A little rewrite of my very first fic in my life... which would probably break the new 'Proofread writing' feature if I ever used that on it.

Yes, it's THAT bad. Heed my warning, fools.

I'm serious...

Anyway... Enjoy!

Disclaimer(s): I don't own Persona 3, Atlus does.

"There is both Joy and Wonder

in coming to understand one another"

- Nyx Avatar

In a dimension between dreams and reality, there exists a large gilded door designed with strange figures stand tall. On the middle of the gate was a chained stone human figure, its hands chained as if it was to serve as a seal for the door, and what lies behind its impenetrable wall.

This entity was once called 'The Messiah', the savior of humanity. However, its consciousness seemed to be somewhere else. Deep within its mind and soul...

It was dreaming...

A young man with blue hair, clad in his old high school uniform, was alone at the rooftop of a certain school in a certain city. He was sitting at the same place where he usually eats his snacks, or escape gym sessions by snoozing off, and finally, it is where he had spent his final moments with one of the persons who he loved and cared.

It was a place of significance, if he remembered correctly.

That same person was the one responsible for why Death, it's personification itself, was secretly living within him, and also sealed his ill-begotten fate at the Moonlight Bridge- the very bridge where his parents died and was left alone when he was still a child.

Another place of significance within his memories, it seems.

Still, the young man enjoyed the scenery before him; the sky, the city and the ocean, everything was right where he remembered them to be. Truly, lounging about the school rooftop was his favorite part of the day back then. It was where he could spend what time he has alone with himself in peace.

There, he was often seen by his peers with something for his legendary appetite in hand, or was listening to his old mp3 player as it played the tunes that suited him the best while he was still in the rooftop. One particular tune he liked the most; Memories of the School.

"'Sup, Minato" Someone interrupted his peace and approached him

The young man, now identified as Minato, nodded in response to acknowledge the newcomer's presence without turning his head. Minato already knew who that person was, and it was Ryoji Mochizuki- a friend, and also one of the tenants within the Great Seal. Said person sat beside him in silence, and also stared at the city with a serene smile adorning his features.

"Other than being bored to tears lately, nothin' much." Minato drawled, making his friend nod in amusement in response.

"You know..." Ryoji turned his head to the bluenette. "Don't you think it's a bit lonely out here? By yourself?" he pointed out.

Minato sighed lightly. "I'm pretty much used to it." he replied in boredom "And besides, I still enjoy having some time with myself."

"Are you worried about your friends?" Ryoji asked.

The blue-haired student snorted. "I believe that they can handle themselves." he answered and looked at the sky. "With, or without me."

His friend replied with a small frown "What makes you so certain?"

"Well, they... paid me a visit some time before." he replied, making Ryoji raise a brow "All of them...they had determination and resolve on their faces when they saw the seal that I created, and was even willing to hold off Erebus for me... especially her."

"Do you mean Aigis?" Minato nodded.

"You know she has the biggest human heart compared to all of us." Minato then looked down at the city and continued. "I even wonder if she developed a human soul of her own." Ryoji withdrew his frown, and his smile returned.

"Huh... I was right, then." Even though the bluenette maintained his signature blank look on his face, Ryoji could tell he was waiting for him to continue.

"I knew that she, too, is a precious living person." Ryoji's smile developed to a mischievous smirk. "I haven't even told her how pretty hot she was." Minato facepalmed, much to his amusement.

"Hmm... Probably a good thing, too. Knowing her, she would've taken it seriously and jumped right in the pool in the gym." The bluenette punched Ryoji lightly on the shoulder when he mouthed the words 'No Duh'

"Heh, all in good fun. By the way..." the tenant trailed off. "...guess what?"

"...What?"

"She even found her own answer to life. Like you did, Minato. You really did a number on her." Ryoji flashed him with a stupid grin.

"I... see." His blue-haired friend frowned. "Did she..." he trailed off.

Ryoji's, upon realization, eyes widened "Oh no no no, she didn't pay for her life." He waved his hands in front of him frantically, making Minato release a sigh of relief and huff in annoyance at his friend. "It was the complete opposite, actually."

"Why?"

"Life, you see, was... given... to her." he said with utmost seriousness. Minato looked on ahead for a moment to process the words that Ryoji had just said before closing his eyes and humming to himself contentedly.

A few minutes of silence later, Ryoji thought of a new subject.

"The Universe Arcana, the most powerful of all and the only one that could make absolutely anything possible..." Ryoji paused. "Out of all the possibilities you could do, you chose to make yourself as a seal. Why's that?" he asked incredulously.

The bluenette gave Ryoji his best 'nigga please' look and replied "It was the only possible choice I had to make." Minato replied "Besides, Nyx wasn't all evil... Eh... what?" he asked when Ryoji chuckled lightly.

"It's funny, you know." Minato look at him confusedly. The son of Nyx gave him a dismissive wave and continued. "Humans desired for death for eons, and all it needs is a mislead group to jump start a millennium-old wish for mother Nyx to trigger The Fall."

"Well, she did only follow what that Takaya made people believe. That creepy stripper idiot..." Minato shuddered and made gestures with hands as he uttered the word 'idiot'.

"It's not that..." Ryoji started with a hint of sadness in his voice. "You could have stopped the Twelve to exist from the very beginning. You could have prevented all of it. So... why?" the bluenette's mouth moved to respond, but Ryoji continued with his voice getting higher.

"I mean, you could have lived a normal life with your parents, the same goes for your friends. The people who died because of that accursed hour would still be alive right now, and you wouldn't have to be the seal!" he exclaimed. "You could have could have prevented... all of... This!" By the time he realized his mistake, he shot Minato an apologetic look and expected his friend to be outraged. Instead, the bluenette gave him a knowing smile.

"If I were to do that, then I wouldn't have met any of my friends." Ryoji wasn't convinced. "They were the closest thing to me as a family... something I longed for since that day."

"A little-" Minato cut him off, his expression hardened as he continued.

"Selfish of me, I know. But last time I checked, I was just a simple human being that can't change time, much less my own fate, before I made my choice. What's done is done..." Minato paused and shifted to look at the city. "Besides..."

"Hm?"

"I've always wondered what would be my opposite, or 'Other Self' be like." Ryoji gaped in disbelief. "So I thought, 'What would it be like if I met someone that was some happy-go-lucky guy that flirts with anything that moves?' and all that snazzy crap. Who would've thought it would be... well... you? Er, me? I'm confused." The bluenette laughed when Ryoji glared at him for his jab.

"Well, you should try it sometime to know."

"I will... if I ever get the chance."

Jokes aside...

'Your other self...' Ryoji thought "We look the same... even our voices are similar yet our personalities are the complete opposite. Don't you find it strange that Ms. Toriumi didn't ask me if you were somehow my long lost twin brother?"

Minato chuckled a bit at what Ryoji had pointed out.

It WAS strange.

"Anyway... The Universe Arcana was a choice I had to make, and every choice has its benefits and its consequences." the bluenette mused. "The contract... wasn't it you that gave me that?" Minato paused for a moment, then recalled the words that were etched deep into his mind- No... his very soul.

It was a reminder for every choice he had to make, and for everything he would soon face.

"I chooseth this fate, of mine own free will"

Silence once again took its place between the two. But then, Ryoji stood from his seat wordlessly and headed for the door.

"Leaving already?" Minato asked while looking at him.

Ryoji lightly chuckled "I'm always with you." he said without turning to look at Minato. "Thou art I, and I am thou... forgot about that already?" he asked with an upbeat tone.

"I haven't." Minato said with a smile on his face.

"Neither have I..." Ryoji turned the knob and pulled the door open, then paused. "...but thank you for reminding me." and with that, The Messiah's supposed anti-thesis left.

Once again, the young man was alone. But this time, his conversation with his old friend left him thinking as he turned to look at the sky. He observed the clouds as they drifted without a care in the world, and went with the flow of the wind.

He had fear, regret, and doubt when he made his choice to seal Nyx all by himself to save the world. If he was the same before he accepted what fate would befall him, he would've denied that contract in a heartbeat. Heck, why would anyone want that? Shadows, Persona, Tartarus... would someone even exchange a normal life for such a crappy one? Madness!

But now... No more fears, No more regrets, and No more doubts would fog his mind. His friends made a promise to him to live their lives to the fullest. He would never forget those who changed him the way he is now...

Junpei, the guy who gets along with everybody. Well, NEARLY everybody... the girls back at Gekkoukan seem to treat him like a plague. Too bad, they missed out on an overall nice guy that was coincidentally his goofy best-best friend.

Akihiko, the big time boxing-champ, and was also a total train wreck when it comes to the ladies. Minato never really hang out with the senior often. If he did, he would've been totally ripped by the time he reached eighteen.

Ken, the kid with the height-department issues. He was the soon-to-be modern day superhero that still considers milk to be his salvation, and the bane of his existence.

Koromaru, THE best dog. Ever. 'Nuff said.

Mitsuru, the merciless ice queen that possesses a fiery will beneath her cold mask. She was at her cutest moments when it comes to hanging out like casual people, or getting flustered over the simplest of things. Totally worth the executions though... or maybe not.

Yukari, the troubled girl with a troubled past. He could still feel the sting of her slap(Ow!) on his cheeks, and the warmth of her 'friendly' little hug. Minato couldn't understand what goes on within her head, and would probably never will. Forget the secrets of the Universe, women are the greatest mystery of mankind.

Fuuka, the shy cook with the fierce passion for all things good and science-y. Ahh... Bless that little girl and her big heart. He knew he was right to trust her to never tell anybody that he cried the night she gave him new and improved headphones when he broke his old pair.

Aigis... words cannot simply express her.

Even Ryoji, and with the other people that he spent his short time with. Social Link or not.

Their names and the memories he had spent with all of them... forever etched in his heart. From that moment forwards, the troubled Messiah found his resolve for the following years that would come. It was because he was with his friends all the time, and the Universe Arcana- The unique link that he formed- is the sole proof of that.

He found out that...

'All of them... they were here... in my heart... all along.'

Suddenly, the world around him turned black. He felt a cold breeze brush on his face, much like a cold splash of realization. He then saw a door far above from him, one that bore resemblance to that of the Velvet Room. He felt like was supposed to go through that door, and he wante- needed to reach for it.

The moment he raised his hand, a yellowish tunnel slowly appeared around his form, and it was like the inside a soundless tornado. At the walls of the tunnel, he saw the memories from the time when he entered the dorm of his club, to the moment where he spent his last moments with Aigis.

Then, a voice echoed and broke the silence around him. It was familiar... welcoming. "Don't worry, I will always be by your side, protecting you..."

A small smile slowly appeared on his face.

'...and you never failed that promise, not even once...'

He reached for the door when he came close and the moment he touched it, the world was filled with light.

The consciousness of the figure returned to the seal after that. With its new found resolve, it would guard the door for eternity if it had to against the embodiment of human malice, Erebus. It would forever wait patiently until the day everyone realized that Death wasn't the answer...

'Time never awaits...It delivers us all to the same end...

Beyond the beaten path of life, it matters not who you are...'

Until then... it would keep the dark being from ever reaching its goal. It would endure every putrid touch that Erebus would give to try and break him to free the being behind the golden door. And remain to be the border between the Life and Death of every soul that was unaware of the danger that they were spared with.

and all it wished in return... was for every being it saved to never suffer through the same fate that it never wanted, but chose nonetheless.

Even in this very day... it waits for everyone for their own Journey to find their own Answer in life.

The End.