Symphony of the Souls
Written by Prince Arjuna
"This is a story of those whose legends being sung."
Chapter 01: The Dark Prelude
The Great Seal (time takes no hold in this place)
In front of the great seal, a barrier between human malice and the mother of all Shadows, a figure came into being. It was a young man in white shirt and black pants whose skin was paler than the color of a full moon. His blue eyes were looking at a single figure in the middle of the barrier, the source of power of the seal. He smiled, allowing his long, yellow scarf wrapped around his neck to billow despite the lack of wind in the dimension outside of human's reach.
"It's been decreasing lately…" the young man spoke. His voice sounded gentle and soft, almost apologetic. He was gazing at the figure in the middle of the barrier, a statue of another young man, being crucified and condemned to hold the humanity from reaching Nyx. The manifestation of human malice, Erebus would try to break through the seal so it could reach Nyx, the manifestation of death. "It's been a while since the last assault from Erebus…"
The young man, a fragment of Nyx, the harbinger of death himself, the Avatar of Nyx, and the one who would rather call himself Mochizuki Ryoji was speaking to the statue, as if the statue itself was alive. Of course, the statue was alive, containing the soul of a young mortal who sacrificed himself for the good of humanity. The one who had found the reason of his life; protecting others, the young Arisato Minato died a hero, a messiah, a savior, a human. He left those he cherished, knowing that he would keep humanity from destroying itself with his own life. For some, he was a hero, but for everyone else, he was just a young dead man.
And he never regretted it.
Ryoji continued to stare at the statue of Minato, waiting for a reply. Knowing that a statue wouldn't be able to speak, the young man just sighed. "There was another…" he spoke. "There was another Fool just like you, saving your world from destruction. He lifted the fog of deceit and falseness, taking down a goddess herself. And unlike you, he lived. He lived to see the outcomes of his labors. In a way, he did help you. By lifting the fog from the hearts of men, there were fewer people who wished for death. That's why Erebus didn't come to you so often now…"
While a statue couldn't make an expression, Ryoji knew what Minato was feeling. He knew it, because once, he was Minato, and Minato was Ryoji. When Death was sealed into Minato's being when he was a child, Death tried to adapt with his psyche before being fully molded into his own personality. Minato became Death himself for ten years. He was a dead man walking, carrying the manifestation of Death within him.
"Are you… jealous?" Ryoji asked. "That Fool lived while you're here, being a block of cold stone," he chuckled at that joke. "Well, I guess there's no need for that. I bring news…"
"There is no need to tell me, Ryoji…"
Ryoji looked back and saw something materializing into being. Another young man, clad in familiar black blazer over his white shirt was standing lazily behind Ryoji with his both hands in his pockets. His metallic blue eyes were looking at Ryoji before he gave him a curt nod.
"You're a man full with surprise, Minato…" Ryoji said, chuckling. "Tell me, does the power of Universe grant unlimited possibilities for you?"
"To tell you the truth, Erebus has been weakened by the action of this Fool. He lifted the fog of hesitation from the hearts of people, allowing them to see through fabrications and lies, therein enabling them to see the truth. Most people have begun to understand that death isn't the answer. With Erebus weakened, I am able to use my power to materialize myself…" the young man, Minato said.
"I see…" Ryoji mused. "So, your sacrifice was a part of the gambit of the fate, isn't it? But, it seems that there will be another task for you to do. With hesitation within the hearts of people gone, humanity has to confront directly to their greatest nemesis…" he said darkly. "They have to face their own darkness…"
"Indeed…" Minato nodded. "And such thing will be my task." Minato sighed. "Well, I really can't help it. My status as a savior of humanity demands me to save humans from destroying themselves. Maybe Junpei's right. It sucks to be me…" he deadpanned.
"You got that right, Minato," Ryoji grinned before he was engulfed with azure light. As the light faded, a gigantic, draconic creature took his place. The creature wielded a long, barbed sword as golden steam kept coming out from its mouth. The creature wore a cape made of metallic coffins, which bore the marks of death itself. The creature, Thanatos spoke in eerie, rustic voice. "Shall I accompany you?"
"Your assistance is fully welcome, Thanatos," Minato said. "I want to see this Fool with my own eyes."
Tatsumi Port Island (8 December 2016)
"Hello there, young man," said a fortune teller to a silver-haired young man. "I can see that you are an interesting lad. Come here for a bit, young man. I am intrigued to see your future…"
The young man, a twenty two-year-old college student, Seta Souji just looked at the fortune teller questioningly. From the way the fortune teller dressed in and androgynous voice, he couldn't tell the fortune teller's gender was. The fortune teller was sitting near a fountain at Paulownia Mall, ignoring the occasional glances from passers-by.
Seta Souji studied at a local college which was located at the artificial island. It had been cold outside, so he had to wear his winter attire. Deciding that it would be good to go around the city for a while, he went to Paulownia Mall, meeting some people and such. There, he met this mysterious fortune teller. Souji felt something oddly familiar from this fortune teller, but he couldn't really tell what.
"Come, I'd like to see your face," the fortune teller spoke in silky voice. "Don't be so shy. It's only for a moment…"
Nodding hesitantly, Souji went closer to the fortune teller. The androgynous fortune teller chuckled for a bit before a slender hand touched the young man's hand.
"Hmm… how interesting," the fortune teller spoke as he examined Souji's palm. "There's nothing in this world that is beyond your reach. The power within you is akin to the world itself. No wonder I can sense such unlimited possibilities within your eyes," the fortune teller looked directly at Souji's eyes.
Souji smiled, remembering his time at Inaba, meeting people and making friends. His ties with them had given him the light to venture through such foggy, dangerous realm which was called human's hearts. His bonds with people strengthened him. The closer he was with other people, the stronger he could get. "I remembered someone telling me that," the young man spoke, remembering his encounter with a mysterious yet kindly old man in a realm between dream and reality, mind and matter.
"But, I am afraid that while the possibilities are limitless, there are more that await you in the near future. Whether they are good or bad, nobody knows…" the fortune teller said in forlorn tone. "I wish you a good luck, fine young man. May the moon shine brighter for your future…" he said before he stood up. "Farewell, Seta Souji. Once you end the trial, we shall meet again, under different circumstances, no less…" the fortune teller giggled before he went towards the people, disappearing within the crowd.
Souji was a little confused. The fortune teller sounded and acted similarly like the mysterious Igor, the master of the Velvet Room, the one who provided assistance to him years ago while facing his trial. He got a feeling that something big was going to happen in the near future, and it would be something that was beyond human comprehension.
"Nah, no use thinking about it too much," the silver-haired young man just shrugged the feeling. With the power of the World within his soul, there's nothing he was afraid of. Fate might have decided to give him another task as a chosen one, preventing humanity from destroying themselves. With the fog of deceit and falseness being lifted from the hearts of men, many things had changed around the world. Conflicts between countries were resolved peacefully, people were changing; the world was changing positively. It's hard to believe that he was the one who contributed to this kind of change.
Right now, all he wanted to do was to finish his study, get a decent job and get married to a woman he loved. He wanted to live his life with the one he loved the most in this peaceful world, a world he once saved. While thinking about the woman he loved, his cell-phone rang.
Souji smiled before he took out the phone. It was his girlfriend, calling him.
"Hello…" Souji spoke through the phone. He paused for a moment before he said, "Happy birthday, Yukiko…"
He heard a gasp. He smirked.
"Y-you didn't call!" said a complaining voice of Amagi Yukiko. Souji chuckled.
"Sorry, I was busy doing part-time jobs," Souji said apologetically. "There's no way I can forget my girlfriend's birthday, you know?" he said, grinning. His heart was fluttering with happiness as he heard the gentle voice of Amagi's heiress. "So, what's up, Yukiko?" he asked.
"I-it's nothing! W-we're just having a party, but it doesn't feel right without you," the girl told him. Souji just smiled, feeling a bit guilty for not be able to return to the place he truly belonged. Inaba, a place where he considered a true home, a place where everything felt perfect for him, he thought about settling down there with Yukiko after marrying her.
"I'm sorry…" Souji said. "I'll make up for that, okay?"
"Promise…?" Yukiko asked bashfully.
"I promise, my love…" Souji said before snickering. He could imagine Yukiko's face getting redder as he said that. "And send my regards to others as well, okay?" he told Yukiko.
"Yes, I'll remember that, Souji-kun," Yukiko said. From her tone, Souji knew that the heiress was smiling.
"Thank you, Yukiko. I love you."
"Love you too…"
Souji sighed before he put his cell-phone back into his pocket. It was a blessing for him to be loved, to be able to love, to know, to live. Once, he thought that he was nothing but an empty shell, a mere puppet that moved according to strings that were called relationships. But he was wrong, utterly wrong. His bonds with others had helped him in defeating a goddess, stripping lies and deceptions from the hearts of men, and at the same time, creating a world in his soul. He was a man with unlimited possibilities, and there was nothing in this world that he couldn't achieve.
Sighing, he continued to walk, looking at the people around him. While he was walking, he noticed someone, a person. His metallic gray eyes met a gaze from a pair of bluish gray eyes. It was a young man around his age, clad in black coat. He seemed to be a bit slouching while having both his hands in his pockets. Those bluish gray eyes were lazily gazing at him. The young man seemed to be a bit out of place with his strange getup and his strange posture, but the most striking feature of this man that caught Souji's attention was his blue, shiny hair.
His hair seemed to cover one of his eyes. Just looking at this particular young man reminded him of one of his friends, Shirogane Naoto. Souji once asked her about her hair, whether she dyed it or not. Naoto told him that her hair wasn't dyed, instead it was genetic. She told him that she got that hair color from her father.
The young man continued to look at Souji before he nodded. Then he spoke something, but Souji couldn't hear it. After that, the young man turned around, disappearing into the crowd.
He felt something strange while looking at that young man, but he shrugged off that feeling before he continued onward. He decided to give friend of his a surprise visit. He went towards a flower shop where a blonde girl was tending some flowers.
The girl looked like a foreigner, but the way she moved and stood looked very Japanese-like. She's dressed in dark-blue jacket while arranging flowers on display. Then, she noticed Souji before she stopped, turning at him and smiled.
"Ah, it's so good seeing you, Souji-kun," the girl said, greeting Souji politely while giving him a sweet smile.
"It's so good seeing you too, Ai-san," Souji said. He'd known Ai since he moved into this place. She was two-year older than him and she always helped him in many things. "As usual, good work," he said, noticing the arranged flowers.
"Thank you so much," Ai replied. Souji looked at Ai's doll-like face. Her skin was slightly pale, but the girl always looked happy, as if living was one of the happiest moments in her life. "Anyways, how's it been?" Ai asked.
"Nothing much," Souji shrugged. "How about you?" he returned the question.
Ai just chuckled before she sighed. "There's nothing special either…" she said, bending down to pick up another pot of flowers and put it on the display. "Just having the ones arriving," she said, pointing at the displayed flowers.
Souji nodded, noticing them. "You really love flowers, aren't you?"
Ai just smiled as she touched a sunflower. "Indeed…" she nodded. "I really love flowers. Seeing their beauty gives us hope. And hope gives us will to live," she said before she paused. "I want to see happiness around me. I want to see a smile on everyone's face. I want to show that this life is worth living and the life of every living thing is significant," then she chuckled. "I guess I'm just rambling, aren't I?"
"No, it's okay," Souji said understandingly. "I'm happy to hear that from you, Ai-san. Yes, our life is significant, I agree to that," he said in agreement. "Every single one of us is a precious living thing…"
Ai chuckled. "I somehow remember someone who said that to me before," she said, looking at Souji with her bright blue eyes.
"A boyfriend, perhaps?" a mischievous grin curved on Souji's lips.
Ai shook her head. "No…" she replied. "Just a friend, an important friend of mine…" she looked up, staring into the sky longingly. Her blue, shiny eyes reflected the color of the sky like a mirror. "I used to hate him, but then…" she chuckled before he continued. "Things happened and now, I consider him as my friend, a really dear friend."
"I see…" Souji mused. "That's good to hear, then."
As both Ai and Souji were talking to each other, a pair of eyes was looking at them intently. It was a dark-haired young man, clad in fur-trimmed trench-coat. Then, he smirked maliciously before he muttered to himself.
"Target found…"
Suddenly, the surroundings changed, at least for both Souji and Ai. Both were surprised to see their surroundings darkened and people vanished.
"W-w-what's happening?" the silver-haired young man exclaimed. Ai's expression changed as she noticed the change of their surroundings.
"Souji-kun, please step aside!" Ai shouted as she stepped forward. "I know it's you…" she looked at the direction of that dark-haired young man. "What's your intention?" she asked.
"My, so you do notice me after all?" the young man smirked.
"Do not play dumb to me," Ai said threateningly before the earphone she wore let out a whirring noise. "I already noticed you since yesterday and you had been stalking me ever since. And now you want to harm my friend? I won't allow it!"
"Hahahaha, you're so fun to watch, Aigis! It makes my stomach hurts!" the young man cackled madly. "Now, you're in disadvantage! You won't be able to defeat me in this place! You're in my domain!" his grin widened.
'Ai' just smiled grimly. "We shall see…" she said before she was surrounded by azure aura. Then, an ethereal figure appeared above her. It was a woman clad in battle toga and aegis, the shoulder guard. The woman wielded a spear and a round shield with the face which resembled a gorgon on it. "You shall meet your end at the tip of Athena's spear…"
"Oh, so this is Persona, huh?" the young man looked at Athena admirably. "We shall see, then!"
Souji was confused as he saw Ai's Persona. "W-what in the world?" he thought to himself. How someone like her could have a Persona, he wondered. As he looked at the majestic woman above Ai, suddenly he heard a voice inside his head.
"Thou art I…"
The Original God stirred from his slumber.
To Be Continued
Note: This is Prince Arjuna, and you're reading the reimagining of The Darkness within Us, which is renamed Symphony of the Souls. I hope you like this and don't forget to state your opinions about this story via reviews. Thank you.
Prince Arjuna (2012)