Nocturne: Why did you save the World?

Disclaimer:

I don't own the rights to anything related to the Megami Tensei series.

The rights to that series belong to…other people…

An Excerpt from the Journal of Joan

(Kagutsuchi brings about Destruction)

And I saw it. I had stood apart from the world and watched as a great fire descended upon it.

I saw as the world was twisted and destroyed and turned into a barren wasteland.

The fire had gathered in one place. The land beneath it reached towards it and formed a sphere.

All that was outside of this sphere was reduced to ash of the blackest color.

I do not know how many days had passed since the beginning of this tragedy.

All I know is that it ended due to the efforts of a young man.

The Accuser had touched him. He had 'blessed' the boy with power.

The boy travelled these harsh lands with demons and aspects and conquered many.

He fought through the cause of this tragedy and his former friends so that he may climb the Tower.

He conquered the beast at its peak and brought back that which had been destroyed.

All was as it was before the Great Fire descended upon the earth.

All glory belongs to the King

(Kagutsuchi brings about Destruction)

-The road to the Shinjuku Medical Center-

Naoki Kashima let out a sigh as he trailed after his friends, his eyes fixated on the concrete beneath his feet. Isamu was busy cracking jokes that Chiaki found to be rather unfunny and 'stupid'. Isamu started to whine about how mean she was being.

"Keep your jokes to yourself if you don't want to hear somebody criticize them." Chiaki let out a quiet scoff. "In fact, while we're seeing Miss Takao, keep those jokes of yours stuffed in whatever dark recess of your mind you pulled them from."

"You're in a foul mood, aren't ya?"

Chiaki chuckled.

"Only when I'm around you two."

Isamu smirked and looked over his shoulder.

"Did you hear that, Kash? That sounded like genuine affection! Chiaki must be getting soft."

Naoki raised his eyes from the concrete to Isamu with the intention of giving him a small smile and a slight shrug. His intentions were left unfulfilled and he stopped dead in his tracks upon setting his eyes on his longtime friend. Isamu was not there.

The creature he had become in that horrid world stood in his place.

The pseudo-demon stared at Naoki, a haunting smile on his face as the faces on his back squirmed and mutely howled. He turned to face Naoki, revealing more faces upon his chest, and extended his left hand. It curled into a ball before its index finger stuck out to point at Naoki.

"How did it feel to kill me? Was I worthy opponent?"

"What?"

The apparition smiled.

"You enjoyed killing me. I could see it in your eyes: hunger. I was just another stepping stone in your quest for power."

"…No…"

Naoki closed his eyes and raised his right hand to touch his forehead. In the pit of his stomach he could feel that creature squirming. The magatama that Lucifer had given him had not disappeared with the rebirth of this world. He could feel it tugging at his strings.

It wanted him to reach out and crush the being that stood before him.

"…This is… an illusion… Isamu is okay… Isamu is fine… Isamu is…"

"Starting to freak out over how weird you're acting."

Naoki opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of his friends. They looked concerned.

"Are you okay? You were mumbling some pretty weird stuff about me." Isamu flashed a grin before suddenly becoming playfully over dramatic. "Do not tell me! You… you have feelings for me? Dear sir! I do not roll that way."

"Be quiet." Chiaki let out a sigh before pushing Isamu out of her way as she walked towards Naoki. She stopped a few inches short of him and looked him over. "…Geez… What is up with you?" Naoki shook his head and stood straighter. He locked eyes with his upper-class friend.

He put on a façade that said: "I am 100% A-OK."

Chiaki nodded to show her satisfaction with the results she had gotten. Something that looked like a smile formed on her lips before she casually turned around and continued towards the hospital.

"Hurry up. I have a few questions for Miss Takao and I would like to get them answered before visiting hours are over."

Isamu watched in disbelief as Chiaki continued to get farther away from him and Naoki. With a slight smile on his face, he turned to the aforementioned boy and shrugged his shoulders. "I kinda agree with her, but, seriously, are you okay Kash?"

Naoki gave him a hollow smile. "Totally. Chiaki giving me a stare down did wonders."

"Ha! Well, let's not keep Her Majesty waiting! Come on."

-The Shinjuku Medical Center-

Chiaki turned to look at her friends. "You guys finally decided to show up."

"Hey!" Isamu looked as though he wanted add something to that. His mouth moved as though words were ready to pour out, but all that left was silence. "…Hold on…" He mumbled before closing his eyes and trying to think of something witty.

"Is something on your mind?" Chiaki folded her arms and cocked an eyebrow as she watched Isamu continue to struggle. "I guess not… like always…" She turned her attention to Naoki. "The receptionist said that Miss Takao is in one of the second floor rooms: 203A. Come on."

Naoki glanced at Isamu. The boy was mumbling and still had his eyes closed.

"What about-"

"Leave him." Chiaki then motioned for Naoki to follow her. "It serves him right for spacing out like that."

Naoki glanced at Isamu. He was still mumbling and still had his eyes closed.

He felt he should pull his friend back to reality. It seemed like the right thing to-

"Naoki. Come."

He sighed and followed after Chiaki.

"It is a subtle poison."

-1-

"Here it is: 203A."

Chiaki stopped before a steel gray door. She stared at it for the longest time.

"Chiaki? Is something wrong?"

She shook her head before turning to face her friend. "…I just… do you ever get the feeling that something you do has already happened? I mean…" Chiaki closes her eyes as she tries to recall a certain word. Three seconds had not passed when she snapped her fingers and reopened her eyes. "Déjà vu."

Naoki tilted his head to the side. "Is that some sorta new English word?"

"French."

She shook her head and frowned. "My point is: I feel like this has all happened before for some reason. I feel like we came to visit Miss Takao once before."

"Is she starting to remember the Vortex World?" Naoki wondered as Chiaki stared at him expectantly. She wanted him to say something comforting or give her some sort of an explanation for this feeling.

He could tell her the truth.

"I doubt she would appreciate that." Naoki dryly mused. "I doubly doubt she would appreciate the part… where…"

The slight smirk on his face was replaced by a solemn frown. Chiaki tilted her head to the side and quietly called out to him.

"Naoki? Are you alright?"

He raised his right hand and stared at it with a blank expression.

"What kind of a person kills their friends…?"

He felt a firm hand grip his shoulder. His body shivered under the cold and unfamiliar touch.

"…The kind of person who wants power…"

His stomach tightened and his heart began to race upon hearing that cruel and familiar voice. His eyes shifted from his hand to the demon standing before him.

Her silver hair and cruel yellow eyes dimly shined beneath the hallway lights.

"All of that power… yet you rejected me…"

He tried to pull away. Her grip merely tightened. "Let go!"

"You killed me without a second thought… Was I really your friend?"

His eyes slammed shut and that creature in his stomach started to squirm again. "Fight… maim… consume…" An unearthly voice whispered. "It will please… the Grand Dragon… it is your… nature…"

Naoki felt his hand move. It lashed out at the demon.

"Naoki!"

He was glad that he missed. He had managed to muster enough willpower to misdirect his fist. It hurt when he stumbled forward and fell to the ground, but physical pain such as that is nothing compared to the self-loathing and shame he would have felt if he had hurt his friend again.

"Geez… you are just out of it today…" Chiaki sighed as she went to help Naoki up. "I thought you were trying to take a swing at me…"

He chuckled as he rolled onto his back and accepted her hand. "And ruin such a beautiful face?"

He felt her hand twitch in his as that comment brushed against her ears. She paused and a second or two passed before she finally let out a scoff. She diverted her eyes from him and turned her face towards a nearby window. "….Geez… you have some nerve saying things like that to a girl like me… flattery will get you nowhere…" She mumbled as she used her free hand to brush back her hair.

The shadow the lights overhead cast upon her face hid it well enough, but Naoki could make out the faintest trace of a blush on his friend's face. Upon examining his spur of the moment comment, Naoki blushed as well.

"…Anyways…"

With that, Chiaki pulled Naoki to his feet with ease that surprised him and her.

"Are you trying to sweep me off of my feet, Chiaki?" The young man joked. "When did you get so…"

His words trailed off as thoughts of the Vortex World came flooding back and a possible explanation for her new strength was provided. The thought of Chiaki retaining some of her demon powers like him…

"Maybe you should eat a bit more." Chiaki joked, bringing Naoki away from his thoughts. "You're as light as a feather… uh-oh…"

Naoki cocked an eyebrow at her souring mood.

"Hey! There you guys are!"

Until he realized the source of her irk.

"Isamu… hey…" Naoki nervously laughed when he turned and faced his irritated friend.

"You guys sure are something! Chiaki leaving me by my lonesome is one thing… but Kash…" Isamu sighed and shook his head. "You followed her lead… I expected better from you… Bros before-"

"Finish that and I will finish you."

Chiaki did not appreciate derogatory terms like the one Isamu was about to utter… and it showed…

Her death glare and the chilling delivery of her threat reduced Isamu to a stammering mess.

"Da… uh… tch… pals before gals!"

"Good boy."

Isamu frowned and scoffed at her casual condescension. "You always do that! Why do you always boss us around?" Chiaki cocked an eyebrow at this accusation. Naoki cringed as he felt another one of their "you suck" arguments manifesting.

The upper class girl brushed her hair back. "I say things and stuff gets done. You guys follow me by your own choice. Remember how we all met?"

Isamu scoffed before rubbing the back of his neck. "…Like you would ever let us forget…"

Chiaki took a step towards Isamu, a slight smirk on her face.

"I was busy eating lunch by myself one day. I eventually noticed these two boys from my class eating lunch nearby. One of them… a weirdo named Isamu…" Chiaki paused for a moment in order to enjoy the visible annoyance on his face. Her ears twitched upon hearing a sound similar to that of a door sliding open (if only slightly) but she ignored it and continued.

"…He starts talking about this new 'rich snob with no friends' and comes up with the brilliant plan to milk the snob dry."

Naoki rubbed the back of his head (a nervous action) and diverted his eyes to the floor when Chiaki turned her full attention to him. "He told you to go find me and start being friendly. He said that you were the most liked kid in our class. Making friends was easy for you." Naoki could hear a slight crack in her voice. Recounting the memory must have reopened some old wounds.

His eyes shifted from the ground to meet hers, but she looked away to avoid him seeing the wateriness in her eyes.

"…Chiaki…" He wanted to say more, but the right words wouldn't come out.

Isamu lowered his head and let out a sigh.

"I… sorry… That was a long… can we just go see Miss Takao?"

Chiaki let out an annoyed sigh and mumbled something along the lines of: "Is your peripheral vision that bad?"

Isamu could hardly hear her. He looked to Naoki (who was closer to Chiaki) for answers.

Naoki was focused on the door to his right, which was being held close to halfway open by the very woman Isamu and his friends had come to see.

She offered them a sad smile before inviting them in.

"Remember the Ties that bind you."

-2-

"You heard us arguing… huh?"

Miss Takao gave Isamu a slight nod as she sat on one of the room's beds.

"…Oh…" Isamu sighed, his head hung in shame, before leaning against a nearby wall.

"You were quite… loud…" Miss Takao said with an uneasy smile on her face. She looked to Naoki and Chiaki, receiving eye contact from the latter while the former diverted his eyes to the floor, and her smile brightened a bit. "You can sit next to me if you want to."

"Thanks… but…" Naoki began, his words trailing off as Chiaki walked past him and took the teacher up on her offer. "But… I… I like to stand…"

Miss Takao simply nodded.

A long silence ensued.

"I… I am grateful that all of you decided to come visit me…" She looked to Naoki and smiled warmly at him. "Thank you…"

"Heheh! No problem, Miss Takao!" Isamu grinned, the previous awkward and solemn atmosphere lifting. "Of course, we would have been here sooner if Kash hadn't been acting weird."

Miss Takao looked puzzled. "Weird?"

Naoki glared at Isamu. "It was nothing… I just had a headache… that's all…"

Miss Takao frowned. She was assured even in the slightest.

The Vortex World had changed all of them.

But the power Lucifer had 'blessed' Naoki with would…

"Naoki… Are you absolutely sure that you-"

Naoki let out a pained grunt as the magatama squirmed again, his eyes slamming shut as an unearthly voice scratched against his ears.

"Struggle… It will make us stronger…"

"And that's all it really comes down to, Naoki."