War Arc:
Chapter 52: Harlot, Adam & Eve
Celephais, Limbo
Nanjo had no idea how long he had been here. The only thing for certain was that besides the spirit wandering the streets, the city itself was extremely ominous. It was unlike any city he had ever seen, and the darkness covering the hidden floor blocked any further investigation.
He had been wandering for a long time himself, but the sense of time here was twisted and he did not feel bored. Shinjiro, the man walking alongside him, and his butler, watched his movement carefully.
"What are you searching for, young master?" Yamaoka asked.
"I don't know. A clue, maybe?" Nanjo replied weakly.
"There's not much to know around here. We don't feel bored, so that's good enough," Shinjiro said.
"Oh? Are you not curious about that place?"
Nanjo pointed to the center of the city, where a tall and dark tower was. Out of all the place in this city, only the tower plagued his interest. There were doors all around it but were locked with heavy steel chains. Windows around the building were closed shut, and there was absolutely nothing that could give a glimpse of the inside.
"...Huh, I guess I do," Shinjiro answered, "But we tried so hard to break open those chains, for a long time. We just give up before long."
"What's in there?"
"I don't know, and I don't care. But, if you're really curious, we often heard noises coming from inside. The door will keep banging non-stop, like something wanting to come out. We don't even know if it's a scream, or a roar, or a whisper. Whatever inside is best getting locked up."
"Maybe a Shadow?" Nanjo climbed on one of the broke down cars on the abandoned streets and faced them, "We're all persona users here or a persona. Doesn't that seem suspicious to you? We have a purpose here. No, I mean this city has a purpose."
"You're not planning on getting off this place, don't you?" Shinjiro asked.
"Master, that is reckless!" Yamaoka said.
"I don't believe in heaven and hell nonsense stuff, but even I know this place is not the 'last station' for us dead spirit. Come on. We got plenty of time to explore-"
SSSCCCCEEECCRRRSSSSHHHHAAAAAAARRRRAAAA!
THUMPPPP! THUMPPPP! THUMPPP!
An eerie noise emerged out of nowhere. forcing them to close their ears over the deafening sound. The sound was too out of this world to be describable. Amidst the noise was the sound of banging on metals, which last for some time before it ended.
"That's the sound," Shinjiro said after the noise had dimmed out.
"That is sickening, almost like a screaming of a dying man. Though I swear I heard a woman's voice too."
"See? That's why I said you can't understand it. But..." Shinjiro faced the tower, "The rumbling has been getting more and more often. I wonder if it's waiting for something?"
Tatsuya Suou
Cloudy – After Midnight – 28/11/2018(Wednesday) – Nanjo's Memorial Hospital, Sumaru City
(2 days until War's arrival)
He couldn't find Naoya, no matter how much he tried. Eriko called and informed him of Naoya's disappearance from her house, something that she kept a secret to protect him. Tatsuya wanted to scold, but there was more pressing matter at hand.
It was probably 2 in the morning before his brother eventually called him from the hospital. Baofu was in a stable condition, but he had to go there himself to reassure.
In the hallway, he saw his brother was talking to someone familiar. On the closer look, he realized she was someone close to Baofu.
"Ulala," Tatsuya called out. They both turned to him, where Tatsuya immediately noticed Ulala's pale and saddened face. He wasted no time to asked, "Where is he?"
"Inside," Katsuya pointed his thumb to the door behind him, "But it's not him we should talk about."
"...Ah, I see what you mean," Tatsuya nodded and the brothers turned shifted their attention to Ulala who remained quiet at the side.
"You haven't answered me, Serizawa," Katsuya said with a strong tone, "You knew, didn't you? About what happened to Baofu. Those medicines you force him to eat... How long has he been that way?"
"..." Ulala turned away from them with guilt, but she eventually answered, "...About 3 years."
"And you didn't tell us?!" Tatsuya raised his voice, not caring about disturbing the sleeping patients, "He was our friend too! How could you keep it to yourself, Ulala?!"
"It is his wish!" Ulala raised her head in anger, locking eyes with him, "You think I want to hide this from you?! I had it worse to keep this secret for so long!"
"But this is deadly!" Katsuya joined the conversation, "The damage is spreading to almost all of his brain!"
"How did this happen, Ulala?" Tatsuya asked.
"An accident," Ulala answered, "Three years ago, there was a mission overseas requested by someone. We thought it was an ordinary mission, but we overestimated ourselves. Help didn't come for another few hours before we were rushed to the hospital. I was fine, but him..."
She continued, "It wasn't bad, at first. We had a prescription, minor injuries. He can be healed. But... he's a persona user. Every time there's a surgery and he was forced into sleep, his persona activated subconsciously and Prometheus attacked the doctors. I had to keep watch, but it wasn't enough. Doctors refused to help, and I had to bride them to keep their mouth shut about our abilities."
"The damage... It was at his subconscious neuron system," Tatsuya added, "So you settled at medicine?"
"Yeah, a highly dosed medicine. As long as Baofu didn't summon his persona, he should be fine. However," Ulala gritted her teeth and clenched her fist, "When the prophecy began, he decided to summon his persona again. I warned him, but he didn't listen. So, I forced him to take twice as many. It was going well at first, a few coughs, but he couldn't hide it from me. But after the day Conquest awakened, Baofu's condition worsened more than I can stop it."
"Tch..." Tatsuya clicked his tongue, "I thought Maya is the only one but turns out Baofu too..."
"What about you?" Katsuya turned to him, "Got any leads on Naoya?"
Tatsuya shook his head, "I hope Eriko put some kind of clue on him before he left. Wait, Katsuya, your phone."
Katsuya phone was ringing. He checked the number, only to see it was anonymous.
"Excuse me," Katsuya left the circle and walked a few steps away from them.
"Yes? I am. Who is this... What?!"
Tatsuya and Ulala immediately leaned closer to listen.
"Hah... You goddamn idiot... Where is she, then? Hmmm... Alright, stay put. I'll send someone to you and... For the love of god, please don't go out."
Katsuya turned to them after ending the call, expecting them to eavesdrop on his conversation, "Mitsuru Kirijo is trapped in Sumaru City because of this newly made rumors."
Tatsuya and Ulala widened their eyes.
"Great, just great," Tatsuya cursed, "Takaya must have done it."
"What should we do?" Ulala asked.
"What else? To succeed in our incoming operation, of course. Invading Babylon's base."
He noticed Ulala shivered from those words.
"Babylon... I heard rumors, but I know nothing else beyond that," Ulala commented, "How did you manage to trace their hideout?"
"We had a few rumormongers sort out the rumors, filtered them, and traced the origin of any bad rumors." Katsuya answered, "I already had Shiori on standby to monitor the location."
"Where is it?" Tatsuya asked. Katsuya focused on his eyes and answered.
"Mount Mifune."
Aigis
Cloudy - Morning - 28/11/2012(Wednesday) - Private Hideout, Konan, Sumaru City
(2 days until War's arrival)
If only they moved out sooner, perhaps this situation could be avoided. It still baffling them last night when they reached the train station, Mitsuru suddenly 'teleported' out of the train and couldn't escape the border of Sumaru City.
It was only when she did a quick research that they found out that another rumor had already spread among the people. Mitsuru Kirijo will stay in Sumaru City until she met Kei Nanjo, which was in a coma. The rumor was most likely spread by Takaya. In the end, Mitsuru insisted that they abandoned her and returned to Tatsumi Port Island. Aigis, the one with the greatest firepower, volunteered to stay and protect her.
They were given a private residence for the time being, but neither of the Suou brothers wanted to meet them for obvious reason. Mitsuru, who was currently watching the news in her seat, sank back to her chair and closed her eyes as if to meditate.
"I met my father," Mitsuru said, addressing to the only other person in the small room, Aigis, "He told me that if I start my investigation on Sho Minazuki here, I'll be able to achieve something."
"You mean you father, Takeharu Kirijo? But I thought he was deceased?" Aigis asked in confusion.
"I mean in my dream," Mitsuru answered, "I saw him in my dream."
Aigis had no idea why she would share such stories with her. Did she want someone to listen?
"I apologize, Aigis. If only I didn't follow an order from my dream, maybe I'll be able to return today."
Hearing her confession, Aigis had no idea how to respond.
"Was it really your father?" Aigis blunted it out before realizing that that question might be too sensitive. But Mitsuru answered, regardless.
"His posture, his manner was the same as the man I love, but his stares... Perhaps he was someone else, or my own imagination? *chuckle* To think I would be so indecisive like this... Perhaps Arisato's charm has affected me?"
"Indecisive is not for you," Aigis smiled, "Surely, there must be something we can do here."
"Ah, before that..." Mitsuru lifted her head, "I heard that Takaya has been relocated to another Ward. This will be hard to get close to him, seeing as that place is packed with a force that dwarfed the police."
"Can we trace him?"
"I'm not sure I can, plus the sky never clears out ever since I came here. I wondered why?"
Tatsuya Suou
Rainy - Morning - Prison, Police Department
"He should be right around here," One of the guards in the small prison led the Suou brothers deeper down the floor, where a few other prisoners were banging on the steel bars, cursing their names. Suou Devils had imprisoned nearly a hundred criminals in the last 10 years. Although some cursed them, there were also those who feared them greatly, especially Katsuya's brutal torture, a personality only Tatsuya and Shiori knew.
"He's here, sir," The guards stopped at the far end of the hall, where there were not many prisoners to cause a ruckus.
"Good work, you may leave," Katsuya commanded. The guard saluted before leaving the two of them. They turned to each other and faced the lone prison, where one man was laying on his bed covered in bruises. It was Tatsuya who decided to call him out.
"Naoya? It's me."
Naoya Toudou lifted his head slightly to peek, where his right earlobe that formerly had an earring, was now torn and bleeding, possibly his earring being forcefully pulled out during a fight. The brothers, however, were accustomed to the minor gore that they just ignored it.
"Oh? The Suou Devils themselves," Naoya finally lifted his body and sit upright, where his left earlobe was also torn. He was barely smiling as if lamenting about something.
"You doing good?" Tatsuya asked.
"You think?" Naoya returned the question.
"You do understand why we had to lock you up?"
"I know. I don't blame you. I blame myself for getting caught."
"But why did you leave Kirishima's house yesterday? She could have protected you until things calm down. I never objected to her decision as long as she told no one. But you just had to screw it up."
"They would have found me either way. Why drag someone else to my fight?"
"And getting yourself caught?" Tatsuya rubbed his forehead and sighed, "Right now, all followers of Takaya wants you dead. Ironically, this prison is the only thing protecting you right now. When the higher-ups, and I mean the prime minister and his cabinets made their decisions, you will literally be paraded all across all corner of the city. And we can't help you, you understand?"
Naoya chuckled and rested back to his bed.
"There's no way Takaya is going to kill me. I will be there at the end of the prophecy. Until then, I can't die."
"Because the moment you die, the prophecy is over, right?"
Naoya jumped from his bed upon Katsuya's word. His eyes were pale and dilated in shock.
"How did you...?" Naoya rushed to the steel bars, "Where did you hear this from?"
"Kandori's diary," Tatsuya answered, "He recorded his history in Egypt with you and that professor, Karu Juugo."
"!" Naoya panted heavily as he took a few steps backward. He dropped to his bed and covered his face, whispering something to himself.
"...How much did he know?" Naoya asked. The brothers turned to each other before returning to him.
"A lot of Kandori notes were his imprisonment there, all the way to his escape."
"And I had no idea at all he kept such thing..." Naoya's voice was stiff when he said it as if he was suppressing his anger, "Tell me how did you acquire that diary?"
They explained detail fully about their encounter with Chizuru until the night where Baofu had fallen ill.
"Baofu is ill? Well, I'm sorry to hear that. But more importantly, where is the diary now? It is extremely important that it is kept safe."
"We had it in the custody of Shiori. No one will steal it from us until we investigate more of the diary."
"Now I ask you," Naoya asked again, "How much did the diary tell you?"
"Limbo Recall," Katsuya began, "You were making it with a professor named Karu Juugo. What is it, actually? What did you intend to use it for?"
"Are they curable, victims of the drug?" Tatsuya entered the conversation.
"If you're a persona user, then you have nothing to worry about. The drugs were meant for the persona users, not normal people."
"For what purpose?"
"The diary didn't tell you that?"
Tatsuya gritted his teeth in frustration. In truth, he was getting impatient. Naoya backed away from the cell a little bit.
"Alright, don't get angry now. But before I tell you anything..." Naoya was looking around the corridor before he faced the brothers, "Can you let me rest first? I'm tired."
The brothers nodded and moved away from him.
"Kirishima called me," Katsuya said, "She said she wanted to meet him."
"Understandable, but that would be difficult."
"True, but what happened to Baofu last night makes me having a second thought. I don't want anybody to regret anything before it's too late."
Tatsuya, although hiding it, admired his brother's trail of thoughts.
"So, how soon we want Eriko to come here?"
"As soon as you can."
"Alright, I tell my men to welcome Eriko. Katsuya, will you go straight to the location?"
"Yeah. I and Shiori will begin Operation 'Harlot' by 11:30 a.m."
"Then I'll come with you... Urgh..."
"Hmmm? What's wrong?"
Tatsuya moaned in pain and barely trying to hide it from Katsuya.
"Nothing..."
Cloudy - Late Morning - Mount Mifune
Operation 'Harlot' had only two purposes. One is to seize all criminals involved along with the drugs. Second is to capture the leader known as 'Babylon'."
The location, in truth, was not on the mountain, but on the other side of it, a long walk from residential areas. Using cars and bikes were a disadvantage in the thick forest. Thus, a group of over 50 highly trained polices were forced to walk stealthily towards the hidden shacks.
There were 5 shacks in a separate location, each armed with guards dressing in rather strange red outfits that covered their face, almost like a robe than a shirt. Their perception was strong, but the Suou brothers and Shiori managed to close in successfully.
"Urgh..." Tatsuya clenched his right arm. The truth was his body had been aching for a while before it turned into pain. The tattoo around his body was slowly growing back to his arms, possibly meaning that the effect of Limbo Recall was unable to hold back the power of Ghadamon anymore.
"The drug's losing its effect, huh?" Katsuya suddenly shrugged his body from the side and stared at him. Tatsuya at first tried to ignore him, but he realized his brother was too smart to overlook his condition.
"Guess you know... Yeah, I don't think I can hold it," Tatsuya raised the sleeve of his right arms and showed him the strange marks spreading across his arms, "Prepare for me another one of those doses when we get back."
"That's dangerous. At least wait for a- Shhhh, someone's come out."
A man with probably higher authority exited one of the shacks and addressed to one of the guards.
"Madam Babylon's order: Go to the Base A. Locked the shacks and gather there."
"'Madam Babylon?" Shiori, who was watching from another group, approached the brothers and said, "So Babylon is a woman?"
"They seemed quite professional. Mercenary, maybe?" Katsuya whispered, but returned his eyes to the guards, "Alright, most of the guard are leaving their base except one. Shiori, send your men to go to the first shack. Tatsuya, divide your men and search the two bases on my left. I'll check the last two with Shiori. Be on guard, only one on the outside doesn't mean there are only a few insides. Ambush is definite."
Nodded, the three team captains went their separate ways. Tatsuya went to the far end on the left side, where two shacks were only a few meters away from each other. The few guards on both shacks must be taken out at the same time to not alerting each other.
It took a few minutes to snipe down the guards outside. Tatsuya exposed himself from his hiding spot and approached one of the shacks, painted in white and brown caused by old rust. He reached the front door, where 2 padlocks were seen over the pale blue, but strangely thick metal door.
"Be ready," Tatsuya commanded. His followers nodded. With a deep breath and trying to ignore the pain around his body, Tatsuya shot down both padlocks and rammed inside.
As expected, a few men were armed inside who were immediately alarmed by intruders. Crossfire occurred in the darkened room, but Tatsuya's force was superior. The enemies inside were taken out easily. They continued to the basement, where a few wooden crates filled the room neatly.
On the other side of the location...
A figure was watching the police's force throughout a few small monitors in a secluded place, watching every step they took like a hunter waiting for its prey to catch the bait. One of the figure's hand was scrolling the radio next to the monitors as if trying to find the right frequency.
"Madam," One of the men dressed in a red robe approached the figure, "It is fine to let our men die in that shacks?"
"Are you questioning my decision?" The woman's voice echoed throughout the room, where the men quickly bowed apologetically.
"N-No, madam! I was just wondering why sacrificed them when we could just run away with all our drugs?"
"Because otherwise, they will be suspicious and won't take the bait, won't they?"
Beneath the mask, she mused something. Her expression was impossible to read when she saw the monitor where Tatsuya was.
"I hope he understands," She said suddenly, "Sometimes, we just have to pick what's necessary by sacrificing what's slightly less important."
Tatsuya Suou
Afternoon - Babylon's base
"...Nothing?" Tatsuya searched again inside the crates, "That's impossible!"
There was nothing inside. None of the crates they found had anything. Fear began to grow inside him when he looked around. Was this place a setup?
"Shiori, Katsuya, are you listening?" Tatsuya tapped his hidden mic, "There's nothing inside. What's the status on your end-"
Chill ran down his spine when he heard it.
"Tatsuya, get out- *bzzzz*"
It was Shiori's voice in distress, but her sentence was cut short by a loud buzzing sound. The noise suddenly disappeared as if it had been turned off.
"Dammit, what the hell's going on?" Tatsuya pressed his mic again to get a signal, but there's no result.
It was then, another static noise took over.
"*bzzz* Would you mind left the shack? The signal is weak here...*bzzz*"
It was a modified voice. Someone had clearly taken over the signal.
"Who is this? Darn it, I can't hear too well. I'll be outside for a while, (turn to his men) so find anything suspicious."
He left the shack, where the static noise disappeared instantly. The voice began to speak, and he instantly realized he just took the bait.
"Good work."
Cue to that words, brightness blinded his eyes.
Explosion.
Almost at the same time, the shack nearby, and the other shack all explode in with monstrous effect. The trees around it burned to ashes, stripped naked of its leaves by the shockwaves, as it fell down one by one. Metals from the shack spread apart like broken glass, piercing at Tatsuya's leg and rib, but he didn't feel that pain as he barely regained his consciousness from the impact. There were a few police outside guarding the door, but even they were caught in the explosion and passed out.
"*bzzzz* Are you there? Of course, you do."
Babylon spoke through the mic, which seemed to trigger his rage.
"You kill my men, you bastard!" Tatsuya cursed through the mic, "Who are you?!"
"I thought you were hunting me? Hah, the Suou Devils sure are disappointing."
Tatsuya widened his eyes.
"Babylon... It's you!"
"They invaded my place, they deserved to die. You don't expect to let thieves walk away after they invaded your house, don't you?"
The only thing that crossed his mind is his brother, Shiori, and all his people inside.
Currently, he was suppressing that thought from surfacing in his mind to make sure he doesn't snap.
"That should give you enough insight of my power, isn't it, Tatsuya Suou?"
He could feel the sympathy in Babylon's voice, which he saw it as a mockery. However, lost as he was, he didn't overlook the details of his situation.
"You just spare my life of all people. That's why you asked me to leave the shack."
"Ah! You can think, after all?"
"Why? What do you want from me?"
"I want you to live, live in regret for defying me."
"Or is it because you can't kill me?!"
Babylon paused as if taken aback by his scream. He heard a soft humming through the speaker. She was thinking of something.
"Do you believe that some people only live for someone else, and without them, you're just as good as lifeless? I think there's a word for that… That is how I should describe my action."
Babylon ended the conversation, leaving him hanging with wonders her words. Tatsuya wasted no time to rush to where his brother was.
"Request backup! Send firefighters over!"
Tatsuya screamed through his walkie-talkie and approached the shack where his brother was, but the fire spread too fast to be near. He cursed his inability to use his persona that he slapped his arms a few times.
"Come on, just one more turn!"
It was then, from the flaming shacks, a figure emerged from beneath the piles of burning metals, seemly holding something in its arm. He recognized immediately that it was Hyperion, and he was shielding a woman and a man.
"Katsuya!"
"Stay back!"
Katsuya screamed. He saw his brother was covered in blood and dusk, along with some burn mark on his forehead. Shiori was bleeding and unconscious, but her state was not as bad as him. It seemed that Shiori was inside Katsuya's shack when the bomb detonated. Katsuya managed to activate his persona in time to spare both Shiori and him.
However, it seemed that even Hyperion was heavily damaged, and he was barely suppressing the debris on top of him.
"Ah, screw it!" Tatsuya removed his jacket and tied it around his arm as he lunged towards his brother. He was tired from waiting for his sleeping persona to make the first move. His brother was close to fainting.
"Why did you come, idiot?! Your persona is-" Katsuya scolded, but he didn't care. He jumped over the scorching ground and leaped towards his brother to grab Shiori.
"Come on! We need to get out!" Tatsuya said, began to drag Katsuya to the safe area.
"I can't save any of them..." Katsuya mumbled, "If only I noticed sooner..."
"Shut it. Stay with me. I'm getting you out-"
A loud crack interrupted his words. He shifted his eyes upward and saw that a large debris on top of them was ready to crash down. Hyperion, it seemed, was losing power and was ready to disappear completely. He turned back to his brother and saw that his brother was closing his eyes.
"Brother, wake up!"
It was too late. Hyperion disappeared, sending the debris down upon them.
The last thing on his mind was his family. He wondered if there's more he could do.
He can't die here, isn't it? The prophecy was a long road ahead.
Is there no one? Wait...
"Apollo?"
Babylon's Base
Katsuya opened his eyes to see Shiori was safe and sound next to him, trying to wake him up with a few officers by their side overseeing the situation. He had no idea how long he had fainted, but every crank of his body ached too much to move.
"Katsuya, are you awake? Come on, stand up! We got a lot of things to do," Shiori said, reaching out her hand. Katsuya took her hand and lifted himself, only to see cindered remained of the shacks. Ambulance trolled many bodies from the shacks, where some of them were still digging the ground to search the buried bodies. Guilt resurfaced on him.
He knew something was wrong when there's weak defense inside the shack. He knew the moment he found out the crates were empty, it was a trap. He just didn't manage to escort his team out in time.
He should have died alongside them if only Tatsuya didn't come to save him.
"Wait," Katsuya searched around when he noticed the anomalies, "Where's Tatsuya?"
Shiori didn't speak for a while with a troubled look on her face. Katsuya's heart sank.
'Don't tell me he's dead?' Katsuya thought.
"Shiori, where's my brother?!" Katsuya screamed, loud enough for almost everyone in that place to hear.
"We look for him in the shack, but..." Shiori bit her lips before she revealed the truth, "We can't find him."
From the way Shiori spoke, Katsuya relieved some stress knowing that it's clear his brother was still alive.
"...Explain."
"I don't think he's dead, but we can't find him anywhere. We send a search party to look for him around the forest, but currently, there's no positive result."
He didn't understand. All he could do was stared blankly at her.
"Then where the hell did he go?"
Tatsuya Suou
Xibalba?
He saw Naoya clenching his hand on the collar that Tatsuya was wearing. Naoya's face was full of rage, but he understood.
Hmmm?
Understood what?
Who was he? Shouldn't he be Tatsuya Suou? Why was he doubting himself?
Could this be it? The end of the series of the dream? Why did he dream of Naoya? Why is it he so important?
Was Naoya trying to tell him something? Or was it him trying to show Naoya something?
He tried to close his eyes to listen...
"...Who are you?! Where's Tatsuya, the 'real' Tatsuya?!"
He couldn't hear too well. His body was not his own. Not even holding the sword in his hand, not even removing Naoya's hand. That wasn't him.
He certainly, no matter how much he distrusted Naoya, would never attack him.
Yet 'he' did. His sword pierced through Naoya's abdomen, pushing him backward.
"Tatsuya!"
Naoya screamed as he laid on the ground. His hand reached out towards him and said.
"You're him! The red rider! I won't let you touch her, not yet! Tatsuya… he's still trying!"
What?
What is he talking about?
He peeked at the cocoon that beaconed the city, where he could hear strange tears coming from it. He watched carefully through the thin layer of membrane. Again, 'he' examined.
A girl was inside, like a newborn.
He recognized that girl...
She was-
"Mia? Why are you-"
Mia Kaneda was inside, sleeping.
?
Tatsuya opened his eyes to see a landscape he never had seen before. He was lying on the grass, but the trees were chopped beyond restrictions, leaving a bare land where soils barely grow. He peeked further and saw a city, but ruined and lonely, as if a ghost town.
"Where the hell am I?" Tatsuya mused, standing straight and check himself. He was alive, even though he should be dead from the crash when he tried to save Shiori and Katsuya. He checked his arm and saw that black marks had returned, covering his arms and back of his palm. His persona must have activated at the last minute.
But the question remained: Where is he?
"Katsuya, Shiori?" He tapped his mic and checked his phone. No signal. It felt as if he was in a different world altogether. No, this was no instinct. He knew that he was in a place he never reached. Worse, he had no one to reach to.
He began to walk and entered the street, where cars were left abandoned and the sky was dark. The sky was... strangely cloudy. The only way he could describe was it was 'too close to the sky', almost as if the city itself was floating.
If only he had his gun with him, but it was lost during the explosion. Currently, only his persona was his last defense. The rest of his body was in truth ready to collapse. There was internal bleeding on his left torso and left leg, but he ignored it for now for the sake of answer. Some bandage was made by ripping his sleeves to cover his marked hand, in case someone was frightened by it.
Unfortunately, he had to pause his steps. He recognized the sound of gun reloading from miles away. Trying a more stealth walk, he dashed for the building but paused again.
He recognized this street, almost too well. The aura surrounding the city was too uncanny for him to notice.
Bang!
A gunshot was released not far from his location. It was a warning shot. He searched around and saw a few figures exiting the building, armed with firearms completely unmatched with the attire of the gunners. They were civilians, that was obvious. Yet another question arose. Why were they bearing guns?
Obliged, Tatsuya raised his arms as the men approached him.
"Identify yourself Which department are you?! Who are you working with?!"
"Alright, chill out. I'm unarmed, so I can't hurt you. I'm a cop."
"There's no more cops in this city! Don't bullsh*t me! Or are you one of those creatures?!"
From the way they handled the gun, he knew they were not professional, yet not amateurish enough to miss a shot. But there was fear in their eyes as if they were forced to do this.
"Wait!" One of the guys stopped him and whispered something. The guy who seemed to be the leader widened his eyes.
"C-Commander Suou, is that you?!"
It was Tatsuya's turn to be shocked. But he couldn't show his confusion yet. Commander? Did he have a doppelganger?
"Yes, you guess it right. I almost thought you already didn't recognize me," Tatsuya lied. The gunners immediately put away their guns and saluted.
"We apologize, commander! You should have told us you shaved your beard, otherwise, we mistook you for Shadows!"
"Shadows?"
Shadow, roaming the city?
"Guys!"
Then, one of the men reached out to his mic and seemed to answer to a higher up.
"The boss wanted to meet. We should head over immediately. Commander, please follow us."
"I-I know," Tatsuya played alone, but curious about the beard they mentioned.
When they lead into a small shop, which he presumed to be their hideout, everything became clear once he saw the Gatten Sushi signs.
"Sumaru City..." Tatsuya mused, "No, this is..."
He didn't want to admit it, but he knew it was the truth.
"This is Xibalba."
Evening - 28/11/2018(Wednesday) – Prison, Police Department
Eriko walked across the prisons, escorted by two guards who guided her. She was nervous, but also angry at Naoya's action to leave her house. She understood his reason, but currently, she was baffled at Naoya's decision to call her here of all place. She literally had to hide and go through many stealth passages to reach here. Katsuya, at first, planned to wire her to listen to their conversation, but Eriko refused.
Hopefully, it was worth it. Still saddened by the missing Tatsuya, Katsuya said that he allowed her to talk to him for 10 minutes.
"He's right here," The guard gestured her to the cell at the end of the corridor, where there was no one except a single, weakened man behind that bar. Eriko nodded and thanked the guards. After she confirmed that she was alone with him, she began.
"Why do you have to do that?!" Eriko scolded Naoya who had finally noticed him from his bed, "If only you had stayed..."
"I get it, I'm sorry," Naoya scratched his head, "I didn't expect to get caught so soon."
"You always made a decision like that! Do you have any idea how worried I am?"
"Sorry…"
She felt frustrated. After all that she felt, the only thing he could say is 'Sorry'?
"You said you started to like me. But was it a lie?" Eriko asked.
"I'm sorry?" Naoya narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"When we went on a 'date' with my sister, you said you start to like me. Yet you do things that go against my words?"
"Oh, you mean that time? I did say that, but me leaving your house has nothing to do with that."
There was a momentary silence.
"…Naoya, am I wrong?"
"About?"
Eriko closed her eyes and said the words buried in her mind.
"About us. Am I wrong to think you're the same man I'm in love with years ago? Am I wrong to believe that this… 'thing' between us can still work?"
"Eriko, I…" Naoya paused, for he couldn't answer. Eriko remained silent too, for she secretly waiting for a proper response from him. At the same time, however, she was embarrassed when she realized how much those words didn't suit her.
"…Very well, I will tell you something. I hope you will understand me once I told you," Naoya paused for a while and finally stood up, facing her closely with extreme seriousness.
"I will tell you the truth now."
Eriko widened her eyes.
"The truth?"
"Yes, the whole truth. About what happened to me at Egypt years ago. About my role, about us."
Eriko felt a shiver. She gulped and took a step backward, just as Naoya took a step forward towards his cell bar. He clenched his steel bar and downed his face, deciding a face suitable to tell her the truth.
Eriko could hear her heart beating fast. The truth, the truth of the prophecy, this is it. No matter how significant the truth that he told, all should contribute to ensuring victory for them against the Horsemen. Currently, she had to hear the truth from Naoya.
Naoya finally raised his head, revealing a face too serious to be belittled. And so, he opened his lips.
"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are the first four of the Seven Seal. On the fifth seal, all the deity revealed or hidden will rejoice and return to their respective Archetype where they belong, be it persona or shadow. On the sixth seal, all the primordial deity will reach their full power and regain their true consciousness, and the grand butterfly will flip its wing for the last time. At last, on the seventh, the final seal, two beings, a pair of man and woman will be accompanied by Seven Trumpeters to the Garden of Eden. These two are Prime Anima and Animus."
She remembered reading this quote from Father Time's tower weeks ago. Why did he mention it now?
"Eriko, it is me."
Naoya fully caught her attention when he revealed the truth.
"I am Prime Anima, and Eriko, you are my Prime Animus. We are the Adam and Eve of the new world."
A/N: And I will cut the chapter there. Sorry for the late update. Extremely busy these past few weeks. This chapter is shorter than my usual long chapter, but I hope this keeps you entertained for the next one. Tatsuya reach Xilbalba, the 'other side', but for what purpose? What is happening at Nanjo's place, Celephais?
You can check the quotes back at chapter 15. What is "Prime Anima & Animus" and their purpose? Please wait for the slow update.