Persona 3: HEX - Before the Dawn

Prologue

The Dark Hour is a curse. All it brings is pain and suffering in this darkest time of the night. An eerie atmosphere engulfed the Tatsumi Port Island when the moon turned green and the sky changed to match the sickening color. Multiple coffins are displayed all around, standing upright and enclosed, indicating the numerous populations not specifically affected by this strange phenomenon. The usual clear water on the coldened ground has been stained red, matching the very color of blood. It is such a strange and formidable hour, the twenty-fifth between midnight and the hour after indicating the next day that only very few are aware of. In this precise example as such, three young children have discovered this event first-hand, being scared yet amazed all at the same time. It wasn't like anything they had experienced before; it drove their curiosity to wonders to discover what this odd additional hour really is.

It wasn't until their first year experience with the midnight occurance the eldest one decided to give it a go, while the others followed suit. Escaping from their bedroom window they went, wandering down the dark roads of the silent town they reside at. Little would they know what lies beneath the shadows...

Those dark shaded creatures only come out during the Dark Hour, feeding on the human psyche that would be awake and adaptive to the hidden time. The Dark Hour tends to have the ability to turn those wandering about into monsters themselves. It makes this such a dangerous place;there is no argument with that. High shrieks and shrills echo among the ominous atmosphere, being cries from those who fell victim to the monsters of the hour itself. There is nothing pleasant about the supernatural world, and the children learned that themselves– the hard way.

"TAKAYA!"

A young boy yelled with an elevated pitch toward another individual in the distance, who was lying motionless on the ground after using a large spew of energy all so suddenly. The oldest boy happened to have fought off the monsters that surrounded all of them in an open yard when the three children first ran away from the dark shaded creatures. He had the ability to possess an all-powerful being from his own subconscious, taking down anything that was threatening them and their existence. It was an exhilarating experience for the young lad, even though he had no idea what was happening at that moment. But everything from there felt natural– an instinct that led him to protect those he cared for. They were all now safe from harm, leaving the oldest child relieved before fainting from exhaustion. The two children ran towards the fallen sibling, as well as a middle-aged adult that happened to find the children safe and sound. He has long brown hair, roundish specs and even wears a brown suit and pants to match his overall color palette. He finally managed to catch up to the three, seeing one lying in front of them, unconscious.

"Goodness gracious! Takaya!" The male adult came down to his knees hurriedly and held the boy up to his arms, pressing his head against the boy's chest to check for his heartbeat as he feared for the worst. The man's breathing became heavy, mainly from the running he had made to find the children. The other boy came up and kneeled down next to them, as the girl came up after and stood there in anxious fear. Her brows furrowed as she felt a lump in her throat.

"Is he...?" She made a sniffle, as the boy kneeling close to the unconscious one reached over to see if he was alive. The oldest child still felt warm, and he swore he heard a faint sound from the oldest while his eyes were still shut. Even then, the nine-year old whimpered and cried out a few tears of his own, feeling very helpless for what else he could do. He yelped out a few inaudible words mixed with a few hiccups. His cheeks felt warm against the cold, ominous air as he inhaled it desperately for more breath.

The man then shook his head, petting the fainted boy's long, silver hair in a sense of reassurance. "He's alright, you two. He's just a little tired is all, surely..."

Their father ended up missing out on what happened prior to this one's unconsciousness. He thought he came too late, thinking he failed as a father to protect them from the monsters that dwell upon the streets. With that, he then gave the other two a scolding glare, feeling how they must've given him a heart attack since they disappeared from their bedrooms. "And just what were you all thinking!? Sneaking out late at night like this as you were aware of the dangers of the Dark Hour?! I've told you this a dozen times already!"

"We're sorry...!" the redheaded girl cried out, wiping one of her tears with a sleeve of her bright nightgown. "We didn't know..."

The man, however, only sighed in dismay. Of course they didn't know any better. He could only tell them so much about what it was like in the outside world during the hidden hour, but never would he think they'd go out to explore it on their own–not one bit. The father then glanced over to the middle child, who looked to be in the most guilty position out of them all. With his gaze looking dead at the ground and his glasses slipping off the bridge of his nose, he then pushed them back up, letting out a sniffle or two. The bot is practically waiting for the man's next set of words of scolding, or perhaps any kind of punishment he may expect from an adult when a child like him would get in huge trouble. The very look on his face made his own heart break as is; no child should ever feel feared by their own parental guardian like this, especially during the most dangerous time of the night.

The father's voice softened. "We'll talk about this later. But right now your brother needs to rest, just long enough to recover all of his strength again."

Might as well head back home while they have the chance. Only time can tell when this child would wake up again. After summoning a manifestation like that with his own spiritual energy, who knows how much of that was sucked right out of him. He may have missed that part entirely, but he was at least able to detect their location by the collision of the fight itself. It was an unbelievable view from the far distance, the way the winged humanoid soared through the sky and fought off against the night creatures with vast agility and almighty power. But with the responsibility that it brings with the boy himself... it only made him want to protect the child even more. This is the first time he experienced this, after all.

Before the man made any movement, the younger boy placed his hand on the brother's head again, sorrow and remorse displayed in his eyes with a few more tears trailing down his cheeks once more. He wished he could've done more for him, but at the time, he could only watch. There was only so much he could do– even the girl next to him felt the same way.

"Takaya..." The boy made a sniff, his voice growing weaker and more desperate upon calling his name. "Takaya, please be okay. You're safe now... T-Takaya? Takayaaa...!"