~ Prologue: First Step into Darkness ~

I knew from that day on that I had changed. I didn't know what had changed within me exactly, but who I was and what I could have been died in that fire. In its wake, it left behind a shell of a person. Even when I looked at this person in the mirror, I couldn't recognise her.

I awoke at the hospital... I want to say a week later, but I honestly can't remember. It has been such a long time now. I can vaguely remember what the doctors told me. That my parents died, and my aunt was on her way. While I wasn't a corpse, I was pretty close to being one.

My body felt numb, and I couldn't feel anything on the inside. Joy, sorrow, amusement, love. My soul was hollow, and devoid of that which made me human.

A few days after I woke up, an unfamiliar woman entered my room. The sound of her shoes clicking against the floor drew my attention away from the white, featureless ceiling. She stopped near my bed and got on her knees to look at me. A brown-haired woman with blue eyes.

"Hello. You might not remember me, but I'm Nagisa Mizushima, your aunt. I'm your mother's sister, but I think you can guess that... I know I'm dropping this on you so suddenly, but when you're released from the hospital... Would you like to come live with me, and be my child?"

My lifeless eyes lit up slightly at the question.

"It's near the coast, and you would have to move, but I think it would be better than being put in an orphanage. So... what do you say?"

I couldn't remember much of my aunt. I think I was a toddler when I first met her, but I remembered my mother describing her as 'unreliable' and 'good-for-nothing'. Affectionately, of course.

There was no reason for me not to go with Auntie Nagisa, so I slowly nodded. Her eyes lit up with joy and a bright smile spilled over her face.

"Really? Oh, that's wonderful! I-I'll go get everything ready! I'll be back as soon as I can!"

She left the room hastily. I remained in that hospital for another half-week before I was released. Auntie Nagisa was there to pick me up, and help me to the train. While I was still in the hospital, she had taken care of all the adoption paperwork. By the time we made it out of the city, we were a family.

My Auntie Nagisa was officially my mother.

She lived on her own, in a small house just five minutes away from the seawall. The house always did seem a little too spacious for one person though, so I think she was glad to have me there. I was really happy as well, though it took me a while to be able to express that properly.

For the first few weeks, I had to get used to this strange new environment. I'd never been this far out of the city before, and the quietness of it all was new and kinda scary. There were other kids around, but none of them really spoke to me. To some, I was the strange girl with the weird coloured eyes. So I spent most of my days sitting on the seawall, gazing out at that endless horizon.

I didn't mind it really. After a while, I couldn't imagine ever going back to Tokyo. Those loud busy streets and crowds of people. It was just unthinkable after spending so much time near the sea, breathing in that salty air.

One day, just when I was content to spend the rest of my days alone – save for my mother – I felt something poke my face as I looked out at the sea. It felt soft, but it pushed with enough force to move my head.

Huh...?

I looked towards the source of the disturbance. A girl with brown hair and eyes stared at me curiously. When I made eye contact with her accidentally, I turned and looked away. I was quite shy as a kid. I couldn't work up the nerve to talk to anybody there, which may have been a reason why I didn't have that many friends at first.

The first words she said to me however made me turn to look at her again.

"Your eyes are so pretty..."

That was the start of it all for me. Short, mostly one-sided chats became energetic conversations. Lazy days on the seawall became adventures around the small town. And soon enough, she followed me back home where Auntie Nagisa welcomed her with open arms.

That hollowness inside me was slowly filled with joy. And it was all thanks to her.

As our childhoods gave way to the pressures of being a teenager, we had stuck by each other's side. People had often said we were joined by the hip, and practically inseparable. Even when I fell ill and ended up in the hospital, she refused to leave until I was better. That took about a week, and true to her word, she was with me every day.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she would ask worriedly. And with a smile, I replied.

"Yes, I am. The doctors said it was a routine procedure, and it went flawlessly. I should be out of here soon."

Though I told her this as calmly and reassuringly as I could, she still looked nervous. Eventually, she smiled back.

"If you say you're fine, then I'll believe you."

Her smile was captivating, and with the setting sun shining in from the window behind her, she looked like an angel. I was struck speechless. Eventually, I felt something poke my face.

Huh?

I was brought back to reality and saw her pull her finger back. She giggled.

"Are you sure you're okay? You were spacing out there for quite a while."

I blushed and looked away.

"S-Sorry..."

She took my hand in hers, making me turn to look at her. My cheeks only turned redder at the close proximity.

S-So close...

"You don't have to apologise. You're probably just tired." She stood up. "You want something to drink?"

It took me a second to answer.

"J-Just water, please."

She nodded.

"Got it. I'll be back in a sec." She walked to the door, and turned to look at me once more. "...I'm glad you're okay."

She left the room, her sweet words drifting in the air.

Perhaps that's when I began to realise it. How I felt about her... Perhaps those feelings had always been there, and it just took a little growing up to recognise them for what they were.

Even as a kid, her happiness was all I cared about. I'd started training in the art of the blade at a young age, just to ensure this. I was considered a master by the time I entered high school. Even though I won many competitions, I didn't care much for the trophies, the awards, the fame.

While those were nice, and I took some pride in them, the real award for me was the knowledge that I had the strength to protect the one most dearest to me.

...Even after some time had passed, I still couldn't believe it. This tale that I had embarked on. It's strange, it's convoluted, it can't easily be explained on a single sheet of paper... What it was though was unforgettable. I don't think I'll ever forget it.

This was but one tale out of many. A tale that I didn't become a part of until near the end... No. That isn't quite right. My story in this world didn't begin until his ended.

His story began on a cool April night. On an almost empty train...


It was a chilly night near the beginning of April. A far more innocent time, if you could call it that. I was sat on a cold, metallic seat, staring out the window as the train took me to my destination at a brisk pace. I was bound for Iwatodai, a place I was quite familiar with.

I was heading there as a transfer student, part of some exchange program or whatever. I didn't know too much about the details.

The train was practically empty, save for myself. No one to keep me company, except for my thoughts. And it was... rather boring.

Those aimless thoughts were broken by the light rumble of my phone ringing in my pocket. I took it out after a little digging around and pushed the receive button. I held it up to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked somewhat drowsily, scratching my cheek while doing so.

"Finally!" that familiar female voice yelled from the other end. It was slightly distorted from the fact that it was coming from my phone but I recognised it easily enough. "I've been trying to get a hold of you for so long now! Did you fall asleep again?"

"You certainly have a unique way of greeting someone, Hitomi," I sarcastically replied. The girl on the other side of the phone was Hitomi Tono. A childhood friend of mine who I first met during my time in the orphanage.

"Bah, it's your fault for not picking up sooner! It takes two to make a phone call, after all."

"True, true."

You may be wondering who the name of our dashing young hero here is. Well, maybe not dashing, but he was young. That young lad there was me. As for me... It's a complicated story, that is. That boy had gone by many names; never knowing who he truly was until that day.

I know who I am, but revealing that too early would give away the surprise. And I'm quite fond of telling stories. So for now, just call me Kaz. I knew another Kaz actually, but he isn't really that important.

"Listen, Ross; are you okay with transferring to that school?" Hitomi asked hesitantly. "I know that Iwatodai isn't exactly the best source of memories for you."

"Yeah, of course I'm fine," I said confidently, but on the inside I knew I was nervous about returning to the city. I stood up and turned to look out the window.

In between the many lit-up buildings, I caught sight of the Moonlight Bridge. A pretty big landmark of the city, and an important one. I promptly turned away from the window when I saw it.

I see they've repaired the damage...

"Say, Hitomi," I changed the subject of the conversation very quickly, "do you think everything made it over alright?"

"Oh yeah, totally," she replied cheerfully. "I oversaw the packing myself. I knew you were in a hurry, so I sent it over. Should be at the dorm you were assigned to by now. Just... do me a favour and don't go an blow up the school... again."

"And how was I supposed to know that sneezing would cause an explosion?" I asked her. "Not my fault those bottles weren't clearly labelled. Anyway, I have to go. I'm just about to arrive at the station."

"Alright, I'll talk to you later... I miss you," she said softly. After a brief moment of surprise, I smiled.

"Yeah... Me too."

I disconnected the call. Reaching up to the railing above me, I grabbed my backpack before walking over to the train doors. The train slowed down to practically a snail's pace before stopping completely. I stepped out onto the train platform when the doors slid open. Taking a look around, I saw that the station was devoid of people.

I wasn't surprised in the slightest. I had gotten to the station later than expected, after all. My eyes eventually landed on the huge analogue clock hanging above me.

Wow, is it really that late? It's almost midnight...

I watched as the seconds hand ticked closer to the very top. And when the clock struck twelve, my entire world changed. The environment around me was twisted and corrupted. The station and everywhere else darkened and took on a sickly green hue as all lights and technology switched off.

When I noticed that the clock wasn't moving, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone once more. No matter what buttons I pressed, the screen wouldn't light up.

This is certainly strange... It shouldn't change my plans though. Now, which way to the dorm...?

Pulling out the map I received from the owners of the orphanage when they explained the transfer, I traced along the red line detailing the path to the dorm and started following the directions given. As I walked down the street, more strange details about the twisted environment stood out to me; such as the coffins that lined the pavements, the red water that I walked through, and the moon up above, which was coloured that same green hue.

I've certainly seen my fair share of weird stuff while I was in Tokyo, but this certainly trumps all of them. What is with this water? It looks more like blood—Oh God, it is actually blood. Blocking THAT from my mind.

I continued walking along the path shown on the map until I finally got to the end of the line: the dormitory. The place where I would be spending the rest of my year.

Letting out a relieved sigh, I walked up to the door, placed a hand on the handle and pulled it down.

Pushing the door open, I entered the building, walking into a darkened front hall. I figured that the blackout had affected the dorm as well, so I wasn't too surprised to find that I couldn't see even five feet into the room. I opened my mouth to call out for anyone that might have been awake, but I was expected.

"You're here. I've been waiting a long time for you."

I turned towards the sound of the voice and saw a boy standing behind the counter. He couldn't have been any older than thirteen. He wore striped clothing, had a very pale complexion, blue eyes, black hair and a small mole under his left eye.

He looked up at me with a small smile that, not gonna lie, managed to unnerve me a little. I managed to hide it well though.

"Sorry..." I apologised to him. "The train was late. I couldn't help it." The boy kept that smile on his face as he responded.

"You're here now. That's all that matters." He raised his hand and, to my confusion, snapped his fingers. "Now if you want to proceed. Please sign your name there." He pointed out the red folder that wasn't there the last time I looked. Confusing matters even more, the folder opened up on its own, almost like it was reacting to the will of the boy. "It's a contract," he said in response to my confused expression. "Don't worry. All it says is that you'll accept full responsibility for your actions. You know... the usual stuff."

Normal, I suppose. A bunch of teenagers living under one roof without supervision; gotta have some insurance.

I picked up a pen that sat next to the folder and placed it on the dotted line. I was about to sign my name when I noticed something strange that was written on the contract itself. An oddly worded sentence compared to the rest of the document; thicker than the rest of the words and was placed at the bottom, right in the centre.

'I chooseth this fate, of mine own free will.'

Fate, huh...? What has fate ever done for us, except screw us over...?

Though I had my reservations about it, something told me that I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. I signed it with the name I was given at the time.

'Ross'... 'McHardy'...There we go.

The boy looked over the contract before closing the folder.

"Nothing can escape time," he told me, that calm smile still on his features. "It delivers us all to the same end. Even you, with all the power you have, are still subject to its laws and its inevitable outcome."

Capping off the series of strange events that happened to me that night, he held up the folder so I could see it with my own eyes and made it disappear into think air. He then slowly walked back into the shadows.

"And so it begins..."

With those words hanging in the air, the boy disappeared. Leaving me in the darkness, alone and confused, I tried to make sense of what happened. I quickly realised that it was a futile effort. Even still, the boy's last words to me repeated themselves in my mind.

What is he talking about...? Time is a cruel mistress, I know, but why tell me that?

Knowing that I wouldn't find any answers just standing there, I opened my mouth to call out to someone again, but once again I was beaten to the punch.

"Who's there?!" a female voice yelled. I turned my head in the direction it came from and saw someone who would become one of the most important people in my life, staring at me from the edge of the shadows.

She had brown hair and eyes, similar to my own. The pink cardigan and red ribbon she wore stood out in the darkness. Her frightened face was also easily noticeable, even in that blackness. We both stared at each other, unsure of what the other was thinking. As my eyes drifted downward though, I noticed something that immediately set off alarm bells in my mind.

A holster was wrapped around her leg near her thigh and her hand was hovering over it. A twitchy person with a weapon was never a good sign. I tensed up, ready to jump out of the way in case she did something drastic. Eventually, the tension became too much and the girl tried to pull the gun out of her holster. Before things could escalate further, another female voice interrupted us.

"Takeba, wait!"

The silence was so thick you'd need the sharpest sword to cut through it. I tried to see further into the darkness to find where the voice came from, but it was simply too difficult. That problem was quickly alleviated when the lights came back on. I was able to get a good look at the two women in the room.

The girl with the gun, in addition to the aforementioned items she wore, also had a black miniskirt on and a heart choker around her neck. The woman who broke up the tense air surrounding the area had red hair and red eyes – a rarity, that's for sure. She wore a white blouse, a red ribbon that was slightly bigger than the girl called Takeba's, a black skirt and black knee high boots. The two girls walked over to me once they had seen it was safe; looking a lot calmer than before.

"I didn't think you would arrive so late," the red-haired girl stated, looking me over with a curious stare.

"Sorry," I apologised for the second time that night. "I couldn't help it."

"It's quite alright," she said, smiling at me. "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm."

I recognised that name but I had a little trouble figuring out where I knew it from.

"Kirijo..." I tapped my chin in thought. "I know that name. You're not famous, are you?"

"I wouldn't exactly say that," Mitsuru replied. "You might know 'Kirijo Electronics'. Manufacturer of technology of all kinds, including mobiles phones." I thought it sounded familiar so I took out my phone and looked at the back. Sure enough, there was something printed near the bottom that said 'Developed by Kirijo Electronics'.

Huh, small world after all.

"Who's this?" Takeba asked Mitsuru, and she provided the answer before I could open my mouth.

"This is Ross McHardy," Mitsuru told her. "He's a transfer student. It was a last minute decision to assign him here. He'll eventually be moved to a room in the boy's dorm."

"...Is it okay for him to be here?" Takeba asked her worriedly.

"I guess we'll see," Mitsuru replied before turning to look at me, her face as neutral as it could be. "This is Yukari Takeba. She'll be a junior this spring, just like you."

Yukari was looking extremely nervous. What she nearly did was clearly weighing heavily on her mind.

"...Hey," she said, trying not to make eye contact. She was frightened and being antagonistic wouldn't do any good, so I thought not to ask about the fact that she carried what pretty much equated to a gun. Even if she weren't jumpy, I wouldn't have thought to be antagonistic to begin with. I was too kind-hearted.

"Nice to meet you," I told her with a small smile. She seemed surprised to hear me say that, in light of what nearly happened.

"Um... Y-Yeah." She shook off the shock and returned the smile I gave her with one of her own. "Nice to meet you too."

"It's getting late," Mitsuru pointed out, "so you should get some rest. Your room is on the second floor, at the end of the hallway. Your things should already be there."

"Oh, I'll show you the way. Follow me," Yukari said and motioned for me to follow her. I walked with her until we got near the stairs, when Mitsuru spoke up again.

"Your name sounds foreign... If I may ask, where did you get it from?" she asked. I had to pause and think on it for a moment. The question of where my name came from never really crossed my mind. There was only a few things I was certain of.

"Don't really know." I shrugged my shoulders. "I had it as long as I can remember. It's Scottish, I know that much, but beyond that, I really don't know."

That was all I said before Yukari led me up the stairs to the second floor. We followed the path down the corridor until we reached the very last door.

"Well, here it is." Yukari pointed out the door. "Pretty easy to remember, huh? Since it's right at the end of the hall. Oh yeah, make sure you don't lose your key or you'll never hear the end of it." I nodded my head.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"So, any more questions before I go?" I thought that perhaps she would have more information to give about that strange moon coffin time thingy whatever. I am clearly trying to find a good way to describe it without giving its proper name away. Ignoring my brief moment of foolishness, what I thought was that she probably knew something about... that time. So I decided to see if I could get more info. Starting with what that kid had me do.

"Yeah, actually," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "What was that contract about? Damn freaky kid had me sign it."

"Huh? What contract...?" I could tell from the look on her face that she really did have no clue what I was talking about.

I smell a rat... Something weird is happening here... I doubt she knows anything so I'll drop it for now.

"Um... Can I ask you something?" I managed to catch her ask amidst my train of thought and nodded. "On your way from the station, was everything okay?"

Alright, something weird is DEFINATELY happening here... Better not say anything stupid. Don't want to make a bad first impression.

"Yeah, everything was fine," I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "A little cold though. Should have brought a jacket." I looked down at my attire; a simple black t-shirt and jeans. Not very smart for dealing with the cold April winds, I know. Yukari seemed convinced by my answer and nodded.

"I see... Well, I better get going." She turned and started to walk down the hall. She stopped suddenly and turned back round to look at me. "Um... I'm sure you still have other questions, but let's save them for later, okay? Good night."

"Good night," I said, letting out a yawn as I did so. I watched as Yukari walked back down the hallway and down the stairs out of my sight. Turning to face my temporary home, I took hold of the handle and gave it a twist, opening the door.

The room was in complete darkness. My hands groped the walls to find the light switch, which I managed to find after some fumbling about. A nice collection of boxes in a variety of sizes were stacked up against the wall.

Taking a good look around, I also saw a mini-fridge (which I was pretty happy about), a TV, a sink with a mirror hanging above it, a large table which provided a good view of the outside world from the window, a bed with a small table beside it and a large shelf bolted against the wall above the boxes. I sighed, knowing that the worse part about moving was the unpacking that would come with it.

Ugh, not looking forward to that... Saving it for tomorrow. Sleep time!

Throwing my bag onto the floor beside my bed – it didn't have any fragile stuff in it anyway – and turning off the lights, I walked towards the bed and let myself fall back into its warm, soft embrace.

Ah, sweet soft bed. You understand me. You don't try to kill me...

Before I let my eyes close, I had one last thought on my mind, not knowing of what I was going to get myself into during that fateful year.

Here for an entire year... Hope it's a good one.


~ Author's Note ~

Hello there, and welcome to what is sure to be a crazy experience, for both you and me. Now, to clarify something here, because I know that this kind of story may not be everyone's cup of tea, coffee, and kind of hot or clod beverage you may drink.

You see, one of my goals through this story was to deconstruct the very concept of Self-Insert Fan Fiction: a shall of a character bearing my own name and (somewhat) personality and slotted in place of the Protagonist and goes through the adventure they would have gone through.

The Shin Megami Tensei series is the perfect series to do this sort of story as you can name the main hero after yourself and make your own choices based on what you would have done. I took it one step further though: by having the main character's name itself be a lie. The end result could be predictable, but if I caught your attention somehow and you're intrigued by what I'm going to do with this, read on and find out what mysteries will be uncovered and what answers will be found.

And make sure to leave a review telling me if there are any mistakes I need to correct or what you liked about it, and follow or favourite (maybe even do both) this story if you've enjoyed what you've read. And don't worry, not every chapter will have an essay of an Author's Note at the end. See you next time.

Next Time – Chapter 1: Encounter with a Phantom