April 16th, 2012, Underworld, Morning.
The brilliant light of teleportation faded, leaving behind not the sulphurous fumes or shadowy depths Elizabeth had anticipated, but the gentle warmth of a sun on her skin.
She blinked, her yellow eyes adjusting to the scene before her. She stood in the middle of a vast, open crop field that stretched to the horizon in geometric perfection. The plants themselves were strange and otherworldly: stalks of purple wheat, taller and far thinner than any earthly variety, stood in silent, regimented rows.
The soil was dark and rich, yet there was no visible source of irrigation—no canals, no sprinklers, not even a hint of moisture in the warm, still air. This was not a hell of punishment, but a land of eerie, cultivated abundance.
"What a quirky place," Elizabeth mused aloud, her voice a soft contrast to the surrounding silence. "This is surely not the usual definition of Hell."
"I agree, Attendant. Heek!"
The voice was shrill and unexpected. Elizabeth glanced down at her feet. There, pecking idly at the dark soil, was a rooster. But this was no ordinary barnyard fowl.
Its feathers were a brilliant, lustrous gold, with a crest and wattle of startling cerulean blue. Its beak and scaly chicken legs shone like polished silver, catching the strange sunlight.
"Ave, Attendant! Do you hear me?" the rooster asked again, tilting its head to look up at her.
A light chuckle escaped Elizabeth's lips. The absurdity of the situation was delightful. "Yes, God of Travelers, I hear you perfectly."
"What is so funny?" the bird—Mercurius—asked, his shrill voice tinged with annoyance. He flapped his magnificent wings in a display of avian pique.
"Nothing of consequence," Elizabeth replied, her smile lingering. "I simply did not expect you to take the form of a domestic bird."
"Roosters are noble animals, sacred to me, Attendant!" he crowed in protest. "And I am doing you a considerable favour by choosing this disguise. You would not want to draw unnecessary attention to yourself, am I right?"
Attempting to perch on her shoulder, he quickly discovered his rooster form was far too large and ungainly for such a delicate manoeuvre.
After a clumsy flutter, he instead settled for strutting atop her head, his silver claws carefully navigating her elaborate hair.
"You can fly? From my knowledge of human-domesticated fauna, the gallus domesticus lost its ability to fly after generations of selective breeding," Elizabeth observed, reaching up to gently pluck him from her head and place him firmly back on the ground before smoothing down her hair.
"It is obvious I can fly! I am a god!" he retorted, ruffling his golden feathers. "Now, I wish to explore this place, Attendant. Let's go!" he exclaimed, and with a comic sense of purpose, he began to march forward, his small legs moving rapidly, his body swaying slightly from side to side with each determined step.
"Yes, Mercurius," Elizabeth said, a fond smile playing on her lips as she watched his wobbly progress. "Let us see what this dreaded Underworld has in store for us."
The rooster halted abruptly. He turned to look at her, slowly opening his silvery beak. "Call me Quicksilver!" he shouted, the declaration echoing oddly across the fields.
"Why?" Elizabeth asked, placing a hand under her chin in a gesture of curiosity.
"Isn't it obvious!?" he crowed, puffing out his chest with pride. "We must be sneaky! I am also the God of Thieves, after all. 'Mercurius' is far too recognizable for a covert operation."
"Oh, that does make a certain sense," she conceded with a nod. "I shall call you Quicksilver, then."
"And you shall be Agat—" The rooster couldn't finish his sentence as the heavy leather-bound cover of the Persona Compendium connected with the top of his head with a soft thump.
"HAVE YOU GONE MAD!?" he shrieked, stumbling backward and clutching his head with his wings in a surprisingly human gesture of pain.
Elizabeth looked down at him calmly, tucking the compendium back into the folds of her dress. "No. I simply will not use another name. This name was chosen for me by my master. It is the only one I require." She turned and began walking towards a narrow footpath that divided the endless fields of purple wheat.
"Let us go, Quicksilver," she said over her shoulder.
The Roman god whined in pain but dutifully waddled after her, muttering about unreasonable attendants and the hardness of book covers.
"Let us at least plan our cover story," Quicksilver insisted as they walked, his small legs working double-time to keep pace with her graceful strides.
He began to ramble, weaving an elaborate tale of false identities based on the information about the Underworld's society that Elizabeth had shared with him.
According to his hastily constructed narrative, Elizabeth was to be a middle-class commoner devil. Her fictional family had once been common troops in the old Devil Army, known for a particular susceptibility to magic.
During the great civil war, they had fought valiantly for the side of the now-victorious Satans. As a reward for their service, they had been elevated to the respectable rank of middle-class.
With the creation of the Evil Piece system, pureblood devils like her family—especially those not originating from the powerful Pillar Houses—had gained significant social standing. Her fictitious family were staunch supporters of the Great King Faction led by the Bael family, fervent believers in the agenda of bloodline superiority that had propelled them up the social ladder.
"Trust me, At—I mean, Elizabeth," Quicksilver said, correcting himself with a proud flap of his wings. "This cover has no flaws. Assuming, of course, that what you told me about the Underworld's society is correct."
"May I ask you a question, Mercurius?" Elizabeth inquired, her eyes scanning the horizon. "Would you have concocted such an elaborate deception if Makoto were here instead of me?"
"Heek! Obviously not!" the rooster crowed, a note of panic in his voice as he sought a suitable excuse. "I could not lie in the Universe's presence! I must stand as an example of virtue for the boy!"
He did not want to admit that he was inventing this charade largely for his own amusement, enjoying the game of espionage.
Elizabeth merely rolled her eyes, her attention caught by movement in the distance. Her keen sight focused on an old devil man who was diligently tending to the bizarre crops, his movements slow and practiced. Quicksilver noticed the man a moment later and began whispering urgently.
"Remember, Elizabeth! I am Quicksilver, your familiar. We are here for academic research purposes. Let me do the talking—"
His whispers were ignored. Elizabeth walked directly toward the farmer. "Pardon me, kind sir," she called out, her voice polite and clear.
The old devil looked up, his brow furrowed in irritation at the interruption. "Uh? What's someone like you doing all the way out here?" he grunted, clearly eager to return to his work.
"I do apologize for interrupting your task," Elizabeth said, offering a slight, respectful bow. "But I would be most grateful if you could tell me where we are."
The devil let out another grunt, gesturing vaguely with a dirt-caked hand. "We're in Auros. Thought that was obvious, girl. Now, go on. I've work to do. The city's over there—just follow the path." He immediately turned back to his crops, dismissing them.
Elizabeth thanked the retreating figure of the farmer and, with Quicksilver in tow, continued along the path toward the city.
"Elizabeth, do you perchance know something about this city?" the bird asked, struggling to keep up on his awkward legs.
"I believe Serafall mentioned it once," she replied. "If my memory serves, we are in the territory of the Agares family. How fortunate. I had wished to visit the floating city of Agreas. Perhaps we can inquire about its location."
After roughly ten minutes of walking, the city and its surrounding walls came into view. Auros was a modest settlement, its economy built upon the surrounding farmlands.
Its inhabitants were primarily the farmers themselves, the town guards, the mayor (appointed by the central government but approved by Lord Agares), and the merchants who came to purchase the unique produce for distribution across the rest of the Underworld.
The city's sole claim to fame was its massive market, which dominated the main plaza. The plaza itself accounted for nearly half the city's area, hosting the largest and most renowned food stalls in the devil world, second only to those in the capital city of Lilith.
This morning, however, the city seemed abnormally crowded. A unusual number of farmers and citizens milled about the entrance, their work forgotten despite the early hour.
The city gates were guarded by a contingent of soldiers far larger than a town of this size would normally warrant. The reason for the heightened security and gathering crowd became immediately apparent: a grand procession was entering the city.
At its heart was a fabulously ornate carriage, polished to a mirror shine, accompanied by outriders clad in gleaming, expensive armour that spoke of immense wealth and status.
"Oh, is there some kind of festival underway?" Elizabeth wondered aloud, taking in the splendid sight.
"I don't think that's the case, Elizabeth," Quicksilver crowed softly from her feet, his avian eyes sharp. "That is not the paraphernalia of a carnival. It is most likely a noble's parade. Someone of significant importance is paying a visit."