Chapter 3: Charon
Yoshiro brought the scythe in a wicked horizontal arc, cleaving three shadows' masks neatly in halves. He jumped back as another one clawed at him, ripping thin air. He raised the scythe high and swung it down, this time cleaving the entire shadow and leaving a substantial gash on the floor. He somersaulted backwards before the next wave of shadows could reach him.
His entire body felt light, and the scythe weights like nothing in his hands. What's more, he could use it, even though it was the first time he held anything like it in his hands. Is this the power of "Persona" that the others have? But if so, where is his figure…
A shadow lunged at him. He neatly sidestepped and with that momentum round-housed it square on the mask.
It flew a good six feet before splattering all over the wall.
Alright, so he got stronger too. A lot stronger.
This should be fun.
He ran forward, heading towards the nearest shadow, digging his heel into the ground at the last minute, sharply pivoting and using the energy to swing the scythe downwards with such a force that the entire blade not only obliterated the shadow but buried itself in the floor up to its base. With little difficulty Yoshiro pulled the scythe blade out of the floor and swung it around a few more times, wreaking havoc on the shadow that had tried to surround him, jumping back when they came too close for his comfort. He bumped into Minato, now standing, the wound on his thigh all but gone. Yukari probably healed it with her "Persona."
"Sorry, didn't see you," Yoshiro said, pausing to kick a shadow into another one, sending both sailing and splattering on the walls.
" 'S okay. Where's my evoker?" Minato asked him casually, all the while using his short sword to block a strike from a nearby shadow. Yoshiro assumed he meant the gun that summoned his "Persona."
"It kinda turned into my scythe. Sorry," he said apologetically, realizing that the "evoker" is something Minato needed to summon his "Persona."
Minato clicked his tongue in annoyance, throwing the shadow off his short sword and impaling it before it could recover. "Too bad," he murmured, "would've helped right now."
BANG! BANG!
"Come on Hermes!" Yoshiro heard Junpei's voice yell behind them, followed by loud explosions. He seems to have things under control over there. Yoshiro could also hear the thrum and thwack as Yukari lets loose arrow after arrow after shadows on both sides, hitting with decent accuracy.
"He can't keep it up for long," Minato said.
"What?"
"Junpei-san. He can't keep using his persona like that. There's a limit," Minato explained briefly, preoccupied with separating another shadow's mask from its body and crushing said mask under his foot for good measure.
"How long can he last?" Yoshiro asked him.
"At this rate? Not long," Minato said, dodging another attack. "Damn. There's no end in them."
He's right. The shadows just kept on coming. They can't last forever under this onslaught.
Fool. Is swinging a scythe all you can do?
What? It's that voice again, the one that had rung in his head when he shot himself on the head with the evoker.
I'll show you how to use my powers correctly.
Suddenly his arms moved by themselves, slamming the base of the scythe to the ground. A large glowing glyph appeared on the ground, encompassing the group and all the shadows.
"MAMUDO!" he said, though the voice sounded more like the one in his head than his own. The glyph grew brighter. A good amount of shadows screeched and exploded as the glyph flashed brightly before disappearing.
His arms slammed the scythe once more.
"MAMUDO!" this time, the rest of the shadows exploded with a shriek, leaving them standing in a heel-deep puddle of ichor.
The cloak that wrapped around him disappeared. The scythe followed suit, the evoker now in his hand. All the energy that had flowed into his body now left, leaving him feeling drained. He didn't even have enough energy to keep himself standing for long. He fell face-first into the disgusting puddle.
"Hey! Are you alright!" he heard a panicked voice shout before he lost consciousness.
He stood in the middle of a barren, windswept field, gray everywhere around him. He looked around, seeing nothing but skeletons of trees here and there. Nothing else.
"Fainting from two measly attacks? Tsk tsk."
He turned to the direction of the voice. There, standing where nothing was moments ago is a figure in an ominously familiar tattered black cloak, holding an equally familiar scythe. His head is down, and all he could see is the unkempt black hair on his head.
"Though I suppose that could be fixed with experience."
"Who…"
"You don't remember who I am? How sad. I even said the customary words."
"What?"
"'I am thou. Thou art I.' Do you not remember what I said?"
"You're…Charon?"
"I am the one you've awoken, yes."
"Where are we? And…what exactly are you?"
"I am a Persona a façade to overcome life's hardships, a 'reflection' of your true self. As to where we are… why don't you tell me?"
He looked around at the barren fields around him; gray, silent, completely devoid of life. He then remembered the role Charon played in Greek myths.
"Is this…Tartarus?"
Charon laughed.
"Well, you've certainly been in Tartarus, but no, this is not Tartarus. You are not dead yet, merely unconscious."
"Then, where is this?"
"I would explain, but it seems you are regaining consciousness. It's about time."
"What do you mean? How long have I been here?"
"Well, let's just say that time…has no bearing here."
A soft gray mist suddenly covered the fields, growing thicker by the second. Charon disappeared in the ever-thickening mist.
"I'll tell you the exact nature of this place the next time you come here. Assuming, of course, that you have not figured that out for yourself at that point. Till then, try to use my powers to the fullest. They'll be wasted otherwise."
Yoshiro sat up, his eyes darting this way and that. The barren fields and the figure calling himself Charon had all but disappeared. Instead, he found himself sitting on a bed, in a white room, with a beeping instrument next to him, his clothes replaced by a white robe.
Great. A hospital. He hates hospitals with a passion. Hospitals were where they all went before they…
"Thank you, Doctor," someone said as the door to his hospital room opened. The red-headed student council president, Mitsuru, walked in, facing the outside, apparently still in a conversation with a doctor outside. She closed the door.
"What did the doctor say?"
If Mitsuru was startled by his sudden question she didn't show it. She merely turned to him. "You're awake I see. How are you feeling?"
"Peachy. What did the doctor say?" he asked again.
Mitsuru raised an eyebrow. "You are not surprised that I came into your hospital room?" she asked, slightly amused.
"Nope," he answered.
"You are an interesting one," Mitsuru remarked. "To answer your question, I was inquiring on your condition, but he convinced me that you would wake up at any minute. Obviously he wasn't mistaken."
"How long was I out?" Yoshiro asked.
"A few days. Today is the ninth." Mitsuru answered, "Apparently you were exhausted from your… performance back in Tartarus. That was extremely impressive, especially considering the fact that you had no previous experience battling shadows before."
"Well, I wouldn't say that," he said, rubbing his head, "I've encountered them before, but that was the first time I used that power, the Persona."
Mitsuru rubbed her chin. "So you were aware of the Dark Hour before?"
He nodded. "The hidden 25th hour of the day, occurring every midnight. Yes, I'm aware of it. I've been aware of it for six months now."
"I see… Well in any case, let's discuss the details when you're released from the hospital. I think it would be much better to explain everything to you with everyone present. Rest for now." Mitsuru said, turning to leave.
"Great. Tonight, then?"
Mitsuru stopped midstride. "I'm sorry?"
Yoshiro is already unhooking the equipment from his body. "You heard me. I feel fine, so I see no reason for me to be here any longer. After all, it was only exhaustion, right."
"That is exactly why you should take today to rest," Mitsuru said, her tone making it clear that it was an order rather than a request.
Yoshiro chuckled on the inside. Mitsuru is definitely not a person to be trifled with. A reasonable person wouldn't risk crossing her just to get out of the hospital a day early.
Too bad he's not a reasonable person. Not in the slightest.
"Oh, I'm quite resilient. You don't need to worry about my well being." he said with a smile. "But thanks for caring anyway, Senpai. Now, about my clothes…"
They stared at each other for a long moment, sizing each other up.
Finally Mitsuru sighed. "I'll talk to the doctor about it. I will arrange a meeting this evening at seven so that we could discuss the details. Be sure to make it."
"Oh I will, Senpai, don't worry" he said, the smile still on his face.
Mitsuru opened the door to leave. "Oh, and Akio, should you arrive one second late to the meeting, expect immediate execution." She said before closing the door.
Yoshiro stood there blinking for a while. She… wasn't serious, right?
Right?
Yay, Chapter 3's done!
I'm definitely going to try to stick to the game's timeline. Yoshiro's presence won't affect it too much, hopefully, but, you know, stuff happens.
For those who played the game, you should know what's coming in the next chapter or two.
N please, please, please comment. I need to know what you all think of this story so that I could improve it. But again, Constructive criticism please.
