*Cognitive World*
Your POV
Dashing through, the sudden collapse of the ground catches you off guard.
You: Shit!
Holding onto the painting, you lift it above your head, leap to the wall, and run along it. Barely reaching the other side before it broke apart, you headed into a stairwell and raced up the steps. The castle and the stability of the Palace were shattered. With a heavy effort, you reached the top.
You: What is it with these castles and their God damn long stairs!
Realizing the tower is standing for now, you place the painting on the ground, which holds Ann and Yusuke prisoner—taking a moment to understand how it works, feel the texture, and closely look at any detail that could clue you on how to free them. So far, nothing comes to mind, and you find yourself at a loss.
You: I can't leave unless they are free, so I must figure this out quickly!
The tower begins to shake violently and causes a chain reaction to crack through the stonework. At the same time, one of Yusuke's shadow bursts through the door, half his body melting into paint, his face deranged and chaotic.
Yusuke's Shadow: You!!! You ruined everything!
You: This Palace doesn't even make the top five. Don't get mad if it was too easy!
Yusuke's Shadow: I'LL KILL YOU!
Taking out a paintbrush and a floating paint pan, The Shadow attempts to create shadows from his work, but you quickly stab his chest and slice through his torso. The body falls, and the paint splashes over your hands and face. The pan of paint rolls around and coats the ground in a ray of colors.
You: Man, now I got to clean this! But first, I need to figure this out!
Grabbing the painting again, you try to think outside the box, attempting to create a single thought that would make sense and propose a solution. Still, nothing comes to you, and in a quick fit of frustration, you slide your hand across the painting. What you would expect to feel solid and the texture of a paper-like substance comes to your surprise when you feel empty air. Looking down, you see that the paint on your hand allows you to enter the painting.
You: What the...? Wait! This must be it!
Turning your head, you spot the paint pan on the ground and reach for it. It brushes your fingers before the ground below you cave in, making you descend from the top of the Palace.
You: Oh Nooooo!!!!
Screaming, you attempt to grab the paint again and brush your fingers in the air. It flips around and begins to float away from you. With a single thought, you manifest the remainder of Kage's power to produce a shadowy hand that reaches out and pulls the pan towards you. Without time to lose, smacking yourself in the face with the entire pan, you are covered in quite a bit of its contents. The ground quickly approaches, and you push your head through without hesitation and enter the painting.
The canvas glistens as a unique shift occurs as your portrait is added to the painting, showcasing you in chains wrapped around your arms and neck, a massive figure with a blank face holding the chains taught with his hand.
A moment passes, and the ruins of the Palace crumble all around the painting.
A few more moments pass, and the painting is getting closer to smashing to the ground and having an entire castle crush it.
It flips around, and a tiny blue spark glows from the canvas. The painting glimmers a bit, but soon, there is no reaction. The ceiling of the Palace shatters, leaking the abyss into the world. The inky drips begin to corrode the world into darkness.
The falling rumble, the quickly approaching ground, the situation dire. At the last moment before impact, there is a quick flash of blue light, and instantly, the painting explodes in a fiery blue whirlwind erupts, revealing your burning desire and determination and with the full force of your wings, holding onto Ann and Yusuke still out cold. In a rapid ascension, you smash through the rubble with the full might of Bahamut and fly at top speed, crashing through the toppling castle, causing it to shatter.
You: PERSONA!!!
Unleashing the full might of your Persona, you jettison yourself at an incredible speed through the abyss and back into the Cognitive World. Breathing heavily, you begin to hear a small transmission start to play through your earpiece.
Futaba: Y/N?! Are you there?
You: I hear you, Futaba! I hope you are finding Makoto in this because I am on my way with Ann and Yusuke. Let me know where you are; I need to finish this quickly!
Futaba: Understood! Prometheus! Light the way!
On cue, a bright green light shines in the dark abyss, alerting you to her position. With the full might of your wings, you beat them fast and fly toward her. Looking at Ann and Yusuke, you saw that they were imprisoned inside the painting. You entered inside to find them floating in a pocket dimension separate from the Palace. The paint had been removed from your body when you entered the dimension and noticed that your full power had returned after grabbing both. Using brute force with Bahamut, you burned your way out of the painting and are now returning them to your friends. A soft smile across your face hides the painful feeling that lurks within your heart. Next is Makoto, and you know that dealing with her will be the most difficult by far...
Thank you guys for reading this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! The last Palace of the Arc! It should be done in about 4 to 5 chapters about. Depends on how the direction goes, but it should be good nonetheless; I can't wait to get through it!
Due to some issues and problems I am facing in life, I am now promoting my Patreon to anyone who wants to support me financially; this will not only provide me with some income, however small or large it is, but it will allow me to focus even more effort into writing for you guys. It is entirely your decision to check it out and provide me with any money you want; the lowest starting is 5 minimum. It is entirely up to you again, patreon.com/AKAustin is my Pateron for you to visit! Well, I will See you all in the Next one! Thanks again!