The group exited into the humorously-named forest, they awaited the rest of the small group, before following the rabbit once more. Luke quickly began to notice a theme of this dream - if it was a dream at this point, he honestly didn't think he could dream up something this crazy on his own. The group continued on the trail, before being stopped once more by the rabbit.

Luke nearly groaned, until the cause of the stop was revealed. The sound of mostly female laughter filled the air, high-pitched and somewhat annoying. Several voices resonated through the surrounding trees, and as each hurled another insult or rude comment, Luke's incredible fear slowly diminished, replaced by a slowly growing anger. Heh, it seemed that being pissed off was a theme for him in a place like this. The blast of wind from the final yell managed to chill the flames of anger, but underneath the rediscovered fear was clear annoyance.

Another woman began to speak, and her cool and polite tone of voice briefly reminded Luke of his mother - she always adopted a similar tone whenever they had company, especially someone from Luke's school or a member of the board of directors for the company. As Luke noticed the others reach for their weapons, he just remembered the weight of the axe in his hand, quickly moving to hold it in both hands. He trusted the weight and sharpness a hell of a lot more than some dumb watch.

The familiar voice of the Dorm Mouse was luckily heard cutting through the cacophony of voices, and Luke was simply glad that someone he knew and didn't dislike very much was there. Her relaxed and defiant nature towards the opposing voices was very intriguing, and the fact that she was willing to risk her skin for people she didn't know was something that Luke wish he could do - he wanted to be able to be a big damn hero like that, stay behind and save everyone.

The thoughts of the man who was burned to a crisp from earlier immediately shut down this inspiration, reminding Luke of his position. He just had to wake up and escape this dreamland as fast as possible. Luke followed the white rabbit and Alice, who apparently elected herself the de facto leader. Luke didn't really mind this, especially considering he only wanted to leave the voices that were previously discussing the groups deaths as quickly as possible.

[hr]

Normally, the short distance that the group had run would not tire Luke in the slightest, but he was far too tired from earlier. At the rate he was going, he'd end up with a cramp or something. This thought was dismissed as black goo dominated the area around the group, their faces being obscured by masks and being in a variety of strange and... not very menacing forms. Luke was only fearful from how bizarre the situation was, and was quick to slash at the nearest puddle's mask.

... However, just like the boy who attacked a few seconds before Luke, the blade of the axe cleanly moved through the puddle, not dealing the slightest bit of damage.

The leader, Alice, was the first to "Awaken" - she quickly displayed a very high aptitude with her pocket watch - A sentence that Luke never thought he would think in his life. However, cynical and dickish remarks were hard to make when something so amazing was underway. Luke only managed to see her slightly, before a beam of light erupted from the watch in her hand and he had to shield his eyes. As he looked away from the light's brilliance, he felt intense winds roar past him, slamming into one of the monkey-like shadows nearby, and a mouth shadow flew towards the person who caused this.

[color=a36209]"Jesus Christ, I thought the watch thing was a joke! That's bad ass!"[/color]

As the others in the group quickly repeated and awakened on their own, Luke realized he probably needed to hurry as well. He only noticed a large monster of a man appear next to one of the other kids, someone even more ripped looking than Luke, and far taller to boot. If Luke was lucky, his per-whatever would be someone that looked bad ass as the big guys everyone else was summoning. Gripping the watch in his hand, Luke did as the white rat said earlier - focusing on a single thought, a single ideal. Luke only had one thought - the creed he lived his life by since he got out of that damn hospital bed he lost his childhood in. He'd make up for lost time, he'd do anything it took to be better than others in living his life. He'd never give up and go back to being a person who lived their lives completely motionless - he'd never give up on something he tried as long as he could still stand.

[i][color=598527]"FAILURE! How dare you hesitate!? Doth thou wish to remain a simple rusted spearhead?! Doth thou wish to allow all thou has worked for and trained for to be a waste of effort?!"[/color][/i]

The voice was internal, all in his head - but at the same time, it was the most real thing he had ever heard in his life.

[color=a36209]"No... I ain't going to die in a place named Butter Daisy Forest, no way in hell."[/color]

[i][color=598527]"HA! A warrior never dies, even when he is shredded to pieces! You are far from a real warrior, but even a rusty spearhead can shine with hard work and effort - so to can a weakling like you grow! Call me forth and grasp thine destiny!"[/color][/i]

The lid of the watch closed with ease, and the word that Luke had hardly heard earlier were quietly leaving his lips as if it was the most natural thing on earth.

[color=a36209]"P... Persona..."[/color]

The burst of light was nowhere near as long as Alice's, more of a brief spark - a lighter flame in the wind, or the flicking of a light switch. Standing before Luke was a man of nearly 9 feet in height, with a far above average muscular build. He lacked a head, and the Axe he held was almost as large as Luke's entire body.

[color=598527]"Thou art I, and I am Thou! From the sea of thy Soul I cometh! Thou has permission to use my skills in battle - allow me to turn the rusted spear into a weapon fit for a Chariot!"[/color]

As his companions tore through shadows all around him, Luke couldn't help but allow his mind to fill with a single word, the name of the spirit standing before him. [color=598527][i]Xingtian[/i][/color]

Almost as if driven by an external will, Luke immediately looked for another shadow, one that wasn't being killed by the surrounding humans. To his joy, there was clearly two of the Slimes near the outer part of the conflict, seemingly dazed by the repeated flashes of bright lights and colors. Rushing forwards, Luke slammed his axe into the mask of the first one, before attempting to cleave the second in two. 

The pain in his legs, once a throbbing and overwhelming sensation, was now nearly nonexistent. If this was that "True Self" crap the Rat was talking about, Luke could get used to it.