Special thanks to Valkoor123113 for helping me with the error corrections and for some music that had been used for the scene.
Now...
Let's begin the Story...
Chapter 4: Remembering
Location: Minato's Mindscape(Sea of Souls)
Time: ?
Date: ?
~Third POV~
(Cue: The Poem for Everyone's Souls from Persona 3)
*Drip*
*Drip*
*Drip*
Dripping…
*Drip*
Why does he hear…
*Drip*
Water dripping…?
Minato eyes were slowly opened up as he felt water over his head.
*Drip*
"Ah.."
And his right eye too…
Ouch…
While he was cleaning his eye out. Minato was curious on one thing.
…
…
…
How on earth did he get here?
"Where…am I?" He tried to remember what had happened before he was unconscious, and slowly remembered all that happened at Little Innsmouth. The blue-haired girl named Cerebella, if he remembered correctly, with the muscled-armed hat who tried to take him somewhere by force, the catgirl named Ms. Fortune who can apparently disassemble her own body, especially using her head as a bowling ball, and still be alive being crushed to death by Cerebella, Minette, the girl who was a humanoid minnow fish being kidnapped by two guys wearing red and yellow suits, and then he remembered that he summoned Orpheus, the Persona who was with him at the start of his journey, to help him fight against Cerebella. After that he summoned Thanatos to roar out to the Men's with yellow and red suits to never miss with him or people he cares. And then everything else was a blur and then stopped recollecting to avoid getting a massive headache. As he checks his surroundings. He noticed that the place was….
Almost empty…dark, watery, but peaceful too.
"Well…this is new." While getting up, trying to see if there's any clues about this place. "Guess going straight…is a good idea to start…huh?" he said as he sighed and begins to walk towards…
Wherever he's going…
While walking he noticed that he could hear voices…
Like actual voices…
"That's…strange…" he muttered as he begins walking towards the voices.
Moments later, he sees something over the distance and begin to run towards it. When he got there, he sees…
A door…
'Why is there a door here?' he wonders as he begins to think about it.
As he was thinking, he begins to open the door slowly. When he did, a little bit of light comes out of it, blinded him a little. He started to open the door slowly, more light comes out through the door.
When he fully opened the door, his eyes were blind from the light as he covered his eyes.
"Well, if this door is going to give me answers…then I might as well walk through," he declared as he slowly enters the door while covering his eyes.
When entering the door, he can only see the bright light. Once the brightness was away. He felt something on the ground.
He began opening his eyes, and he found that he was no longer in that empty place. Instead, he was in a giant enclosed area. He looked out a nearby window. Judging by the height, he was in a skyscraper: the tallest building in the city he was transported to. The rest of the town looked like a toy model settlement from this height – the buildings were minuscule from his point of view. Trains snaked around the interior of the town, and the roads that divided the city into neat blocks were illuminated by street lights. In the distance, he could see the massive cranes of a port, and tiny lights in the distances marked the location of ships floating on the sea that surrounded the island. Near the building he was on, a school caught his eye.
This school was an epitome of modern elegance. The buildings were small and compacted together, yet it was dotted with glass houses and hanging gardens that trailed from the building's sides. Well-lit paths weaved in and out of the compound, leading to a large field surrounded by a running track. Next to the school, giant pools of water that served both practical and decorative purposes added to the image of an elite and cutting-edge school.
Gekkoukan High School.
His eyes widened from the name. He knew its name instinctively. After all, he had been a student here. He was sure of it.
A wet sensation coming from his leg shook him out from his reminiscing. He turned to see three jet-black dogs sitting behind him, their tongues sticking out as they were panting excitedly and its sole tail wagging.
Wait, tail?
He looked closer, and took a step back when he realised all three necks were connected to the same body. The dog (dogs?) took the opportunity and yelped happily and jumped forwards, no doubt wanting to cover his entire body with its slobber.
Before he could react, a leash made entirely out of shadows appeared from nowhere, connected to all three collars on the beast, and yanked it back to the ground where it made an unhappy whine. He looked up to thank the owner, but his words got stuck in his throat when he saw who it was.
It was not his clothing. He was dressed in strange mystical robes. It looked as though the night itself had cloaked the man, and tendrils of shadows danced around his body. No, it was the man himself. Already, he was using the word 'man' loosely, for he did not classify as one. After all, what was a person without his skin and flesh?
His face must have displayed his obvious shock, and the twin crimson orbs of fire that sat in his eye sockets glowed eerily. Long skeletal fingers pressed into a pale white skull. The man ominously shook his head, and watching the cranium swivel from side to side on a spine made him shudder.
Surprisingly, the voice that emanated from him sounded completely normal, as though the man was regular human.
"My my, Minato-kun. That look on your face tells me all I need to know. Even though you seem to have forgotten about us, were you not the one to teach us never to judge a book by its cover?"
"I…" He tried to form the words, but his train of thought was interrupted by a sudden influx of knowledge. "Hades," he stated, and if a skeleton could look surprised, the Greek God of the Underworld certainly did.
"Oh? It seems that coming here has triggered something. It is good that you recognise me, however. It has been far too long since we have last talked."
He smiled at the God of the Dead. A yip came from below, and saw the dog staring at him while breathing heavily, as if waiting for something.
"Cerberus," he said, and the dog barked excitedly at being recognised, and immediately rolled over, exposing its belly to him. He knelt down and rubbed it. Next to him, a golden crown adorned with precious stones materialised in Hades' hand and he began to twirl it around his finger.
"I am curious," the god remarked. "Between the two of us, who do you think this mutt likes better? I am technically his master, but you are the owner of his soul."
The words came to him naturally.
"I art Thou, Thou art I. Obviously he must like us equally the same, for we are the same."
Hades' eyes twinkled in amusement. As if Cerberus could understand him, which it probably actually could, it sat up straight and licked his hand. He scratched it where he knew it liked it most – right behind the ears – and it purred like a cat in contentment.
"You remember fast, but surely you must still have many questions. I will answer as many as I can."
He paused. Hades was right. Now that he had his mind to himself, he could finally process his thoughts, and boy, did he have a whole catalogue of them.
He supposed he should start with the most basic.
"Where am I?"
The moving skeleton tilted his head to the side slightly, not expecting the question.
"You brought yourself here, and yet you don't know where 'here' is?"
He shook his head.
"This," Hades began to walk towards the window, gesturing to the world beyond, "is your soul."
"My soul?" he asked.
"You soul," Hades repeated.
"All this…" He pressed his hand against the glass, "is my soul?"
"Nope."
He whipped his head towards the God of the Dead, sending him an annoyed look.
Quickly shaking his hands in front of him innocently, Hades pointed outside.
"Look at it closely. Don't you realise something wrong about the city?"
He leaned closer to the window. And that's when saw it. The streets and roads, the veins and arteries of every city, were bare. The pavements were devoid of people. When the trains stopped at the stations, the platforms were empty, and nobody got off.
"It's a ghost town," He concluded.
Hades nodded. "Yes. The city you see here is merely a replica of the Port Island you recreated from your memories, just like this tower. However, you can't actually reach it. The only tangible part of your soul is this replica of Tartarus and its inhabitants. The windows here are nothing more than fancy paintings."
"But why Tartarus?" he asked, trying not to let his disappointment show. He had been quite enamoured with the idea that a whole city lived within him.
"This tower…does not look so glum, it is rather monstrous in size as well," he said as Hades turned towards the sight. "It may have appeared small, but that thing could easily match the size of this Tower if it wanted to."
"And its inhabitants?"
Hades laughed. "Even more monstrous. I believe you have already met a few of us. Orpheus, Cerberus, Thanatos and myself."
"Even Orpheus And Thanatos…"
"Correct."
Minato was about to ask where Orpheus was, until he heard an instrument playing. He turns and sees Orpheus playing the Lyre in the gardens. When Orpheus sees Minato, he gave him a smile with a nod and went back to his Lyre.
Minato smiled. "It seems that Orpheus has found his peace…"
Hades nodded to his response.
He then heard a roar coming from distance below the tower, he then sees Thanatos slaining a tree down as he looks up and sees Minato up in the tower and begins to roar victory's
Minato laughed nervously, "Well…looks like Thanatos found his peace too… go figure."
Hades laughed from his response.
Finally, he asked the question that had been burning in his mind ever since he saw the god in all his skeletal glory. "So…the others are not here too…?" he asked sadly.
The skull opened his mouth but did not speak for a moment. Then he realized it was smiling at him.
"Why do you ask me this…when you already know the answer?"
Minato then begin to see what Hades was talking about.
"Persona." He said.
The slight dip in Hades' head was the only sign of confirmation he needed. "I art thou, Thou art I. These words should be taken literally. We are manifestations of your soul. We are the accumulations of your collective experiences, bonds, and insights. We are your weapons, your tools, your friends. We are you, Arisato Minato, and you are us."
He let those words sink in, and found himself believing it without a problem. It was like a missing piece of a giant jigsaw puzzle, except most of the puzzle was still incomplete. It was more like finding a corner-piece and from there, he would be able to build back what he was missing.
He then gave the guilty-looking skeleton a strange look, "Will something like this happen again?"
Hades shook his head vigorously, "Not likely. Now that you are aware of us, we can communicate with each other if we want to. If we want to be summoned or whatever you want to call for one of us, well… words will suffice."
He heaved a sigh of relief at that. That ordeal had been agonising, but his final question was serious.
"So… I can come back from the dead?" He asked hopefully.
Hades laughed a little from Minato question, "Minato-kun…" He first paused as he turned to him and continued, "Do you remember what happened to you and Messiah?"
Minato eyes widened from his question and begin to remember what happened to him and messiah, during the fight between Nyx.
(End Song)
(Flashback)
Location: Tartarus
Time: ?
Date: Jan 31, 2010
~Third POV~
Minato stood with his head held low to the ground breathing heavily. This was the most gruesome battle he had ever fought before, not even the Reaper or Elizabeth was as exhausting as this. In terms of sheer power and durability, Elizabeth was far superior but Death refused to stay down.
His best friend Ryoji Mochizuki in his avatar form was laid still on the ground, with multiple cuts and burns on his body. Even though this battle was inevitable, the Fool still felt bad about it. He was his best friend that always found a way to cheer him up when he was down. The ridiculous situations that Ryoji dragged him into were a few of the best memories he ever had looking back to after all.
Both his wings were ripped out of their joints by the ultimate persona of the Death Arcana Thanatos, the very incarnation of the bond between them when he still knew him as Pharos.
His ultimate strongest weapon Lucifer's blade was stabbed deep into the white porcelain mask, causing hairline cracks. The beautiful golden short-sword made of gems started to dim and crack slightly. The silver rose like hilt was tarnishing as the power from the fallen Morningstar began to fade away like water from a cracked aquarium.
Despite how beaten and wounded the avatar looked, Minato simply knew it wasn't over.
The problem was the Fool was absolutely exhausted, even with his absolute best and beyond Death cannot be defeated. His heart was beating far faster than he thought possible almost feeling like it'll leap out of his body within a moments notice. The Wildcard's limbs felt heavy like lead and refused to move almost like it had a metaphysical weight attached to them.
Minato knew that, SEES knew that as well but they had to try. For the future they envisioned, they fought clinging on to that dim hope. It was like a slight ember from a fire that extinguished long ago.
Soon his teammates showed up on the absolute top of the tower of demise Tartarus.
"Minato-san!" Aigis yelled worriedly.
He tilted his head towards them but didn't answer, His tarnished silver eyes were dull with exhaustion and sorrow, his lips were marred with an arc.
"Did you beat it!?" Mitsuru the leader of SEES shouted.
Minato didn't have the courage to meet her eyes. "…No," he eventually whispered.
"Close," The Avatar said in its distorted voice. "That was really close."
Minato had a feeling it was lying.
Despite losing whatever bit of humanity he gained from being sealed in the Fool, Ryoji was still trying to make him feel better.
It unsteadily rose and floated towards the green sky and ominous dark clouds that filled almost the entirety of the atmosphere.
His wings regrew and regained the blue vein-like circuits and glowed brighter and brighter. SEES stared in horror and shock until the light grew too bright and forced them to shield their gaze.
"To understand that unchangeable destiny, and still attempt to fight head-on," The Avatar stated genuinely commending SEES and his resolve, a sliver of emotion seeped through in the otherwise monotonous and almost robotic voice.
"A will that strong… if people had such soul, the Fall might have never come about."
Minato clenched his hand into a fist, his nails digging into his palm drawing out blood.
"But it's too late now," The Avatar stated.
Upon that remark the gigantic green moon began to shatter and bright crimson light escaped from the spider web-like cracks.
"Th-the moon…" Fuuka whispered with her hands clasping her head in pain.
A bright red light in a vein similar but not identical to the crimson light of the moon connected to a robotic like eye inside the now exposed Nyx.
Staring at it directly sent bone-chilling sensations to every ones' spines.
"What is that?" Yukari said gripping on her bow tighter.
They knew what it was, but they didn't want to acknowledge it.
They are trying to fight this… this force of nature, mere mortals fighting what's promised to all existence.
"No way. Is that its main body?" Akihiko said barely able to get his voice out.
Minato couldn't blame him, it was only now did they realize just how high an existence Nyx was.
The legend of the monkey trying to touch the moon was not inaccurate to compare to their own strives.
"It will fall soon… at this location," Aigis said staring continuously at the celestial body.
"Something's coming!" Fuuka shouted.
Not soon after waves of energy hit the top of Tartarus, the tower of demise and the temple that welcomed Nyx's arrival.
The dark gravity like energy sent everyone to ground sprawled helplessly, with him and Aigis on their knees struggling to stand back on their 2 feet.
"What is this?" Yukari panted. "A powerful gravity wave?"
SEES through sheer force of will got up standing on their feet.
"Don't think that's enough to… to steal a knock-down from me!" Akihiko stated drawing the Evoker and placing it upside down on his forehead.
The silver haired boxer's words managed to motivate the others to summon their Personas as well. The blue flame-like mist blended together and covered the whole top floor of Tartarus.
One by one the Personas were pulled into the corporeal plane and rushed at the Nyx Avatar.
"It's no use," The Avatar said unleashing an almighty attack shattering all of them into a glass crystalline like substance.
Soon after that Nyx sent an even stronger wave of gravity and sent them back into the ground.
After that, the Avatar broke down into tiny rain-drop like orbs of energy and integrated itself into the moon.
This can't be the end, it just can't.
He didn't care how strong Nyx was or how insignificant he was compared to her.
SEES placed their hopes and wishes onto him, their dream of a brighter more peaceful future.
They bet everything on the Fool, hoping whatever power he inherited from Death and his Wildcard abilities to create that tomorrow.
He didn't care what it takes, he didn't care what sins he must commit to bring that beautiful dream into reality.
"Power please grant me more power… I'll be willing to pay whatever price," Minato whispered barely audible. "I don't care what it takes."
He brought out his evoker and placed the cool metal on his temple.
Orpheus and Thanatos sprang into existence, meshing and fusing together to create an even greater being.
The powers of Death and his own unique power forged a new existence far beyond anything he wielded before.
A flash of brilliant golden light blinded everyone, and wisps of energy began to die down and fade.
The being revealed was white as marble and contained 4 arms. 2 of those arms were clasped together like a belt while the other one was free and contained the beautiful coffin lids with angel like designs it inherited from the death god.
The body itself was strapped onto an obelisk pillar like object. its whole being seemed to radiate hope and courage to all around it. The pristine white cloaked in a golden aura evoked a feeling like a god descended to the plane of mortals, feeling of faith and near worship was what was going through SEES.
With this new power Minato was standing effortlessly against the gravity wave, shocking SEES.
"Minato-san?" Aigis asked as he tilted his head to look at her but turned back to stare the force of nature down.
A few seconds later, he and his new persona Messiah started to float towards the celestial body.
He felt incredible with the power of the world flowing in his body, like he rested for a hundred years.
He let go of his Evoker, dropping right next to Aigis.
"What?" The boxer said before his capped teammate interrupted.
"What is this!?" Junpei screamed.
"Come back here!" Yukari shouted.
"Wait!" Fuuka shouted as well.
"What are you thinking!" Mitsuru joined in.
"Arisato-san!" Ken continued.
"Arf!" Koromaru barked.
"Don't go!" Aigis screamed as he got closer and closer to the force of nature herself.
Even now they cared for his well-being despite the world and its people on the line, even more reason to succeed. 'Please live on.' He thought.
(Cue: Burn My Dread - Last Battle (Future Arrange) from Persona 3 The Movie)
After reaching into the dark seas of the cosmos, Messiah broke down into light and entered his body creating a spherical golden barrier protecting him.
Minato sooned reached Nyx and landed on the black ground, no not black just unseen.
The only light of this realm was Nyx and himself.
It was beautiful, Nyx looked like an egg-like oval spheroid, with a distorted crimson core and clear tendril like wings.
Just going up against it felt hopeless, but he can't give up. If the world has no hope that it will be his power that will shield them until then.
His eyes widened as Nyx started charging a dark deathly red attack. It was powerful beyond compare to anything he faced before, even the Pixie of Elizabeth paled in comparison.
Minato steeled himself but was still afraid, Nyx launched the sphere of overwhelming strength quickly and landed on the Fool head on.
He dropped to his knees while holding back a scream, it was devastating and brutal.
He slowly dropped to his knees and grunted, this power was still not enough... He wasn't enough.
His vision slowly faded and he found himself in the Velvet Room.
"There's no need to worry," Igor the proprietor of the Velvet Room said calmly. "This isn't the afterlife; you are still alive."
Minato let out a shaky breath of relief.
"Each power by itself is quite miniscule, but their all without a doubt directed towards you. Have they reached you I wonder?" Igor finished.
The Fool nodded, "...Yes, yes they have."
"I never dreamed of seeing that card with my own eyes," Igor said in awe. "Behold, this is the last power for both myself and for you to unveil."
"It is the power to bring about a new beginning or the absolute end, with this new-found power it may be possible for you to defeat the one that can't be defeated."
Minato nodded, "…This is the end, isn't it?"
"Yes, if harboring Death was your fate then acquiring the power of the Wildcard is also your fate; you must accept your own fate now."
He simply nodded again. There was no need for words, just action would suffice.
He was brought back into reality and was rewarded with another blast. It was still brutal to endure but he must continue.
"Even if you're all alone, you're not lonely by any means, can you hear their voices?" Elizabeth's voice went through his mind.
"Minato-san! Don't let it end like this ok?" Ken said placing his power into him.
'I won't… I absolutely won't,' The Fool thought.
"Arisato! No matter what happens, you and the rest of us are one!" The boxer stated.
After feeling another rush of power Minato responded mentally to his heartfelt words, "…Thanks."
Upon that a new blast of deadly energy was launched at the wildcard.
He brought one of his hands to shield his own face, lessening the damage somewhat.
"Please give Arisato our strength, the strength to stand against the Fall!" Mitsuru yelled even prepared to give her life.
'Thanks but I've no intentions of taking that,' Minato thought. Only he needs to be sacrificed.
"If you don't come back, I won't forgive you!" Yukari screamed.
…Even now you're not honest to yourself huh Yukari?
Minato walked a few steps forward with a few labored breaths.
"Please, give him our strength, Our hopes to Arisato-kun," Fuuka pleaded with her hands clasped against each other.
"Leave the rest to me," he muttered
"Don't be the only one looking cool! I'm coming up right now, so hold up!" Junpei shouted.
"You're already helping brother," Minato said as he took another blast, after some spit escaped his mouth he finally let out a slight smile.
"Alright let's do this." Shinjiro's voice came out of nowhere.
"Let's," Minato genuinely regretted not getting to know him better.
He looked up seeing Nyx charging up another attack, he wasn't worried though.
"Arf!" Koromaru barked. He didn't need Aigis this time to understand him this time.
"You remember our promise, right?" Aigis asked. "Promise me, promise you'll come back," she pleaded.
"I'll try."
The blast engulfed him head to toe but this time he blocked it and raised his index finger to the heavens. And everything faded into a blue light that outshines the limits known as humanity.
(End Song and Flashback)
Location: Minato's Mindscape(Sea of Souls)
Time: ?
Date: ?
~Third POV~
(Cue: The Poem for Everyone's Souls from Persona 3)
"So…you're saying that Messiah and I…have become one?" he asks as he finished remembering.
Hades nods, "That's correct."
As if on cue, Minato felt a strange presence within him. He then placed his hand to his heart. And it was warm…
"Messiah…"
Hades laughed a little from Minato's reaction.
The presence he felt seemed to have noticed him, and out of nowhere that presence materialised in front of him. It was none other than Messiah, his final Persona that possessed the power for him to become the Great Seal. Minato was a little shocked to see him as the two stared at each other in silence, until the Persona finally broke the silence. "It feels good to finally talk to you Minato, and it would seem that Fate has something else planned for us." Messiah said with a smile. He was a little surprised to hear Messiah talk like this, but his voice felt calm and peaceful, like a feeling a reassurance the moment Messiah first spoke.
"So, now that we're fused together, which sounds weird if you think about it," Minato said with a confused look on his face. "What will you do now that we're no longer the Great Seal?"
Messiah with an amused face raised an eyebrow at his question, "Is it not obvious child?" Then his face turned serious. "From this day forth, I shall be with you…" Then he dematerialised back into Minato, who felt a wave of tranquility rushing through his body as he did.
Hades exhaled deeply, "Glad that's settled. Any other questions?"
"Yes," he replied. "If the others are here…then where are they?"
He got the feeling the skeleton was grinning at him, and his eyes were flashing excitedly.
"Would you like to find out?"
Hesitantly, he nodded.
Hades swivelled on his feet to face the other way. Beckoning to the empty air in front of him, Hades shouted, "Everyone! Minato wants to see you all again!"
At first nothing happened, and he thought Hades had gone mad.
Then the first of them appeared.
He rose from the ground, bent on one knee. He had his plumed helmet bent towards the ground, not daring to meet his eyes. His sword, in front of him and made of divine steel, was chipped into the ground. Both hands were gripping it tightly, and the arm guards he wore bore etchings of an ancient language long forgotten. He was clothed in protective armour – a leather skirt and a steel chest plate that was unscratched. His greaves however, that protected his shin was stained with blood, and a moment later he saw why. A lone arrow protruded out of his ankle, the barbed end still covered with the crimson blood of a demigod.
Achilles. The fabled Hero of Troy was knelt in front of him, offering his complete subservience. It made him feel slightly uncomfortable.
But before he could ponder more about it, the next one came. From a swirling vortex that led to nothingness, a muscled leg stepped out. He noted it was barefoot, and soon the rest of the body followed after. It was dressed in only a steel skirt, exposing its chiselled and toned upper body. On one hand, it carried a nekhakha – an Egyptian flail. But the most curious thing, he noted, was its head. It was not human, instead it wore a jackal's head. Black and short-furred, its ears twitched slightly when it met his gaze, and its mouth opened slightly, revealing a pair of sharp canines. Behind him, Cerberus snarled threateningly at the newcomer, no doubt displeased about no longer being the only dog around.
Anubis. The Egyptian God of mummification dropped to one knee, placing its flail on the ground next to him.
He was suddenly blinded by the bright explosion of light that came from above, and he turned away and used his hands to shield him from the glare. From a crack that had appeared from the air above him, light poured through. It was like a doorway to the sky, and a long slender body, covered in golden scales descended from the heavens. As the doorway snapped shut, an Eastern Dragon the size of a commercial jet circled in the space around him, the barbs at its snout dancing in the gusts of wind its very presence brought. He watched in fascination as the spines that lined up along its back swayed up and down as the serpent soared through the air in a wave-like manner. As it lowered itself to the ground, four legs, each armed with sharp talons, supported its weight. The floor cracked at where the Dragon's claws met it, and its razor-sharp talons caused further damage by digging into the ground. The creature depressed its head, angling it in such a manner that the bone-made crest at the back of its skull now faced him completely. Another sign of submission.
Kohryu. The Chinese deity that was at the centre of the universe, and was the incarnation of the Earth itself. And it had bowed its head to him.
More came. As if spurred by the bravery of the first three, they arrived in unending waves in all kinds of flashy and dramatic entrances.
A pearl-white gate appeared at the side of the room. When it swung open, a flurry of winged beings poured out. Each and every wing was of the purest of white, some feathered, some armored, and some seemed to be made of pure light itself. Some had twelve, others had ten, but every single one of them was bathed in holiness, and their virtue and might radiated from them. Together, they stooped to one knee, dropping their wings such that they coated the ground.
Michael
Sandolphon
Gabriel
Metatron
Raphael
Uriel
Trumpeter
There were more, but his attention was diverted by the fissure that suddenly opened up from the ground.
An armoured hand slammed the ground from below and its owner pulled itself up. An immense and muscled being crawled out of the fiery crack in the floor. Its armour stretched from its arm to all the way to his face and feet. Seemingly made from lava itself, the being glowed red hot where the armour did not cover, and hissed in the cool air. Spikes adorned its garments, some still dripping with blood. It thumped its arm against its chest, uncaring that it had just impaled itself.
Abaddon.
Behind him, more followed. Grotesque beings, the complete opposite of the grace and elegance the Angels had represented, climbed out of the hole one by one. They were only unified by their passion for destruction.
A blue humanoid, scantily dressed but with four arms, each holding a different weapon gave him a long look before nodding his head in acknowledgement.
Shiva.
A buzzing sound filled the air, and an immaculately dressed man with the wings of a fly ascended and gave him a deep bow.
Beelzebub.
An armored being climbed out, a scythe as tall himself in his hand. His golden mask fit perfectly with his golden armor. In a fluid motion, he removed his mask to reveal a handsome face with golden eyes and golden hair before putting it back on.
Chronos.
And yet more still came, beings of destruction, tyranny, and anarchy pledging their allegiance to him, and they were crawling out from the ground at an unprecedented rate.
A cough from behind him caused him to turn. It was Hades, but he was not alone. Next to him, a white-haired and bearded man stood. The trident that radiated the power of the ocean gave away his identity. On his other side, a sturdy man holding what could only be a spear made out of pure electricity, as if someone had frozen a lightning bolt and turned it into a weapon. Gods and goddesses, every single one of them. A woman dressed in a war maiden's armour, standing next to a man equally menacing and radiating bloodlust. A queen, dressed in the finest white dress possible, talking amicably with the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, and had he not known who she was, would've stirred feelings of lust and affection at once. A man wearing goggles, with winged boots, floating in the air, a caduceus in one hand. There were still more, but the king himself broke the silence.
"Olympus is here to serve you, boy."
"And not just them," in the time he had been distracted by the Greeks, the whole room had become flooded with beings of all shapes and sizes, regardless of their affinity.
He recognised the Norse Gods, with Odin standing in front of them, Gungnir in his hand. Thor stood behind him, hefting Mjolnir on his shoulder.
Dancing in the sky around them were the Faefolk, tiny winged beings that sang and danced as they whizzed around the room. Seated upon their thrones Titania and Oberon smiled at him kindly.
The sheer number of people astounded him. There were legendary heroes wielding legendary weapons. Saint George, Siegfried, Hercules. And they stood next to the vilest of villains. Mordred, Lilith, Lamia. And they had knelt, deferring their heads to him. They had done so with the countless number of gods, deities, divine spirits and demons that surged the room. And he knew every single one of them. He could remember their names, and with each name came a story.
He recognised Apophis, who had grown much larger and coiled itself around a pillar, and gave it a nod of thanks for what it had done earlier. The being hissed when it saw his gesture, and disappeared in a puff of black smoke.
He saw Lucifer, the redhead having withdrawn his wings and was leaning against the wall near the back of the chamber. The first of the Fallen waved at him when their eyes met and he smiled back.
And yet for all the grandeur and magnificence of the scene around him, he did not feel taken aback. A feeling of familiarity washed over him.
This...
This was what he was missing.
The loss of his Personas had hurt him almost just as much. They were an integral part of him, and in a way, they defined who he was. That was why he had initially felt so lost and directionless.
A tugging of his hand pulled him back to his senses. A small girl with golden hair, teddy-bear-doll grasped tightly in her hands, was looking up to him with blue baby-doll eyes.
"Ne, ne, Onee-chan, welcome back to the Sea of Souls! Did you miss me?"
He laughed. An honest and sincere sound he hadn't been able to make since that first night.
"Yea, of course I missed you Alice. I missed everyone."
All of his Personas smiled at him, some giggle and wave at him.
As he was happy with the Reunion, He then see something brighten within him. As he looked down he felt warm light. he was about to ask was happening, but Hades was the first one to speak.
"It seems it's time to awaken," Hades smiles.
Minato was worried if anything happened to anyone here.
"Don't worry…remember what I said."
Minato then relaxed from the worry.
"Your right…I art thou, Thou art I…" He smiles towards them, "You guys are me after all."
Everyone laughed while waving goodbye to him.
"Good luck, Onee-chan!" Alice shouted.
Minato laugh as he looks towards Alice, "I will Alice!"
The light became brighter to him as he disappears.
And then everything went black.
(End Song)
Location: Little Innsmouth(Dak'kull Dubu)
Time: 9:48 A.M.
Date: Oct 18, 19XX
~Third POV~
He did not know when he crossed the threshold and fallen asleep. He opened his eyes and was greeted to a light blue ceiling with a single fan that's keeping the room nice and cool. He leans up straight and looks at where he was sleeping. It was a queen sized bed with blue covers. the top cover had different types of cute fish. He then starts to see what kind of room he's in. The first thing he noticed was that the walls were painted like he was under the sea. There was a CRT television on top of a 3 column stand in the corner of the room. Looking to his left he sees 3 windows with normal blue curtains on the wall in front of him. There's also a black computer table with nothing but a stack of books on the right-side and a reading light on the left. Pushed in it was a low-back computer task office desk chair with swivel casters and next to it was a small black trash bin. Next to the table in front of the left-side window, there was a white (heating) radiator. In the corner above the radiator, there were 2 shelves. The top one had neatly stacked white towels, while the bottom one had 2 bars of soap and a bottle of hand sanitizer. On the next wall over, there was beige colored sink with brown cabinets underneath. Above it was a huge mirror with a wall plug on the right-side and a cloth with a very strange blue and purple pattern hung on the left-side. Down below the weird looking cloth was a white small sized refrigerator. Continuing on he sees the door to the room. It looked pretty basic, light brown with a bronze doorknob. On the next wall over, he sees a bunch of posters that he doesn't recognize. And behind the bed he sees a nightstand with a lava lamp and an analog twin-bell alarm clock. Overall this room looks almost identical to his old room back at the Iwatodai Dormitory and it looked ocean-themed.
After looking around the room, he started to remember everything that happened before he woke up. For a moment, panic gripped him. Was it all a dream? Was all of that just a figment of his imagination, driven by his desire to rediscover who he was? Immediately, voices of reassurance came from within, and only then did he allow himself to relax, sitting still as his breathing returned to normal.
(Cue: Joy from Persona 3)
Reinvigorated by his newfound sense of confidence and purpose, he swung his legs off the bed, making his way to the door. Opening the door, he began to see a hallway. The hallway itself was colored dark red with beige tiled floors. On the left side of the hallway he sees a large picture frame of what looks like a very famous landmark and on the right side there was a brown table with a bunch of photographs and weird figures in between 2 very tall plants. The plants themselves are Norfolk Island Pines and he knew that it took some care to keep those plants healthy. At the end of the hallway he could see a dark brown staircase that only leads down. Next to the staircase was a big bookshelf, the names of those books he also doesn't recognize. Above the staircase was a three-section glass window that showed a great view outside in the daytime.
He can tell its a home, but also an apartment, wherever he was. As he was walking, on the table he sees one of the photographs. He picked up the photo and began seeing a few people in the photo.
The picture shows Minette and the gang outside of the restaurant, they look happy in the photo. He can tell that they really look like a family.
His thoughts were gone as he heard a sound coming from downstairs.
As he was walking downstairs, he stops halfway and hears some giggles and laughter, and the sound of banging and metal falling to the ground. Curious as to what the sounds were, he starts walking down again. He reaches down to the bottom of the stairs, and gets a good look of what was around him. He then soon realized that he was back at the Yu-Wan restaurant where he was enjoying his food and company, before Cerebella and the two men barged in and started causing trouble. At the center of the room he saw…
Ms. Fortune dancing around on top of a table…with his MP3 Player!
The device itself was a Sony's NW-S20x series. It was a gift from his parents before they died in 1999. Now it was a memento to remember them by. The earphones he used to own were clip-ons(model ATH-EM700), but now he has self made headphones that were a gift from Fuuka.
Minato's eyes widened on how she got his MP3 Player! He begins to check what he had, but stopped and noticed something really important…
His Evoker!
The gun he cherished was based on the Ruger Mk. III semi-automatic pistol. They prove to be traumatizing and tiring to use, as it retains the shape and weight of an actual gun, and using one resembles the act of committing suicide. It is a symbol of death, accepting death and knowledge of morality, which often arise during the teenage years. It also acts as a reminder of how the members of S.E.E.S are aware that they can die while fighting Shadows.
He begins to check his belt where he holds his Evoker, but true to be told…
It wasn't even there too!?
His search was stopped from the sound of a metal object dropping on the floor and sees his Evoker on the floor. He was about to go get it until Everyone present in the stop giggling and laughing, but gasps seeing Minato awaken from his slumber.
(End Song)
"You're awake!" Minette says as she began running towards Minato with a hug with her head buried in Minato's chest, "We were so worried about you!" She then looks up, making eye contact with watery eyes.
"We thought that you would never wake up after the fight with that scary lady who almost killed Nadia!" she yells as she brings her head back down to his chest tightening her hug as she starts crying.
Minato was shocked at Minette's reaction, and begins to pat her head for comfort. He then starts to look around seeing everyone with one question on his mind.
"How long have I been out?"
Yu Wan was the one to answer Minato's question, " Four days…"
Minato's eyes widened a little from the answer. "Four…days!?" he shouted as Yu Wan nods to him and begins explaining what happened to him during his slumber.
(Flashback)
Location: Little Innsmouth(Dak'kull Dubu)
Time: 8:38 A.M.
Date: Oct 17, 19XX
~Third POV~
(Three days after the fight with Cerebella)
(Cue: Beneath the Mask ~ Instrumental from Persona 5)
Everyone was getting ready to open up today, but Minette was upstairs watching over Minato, three days after the fight and still unconscious during that time. Everyone was worried about Minato's condition. Minette and Nadia both volunteered to watch over him during that time. Minette was worried about him, even though they just met recently. But he was nice to her when they met, she through maybe he was new in the city, but after the fight, it's like her "Guardian Angel" has come down from above to protect her from harm.
As for Nadia though… she's curious about him.
(Three days after Minato arrived to the city)
She started following him when he arrived to the city, even though he was just a normal person. At first he looked confused on how he sees her friends with different features, but he was nice to them which meant that he was good in her book. He and Leroy were good to each other and started heading towards Yu Wan's restaurant and yet again, she started following him again. A few moments later, she saw him in Yu Wan's restaurant talking about the city and the Mafia and letting him know about what's going on and who to trust in. During the talk he ordered noodles and steak… which is a lot to eat for some reason, but it wasn't that much really. The important things were about his life and stories. During that time, Yu Wan brought his order, and he then begins eating, but until he stops eating and started to let down a tear. It was weird how he stopped eating, but then explains about his friend he had…and judging by that look, she can tell that his friend was no longer in this world…which made Minette and the gang sad all lot for his friend…but Minette was sorry for bringing up the conversation of it, but he smiles towards her and says it's alright, and then starts to explain about his friend Shinjiro. He was talking about how good his cooking is and told Yu Wan that his cooking was the same as his friend's. During the explanation, he started to tell stories about him. Nadia laugh quietly when he brought up a tipping about Shinjiro fighting with his other friend Akihiko over a pickle jar, a "Pickle Jar!" But after the story, he then began to describe what type of person Shinjiro is. Sometimes people think of him as a scary person to hangout with and to avoid. But that's not true, his friend was a friendly person with his friends, and a dog lover too. She really wanted to meet Minato's friend now, but…he's in a better place now…
(End Song)
(Cue: Troubled from Persona 3)
After the explanation, everyone started to go back to work and Minato started eating again. Nadia was about to head towards the counter and try to get to know him a little better, but she stops when she sees 'Her' and her buddies come into the restaurant and started staring at Minato…and that made her worried about this situation. They started to sit down in one of the tables and true to be told…'she' started talking to him. The whole conversation was just questioning him about who he is. He ignored her with a blank look for asking his name, but not her's. That made her laugh a little bit to see her expression, so she started again with her name first while getting close to him with a fake smile. It seems to work a little as Minato said his name to her and to be honest, Nadia hated that look when Cerebella was smiling in victory. But then Minato saw this coming as he pushed her away from him while her expression changed from success to shock.
Everyone in the restaurant was stunned from him, even Nadia was shocked from Minato pushing away Cerebella. Then he started to drink a cup of coffee that Yu Wan made for him. He then told Yu Wan to where's restrooms are at. He thanks Yu Wan for the distances and started to head to the restrooms.
The place was quiet for a moment, until Cerebella started questioning Yu Wan and then Minette which made her mad a lot. It even got worse when one of her 'friends' try to charm Minette out. Nadia was about get up until she sees Minato turn the corner with an object on his hand and then threw it towards the man in yellow. The object reveals to be a knife, it was the same knife he used for the steak. And the knife was inches away from the man's face.
Everyone was shocked and turns at Minato with angry and annoyed look. Nadia was shocked when Minato was defending Minette without hesitation, and that made her smile from this. Minette was like a sister to her, always looking after her and protecting her from harm and Minato was the first human being to defend an innocent girl from harm.
Everything was getting out of hand, when Cerebella and her buddies were going to forcibly take Minato with them. Nadia started to get up and surprise her favorite 'friend' out. When she and Cerebella come face to face everything went loose.
(End Song)
(Cue: Crisis from Persona 3)
Everything went down towards them, fighting over a boy they had just met. But she promised to Minette if anyone she cares about is in danger, she will make it right. After that intense fight with Cerebella, she then slowly noticed the two men trying to kidnap Minette. Just as Nadia saw her struggling to get them off her, it was as if time slowed down for just a moment, she failed to notice a blue glowing butterfly fluttering above her. Then suddenly a huge headache started to form in her head when she heard a feminine voice mocking her saying, "Are you just going to stand there like an idiot and watch her cry out for help or are you going to do something about it?" At that moment anger started building up inside every fiber of her body. She was about to yell at them about what they're doing, but was cut off when she was grabbed by Cerebella's muscle hat. She then realized that she was tricked, though she blamed her headache for not thinking straight. But then that headache was replaced with pain as she getting crushed to death and being smashed around by Cerebella's muscle hat. She can barely hear herself screaming or the guys who were holding Minette hostage say "FINISH HER OUT" as more pressure was applied to the grip Cerebella's hat. Pain was the only thing her mind can process as she was falling in and out of consciousness. But before she completely passed out, some of the pain in her body was gone in an instant and fell to the ground, coughing up a storm. She looked to see Cerebella with a confused look on her face and then following her gaze she saw her muscle hat stabbed to the ground by a beautiful crimson blade. It was 'Shiny' when she looks at it and felt like she can steal it. But she was in pain right now to take it. When her thoughts about the blade were gone, she begins to see who the owner of the blade was. Her eyes widened when she saw Minato walking towards Cerebella with a look of determination on his face. She thought he was crazy to take on Cerebella on his own, but he was serious and gave Cerebella a choice to give up. But she rejected the choice and she started laughing including the men who are still holding Minette hostage and started telling him if he has a death wish and Nadia was worried that he could get hurt. She tried to warn Minato to get away, but stops as he started laughing…just laughing. She was confused about what's going on, until she heard Minato say that he was not afraid of death. That made her heart stop a little from his response, but the question was why Minato is not afraid of death and she heard him say he experienced it for the past ten or eleven years. That made her feel worried about Minato a lot. Just how much experience did his life affect him, and not only that, but he just simply accepts death. She knew it's hard to accept death, she just never learned how to. Her thoughts about death were interrupted by Cerebella laughing from his explanation. Nadia looked at Cerebella who nodded towards Minette's kidnappers who were ready to take her away. She was trying to stand up, but stopped when she sees Minato pull out a weird looking gun with the letters S.E.E.S imprinted on it. When she was about to think what type of gun it is, she stops and looks at Minato, when a blue light…no aura started gathering in his body while closing his eyes, but reopens them when the light dies down. She was confused about what had just happened, but her fear came to as he brought his gun to the right side of his temple.
(End Song)
Everyone was shocked and scared for the Minato's life, they tried to stop him from committing suicide. Nadia was in fear, when she saw Minato smiling towards Cerebella. She was trying so hard to get rid of the pain she had during Cerebella's assault, but she was trying hard to stand up. But then she hears a gunshot being fired. She could only watch in horror when Minato's head was jerked to the side, but her thoughts were changed to confusion as she was expecting blood or brain matter coming out. There were only glowing blue fragments that resembles a broken glass. As she was about to ask what the heck is going, she began to see raging surges of blue and indigo flames erupting from behind Minato as it was funneling to a mini twister and began to hear a voice from it.
(Cue: Unavoidable Battle from Persona 3)
I am Thou, and Thou art I.
From the Sea of Thy Soul I Cometh.
She then hears a deep male voice ring out and began to see a figure slowly manifest out of thin air. The first thing she sees on the figure is an arm and stubbed legs, followed by metal joints that connected to the white limbs to a sky blue colored body that had a small speaker on the stomach area. She then sees the body manifested completely, until an object resembling a large lyre took shape on the figure's back.
I am the Other You that Exists Within
I am the Beginning of the Endless Journey You Will Travel
Finally, she sees the head appear. The face was dark grey in color, it's hair was the same as Minato's hair, but white, and a red scarf-like cloth wrapped around the figure's neck and a part of it even went over the top of its head like a headband. She then see the figure's eyes open up, and reveal to be glowing red eyes. She can tell that the figure was staring down at Cerebella below. The figure then reach from his back and pulled out the large lyre.
I am Orpheus
Master of Strings
She was speechless from the sight of the figure. She was going to ask questions about what just happened, but her mind and body was slowly losing consciousness. She began to turn her head towards Minette and see the kidnappers finally let go of her and began running towards Yu Wan And Shumei. And then her vision went black.
(End Song)
After she fell unconscious, she can barely hear the sound of fighting. Then minutes later, she hears the most beautiful sound of music she's ever heard. While she listening, the pain she felt seconds ago began to slowly wash away to the melody of what's being played. Feeling calm and relaxed, she felt like she'll have a good night's sleep, till morning comes.
(Continuing Flashback)
Location: Little Innsmouth(Dak'kull Dubu)
Time: 9:56 A.M.
Date: Oct 15, 19XX
~Third POV~
(A few hours ago after the Fight)
Morning has arrived for Nadia, she opened her eyes and slowly got up from her bed. She was confused on how she got into her room, but then her eyes widened from the events of yesterday and she began to check on her injuries, clearly her injuries were fully recovered. When she started to move around and see there was no pain coming out, she was shocked on how her body was still moving after the assault from Cerebella. Her thoughts were about how she recovered fast for just one day, until she remembered Minato on the scene during that time. She was shocked and began to remember of Minato's figure that appeared, which was even more shocking to see, and then her mind went black. She clearly remembered a beautiful sound of music singing to her ears and begin to feel relaxed from the melody, and that's all she can remember from it. She then began to walk out of her room, until she hears someone coming from downstairs and sees Minette with a worried expression. Minette looks up and sees Nadia was perfectly fine.
"N-Nadia!?" Minette says while running towards her with a hug.
Nadia stood back a little from Minette's running, and then she remembered that Minette was almost kidnapped from Cerebella's buddies and started to hug her back.
"Minette!" she yells as she looks down to her. "Are you okay! Your hurt are you?"
Minette looks up to her with a smile, "I'm fine, you don't need to worry."
Nadia sighed to relieve, "Thank goodness…"
"But…"
She looks at Minette with a worried expression .
"But what?"
Minette then let's go of the hug and begins to take Nadia's hand and started walking towards the hallway. Nadia was confused on Minette was take her to, until they stop walking and face Minette's room door. She was confused on why she was standing in front of Minette's room door, until she sees her opening her door slowly and quietly entering. When they entered, Nadia surprised to see the room very neat and tidy. Usually when she enters Minette's room, it's a little bit messy, but the thing that really got her attention was whoever was under the covers of Minette's bed. Seeing Minette's worried expression, she sneaked over to see if there was some creepy stalker or pedophile in the bed. Minette looking confused at what Nadia was doing, until she saw her claws out and ready to attack. Minette now shocked, realizing what Nadia was doing and tried to stop her.
"Wait stop! It's not-"
Nadia, now pulling the covers off the bed before Minette told her to stop, had her claws halfway towards the person's face. Her mind was processing, realizing seconds later who she was about to attack in their sleep. It was Minato, who was sleeping… in Minette's bed.
Then slowly Nadia was turning her head towards Minette, almost mechanically with a "Nyan Cat" look on her face.
"Would you like to explain why he's in your bed, Minette?"
Minette was nervous about Nadia question and trying to come up with an answer for this.
"Uhhh…well…" She stuttered she looks to her side a little, "how do I put this in words?"
"Just answer the question Minette,'' Nadia said with a blank look .
Minette sighed and turned to Nadia and started to explain the events that happened a few hours ago. When she was done explaining, she looked at Nadia who had her eyes widened and then turns to Minato who was sleeping peacefully.
"So that's what happened…" Nadia said quietly.
"Yeah…" Minette said while putting the covers back to Minato so he won't get cold. "It's hard to believe that he saved your life Nadia."
"Well I do get hurt a lot Minette…" she said as she chuckled a little and started to look at Minato sleeping. "But to be honest…I'm really glad for him for saving me.."
"Well...if it wasn't for Minato's…guardian I think?" she pauses as she was thinking about Minato's guardian. "You would have been gone Nadia…" she finished with a sad expression.
"Yeah…" As she was thinking about Minato's guardian, her thoughts about the figure was strange...and it's name...Orpheus.
"Orpheus…" Thinking about the name, she looked at Minette with a question, "Do you know who Orpheus is, Minette?"
Minette thinks about the question, Orpheus…why does it sound so familiar to her?
"That name is familiar…" she answered to Nadia's question. "But what I'm scared about was that other guardian Minato had." Minette started to remember the tall, humanoid figure dressed in black that gave her a nightmare that night.
"No kidding…if I was awake during that time that would have given me the spookies," Nadia said with a nervous expression while sweat drops down from her forehead.
Minette giggled from Nadia's expression, even she laugh from her expression too. When they stopped, they started to think about Minato shooting himself with his weird gun.
"Is it true…" Minette pauses as she looks at Nadia with a worried expression. "What he said…about 'Death'..."
Nadia looked worried as well, she can't describe why Minato would just accept death so easily. Maybe it's something that has to do with his life.
"I don't know Minette…" She then looks at Minette, "But…maybe he can tell us why he said it."
Minette nods toward Nadia with the answer and begins to walk out of the room.
"Well I got to get ready for work," she says as she turns to Nadia. "Would you mind watching Minato for me?"
Nadia looks at Minette with a smile "Of course," and turns back to Minato sleeping, "I do own him for saving my life, right?"
Minette smiled back to Nadia's answer. "Thank you, Nadia. I'll see you after work," she said as she walks out of her room.
When Minette left the room, Nadia then stares at Minato for a while. She then notices a weird looking box with a wire attached to it that goes all the way up to his neck. On his neck, there were these weird circular disks connected to each other. With her curiosity getting the better of her, she carefully pulls the object out of his pocket and the things around his neck and inspects them.
When she looks at the box she sees 5 tiny buttons. The first one has an arrow pointing right, the second with a square, the third with two arrows pointing left, fourthone with two arrows pointing right and the last one with an arrow pointing up with a line under it. There was also a little gear on the side that's Vol. whatever that means. She then thought,"This looks really complicated to work."
She first presses the last button and the box opens up like a secret department and sees a small rectangular object inside it. She would feel really bad if she broke it, because it belongs to the person that saved her. So she carefully took the thing out of the box and saw that the small rectangular object had a small roll of film inside it.
"This tiny thing can project moving pictures!?" Feeling excited about what it plays, she puts the film back into the box and closes it. She then thinks about which button would play the movie. Looking at the first button, she obviously thought it would be that one. She then presses the button and waited for the movie to play...only to be confused by why it isn't showing anything.
Then all of a sudden, her ears picked on tiny sounds coming from the 2 circular disks. Looking at them curiously, she grabs them and puts them up to her ears to see what the sounds were.
(Cue: Go All the Way by Raspberries)
I never knew how complete love could be
'Til she kissed me and said
Baby, please go all the way
It feels so right (feels so right)
Being with you here tonight
Please, go all the way
Just hold me close (hold me close)
Don't ever let me go
I couldn't say what I wanted to say
'Til she whispered, I love you
So please, go all the way
It feels so right (feels so right)
Being with you here tonight
Please, go all the way
Just hold me close (hold me close)
Don't ever let me go
Before her love
I was cruel and mean
I had a hole in the place
Where my heart should have been
But now I've changed
And it feels so strange
I come alive when she does
All those things to me
And she says
(Come on) Come on
(Come on) Come on
(Come on) Come on
(Come on)
I need ya (come on)
I love ya (come on)
I need ya (come on)
Oh, oh, baby
Please, go all the way
It feels so right (feels so right)
Being with you here tonight
Please, go all the way
Just hold me close (hold me close)
Don't ever let me go no
Go on baby
(End song)
When the movie stops playing, Nadia was progressing about what just happened. From her thoughts, she just learned that this box was playing music… and it was like magic to her. After recovering from her thoughts, she then started to look at what else Minato had with him.
More small rectangular objects have different names of them, weird looking items that look like bottles of medicine, drinks of different colors, and other weird things he has on him, even money for the city too…which is a lot of money he had with him. Once she was done searching, she then remembered the blade he had yesterday. She was curious about the'shiny' blade he had, if she can remember correctly the blade was still stabbed on the ground with Cerebella's muscle hat. She stands up from the bed and went towards the third window and sees the blade was still there. Now…she really wants to see if she can steal it now, she was about to head outside and see the blade itself, but stop and sees something that happened yesterday. Minato's weird gun…, the gun was on the desk as if no one didn't use it, she began walking towards the desk and see the gun itself. The gun looks more advanced than the guns she normally knows, when she picked up the gun she then sees the words 'S.E.E.S' imprint on both sides.
"Weird…"
She inspected the gun to see how the bullets go into it, but no matter the effort of searching she can't find where the bullets go. She then deduced that it was fake gun seeing that Minato's head didn't explode when he shot himself, but the feeling the weight of the gun in her hand, she would have mistook it for a real gun.
"Super weird…"
(Cue: Fearful Experience from Persona 3)
She then points the gun to her head and pointed the tip at her right temple, the same Minato has done it. At first she thought that she would be able to do the same thing Minato can do...but then she hesitated. Why was she hesitating? She's immortal. It's not like she was going to die from a single gunshot, much less from a fake gun. So why isn't she able to pull the trigger? She felt her breathing becoming slightly rapid, her grip on the weapon tightening and sweat began to roll on her face. She then started to have the same headache from yesterday and started to hear the voice from yesterday, mocking her, "Oh please, what good would trying to shoot yourself do for you? Even if you have immortality, you wouldn't have the guts to pull the trigger anyway." And then all of a sudden, she was in some sort of dark empty space and without warning a mirror appeared in front of her. She saw her reflection with the gun in her hand, who slowly raises it up to her head. With a sadistic grin she pulls the trigger and kills herself. Her eyes dull with no life in them and blood spilling out from the huge holes on both sides of her head.
Nadia gasps from what just happened. She just saw her reflection just…kill herself, even worse was that her instincts were telling her that she wouldn't be able to come back alive after pulling a stunt like that.
She then blinked a couple of times, and finally realized that she's back in the room. She drops to the floor then letting out a breath of relief that she didn't know she was holding in. She began to look at the gun for a few moments, and then shook her head from thinking about what happened.
"Get it together, Nadia…," she told herself as she puts the gun back on the table. "Your mind is just messing with you."
She then begins to leave, but stops for a moment and sees that she still has Minato's box thing. She was curious about how this box work, so she spends the rest of the day trying to figure out what all the buttons on the box does…without breaking it. She'll get her chance with the "shiny" blade tomorrow when Minato wakes up.
(End Song and Flashback)
Location: Little Innsmouth(Dak'kull Duku)
Time: 10:16 A.M.
Date: Oct 18, 19XX
~Third POV~
After the whole explanation that everyone told, Minato was still processing about this and started to think about this. When he was done processing, he began to ask them some simple questions.
"So let me get this straight," he said as he face towards everyone. " You're telling me that for four whole days, I was in a coma?"
Everyone nodded to the question.
Minato sighed and then continued as he looks toward Ms. Fortune with a blank look. "Would you explain why you have my MP3 player," he pauses as he sees her with a…weird look she was giving him, "and my Evoker?"
Ms. Fortune tilts her head a little bit, "Is that what they're called?"
He nods as he explains how the MP3 player really works. When he was done explaining it, he receives a 'Oh' from her. He then started to laugh a little from Ms. Fortune answer, he was about to ask if he can have it back, but then realized that his Evoker was still on the floor. He then begins to stand up from the table and walked towards his Evoker and picks it up from the ground.
Everyone sees Minato picking up his gun, but failed to notice Nadia flinching when she sees him holding it. He then looks at it for a moment and turns back to them with a smile.
"Sorry for scaring you guys four days ago," he says as he bows to them apologetically. "I hope I didn't cause any trouble."
Everyone was shocked at Minato's apology and the whole conversation as well. As they recovered from this, Ms. Fortune was the first one to speak.
"It's alright, Minato…it's just…," she paused as she looked to her side a little. "How do I put this into words…"
Minette was the one to her help her out with the words, "She means the whole committing suicide thing…and that guardian as well."
Minato was thinking about Minette's question and started to remember that she saw Orpheus and Thanatos during that night.
"You mean…Orpheus."
Minette nods to his answer, "Even that other guardian as well."
"Oh…you mean Thanatos too."
Ms. Fortune was still confused on the names that Minato just said.
"I'm sorry, but I'm still really confused on who Orpheus and Thanatos are," she said as she scratched her head a little. "Can you explain who they are, because I'm not that smart to think."
Minato was not sure about this…but they did take care of him while he was in a coma, so he can at least repay them back for it.
"Ok, who do we start?" he says, as he looked towards everyone with the question.
"How about that guardian of yours that save my life."
Minato was thinking that she was talking about Orpheus that cast 'Cadenza' to her and Cerebella during that night.
(Cue: Orpheus Odyssey - Legend on Strings - Sixth Piece)
In Greek mythology, Orpheus was the son of the Thracian king Oeagrus and the muse Calliope (some versions have Apollo being Orpheus' father.) Apollo, fond of Orpheus, gives him a small golden lyre, which he quickly mastered. Taught to sing verses by his mother, Orpheus was so skilled at making music that he was called "Master of Strings" and "Father of Songs", capable of such music that even rocks and animals would be compelled to dance.
His love story however is a very tragic one. Upon the death of his wife Eurydice, Orpheus was distraught that his mournful singing brought nymphs and gods to tears. Travelling to the Underworld, he used his music to soften the hearts of Hades and Persephone, who allowed him to bring his wife back to the upper world on one condition that he walk and not look back until they both arrived from the surface. In his anxiety, Orpheus forgot his warning and looked back when he alone had reached the surface, and saw his wife vanish, this time forever.
At the time of his death, Orpheus had become an apostate, spurning all gods save for Apollo, whom he thanked for his golden lyre. For this he ripped apart by Dionysian Maenads (although according to other versions, he is ripped apart for refusing to participate in their drunken (and often cannibalistic) orgies, on account on remaining committed to his lost lover), only his head and lyre remained. His head floated down the Hebrus, continuing to sing sad songs until it was buried on the island of Lesbos, while his lyre was carried to the sky by the muses and placed among the stars.
True to his legend, Orpheus is the archetypal musician in literacy and lore, and he stands for foolish human folly (for turning back out of doubt) as well as sacrifice (for dying for Eurydice).
(End Song)
When he was done explaining who Orpheus is, he then sees everyone had their eyes widened from his explanation.
Ms. Fortune was still shocked and started to speak, "So you're saying…that Orpheus was the son of a king named Oeagrus…"
"Yep,"
Minette then begins to speak, "And a god named Apollo was the one that gave him the Lyre…which he started to learn and quickly became a master of it…"
"That's right."
Ms. Fortune then spoke again, " And his wife, Eurydice was it…" she told Minato with the question, and sees him with a nod as she continued. "Was dead, and Orpheus was traveling through the underworld and started to play his Lyre to Hades and Persephone to bring his wife back from the dead, but didn't work."
"Sadly, yeah."
Minette then spoke again with a sad expression "And now his only remains are just his head and lyre, but continued to sing his sad songs until he was buried."
Minato nods from her answer.
As they were questioning him about Orpheus, they hear Minette gasp from out of nowhere.
"Now I remember!" she screamed out as she quickly ran upstairs to her room and began to look into her bookshelves and begins to look for a book she read. When she found the book, she began to run back to the others and show them the book she found.
Minato was curious about the book that Minette brought, he looked towards the book and sees the title of the book.
"The Tragic Musician…," he says as he picks up the book and opened a few pages of the book, his eyes widened slowly and turns to Minette with a question.
"Where did you find this book?"
Minette looks at Minato with the question. "I was in the city one day looking at stuff for my room and then I went to the library to buy a book," she said as she looked at the book that Minato has in his hand. "Then I stumbled upon this book and began to look at the date of when it was made, I was curious about the book and started to ask the librarian how much it cost, but she told me that the book was old and out of date and told me that I can have it for free, when I returned from the city I started reading the book And was curious about his tale and his life. I do like to know more about him…"
"This girl is very curious about me," he heard Orpheus say. "Don't thou agree?"
Minato smiles from Orpheus' question and begins to look at Minette with a different look she had.
"Is there something that I said?" as she looks at Minato smiling.
Minato shook his head. "No, your fine," he says as he closes the book and give Minette her book back. "I think Orpheus would be proud of you for reading his book."
Minette was shocked from what Minato just said. "Y-you really think so?" she asks as she sees Minato smile with a nod and then she smiles softly while holding her book.
Minato then looks around at everyone, "And all that's left is Thanatos, right?" He can tell that gave them a soft chill down in their backs from hearing the name. They gave a hesitant nod to hear the story.
Ms. Fortune laughed nervously, "Yeah…," she says while turning to Minette. "Minette, uh…told me that guardian you had was…scary to see…"
"And hear," Minette said to her.
"And hear as well," as she nodded to Minette with the statement. "She told me that the guardian was roaring crazy while everyone in Little Innsmouth was covering their ears."
Minato really needs to talk to Thanatos about his roar…even apologize to everyone in Little Innsmouth as well.
"Yeah...Thanatos can be a little…rough to be around with."
"Grrrr…" as he hear Thanatos growling at him.
"Thanatos, you know it's true," he told Thanatos in his mind. "You're lucky you didn't hurt anyone."
"He's right you know," Orpheus said to him. "You can be a little bit rough sometimes."
Thanatos growling at him and Orpheus with the answer.
"Uuuuuhhh...don't worry Thanatos-chan!" Alice says as she quickly joins in on the conversation. "I can be tough with others sometimes!"
"That's because you tell people to die for you, Alice."
"That's not true!"
"Yes, yes it is," Minato and Orpheus said in unison and hears Alice pouting from their answer.
"I do have to agree with this, Alice," Lucifer says as he joins in on the conversation as well. "You do sometimes beg for people to die for you."
"I do agree," Achilles says.
"Absolutely," Shiva agreed.
"Uh, huh," Anubis nodded.
"Sorry Alice, you know it's true," Hades says as Cerberus barked in agreement.
Alice huffed from their responses.
"Okay, that's enough of teasing Thanatos and Alice for one day." Minato says to them.
"Fiiiiiiine…, " everyone said in unison.
"Good."
Ms. Fortune laughed from Minato's answer, "I can tell that you were serious about him being a little rough on that roar."
"Well he is the god of death."
When he said that, everyone stared at Minato with their eyes widened like dinner plates and blinked a couple of times. Minato then started telling them who Thanatos is.
(Cue: Echoes of an Old Life from God Of War)
Thanatos is the personification of death and mortality in Greek mythology. In the Greek Poem, Theogony, Thanatos is one of the sons of Nyx and is the elder twin brother of Hypnos. In the earliest mythological accounts, he is commonly known as a harbinger of peaceful death, bringing the eternal sleep of death to the world while more violent gods were responsible for harsher death. Characterized as indiscriminate and merciless, Thanatos is detested by all and he hates them in return, all too happy to bring mortals to their fated end. He is perceived by Greek poets as a fearsome, sword-wielding, shaggy bearded specter and fierce of countenance. He is a harbinger of suffering and grief, and his coming was marked by pain.
Being merciless and indiscriminate as he is, but in the myths which feature him, Thanatos could occasionally be outwitted, a feat that the sly king Sisyphus of Korinth twice accomplished. When it came time for Sisyphus to die, Zeus ordered Thanatos to chain Sisyphus up in Tartarus. Sisyphus cheated death by tricking Thanatos into his own shackles, thereby prohibiting the demise of any mortal while Thanatos was so enchained.
Eventually Ares, the bloodthirsty god of war, grew frustrated with the battles he incited since neither side suffered any casualties. He released Thanatos and handed his captor over to the god. Sisyphus would evade Death a second time by convincing Persephone to allow him to return to his wife stating that he never gave him a proper funeral. This time, Sisyphus was forcefully dragged to the Underworld by Hermes when Sisyphus refused to accept his death. Sisyphus was sentenced to an eternity of frustration in Tartarus where he rolled a boulder up a hill and it would roll back down when he got close to the top.
Sisyphus, son of Aeolus was a more than mortal figure: for mortals Thanatos usually presents an inexorable fate, but he was only once successfully overpowered, by the mythical hero Heracles. Thanatos was consigned to take the soul of Alkestis, who had offered her life in exchange for the continued life of her husband, King Admetos of Pherai. Heracles was an honoured guest in the house of Admetos at the time, and he offered to repay the king's hospitality by contending with Death itself for Alkestis' life. When Thanatos ascended from Hades to claim Alkestis, Heracles sprung upon the god and overpowered him, winning the right to have Alkestis revived. Thanatos fled, cheated from his quarry.
In the later eras, Thanatos was portrayed again as an angel of Death, associated more with a more gentle passing than a woeful demise, guiding mortals after their death. Many Roman sarcophagi depict him as a winged boy, very much akin to Cupid.
(End Song)
When he was done telling them about Thanatos' tale, he sees them with stunning looks that they had.
Minette laughs nervously, "S-so you're s-saying that your g-guardian…," she stutters as she stares at Minato, "is the g-god of death h-himself."
"Yep," he says as Minette was about to faint, but Nadia stops her from fainting.
"Ooookay," Nadia said as she puts Minette down on the table, "I think that's enough history lessons about Thanatos himself, right?"
"Well, if you don't mess with him then your fine."
Nadia modded her head quickly, "Good to know."
When Minato was done with the whole questioning, Minette quickly recovered from almost being faint and ask him a very important question.
"U-uh! Is it fine if I can meet Orpheus?"
Minato stared at her with his eyes widened from the question.
"Well…sure," he says as he was in his mind looking for Orpheus to his answer.
"I think this child really is a fan of mine," Orpheus says with a soft laugh and smile. "I would like to see her in person."
Minato smile soft as he looks at Minette with her answer, "Orpheus says that he would like to meet you Minette."
Minette was shocked for a few seconds, but then it was quickly replaced with happiness and excitement. For she is about to meet a famous musician from Greek mythology. She then calmed herself before bowing to Minato with a smile, "Thank you."
Minato then closed his eyes, a blue light began to gather around his body. Delving deep into his mind, he calls out for Orpheus and he responded. Opening his eyes back up as the light dies down, he gripped his Evoker and brought it up to his head, pointing it at his right temple. Even though Nadia told them that the gun was fake, they can't help but flinch at the sight of Minato pointing a gun to his head.
(Cue: Orpheus Odyssey - Legends on Strings - First Piece)
Before he pulled the trigger he yells, "Orpheus!" As he said the name of musician, raging surges of blue and indigo flames erupting from behind Minato as it was funneling into a mini twister. When the process of the mini twister was done, Orpheus appeared floating in the air a little with a soft smile towards Minette, who was staring at him with wide eyes.
Orpheus laughed a little from Minette's reaction, "It seems you're the one that read my tale, yes?"
Minette quickly recovered from her shock "U-uh, yes!"
He then began to kneel down from the air and began to speak again.
"Tell me young one, what is thy name?"
Minette was trying to stay calm from Orpheus talking to her, "I-it's Minette, Sir!"
"Well then Miss Minette, tell me. What does thou think of my legend?"
She then relaxed from her shock and begins to explain about his life.
"Well… from what the book said, you were trying to get your wife Eurydice back from the Underworld from Hades and Persephone while you were playing your soft music to them, and once you successful, you and your wife were heading to the surface…but there was only one condition…"
"And what would that be, Miss Minette?"
She then had a little sad expression and look at Orpheus, "Is to never look back…"
Orpheus nods to her answer "That's right…I felt anxious when I alone reached the surface world. The moment I turned around and saw her, she didn't make it out and disappeared."
"On the time of your death, you continued to sing sad songs. Until you were buried…"
"That is correct, during my death my Lyre was carried to the sky by the muses and was placed among thy stars. Towards the end of my life, I disdained thy worship all the gods except Apollo. I then went to the oracle of Dionysus at Mount Pangaion to salute my god at dawn, but was ripped to shreds by the female followers of Dionysus for not honoring my previous patron, but I do not regret my death."
Minette gives a soft look to Orpheus, "Is it because you were trying to save your wife?"
Orpheus smiles softly to her, "Yes…I'd be willing to sacrifice my life to save her."
"I see…but the question is…how are you here, Orpheus?"
He then laughs softly to her. "Well…to answer your question, Miss Minette," he pauses as he turns at Minato with a smile, who smiles back to him, "is because of thou…"
She looked confused from the answer including everyone who was listening to the conversation, "What do you mean, Orpheus?"
He then begins to float from the ground and want behind Minato.
"I am Thou, and Thou art I…," he says and looks at Minette with her answer while smiling. "He is me…"
Minato then join in the conversation to finish his statement. "And I am him," he says as he smiled towards her.
Minette gasps softly from what Orpheus and Minato both said.
"That's right Miss Minette, he called me from the sea of thy soul," he then kneels to her again. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Minette," he says while he smiled at her.
She then had a heart warming voice, "You too, Orpheus."
Before Orpheus can disappeared, he looks at her. "Before I go…," he says when he raised his hand and light begin to appear to him. Once the light dies down a book and a well made Lyre was heading towards Minette, as she grabbed both objects, "I would like to give you a gift, for understanding the truth about my story."
She then looked at Orpheus, "Will I ever see you again?"
He then puts his hand on top of Minette's head while smiling softly to her, "Remember what I said, Miss Minette…"
She thinks about it for a second, until she nods toward him, "That's right…"
Orpheus then nods to her. "Until then, Miss Minette," he says as he disappears back to the Sea of Souls.
(End Song)
When Orpheus was gone, everyone stared at Minato with the stunned looks they had.
"Well…that was a thing," Nadia said as she was recovering from the whole conversation.
Minato chuckled at Ms. Fortune reaction, "Well he is the Master of Strings after all."
Minette looks at Minato, but then looks at the gifts she received from Orpheus and smiles softly to them. She looks back at Minato with a happy smile, "Thank You, Minato!" She then asked him a question, "Hey Minato, would it be alright if helped me practice?"
He smiled back to Minette, "No problem, Minette. I would be happy to help." Then all of a sudden, he heard glass shattering and the world around him stood still.
'!?'
(Glass shattering)
(Cue: The Power of the Heart from Persona 3)
I am thou, thou art I
Thou hast acquired a new vow,
It shall become the silent voice that whispereth
The most profound wisdom within one's heart,
With the birth of the Priestess Arcana,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
Shall lead to Hope and new power…
(End Song)
(Cue : Joy Persona 3)
Minato then sees a card float down to him and revealing to be the High Priestess of the Major Arcana. He then reached for the card and grabbed it and started to disappear. And then time returns back to normal.
"Well!" Nadia says as she clapped her hands together. "It seems everyone is done questioning you now, Minato!"
Minato tilted his head a little, "You guys don't want to meet Thanatos?"
Everyone shivered a little. "U-uh, we can meet him some other time, Minato," she said as quickly as possible.
"Oh, okay," he says as he was thinking about a very important question. "But…where do I go now…"
Everyone was looking at each other, but then Yu Wan answer his question.
"You can stay in this place."
Minato eyes widened From his response, "Huh?"
"Yeah, Minato!" Minette said happily. "Since your new to the city, maybe I can help you knowing the city a little bit better!"
"Plus kid, you did save Nadia and Minette's lives that night," Leroy said to him.
"No kidding, I really appreciate it for saving my life, Minato," Nadia said to him. "Even Orpheus too."
Shumei nodded towards Minato with the agreement.
Minato didn't know what to say…everyone was offering him to stay in a place, he just arrived in. They owed him for saving Ms. Fortune and Minette. So he can at least pay them back for it.
"Thank you…," he says to them. "I was hoping to help you guys out in this place."
Yu Wan laugh softly, "Sure! The more the merrier."
Everyone laughed at Yu Wan's joke.
When everyone was done with questioning Minato, they started to open up the restaurant. Then Minato walked towards Minette and Nadia with a…embarrassing question.
"Hey uh…," he pauses as Minette and Nadia turns to him. "I know it's a little too late to say this, but…would you guys mind…help me find new clothing…"
Minette and Nadia turned to each other to answer his question, both of them shrugged their shoulders while smiling to each other.
"Sure, I mean you did save me so I can at least repay you back for," Nadia says as she looks towards Minette. "Think that's a good idea, Minette?"
Minette nodded, "Yeah! I was hoping I can show him around the city too."
Minato sighed in relief from their answer, "Thank you, I hope we can do it in our free time. It's that a good plan?"
"Sure!" Minette said happily.
"Actually…," when they hear Yu Wan talking to them, "you can do it right now if you want Minette."
Minette panicked a little, "U-uh, but what about work and the customers and-"
He then laughed from her reaction, "It's alright Minette, you been working hard so I can at least give you a break for one day."
"Are you sure?" she asks as he nodded to her. "Thank you, Sir!" and begins to turn to Minato, "I'll be right back Minato, I just need to change my clothes. You don't mind waiting for me?"
Minato nodded towards her while smiling, "Of course Minette."
She then happily nodded back to him, "I'll be back for a few moments!" She then begins to run upstairs to her room.
Minato chuckled softly, "She reminds me of Fuuka a lot."
(End Song)
Nadia looks at him. "Fuuka? Who's that?" she asks him with a confused look.
"Oh…right, I haven't told you guys about my other friends…," he says with a sad expression.
(Cue: Living With Determination from Persona 3)
She sees his expression change from what he said and she it felt bad about it. She was then trying to find a way to make him feel better.
"Well…you want to talk about it?" she asks while putting her hand to his shoulder. "We're here if you need us."
He looks back to his side while smiling at her. "Thank you," he says as he turned his head to see Minette coming downstairs while wearing new clothes.
"We're heading out now Mew Nyan!" Nadia said to Yu Wan.
"Alright, be safe out there!"
"We will!" Minette said to him.
When they were about to leave, Minato stops Nadia. She was confused why he stopped her and then she noticed that she still has his MP3 player and begin to give back to him. She asked him if she can use it some other time, he asked if there was a jukebox in the restaurant, and truth be told there was one. So maybe he can wirelessly connect the system on his MP3 player to the jukebox, he learned a little from Fuuka. But he can do that when he comes back from shopping with Minette and Ms. Fortune.
"Alright!" Nadia said as she heads to the exit, "Let's get going you two!"
(End Song)
Minette giggled a little and Minato just shook has head, she was just like Junpei with his hyperness. When they were handing out, they didn't notice that someone was watching them, except Minato.
"Is that the presence that you felt Leviathan?" Squigly asks as she was wearing a hooded cloak.
"I'm sure Milady," Leviathan said as he was hidden over the hooded. "There's no telling that this boy has the presence of the famous musician…Orpheus himself…"
Squigly's eyes widened, "How is that possible…"
"I don't know…," he says as he watches them leave to the city, "but I have a feeling that this boy has some questions for us. We should follow them, see what he can do."
Squigly nodded to Leviathan and started following them to city. The question that made Leviathan nervous…was if the other presence that the boy had…was Thanatos himself.
Me and Valkoor had been working on this chapter for a week now, and to be honest this chapter was pretty awesome to write with him.
Especially the music we like!
But anyway, i hope you guys like the chapter! Some of the secrets in this chapter was revealed too.
and the next chapter more secrets will be reveal, including the past and a certain person...
Hope you guys have a great day
Till next time X3