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"Wake up… wake up!"
I open my eyes and am greeted by an unfamiliar sight. Instead of waking up in a back alley, I was in a small empty room; a room that I recognized.
"This is…" I stand up and look out a nearby window. Judging by the height, he was in a skyscraper: the tallest building in the city he was transported to. The city below looks like a toy model settlement that someone built from where I'm standing - the buildings were miniscule from my perspective. The city is split into two by a large river, big enough for cargo ships to go through it as they head towards the ocean.
"Am I… home…?" The door behind me creaks and I sharply turn around at who it is.
It was a young girl, about Illya's age. She had platinum blonde hair styled in a hime-cut with a white band with a white bow. Her outfit consists of a black bow, blue dress, white socks and red flat shoes.
"*Gasp!*" The little girl rushes towards me and gives me a hug."You're finally awake, onii-chan!"
I tilt my head. Why is this girl acting so familiar with me? Does this girl know me?
The little girl sees my confused face and pouts. "Geez! How could you forget about me so easily, Onii-chan!?"
"I…" I tried to form the words, but my train of thought was suddenly derailed by a sudden influx of knowledge. "Alice."
The little girl, Alice, smiles brightly. "Yay! Onii-chan remembers me!"
"Of course I do." I patted her head. How could I forget her? The little girl that wandered into Wonderland. The little girl who has been with me since I could remember.
'Wait, what?' I shake my head at the weird thought. "Alice," I pull her back and look at her in her ocean blue eyes. "How… how are you here?"
Alice giggles. "Gramps said that you'd have the memory of a goldfish, onii-chan. But I didn't think you were this forgetful."
"Gramps?" I said.
Alice grabs my hand. "C'mon!" She guides me out of the room and into a massive hall, the largest I've ever seen. It looks ancient yet the dim red lighting made it oddly captivating to look at. I turn to the walls to see multiple creatures doing various different things; sitting, talking, flying around, eating, sleeping, and other mundane things people do.
"What the…?" I mutter trying to comprehend what I'm looking at.
"There he is! Hey, gramps!" Alice calls out and waves.
The entity turns around and walks towards us.
I instantly recognize the being in front of me. "Y-You're-!"
"You sure took your time to wake up." Khonshu grumbles. "If you hadn't woken up, I would have gone to that room myself and nuked your sorry ass."
"Uhhhh…" I have no words to respond to that.
"Ignore him. Gramps is just being grumpy because he hasn't had his pills yet." Alice quips.
Though he doesn't have any skin or muscles, Khonshu glares at the young girl. "One more of those missy, and you're done."
"Oh, I'm so scared." Alice remarks sarcastically.
I just look back and forth at the two before putting my foot down. "Okay, stop fighting."
Alice smiles. "Okay! Well, I better be going now. Bye bye, onii-chan!" She then runs off into the darkness.
"What a brat. She may take the form of a little girl, but she's as much of an ass as everyone here." Khonshu comments and turns to me. "Well, I know you have questions so spit them out."
"... where am I?"I asked.
Khonshu looks confused. "Are you serious? You mean to tell me you don't know where you are?"
"Uh… no. If I did know, I certainly wouldn't be asking you." I said.
The Egyptian god huffs. "Well to answer your question," He points his scepter to the city beyond. "Tell me what you see out there."
I look at the city for a minute before turning to my Persona. "This is… my hometown in Boston. Back when I was alive…"
"Correct. What you are seeing is the city within your soul." Khonshu states.
"My soul?" I point to the city below. "This is my soul?"
"No." Khonshu replied.
"What?" I asked, perplexed.
"Look again at the city. What do you see?"
I leaned closer to the window. And that's when I saw it. The streets and roads, the veins and arteries of every city, were bare. The pavements were devoid of people. When trains stopped at the stations, the platforms were empty, and nobody got off.
"It's a ghost town." I concluded.
Khonshu nods. "This city is nothing but a replica of Boston, a cognitive space created from your memories of your past life. The only tangible part of this space is the Tower of Babel where all of us reside."
"So this place is like… my Palace?" I said. "Wait, Tower of Babel?"
"This tower. It's called the Tower of Babel (The Junction Between Heaven and Earth). A rather interesting way to interpret the Sea of Souls, no?"
"And its inhabitants?"
Sparkling dust suddenly rains down from above us as something flies down. It was a small humanoid being with wings. It's wearing a blue leotard along with matching knee socks and gloves.
"Hey, hey! Do you know who I am!?" The little sprite asked.
The answer was instantaneous. "Pixie."
"Yay! I'm so happy." Pixie giggles and flies off.
"I know them. Even though I'm meeting them for the first time, it feels as if I've known them all of my life." I let out a chuckle. "I am Thou, Thou art I. Those words are very literal, aren't they?"
"Indeed. We are the manifestations of your soul. We are the culminations of your collective experiences, bonds, and insights. We are not part of some video game." Khonsou states. "We are your tools, your weapons, your friends, your teachers, and so much more. And just as we complete you, you complete us." He leans closer to me and releases a bit of killer intent. "However, should you falter or begin to second-doubt yourself, I will personally end your life. Do I make myself clear?"
I frantically nod. "Yes!"
Khonshu nods and straightens himself up. "Now then, do you have any more asinine questions?"
"Where is everyone?"
If Khonshu had a face, he would be smirking. "You'll wish you'd never asked that." He slams his scepter into the floor, creating an incredibly loud noise. "Hey, everyone! The Kismet Bringer wants to see you all!"
At first, nothing happened.
And then they came.
It starts with a frigid gust of wind as snow falls down from seemingly nowhere. From the snow, something pops out. It was a living snowman wearing a blue hat that had two little demon ears pointing up from it and a yellow circle in the middle of his forehead. He has a jester-like blue collar with gold tips that go around his neck and blue boots on the bottom with yellow borders around the ankle. It has large black eyes that stare deep into your soul and a massive smile with two fangs sticking out.
Jack Frost
A buzzing sound filled the air, and an immaculately dressed woman with the wings of a fly ascended and gave him a deep bow.
Beelzebub.
A blue humanoid, scantily dressed but with four arms, each holding a different weapon gave him a long look before nodding his head in acknowledgement.
Shiva.
And more came. Being that represents justice, kindness, and retribution flew down from the heavens while beings of tyranny, destruction, and anarchy crawled from deepest pits of the abyss.
And all of them, all of them, pledged their allegiance to me.
Me.
"Ahem," I turn to Khonshu but he's not alone. Next to him was a very tall figure with a very tall top hat, a long-horned mask for its face, a cropped red eighteenth century-esque suit worn open with the collar popped, stitched heart designs on the shoulders, a white ruffle tie, a black, tailed corset running down its torso; large, black, feathery wings starting at around the small of its back; claws; red coverings on its legs resembling pants and boots with blade-like heels.
"So… you're the new Wild Card, huh? Hahaha! I hope you are just as resilient as him." The Gentleman Thief, Arsène, said with a light cackle.
I recognised the Norse Gods, with Odin standing in front of them, Gungnir in his hand. Thor stood behind him, hefting Mjolnir on his shoulder. And beside him was Loki, smiling like a child.
The black dragon Seth flies down to greet me.
I saw the massive body of Lucifer, its six wings extending outwards as it looked down on me with calculating eyes. Beside him is Helel, his beautiful features contrasting with Lucifer's monstrous ones.
And yet for all the grandeur and magnificence of the scene around me, I wasn't taken aback at all. A feeling of familiarity washes over me.
A tugging in my hand pulls me back to my senses and looks down to see Alice smiling at me.
"Ne, ne, what do you think of the Sea of Souls, onii-chan?"
I smile back. "It feels like home."
"Theo… Theo…"
"Uwah…"
"THEO!"
"Mmm…" I slowly open my eyes only to instantly close them because of the intense light. After a few blinks, my eyesight completely adjusts to the light and I get a good look at my surroundings.
"Another unfamiliar ceiling…" I mumble under my breath.
"You're awake!"
I turn my head to the left to see Illya looking at me. "Illya…?"
Illya sniffles. "You made us all worried… I thought you were never going to wake up…"
I furrow my eyebrows. "... how long was I out?"
"You were asleep for the whole day, it's already late afternoon." Illya reveals.
I slowly rise up from the bed. "How did we get back to the penthouse?"
"It was Shielder." Illya shows me her Command Seal. "She tracked me down through our connection. She and the others found us passed out in a back alley."
"Hm, that makes sense…" I mumble.
"Oh yeah, Sella wants us to come to the living room. No doubt it's about our little adventure~" Illya smiles.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're very cheeky?" I remark.
"Hm? I do not know what you're talking about~" Illya said cutely. "Well, little brother, shall we?"
'I should probably find her more kid-oriented books. I blame that old bastard for the way she turned out.' I thought.
After getting out of my room, we walked towards the living room and in it was everybody waiting for us. Sella stands in front of us, arms crossed and stares down at us. Mashu is sitting on the sofa along with Leysritt and Fillia is in the high bar.
And boy did they not look happy.
"You are awake, good." Sella glares down at us. "I hope you both realize how much trouble you both are."
The two of us don't respond as Sella continues.
"Not only have you snuck out alone, but you've unintentionally entered a Master's territory and were almost killed." Sella states. "Do you both know what's going on out there? The whole city is a battlefield. It's not a safe place for children, especially the children of magi, to wander around without an escort."
"But, Sella-"
"Lady Illyasviel, please be quiet." Sella cuts her off, she clearly doesn't want to be interrupted. "You were both fortunate that you survived. I'm not sure how your parents would react if I told them you were dead."
Mashu steps in. "Miss Sella. Don't you think you are being a little harsh about this? Besides, if anyone's at fault, it's me for not protecting them."
Sella turns to Mashu and stares at her for a few seconds before turning back to us. "Regardless, this cannot be allowed to happen again. I will call your parents and tell them what happened."
"!" Our heads snap back up at the declaration.
"You can't do that!" Illya exclaims.
"Can it, brat. It's your fault that things have escalated to this point. So grow up and accept the consequences." Fillia bluntly said.
Sella turns to Fillia. "I would prefer if you had said it with more finesse, sister."
"Whatever." Fillia huffs.
"Ahhh…." Leysritt moans.
"Quiet right, Leysritt." Sella agrees.
I look on while in deep thought. 'They're serious. If they call Irisviel and Kiritsugu, then I'll never be able to leave the penthouse. He'll likely set up a surveillance system or even send Maiya to keep a close eye on us. I need to figure out a way to diffuse this, I can't have my movements be restricted like this.'
"Then perhaps I can be of assistance."
I blink at the familiar voice ringing in my mind. 'Arsène?'
"I will assist you with this, but do not expect another helping hand in the future. Experience is the best teacher after all." Arsène then begins to give me instructions.
"Well? What do you have to say for yourselves?" Sella demands from her two charges.
"No." Everyone turns their attention to me.
Sella blinks. "Excuse me?"
"I said no. You can't tell dad about what happened." I elaborate.
Fillia arches an eyebrow. "Oh? And why can't we?" She crosses her arms and glares at us.
"Because if you do, then you'll be in so much trouble." I replied.
Now it's Sella's turn to look confused. "What are you talking about?"
I turn to my sister. "Show them."
Illya looks at me confused only for her eyes to widen and frantically goes back to her room before quickly returning with something in her hands. As she places the items on the coffee table, the homunculus sisters are mortified as they see pictures of them passed drunk with empty bottles littering around the living room.
"W-What!?" Sella stutters out in shock.
Mashu blushes in clear embarrassment as she sees a picture of her in such a shameful position.
"Here's the deal: you don't call our parents and we don't show them these lovely pictures of you all." I smirk as I pick up Sella's picture. "Could you imagine how they'd feel if they found out that we were almost killed because you were drunk on the job? I can, and I'd be VERY angry."
Fillia lets out a whistle. "Damn, he got us good."
Sella is taken aback by this development. "T-This is blackmail! You can't just hold us hostage with this information! What would your mother think!?"
"She'd be sad and though dad wouldn't show it, he'd likely be a little proud that I put his lessons to good use." I said. "So, what's it gonna be Sella? Would you let this go or will I have to tell mommy and daddy about your little night activity?"
Your Guts has Leveled Up!
Sella's mouth was hanging wide open. "Y-Yo-You… I-I-I!" She then proceeds to storm out of the room.
"Well, damn. Never thought I'd see Sella speechless." Filla looks at me and smirks. "You're good, kid."
"Thanks." I smiled.
"Welp, I better find Sella before she does something stupid." Fillia gets up and walks towards where Sella went.
"Wait… for me." Leysritt stands up and follows her sisters.
Illya lets out a tired sigh. "That was a close one. I had completely forgotten I took those pictures."
"Good thing, your otōto was there to remind you, right?" I chuckled.
Illya chuckles as well. "My otōto… so mischievous. I don't know what I'd do without you." She then starts to laugh.
The two of us laugh but that's when I feel something strange growing inside me.
I am Thou… Thou art I…
Thou has acquire a new vow,
It shall become the path to Fate
That severe the deceitfulness of corrupted Destiny.
With the birth of the Moon Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall guide thee to a true route and new power…
A window opens showing a Tarot card.
[Moon] Confidant [Illyasviel von Einzbern] has been attained!
The following perk [Illya's Cheer] has been unlocked!
Illya's Cheer: Rank E
Increases EXP earned by 10%
My eyes widened at the screen. 'T-This is…!'
"Congratulations on gaining your first Confidant." Arsène praised.
Mashu walks up to us. "Master…" She suddenly bows to us. "I am sorry for my shameful display! I promise it will never happen again!"
Illya raises her hands and gestures to her to calm down. "It's fine, Shielder. It's not like anything bad happened."
I gave her a look. Did she forget what happened at the bar? Ryunnosuke must have done more damage than I thought.
"But still! If I was there then you two wouldn't have been in that alley! You wouldn't have been found in the state that you were in!" Mashu exclaims. "Why…? Why am I so useless!?"
"Don't ever say that!"
Mashu's head snaps up to look at me.
"You are not useless, Mashu! You are strong, kind, and determined! You are the impenetrable fortress that protects humanity's hopes and dreams!" I walk up to her and grab her shoulders. "You made a mistake and that's fine. Everyone makes mistakes. That's what makes us human. So please, don't beat yourself up for something that we did."
"Theo…" Illya muttered.
"I'm sure that person wouldn't want you to be like this. Not after what you've been through." I gave the Demi Servant a smile.
Mashu looks at the boy in awe, his words resonating with her. They sound familiar, full of so much love and emotion that you didn't think it came from a child but from an adult. For a moment, in Theo's place was a boy with black and blue eyes. The same boy whom she's been traveling with to save the world.
'Senpai…' Mashu thought.
"So stand proud, Shielder. A knight should always stand proud."
Mashu straightens herself as there's now a new fire in her eyes. "Yes!"
As she said this, a familiar feeling swells inside me again.
I am Thou… Thou art I…
Thou has acquire a new vow,
It shall become the path to Fate
That severe the deceitfulness of corrupted Destiny.
With the birth of the Hope Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall guide thee to a true route and new power…
[Hope] Confidant [Mashu Kyrielight] has been attained!
The following perk [Chaldea's Protection] has been unlocked!
Chaldea's Protection: Rank C
Survive a lethal strike
Illya giggles. "My otōto is not only mischievous, but also a lady's man. I fear for your future."
My face glows a little pink. "Shut up. It's not like I do it on purpose."
Illya laughs and soon Mashu laughs as well. It wasn't like I was doing it on purpose. Seriously. This stuff just sorta comes naturally for me.
"At this rate, you'll be stealing more ladies' hearts than their Desires." Arsène comments.
"Oh shut up." I mumble under my breath as the girls laugh.
We hang out for a little while longer until everyone goes to bed. Since I only recently woke up, I wasn't the least bit tired; not at all.
Later
I stand at the roof of the penthouse, watching the moon hanging ominously over the city as the cool wind blows in my face.
"The Moon is so beautiful tonight." I remark.
"Indeed. It is a good night to bring vengeance." Khonshu adds.
"Ehehehe." I raise my hand above my face and pull down. In that moment, white energy trails down from my fingertips as it converges on my face and takes shape into my mask. Not soon after, my blue flames surround me and vanish revealing my Metaverse outfit.
"Shall we?" Khonshu asked.
My heartbeat becomes faster and faster as I run towards the edge of the building before jumping upwards to inhuman heights before landing on a building a whole block away from the hotel.
"That was awesome!" I exclaimed.
"Your Metaverse armor is not just a fashion statement. It is imbued with my power allowing you to perform extraordinary feats." Khonshu states. "With enough experience, you may be able to fight these Servants without relying on your Personas too much."
"So you mean to tell me that I can go toe-to-toe against legendary heroes without any issue!?" I let out a cackle. "Oh, I really am OP as fuck."
"Yes… if you survive I suppose." Khonshu shrugs.
I continue jumping from building to building. The wind rushing through my face, the incredible heights, the euphoria of being able to FLY in general.
"This is so. Much. FUN!" I exclaim with glee.
Suddenly, something black flies at incredible speeds and stabs me in the neck!
"Grk-!" I vomit out blood as I lose control and crash land on a nearby rooftop. I struggle to get up as I keep coughing up blood into the mask, dripping down my chin and neck and onto the floor.
I notice something at the edge of my sight and when I look, I see something poking from my neck.
Someone threw a knife at my neck!
"Shit!" I gurgled out. I reach towards the dagger and, with a cry of absolute pain, yank the dagger out of my throat, releasing a geyser of blood on the floor.
"P-PIXIE, DIA!" My mask ignites and Pixie appears next to me. She flies to the wound and holds out her hands as they glow green and quickly the wound completely closes and she disappears.
"Haaa… haaa…" I frantically take off my mask to breath as droplets of blood fall from the mask. I begin to hyperventilate at how close I was from bleeding to death. If I didn't have my Pixie on time I would be dead.
"You should have dodged that." Khonshu comments.
"Why… didn't you warn me? I almost DIED!" I scream out before the morbid reality sinks in. "Oh god, I almost died…"
"Need I remind you that you are in a war right now? A closed-off war that does not tolerate any interlopers because of their unpredictable nature." Khonshu said. "Take this as a lesson to not go around screaming at night like a dumbass."
"Tch… ass." I turn my attention to the weapon and take a closer look. It was a small black dagger, good enough to be used as a throwing weapon rather than a melee weapon. The tip is hooked, making removal from the target a hard task once they have struck as evident by the large patch of skin/muscle still stuck onto the hook.
"Shit…" I whispered under my breath as I rubbed the part of my neck where the dagger struck.
"Get ready. Something's coming." Khonshu's voice snaps me back to the reality at hand.
I put on my mask and on cue, something does land a couple of meters away from me. It is a lanky humanoid entity with black rags and black skin. The one thing that stands out about it is the white skull mask seemingly stitched to its face.
"You… live? Curious…" The Assassin said.
"What can I say? I'm made of sterner stuff." I quipped. 'Thank god, I unlocked [Chaldea's Protection] before I left or else I would really be in trouble.'
"Regardless, I will complete my mission." The Assassin declared.
Quest activated.
Moonlight over Darkness
Objective: Defeat one of the Hundred-Faces
Reward: 2,000 EXP, ¥425, Perk
Failure: Death
I made a "come on" gesture to the Servant. "Then come. You'll be the perfect dummy to test my power."
The facet didn't answer, it blurred.
One moment it was just a couple of meters away, the next he was right in front of me.
"Move, you fool!" Khonshu yelled.
I leap back just as Assassin was about to slice my eyes. I bring my hand up to my mask and it quickly breaks as my face is engulfed in flames. "Obariyon!"
For the flames a tiny red demon with warts all over its body appears. It has purple hair styled in a hime-cut though most of the hair is braided giving it a bob-cut look that ends with a ball hair scrunchie with stars on it. It wears a wide smile, showing its two sharp canines and has two holes just above representing its nose.
Assassin's eyes widen underneath their mask. Did he just summon a creature? He doesn't feel the Grail's influence coming from him nor the creature. How is this possible!?
"Now, Sukunda!" I ordered.
Obariyon closes its hands before opening them again, creating an energy field that surrounds the Assassin.
The moment it hit, Assassin felt heavy. Exhausted even. Like someone just dropped a bag full of iron rods on his shoulders. Was it that thing? Just what kind of magecraft did he just use?
"Switch, Jack Frost!" Obariyon disappears and in its place is the living snowman Jack Frost.
Assassin is once again dumbstruck by this development. He can summon more and switch between them at will!?
"Bufu!" Jack Frost dances as a block of ice suddenly appears above Assassin's head and falls on him.
"Gak!" Assassin collapses to the ground, his head bleeding profusely from the blunt force trauma.
I look confused as the Assassin is seemingly on his last legs. That was one the weakest ice spells I know so how is it doing so much damage? But that's when I remember that Assassins don't have much in magical resistance or at all, making them more susceptible to magical attacks.
It's basically a rock-paper-scissors system, like Pokemon.
And I can't believe I'm making that sort of comparison.
"What… are you?" Assassin manages to speak up.
I summon my [Silver Dagger] and walk towards the downed Servant. "I am the Moon Knight and you," I plunge my dagger into the facet's head and pull downwards splitting their face in two unleashing a gallon of blood before their body vanishes in a black mist, "are dust."
Quest Complete!
Moonlight over Darkness
Objective: Defeat one of the Hundred-Faces (Complete)
Level Up(x5)!
Perk [Analysis] acquired!
Oh, I can feel my strength being restored. No, not restored, enhanced. Is this how it feels to level up?
It feels so good~
"You should have called me. I would have easily dispatched that bastard." Khonshu grumbles.
"Don't worry. There are another +80 facets for you to fight. But first," I open my status screen.
System update. Please wait…
Update Complete.
Full statistics now available.
Name: Theodore von Einzbern
Title: Persona User
Level: 5
HP: 250
SP: 350
STR: 100
END: 150
ACC: 150
SPR: 350
LUK: 150
Knowledge: 5 (Erudite)
Charm: 2 (Head-Turning)
Kindness: 2 (Considerate)
Guts: 4 (Dauntless)
Proficiency: 4 (Masterful)
Money: ¥8,258,514
"Nice." I leap off the building and continue my patrol of the city (I guess that's what I'm gonna call this outing from now on) and search for more people to beat up. "Hm?" I look down and notice something moving in a pile of trash bags. I jump down and walk up to see a person collapsed on the floor wearing a blue hoodie with black cargo pants.
I kneel in front of them and grab his arm, only to recoil as I feel something writhing underneath his clothes.
"Ugh!" The man grunts as he slowly moves his head up. "I must have… passed out…"
"You certainly did. And in a pile of garbage no less." I comment.
The man jolts upwards before crashing into a couple of trash cans and I get a good look at his face. He has a sickly pale complexion kind of like what you'd see in cancer patients and his hair is completely white. The left side of his face is slightly disfigured and his left eye is milky white meaning that he's blind on his left eye.
This… is Kariya Matou, the Master of Berserker and Zouken's second "biological" son. How that pile of rotting flesh and worms can have a child, let alone two is beyond me.
"Who… who are you!?" Kariya demands.
"Just your friendly neighborhood knight." I replied.
Kariya just blinks. Judging by his voice, this guy must be at least 8 years old, about the same age as Rin and Sakura; maybe even younger. Why is a kid going around at night dressed up like tha?
"Gack!" Kariya hisses as he grips tightly onto his useless arm. His face shifts and veins pop as if there was something moving under his skin.
"Hold on." I grab my mask. "High Pixie, Diarama."
Answering the call, something appears beside me. She is a small humanoid girl with pointy ears, wings and white hair that rises up into spikes. She wears gear-like earrings on both ears and a black/purple one piece that goes up to her torso as well as purple boots and long gloves.
"Y-You're a Master…!" Kariya exclaims in clear shock at what he saw.
"Hold still." High Pixie raises her hand as Kariya glows a green before she disappears.
Kariya blinks and quickly stands up. He feels more… alive than he's ever been since he started training with the ghoul. He is even more flabbergasted as he realizes that he can feel his left side and, with much reluctance, raises his left arm along with his right.
He can move his left arm!
"Ahh… ahh…" Tears begin to pour out of his eyes, both of them as he now notices sight is returning to his left eye. Suddenly, he doubles back as the worms inside him become extremely agitated. "AAAAAARGH!"
"Shit! The worms are going on a frenzy!" I said. "Hang on, I got some-"
"NO!" Kariya cries out. "I NEED THEM!"
Suddenly, I stop at my tracks as I become smothered by a powerful presence. It was so dark, so malicious, it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand stiff.
"Do not turn around." Khonshu warned me.
"ARRRRR…" I heard a gruntal sound enters my ears. I grit my teeth hard as the unbearable presence becomes even more intense. It's like a wild animal was staring down at me, daring me to move so that I can pounce.
Just what the hell did Kariya summon!?
"I… can't let you remove them." The worms inside him eventually calm down.
The presence I felt behind me disappears. "Why?"
"You already know the answer to the question."
"Because there's still something I gotta do…" Kariya slowly and limply begins to move. "It would be for your own good if we never meet again… if you are what I think you are, then you are in great danger." He turns to me and I can see the tears still rolling off his face. "Please… I don't want a child to be a casualty of the war."
I watch silently as Kariya walks off.
I am Thou… Thou art I…
Thou has acquire a new vow,
It shall become the path to Fate
That severe the deceitfulness of corrupted Destiny.
With the birth of the Star Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall guide thee to a true route and new power…
[Star] Confidant [Kariya Matou] has been attained!
Your Kindness has leveled up!
"Why did you heal him?" Khonshu asked.
"I guess I just… couldn't leave him half dead like that." I replied.
Khonshu huffs. "You and your bleeding heart. I don't know where you got that from."
I stand up. "I think that's enough for today. Let's head back home." I jump up to the roofs and leap away.
Unbeknownst to everyone, a weird bug can be seen flying in the background.
Meanwhile
"So… a Magician has entered the Grail War? How unexpected…" Zouken remarks, having watched everything that has transpired through his bug familiar's eyes.
Originally, he sent it out to make sure Kariya didn't screw up. He had spent so much time and high-quality Crest Worms to expand his magical capacity, but in the end, he still turned out to be a failure. Not that he had any real expectations of him to begin with.
That is until that child in armor appeared and summoned a fae to heal his broken body. How can this be!? The Holy Grail is only able to summon heroes, human heroes, it cannot summon Phantasmal Beasts.
He should know, he designed the system.
The only logical conclusion is that he isn't using the Grail to summon, but his own power. The question is how did the boy manage to achieve True Magic like this?
It is quite a mystery… and Zouken Matou HATES mysteries.
"Congratulations boy, you have my attention… and you'd wish you never did." Zouken cackles as loud chirpings can be heard echoing throughout the room. "Please make this war entertaining… before you die."
Somewhere in Fuyuki
A blonde woman is seen walking through the empty streets of the city, almost like she is looking for something.
"Dang it, it's gone again." The woman pouts. She sounds a bit childish for someone her age. "Still, it's very strange. Why am I suddenly attracted to this city? Hm…" her body moves left and right as she thinks long and hard before her stomach makes a noise. "I'm hungry. Time to eat!" She then skids off to find the nearest restaurant.
Author Notes
Well shit, looks like the MC has attracted some more unwanted people. I will admit this isn't my best work, but I have so much on my mind right now that I cannot focus. Still, I think this chapter turned out fine.
I saw the votes and you guys are all dead set on Confidants. Great. I hope you like the placement of the characters so far. Kariya was a bit of last minute.
The next update will be on Interloper, so look forward to it.
As always, leave a comment. Good, bad, it doesn't matter.
Peace~
