The Choice
Minato Arisato casted his glassy blue eyes onto the white cement block as the pale half-moon shone weakly, illuminating the aforementioned structure with its ethereal glow.
Gekkoukan High School.
That would be the name of the building he was staring at now. It was your usual, typical Japanese High School, and it was also the school that Minato, as well as the rest of the S.E.E.S. members attended. An outsider would consider Gekkoukan High just about as normal as any school could be. As a matter of fact, even it's students perceived it as such: A rather prestigious but otherwise typical cluster of buildings.
But Minato knew better.
Gekkoukan High might seem mundane with its immaculate walls, beautiful walkways and malicious-looking school gates. But it was a nothing more than a mere ruse, a veneer to mask the school's true nature… just like a persona.
"Persona," Minato whispered as the word flashed across his mind. Akihiko heard him and turned to look at him, an expression of mild perplexity etched onto his face.
"What was that, Minato?" Akihiko asked softly, concerned. The barely-audible volume of his voice was hell on Minato's ears. Minato had his clip-on earpieces on and the song he was listening to was from the rock genre, and the fact that the lead singer was virtually yelling into his ears didn't help one bit.
Contorting his head, Minato shifted his gaze into Akihiko's. Smiling weakly, Minato shook his head and said, "It's nothing, Senpai."
Shrugging, Akihiko scratched his head impatiently. "How much longer, Mitsuru?"
Mitsuru Kirijo raised her eyebrow and peeped at her wristwatch. "Thirty more seconds, Akihiko. It won't be long."
"Of course it won't be long!" Junpei Iori proclaimed loudly as he smote his chest with his fist proudly, "not when the great Iori is here to accompany you guys!"
Rolling her eyes, Yukari Takeba shook her head in annoyance. "Shut up, stupei! The only thing your presence is offering would be obnoxiousness!"
"Hey! That's my ego you're hurting! No fair!" Junpei complained indignantly.
"Oh quit your yammering. You'd better be of some use later. I heard from Mitsuru-Senpai that there's another one of those super-tough shadows on one of the next few floors so you'd better get herpes out a.s.a.p. should we run into it!"
"Urgh! It's Hermes, Yuka-tan! Hermes! H-E-R-M-E-S. You know, like the Roman God," Junpei retorted, evidently irked by the mispronunciation of his beloved alter ego.
Smirking to himself Minato reached for the cold metal hilt at his left. Giving a small tug, he unsheathed his blade slightly, admiring the shiny glint of the metal blade as the moonlight cascaded off it. Reassured, he sheathed the sword and felt the leather casing that was strapped to his right. He unbuckled the clasp and pulled out an object that was vividly reminiscent of a gun. Grasping the evoker in his hand, he shook it, the familiar weight of the pistol-esque gadget bringing a sense of tranquility to him. It was a usual ritual he usually did just before midnight arrived. The feel of the two weapons in his hands never failed to inject him with the courage and cool-headedness he required.
"Ten seconds left," Mitsuru, announced as she gripped the handlebars of her motorcycle.
Minato looked up and nodded, placing his Evoker back into its holster.
Akihiko grinned grimly and balled his fists. He had just recovered from his ribcage injury, sustained a few months ago when the dorm was attacked and this would be his first time fighting after a long stint of impassiveness. Minato could tell he was itching to land a punch on a shadow. It was written all over his face.
Yukari and Junpei finally stopped arguing and they looked ahead, eyes trained onto the ghostly building of Gekkoukan High apprehensively.
Minato looked ahead and gritted his teeth in anticipation.
"Three, two, one…"
At the exact moment, two things occurred at once: One, the song Minato was listening to got cut off just as the singer was reaching the climax of the piece. Two, the world grew dimmer as lights in the buildings within the vicinity were all shut off instantly, as if someone had thrown a switch. The glowing semicircle that was hovering in the air assumed a shade of phantasmal-green, pulsating ominously in the eerie darkness.
I hate it when my songs get disrupted just when I'm getting to the good part, Minato complained silently as he watched the world mutate before his very eyes. The sky burst apart, as if some divine being had gripped it like a piece of parchment and ripped into two halves, exposing a pale, emerald one behind it. The new atmosphere seemed to drape over the universe like a thick, hefty mantle, bringing with it a stifling silence.
Then, without warning, the ground rumbled. The earth beneath the school shuddered and burst upwards, with the numerous blocks of Gekkoukan High getting sucked towards each other. They slammed into the rising column of dirt, sinking into it as if it was a viscous liquid of sorts. Soon, there was nothing left that even faintly resembled Gekkoukan High school. Only a gigantesque skyscraper made up of chunks of rubble, dirt, and infrastructure was left. It towered over all of them, blocking out the half-moon, kissing the sickly green sky. The tip of the surreal castle glowed a luminescent-green, as if attempting to lure the group into entering it, just like how an anglerfish would attract unsuspecting prey with its glowing filament.
Then, everything was still. The daily transformation of Gekkoukan High into the abomination entitled 'Tartarus' was complete.
The Dark Hour had arrived.
"Why don't you guys get prepared first? I've something I want to do," Minato told the rest of the crew as they entered the lobby of Tartarus. It was a massive, cylindrical room, bizarrely decorated with numerous checkered tiles, with tall, massive pillars surrounding the contours of the room, supporting the roof. At the end of the room, linked directly opposite the entrance by a long, blue carpet, was a flight of stairs. Those stairs led to the face of an elegant, albeit colossal clock. A glass door stood where the number "6" on the clock would have been. That door was the true entrance of Tartarus- the gateway to a phantasmagorical labyrinth, riddled with hostile creatures called shadows. And the primary objective of S.E.E.S. would be to make their way through the serpentine maze of floors and venture to the very top of the tower.
"Erm, sure, Minato-Kun…" Yukari said, trailing off as Minato sauntered off to the west corner of the room. Raising an eyebrow skeptically, she watched as Minato stopped in front of an empty wall.
"Why does he always do that whenever we come here?" Yukari whispered to Junpei as they walked up the stairs.
"Hey, don't ask me. Perhaps he has mental issues," Junpei said, smirking as he did so.
"Junpei! How could you say that?" Yukari snapped, waving her hands, which were unfortunately, gripping tightly onto her bow. Her exasperated gesture caused the weapon to slam into Junpei's head, sending him reeling backwards in pain.
"What was that for, Yuka-tan?" Junpei moaned in pain as he rubbed the area where the wooden weapon had collided with his skull.
"I'm sorry! I didn't… I mean, it's your fault for standing so close to me!" Yukari protested as she felt her face go red.
"Heh, you guys are really close, aren't you?" Akihiko chuckled as he ambled beside the younger duo, pulling his fists into his boxing gloves as he did so.
"Of course not!" The both of them yelled vehemently in unison. They looked at each other, squinted in annoyance and turned their heads away, noses upturned, all the while emulating each other perfectly.
"My, my," Akihiko chortled softly as his two juniors continued to make their way up the long flight of stairs. Tilting his head to the left, he shot a pensive, curt glance at Minato, who was still standing in front of an empty wall, apparently staring into space. Seriously, he thought to himself, why is he always doing that?
For a fleeting moment, Akihiko was inundated by a compulsive urge to shout out and call out to Minato. But he thought better of the notion and shook his head to dispel it.
Unbeknownst to them, Minato wouldn't have replied even if Akihiko had yelled. In fact, he wouldn't have even have budged had the latter thrown a jab at him. Minato Arisato's physical body stood there motionlessly, nothing more than an empty shell. His psyche was gone from the tangible world, having leapt into the realm between his consciousness and sub consciousness… the domain where he would be able to call forth new warriors- new personas- from the sea of his soul. To Minato, the entrance to the said area would manifest itself as a glowing, mysterious blue door that appeared at the left side of the lobby of Tartarus and, for some odd reason, in a secluded alleyway at Paulownia Mall. The caretaker had once told him that only he was capable of gaining access into the unique yet dream-like universe… the place that existed between mind and matter, dream and reality: The Velvet Room.
Minato didn't know how he did it but… he always managed to enter the room without fail, even though it was usually kept locked up. It was probably because of the key… the heavy-looking yet weightless skeleton key that materialized and manifested itself in his hand whenever the sentiment of unlocking the doors of the Velvet Room occurred to him. He would then unlock the door, and step into the inky-blackness beyond the threshold…
Minato blinked once… then twice. Before he knew it, the darkness melted away and two figures appeared. One was sitting on a lush, ostentatious armchair and the other was standing behind it.
"Ah, welcome back, Minato," Igor crackled when Minato stepped forward, "What can I do for you today?"
"You know very well what I want, Igor," Minato said, maintaining a façade of impassiveness as he did so.
"I've already told you Minato, you aren't strong enough to call forth that Persona from the depths of your soul just yet," Igor replied, flashing him a cryptic grin as he did so.
"Lies," Minato growled, "if that's the case then how did it emerge from Orpheus all those nights ago?"
"That… even I am not sure of, but it was definitely no ordinary Persona."
"Ordinary or not, I need it!" Minato demanded, losing his cool all of a sudden. He stomped forward and slammed his hands onto the table furiously.
"My, my, impulsive are we?" Igor said mockingly.
"There's no time! A full moon's coming up within a few weeks and I've got to be prepared for it!"
"It seems that you still have much to learn, Minato Arisato." Igor leaned back, casting an ambiguous look at Elizabeth, as if they were sharing some dark secret between each other.
"What? What is it?"
This time, it was Elizabeth who spoke. "Personas are manifestations of your inner self. And by reinforcing your bonds with others you are, in turn, strengthening and training your psyche, making it more capable of summoning stronger Persona."
Squinting suspiciously, Minato shook his head. "What do you mean? Are you saying that I'm not strong enough?"
"That's right, Arisato-kun," Elizabeth said, " Every single entity you are capable of calling forth resides within you. It just depends on whether you're robust enough to summon them to your aid."
"Wait, wait, wait," Minato interrupted, "if that's the case, then what's the point of fusing personae?"
"Well, by fusing Personas, the energy created acts as a key of sorts to free the desired Persona from the restrains impeding it from emerging. But sometimes, the wrong persona might get unshackled instead, resulting in a 'misfusion'"
"So I have to attain the right Personas and be powerful enough in order to summon it?"
"Ah, you do learn swiftly, Minato," Igor chuckled.
"I don't really understand though… how was I able to summon that Persona then? I didn't even know what Personas were then."
"Hmm… if I had to pick an explanation, I would say that sometimes, in dire circumstances, you might be able to summon personas that you normally wouldn't be able to acquire unless you performed a fusion. I won't bank on that happening too often though… but don't worry… I can sense it within you… an immensely powerful albeit dormant essence… waiting to be set free…" Igor mused. A shadow of uncertainty flickered on his face, but it disappeared almost instantly.
Sighing resignedly, Minato nodded and turned around. He shuffled towards the exit of the Velvet Room and laid his hand onto the exquisitely decorated knob.
"Not going to fuse Personae today then, Minato?" Igor asked, his deep crackling voice resounding throughout the room.
"No… not today… after all, you said that I'm not strong enough yet…"
With that, Minato turned the knob and vanished in a brilliant flash of blue light. The door swung shut and silence returned to the Velvet Room.
"Why didn't you tell him what you knew, Master Igor?" Elizabeth enquired, a nonplussed look engraved upon her face.
"He's not ready yet, Elizabeth, he still has much to learn…"
"But what happens if he runs into peril?"
Smiling eerily, Igor laced his gloved fingers together and stared ahead. "Don't worry, Elizabeth, he'll be fine. That boy contains infinite potential. After all, he withholds death itself inside him…"
"You alright, Arisato?" Mitsuru asked as Minato trudged past her on his way up towards the stairs.
Nodding his head, Minato gave her a reassuring smile and ensued on. He reached the top of the stairs and looked at everyone.
"Sorry for taking so long," Minato apologized, " shall we be on our way?"
Yukari and Junpei looked at him and opened their lips, as if they wanted to say something. But then, they thought better of it.
"Sure, let's hurry up and go, I can't wait to finally beat the living crap out of those shadows." Akihiko said.
"Then let's do it," Minato told everyone. Turning to Mitsuru, he gave her the thumbs up, which she returned.
"Good luck everyone! Be careful in there!" Mitsuru shouted. She paused for a moment, frowning like she was trying to remember something. Then, as an afterthought, she yelled out another sentence, " You're in charge again, Arisato!"
"Huh?" Minato muttered in confusion, just as Junpei groaned angrily.
"Why him again?" Junpei whined, "Isn't Akihiko-Senpai better already? He should be in charge!"
"Well… Mitsuru and I were discussing about this the other night and we came to an agreement that Minato should continue to lead the squad. He's been doing an excellent job as a leader and further more, I'm out of shape. I have to concentrate on fighting for now."
Gritting his teeth, Junpei rolled his eyes in irritation. "Fine…"
Giving him a sympathetic look, Minato walked forward and reached for the glass door at the bottom of the giant clock.
"Well then… let's go…" he said. Taking a deep gulp of air, he steadied his jittery nerves and pushed the door open. A blinding light engulfed the group of four… and then they were gone.
"Oh, this is just great," Minato moaned as he ran into another dead-end. "Mitsuru-Senpai... it's another one…"
The radio receiver in his ear crackled to life. "What? Another dead-end? Oh no… I'm so sorry, Arisato. Apparently, the others are still wondering about aimlessly as well."
"Can't you use your powers to sense where we are?"
"No can do, Arisato-kun, my powers have their limits. I simply can't sense four different people at the same time."
"So what do you suggest we do?"
"Hmm… I would suggest that you run in the general direction of where you think the center of this floor is. Perhaps if you all do it right, you guys could meet up. I don't know whether it'll work or not but it's worth a shot. I'll contact the others as well, good luck."
With that, the radio went dead.
Gritting his teeth in irritation, Minato turned and ran back the way he came. He hated it whenever 'abnormalities' occurred in Tartarus, wither when they were ascending to a new floor or entering Tartarus. By 'abnormalities', Minato referred to the mysterious phenomenon that sometimes transported the entire squad to different locations on the same floor. It was time-consuming to regroup, and it was also a huge pain to do so.
Finally, Minato reached the junction where the path way split into three other directions. Remembering that he had come from the path opposite, Minato looked left and right, trying to select which course to take.
"Which one?" He asked himself. "Which one?"
Choices…
Minato wheeled back, surprised. What was that?
By signing the contract you agreed to assume all responsibility for the choices you make…
There it was again… a quiet but deep voice echoing throughout his head…
What will you do Minato Arisato? What will you choose? Would you choose to sacrifice yourself for others? Even if it means facing death?
"Who's there?"
Ah… death… yes… how final, how true, how righteous… how beautiful, the salvation it brings to man…
"Stop it!"
Everyone wishes for death… very soon, the harbinger of the end will arrive… the fall of man… the deliverance of its grief and sorrow…
Slamming into the cold walls of Tartarus, Minato thrashed about, attempting to vanquish the ominous voice ringing in his head.
Very soon, Nyx will arrive… for such is the choice of man…
With that final line, the malevolent presence faded, leaving Minato crumpled on the floor-sweaty, flustered, and perturbed.
"What was that all about?" Minato gasped, wiping the sweat from his forehead, feeling exceedingly exhausted.
Shakily getting to his feet, he took a deep breath of stale air to steel his nerves.
"This isn't time to think about what happened, Minato," He told himself as he stumbled forward. "You have to prioritize the mission…"
Suddenly, a strange, gut-wrenching feeling washed over him. For some reason, he began to feel shivery, like he had a cold. His heart started to palpitate at an insane rate… then he heard it…
The sound jingled like the shackles of a prisoner on a death row. At first, it felt distant… then, it got louder, and closer…with each progressing tinkle, the emotion called fear swelled within Minato's heart…
It was the rattling of chains…
The Reaper had arrived.
And right on cue, a scream pierced through the air…
"Oh no…" Minato gasped, cursing silently. "Yukari-san!"
Throwing caution to the wind, Minato decided to trust his ears and went right- the direction where the clinking was the loudest. He prayed that he was running in the correct direction.
He ran and ran, only slowing down to turn a corner or to listen out for the source of the rattling when he reached a fork or crossroad. After what felt like centuries later, he finally stopped, having reached the pinnacle of his stamina. Doubling over, Minato leaned against the wall for support, gasping for breath.
"No… I… can't… rest…" he groaned, attempting to burst into a sprint once more.
You don't have to do this, you know? What does her life mean to you? Why don't you choose to run away instead? Run, escape from this forsaken place… and maybe you'll be sparred from the impending suffering…
However, instead of getting fazed by the voice, Minato was spurred on by it; suddenly feeling more determined to save Yukari than ever. She was his friend... and whatever choices Minato would have to make in the future, it would never involve his friends getting hurt or killed. He didn't want to lose anyone important to him ever again…
"Never!" Minato swore as he felt an unexpected surge of energy rush through him. "I'll protect these bonds with my life!"
Without warning, he felt another presence penetrate and probe his thoughts. This one was different from the previous cold and ruthless voice… instead when it spoke; it did so with an air of warmth and dignity, saying:
I am Thanatos…
I was born of thee,
And I shall walk by thy side…
At the exact same moment, Minato felt his psyche slipping away… he kept on running, and running, but…
Minato found himself face to face with Igor and Elizabeth once more.
"What's going on?" He demanded, "What were those voices in my head?"
"Well, Arisato, apparently, the former entity and the latter one were one and the same… if you understand what I mean…"
"No, I don't one was pure evil… and the other one was rather compassionate…"
"Exactly… they're like two halves of one being… two sides of the same coin… remember darkness cannot exist without light… just as life cannot exist without death."
"Wait... so you're saying…"
"That's right, the first voice was testing your resolve… making sure that you were worthy of obtaining its power… and I'm proud to say that through your choice to preserve your bonds, you've earned the right to wield the strength of Thanatos..."
"Thanatos?"
"Yes, Thanatos: The mightiest Persona from the Arcana of Death. The Persona that appeared that night on the roof… Use your newly found resolve to tame and master it."
Upon saying that, Igor reached out and a tarot card drifted down from the air in a blast of light into his hand. Smiling slyly, Igor leant forward and held it out for Minato.
Stepping forward, Minato reached out with shuddering hands and took the card into them. When he touched it, a stream of warmth flowed through his fingertips into his heart and throughout his entire body.
The card then vanished in a wisp of light, just like all newly fused Personae did when Minato received them.
"I'd better get going then…" Minato said, stepping backwards.
"Yes, you'd best be on your way… your friends are waiting for you… Minato Arisato…"
Minato opened his eyes to find himself watching his friends fight with the Reaper.
The said shadow was a creature of pure destruction and spite. The Reaper, instead of carrying a gigantic scythe like its fictional namesake, wielded two long-barrel revolvers. Its face was shrouded in bandages, with only one ominous yellow eye to peer at its surroundings. It wore two long steel chains each across its left and right shoulders, forming a cross of sorts with them.
How did he get here?
But that was no time to contemplate any further.
"Minato-kun!" Yukari shrieked as she saw him.
"Yo! Minato!" Junpei yelled as he deflected another bullet with his katana.
"Minato!" Akihiko bellowed as he launched a blow to the back of the Reaper's head.
"HELP US!" they pleaded in unison.
Minato knew that it was nearly impossible to defeat the Reaper; he knew that it could kill them, and he definitely knew that he could choose to forsake his friends and escape.
But Minato Arisato had made up his mind.
He was going to aid his friends no matter what the cost.
He unsheathed his blade and pulled out his Evoker. Then, he braced himself and rushed forward, bringing his Evoker up to his temple as he did so. Clicking the trigger, he closed his eyes and heard himself chant, " Thou art I… and I am thou… come to my aid… fight with me… for I summon thee: Thanatos!"
-R.A.R.-