly as I say. I can lead us the right way but these knights are no joke. They'll kill you if you're not careful, that Haruno won't be able to stop them if they find us alone."

With a clink, the door swung open. Relief flooded through me as I slinked out of the cage.

"One of these should open those cuffs."

"Are shadows those knights I saw before? The ones with Haruno?" I said as I loosed my hands from the handcuffs. My newfound freedom was about to be shortlived if I ended up dead in some seperate dimension.

"Them, and the girl herself. The girl is the other side of the one you should know in reality, her "other self." The knights are simply common distortions, demons even, they take many forms but most often act under the orders of more powerful distortions.

They're dangerous, and will kill you in a heartbeat. We should do our best to avoid being detected."

An "other self" huh? She wasn't too different from the real Haruno.

Koda landed on my shoulder and directed me toward the stairs. I shrunk my form as much as possible and began my ascent, keeping my eyes and ears open for any knights ready to attack.

The stairs opened up to another hallway. To my right was a shadow facing the other direction, guarding a doorway. To my left was a spiral staircase leading upwards.

"Which way Koda-san?"

"Left, quickly." She whispered.

"Got it."

We went up the spiral staircase, passing by a few more floors full of cells before we reached a large wooden door.

"There should be a few shadows on the other side of this door, don't panic."

I nodded quietly.

Opening the door slowly, I was met with a large room with rows of book shelves on either side. Open books were strewn about a table in the middle of the room, but nothing else seemed to indicate a human had been inside. On the other side of the room, however, were two knights conversing in front of the door.

"Queen Yukinoshita is in a bad mood, you think it's that new prisoner?"

"It has to be, doesn't it. I wonder how long he'll last. No one goes against her will for long or they get erased."

"We'll just have to see..."

The one on the right snorted. "I'd just kill him if it were up to me. No need for all the stress."

"Well it isn't up to us. The Queen is having her fun with him, she'll be mad if you end it too quickly."

"Move" Koda said hurriedly,"while their distracted."

I snuck to the furthest bookshelf on the left and waited quietly, ignoring the frightening reality that my life was actually in danger. If one of these guys caught me, I'd be dead in a second. No one would ever find my body.

I waited until the two guards had begun patrolling before going. The shadow was just on the other side of the bookshelf, I could almost feel the lumbering knight. His footsteps vibrated the floor slightly and he moved with surprising speed.

"Come on, go!"

I made almost no noise as I moved, reaching the door silently and putting myself on the other side of it as fast as possible.

"We're close. The entrance is just here."

Sure enough, I could finally see two massive doors in the next room. To my right was a massive staircase that split off to the left and right leading to a second floor.

I couldn't hide myself like before. I had no choice but to try my best to make myself unnoticeable and made my way across the large open space.

From the other side of the entrance, I heard voices.

"Finally changing shifts, I'm tired."

"Stop complaining, the Queen would crack you in half if she caught you mouthing off about shifts."

"Sure, sure. Easier said than done."

Dammit, and we were so close! I looked behind me and started moving up the staircase, hoping for somewhere to hide.

In an instant, I noticed two soldiers moving down the steps from both sides. Their hunched forms doubly imposing as they blocked off my chances of escape.

The doors opened.

"Halt!"

I tried to run back to where I came from, even though I knew more enemies waited for me on the other side. However, they were stronger and faster than me, ny hands were restrained behind my back before I knew it.

"Looks like this little rat almost made it out." One said.

"That'd be our heads you know, all of ours. No way we're lettin' im get away now."

Koda had already fluttered away, leaving me alone to deal with the four armed shadows.

There was no way I could win.

I can't believe I came this far only to be murdered! This isn't fair!

What the hell did Igor get off on locking me in some dungeon and forcing me to fend for myself? It didn't make any sense!

"Nighty night, rat. We'll just tell the Queen that there was no choice, right boys?" The one standing in front of me said, his emotionless mask reflecting light from the chandelier above.

He raised his sword up, casting a large shadow and moved to swing it down. Just like that, my life was about to dissappear. No more school. No more Service Club. No more MAX Coffee. No more life.

All of it, gone.

"Is the one holding my namesake this weak?" A booming voice resounded.

What?

"I asked if one named Hachiman could be so weak as to be bested by these mere minions."

...I'm weak?

"Indeed. I feel nothing but shame to see one wearing the title Hachiman being killed like this.

It is I, God of Eight Banners, the Great Boddhisattva Hachiman!

I lend you, Hikigaya, my power. The power to destroy facades where they stand. The power to crush those who oppose you! The power to define this reality and your own, to define truth and falsehood.

I grant you-"

"Persona!"

As Was Presumed, His Existence Became Something Else Entirely