[center] [img] https://ext.fmkorea.com/files/attach/new/20150612/2895716/51030338/177239662/5aa0b99a84300aaae75b2b9ba38873dc.jpg [/img] [/center] 
[center] [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHxVo-WA9nA]The sound of a woman's voice sings in the distance...[/url] [/center] 

[indent]Your mind is filled with restless dreams as you sleep a deep slumber. Eventually, you find yourself in a dark forest, with the rumble of thunder in the distance. You move forward as if compelled by some otherworldly force and eventually come upon a large, blue door. It opens, and you step inside. 

The room is beautifully ornate, and everything in the room is dark blue. Sitting on a velvet couch across from you, resting his hands on an old wooden desk, is a strange old man. Your attention is drawn to his long nose, bulging eyes, and wild eyebrows. Before you can ask a question, he greets you. [color=3792cb]“Welcome to the Velvet Room.”[/color]

The name of the room fits the decor. The room is lavish, and the walls are covered in ornate bookshelves, filled with tomes of various sizes. Large windows depict the darkness outside. The floor, the upholstery; everything in this room is a deep blue velvet or purple. Your attention then turns to a young woman sitting near Igor on a dark blue chaise. 

[color=3792cb]“My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. It has been quite some time since I have welcomed a guest to this place, or should I say, guests.”[/color] You are unable to turn around and look to see if there are others nearby, but you can feel their presence. “It seems you all have an interesting destiny ahead of you.” He gestures to the room adding, [color=3792cb]“This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter…”[/color] 

In the distance, or perhaps inside your own minds, you can hear the soulful aria of a woman. Igor continues,[color=3792cb]“It is a room that only those bound by a contract may enter. It may be that such a fate awaits you.”[/color] He motions to the [url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/695017749688090705/733471688280244254/unknown.png]young woman.[/url]

[color=FEF4DB]“My name is Safie,”[/color] she says with a warm tone, [color=FEF4DB]“My job is to assist you on your journey.”[/color]

[color=3792cb]"Now, let's take a look into your future, shall we? Each reading is done with the same cards, and yet the result is always different."[/color] The man chuckles with an impish grin. [color=3792cb]"Life itself follows the same principles, does it not?"[/color] The cards in front of him begin to shuffle themselves, and he pulls his first card. [color=3792cb]"The first card, representing your present is...the moon, in the upright position. This card represents uncertainty, illusions, and disease."[/color] He moves his hand over to the next card, drawing it. [color=3792cb]"The card representing your imminent future is The Hierophant, in the reversed position. This card represents challenging conformity and unconventional relationships."[/color]

[color=FEF4DB]"You must seek out those who your fate is tied with to find an answer to this challenge."[/color]

[color=3792cb]"The coming year will be a turning point in all of your lives. It seems that your fate will be intertwined with this disease, and it is our duty to provide assistance to our guests to ensure you may avoid a cruel fate. We shall attend to the details at a further time. Our time together appears to be coming to an end..."[/color]

The world begins to fade into darkness, the song of the woman fading off into nothingness. 

[center]You wake up.[/center] 

[/indent]

[hr]

[right][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200717/344c7a25d6a5994f1a55221faff5e837.png[/img] 
[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200717/ca1c2f949e72747f929c6c45b3e5c9a6.png[/img] 
[sub]Weather: Clear.[/sub] [/right] 

[center] [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200716/270e37c655f5d319d5e62f3a7f247434.png[/img] [/center]

[center] [i]Now arriving at Kenkōichi Station. This is the final stop in the Kenkōichi line. Please exit onto the platform. [/i] [/center] 

[indent]The young man yawned, rubbing his eyes. [i]How long had he been asleep on the train?[/i] It didn't matter. He was lucid enough to know that he'd arrived at his stop. He'd visited the school several times for interviews, orientation, and other things, but this was the big official move. Hiroichi Yamata reached into his jacket pocket and produced his cellphone, looking through his messages. 

[i]No new messages.[/i] 

That was...normal. The last few messages had been from Principal Gokan at the Academy, explaining his duties as the boy's dormitory teacher, as well as the subjects he was expected to teach. His parents hadn't sent him a message in over six months now. He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and grabbed his bag as the train began to slow to a halt. Most of his belongings had been shipped to the school already; all that was left was for him to move in. The new semester would begin tomorrow, and he'd kept in constant correspondence with his fellow staff members in planning for the semester.

As he stepped out on the platform, he breathed the cool spring air. It felt different compared to Tokyo; it was quieter and more rustic. The train had felt empty compared to being packed elbow to elbow on the Ginza line. But perhaps this was what he needed. For the next year, he would be living in Kenkōichi. His job was simple: teach classes, make sure there wasn't trouble in the dorms and keep his head down. That would be easy enough. 

He began walking down the steps of the train station and he saw it in the distance, looming over the rest of the city in the North. The Kenkōichi Research Hospital. It reminded him of pictures of the Ushiku Daibutsu, looming over the city in the mornings like an actual God. At least the Daibutsu depicted a God. The hospital looked more akin to a looming monolith, menacing the skyline. 

[/indent]