The screams of people around were fading in her ears and turning to nothing but mere echoes that were vanishing in the distance like incomprehensible whispers. Pain rushed through her limbs... she felt weak and unable to stand up, and the blurry images didn't help much either to understand what was going on around her. Blinking her eyes a few times, she swore that she caught the glimpse of a human figure laying in front of her on the road, exposed to cold and rain, and was soaked wet from the top to bottom. When all her five senses kicked back into her again, it all finally came back to her...

Blood.

The puddle of the scarlet substance only extended more and more on the asphalt, coloring the rainwater with a deep shade of red that was slowly being washed away. Horrified screams burst through the street as many were running to where the incident took place to check whether the person that fell on the road still had life in them or not. Her red eyes widened beneath the lenses of her glasses as the water was rolling down her face and the few locks that fell on her features, colored even in a darker shade in red than the blood she was seeing. All the shouts and calls to her to ask her whether she was fine didn't matter to her anymore, she couldn't care less about that right now... she could only look at the body that laid a few feet away from her as the blood reached her fingertips.

"Big bro..."

The red scared irises of a small child lifted up to the person who gave her tiny hand a reassuring squeeze as he took it within his own firmly and surely, unwilling to ever let go of her. A pair of emerald green orbs were looking at the scene as their owner's jaw was trembling badly... the little girl could feel how terrified that boy was since his hand shook uncontrollably that had hers in it. However, the boy looked back at the girl with a smile as if trying to tell her that everything will be fine... yet, the child saw right through it all the fear and horror it held from every tremble and quiver his lips made. She was no fool, he was always like that every time she was with him... and while she was grateful for his attempts of making her feel at ease, she still couldn't help herself but worry about him.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine..."

Though she was a bit hesitant, the small girl nodded slowly if it meant to ease the boy's worries even for a little bit before she held out her other unoccupied hand to cling into the boy's arm tightly, whimpering quietly under her breath. His green irises returned to where the red-haired girl was still lying on the road and looking at the bloodied physique in front of her with the most horrified expression on her face. Her entire form shuddered from both the rain that was falling on her and the fear that was taking all over her... her lips quivered uncontrollably as well, unable to form any word or sound whatsoever--she was just beyond shocked. Seeing that the little girl was whimpering and hiding behind his back, the boy put his hand behind the child's back before guiding her to walk away from the area. She was still young and shouldn't see something as terrorizing as blood, that might scar her for life.

".........!"

Among the crowd that observed that horrifying incident and standing underneath her umbrella was a bespectacled brown-haired girl who caught the glimpse of the fallen body. Her dark brown eyes, from behind her half-rimmed oval-shaped lenses, were as wide as possible with her mouth parted from the undeniable amount of shock she felt, her chest stung her, and was letting out quick and heavy pants from her quivering lips. The brown-haired's body wouldn't move an inch from its posture and felt like it was glued to the road... the shape of the body, as well as the blood forming from it, felt all too similar to her, an awful state of deja vu. She gagged and was about to throw up from the scene she was witnessing so when she finally couldn't take it anymore, she ran away from all the crowd, all the noise, all the pain, all the suffering... it was just too much for her to take.

"No..."

"No! No! No! No! No!"

"This isn't happening!"

"No...!"

"I killed her..."

"It's my fault... It's all my fault!"

"Why?! Why did it have to be her? Why...?! It should've been me! Not her!"

"I'm a killer! Her blood is on my hand...!"

"I killed her... I did it..."

"I killed her..."

"I killed her..."

"I killed her..."

"I killed her..."

"I KILLED HER!"

"A... aaa... aah..." The red-haired's quivering lips began moving.

And that was the moment that the bespectacled brown-haired girl and the green-eyed boy along with the red-eyed small girl heard the most blood-curdling scream that will forever haunt them around.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

*******

Disclaimer: The author doesn't own Persona 5 Royal nor its plot, they're mere properties for Atlus. Inc and everyone involved in it.

The author only owns her original characters along with other extra characters that will show up during the storyline and will play important roles, also she owns the plot twists that'll be added to the story's plot and the backstories of some of the canon characters.

This story will contain spoilers for Persona 5 Royal, so in case you didn't finish the game, the author highly recommends you do not read further than this point. You have been warned.

And now, the author deeply wishes all of you a wonderful and unforgettable experience reading her work.

Author: Rand Talih

Published on: Tue/Mar 31/2020

《REMINDER》All the media of pictures, fan arts, music, and videos used in this story belong to their respective owners.