"...the individual then finds a glimmer of hope, represented by The Star; and they are suffused with a serene calm."

Edogawa-sensei, Persona 3.

"Uncle Heinrich, what are you doing here?"

Eruca's uncle scoffed, but his grin did not waver. "Saving your sorry behinds, it seems. If I didn't suspect you've been fighting Shadows for a while, I would have taken the whole of you to be novices."

She shook her head, finally snapping out of her torpor. "No, I mean—did you follow me from school?"

"Of course I did! Once I realized that there had been another set of time loops, then—"

"Wait," Sonja said. "You know about those?"

Heinrich shrugged. "I can feel them, although not as clearly as I would like to. Perhaps if I'd noticed them sooner, then…" He left his trail of thoughts unfinished, then sighed, passing a hand through his side-whiskers. "You know, it's already enough of a burden that your brother found himself in this mess. I'd rather if you didn't follow his footsteps on that count."

"What, are you blaming Stocke for what happened to him?" Raynie said with disgust. "Dick move, you know."

Heinrich ignored her. He frowned as he looked down at Aht. It seemed he had just noticed her presence. "Why is there a child with you?" he muttered, sounding genuinely confused.

"Why are you such a jerk, Mr. Hook Nose?" Aht retorted. She bit down her lip as she returned his gaze, a hint of confusion showing on her features.

"Well, no matter," Heinrich said, rolling his eyes. "All of you will be going home. I'll be taking care of things from here."

"What?" said Raynie. "No way!"

"There's a ton of monsters here, you know!" Marco said.

"Marco is right," Eruca added. "You would get killed."

Heinrich showed a predatory grin. "Why, are you really so concerned for me, dear niece? How touching." Behind him, his Persona tilted his head, looking as amused as his master. "Loki and I have faced worse, trust me."

"Have you?" Eruca said, brow furrowing. "How come you can summon a Persona? Did…" She swallowed nervously. "Did something happen to you back when you were at school, too?"

Her uncle's gaze turned to steel, but he did not stop smiling. "You could say that. But this is not the place nor the time for such a story. Besides, as I said, all of you will be going now."

"We need to speak with Dias and Selvan," Eruca said. She thought, quickly, and soon realized how she would force his hand. "There's something we need to ask them. We need to know how the Black Chronicle works." And she patted her bag, in a deliberate attempt to draw his eyes to it.

As she'd hoped, there was an immediate reaction from her uncle. Heinrich's smile disappeared, and he glanced not too subtly at her bag.

Heinrich held out his hand. "Give the Black Chronicle to me."

"No," Eruca said, backing away. "I'll hold on to it. Don't worry, I'll keep it safe."

His eyes flashed with obvious anger. He dropped his hand. "Fine. Have it your way, but don't blame me when this ends up backfiring on you." And Heinrich turned on his heel without another word, advancing deeper into the facility with determined strides.

"Wait!" Eruca called after him. "I'm serious, we're coming with you!"

"Troublesome child," she heard him mutter. "Her mother's daughter, I tell you."

Sonja ran after them. "What should we do, Mr. Heiss? We've never managed to get very far inside. Who knows what's waiting for us out there?"

Heinrich gave her a haughty look. "Hmm. You're the one with the support-type Persona, aren't you? The one with the ability to conceal the rest of your party?"

"Conceal?" Sonja repeated, eyes wide with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You can hide the activities of other Personas," Heinrich explained. "It's why I could never manage to sense your presence with Loki." He looked deep in thought. "And it's probably why you passed right under Dias and Selvan's noses as well."

Sonja gaped at him. "I did that?"

"Or so Loki tells me. He has a similar ability, and I believe Selvan's Persona is the same." Heinrich smirked. "It won't help much today. He can't stay hidden forever."

Rosch was the next to catch up with them. "Wait, sir! There's something you should know about this place. Ever since we got inside, our Personas keep acting all weird. They just won't do what they're told anymore, you know?"

Heinrich waved a dismissive hand around. "I'm not your life coach, boy, I can't help you with self-esteem troubles. If you start doubting yourself too much or give in to your impulsions, then you'll lose control of your Persona. That's all there is to it."

"What?" said Rosch. "That's the reason we're all having trouble with our Personas?"

Rather than answering, Heinrich held up a hand. "There's a few Shadows, right ahead of us," he whispered to Eruca. "Stay behind, I'll take care of them."

"Really?" Sonja mumbled, looking contrite. "I didn't even sense them…"

Despite Heinrich's warning, Eruca still yelped in surprise when four Shadows irrupted from around the corner.

"Heh," said Heinrich. "Watch a master in action."

Light swirled around him as he called his Persona into action. Loki appraised his enemies with a cheeky grin. Before the soldiers could even raise their guns, a slew of shadowy hands sprung from a hole in the ground, grabbing them and tearing them apart. Eruca winced as they scattered into thousands of tiny pieces.

Heinrich nonchalantly inspected his nails. He barely seemed winded.

"Whoa," said Raynie. "How d'you do that?"

Heinrich shrugged in response. Eruca frowned at him.

"How long have you been fighting Shadows?" she asked him.

"Since I was your age," Heinrich answered. "So, more than half of my life. Though I've been aware of Loki's existence for far longer."

"Really?" asked Raynie. "How come?"

"A curious bunch, are you?" Heinrich commented. "Curious… and impatient."

"Well, you can't blame us, can you?" Rosch said. "We've been in the dark for so long! We're owed some answers, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Aht said with a pointed look. "For one, why were you creeping around Kiel's school not long before he got attacked by his Shadow?"

This time, Heinrich halted in his tracks. He glanced down at Aht, but remained silent.

"What?" Raynie and Sonja asked, simultaneously. Gafka, for his part, gave Heinrich a scorching look; it was the first time Eruca had seen such naked disgust showing on his usually stone-smooth face.

Aht turned up her nose at Heinrich. "Uh-huh. I saw you. And when I told Stocke about it, he was all freaked out. So you better get to talking, you old creep!"

Heinrich gave her a long-suffering look. "You probably all noticed that Shadows began to overrun Alma Middle School the moment they disappeared from St. Noah's, didn't you? I went there to investigate. There's your reason." Again, there was a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "I might have cleaned up the place as well. Killing Shadows is strangely cathartic, I'll have you know. You might call it one of my hobbies, even."

"So, all along you were helping us by ridding the school of Shadows?" Sonja said. "We just didn't know about it?"

"Yes. You're welcome, by the way." Heinrich's frown returned. "We need to continue onward. There'll be time for answers later."

No one pressed him for details, and they remained relatively silent as they made their way through the monster-infested facility. Again, Uncle Heinrich seemed to barely break a sweat as he made short work of every Shadow they encountered. They followed him mutely; with everey floor they climbed, the lighting seemed to grow dimmer and the tiles under their feet were a bit more covered with grime. The place became even more of a maze as they went from winding hallways to pristine examinations rooms to darkly lit dormitories, never tarrying too long in one place. Though Heinrich attempted to appear aloof, Eruca knew there was something about their surroundings that unsettled him; his jaw was set too tight, and there was something cold and strange showing in his red-brown eyes.

Still, in the span of a moment it all changed; one Shadow managed to escape Loki's onslaught, and it headed toward Eruca, ready to strike her with its staff. She could only stare with open-mouthed horror as she saw the weapon speeding toward her.

"Eruca!" Heinrich screamed. His self-assured mask finally cracked, and he reached desperately for her.

Thankfully, Verdandi sprang into action, taking the brunt of the Shadow's assault. Eruca grit her teeth at the pain, stifling a cry of agony. Her Persona had deflected most of the blow, but she was still sent flying, and she crashed into a wall. Eruca's dread only increased when she realized her bag had opened, sending its content spilling onto the floor.

"The Chronicles!" cried Eruca.

The words had barely left her mouth when the Shadow was upon her again. Or at least, it would have gotten to her if not for Loki. The Persona rushed toward Eruca's assailant with a ferocity that was at odds with the casual insolence he'd shown so far. He rammed one arm right through the Shadow and tore at its chest with such brutality that Eruca found herself gasping. As the creature dissolved into fine black mist, she saw her uncle running toward her.

"Eruca!" he said. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes," she managed.

Heinrich's expression of concern was soon replaced by gruff detachment. He held out a hand to help Eruca to her feet. "Good. We should press on, then."

"I've got the Chronicles!" she heard Marco say. "Oof, they're heavier than I thought!"

Heinrich snapped his head toward him. His eyes narrowed, and he closed both hands into fists. Still, he said nothing. A strange, niggling feeling prickled at Eruca at the sight of his expression.

"Can you carry them?" Eruca asked Marco. "I'll probably be in the thick of battle more often than you, so…"

Marco gave her a military-style salute. "Of course, ma'am! I'll keep an eye on them!"

And thus they continued onward. Eruca tried not to dwell much on the horrible demise of the Shadow that had attacked her. Still, worry gnawed at her mind as they kept climbing the tower. Her uncle's unsettling Persona always hovered close by her, and his constant vigil made the hair on her neck stand on end.

It was hard to tell how much time had passed when they finally arrived in front of a set of large, sliding doors. Eruca gathered her courage as she tried to ignore how loudly her heart was thumping in her ears.

"This is it, then?" Rosch asked. "They're beyond that door?"

"Yes," Sonja replied.

"And they know we're here," completed Uncle Heinrich. He dropped his voice low, so only Eruca could hear, "It's not too late to turn away and leave. I can perfectly take care of all this by myself." Still, he glanced once more at the Black Chronicle, safely tucked within Marco's hands.

"No," said Eruca. "We'll come with you."

His eyes narrowed. "So be it," and he stepped forward, making the doors slide open.

Inside, the room was large and bare, with white, sterile walls. There was no window, leaving the cold and artificial brightness of the fluorescent lamps as the only source of light. The sole piece of furniture was a small hospital bed; a red-haired man lay in it, a few bandages wrapped around his eyes, while a tall, fair-looking fellow stood guard nearby.

The blond man let out an exclamation as Uncle Heinrich strode into the room. Beside him flared a familiar blue light. His Persona was a graceful figure clad in pale purple. Still, his brilliance seemed diminished when faced with the manic darkness of Loki.

"Forseti!" the blond man—was it Dias?—cried out. "Don't you just stand there, kill him!"

Forseti slashed in the air with his twin swords, sending two waves of light speeding toward Loki. Heinrich grit his teeth as his Persona was hit by an explosion of radiance; it was the first time Eruca saw him give any indication that he was in pain.

Still, one second later, and his grin was back.

Dias stepped back, fear striking his beautiful features. Inside the bed, his red-haired companion—Selvan, surely—tried to sit up, groaning in pain all the while.

"Forseti!" Dias called again, sounding more desperate. "Do something! Don't let him get to us!"

Energy gathered around Forseti as he cast his spell, and a pillar of light burst forth from beneath Loki. The force of it was so great that Eruca found herself gasping. The others let out exclamations of surprise and fear as well, and they raised their hands to shield their eyes from the glare.

Heinrich only winced.

"Are you finished?" he said dryly, when the light was gone. "If you want a thrashing so badly, then you merely need to ask. You don't have to waste your energy like that."

Eruca stepped forward. "My uncle is right. This doesn't need to become a fight. We're only here for answers." She pointedly ignored the look of annoyance Heinrich shot her.

"Are we supposed to believe that?" Dias spat. "You're out for blood—his blood—and I won't allow it!"

Eruca's heart skipped a beat. Her eyes came to rest on the man in the bed. Then, she thought, is he the one who really…?

"Whoa!" said Rosch. "Slow down, man, we're not here to hurt you or anything. We're not that kind of people."

A muscle jumped by the corner of Heinrich's mouth. Still, he said nothing. Instead, he only gestured at Loki; the Persona shot him back a grin before heading toward Forseti, ramming into him. The Persona scattered into thousands of little blue lights as Dias grunted, falling on his knees. Loki hovered above him, the tip of his metallic clawed hand gleaming in the harsh white light. Dias looked up at the Persona, his features settling on a sort of grim resignation.

Eruca was seized with a sudden dread. "No!" she said, grabbing her uncle by the arm. "Stop! Just let him talk, I beg you! He doesn't need to be hurt!"

Heinrich flared his teeth at her in an ugly grimace. "We need only one of them to have our answers, you know…"

"No," Eruca repeated, more firmly. "I know you're angry, but Ernst is—was—part of my family too. We'll see about judgement once we hear what they have to say."

Heinrich's eyes flashed. Still, Eruca let out a sigh of relief as Loki disappeared.

"Fine," he told Eruca. He turned to Dias and Selvan. "You heard her. You better start talking or else we'll be doing it my way."

"Why, you—" Dias exclaimed, getting back to his feet on unsteady legs.

Selvan, however, just held up a hand. "It's alright, Dias. If someone needs to be punished, let it be me alone."

Eruca felt a sudden chill as she took in his features. Yes, his eyes were hidden by a thick white bandage, but she could still see bits of the pink raw skin underneath. Protea had said that he had been assaulted. Just what had happened to this man?

"So it's true then?" Raynie said. "You're responsible for everything that's happened? You're the ones who stole the Black Chronicle and set all those Shadows loose in our school?"

"Did you," Rosch started, sounding almost disbelieving, "did you really kill Stocke?"

"Selvan!" Dias cried out, long blond hair whipping as he turned to look at his companion. "Selvan, don't—"

"You're right," Selvan said, interrupting him. "I killed that boy. It was an accident, but I killed him." His voice was so full of loathing that his attempt at a justification felt rather flat.

Eruca somehow knew what he would confess, yet his words still hit her with the force of a hammer. Sonja choked down a sob while Rosch let out a strangled curse. Raynie was not so subdued, and she screamed, "You bastard!" Marco grew paler, and he held the two Chronicles tighter to his chest.

"Why?" was all Eruca could manage. "Why did you kill my brother?"

"You were trying to get to me," Heinrich said, voice hoarse, "didn't you? The boy just got caught in the crossfire."

"Yes," said Selvan. "We wanted to use him as leverage. He defended himself… more fiercely that we would have imagined." Gingerly, he touched his bandages. "I lost control of Heimdallr. That's all there is to it."

"That's all?!" Raynie said, angrily pointing at him. "No way, asshole, you better start from the beginning."

"Watch your tone!" Dias said, bristling. His anger was replaced by concern as he realized Selvan was dragging himself off the bed. "No… no, my friend, you are still too weak, don't move!"

"You know what the Black Chronicle does, don't you?" Selvan addressed Heinrich. "You're a member of that wretched family, there's no way you're unaware of how it works. You know about its power… and you know how to trigger its awakening."

"Of course I do," Heinrich said softly. "Twenty years ago, I was the one who had been chosen as Sacrifice."

All eyes came upon him.

"Wait, what?" said Raynie. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"That's how you awaken the Black Chronicle," Heinrich continued. "By letting her devour a Persona user's soul. That gives her enough power to break free of her shackles… at least for a short while." He turned to Eruca, giving her an eerie grin. "That's how our family got into their fortune, you know. It's easy to gain riches and fame, when you have a reality-altering goddess as a pet on a leash."

"What has Dias and Selvan got to do with all of this?" Eruca blurted out.

"I believe they must have gone through the same ordeal as me," Heinrich said. "Am I right? You were poor, unwanted children who had the misfortune of being found out as potential Persona users. Or so the sob story usually goes."

"We grew up in the same foster homes," Dias said, voice crackling like ice. As far as I can remember, we only had each other. Always. And then we got sent to that dreadful school…"

Heinrich made quote symbols with his fingers. "Ah, yes, that 'school'. My father worked very hard greasing the right hands to make sure that the things that happened there stayed out of public sight. He, and his numerous, strangely fortunate friends."

"Wait, you mean… the Sacrifices were children?" Sonja whispered.

"Teenagers, actually," answered Heinrich. "It's still a mystery why, but adolescents are more susceptible to awaken the ability to summon a Persona. And Urd has a very special diet of Persona users, so…"

Eruca felt sick; the world seemed to spin around her, and she fought to keep the bile from reaching her mouth. "No… no, that can't be true…"

"So, you two were part of a group of unfortunate high schoolers chosen as potential Sacrifices." Heinrich seemed to ponder for a moment. "Oh, I understand now. You were among the group from twelve years ago, weren't you? Your fellow potential Sacrifices all died in a freak accident, didn't they?"

"They sicced Shadows on us," Selvan said. "They watched us getting hunted like animals one by one. If we hadn't awakened our Personas, then…"

"You would have suffered the same fate as the others," Heinrich completed.

"Siccing Shadows on kids?" Rosch asked. "What the hell's wrong with these people?"

Heinrich shrugged. "According to decades of, ah, 'hands-on field research' made by my family, there are two ways to trigger an awakening. You can be one of the very lucky few to be contacted by a powerful entity beyond any of our knowledge. Or you can simply survive an encounter with your Shadow." He scratched at his side-whiskers, looking suddenly thoughtful. "The latter option usually doesn't end up in some many deaths. What went wrong in your case?"

"How should we know?" Dias snarled. "Once the dust settled, Selvan and I ran, never looking back."

"Obviously, that's not true," Gafka said, voice strangely filled with pity. "You stole the book with Protea's help. With its aid, you unleashed an unspeakable horror on innocent schoolchildren. The same horror that had been unleashed on you."

"You didn't put it all behind," Eruca said. "You want to use the Black Chronicle to change the past… why?"

"Isn't it obvious, you idiot child?" Dias sneered. "It's the only way we'll ever get a semblance of justice." His features then softened. "And it's the only way to make sure Selvan is never forced to live the same wretched life as I did."

Selvan made a soft, strangled sound. "Dias…"

"Alright, fine, you both suffered," said Raynie. "That doesn't excuse anything you did. You're dicks, the both of you."

"Is there a way you could undo what you did?" Marco said. "Mimel and Kiel and that other kid… can you reverse what their Shadows did to them?"

"Oh," Heinrich said darkly, "I know just what we could do…"

"Why didn't the Black Chronicle work, back then?" Selvan suddenly blurted out, interrupting Heinrich. "Why did it end up backfiring?"

"Spare me your inane questions. You badly want to lay the blame at my feet, don't you?" Heinrich rolled his eyes. "Alright, then. The Black Chronicle never worked for you because it's still attuned to me. Back when I was an innocent, fresh-faced adolescent sent to the slaughter, I happened to catch Urd's eye. She proposed to make a pact with me, a pact that would have allowed me change the past as I saw fit—and I never took that chance. I refused her boon and ran."

"What?" said Rosch. "Why?"

"I wasn't the one supposed to receive Urd's favour, you know," Heinrich continued, ignoring him. "It was supposed to be Victor. My brother was supposed to sacrifice me to seal a pact with Urd and gain control of her powers. But she chose me instead. Both of the goddesses did."

"Why?" Eruca said. "Why did the goddesses choose you?"

"Because they wanted a weak, gullible child to manipulate into setting them free." Heinrich said with a shrug. "I failed their expectations, and now here we are. I've unwittingly sabotaged the entire system, and my poor, suffering father—you know, the one who sent me to my death—never managed to get it to work again." He tilted his head at Dias and Selvan. "You're welcome, by the way. If I hadn't failed so spectacularly, then one of you would have been forced to kill the other for the sake of filling the pockets of my esteemed parents and a few of their oh-so distinguished friends."

"Do you expect us to thank you?" Dias exclaimed. "Perhaps if you hadn't failed first, then Selvan and I wouldn't have been forced to clean up your mess afterwards!"

"Charming," Heinrich commented. "You almost made me feel sorry for you for a moment. I'm grateful that you reminded me of how despicable we are as a species."

"I…" There was still something Eruca didn't understand. "Why didn't you use the Black Chronicle's powers back then, Uncle? What stopped you?"

Heinrich gave her a long-suffering look. "Not the petty constraints of morality, of course. You might not know it, but that Urd, well… she didn't seem to be the most stable of individuals. I listened to my instinct and decided to cut my losses and run. Skuld's ability to trigger time-loops was very useful in staging the perfect escape. I moved to Alistel and made a new life for me here."

His words were followed by silence, Then, Rosch spoke, "What next? What should we do? We wanted to use the Black Chronicle to change the past and save Stocke, but…"

"I can't see why that option would be off the table," Heinrich said. "The only reason those two came to Alistel was to kill me and use the Chronicle, I'm sure. Why not extend the same courtesy to them?"

The temperature in the air seemed to drop several degrees. It took Eruca several precious seconds to process just what had come out of her uncle's mouth.

"You serious?" Raynie said, eventually breaking the spell. "Like, you want all of us to commit what's essentially murder?" She looked at everyone else in their party, and to Eruca's surprise, none dared to meet her eyes. "I'm sorry, guys, but that's just too much for me."

"What other option do we have?" Rosch muttered, almost to himself. "We can't drag those guys to court, we can't hand them over to the police. I mean, what kind of proof do we have? The whole thing just sounds too crazy."

"So, what would you do, then?" Sonja said, sounding on the verge of panic. "Surely, you're not suggesting that we should…" She seemed so horrified by the idea she could not even finish her sentence.

Aht sniffed. "I don't like it either… but if that's the only to save Stocke, then…"

"No," said Raynie. "No, no, no… you don't know how crazy you all sound right now…"

"Mr. Heiss," said a soft, tiny voice. Eruca blinked in confusion as she watched Marco approach her uncle—she had not even noticed that he'd been heading toward the man. "I've got the Black Chronicle if you want. Here." And he held it toward Uncle Heinrich.

"Marco?" Raynie exclaimed. "What the hell, man? Didn't you heard a word of what those assholes have been saying? If we use that thing, someone's gonna die!"

Her words brought a little whine of fear from Selvan. Dias put a hand on his shoulder, sending Heinrich a hateful glare.

"So what?" Marco shot back. "These two are responsible for Stocke's death. For what happened to Mimel and the others, too. They would have killed Mr. Heiss without batting an eye. You're telling me I'm supposed to feel sorry for them just because they've gone through some bad stuff in the past?"

"Well, that's not the point! I hate these guys too, but I don't want them to die, y'know?" Raynie looked at Rosch and Sonja, who appeared equally dismayed.

"You know they would probably gotten away with what they did if we hadn't intervened?" Marco continued, voice rising. "It's always like that… someone who can't fight back gets hurt and the bullies who did it get away without being punished." He shook his head. "I'm… I'm tired of seeing them win all the time…"

"A boy after my own heart," Heinrich told him, solemnly. "I'm glad to see that at least one of you has been blessed with some sense." His smile became ice-cold. "Now, give me the book."

To Eruca's surprise, Marco actually hesitated. He glanced back toward her, and she suddenly understood; he was waiting for her approval.

Hundreds of thoughts buzzed in Eruca's mind. Her eyes came to rest on Dias and Selvan. A hint of resignation, of guilt even, seemed to have settled on Selvan's pale, scarred face. Dias, however, stood up straight, managing an expression of defiant protectiveness. The sight of them made Eruca want to vomit—oh, it made her want to explode in anger and scream at the top of her lungs. Those two bastards had stolen her brother away from her. How she hated them.

How she pitied them.

"No," she said. "I can't let you do this. I won't let you kill him, even if it brings Ernst back." Eruca steeled her gaze as she locked eyes with Heinrich. "That's not what Ernst would have wanted, and you know it."

"I don't recall letting you have a say in this," Heinrich said, coldly.

"She's right!" Sonja cried out. "Stocke wouldn't have wanted you to become a murderer, sir! He would have wanted you to move on. I know it's hard, but—"

"Oh, but be quiet, will you?" Heinrich all but snarled. "I really should have left all of you behind. I didn't come all this way only to waste my time hearing the kind of maudlin nonsense you'd get from a self-help book!"

"You're not the only one who's lived through some shitty stuff!" Raynie retorted. "All three of you, you're supposed to be adults! You're supposed to have it figured it out, not to make our lives harder 'cause you can't get your crap together!"

"You're really starting to test my patience—"

Aht sauntered over to Eruca. As always, Gafka followed after her like a shadow. "I thought you had the right idea at first, but you're all wrong! How is causing more pain supposed to help deal with what you've suffered in the past? It doesn't make any sense! It just makes more people miserable!"

Eruca extended a hand toward her uncle, beseechingly. "We'll find another way, if that's what you want—if that's what you need. Just, don't go this path, please—"

"ENOUGH!" Uncle Heinrich screamed. He grabbed his head with both hands. Between his fingers, Eruca could see his eyes; they were bloodshot and bulging from their sockets. "The Black Chronicle belongs to me. I'll have my wish from Urd… even if she ends up destroying everything in the process."

"Wait," said Marco. He gave one last, worried look to the others. "Destroy? What do you mean, destroy?"

Heinrich lunged forward, and Eruca cried out when she realized what he was about to do. Her uncle snatched the Black Chronicle from Marco's hands. The boy yelped as he tumbled backward. Immediately, Raynie rushed toward him, giving Heinrich a hateful look as she hovered protectively above her friend.

Heinrich paid them no mind; he only had eyes for the Black Chronicle.

There was a flash of blue as Dias' Persona appeared behind him. "You won't get to him," he said, voice barely shaking with anger—or was it fear? "You'll have to get through me first!"

His brave front did not waver even when a grinning Loki burst forth in a scatter of blue light.

"Oh well," said Uncle Heinrich. "If you insist on dying as well…"

Dias grew paler, but he did not move away, Sweat beaded on his brow. He and Selvan were now holding hands.

Eruca acted on instinct, and instinct alone. She willed Verdandi forward, and the Persona raised her musket, firing toward the tall, looming form of Loki. Heinrich cried out in pain and surprise as the icy projectile sped by the Persona's head.

"That's enough," Eruca said, fighting to keep her voice steady. "We all need to calm down. It's no use making such important decisions while we're—"

Heinrich whirled on his feet to face her. His Persona's unsettling gaze came to rest upon her as well, and she shivered. "You," he said, disbelievingly, "you shot me."

"I'm sorry," said Eruca. "Just, listen to me, please—"

The blood had drained from his face. He looked so, so very tired. Behind him, Loki twitched a little. "Why are you getting in my way?" Heinrich said, in a strangely weak voice. "Don't you want your brother back? Don't you want to save him?"

"I…" Eruca knew the answer she wanted to give, but she would not let it leave her lips, not when she knew her wish would probably lead to more blood being spilled. "No," she finally managed. "Not if it causes more suffering." With long, decisive strides, she placed herself between her uncle and Dias. Eruca took strength in the presence of the Persona by her side. "Not if it makes you a murderer."

"Oh," Heinrich simply said. There was no explosion of anger, no maddened grin. Loki hung down his head, and a great shudder went through him.

Eruca smiled at her uncle. Again, she reached out to him. "Let's find another way… together."

There was no reaction from Heinrich. His gaze was empty, his face, expressionless. Loki, however…

Loki thrashed as a veil of black mist came to envelop him. Protrusions began to form beneath his skin, ripping the fabric of his coat. A strange ooze poured out of these sores, and the Persona arched his back as he let out an ear-splitting scream. Soon, he was covered in darkness; Eruca felt her heart lodge in her throat when she realized he seemed to be growing in size.

"Uncle Heinrich?" she said, weakly. The man did not move, did not answer. He seemed barely aware of his surroundings. He only stared back at her with an empty, glassy gaze. "What's happening to Loki?"

"That's, that's not Loki…" Sonja said. "Not… not anymore…"

A great, black beast with eyes that burned like coal bore down on Eruca. Its hind paws were replaced by great prosthetic limbs; as huge, golden claws scraped against the ground, she could hear the whirring and the hissing of the mechanism inside.

The wolf met her gaze, and Eruca had the strength to utter only one word.

"Run."