Chapter 19: Chapter 3: The World II

Duncan flinched back to his seat, staring at the blue butterflies that had encircled him. He hadn't seen those shimmering blue lights in a long time; the last time he saw something like this was when he was in that room with Philemon.

[I am Thou, Thou Art I…]

[...Thou hast acquired a new vow…]

[...It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity…]

[...With the birth of the Temperance Arcana, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall guide thee to freedom and new power…]

The feminine voice echoed in his mind, as if the entity who spoke it had always been there. Duncan could hear chains being dragged against a metal floor as the speaker came to a halt. The screeching sound made him dizzy like he'd never felt before, and at the end, he could hear those chains breaking, their parts crashing on the metal floor from earlier.

And gradually, the world around him returned to normal; the teacher resumed to explain the semester's subject; the sun shone outside; and the lights came back on. Duncan's head was still pounding despite the fact that the world had returned to normal. The previous sounds caused him a lot of discomfort, and when combined with the shock of hearing those sounds, it was not a pleasant experience.

Duncan's abnormality had piqued Gwen's interest, and she had touched his shoulder with wonder and concern.

"Are you okay?" inquired the girl. "You looked ill all of a sudden."

"I'm perfectly fine." Duncan took a deep breath. His face was pale, and cold sweat dripped from his brow.

"You don't appear to be "perfectly fine"." Gwen glanced. "Do you want to visit the nurse's office?"

"No, it's fine. I'll be fine in no time." Duncan sighed, trying not to think of Gwen. The boy simply turned to the teacher and pretended to be well.

The shock and discomfort subsides quickly. Deep down, he was wondering what the hell had happened to him and what those voices and sounds were, but he needed to finish school first.

—

|Home|

Duncan sat in front of the bar of his house's kitchen, munching on Thai food. The TV was on in the background, the lights were turned out, and it was dark outside. Duncan continued thinking about what had happened to him this morning, but nothing had changed in him—no power, no telepathy, nothing.

Duncan could hear the news in the background. The reporter was reporting on the destiny of Pym Technologies after Darren Cross was just caught, but Hank Pym, the company's founder, has yet to respond.

Suddenly, he heard his front door open. Duncan could clearly hear the sound of the key unlocking the door and deduced that it was his mother coming from work.

Soon after, his mother entered the kitchen, looking worn and exhausted.

"You're late today," Duncan stated gently.

"Huh? Yes, we have achieved a breakthrough in the lab." said his mother as she took cold water from the fridge.

"I thought you're a doctor?" questioned Duncan, confused.

His mother stiffened a bit, before saying. "Yeah, well, I'm assisting some researchers with some analysis."

"That's new." Duncan uttered a hum.

As she drank the cold water, his mother cleared her throat. She approached the bar and noticed the food on it.

"What is this?" she inquired as she dug through the bag of food.

"Thai food," Duncan replied. "Paul came by and gave it to me."

Duncan's mother sat alongside him, holding a rice box. She ate it gently after immediately opening the dish.

Catherine cast a glance towards Duncan before casually asking him a question.

"How's school?" she inquired.

"It's fine," Duncan replied.

"Have you made any friends?" she inquired once more.

Duncan put down his fork and looked at his mum. "It's the first day of school, Mum."

"Make at least one new friend on your first day of school," his mother encouraged.

Duncan let out a sigh. "Does the teacher count?"

"Duncan." His mother addressed him sharply.

"Fine. I spoke with my lab partner."

"How did it go?" Catherine looked intrigued.

"She's all right."

"She?" his mother asked again.

"Are there any issues with that?"

"No…" Catherine muttered something. "Good."

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The two ate in silence for the rest of the meal. It had always been this way; the two would sit side by side and eat their meals quietly. While the bond between a boy and his mother isn't immediately apparent, the two have been through a lot together. Catherine had given birth to him alone in the United States, with no family; she cared for him as best she could, spent time with him in her little free time, and homeschooled him.

She can no longer do so, unfortunately. Strangely, her workload has risen since those aliens arrived in the sky over New York. Duncan speculated that she offers more than she appears and is more than simply an ordinary doctor.

"Listen, you don't have anything planned for the weekend, correct?" his mother inquired.

"Probably, why?" Duncan replied.

"I have a friend who is getting married this weekend," she explained. "I need you to accompany me."

"Sure," Duncan replied. "But, I have no idea who they are."

"In any case, I invite you to come so I can introduce you to them."

"All right then. Any rules I should follow?"

"Nothing really; just don't appear too suspicious," his mother explained.

Duncan lifted an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"There will be a lot of security for the wedding," Catherine stated. "So, don't do anything foolish."

"What kind of individual needs that much security?" Duncan was bewildered.

"They pricked the local crime lord," his mother stated casually. "As a precaution, they hired security."

"Crime boss?" Duncan was taken aback. "Isn't it dangerous then?"

"It will be fine," his mother assured him. She checked her watch and noticed that it was about 9 p.m. As she turned to face her son, she said. "You should go to bed; you need to get to school early tomorrow; and I need to get to work earlier than normal."

Duncan let out a sigh. "Fine…"

—

Duncan perched on the king-sized bed's headboard. He had a laptop open on top of his thighs, in which he had written many words.

It was the words he had heard this morning, when everything had been frozen.

When he thought about it, the words stated by that female entity were familiar; he felt as if he had heard them before.

"I am thou, thou art I..." Duncan muttered something. "Wait… Persona?"

He had hazy memories of that game. Those tarot cards, as well as the blue butterflies, look very familiar to him now that he thinks about it.

"But who exactly is Philemon?" Duncan questioned himself. He was unfamiliar with the game's lore and never attempted to explore it; having only played Persona 3, 4, and 5, he assumed Philemon was a character from one of the prior games.

"Do I have a persona?" Duncan was speaking to himself. How does he conjure such a persona? Using a fictitious gun? He does not own one.  Shatter an ethereal tarot card? In the first place, he has no idea how to summon the card. ripping his mask off his face? He has no idea how to make the mask appear...

Duncan can only sigh, frustrated at yet another roadblock in his mysterious circumstances.

—

|Weekend|

The first week of school went by in a blur. Duncan generally sat quietly in class, listening to the teacher explain the class regulations and what they would be studying this semester. Some classes had fixed seats set up so that students wouldn't quarrel over where to sit.

Duncan was now standing in front of a mirror, attempting to fashion himself a tie to match his outfit. He'd never tried tying a tie before, nor had he ever worn a suit this intricate; in his previous experience, he'd only had a clip-in tie that was ready to use, unlike this one.

The boy heard a knock on his bedroom door, followed by a feminine voice. "Are you ready?"

"I'm just trying to tie a tie, mum," Duncan explained frustratedly.

The door sprang open, showing Duncan's mother in a lovely yellow dress. She approached her son, grabbing the unfastened tie around Duncan's neck.

"Take a careful look," she said. "It's embarrassing that you can't tie a tie."

"Well, I don't have a father figure to show me how." Duncan joked, but instantly regretted it as he noticed his mother's look fall. "Sorry…"

Catherine sighed as she completed fastening Duncan's tie. "If you forget next time, look it up on YouTube or something."

"I was about to do something like that." Duncan shook his head. "Is Paul in front?"

"Yes, let's go; we're already late," Catherine murmured as she dragged Duncan out of his room.

Both of them dashed towards the car; his mother got in first, and Duncan followed.

He felt something before getting inside the car. He felt an ominous feeling in his heart, and soon after, he noticed the same blue butterfly he had seen a few days before, flapping its wings and glittering a faint blue light around it.

Duncan shook his head at the sight. He ultimately chose to be cautious, but he has no idea what awaits him in the near future.

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