10:00 PM - 1856 Saiga Drive, Ishikawa Residence
Rei stared blankly at the ceiling, his mind miles away from where his body was. It has been two days now since the nightmare stopped and though he was thankful that the ordeal was over, a different thought occupied his mind. On the night when he accepted his death through the murderous dreams, an entity appeared to him and introduced itself as his "Persona" who went by the name of Ioannes. The creature had a strange appearance but Rei was not scared or intimidated by it, he even felt familiarity towards it. He could still remember clearly every word that his Persona told him.
Thou art I, and I am thou.
I am your Persona, Ioannes, a reflection of yourself.
I am your sin and your virtue incarnate.
By facing the darkness in your heart, I have been awakened.
I shall keep you safe from the call of death, but I must ask you a favor.
There are others who suffer the same fate that you escaped.
You must not let their sins end their existence.
Teach them the value that you have learned and save their souls.
By the guidance of Philemon, may you heed my request...
I am your Persona, Ioannes, a reflection of yourself.
I am your sin and your virtue incarnate.
By facing the darkness in your heart, I have been awakened.
I shall keep you safe from the call of death, but I must ask you a favor.
There are others who suffer the same fate that you escaped.
You must not let their sins end their existence.
Teach them the value that you have learned and save their souls.
By the guidance of Philemon, may you heed my request...
"Make sure you unplug everything before heading to bed, okay? There's gonna be another blackout tonight." called out Rei's mother from the doorway, giving her son a skeptic look when she noticed that the young man looked detached and preoccupied. "Rei? Everything alright?"
Rei was snapped out of his thoughts by his mother's beckon and he quickly sat up from his bed, a confused expression in his face. After a quick gathering of his thoughts, he looked over at his mother and nodded a couple of times.
"Yeah, I got it. I already charged the emergency light too." answered Rei.
"Okay but, are you alright?" asked the woman again, her question still awaiting answers.
"Yes. Of course I'm okay. There's just... a lot of stuff to think about." replied Rei, giving his mother a wry smile to dispel her worries. "Don't worry yourself, mom. I'm fine. It's nothing a little sleep won't cure." he assured before laying back in bed. "I think you should be more worried about Mina, mom. Her fever still hasn't gone down."
"Rei... You know I have enough concern to spare for you and your sister." sighed Mrs. Ishikawa but she understood what her son meant. "Okay then, Reisuke, if you say so. If something's bothering you though, you can always talk to me about it." nodded the woman as he let herself out of Rei's room. "Sleep well, Reisuke."
"You too mom. Tell Mina I said goodnight too."
With that Rei tried to immerse himself in some ruminating again but before he got the chance, the lights started to flicker and weaken, signifying that the blackout was going to happen soon. Switching on the rechargeable fan beside his bed, he turned in for the night, still questioning himself as to what Ioannes could have meant with his enigmatic words.
"The call of death... others who suffer the same fate as me... Persona... What could they mean?" he mumbled as he slowly drifted into a quiet slumber.
(To be continued in the Nightmare Realm)