My dear friend,

I hope this letter finds you well, for your rather constant reports of your endeavors have stopped reaching me for quite some time. Please, I know you are doing this for me but I urge you to return and not take any unnecessary risks before consulting with me.

The situation here has been the same for quite some time. It has been almost a year, give or take, since I stepped into this place in search of answers. And though I found some pieces of the puzzle, the more I find the more questions appear to take the place of the answers.

My curse still haunts me to this day. I know not the origin or source of it, and the search in the old tomes of this estate provides no enlightenment to it. One thing is for certain though, it is connected to this town. It was here my affliction began, and it will be here that I will find my answers. I hope.

Please, make haste, old friend, the moon is shining once again, and I must don the mask once again, for only I have the power to protect the people here. I am the only user.

Please, reply as soon as possible. Your lack of reports worries me.

And I cannot suffer the thought of being alone once again.

With best regards,

Akira Kurusu.

The freshly written black letters slowly started to dry as Akira's eyes scanned the page once again. He stopped when reading his own confession. Loneliness, it seemed, was once again a major player in his life, just as it has been for the past year. Just as it has been when he was a child.

He tucked those memories away. Now was not the time to dwell on past events. He could hear the screams from afar, even though the mansion was at the farthest edge of town.

The ink had dried by now. Folding the yellowing parchment into three with practiced ease, he poured red wax on the fold, and reached for his drawer. His hand found what he was after, and the crimson hot wax took the shape of his sigil with one press of his wax seal stamp.

"Artemis" Akira called softly.

A small, light brown owl answered his call, landing on his shoulder. She cooed and rubbed her head against his.

"I know. I miss you too. I promise to spend more time with when I can. Please, fly to him. Make sure he replies this time, won't you?" His lips grew a small, soft smile at the show of affection.

With another coo, Artemis allowed Akira to tie the letter to her, and took off into the night sky.

"Be safe girl." He wished.

The chair creaked slightly as Akira got up from his desk. Torches illuminated his surroundings with a soft light, and the old stone and wood that were used for the construction of the estate were as familiar to Akira as the slightly dusty and moldy air that was ever present in it.

He exited his study, and began traversing his way through the widening corridors and old cobbled staircases. Most people would find their way to the main door and leave from there, were he ever to get visitors. Such a thing was rare nowadays.

No. Akira was in a hurry. The screams were only intensifying. So instead, he would leave through the roof.

"Morgana." His call was louder this time.

"You really enjoy the feeling of shouting at nothing don't you?" A black cat said, suddenly by Akira's side.

"This is a big estate you know. Who knows where you might be wondering about." He argued.

"And yet you know I can always hear you wherever I am. No need to add a sense of drama to your already developing character of a tragic antihero."

"Stop the teasing and watch for anything suspicious while I'm away. If you see or feel anything new let me know."

"Aye Aye." Replied the cat.

Scaling a rather large staircase to the roof of the mansion, Akira reached for his coat pocket with his gloved hand, and pulled on the object he kept there. Reaching the big wooden door that would lead his to the roof, he released a small sigh and moved the object to his face. A small white mask with small patterns of black adorned his face and hid some of his face. Giving him a mysterious look.

The almost full moon that gave light to the great darkness of the night was suddenly blocked by dark, black and angry storm clouds. Thunder could be heard, loud and frightening, and lightning now graced the sky, giving flashes of light to the horrible scenery that transpired in the town below.

Akira approached the edge. The fall was great, and it was sure to kill any man who flung himself to the ground in order to meet with his fate. But then again, Akira always liked to play fate with a handicap.

Spreading his hand to his side, a small grin grew on his face. He closed his eyes, and fell straight forwards, with no hesitation or fear. Lightning flashed once more, illuminating his fully black attire lest for his gloves of crimson and mask of white.

The fall was thrilling, and he felt rain begin to drop freely, slowly turning from a drizzle to a downpour.

All good things, however, must come to an end.

'Arsene!' He called within, summoning his most trusted weapon.

Two red, lathery wings spurted from Akira's back, unfolding proudly and catching the growing wind of the storm. In moments, he was lifted from his fall, climbing ever higher towards the black clouds.

The lightning that struck once again revealed yet another addition to Akira's appearance. Glistening brightly at the burst of light was a short blade held in his left hand in a reverse position. Akira twirled the knife in his hand as he flew, as if to greet an old friend. Further added to his arsenal was a waist buckle that held a small flintlock handgun. A trusty companion in a tight spot.

The pouring rain made it hard for him to find the source of the commotion as he neared the town. All the torches and bonfires that were lit now died as they gave to the heavy rain. And so, the screams guided him.

Using his wings to twist and turn impressively, he followed the voices of terror to the central residential area. He flew by some now destroyed houses. Remains of property and debris filled the street he was crossing. The Shadows were on a rampage.

Arriving at the scene, Akira saw people fleeing to all directions from a rather large looking house. Probably owned by the richer folk who lived here, the building was sturdily built and the Shadows were yet to destroy it.

Said Shadows were formless, black piles of goo with red glowing eyes. Armed with sharpened claws that grew from their formless bodies, they were killing machines. And whoever stood in their path was either killed or devoured. To stand against the Shadows meant death.

Unless you had a Persona weapon of course.

"Look! It's the Joker! He's here to help us!" Someone yelled from the chaos of escaping townspeople as Akira landed at the scene. his wings dissipated, but his weapons were still on his person. The unknown man gave a cheer and proceeded to escape the area. People knew that while Akira could destroy the beings, standing near the battle was as dangerous as facing a Shadow alone, if not worse.

They called him the Joker. From his rare visits to the town when he was in need of supplies or locked up in his estate for a longer than usual amount of time after which Morgana urges him to clear his mind of the stuffy air, he learned that the reason for his nickname was simple.

He joked with death. Every time Shadows came, he held them back and protected the town. And never died in the process. He was laughing in death's face, as if he told him a good joke.

The Shadows noticed him, as if he had some sort on a sign that marked him as a danger to them. They left their campaign on the house and came towards him with surprising agility. There were two of them, and judging by their size, a bit bigger than a common horse, they weren't overly dangerous. But caution is always required when facing a Shadow, not matter the size. They usually had tricks up their sleeves.

As they continued to track towards him, Akira drew his pistol and fired. The rain had no effect on the ignition of the gunpowder, and the resounding echo of the explosion could be heard in the distance.

The bullet flew at incredible speed and hit one of the shadows and embedded itself with the gooey substance of its body, but to little result. The shadow flinched and continued on its way, unharmed.

'Gunshots are out'. Akira thought. The shadows were almost upon him. Crouching, he twirled his weapon once again, making sure its balance was just right before jumping towards the shadows at an amazing speed.

A black claw missed his masked face by an inch as he reached the first shadow, twisting his body and avoiding the attack in a way that should not be possible.

With a wide arc of his right hand, Akira cut through the first shadow with a clean hit, cutting through the black substance right through the creature's heart, making it crumble into dust and disappear.

Landing on his feet he was upright again in seconds, the whole of the battle lasting no more than a few moments. His other opponent hesitated, but not for long. With an indescribable screech of the creature's mouth a mean looking Agi spell was cast as he aimed his breaths towards Akria.

It was with luck alone that he managed to dodge the spell safely with a quick and precise sidestep, which resulted in him standing right next to the remaining shadow. He concentrated on his own spell to counter with, and thanks to his familiarity with it, he cast it with precision and dexterity.

Bufu. A great chill could be felt in the area, making the pouring rain become hail around Akira. Shards of ice as sharp as his blade formed around him and launched themselves at the shadow, impaling it with a scorching chill that immediately made it combust into black ash and disappear.

Akira released a sigh of relief and looked to the street. The houses were damaged, yes, but no lives were lost today. Not something that he could say for every encounter with the shadows.

People began coming out of hiding spots, exiting their houses and returning to their homes from the frantic escapes they made. It was time for him to go.

Summoning his weapon's powers once more, his red wings grew again, and he launched himself into the air, heading towards his needlessly big, empty and lonely estate.

'I never should have come here. Have I really sealed their fate?' Akira thought on his way back.

The pouring rain stopped and the heavy clouds started to give way to the soft light of the moon once again. It softly lit Akira's form as he landed on the roof of his estate once more, his wings once again disappearing.

He sat down and stared at the great object in the sky, shedding its light upon the now uneasy rest of the town and its people. "I want to leave." He told no one. But he knew he couldn't. Not while his curse was upon him.

And until he understood why he was cursed and how to lift it, he was stuck here, in Yongen-Jaya. In the estate known as castle Leblanc. But no matter how he tried, where he went, or when. He couldn't leave the town.

He would rot here, together with the shadows he hunted. Forever stuck in this nightmare of killing and death.

Was there really no way out?

Hey Guys!

First of all let me tell you this is my first fanfiction ever, and after lurking here for years I finally decided to try my hand at writing one.

All reviews are welcome.

On a final note, I don't currently have any sort of beta reader helping me with the story so I'm sorry in advance for any grammatical or spelling mistakes I've made, as English isn't my first language.

See you on the next chapter :)

-C.O.T