English is not my first language.
if someone likes to be a beta reader to point out my grammatical errors I would be very happy
please enjoy!
Welcome to Tartarus (VI)
Day: 29/Monday Month: June Year: 2009
Afternoon
"I hate homework"
I guess that much should be expected in a top tier school, but the amount of homework given was almost college level, like hell I wanted to experience that, yet somehow miraculously I was getting it, as I walked out of school I found myself with the sight of a certain archer.
"What's up Yukari? Do you have something in mind?" I said her Hello
"…"
"Hello, earth to Yukari" I ran my hand over her face
"Oh!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you"
"No, I'm sorry, my mind was elsewhere"
"Something happened? Do you want to talk about that?"
"No, I have something to do, so I'll see you later"
"Well, but if you want to talk I'm all ears"
I feel like I forgot something
Day: 06/Monday Month: July Year: 2009
Afternoon
It was relatively easy to fall into a routine, classes in the mornings, some extra activities in the afternoons, fighting with shadows that threaten to destroy the world at night, things like that, still the worst thing was still the homework, it would take a fight against an army of shadows on the damn task, still I had to show my progress to Mitsuru to see if it is more or less satisfactory, as such when I finish my duties with the council I go to finish my task for her to take a look at it, I which I actually struggled to do since she looked pretty exhausted.
"Busy day?" asked
"A little, your grades seem to be going well, so I don't think you'll do badly on the next tests" she replied after giving my homework a cursory glance.
"I am happy to hear that. Would you like to come with me to the cafeteria? Sounds like you could use a recharge."
"Hmm, I finished my homework pretty early so I think I can tag along."
After putting away the paperwork and collecting our things we went to the Chagall Cafe where we ordered our drinks, for most of the time Mitsuru seemed to be deep in thought as she read her diary, she was a very responsible person, but she also deserved to be happy.
"I had noticed that you are a diligent worker, but you really take it to a whole new level. Have you taken some time for yourself?" I told her as she raised an eyebrow
"It's true that I always have a task at hand, but that's how it is to be the heiress of the Kirijo group" Mitsuru replied without taking her eyes off her agenda
"Well yes, but I think you should also enjoy your time as a teenager a little more, we will not live this part of our lives twice"
"I... understand what you mean, to be honest because I was the first to summon my persona, I spent so much of my life focusing on the Kirijo group, that's why I never took the time to live life..." she said finally leaving. a little aside your schedule
"My god, at least tell me you've gone shopping with some friends"
"My stylists always took care of preparing my outfits..." she looked away a bit embarrassed
"Well… not right. That is unacceptable! Let us go shopping to show you how it has done!"
"Sorry?" She looked at me confused as she tilted her head
"You will see"
Without waiting for her to refuse, I just got up while taking her hand to drag her to the mall, we wandered a bit until we finally reached a clothing store that seemed to be acceptable, so we went in, Mitsuru still confused took some clothes and went into the fitting room, on the way out I was trying my hardest not to laugh.
"Pff, you, pff, it looks great… pff" I failed
"Do not laugh!"
I must admit that seeing Mitsuru out of her model student facade was refreshing, she always looks so serious that it feels a bit hard to talk to her, since Fuuka's arrival as support Mitsuru joined our scouting party so I wanted to do something to bring her closer to the group and the excuse of going shopping seemed like a good start, or so she thought...
It quickly became apparent that Mitsuru's fashion sense was terribly wrong, everything she tried on made her look like a villain, I was trying very hard not to laugh, but the store staff didn't hold back, that made her She returned to the dressing room with a red face, before she gave up on the clothes, she took some casual pants and a cream-colored sleeveless sweatshirt, a little confused, she took it and left the dressing room with the new outfit.
"Just... Wow..." she says with my heart almost skipping a beat at the sight of her
"Don't look at me so much..." she crossed her arms embarrassed
"You look amazing Kirijo"
"Don't joke, this is something else for Yukari"
"I'm not kidding, you really look good in that outfit"
Although Mitsuru was not even close to being one of my favorite characters in the personal series (that place goes to Aigis), but meeting her personally... I think it has given me a different perspective, always working trying to be an example to follow, by in the end, the only thing I bought was the outfit I chose for her, although it was more, it was more because she would feel bad not to do it after trying on so many clothes.
"I'm sorry... this is not for me..." Mitsuru said looking at the bag of clothes
"Not at all, this was kind of fun in her way."
"I hope that's not something I should be offended by" she narrowed her eyes waiting for my answer
"No, no... well maybe a little, to be honest your fashion sense is terrible, but for your first day of shopping it wasn't that bad, you can't deny that you had fun either"
"Well... It was fun being able to hang out like that for a bit."
"And next time it will be more fun because Yukari will accompany us"
"N-next time?"
"Did you think this would be the last time? Nope! With Yukari here we can definitely make progress on the topic of fashion!"
"That... that sounds like fun, I'll have to take you up on your offer."
Although a little red at the prospect of what happened today, Mitsuru seemed genuinely happy, I for one could not help but smile as well as we retreated back to the dorms.
You are me, I am you... you have acquired a new bond, with the power of the EMPRESS arcane you have opened the path of a new chapter...
Day: 07/Tuesday Month: July Year: 2009
Night
It was finally a full moon again, I knew this would be a tough shadow, every full moon shadow is, I had packed all my gear, I even got a first aid kit from Mitsuru, I had everything I needed for emergency treatment and more, it seemed that the role of emergency healer had fallen to me.
"Are you lucky Fuuka?" asked Akihiko
"Just a second… I found it! I feel a strong presence!" he replied
"Just as we imagined, the big shadows appear during the full moon" Mitsuru said crossing her arms
"It's located in Iwatodai... inside a building on Shirakawa Boulevard" Fuuka said pointing to its location on a map of the city
"Mmm, Shirakawa, lately they've been finding the lost in pairs... now I understand why" said the Ikutsuki traitor
"In pairs... eh... oh, I understand" Mitsuru said a little embarrassed
"What's on Shirakawa Boulevard?" Fuuka asked innocently
"I've heard of it, but..." Yukari bacillus
"Well it's those hotels, you know" Iori tried to continue
"They are love hotels, where couples go to have sex" I cut them
"Without hesitation and straight to the point..." Iori said impressed.
"Nonsense, it's just hotels... with better decoration..." Ikutsuki tried and failed to put it another way.
"And that they also sell condoms and other contraceptives" again cut
It was really fun to see most of my elders act clumsily, I think it helped a lot to lighten the mood (I swear the shade of red that Fuuka got should have her name on it), so with a strategic talk our roles were more or less the same as always, with Fuuka in charge of support and the rest of us in action, with that we all went straight to the hotel where everything seemed very quiet.
"I sense a powerful presence on the third floor. Please head there immediately!" Fuuka pointed out in our minds
We all started moving without any particular problem, no shadows, no problems, everything was too calm, it was all the calm before the storm, squeezing my rifle tighter kept me a little more separated from the group so they were not going to be damaged by crossfire, just as we reached the third floor we found the shadow, the shadow of the Hierophant.
"That thing is horrible" I said when I saw it
"Akihiko, Mitsuru, Junpei, you take care of the little ones" Makoto directed us
"When did you become a strategist?" asked
"Last night" he replied without missing a beat
With a small laugh we started the fight, Makoto had really opened up to us more since the last fight, we went from those incomprehensible sounds to more concise words, with the first group distracting the smaller ones the rest of us moved to the front, Makoto, Yukari and I began to hit the Hierophant, we hit her with everything until she finally fell without too much difficulty.
"Good job everyone! The shadow has been defeated, I will be waiting for you outside"
Even with that I did not let my guard down, I knew there should be another shadow, so I began to inspect the whole room, it seemed that everyone noticed my nervousness and Junpei was the first to approach.
"What's up old man?" he asked while patting me on the back
"This was very easy... too much if we compare it with the others..." I told him even if I stopped watching the surroundings
"Perhaps... Aren't they all that strong?" I try to reason
"Hey?! I still feel a shadow in that room! It is not the same one you defeated! But where is he hiding?
"Did you say?"
"I hate when you're right..."
Suddenly the door of the room closed keeping us all inside, with that everyone raised their guard again looking for any trace of the shadow, but there was nothing in the room but a strange mirror, when everyone approaches it is heard how something does click.
"Get away from the mirror!" try to warn them
Before any of them could react, they were all enveloped in a light and disappeared, I had barely avoided that, but now I was alone in the room, in retrospect this was not the best of my plans, maybe I should go with one of them.
"Everything is all right? It seems that I have lost the connection with the others" asked Fuuka
"I'm fine, but the others have disappeared, try to find them all Fuuka while I find a way out of here"
"I got weak readings from everyone, it seems they're still at the hotel, but I can't get in touch with them!"
"Keep calm and keep trying Fuuka, I'll see if I can..."
Some weird slime-like things appeared and headed straight for me, it seemed that the other shadow had finally made its appearance, I started dodging and shooting while trying to talk to Fuuka, which was not an easy thing.
"Are you okay?!"
"At the moment, but I think I found our hidden friend, Fuuka tries to contact the others, I'll try not to die in the meantime"
"You'll be fine?"
"I have no idea, I just know that I don't want to increase my hospital bill, so try to get the others here as soon as possible."
Instead of attacking I decided to go on the defensive, this was the great lovers shadow, a giant bloody heart made of slime wrapped in something like spiked metal, his attacks mostly seemed to be physical because of the way he handled the slime in its structure, I tried to hit it, but it had a great evasion, on the contrary it has made me go back several times, at least this time its blows did not leave me out like the previous time
"Fuuka, that of not wanting to increase the bill was serious. How are the others?"
"They have regrouped and are destroying the mirrors that keep the door closed"
"Mirrors... Is there a chance that the one behind the shadow is important?"
"Possibly the most important to open the door"
"Fuck... well, I think I'll have to break through, tell the others to get ready when it opens"
I tried to go straight to the mirror, but the lovers started using the slimes to hit me against the wall, with so many hits I was starting to feel dizzy. Was I passing out? The big shadow was moving towards me, I was barely managing to dodge some of its blows, but I did not know how much longer it could last, things were starting to get blurry, the last blow knocked me back into the wall, leaving me with no more energy to stand up. foot.
"The hospital is really going to be expensive…"
The lovers began to move towards me…it seemed like it was all, my mind was blurring, but I could still remember my last visit to the Velvet Room, I remembered that mask on the door behind Igor, I know I had seen it before, but where? ?
everything turns black
I see in front of me the white mask.
I felt like I was losing consciousness...
But…
I remembered...
His name is…
"Philemon..."
As soon as I mention the name I open my eyes and stand up while I am enveloped in a blue flame, the slimes were heading straight for me, but I swing my rifle and shoot directly away easily, more slimes were coming towards me, this time I tried to deflect them, When I did, I noticed that my rifle had disappeared and now I had a sword, it was Excalibur… Excalibur? Why was it in my hands?
The first time I held a sword in my hands it did not feel comfortable to me, but now different, it felt a familiarity almost to the same degree as when I first held my rifle, looking at the shadow I knew what I had to do, holding it with both direct my head it began to shine
"HAAAA!"
With all my energy in that attack I made a direct cut that pierced the shadow and destroyed the passing mirror leaving a huge cut all the way, I take a few steps back unsteadily, the sword became my rifle again, my vision became blurry Just when I see the door open.
"Tyron!" I heard someone shout my name, that red hair made me nostalgic
Day: ?/? Month: ? Year: ?
¿?
"Where I am?"
I wake up to see a dark room with 4 pillars surrounding me in every corner, the only light that illuminates the place is the red seals on the pillars, beyond the 4 pillars is an infinite abyss of darkness, it seems as if I am floating, the floor below me seemed perfectly transparent glass, all I hear around me is the laughter of a familiar voice, but almost annoying, it sounded familiar.
"I thank you, but for you it is possible that I would never have returned to this world in another couple of years" said the voice that reverberated throughout the place
"Who are you? Where I am?"
"This is just another section between dream and reality"
"Like the Velvet Room?"
"Half true, the Velvet Room is inhabitant of those who wish to protect the light of the world, it is I who am here to represent the darkness... the destruction"
"That's… familiar… Where…? Are you Nyx…?" try to reason
"You compare me to a being as small as Nyx, he barely has a light touch for the human world compared to the power he had" he said mockingly
That did not make sense, Nyx was one of the most threatening gods in the persona series, especially when it comes to having a strong connection to the human world...
No... that is not right...
Of all the god bosses Nyx was the most menacing, but why can't I help but think that is not entirely true? What was I forgetting?
"Soon you will find out, and when you do, it will be too late" said the voice condescendingly.
I look behind me to see a big mirror appear out of nowhere, on this mirror again a mask appeared on it that looked like the white one with a butterfly on the right eye, but this mask was black, the black part of the mask forms a red eye and white teeth, a part of my mind was racing to try to remember what was missing, but I couldn't get to the important part.
"Soon you will wake up, I wish you a good day" he mocked
"Who are you? What are you? Philemon? No…Nyar…"
Day: 13/Monday Month: July Year: 2009
Afternoon
"I really don't want to know how much my hospital bill is..." I said when I woke up
"Well, look who finally decided to wake up"
I moved my gaze to the other person who was in the room, it was Yukari who was sitting next to my bed, she had a pretty serious look on her face, I made myself comfortable since I did not really feel bad in any way.
"You gave us quite a scare, we all took turns keeping an eye on him to make sure you were okay"
"Sorry about that. How long was I away?"
"You've been out for a week, the doctors said it was just exhaustion, but we were still worried about you!"
"I am sorry"
"No need to be sorry, you really didn't have much of a choice in that situation, to be honest, I'm a mess too."
"What happened?"
"A few days ago... I called Mitsuru during a meeting with Ikutsuki, it's about how he tricked us all into cleaning up a mess made by his family."
"A disaster?"
So Yukari began to tell me what happened since I was unconscious, how Fuuka's grandfather was looking for data on what happened 10 years ago and how Mitsuru's grandfather tried to turn shadows into weapons, those were the shadows that caused the dark hour, the Tartarus, the cases of apathy syndrome, everything, the school becomes Tartarus, because it used to be the place where the investigations were carried out, also because Ikutsuki told them that he could stop the dark hour by finishing off the other 12 shadows.
"Looks like quite a few heavy things happened while I was away"
"Yes…"
"But it's something else that's troubling you, isn't it?"
"I… yeah, to be honest, I feel pretty bad about putting Mitsuru in a bind after everything was explained."
"Well, in my experience an apology always works, I'm sure you feel bad about hiding that from everyone too."
"Maybe you're right…"
She still looked worried...
"I wanted to ask you, would you like to go shopping with Mitsuru and me sometime?" abruptly change the subject
"Hey?"
"Well Mitsuru and I went shopping the other day and…well, to be frank, her fashion sense is a bit awful, so I need a little help on that side."
"Well, excuse me for my poor fashion sense" replied Mitsuru who entered my room at that moment
"Earth swallow me…"
I could feel the cold sweat rolling down my back as I scratched the back of my neck trying to feign dementia. Yukari, seeing the situation, gave me one last look before getting up to go to the door.
"I almost forgot that the exams are tomorrow, I'm going to go back to the dorms to study" Yukari said goodbye without looking back
"Traitor, I believed in you!" she yelled at him when she closed the door
So only the two of us were left, the silence was clearly uncomfortable.
"Don't worry, Yukari explained everything to me, I'm sorry about what happened" I started trying to forget the above
"No... I should be the one to apologize to you, it is my fault that you spent so much time in the hospital, now and before..." Mitsuru said without looking at me.
"There's nothing to apologize for Mitsuru, I would have joined to help in any way, that's who I am, or at least my current self, I really can't speak for my past" I told him making him turn to see me
"Thank you"
"And with that said, the hospital bill only increases with every shadow we face." I tried to lighten my mood.
"Don't forget the exams either" added Mitsuru
"Demons…"
"Putting that aside, what happened before we arrived?"
"I... I do not remember exactly, for a moment I remembered something... but now it escapes me again, I am sorry" I finally told him
"Don't worry, the only thing that matters are that you're okay"
Mitsuru gave me a reassuring smile and I relaxed a bit, but it was quite strange, again I felt like I forgot something particularly important...
Day: 14/Tuesday Month: July Year: 2009
Afternoon
I have thought about it a bit...
My powers are the definition of an upgrade with the power of friendship
Recapitulating a bit it should be obvious, Makoto with his links gets improvements when he creates new PERSONA, for my part I get a new PERSONA with each link, which in an explanation from Igor himself when I skip the doubt of not being able to work at PERSONA was more or less in that he couldn't destroy a bond to create another, since he was the materialization of that bond, so to improve that PERSONA he had to improve that bond.
So it was the power of friendship
So imagine my surprise at seeing the walking bundle of joy that was the physical representation of the world fueled by the power of friendship, the crystallization of a Deus ex machine made person, the little principal of one of the most disastrous guilds, the Mavis Vermillion herself, though considering I had a moment like that a couple of days ago I will not say any more about it
"Hello! Who are you?" The little girl greeted/asked me with curiosity
"I'm Tyron... a regular visitor to this library" I replied without missing a beat
"A pleasure! I am Mavis Vermillion!" he answered me happily, trying to shake my hand, but it just happened to me like an illusion
"That's new..." I told him
"Don't worry, that happened because I'm not here... Where exactly is here?" I finally ask
"Well... I honestly have no idea, I know the place does not exist physically... it is something like the collective human consciousness... I think..."
"I see"
"Did you understand that?"
"Nope! But it does not matter, there are many books and there are funny people, although it is strange because they said they knew me before.
"That must have been Riku and Sora... well from what I understood the door they go through to enter this place randomly jumps over their timeline... so we've known them before... in the future?"
"I don't understand..." she answered simply tilting her head
"Seriously, me neither, let's just leave it as a particular thing of this place"
"Alright!"
"Anyway, it was nice meeting you, but it's time for me to go back to my friends."
"It was fun meeting you. Is it okay if I stay here a little longer?"
"I don't see a problem with that, just don't destroy anything"
"…" he looked away
"Don't destroy anything please" I said a little more firmly
"Fine…" she replied with a pout as she crossed her arms
I could not help but snort a little as she tried to ruffle her hair, to which I ended up going through her again, she gave me a smug smile as she stuck her tongue out.
You are me, I am you… you have acquired a new bond, with the power of the arcane HERMIT you have opened the way to a new chapter…