"But what did that person say?"
Leonard's question caught Amadeus by surprise, then realisation came.
"Right, they were talking in another language" He said "Still don't know how I understand it, must be a Persona thing"
"A what now?" Matthew said on the other shoulder.
Yeah, he should definitely explain what is happening before they start properly looking into the book.
So explain he did.
He talked about who and what was Fantasia, what Amadeus himself was, and about his connection with Deus Machina.
It wasn't an easy talk, Matthew wasn't exactly helpful, and Leonard had to smack him a few times and guide them back to the topic.
But, somehow, he managed to explain his short introduction to himself in half an hour.
"Now there are two things to do" Amadeus said.
They were back to his room, Matthew and Leonard were on the bed with the open book.
"I need to read the instructions on the book and see if there's a way to make you guys big" He said "But I also have to make sure that all my things will be packed before my parents came here to quick me out and possibly steal anything"
"You do know that sounds incredibly sad, right?" Matthew said.
"I'm highly aware and thank you for pointing that out" He said sarcastically "But now is not the time to think about it, I have roughly three hours and a half to pack my things and run to school in time for the ceremony"
Both characters gave him a puzzled look.
"You're still worried about school?" Leonard asked.
"Not really" Amadeus admitted "Tomorrow, well, today, is the last day in high school, there'll be some big shots in the school that will scout young Awakened to their academies, just like it happens in your world"
That seemed to clarify Leonard's doubts, but not Matthew's.
"Can't you put everything in your inventory now that you're an Awakened?"
Amadeus stopped his mental battle about what he should keep and what should leave behind to stare blankly at his creations.
"I think I can huh?" He said bluntly.
He forgot that he Awakened.
Well, that did make things easier.
So now he was walking around the house with the two creations while storing everything on sight in his inventory.
"Isn't it robbery?" Leonard asked as Amadeus stored the fridge.
"Not really" He said with a shrug "This place was emptier than the pockets of Matthew's enemies after a fight, I bought everything in here with my own money"
Although that earned a snort from the pair, that also generated more questions.
"How did you even get this much money?" Matthew asked, genuinely surprised "This place is actually quite nice"
Now comes the part he (and definitely the other two too) was avoiding.
"You know that I created you two, right?"
"That I'm aware"
"Kind of figured out"
He nodded as he stored the stove.
"Your story is something I've been publishing for a long time, and people paid me to read it, so I managed to get the money to make this place livable and pay the bills along with rent"
He stored the last bit of his things and left the place, leaving a note and hesitating just enough to look back for a moment.
But that's it, just a moment.
He turned around and never again set foot on this place.
He ordered a shuttle, the auto piloted ones where he could have privacy, and once again summoned his Book of Stories.
The packing took only a few minutes, he still had a lot of time before he had to go to school, so he decided to do a few things first and read on the way.
"I found something!"
The Book of Stories, unfortunately, was in many different languages that Matthew and Leonard couldn't understand, so he read them out loud for them.
He discovered a few things as he read.
18 was the set age to awaken, it wouldn't happen before that, nor after.
It was to prevent an overpowered toddler from destroying the world with their ideas.
Matthew and Leonard were his current guardians, more specifically, the guardians tied to his synopsis, the start of his journey.
The main characters of the stories written by Fantasia would become a chapter Guardian, akin to an instructor, but only if said Fantasia managed to reach 18, and the main characters of the current Fantasia would be the guardians of the synopsis, where instructions could be found, along with some memories and mostly things of their current story.
They could speak with each other in their minds. They could also enter a spirit form, where they couldn't be touched, heard or seen by anyone other than Fantasia. Amadeus status can not be quantified, as it can be changed by summoning said status from the stories.
And, more importantly than everything:
They would have access to their original selves, full power and height along with freedom of movement, once the current Fantasia unlocked more chapters.
"I just need to level up!" He said.
Both seemed satisfied with the solution and Matthew seemed to already be orchestrating a plan.
He knew Matthew's character better than anyone else, so he feared what was to come.
Finally, they arrived at their destiny, both characters hovering close by in spirit form as Amadeus looked at the tall black tower-like building.
That was the Association, an organization responsible for managing Awakened mundane affairs that the System couldn't bother to deal with.
He had been here many times in the past, trying to see if he had anything that could help him awaken, but it was in vain, so he stopped coming.
He walked in the nearly empty building, a smile on his face as he marched to the closest receptionist, who looked like she wanted her bed.
He pointedly ignored the whispers of the other receptionists as he approached her as she gave him a professional smile.
"Hello! I would like to-"
"We don't have anything that helps with Awakening" She said flatly.
He wasn't fazed by this, way too used to this response.
"I'm actually here to register myself as an Awakened this time"
There was a big pause, followed by a beat of silence.
"Eh?"
Then chaos broke out.
"You're what!?"
"How!?"
"Is this a miracle!?"
"Is the world ending or something?"
All the receptionists went wild, some came to congratulate him, some ran off somewhere and a few stopped what they were doing to join the fanfare.
At this moment, he could only pause.
This crew of receptionists were always there for when he came to ask for a way to awaken, they consoled him every time, and some he could even dare to call family.
How could he forget that?
How did he forget the people that actually cared for him?
He pushed the thought aside, not wanting to spoil the mood.
Matthew would nag him about later, he knew by the man's eyes.
"Amadeus!"
He was confirming for Heavens knows what time that he, in fact Awakened, and no, it wasn't a prank, when someone called for him.
He didn't even have the time to turn around before he was tackled into a hug.
It was a woman with light brown hair and honey eyes, one he knew well.
She let go of him and looked at him with red eyes.
"Please tell me it's true!"
It was Mina, the manager of the receptionists crew.
She was the person he trusted the most, being the first to step up when the institutions were harassing him to accept their offers when he was younger, and the one who threatened to blacklist his parents in the Association if they didn't at least provide him with the basics.
She gave him a lot, much more than he could ever repay.
So he smiled and returned the hug.
"It's true" He said "I'm an Awakened now"
There was a slight pause before she hugged him tight.
Today was a rather happy day, not only for him.
—
"You want to remove your surname?"
After all that fanfare, some guards came by to organize things with fake stern attitudes while also giving him a light pat in the back.
Now he was finalizing his register with Mina, who took over the process.
"It's about time" He said "It's not like I was ever seen as part of their family anyway"
It's possible to officially change one's name in the Association since it's them who distribute the IDs.
She nodded at that and registered the new surname he chose and gave him his proper ID.
The ID was an accessory, it could be anything, an earring or a bracelet, but he chose a choker to keep things simple and to hide it in the turtleneck of his hoodie.
Although it was an ID, it was actually a multifunctional device used to access everything a person could imagine.
His old one was an adapted version of the kids ID, since a proper ID can only be used by Awakened.
Now he was an Awakened, so he could have a proper ID.
After binding farewell to everyone, he ordered another shuttle and went to the school.
It was still early to go to school, but he let the shuttle go at a slow pace and took the long way while he read the Book of Stories and let himself be nagged by Matthew about him forgetting about people who cared about him as Leonard nodded.
It was an eventful ride, to say the least.