I am thou… Thou art I…

ㅤ "Persona, Persona, please come…" Ruca sat in the corner of the bed, his knees drawn up to his chest. He had another bad dream about Devaloka. Yes, he had been a great warrior there. But any war is blood and pain. The cruel images were too much for his young mind to bear, so he sought refuge in whispering the same phrase from a childhood game. And although several years had passed since the game and the vision of the masked man asking his name, Ruca still hadn't seen Persona. 'What was I even counting on? Miracles don't exist…' "Persona, Persona, please come…" he continued. This phrase and thoughts of Persona, the protector of the soul, seemed to calm him. So Ruca would fall asleep again, this time peacefully. And the new day would begin as if nothing had happened. Getting along with his classmates was difficult for Ruca. His natural modesty and strange dreams seemed to make him otherworldly. And the silly game only further alienated him. The question "Who was that?" seemed especially amusing to his "friends". No, he remembered the name—Philemon. He was more interested in the essence.Philemon spoke of the persona as if he himself were not it. Although the children were unanimously calling for the persona to come… But the other "players" mocked Ruca: "Look, that fool dreamed something. He probably still hasn't woken up!" But Ruca remembered that dream so clearly. And the feeling. Nothing was more mysterious and magical. That day after school, Ruca met her. A rude girl, Iria, who somehow caught his attention. It was as if his soul was drawn to her. So much so that he even dared to stand up for her when she was being harassed in the square. He was so filled that his spirit was inflamed! And when the guards attacked, it burst forth from the depths of his soul! "I am thou… Thou art I… I am Asura, General of Sensus, the embodiment of your power. I will crush our enemies!" Like a waking dream, Ruca watched Asura, his Persona, deal with his enemies. In his heart, Ruca screamed, "Don't kill!" And Asura obeyed, being him, a hidden part of his soul. While Ruca gaped, learning how to master the "master", another guard almost came at him from behind. But he was protected by… Inanna. Iria 's Persona. "Stop yawning, let's run!" she sobered him with a rough shout. Ruca obeyed without complaint. What else could he do? Surely he couldn't give up? The shouts after him weren't inspiring… A sign that Ruca was now a wanted man and that he wouldn't be returning home. However, for now, another question was more intriguing. 'But why now? And why had no one else been able to summon the Persona? Did they lack the resolve, like I had before? Or…' he couldn't believe it, because it seemed so simple to him, even though he knew it was a trick question, as Philemon himself had said, 'they couldn't name it?' But what was even more compelling to believe, Ruca saved in the corner of his mind for last: 'Or am I truly special?' "And you… played the game too?" he dared to ask, absorbed in the idea. "Found the time!" Iria flared up. However, she replied discontentedly, "I played." "And you told Philemon your name?" "Of course, otherwise how would I summon Inanna?" "Your friends?" "What friends?" "Well, the ones you played with?" "Those fools couldn't even remember their dreams, let alone their own names," his new friend snorted dismissively. "So, only a few can do it?" Ruca asked, his interest and hope flaring. "Only a few," Iria said calmly, as if summoning a Persona were a routine matter for her. "Hmm," she assessed Ruca, "it's even strange that you could do it. And Asura…" she said, disappointed, almost to herself. 'She knows about Asura? So we have the same dreams?' Ruca suggested as they continued to walk further away from the city. 'Special,' he smiled to himself. 'Although, because of that, I'm now being hunted…' His joy was clouded by a thought. Even if it was a fair one. But for once, he had something to be proud of: he had accomplished what most couldn't. ㅤ