DISCLAIMER: I don't own Persona or Touhou. I only own Damion and my OCs.
Author's note: As I was writing this, I was crying for Damion. I mean, it was difficult to write what was going on through Damion's mind and what he was feeling. The hardest part about writing this chapter was writing the truths that Damion had to accept from his shadow self, and the harassment that Shadow Damion was doing to Damion. It pained me to have to put Damion through this, but I had to. This chapter may have been OC centric, but I promise you that other characters WILL have their moments facing their true selves, and it'll be their chapter to be focused on.
Damion was running as fast as his legs could take him. Behind the young man was his shadowy self. Shadow Damion was chasing Damion evilly, as though having plans to harass, torture, or do things that are worse.
The villagers that caught sight of Damion being chased by his Shadow Self caught interest of the villagers. Some of them even gave chase to Damion and his Shadow Self out of curiosity. Among the people chasing them was Keine Kamishirasawa.
Outside the human village, Keine was busy trying to keep the humans from leaving to see what was wrong.
The humans that did manage to escape the village to be spectators were forced back in, with threats of being put into exile from the village. This didn't stop the humans' curiosity of why there were two Damions.
"Please leave me alone with this faker. I lured him out of the village to protect you from whatever he might be planning" Damion yelled to the humans that tried to leave.
Fortunately, Keine managed to get all the humans back into the village and then quickly used her power to hide the history of the village, trapping the humans in the village.
"You better have a good reason… for that… why are there two of you?" Keine asked, surprised to see two Damions.
"I followed you out of the village to avoid getting unnecessary lives involved, but now it's time for you to face the facts about yourself" Shadow Damion declared.
"What is there for me to face about myself? I've already accepted the fact that I can't change the past" Damion answered his shadow self.
"Damion, what's going on here!" Keine yelled to the two Damions.
"She asks what's going on, but she doesn't have a damn clue about what you just remembered. You are actually thinking about keeping this a secret from her and that playboy bunny girl you saved" Shadow Damion said to Damion condescendingly.
"What! Why do you know this information? Not unless…"
"Unless… I AM YOU!"
Damion fell silent from hearing what his shadow self said. Damion didn't want to believe the simple fact that he was actually facing his emotions that took physical form to confront him directly.
"What's going on, Damion!" Keine asked again, this time yelling.
"I'll just spare this bitch the trouble and tell her" Shadow Damion said to Damion, then turned to Keine and told her, "I am his inner self, the part of him that he forgot and suppressed. I know EVERYTHING Damion knows because I AM HIM" Shadow Damion answered Keine.
Keine was taken aback by Shadow Damion's response to her question.
"Damn it, you're wrong. I don't know about myself because I don't simply don't know" Damion shot back.
"Face it, you're WEAK, and rely on your magic to get around. You're making friends to help you learn about this dangerous world called Gensokyo, and you're just plain AFRAID of everything" Shadow Damion declared aloud. He was dead serious on spilling the truth to himself, and making him come to terms with reality.
"Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU FAKER! I'm not as weak as you say I am" Damion yelled back to his shadow self.
"Then go ahead and say the magic words that will spell your demise. Come on, I dare you to say it!" Shadow Damion provoked.
Unfortunately, Damion fell for the provocation. "YOU'RE NOT ME!"
There was silence between the three individuals. Keine Kamishirasawa was shocked by the sudden outburst Damion yelled.
In addition, the atmosphere between Keine, Damion, and Damion's Shadow Self grew intense and heavy.
Then, Shadow Damion began laughing hysterically.
"Heheheheheheh, Ahahahahahaha! That's right, say it again! You know I'm telling the truth, and you don't want others to hate you for the truth. That's why you repressed and forgot about me; the past self that you committed murder to your best friends in order to 'break the cycle of life and death' from that damn tournament that god set up" Shadow Damion taunted.
"Damn it, THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL THAT YOU COULD EVER BE ME, EVEN WITH MY FACE AND POWERS!" Damion yelled at the top of his lungs. His anger was at his peak, mostly from his shadow self revealing his inner thoughts to Keine.
"Damion, what the hell?" Keine asked out of shock.
"Oh, now you're starting to realize the MONSTER that Damion REALLY is. He's a servant of DEATH, whose life was spared at the expense of his former master, Deus Ex Machina, and was taken in by the DEATHs of every world. That's what he REALLY is. A necromancer with a terrifying magic spell that causes INSTANT DEATH to anyone he wishes that CAN be killed" Shadow Damion said aloud.
"What? A necromancer? That's what I was?" Damion asked his shadow self. He reacted as though he learned something so important that it could've changed everything. However, his response was for the worse.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You actually forgot that was your wish when you escaped your home world using Deus's reward from the tournament! How despicable!"
"I-I can't believe… that actually happened… Yuno, Yukiteru… I'm so sorry!" Damion was on the verge of breaking down mentally.
That was when Keine decided to intervene.
"Look, just who the hell do you think you are, claiming to know Damion, spouting lies about him, and harassing him with his terrible past?" Keine yelled to Shadow Damion.
"Don't get involved, bitch! This conflict is between Damion, his past, and reality. Stay the hell out of this affair if you know what's good for you!" Shadow Damion threatened Keine.
"No, he's right" Damion muttered in defeat.
"What!" Keine asked him. She thought Damion lost his mind.
"He's right… I killed my friends out of selfishness to live…"
*SLAP*
Keine slapped Damion hard across the face before Damion could continue his melancholic talks.
"SO THAT'S ALL YOU'RE GOING TO DO! MOPE AROUND BECAUSE OF A DIFFICULT CHOICE THAT COST YOU YOUR FRIENDS IN THE PAST! WAKE UP, DAMION! YOU ARE TOO ATTACHED TO THE PAST TO LET IT GO!" Keine roared at Damion.
"It's no use, bitch. He's too attached to his friends back then and he blames himself for killing them" Shadow Damion said to Keine.
"Thanks for the wake-up call, Keine. I completely forgot about this a second time; I'm not alone in the present" Damion suddenly said, somewhat more cheerful. He realized that he forgot that he's in a new world, making new friends, and learning to cope with his past with people he can ask for support.
"No way, you should be in despair over your friends' deaths!" Shadow Damion reminded Damion.
"You're right. I do regret killing them, and I still blame myself, but there's one thing you left out: I was forced to do so given the circumstances and knowledge that I learned from Deus about the choices I was given" Damion argues back confidently.
"That may be true, but that doesn't justify murdering your friends so you could escape. It was either you let them kill you, and continue the cycle of that damn tournament, or kill your friends to break that cycle, and cause the end of your home world" Shadow Damion countered.
"Ugh, damn it" Damion realized he was cornered with that argument.
"Damion!" Keine screamed.
"Just admit it: I know EVERYTHING about you and what you're going to say. That's because… I AM YOU!" Shadow Damion reminded him.
"Damn it, I can't take this anymore" Damion said in fear.
"Just say those magic words again, and I'll put you out of your misery" Shadow Damion taunted.
"Damion, NO!" Keine yelled.
There was silence for a moment, and then Damion gave his definite answer.
"You're still not me, despite spouting nonsense that I refuse to believe happened, I cannot accept you desecrating my name, ruining the positive relationship with the people of Gensokyo before I can even get a chance to establish them. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO BE ME, NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY!" Damion yelled at his shadow self.
Damion's shadow self began laughing. The darkness in the surrounding areas began rushing towards Shadow Damion, covering him in said darkness, absorbing that darkness into power for Damion's shadow self.
"You've done it now. There's no turning back at this point, Damion. You are SO dead now!" Shadow Damion cackled as the darkness he was absorbing gave Shadow Damion a new form.
Shadow Damion transformed from a replica of Damion into a being of death.
This new form of Shadow Damion was that of a ghost wearing a tattered, deathly black robe cloak. There were two chains surrounding the body, crossed in the middle of the cloak. On both hands were long barrel revolver rifles. Where the head should be was a brown sack with holes for where the eyes would be.
"What is that monstrosity?" Keine asked in fear.
Unfortunately, the bigger problem was that Damion lost his energy, and collapsed to the floor, struggling to regain consciousness. Rather, Shadow Damion's transformation took out a lot of energy from its real self, Damion, in order to transform into what it was right now.
Keine, thinking fast, turned to her EX Form to restore the human village's existence, and ran in. After restoring the human village's existence, she quickly reverted back to human form. Fortunately, the humans that once tried to get out to see what was happening seemed to have forgotten about the event.
"Even your new friend… Keine, was it… Ran away, leaving you behind to die. You really ARE alone in this new world, Damion. Just admit this and die peacefully" Shadow Damion taunted Damion.
Damion was struggling to stay conscious during this important time, and was beginning to lose hope.
"So this is how I die, huh? It's kind of a pathetic way to diei" Damion thought to himself.
*BANG* *BANG*
Two gunshots came from behind Damion. The bullets that were fired hit Shadow Damion, knocking the shadowy doppelganger stumbling backwards.
"Are you alright, Damion?"
Damion recognized the voice to belong to Reisen Udongein Inaba.
Getting up, Damion looked back to see Keine return to her human form to hide the human village once again.
Reisen took out a bottle of medicine and told Damion to drink it. Damion, despite his weak condition, did as told and downed the bottle.
The result was his energy being restored, and his strength returning to him.
"Thank you for the help, but why would you help me when my opponent is actually my inner self given physical form?" Damion asked Reisen and Keine.
"What are you talking about? That thing doesn't look like you at all" Reisen pointed out.
"Actually, Reisen, it DID look exactly like Damion before it transformed into this… monstrosity" Keine added.
"Whatever. So, what did this 'thing' do to put you in this condition?" Reisen asked Damion.
"I'll explain later" Damion said to Reisen.
"You do that. I demand an explanation behind that 'thing' and why you said it was you" Reisen added before readying her guns for battle.
Keine turned back into her EX form for battle. She was armed with magic and her claws.
Damion, readied himself for battle against himself with his magic, his fists, and his feet.
*Reisen and EX Keine joined Damion's team as guest fighters*
## Battle against Shadow Damion ##
"I am a shadow, the TRUE self… You're all talk, weak, and dependant on others in this new world to help guarantee your own survival" Shadow Damion declared at the start of the battle.
"That may be true, but I resolve to be able to stand on my own feet, fight for my own survival, and then become independent enough to survive this world!" Damion shouted back at his shadow self.
"Heh heh, you say that now, but I doubt you'll be able to survive if you can't overcome your biggest obstacle; yourself!" Shadow Damion pointed out.
"Sh-shut up! I'll prove to you, myself, that I can pull my weight and survive in this world!" Damion yelled back.
Starting the battle, Damion cast 'Scan' on his shadow self.
Various information became clear about his shadow self:
He's a weakling who has relied on others for help, and was forced to kill the very friends he made in order to escape his home world that was very unstable. He was created by a god to be a contestant in a 'game' that would help the god find a successor to his throne AND powers, but he also put up a reward for the 'game', a wish would be granted before the world blows up. Desperate to survive, he asked his god to do two things as his reward for surviving the 'game'; giving Damion the power of necromancy, and to be sent away from his home world. Deus Ex Machine, the god he was created by, granted Damion his wish, and sent Damion into a time-space rift out of his world. During his travels in the space-time rift, he was lonely, and contemplating the dilemma he was in. He was on the verge of breaking down mentally while thinking about his friends that he killed in order to escape. Then, he was taken in by the many DEATHS of various worlds. They took him in, making him swear allegiance to the entities called 'DEATH'. His situation and powers became crucial for helping the DEATH entities kill humans, youkai, and other living creatures so that DEATH entities can thrive. Because of this, Damion had no choice but to serve the entities called DEATH since they were the ones that saved Damion from the time-space rift Deus Ex Machina sent him in.
Combat-wise, Shadow Damion repelled Death, was weak to ice and light magic spells, absorbed darkness spells, and is generally powerful overall.
"So, what does your 'scan' spell say about that monstrosity?" Reisen asked Damion.
He told her what he learned about his combat data.
"Light magic? Leave that to me" Ex Keine said to Damion.
Reisen took her turn to shoot Shadow Damion several times in the head and body areas. Shadow Damion brushed off the damage as though it was nothing. The damage he took though, still remained (100% reduced to 94% health left for Shadow Damion)
EX Keine used her turn to cast 'Lightra' spell on Shadow Damion. The 'Lightra' spell was an upgraded version of the weak 'Light' spell. EX Keine gathered light energy from the sun into a ball of concentrated energy in her hands. Releasing the spell, the energy was condensed into a beam of light that hit Damion head-on. The victim, Shadow Damion, was heavily affected by the spell, and seemed to take a fair bit of damage from the attack. (94% reduced to 84% health left for Shadow Damion).
Shadow Damion began his turn. "You think you have the power to stop me? Think again, as Damion, myself, can't even come to terms with the fact that he killed his own friends with his very own hands!"
Shadow Damion began by shooting a pulse of dark energy at Damion. Unfortunately, Damion was unable to evade the attack, and ended up taking the attack to his stomach. The damage to Damion was a lot (100% reduced to 60% of Damion's health remained).
"You may claim to be me, but I know that only I can carve my future with my own hands. Claiming to be me only ends up causing you to be disappointed when you realize that I CAN change if given sufficient time and resources" Damion yelled to his shadow self.
Damion began his turn by rubbing his feet on the ground rapidly, setting them on fire. Once said feet were set on fire, Damion rushed up to his shadow self and gave the eldritch abomination a good kick to the stomach area. "Blaze Kick!" Damion called his attack as he made contact with his shadow self. Shadow Damion was pushed back a little from the attack combo, but pushed Damion back after taking the damage. Once Damion returned to where he was, he dug his feet into the ground to put out the fire on his feet. (84% reduced to 77% health left of Shadow Damion).
Reisen went next, and he, like before, went trigger-happy against the deathly shadow. More bullets were fired at Damion's shadow self, and he brushed off the bullets like they were nothing. The damage to him, though, was VERY real and evident. The holes that were made in the cloak robe were proof of the damage made to the entity (77% reduced to 71% health left of Shadow Damion).
EX Keine, like before, gathered solar energy and compressed it into a sphere in her hands, then shot said energy at Shadow Damion in the form of a beam. Shadow Damion didn't take too kindly to the beam attack called 'Lightra', and part of his robe cloak was singed from the weakness to light magic (71% reduced to 61% health left of Shadow Damion).
Shadow Damion was silent this turn, and cast a spell that was new to the group, 'MaBufudyne'. The spell was one of Shadow Damion's standard spell attacks. The spell sent a chilling atmosphere among Damion, Reisen, and EX Keine. Then, suddenly, an ice block began to form around the three fighters and encase the fighters in said ice blocks. Once encased, the ice blocks shattered to pieces, dealing heavy damage to Shadow Damion's enemies. Reisen lost quite a bit of health (100% reduced to 70% health left for Reisen). EX Keine took about the same damage as Reisen (100% reduced to 70% health left for EX Keine). Damion, on the other hand, was weak to ice, and took more damage from the spell than Reisen and EX Keine (60% reduced to 15% health left).
"Damion!" Reisen shouted as she noticed Damion's health in critical condition.
Damion used his turn to cast 'Cure' on himself. He used his magic to bathe himself in a barrier of healing magic to restore some of his health (15% increased to 35% health left for Damion).
Reisen took out a bottle of medicine and tossed it to Damion. "Here, drink that quickly. It should bring you up to good health" Reisen explained.
Damion caught the medicine bottle and began downing the contents. Similar to his 'Cure' spell, his health increased tremendously (35% increased to 85% health left for Damion).
Up next was EX Keine's turn, and she, like before, cast 'Lightra' on Shadow Damion. The result was the same as before; Shadow Damion took a fair bit of damage from the spell, as he was weak to light-based magic (61% reduced to 50% health left for Shadow Damion).
"Heh, you did pretty good with your friends, but how about standing up for yourself for once in your damn life?" Shadow Damion shouted to Damion.
"You assume that I'm going to fight my battles alone without help, but that's where you are wrong. Individually, a strong person falls to a group of people that resist. With strength in numbers, people are able to overcome many obstacles like rebellions against a corrupt leader. You are definitely wrong to assume that I fight alone and only for myself. THAT'S WHY I'M GOING T O PROVE TO YOU THAT I WILL FIGHT NOT ONLY FOR MYSELF, BUT ALSO FOR MY FRIENDS!" Damion shouted back to Shadow Damion.
Shadow Damion laughed off the claim and used his turn to change strategies a little. Shadow Damion cast a spell called 'Matarunda'. This spell sent a wave of debilitation at his enemies (Reisen, Damion, and EX Keine). The debilitation from the spell significantly decreased the offensive power of the trio he was fighting.
The wave of debilitating energy that was fired from Shadow Damion hit Damion, Reisen, and EX Keine. To Reisen and EX Keine, it seemed like nothing happened
"Damn it, now I remember that spell" Damion muttered.
EX Keine and Reisen looked to Damion and asked him, "What? What is that spell?"
"That's a spell that reduces its enemies' offensive power temporarily" Damion explained in simple terms.
Damion, despite the attack power decrease, pressed on with the battle. He used his turn to set his feet on fire again, using that combo. Damion rushed towards his shadow self and kicked his shadow self in the stomach area (50% reduced to 47% health for Shadow Damion).
"This is definitely bad, you two. Our attacks aren't going to be as effective on him for the next three turns we take" Damion warned his teammates.
Reisen and EX Keine nodded in acknowledgement.
Reisen took her turn to go trigger-happy on Shadow Damion once again. However, since the debuff spell was in effect, her attacks weren't as effective as they used to be, though some damage was dealt (47% reduced to 44% health left for Shadow Damion).
Next up was EX Keine. She continued to use 'Lightra' spell on Shadow Damion. Gathering energy from the sun into a ball, she then shot said energy at Shadow Damion in the form of a beam. The attack singed Shadow Damion's robe cloak. The damage to the shadow wasn't as strong as it used to be (44% reduced to 37% health left for Shadow Damion).
Shadow Damion took his turn, and shot a pulse of dark magic at Damion. Damion, like before, couldn't dodge the magic in time, and suffered a bit of damage from the attack. He was also pushed back from the attack (85% reduced to 45% health for Damion)
Damion used his turn to bathe himself in green, healing magic to restore some of his health. He cast 'Cure' on himself (45% increased to 65% health for Damion).
Reisen used her turn to go trigger-happy again on Shadow Damion. The result of the attack was roughly the same as before: not much damage dealt against Shadow Damion (37% reduced to 33% health left for Shadow Damion).
Up next was EX Keine again. Like before, she cast 'Lightra' on Shadow Damion. Gathering energy from the sun into a beam of light magic at Shadow Damion. Like before, Shadow Damion was hurt from his weakness to light magic (33% reduced to 26% health for Shadow Damion).
"You think that by teaming up with friends, you can become strong, back them up during their time of need only to run out on them. If it would benefit you, you would gladly kill your friends to turn them into your personal undead servants" Shadow Damion shouted to Damion.
"That's where you are wrong! That may have been what I was like back in my home world, but I HAVE CHANGED TO VALUE MY FRIENDS MORE THAN MY OWN LIFE! I KNOW I MAY SOUND LIKE A HYPOCRITE RIGHT NOW, BUT STOP LIVING IN THE PAST!" Damion shouted back to Shadow Damion.
"You say that now, but I will only believe you when you when you can prove to me that you can beat me. Come, prove to me that you have changed. PROVE TO ME THAT I, YOUR OTHER SELF, AM WRONG ABOUT YOU!" Shadow Damion challenged.
Shadow Damion took his turn to cast a different spell: 'Mind Charge'. Using his magic to enhance his magic abilities temporarily, Shadow Damion was ready for his next turn.
"Oh shit! He's preparing for a powerful magic spell! Put up your guard at full power, NOW!" Damion ordered.
Putting their trust in Damion, the trio put up defensive stances to prepare for anything that could happen.
Fortunately, the power debuff from three turns ago wore off from the three fighters.
Shadow Damion then unleashed his most powerful spell, 'Megidolaon'.
Three spheres of pure, condensed, and high-pressure magic fell from the sky. The three spheres collided on the ground between Damion, Reisen, and EX Keine. The three spheres merged into one MASSIVE sphere, and then exploded, blasting the three fighters with pure magic. The damage was huge and could've potentially been life-threatening, if not for the defensive stance that the three fighters took (Damion's health dropped from 65% to 5%, Reisen's health dropped from 70% down to 10%, and EX Keine's health dropped from 70% down to 10%).
After recovering from the magic blast, EX Keine and Reisen asked Damion what that spell was. Actually, the spell would've instant-killed them if it wasn't for Damion's warning. The two girls were thankful for the heads-up. Their health, however, took a massive beating from the spell.
"That was … 'Megidolaon' … one of the most powerful spells … in another world I've been to … It has no resistances or weaknesses … and is almost unavoidable" Damion explained through deep breaths.
"Holy hell … That was too close for comfort" EX Keine said through deep breaths.
"You two … get close to me … so I can fix our health" Reisen instructed EX Keine and Damion.
Doing as told, the young man and were-hakutaku got close to Reisen. Reisen pulled out a bottle of VERY powerful medicine. "Damion, you are going to have to work to pay me back for the use of this medicine. It's very difficult to make, and it affects all allies near the drinker" Reisen informed him.
"I'll take my chances and work to pay you back. Now then, what does that medicine do?"
Reisen ignored Damion, and drank the VERY powerful medicine. When Reisen drank the medicine, her health spiked back to full. Not only Reisen's health was restored, but so were EX Keine's and Damion's.
(All three fighters' health returned to 100%)
"I will work hard to return this favor, Reisen. That I promise you" Damion assured Reisen before returning to the fight.
Damion used his turn to get up-and-personal with Shadow Damion, using his 'Close Combat' skill on his shadow self. Damion was really going all-out to attack his shadow self in a variety of ways. When Damion was finished, he returned to EX Keine's and Reisen's side. The side effect to using that skill was a drop in Damion's defenses (26% reduced to 20% health left for Shadow Damion).
EX Keine used her turn to cast 'Lightra' once again onto Shadow Damion. Like before, Shadow Damion was taking more damage than any of the other attacks he's been hit with. EX Keine still gathered solar energy, compressed it into a sphere, then shot said energy as a beam onto Shadow Damion (20% reduced to 10% health left for Shadow Damion).
This time, fatigue was clearly visible on Shadow Damion's face and body.
"Why do you resist? You are still attached to the past, and refuse to move on. If you are so rebellious to yourself, then why are you fighting me?" Shadow Damion asked Damion, this time without the evilness that he once had.
"It's because I realize now that I need to stop living in the past. You are just reminding me of my failure and pushing me to stay in the past. I won't lose to my past self!" Damion answered sternly to his shadow self.
"So be it, prove to me that you are as strong as you claim to be" Shadow Damion replied as though issuing another challenge.
Shadow Damion used his turn to cast 'Mind Charge' once again. Like before, Shadow Damion's magic power was temporarily boosted, but he had to wait until next turn before unleashing that power.
"Time to go all-out before he hits us with that spell again" Damion commanded.
"Are you insane! That'll kill us all!" Reisen pointed out.
"No, Reisen, he won't be able to survive another 'Lightra' spell. He's that weakened where this next assault will do him in for good" EX Keine explained.
Reisen simply nodded in response and understood the line of logic that was going on.
Damion rushed in to use his 'Close Combat' skill (10% reduced to 4% health from Shadow Damion), and then Reisen dealt the finishing blow with her trigger-happy gunplay (4% reduced to 0% health left for Shadow Damion).
Shadow Damion, upon defeat, exploded in a mess of shadows. The darkness that once empowered him dispersed like insects fleeing from fire. Furthermore, Shadow Damion's form returned to being a carbon-copy of Damion but shadowy black.
## Victory against Shadow Damion ##
"So you bested me with your friends. I see you have grown since then. However, you have to face the facts or I will go berserk again" Shadow Damion said to Damion as though in desperation.
"I-I-I am not sure" Damion stuttered.
Then, from behind, Ex Keine hugged Damion from behind and she whispered to him, "Damion, remember that psychology thing you were trying to explain to me? Use that on that… whatever he is. You must do it, Damion. I'm here for you"
Then, it was Reisen's turn to add in her two cents. She took hold of Damion's hand and said to Damion, "Don't forget about me. If that 'thing' is really who you really are, then you have to face him and give him your answer"
"I'm… just scared to… move on" Damion admitted sadly.
"Damion, the first step in moving on is to accept the past and put it behind you" EX Keine said to Damion.
Then, realizing what Reisen and EX Keine were talking about, Damion stood up to his shadow self.
"You're right. I am just a coward who is relying on others for my own safety. My past self would gladly sacrifice my friends for my own safety, but that's the past me. I am the me who is looking towards the future, and am trying to put the past behind me…" Damion began.
"You… are you really…?" Shadow Damion asked, smiling nicely with hope for the answer he's been wanting to hear.
"Yes. I lost track of who I was, and was dwelling in the past, but I made new friends who were by my side just now to help me conquer this obstacle in my life. I need to grow up and face reality, face the future with a smile, and most importantly… Accept that you are trying to reach out to me, like a desperate child trying to send a message to their parent or like a working person trying to desperately warn their friends or boss" Damion continued.
"Damion…" Reisen and EX Keine muttered.
"Then, you're really trying to say that…"
Damion nodded. "That's right. You really are me, and you were trying to tell people about me that I forgot, repressed, or pushed away. You were desperate enough to take physical form to confront me about it in person… THAT'S RIGHT, YOU ARE THE ME THAT I THOUGHT I FORGOT, REPRESSED, OR OTHERWISE HAD NO IDEA EXISTED!"
Then Damion did something completely unexpected.
Damion ran to Shadow Damion and hugged him. He was also in tears while doing so.
"I'm so… so sorry. I had no idea… that I was… hurting myself indirectly. DAMN IT!"
Shadow Damion smiled contently. "Thank you for facing reality. Now that you have overcome your biggest obstacle, I think you deserve to inherit your best friend's power of the WILD CARD" Shadow Damion said with content, and then pulled out a very familiar-looking gun from his pocket.
Damion took the weapon from his shadow self, and instantly recognized it as the same weapon he used in another world he was in.
"Th-this is… Why do you have it? Why give it to me?" Damion asked in total confusion.
"You lost your ability to that power after almost dying in THAT world. It was her finding that item of yours that saved your life. Now that my business with you is over, it's time I tell you that you must put your regained power to good use. I will be that power, and you may call upon me for assistance" Shadow Damion said to Damion before fading away and being absorbed into Damion.
The particles that made up Shadow Damion faded away as if being scattered into the wind, and then made their way into Damion, being absorbed into said person's body.
"Damion, what just happened?" Reisen asked him suddenly.
Damion was too focused on his acceptance of reality to care about what was happening. In fact, he felt exhausted and collapsed to the ground, unconscious from regaining his lost power.
"Damion!" EX Keine and Reisen yelled together upon seeing Damion collapse.
Thinking fast, EX Keine used her power to put the history of the human village back into place. After doing so, she reverted back to her human form so to prevent the humans in the village from finding out that she's a youkai and preventing a large-scale panic from happening.
Picking up Damion from the front, and Reisen picking him up from the back, they hauled the exhausted and unconscious young man into the village.
In the Kamishirasawa School infirmary, the two girls rested Damion in one of the beds.
"Is he going to be alright?" Keine asked Reisen.
Reisen sat down on the bed to check on Damion. She checked his temperature for fevers, checked his physical condition, and various other specs related to health.
Unfortunately, there was nothing wrong with him health-wise.
"I'm not an expert doctor; I'm just an apprentice who's learning from Eirin. From what I can tell so far with my limited knowledge, he's just exhausted" Reisen told Keine.
Reisen then got off the bed to return to her work.
Keine, on the other hand, sat down next to Damion's bed and rested on said bed. However, she accidentally fell asleep.
An hour later, the young man woke up from unconsciousness. Getting up, he was rather dizzy and had hazy vision so far.
"Where am I? He asked as if talking to anyone that might be in the room.
He got some answers when he saw Keine leaning on the young man's bed.
"If that's Keine, and I'm in a building, then I guess I'm in the human village… somewhere" Damion thought to himself as he looked around to get a better idea of where he was.
Sadly, his awakening and shifting around in his bed woke up Keine.
Keine yawned and then noticed Damion awake. Upon realizing that she fell asleep, she quickly jumped back into her seat to put some distance between her and the young man.
"When did you wake up?" She asked him out of surprise.
"Just now" Damion answered her honestly.
Keine breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hang on, let me go find Reisen, if she's still around, and then you can explain everything to us" Keine told Damion.
The were-hakutaku left the room, leaving Damion to return to bed to get some more rest.
It seemed like ten minutes passed when Keine returned into the room, with Reisen behind her.
"I just finished my work here just as Keine told me the good news of you waking up" Reisen said to the young man.
"Don't rush, Reisen. I'm sure Damion needs time to come up with an explanation of what that 'thing' was that we fought" Keine said to Reisen.
"I guess it's time for me to tell you what I remembered after my home world: After surviving the Heinz Dilemma, I was sent by Deus Ex Machine, the former god that created me, into a space-time rift to escape my home world. Unfortunately, I was taken in by many DEATHS of various worlds, and they took me under their wings. They trained me in death-related magic, even to the point where they taught me the spell to summon the DEATH of the world I go to. However, I am grateful that the DEATHS haven't given me any orders to kill anyone yet, but it seems like they want me to continue living my life" Damion began.
"Okay, go on"
"Then, the DEATHS of another world told me to find and be the bodyguard of someone by the name of 'Drake'. That would be the friend I travelled the worlds with, protecting him with whatever means I could, and occasionally fight with him to keep him in top physical form. After some adventures in the world I first met him in, and the one after that, we came into a world where we learned to use the power we fought: The power of a PERSONA"
"Wait, Persona? You mean like personality?"
"Kind of. The Power of PERSONA, according to what we learned back then, was actually our emotions given physical form, like that shadow me we fought, that we tame to fight creatures called shadows. Unfortunately, late in that world's adventure, we learned a truth about shadows and Personas: They were essentially one and the same. Shadows were creatures created from the rejected, suppressed, and forgotten emotions of ordinary people that are given physical form that roam around looking for the people whose emotions made them up. Once said shadow finds the person that they belonged to… well, you saw what happened to my shadow self, right? That's generally what shadows do first. If a person is unable to come to terms with and accept their shadows as another side of them, then the shadow will go berserk and try to metaphorically eat the minds and personalities of the person they were"
"That sounds messed up" Reisen commented.
"If my guess is correct, I pray that Gensokyo does not fall under the same fate as me and my friends did back in that world" Damion said sullenly.
"Why is that?" Keine asked.
"I can make the weapon needed to summon and control the individual's Persona, but whether the individual accepts their shadow as another side of themselves is a matter that depends on that person completely. Shadows usually consume other shadows and become stronger through stuff, similar to cannibalism. When a shadow goes berserk, they emit a power that attracts other shadows to help empower the berserk shadow and make them stronger, usually with a new form or new powers" Damion continued.
"It makes sense, but it doesn't make sense at the same time" Reisen admitted.
Damion sighed. "They're your emotions given physical form that are desperate to be honestly, completely, and without lying, strong desire to be accepted by their owner. If that side of the person is rejected, then the personality goes crazy enough to kill their owner"
"Oh, is it like Chen wanting to be accepted by Ran, then Ran rejects the existence of Chen, so Chen goes crazy to kill Ran?" Keine asked.
"I heard about Chen and Ran from their master, Yukari, so I guess that would be a good analogy. Let's say that Chen is Ran's suppressed, rejected, forgotten, and emotions that Ran does not want to deal with in her entire life. Chen becomes a shadow of Ran and confronts her, saying everything that Ran does not want to hear or want anyone else to hear. The only way to stop Chen is for Ran to honestly, truthfully, and without faking it, wanting Ran to accept Chen as her personality… I hope that made sense" Damion commented after explaining how shadows worked using the shikigamis are examples.
"It kind of makes sense in a way, but I think that's the closest to understanding what happened as we can get" Keine said to Damion.
Reisen was still confused.
"Nevermind, I tried to explain it the best I could, but if it doesn't make sense, then let's just say it's my doppelganger that wants to be accepted by me as myself" Damion gave up.
"Oh, THAT makes sense" Reisen understood, somewhat.
"Doppelganger may not be accurate, but I think you understand the first part of how I am to explain shadows to you" Damion added.
"I'm sorry to change the subject right now, but what do I tell the humans? They saw you in bad shape when Reisen and I brought you here. Do you want me to tell them the truth?" Keine asked him.
"No, just tell them I found a doppelganger youkai in the village, lured it out to keep the village safe, and then fought the tough bastard with you and Reisen. It's not exactly the truth, but it's close enough to what I believe they would understand" Damion told her.
"But… if they don't know the truth…" Keine argued.
"If even you cannot understand what the shadows are enough to understand how to deal with them, then what chance do you think the humans have of understanding something you struggle to know?" Damion countered.
"I'm not an expert on humans, but I do know that they might know about things that even I don't know about"
"Good point, but I doubt they'd understand what shadows, in the sense that we're talking about, are and how to deal with them. You're more than welcome to tell them the truth, but don't expect them to understand or accept that as the truth"
While arguing with Damion on whether to explain the truth to the humans or not made Keine realize why Damion kept telling her to pass it off as a doppelganger youkai; to most people, it would sound like an adult's very elaborate and psychological thriller story.
"Very well, I'll just stick with the doppelganger story. I now understand why you insist on this" Keine replied.
Damion helped himself up out of the bed and bowed towards the were-hakutaku. Reisen tried to help Damion back into the bed to rest, but he was resistant and insisted that he give a proper apology.
"One more thing; I'm really sorry about my shadow self saying those terrible things about you and Reisen. It's true that what he called you would've been what I thought about you and Reisen in the past, but… after becoming friends with the two of you and understanding more about Gensokyo… well, I need to rethink my thoughts about the two of you as more than just allies that I can dispose of... I need to tell myself that... you two are my friends that I need to help protect with my life" Damion apologized.
Then, Keine stood up to leave the room.
"I understand… you don't want to leave behind any bad memories or bad impressions of yourself huh?" Keine smiled.
Damion blushed a little from embarrassment. "Sort of; I'm still trying to make friends with the people of Gensokyo, and I don't want them to think bad of me"
Keine giggled at his honesty. "I think I understand now. Just get some rest here for tonight, Damion, and perhaps we can find you a home here in the village, maybe a girl you would like to settle down with and raise a family" Keine offered.
Damion shook his head 'no' upon being made the offer.
"Sorry, but there are some things in Gensokyo that I still have to think about, like the monster rampage problem that's out there, or that debt I owe Reisen for saving us from my shadow self…"
Then, Reisen interrupted the young man, "Relax, I'm not expecting you to pay me back right away. I'm asking that you work hard to pay it off when you are able to. That medicine that saved us was difficult to make due to the ingredients used to make it were VERY rare and it took a long time to make anyway" Reisen explained to the young man, helping him get back into the bed for rest.
Then, Keine took her leave and left Damion alone in bed with Reisen.
"By the way, did you do anything with my EVOKER?" Damion turned to Reisen and asked her the question.
"Evoker? What's that?"
"It's the gun-shaped thing my shadow self gave to me before fading away and returning inside me"
"Oh, that. It's with me, but I don't think it's safe with you just yet. I tried firing the gun outside the human village, but it doesn't seem to shoot bullets"
"It's not supposed to shoot bullets. It's supposed to induce the near-death feeling of fear needed to summon my Persona. It's not meant for suicide or shooting enemies; it's meant to summon our Personas" Damion explained.
Reisen was confused, and Damion noticed this. "Just call it a trinket that allows me to summon my Persona for battle"
Reisen understood this explanation.
"So, does summoning your personas kill you and then you get brought back to life by your Persona?" Reisen asked out of curiosity.
Damion chuckled at the guess Reisen made. "No, it doesn't work like that. You simply point the evoker to your head, emulate the fear of dying, then pull the trigger. By emulating the fear of dying, I mean you pretend you are about to die and try to trigger those emotions as if it was really going to happen" Damion explained.
"So, you're basically faking suicide to summon your Persona?"
"You know what, let me demonstrate how it works tomorrow. You'll probably learn more through watching how it works than by me trying to explain it in a couple hundred words that probably won't make sense" Damion gave up.
Reisen giggled at this. "Alright, show me how it works tomorrow. For tonight, just rest off the exhaustion and just, well, take it easy for tonight. I'll come check on you tomorrow and we'll figure out what you're going to do from there. Reisen told Damion.
Reisen then stood up, bowed, then left the room to return to Eientei.
END OF CHAPTER
Author's note:
It was difficult to put my own character in that situation of having to face his shadow self that keeps telling Damion that he's living in the past and needs to face reality. I tried to add in the psychological aspect of characters as much as possible, so please go easy on me if it isn't as detailed as it's supposed to in comparison to the Persona game series.