AN: This one took me longer than I expected, but here we are. There's not a whole lot to say (other than that Nadja was originally in SMT II, and in later games), but please read, review, favourite, follow, etc! And thanks to everyone who's read so far!


Chapter 9: Birth from Zero


|April 14th, Friday|Nakahara Household – Living Room|7:14 am|

Shintaro came downstairs, dressed in his uniform, to find his parents staring at the TV, looking gravely concerned.

"What's going on?" Shintaro asked, looking at them both.

"Oh, Shintaro-kun..." Eriko said, in shock. "Something terrible has happened..."

"Son, the Chief of Police was killed last night." Takuya said gravely.

What?! Don't tell me...Bythos?

Stunned, Shintaro stared at the TV, transfixed.

"According to the police, the incident took place at 1:32 this morning." The newsreader said, standing outside Hanashima Hospital. "Kazuo Shimomata was recovering from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. A nurse reportedly produced a knife she had hidden on her person, and stabbed Mr. Shimomata seven times in the torso."

"That's..." Shintaro said. "That's horrible..."

"Other nurses attempted to restrain her, but she broke free and jumped out of the window. The nurse's name has not been revealed to the public by the police, but her family have been informed." The newsreader continued.

"Why did this happen...?" Eriko said, shaking. "I've never heard of anything so terrible happening in this city..."

"Mr. Shimomata died from his wounds at 1:45. The nurse died before she could be taken into intensive care at 1:47 am. The police have already begun their inquiries with Hanashima's staff, but further details have yet to be announced."

"It must have been those Bythos scum." Takuya said, shaking his head with disgust. "All their nonsense about a cover-up..."

"Their post yesterday." Shintaro said, the words leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. "'You can choose to sheath our sword, or watch as we bathe the island of flowers with blood'."

"Poor Kohaku must be devastated." Eriko said. "Her father was good friends with Shimomata, wasn't he?"

"You should be heading to school, lad." Takuya said. "As for dinner...if Kohaku isn't up for it, we can save it for another time."

"I...I'll be going. See you both tonight." Shintaro said, grabbing his bag. He started his walk to school, but his heart was pounding with fear.

Bythos are the ones responsible. They've not claimed responsibility just yet, but there's no way that threat yesterday was just an empty one. Could they have been right all along? What did Shimomata know?

Another terrible thought came to mind. If the nurse was a member of Bythos in disguise, could their members be lurking everywhere he went? What would they do next? And if the nurse wasn't a member of Bythos, could she have been controlled somehow?

Is that even possible? We've barely explored the Theio Kosmos, and still adapting to the Persona ability. Is it possible to manipulate people as if they were dolls?! I don't remember those three Claret guys saying anything like that, but...Nisa Liat probably knows a lot more. I need to talk to Kohaku and Kei about this right away...

|Chieki Academy – Class 2-4 - Lunch|12:14 pm|

The classrooms of Chieki were quite different in colour from Kansei, sporting light shades of green and a more chequred flooring. Also, the first years were on the third floor, while third years attended classes on the ground floor. Now it was time for lunch, after a rather boring class with Shiro Koyanagi, a Mathematics teacher.

"So..." Masato said, to the boy next to him, another guy on the baseball team called Eiji. "You sure this doesn't belong to any of the guys?"

"Nah, don't remember it. Pretty sketchy that it'd end up in your bag." Eiji, a black-haired boy, said. "It's not your sister's, is it?"

"Nope, she never goes near my gym stuff." Masato said, now even more confused. "When I turned this thing on, it just said 'Gnosis' in big green letters, but it didn't do anything else."

"Gnosis, huh?" Eiji said. "Maybe...it's like a new company that want to sponor you or something?"

"Yeah right. It's got to be some kind of weird store-brand I've never heard of." Masato said. Just then, Natsumi and Asami walked in, and sat in the table in front of them. "Oh, hey sis."

"You still going on about that thing?" Natsumi said, annoyed.

"What...thing?" Asami said, suddenly anxious, as she stared at the phone in Masato's hand.

"This weird phone. Someone left it in my sports bag last night. But it doesn't seem to be anybody's." Masato said.

"Better not talk too loudly about it. Koyanagi-sensei might accuse you of theft and go on a tirade." Asami said. "But away, about all that stuff in Hanashima..."

"Crazy, isn't it?" Eiji said. "A nurse goes and stabs some guy, and throws herself out of the window? What the hell do you think made her do that?"

"It wasn't just 'some guy', though..." Natsumi said. "The Chief of Police of the Shinshuto Prefecture. That's a pretty big deal...it'll be in the news for months."

"Yeah, but people are saying Bythos made the nurse do it. Like, some kind of mind control!"Eiji said.

"Please. This isn't some kind of horror anime." Masato said, shrugging.

"Well, Bythos were making some pretty weird accusations about the Chief of Police. The City Council are probably arguing among themselves wondering what they should do next." Asami said. "If Bythos really can influence minds, then those guys are screwed."

"This is scary..." Natsumi said, worried. "And I thought the worst I had to worry about was running into Kohaku again."

"Huh?" Eiji said, no longer paying attention. Sighing, Masato looked at his sister, and gently held her hand.

"Relax, sis. We'll find a way forward, no matter what. Right? We've survived worse than this. And we will again." Masato said.

"Y...Yeah, you're right. I can't let this get to me." Natsumi said. "So anyway, Asami, you won't believe the amount of people our mother wants to invite to Hideki's engagement party. It's ridiculous. It's making me dread the wedding...I dunno how Setsuna can stand it."

Masato, smiling and nodding, ate his lunch, ignoring Eiji's loud chewing noises. As he did, he took another look at his new Gnosis, and wondered exactly why he had this thing. It wasn't a normal phone, just by the feel of it. What sort of materials were in this thing? Perhaps he'd try connecting it to his laptop later. Or asking his online girlfriend if she'd seen anything like it in New York.

This is one weird phone. I wonder how it works?

|Kansei High School – Rooftop|15:43 pm|

With Akari present during their classes, Shintaro and friends couldn't openly discuss Bythos – but Kohaku had been despondent the entire time she had been to school. After classes were over, however, Akari announced she was heading to her first shift at the Pet Friends store, and quickly left, leaving the other three to hit the rooftop.

"This is too cruel..." Kohaku said. "Shimomata-san was a kind man...devoted to nothing but keeping the peace! How could Bythos do this to him?"

"It may be that their earlier accusations were correct." Kei said. "Perhaps Shimomata truly knew something about the city council that they didn't want anyone else to know."

"...Even if they were, what's the point of killing him? They said that's what the city council wanted, right? So why call the government out on it, then finish their job anyway?" Shintaro said, confused.

"It's hard to say..." Kei said, anxious. "But they advocate total transparency. Their website has lots of posts calling out various world governments on cover-ups and other conspiracies from years gone by. Things like 'how many lives could have been saved had they told us this from the start?'."

"So they wanted our council to confess to their sins?" Kohaku, shaking, looked into the distance.

"As if they had one last chance to tell the truth?" Shintaro said.

"That might be right." Kei said. "The city council denied all of their accusations, so Bythos made good on their threats. Now people will be demanding answers. They'll lose trust in the council, and Bythos will gain more supporters."

"Would people even want to support them after what they did?!" Shintaro said.

"It's hard to believe, but they do have their fans. Not that most people will admit to it." Kei said. "The worst part is, Bythos may have the power to control the minds of others."

"Control?!" Kohaku said.

"There must be something in the Theio Kosmos that lets them manipulate the minds of others. Perhaps someone doesn't even need to be there for them to be affected. Both Kosmos overlap each other, after all. They could affect each other." Kei said.

"...Let's go there now." Shintaro said. "We'll get more information on Bythos!"

"Are you sure?" Kohaku asked. "We could face the Claret Squad again. Or worse, the Aeon Admins. And I don't think we could survive fighting them. We barely managed to defeat Hisaya and her cronies!"

"I know you're scared, especially after this morning, but we've got to know more about what we're up against." Kei said. "I say we go right now."

"I...well...okay." Kohaku said. "If Bythos really did kill Shimomata-san, then I won't forgive them. I can't let them toy with people like this. Let's head to the mall."

The group left the school quickly, catching the bus. As they did, they saw a darkened mood all throughout the crowds of people they passed. The city had never seen a crime like this see so much publicity. A random nurse killing the Chief of Police, days after Bythos made accusations about him...this would not die down quickly. Especially if their actions continued.

|Chieki Academy – Rooftop|15:56 pm|

The school day was also over for the Chieki Academy students, and while most of them had other plans, Masato had the afternoon to himself. He wasn't particularly keen to rush home, however, especially since he wanted to check out his 'Gnosis'.

Now at the rooftop, which offered breathtaking views of almost the entire Mizuho area, he sat on one of the fold-out chairs and turned on the phone. A green logo appeared, but it seemed to be taking a rather long time to progress to anything else.

"C'mon, already...what else does this thing do?" Masato asked, impatiently. "It's nothing like my usual phone. This doesn't even feel like plastic. Or glass."

If even Natsumi hasn't heard of this Gnosis thing, it must be obscure. But maybe I'll try asking Dorothy tonight, if we can get a good web chat going. Wonder how her spring break went? Wish I could have seen her. Course, if she knew anything about what I did in middle school, she'd dump me before I could even take a swing -

Just then, the Gnosis suddenly flashed bright white. A strange dark image appeared, then it went to what looked like a normal phone's operating system. However, most of the icons were highly stylised. Looking closely, most of them had glitched up names. One of them, which looked like it was for a list of numbers, was titled 'ShINjuNO', and another was 'AKeMiPho', for what seemed to be a photo gallery.

"The fuck?" Masato said, staring at the device. He looked away from the phone for a moment, and saw something small in the distance. A blue circle with a QR code. Curious, he looked for the scanner app on the Gnosis, and found it on the second list of apps.

Here goes nothing. See if this phone can actually work.

As he scanned the code, he suddenly felt a massive flash of pain in his head. Words appeared on his screen in bright letters, but he was barely able to read them from the pain. The whole area became enveloped with mist, and he felt faint. Before he passed out, he saw a strange black figure hovering over him.

"Host...chosen. Potential...above necessary."

|Theio Kosmos – Outside Bella Donna|16:22 pm|

"No sign of the ugly threesome, anyway." Shintaro said, after they checked the area.

"Did you have to use that exact word, Shintaro?" Kohaku asked, shuddering at the thought.

"There will probably be Shadows around. Let's be careful." Kei said.

Suddenly, her phone flashed. She held it up, and it opened up a new app, one called the Velvet Room. She stared at it intensely, it's blue aura enveloping her, while the other two looked at each other in confusion.

"Kei, what are you doing?" Shintaro asked.

"She's concentrating. Let her focus." Kohaku said, cautiously. Finally, the app stopped glowing, and Kei looked at the two of them again.

"You...couldn't see him, could you?" Kei asked.

"Him who?" Shintaro asked. "I just saw you staring at a phone."

"Then it must be only be someone with a 'Wild Card' ability who can see the Velvet Room. It was...huge, and full of blue light. It was full of weird, almost futuristic computers. There was a man there called Igor." Kei said. "I've never seen someone with such big eyes or a huge nose."

"Okay..." Kohaku said, dumbfounded.

"But there was an assistant with him." Kei explained. "A young girl, in a beautiful blue dress. Her name was Lavenza. Shintaro, do you recognise that name?"

"Victor Frankenstein's wife...Elizabeth Lavenza?" Shintaro said.

"Yes. Just as the doctor created his monster by fusing parts of humans together, with this app, I can fuse Personas together to shape new ones. In fact, Igor made me fuse one just to start off. I had to use up Pixie to create her, but this one's even better. Here!"

She touched the phone, and a flash of blue light occurred. Appearing in front of her was what appeared to be a small girl, with slightly dark skin, and short spiky black hair, in front of which she wore a fetching white ribbon. She also wore a white dress, and socks and gloves that exposed her fingers and toes.

"Hi guys! I'm Nadja! Tee-hee! I'm going to win your heart with my cuteness! You better treat me nice. Don't end up like one of those Temple Knights in the Centre, okay?"

"Nadja?" Shintaro said. "Oh, as in the novel by Andre Breton!"

"You really know your books. It even says that in my Compendium app." Kei said, pulling up Nadja's data. She was apparently of the Empress Arcana, and knew Dia, Agi, 'Psi' (apparently a spell that caused Psychic damage) and 'Marin Karin', a spell that could 'charm' an enemy. Also, it had an entry for her origin, and even discussed the meaning of her name.

"Hmm. So if you fuse Personas together, they'll get stronger?" Kohaku asked.

"Exactly. Each fused Persona inherits something from the ones that came before. For now, I can only fuse two Personas together. I can't fuse any too powerful yet either. Lavenza told me that 'excessive power leads to destruction'..."

"That's kind of boring. No way around that?" Shintaro asked.

"Not at the moment, but you never know. If I keep this up, and complete as much as the Compendium as possible, they may reward me with extra fusion abilities." Kei said. "By the way, the Gnosis also keeps a record of all the Fusion Moves we've been using."

"Oh, like the one me and Taro-kun used to defeat that tattooed bald freak!" Kohaku said. "And the one we used to defeat Nox, too?"

"Yes. There's a lot more moves like that we can use. Igor said that he may be able to help us with those too, but he'd tell me more another time." Kei said. "I wonder, though. Why is it just me that can use this ability? Why not either of you?"

"I wish I knew." Shintaro said. "For now though, I'm stuck with Ogma. But he's seen me through a lot of tough battles already."

"Yeah, and Airmid's been great help with healing. Now then, where do you want to go?" Kohaku asked.

"...Mizuho." Kei said. "Perhaps if we get closer to the hospital, we can find some clues. How Bythos managed to make an innocent nurse kill another man and herself..."

"Hmm..." Shintaro said. "Well, it's not like we can run into them in this Kosmos, is it?"

"I'd rather bump into them than the Claret Squad." Kohaku said. "Let's go. It's not too far if we take the north road."

|Chieki Academy|

Masato opened his eyes, and looked around. The sky looked darker all of a sudden. In fact, it didn't look natural at all. Something wasn't right here. The school itself looked mostly normal, yet it was 'shining' slightly compared to the rest of his surroundings.

"What the hell? This a dream?" Masato asked. Not a single response. He looked at his Gnosis, but the display had turned completely solid green. He felt a sudden chill. "Is anyone there?"

He opened the door that lead to the third floor, but he couldn't hear a sound. No sound of footsteps, chatter, or anything. Just silence. There weren't even any birds chirping. Looking back, he saw Hanashima Hospital – but it had transformed into a wholly bizarre building. On its grounds was an island, covered with lurid pink flowers, and waves of deep purple water were crashing on it from seemingly nowhere. Instead of a hospital, there was a huge hot-pink fortress.

The fuck?! How did that freaking island get there? How do you go from Hanashima to an island with tons of flowers...oh. Now I get it. Wait, no I fucking don't. I've got to get out of here!

He ran back to where the code was, and furiously tried to get his Gnosis to work. However, it didn't respond. He tried to scan it with his regular phone, but it only came up with an error message.

"Am I even on Planet Earth anymore...?" Masato asked. "Or is this...hell?"

Masato ran down the stairs, looking around for anyone. But no one was around. On each floor, the classrooms were empty, as if no one had used them at all. Panicking, he ran past the shoe lockers, which were all completely bare as well. He swung the front doors open desperately, and saw the familiar tree in the middle of the front courtyard.

"...Where the hell is everyone?!" Masato screamed, in despair. "Natsumi? Eiji? Asami?"

Everyone's gone. Are they dead? Am I the only one left in the world?! Then...then what the hell do I do?

"Hmm? Never seen you before. You okay, boy?"

Masato screamed, and turned around. The sight of what he saw caused him even more shock, and he fell down on the concrete ground. Standing over him was a hulking red-skinned creature, with a giant horn and a gigantic club.

"What the hell are you!?" Masato screamed.

"Huh? You don't know what an Oni looks like? Well, there are things you can only learn about a person through combat. But even if you understand each other, in the end, only one can remain. Now, show me what kind of a man you are."

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Masato screamed. He got back on his feet, but before he could run away, there was a massive burst of red light. His head hurt far more intensely than it had ever done before. He collapsed to his knees, and coughed. He covered his mouth, but after removing his hand, she saw blood, to his horror. In his mind, he heard terrible sounds echoing violently.

Gunshots. Flames. Screaming. As if an entire army was fighting right next to him. It sounded as if human bodies were being torn to shreds, and their corpses were strewn all over the scorched land.

"Make it stop already...it hurts...I said STOP! NOW!"

As he cried, the light subsided, as did the pain in his head. However, he saw the creature clutching its chest, fading into nothingness.

"...Huh?" Masato asked. "Wait, what happened to you -"

"Kid. You're in huge trouble. That phone...there's something in there that shouldn't be. Get rid of it! Or it's gonna do to you what it...did to...me. See ya, kid."

The creature, apparently an Oni of Japanese folklore, vanished entirely. He got back to his feet, and brushed the dirt off his trousers. His Gnosis's screen had changed to a blood red, and Masato gulped.

"Is this thing possessed like that thing just said?" Masato asked. "Dammit, I've got to get out of here. I have to check my house!"

Without a moment's hesitation, he left Chieki Academy. If there were creatures like that Oni around, they could easily prey on his sister and brother. And he couldn't possibly live without either of them around.

|Mizuho – Baseball Field|17:03 pm|

The Mizuho Baseball Field didn't appear different in this Kosmos, but the complete dearth of people was unsettling for Shintaro. He had been here several times, mostly with Masato, but ever since he had finished Middle School, he had sworn never to come here. Yet they had walked past here on their way to the Hospital, and Shintaro recognised the chain fences and the blue benches.

"It's not too much further." Kei said. "I checked the map for Mizuho earlier. We just have to take a right, and -"

"Where are you, sis? Bro? Mom? Dad?"

"...What?!" Kohaku said, surprised. "That's not a Shadow!"

"It's..." Shintaro said, shuddering. "No...not here! Not now!"

"Wait a minute! I just heard a human voice! There's someone else besides me!"

Shintaro heard the sounds of someone running, panting for breath. When they turned the corner, on a residential road, they saw a red-haired boy in a green uniform running frantically. When he neared them, however, he skidded to a halt – and fell over, face down.

"Ow...my knees..." The boy groaned.

"You...okay?" Kohaku asked, anxiously.

"Oh great! The apocalypse has hit, and everyone's gone, and – huh?" The boy looked up, and saw Kohaku's face. "H-Hey?! Kohaku...? Shintaro?! What are you two doing in Mizuho?"

Kei helped Masato stand up, and gently put her hands on his shoulders.

"Calm down. This isn't an apocalypse. Your family and friends are all safe." Kei said, as reassuring as possible.

"Um..." Masato said. "Then what is this? There's no one around here, everything looks different, the hospital changed into some weird castle, and there are weird demons running around!"

"Demons?" Shintaro asked. "You mean Shadows?"

"I dunno what they're called! But the one I saw was some kinda fucked up Oni!" Masato shouted. "...Um...you're Kei, right? My brother teaches at your school."

"I know. I've seen you and your sister. At the mall, remember?" Kei said, managing a smile. "I'm Kei Kakusa. It's good to properly meet you."

"I'm Masato Yoshinaga. Hideki's kid brother." The two of them shook heads, and Masato breathed a sigh of relief. "I was so scared...I thought I was the only one left in the world."

"Masato, what happened?" Kohaku asked. "Wait. What is that in your hand?"

"This thing?" Masato asked, holding out the Gnosis in his pocket. "Well...at baseball practice yesterday, I found this in my sports bag."

"A Gnosis!" Shintaro said. "You too?"

"What, don't tell me...you got one too?" Masato asked.

"Not just him. All of us have one. But yours doesn't seem to be working properly." Kei said, taking his Gnosis into her hand. She tried pressing the power and volume buttons, but nothing happened. "Odd...I've never seen this happen."

"It was acting really weird earlier. At school I asked around, but no one seemed to know who it belonged to. They never even heard of a 'Gnosis' brand of smartphone." Masato said. "So I went to the roof, just to chill out...and the phone's working, kinda screwy but it works. I see one of those QR code things, the ones that you see all over the place these days. I scanned it with the Gnosis, and everything went crazy..."

"...And then you ran into that Oni, right?" Kei asked. "Masato...this isn't the end of the world. It's more like...some sort of alternate version of the ordinary world. Listen closely..."

Kei gradually explained everything she knew of the world so far. Masato, in awe, learned of things such as the Akartharto and Theio Kosmos, the monsters called Shadows, Personas, and of the encounter with the Claret Squad. He seemed more confused than ever, however, when her explanation was done.

"This doesn't even make sense..." Masato said. "How can these smartphones do all this crazy stuff?"

"We don't know all the specifics yet." Kohaku said. "Listen. Without a Persona, you won't be able to fight those Shadows properly."

"Exactly." Kei said. "We'll find a way to get you back to the real world. Come with us."

"What? We have to go with him?!" Shintaro said.

"You'd rather he be mauled to death by some beast?" Kei asked, angrily.

"Kei, it's..." Masato said, anxiously. "We...have history."

"I know." Kei said. "Well, not the whole story. But that's not important right now. What matters is getting you home safe and sound. Once we do that, we'll take that Gnosis, and you can forget this ever happened."

"I know it's awkward, but...I don't feel safe going by myself. I don't have this Persona thing." Masato said, looking at his feet.

Kohaku looked at Shintaro, and nudged him in the elbow.

"We cannot leave him to die here. You understand that, right?" Kohaku asked. "Taro-kun, please don't make lose respect for you..."

"...Alright." Shintaro said. "We'll protect you from the Shadows. I promise. You'll get to go home soon."

"I...appreciate it, bud – uh, Shintaro." Masato said, smiling.

"If we go back to Chieki Academy, we should be able to use the same code you used." Kei said. "Let's go. We can't get ambushed here."

|Chieki Academy – Courtyard|

The group reached the courtyard, and thankfully had not come across any Shadows. However, the minute they reached the courtyard, that changed completely. A pair of Gremlins appeared, their laughter echoing throughout the area.

"These are Shadows too?!" Masato said, stepping back.

"Stand aside...we'll get these." Shintaro said. "Ogma!"

His Persona attacked one of them with a Blade Strike, while the Gremlin tried to hit with a strange attack, that seemed to made of atomic energy – Frei. Wincing, Shintaro tried to stab at the Gremlin, but it leapt over his head and tried to attack Kohaku.

"Not likely!" Kohaku said, slashing the Gremlin with her naginata. The attack had weakened it significantly, making it vulnerable to a strong Magna. "Airmid, you did it!"

Masato watched, stunned. These Personas were nothing like he had ever seen before. They were stronger than any human could hope to be. He looked at his hands, and held back any instinct he had to rush in and join in the fray. His Gnosis was defective, and he didn't even have a Persona.

"Nadja!" Kei cried, summoning the strange fairy. She leaned to the right, and winked – creating a strange multicoloured ripple effect, that knocked the second Gremlin to the ground. This, apparently, was the 'Psi' spell.

"Ugh...dammit, no! Please, lemme go! I'll give you some sweet gear!" The Gremlin begged.

"Let's see...how about you give me an item?" Kei asked, smirking. "You weird things like messing around with machines. You've probably scavenged some strange stuff in your time."

"Way to generalize, lady! But...if it stops you from killing me, I found this weird thing the other day..." The Gremlin clicked its fingers, and a burning hot red stone appeared. "It's called an Agi Stone. Use it if you don't have any fire spells, or the energy to cast one. It's pretty weak, but in a pinch. Well, see you! But you're no match for the moon guy and the video lady!"

The Gremlin vanished into thin air, chuckling to himself.

"Hmm." Shintaro said. "This stone could come in useful."

"Indeed." Kei said, taking it into her possession. It vanished into her phone, apparently a 'bag of holding' in digital form. "I can set this up so that all items we pick up are linked. Which means you two can use the Agi Stone, not just me."

"I'm a little concerned by what he said at the end. A 'moon guy' and a 'video lady'..." Kohaku said, anxious. "They don't sound like Nisa Liat, but -"

"Wow...you guys were amazing!" Masato said, excited. "Can these Gnosis really do all this stuff?"

"This is all real, Masato." Kohaku said, coldly. "Our weapons stay in the Gnosis when we're not using them."

"I really need to thank you guys properly for saving my butt today." Masato said, casually.

"...That won't be necessary." Shintaro said, irritated.

"But if you hadn't gone with me, I could be deader than Pete Rose's career. Maybe I could buy you sushi, or something -"

"Give it up, Masato!" Shintaro shouted. "We aren't going to snap back to being friends. Not after what you did."

"Okay, I've had enough of this." Kei said, sternly. "What did Masato do?"

"Kei-san, don't worry about it, let's just get going and -"

"I'll tell you, Kei. It's about time I fill you in." Shintaro said, icily, at Kei. "You already know that Masato and Natsumi were friends of ours a long time ago. We used to hang out all the time. Everything was going great. We were always at each other's houses. Then, when we were at Middle School, things changed."

"Shintaro..." Kei said, looking back and forth at both Shintaro and Masato.

"I was a fat little kid back then...I just never could get into sports. Masato was the complete opposite. He and his sister, they weren't so cool with hanging around us anymore. So they moved on to a new crowd. The popular ones...that didn't give a shit about who they stepped on to look cool. The kind that didn't really trust each other...but being around them made you get noticed."

"I..." Masato said, but hesitated.

"Before long, he starts joining in with the leader of his new group. They went out of their way to pick on kids like me – the ones who weren't 'cool' like them. Natsumi, she turned her back on Kohaku too. Left her and me to fend for ourselves. Do you know how hard it was to keep coming back to school? It wasn't just name calling! They kept stealing my books, my lunch...I lost over fifty of my favourite novels thanks to them."

"Shintaro, I -"

"All the time, you acted like you didn't know us!" Shintaro said. "After all the times we spent together, all those promises we made to always be friends, you threw it all away. And for what? Are you still with the awesome new friends you made?"

"N-No! They didn't end up in Chieki!" Masato said. "Natsumi ditched those bitches too. She finally realised she deserved better than them. But -"

"I'm not finished yet. Not by a long shot!" Shintaro said, furious. "The last day of middle school...things were getting better, even if just a little. I was starting to lose weight, my test scores were at 99%, and I finally found an original copy of 'Silver's Pain'."

"I...I don't know that book." Kei said, awkwardly.

"Most people don't, Kei. But the man who wrote it was Genichiro Nakahara." Kohaku explained. "That's Shintaro's grandfather...he wanted to be known as the greatest Japanese novelist the world would ever know. And he put everything into it."

"That's right, Haku-chan. The book my grandfather wrote at the same time my father was born." Shintaro said. "My grandfather died a year before I was born...I really wish I could have met him. It's thanks to him and my father that I became such a bookworm. But Masato knows all about that that. He knew how much books meant to me. How much me and my father were trying to find an original copy, of a book that barely sold a hundred copies!"

"Kei...it's all my fault." Masato said, looking at her, tearfully. "Rokurou – the leader of our group – really didn't like Shintaro. He...he thought it'd teach him a lesson if we...if we..."

"They took me by the arms, dumped everything out of my bag into the mud...and they found it. The only surviving copy my father could find. I put it in there beneath everything else, just so I could show Kohaku! But...one, after another..."

Shintaro, wiping away the tears of his eyes, shuddered at the thought. Then, when his eyes locked with Masato, they flared up with rage, while Masato winced, shutting his own.

"That bastard tore it to pieces!" Shintaro screamed, hurting his throat. "My grandfather worked so hard to become an author. He...He was trying so hard to support his family, he spent years working on the perfect book...and Silver's Pain was the one! It meant so much to him that it got published...and you threw it all away!"

Shintaro's memory flared up of that day. One, after another, a page got torn out from the muddied book. They all sank into the rainy mud, forever ruined – powerful words that would never be read ever again. Shintaro and Kohaku had to watch, restrained by their hated bullied. It only ended when some concerned teachers came to see what was going on.

"...Shintaro, I'm so sorry." Kei said, looking at him with pity in her eyes.

"I...I never got the chance to read it!" Shintaro screamed. "All because of you, Masato! You and those fucking friends you chose over us! So what if it's been over a year since then? You can stand there, spouting apology after apology...what good will that do Genichiro Nakahara? He wasn't famous...he wasn't acknowledged as the great author he desperately wanted to be...but he was still my hero!"

"I-I know that, I do! I didn't forget everything you told me about him!" Masato said, desperately. "But Shintaro, I...I know what I did was wrong! We let you and Kohaku down, big time. We fucked up, okay? But can't we -"

"No. Masato, no matter what, I will never forgive you. So if you see us around, don't ever think you can just pop over and say hi. Same goes for your sister, too. Are we clear?!"

"...Loud and clear." Masato said.

"We can't just stay around here. More Shadows could try to attack us." Kohaku said. "We've got to take Masato back to the Akarharto Kosmos."

"Yes. For the sake of his brother and sister." Kei said, to Masato. "Trust me. I'll make sure you return home safely."

"...Okay." Masato said.

The four of them, unable to think of anything else to say, proceeded through the doors of Chieki Academy, guided by Masato.

|Chieki Academy – Rooftop|

The tension in the atmosphere was thicker than any one in the group had ever experienced before. Shintaro's throat still hurt from all his shouting, and Masato kept looking at the ground. No doubt he was anxious of triggering another outburst.

Now that I got that all off my chest, I...I don't know if I feel any better or not. Masato's quiet and so are the others. Maybe it's just me, but Kei seems kind of disappointed in me. I should try and clear the air with her, but for now, let's just get Masato back to his home.

"Here we are..." Masato said, awkwardly, as he held the door open. Kohaku thanked him but other two kept quiet.

"Where's the code, Masato?" Kohaku asked.

"Here." Masato said, walking over to it. Kei scanned it, and sent the data to Shintaro and Kohaku's phones. This was their first destination in Mizuho, and probably wouldn't be the last.

"It's a great view from here. In Kansei, we're surrounded by huge buildings no matter where you look." Kohaku said, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Yeah...it's nice." Masato said, nonplussed.

"We'll get you out of here soon enough." Kei said. "Let me handle this -"

Just then, however, red dots appeared on the Gnosis's map. Shintaro gasped – a trio of Shadows appeared, three Kobalds. Masato gasped, and froze on the spot.

"What's the matter, kids? Not got time to hang out with us? Join our club! Get it? Club? Ah, screw you guys. Let's just bash their brains in. Then we'll go dancin' with those Silkies round the block."

"Damn!" Shintaro said. "Masato, stay back. We'll get rid of these."

"Fine. I won't get in your way anymore. Wait...huh?!" Masato said. His Gnosis was emitting a strange dark blue glow, and the screen turned pure white. "Argh!"

He clutched his head in pain, as bright red 'electricity' seemed to phase through him. Shintaro gasped – this had never happened to him or the others. Was this Gnosis toxic to Masato? If they didn't do something quickly, Masato could die.

Dammit. I can't let that happen. We could try destroying the Gnosis he has, but -

"Masato! What's wrong?!" Kohaku asked.

"H-Hang in there!" Shintaro said, anxiously.

"Something's...in this phone! It's alive!" Masato said, face pale with fright. "And...I don't think I can stop it...! Help! Sis...Bro..." He fell to his knees, and a huge flash of red air occurred. In the flash, all three Kobolds were suddenly cut in two – their upper halves falling off the rooftop onto the dark stone ground below, their lower halves disintegrating.

"...No!" Kei screamed.

There, floating above Masato – now in absolute agony – was a black humanoid figure, whose body seemed almost liquid, with blue smoke contained within itself. On its 'head' was a dark blue metallic mask, however its facial features were contorted and twisted – only its red eyes were visible.

"...The fuck is this thing?!" Shintaro asked. "That's not a Persona, is it...?"

Kohaku, using her Gnosis, tried to scan the mysterious being. As she did so, what looked like a sword hilt – made out of pure darkness – emerged from the monster's heart. The floating monstrosity withdrew the blade from its core, while Masato stared at it in horror.

"Guys...it hurts...whatever this thing is, it hurts! I can't...I can't make it stop! Please...whatever you think of me...help!" Masato said, on the verge of tears.

"I...I will! But what the hell is this thing?" Kohaku said, looking at her Gnosis. On display was a simple entry, with a picture of the being. Yet none of the information on its resistances to the various elements, of which included 'Nuclear' and 'Psychic', seemed to have showing properly. The picture seemed rather compressed, as if it had been re-sized from a lower resolution originally.

Name: EX-NIHILO

Arcana: ERROR – [ARCANA] NOT FOUND

Skills:

- ERROR – [SKILLSET] NOT AVAILABLE

Data:

- BlankDummyComp

ERROR CODE 004 – EX-N

REPORT TO AEON ADMIN IF READING THIS ENTRY IMMEDIATELY

FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN TERMINATION OF SELF

"EX-NIHILO...that doesn't seem right." Kohaku said. "This definitely isn't a normal Persona!"

"Ngh..." Masato said, unable to move from the pain. "Make him stop..."

"Initializing. Host 'Masato Yoshinaga' providing optimal energy to sustain manifestation. Environment scanning."

EX-NIHILO, apparently this creature's identity, put its fingers on its forehead, and a red flash occurred, surrounding Shintaro and the others temporarily with a strange column of 1's and 0's.

"3 Persona users in vicinity. Condition: Genuine. Gnosis terminals all activate."

A shiver went down Shintaro's spine. This being's voice sounded incredibly processed and distorted, as if it had been compressed far beyond tolerable levels. It didn't seem human, even compared to the Shadows the group had defeated so far.

"We've got to destroy this thing." Shintaro said, shaken. "We...We can't let Masato suffer like this."

"Shintaro...of course, you're right." Kohaku said. "We promised to get him home safely, and that's exactly what we're going to do!"

"Then there is no more need for words." Kei said. "Begin!"

"Combat instinct detected. Beginning BATTLE 01 procedure. Annihilation of human subjects must be fulfilled."