1/1

I ended up staying the night at the shrine, which caused Reimu some hesitation since she wasn't used to having male guests. Marisa stayed the night as well, and the two of them slept in one room while I slept in another. In the morning Marisa made breakfast, apparently (and rightly) not trusting me with anything food-related, while Reimu was grateful that Marisa was actually making breakfast for her. By now, it was clear to me that, while Marisa marched to the beat of her own drum and was a bit of a rapscallion, beneath that facade she was a caring person at heart, especially when it came to Reimu, who was cold and professional when she was acting as the shrine maiden but became something of a needy, petulant child when off the clock… although given the pressure of her job and her relative isolation from other humans, perhaps it was no surprise she acted that way, and also why she broke down in front of us last night.

After breakfast, we decided to go our separate ways but agreed to meet back tomorrow to discuss our next move. The more I thought about the situation unfolding Outside, the more my mind raced through what could possibly be happening out there. My first thought, as I had explained to everyone else by now, was someone or something tampering with Mementos, since that would be the easiest and simplest explanation. A mass change in cognition would be the only way everyone could simply forget about Shido. As perfect a punishment as that was for him - he tried to control Japan and make sure everyone knew his name, but now no one remembered him, just like me - I knew this could all spiral out of control if nothing was done about it. Of course, I was certain the Phantom Thieves would at least try to tackle it. It was whether they would succeed that I wasn't sure of, and as the old saying goes, if you want it done right, do it yourself, which was why I wanted to help Yuyuko, Kasen and anyone else involved solve it.

I made my way back down to the village, where I tried again to look for Keine. Again, she wasn't home, but I found her at a nearby market having lunch, so I approached her.

"Good afternoon," I greeted her.

"Oh, hello! I was wondering when I'd meet you again!"

"I tried looking for you yesterday, but you were out," I said.

"Oh, sorry about that. I was visiting Mokou last night. She lives alone, and doesn't really talk to people, so I always go to her to make sure she's doing alright. But, I want to make sure you're doing alright as well."

"I'm still getting used to living here, without technology and all that. But I think I'm settling in quite well so far."

"That's good to hear. That always stresses out Outsiders, losing their technology and freedom to go where they want. I'm amazed you've settled into things this quickly, actually. There are Outsiders who have been here far longer than you who still mope about it. I think it's also good you've made friends with Reimu quickly."

"I've also met Marisa," I mentioned.

Keine paused. "Ah, yes, I figured you'd meet her at some point too. Those two definitely have a reputation here, since they solve a lot of incidents and have a talent for attracting youkai friends even if they don't want them, but others, especially humans, hate them precisely for that reason. Still, even if they are rough around the edges, I can't imagine better friends for you to have, since they'll have your back in case you ever get attacked. And Reimu is teaching you Spell Cards, which I think it's impressive you managed to get her to do at all, since she hates working," Keine chuckled.

"I've also gotten to know Youmu and her master," I said.

Keine looked surprised. "...oh, wow, you've already met Yuyuko? I'm so sorry," she snided. "But Youmu's a good kid, even if she is half-baked at times. I swear, I've never seen anyone swing so hard or so quickly between being a stone-cold serious warrior to a shy, awkward baby and all the way back again the way she does. Again, you seem to be making some great friends. That's good, since it means you might get to see more places beyond the Village. So, how about if I told you a little more about what Gensokyo is like?"

"What Gensokyo is like… you know, I've never seen a map of the place, so I don't even really know where everything is in relation to each other."

"It's simply, really. Mountains line the eastern part, while out west is either flat or rolling hills. There's a river that erupts from a spring in the mountains, runs through Genbu Ravine, then passes south and west of the village before becoming the Misty Lake, then drains out the other end through the Barrier. Its waters are the only thing that can do leave the Barrier without the Sage's help. To the northeast is Youkai Mountain, Gensokyo's highest peak. It's where the Tengu live, and at the summit is the Moriya Shrine, where two goddesses and their miko, Sanae Kochyia, reside."

"I met her yesterday, Sanae. She's… interesting, to say the least."

"Let's just say she has the nickname InSanae for a reason," Keine joked. "There's a ropeway you can use to reach that shrine, since Youkai Mountain itself is very dangerous for humans: a thick forest, the Great Youkai Forest, surrounds it on all sides, and the Tengu fiercely defend their territory from intruders. Speaking of forests, two of them border the Village: the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, where you fell into Gensokyo and where Mokou found you, is to the east of town, and immediately to its south is the Forest of Magic, which is full of dangerous plants, animals and youkai and is not a place for you to go."

I smiled. "Unfortunately, I've already been through it. With Marisa, of course."

Keine laughed. "Well, I should have guessed that, I suppose. As long as you're not going in there alone, I suppose you'll be fine. Anyway, the river passes south of the Forest of Magic, and much of Gensokyo south of the river is taken up by vast flower fields surrounding the Nameless Hill, in the center of which is the Garden of the Sun, named for all of its sunflowers. I won't mince words: do not ever venture there. That area is the territory of a horrifically powerful youkai with dominion over flowers, and she will tear you to shreds if you harm them. I wish I were exaggerating, but sadly I am not. Not even the Sages will go there if they don't have to, so someone like you stands no chance. There's also a living doll who can spew infinite amounts of deadly poison, and she's probably the least threatening thing living there. So, yeah. Don't go there."

I felt chills run down my spine. How powerful was that youkai that not even the all-important and powerful Sages were willing to go there, in addition to controlling such a large amount of territory in a relatively small, isolated land? I tried not to think about it too hard and resolved to stay away from anywhere south of the river that had flowers.

"Now, the west side of Gensokyo doesn't have much, just a plain where the fairies like to romp and play. In the center of it is the Misty Lake, which is called that because of the mist and fog that forms on it frequently around midday. Giant catfish and other mythical water monsters live in it, including mermaids. On its northeastern shore closest to Youkai Mountain is a large French-style mansion known as the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It's the home of a powerful vampire and her servants."

My rolled my eyes. "Somehow, it doesn't surprise me that a vampire lives here too."

"I'm sure it doesn't, but she doesn't behave like most vampires. In fact, where she gets her blood is a mystery, since she's never been seen venturing out and feeding on villagers and the like. Like I said, she's very, very powerful, easily one of the strongest and most cunning residents of Gensokyo. She's also a good friend of Reimu's so you may see her at the Shrine if you go there a lot."

"A vampire visiting a religious shrine," I smiled. "I would have never imagined it. Anything else?"

"Well, I guess there's a few other places I should talk about," Keine shrugged. "Past Youkai Mountain is a path leading to the Sanzu River, across which is Higan, where the souls of the deceased are judged by the Yama, who either sends them to Heaven, the Netherworld, reincarnates them or casts them to Hell for rehabilitation before they can re-enter the cycle."

My heart stopped and I froze in place after hearing those words. "Er… that's so…"

"Oh, believe me, you're not the first Outsider I've met who's shocked that Heaven and Hell actually exist, or the cycle of reincarnation in general. But, I suppose you already know that, since you've been to the Netherworld."

Of course, I did know all of that by now, as she said. But it still gave me pause, since it meant I would have to answer for all of my crimes eventually, and I wasn't sure, even if I led a fully virtuous life, that I could avert that fate.

"Speaking of Youkai Mountain, it's actually a volcano, and underneath it is a vast network of caverns which eventually lead to Hell's former location before it was moved. Its fiery heart, the Hell of Blazing Fires, is home to a nuclear reactor complex which powers the hot springs on the mountain and also provides the mountain and some other places here in Gensokyo with power as well."

"A nuclear power plant, you mean? Here in Gensokyo?"

"Surprising, isn't it? It's maintained by a Hell Raven with atomic powers, or so I've heard. Reimu and Marisa fought her one time, and apparently she's one of the toughest opponents either has faced, so she must be very powerful."

"Well, let's just hope it doesn't go solid," I tersely joked. "We certainly don't want another Fukushima to happen here."

Keine tilted her head. "Fuku-what now?"

"Oh, it's nothing," I shrugged.

"Well, anyway, the path to the shrine you've been taking runs up a short creek valley which leads to a low notch between two rocky hills near the base of Youkai Mountain. The shrine itself is on the Hakurei Border, but I'm sure you've never seen it. That's because it's not really a physical border, but more of an esoteric one, the border between reality and fantasy, truth and lies. If you tried to fly towards it, it would seem like you were passing over an endlessly looping series of trees and mountains, but if you turned around you'd arrive back where you started as though you didn't get very far at all."

"Oh, so just like the endless staircase in Super Mario 64?"

Keine stared at me confused.

"Ah, I'm sorry, another reference you wouldn't get."

"Oh, I'm sure," Keine shrugged. "Anyway, just a quick explanation of the border for you. I'm sure Reimu can tell you more if you're interested."

"I appreciate it," I bowed.

"There's one last place I feel like I should mention that I haven't yet. On the side of Youkai Mountain, above Genbu Ravine but below the Tengu's territory is a Buddhist temple called the Myouren Temple. It's home to Byakuren Hijiri and her followers, all of them youkai who forsook their man-eating ways and who are peaceful to humans. It sits atop an old mausoleum home to numerous spirits, which was involved in an incident several years ago when the temple went up there. Some people from the village visit it from time to time, and there's a safe path from the village which cuts through the forest to reach it; the lower station for the ropeway I mentioned is also near there. If you would like to go check it out, you're certainly free to do so. They hold meditation sessions there, are always accepting new followers and will even teach you kung-fu. Byakuren herself is also a very beautiful and serene woman who's popular among humans and youkai alike."

"Very interesting… I'll certainly make sure to visit once I get the chance."

"That sounds great," she smiled. "I hope you'll come to enjoy your new life here."

After lunch, I went to the bookseller across the street from the shop to rent a book. The girl there, Kosuzu, was very cheerful and friendly, and helped me find a novel she thought I might enjoy. Surprisingly, it was a translated copy of Tom Clancy's Red Sun Rising, and I asked her how she got the book. She just shrugged and said she found it at Kourindou one day and bought it so she could have it at her store to loan out to customers. So I got the book and spent the rest of the day quietly reading and reflecting on the events which had led up to this point, how I spent two years on a murderous rampage serving an evil conspiracy, and how I ultimately found myself on the wrong side of the conflict with the Phantom Thieves, leading to a near-death experience which saw me end up here. As I went to bed that night, I thought about how I could possibly pick up the pieces and redeem myself, having directly killed dozens of people and indirectly killing or injuring close to a thousand others, as well as invoking life-ruining psychotic breakdowns, all of them on Shido's orders or those of his beneficiaries such as President Okumura and the SIU director, both of whom also fell to my hands.

But, there was a more pressing and immediate matter on my mind as well.


1/2

It was 2 P.M. By now, all of us, Reimu, Marisa, Youmu and myself, had convened at the Shrine to discuss the matter of the incident brewing outside the Barrier and how it might affect Gensokyo.

"So just to recap, you think this has somethin' to do with that Mementos place," Marisa said.

"Precisely," I replied. "If it's based in Tokyo, then it most likely involves Mementos, the Fortress which represents the public's cognition. Alterations made to it can have world-changing effects."

"Why Tokyo though?" Reimu wondered. "I mean, I get that it's an enormous city with a lot of people, but so are Shanghai, London, New York, Mumbai, Moscow, Rio, Rome, Cairo, Los Angeles and so many others, many of them being both older and more closely tied with the history of human civilization."

"I'm not fully sure," I shrugged, "but the fact is it's in Tokyo, or at least one of its entrances is. Now, I have considered that the Mementos in Tokyo might not be the only one of its kind, or that it's only part of a larger whole, but I was never able to verify that. But that's not important right now: what's important is that this disturbance could, and very well might, threaten Gensokyo, and we have to find out how, if at all, we can solve it."

"And how do we do that?" Youmu asked.

"Simple. We will try to enter Mementos from here in Gensokyo. I'm not sure if we can, but we have to at least try."

"Eh, if what you're sayin' about how Mementos works is correct, then we probably can't. The entire point of Gensokyo is to hold everything humans no longer believe in in one place, so it'd be kinda weird if a Fortress which represents the desires and thoughts of humanity could be accessed from here. But even if we can't reach it directly, there's gotta be some back door we can use."

"It would be much easier if we could leave the Barrier to go investigate - me and Marisa have been out there before when solving certain incidents - but we don't have Yukari to help us do that, and Kasen's abilities are nowhere near as potent as hers - she can open holes in the Barrier, but can't bypass it or warp us where we need to go instantly. Besides, there's the issue of what the anomaly would do to us in the real world if we were exposed to it. So I guess we'll just have to do the best we can with what we have."

"If it is Metaverse-related, then you're all still in a better position to solve this than if you didn't have me on your side to show you it. You'd simply never be able to know what the cause of all this was."

"That is true," Reimu admitted.

"Then let's get going," I said. "We don't have any time to waste."


A short while later, we were near the village, and I had my key out, ready to say the magic word and enter the Metaverse.

"Okay, so why do you think it's somewhere in the village?" Marisa asked.

"Why? It's very simple: this is where the highest concentration of humans exists in Gensokyo," I said. "In Tokyo, Mementos can be accessed from the Shibuya subway station, where a very large amount of Tokyo's lines intersect and where millions of people pass through daily on their way to and from work and school. In other words, a large amount of humanity interfaces in that location daily, which may be why Mementos is accessed from that area of Tokyo specifically. Almost all of humanity here in Gensokyo crosses paths here in the village and some youkai too, so if Mementos can be accessed here, its entrance will almost certainly be here."

"But Yuyuko's a ghost, and she had a Fortress," Marisa pointed out.

"That may be true, but Yuyuko is only one person. The village represents a high concentration of sentient beings which constantly criss-cross with each other daily, so it represents the collective unconscious as a whole."

"Well, you know, the Tengu live in a city on the side of Youkai Mountain. It's pretty big, too. How do you know it can't be there either?" Reimu asked.

"Keine told me yesterday that the Tengu fiercely defend their territory from outsiders, which means fewer different kinds of people pass through it, compared to the village. It's also not as big as the village. Think about the difference between Osaka, Yokohama or Sendai compared to Tokyo. Therefore, with all things considered, it has to be here, in the village."

"If it's here," Marisa said, "since there may not be a way to Mementos from here like I was sayin'."

I looked around one more time to make sure nobody was watching us, then brandished my key. "Alright, we shouldn't waste any more time. Are we all ready?"

"Yeah, let's get on with it, I hate waitin'."

"I'm always ready to fight," Youmu declared.

"Alright then." I cleared my throat. "Mementos."

Nothing happened.

"...is it not here?" I wondered.

"You only said one word," Reimu said. "Are there no other keywords?"

"Mementos doesn't need any keywords besides its name."

"Then why didn't we enter before?" Marisa asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we said 'Mementos' several times during our conversation. If sayin' it actually worked, it would've tripped the key and sent us there already."

...damn, she was right. I couldn't believe how I missed that detail myself.

I hung my head low and sighed. "Well, it was worth a shot."

"Hey, don't get down just because it didn't work," Marisa encouraged. "We just gotta keep lookin' for a way until eventually we find it."

"But where else could we possibly look?" I said. "I already explained my logic for an entrance to Mementos being here, so if it isn't here, then it probably doesn't exist."

We sat in a circle on the ground, wondering what to do next. The pressing issue of the anomaly Outside still existed, and was only getting worse as the days went by. I was getting antsy about not being able to do something about it, especially since I knew there was a chance the Phantom Thieves might not be able to solve it either, depending on their abilities and how strong the force influencing Mementos was.

I looked up, and noticed Reimu was still standing, staring off seemingly aimlessly and in deep thought.

"What is it, Reimu-san?" I asked.

She was quiet for a moment. All of us looked at her, wondering just what was going through the mind of the Shrine Maiden.

"...Ethos."

Suddenly, my key shined, and before I was ready the distorted wave hit me, the world twisting and distorting as we passed from the physical realm to the mental one.

Once the effect died down, we looked around and noticed we were in our Metaverse outfits. Furthermore, the Village was completely devoid of people, and the air was still and without snowflakes. There was no snow on the ground, the sky was patchy clouds, and had a slight turquoise tint. There were no other figures, not even insects, besides us, and the plants seemed frozen and lifeless.

"What the hell is this place?" Marisa loudly wondered. "Are we in a Fortress?" She turned to Reimu. "You know anything about this? Did you send us here?"

"I've… I've been here before…" Reimu admitted.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"That night, after you and Marisa left the Shrine together. I was lying in bed, just kind of aimlessly thinking aloud, and after I said that word, Ethos, I got transported to the Metaverse. That's where I met my shadow, and subsequently awakened my Persona. Yesterday, I played around with it, saying that keyword in a few different places across Gensokyo. It seems to affect the entire land."

I looked around again. "So you mean this is a Fortress that covers Gensokyo as a whole?"

"As far as I can tell. As you can see, this place is still and lifeless. There aren't even any shadows. But there is one place I want you all to see, the place which I think is the center of it all."

Reimu led us out of the bushes and out past the town. Once we were out in a clearing, it was impossible to miss or ignore: a massive tower, reaching up high into the sky.

"Whoa…"

"It's truly…"

We raced to the base of the tower as quickly as we could, only to soon encounter a problem: we arrived at the shore of a vast lake, which overrode and replaced the Misty Lake and the plains beyond it. The tower was clearly set on an island in this lake, far beyond safe swimming distance.

"What is this place?" I wondered. "Truly strange…"

"Our talk about Mementos made me think about this place, which is called 'Ethos.' I guess like Mementos, it's entered by just saying its name."

"Fascinating… if it's just like Mementos in that regard, then maybe it serves a similar purpose, a place where the desires of Gensokyo's residents converge. Perhaps it might even connect to Mementos. This is quite the find, Reimu. Thank you for leading us here."

"Oh, well, my pleasure," Reimu smiled.

Youmu walked up to the water's edge and dipped her finger in it. "Lifeless," she said. "There is no life in this water." She stood back up and looked beyond. "And we can't swim out there. It's too far."

"Sucks that we can't fly, either," Marisa complained. "How are we gonna be able to get to that place to check it out?"

"...why not a boat?" I suggested.

The three of them looked at me like I had just said something insane.

"...d'oh!" Marisa slapped her face.

"Haaah… why didn't I think of that?" Reimu sighed.

"What? It's obvious," I said. "With a boat, we could float across to the tower."

"Obvious to you, but here in Gensokyo very few people need boats," Reimu said. "Only the fishers go out on the lake, and there are no other large bodies of water on the way to anywhere else, unless you count the Sanzu River. And many of us are used to flying everywhere, so we wouldn't need boats even if Gensokyo were a chain of islands out in the ocean. So please forgive us if we wouldn't immediately think 'body of water = boat.'"

"...ah, sorry, I wasn't thinking of that," I bowed.

Marisa looked out at the tower with her hands on her hips. "So we'll need to get a boat…" Then, she snapped her fingers. "I got the perfect idea. Goro, wanna meet up tomorrow in the square? I wanna take you someplace I know can get us a boat."

"What place is that?" I asked her.

"Remember that girl Nitori who's one of my friends? She's one of the kappa livin' in Genbu Ravine. She's a gadgeteer genius, and can make all kinds of machines and crap from whatever scraps she has lyin' around. If I call in a favor and bribe her with enough cukes tonight, she'll have a boat for us ready by tomorrow afternoon. But, I'll need someone to help me go pick it up, and I'm sure you'll wanna see it before we use it."

"Is this another date?" I smirked.

Marisa visibly seized up and seemed ready to shoot me with her gun.

"I'll go with you too," said Reimu. "If only so Nitori doesn't get any ideas. We can call it incident resolving business if me and Marisa are together."

"What about me?" Youmu asked.

"If you can somehow convince Yuyuko to let you go for an afternoon, and Goro approves, I don't see why not."

"Then it's settled," I declared, clapping my hands. "Tomorrow afternoon in the square, let's not be late."

"Alright, sounds good," Marisa hastily said. "… eh, how do we leave?"

I looked around, and realized it as well. Normally, to leave a Palace/Fortress one simply needed to walk far enough away from the distortion for it to fade, but if Ethos covered all of Gensokyo then that wouldn't be possible, and we were trapped. But, there had to be a way out since Reimu had entered, and thus left, Ethos twice already.

"Oh, it's simple really. My shadow itself explained it to me." She took out her key and held it to her chest. "You just have to say this exact phrase: 'The light of Dawn thrusts thine eyes open.'" Once she said those words, the distortion faded, and we returned to the real world.