Chapter 19

Turning Back to the Light

April 24, 2021; Monday

4:45 PM

Mirror Dimension; Niflheim

Floor 14

"Maragilao!"

The unseen form of Iselin and her transformed reflection cast a wall of fire that stopped everyone in their tracks. The light from the flame showed their form in contrast to the dark atmosphere. Iselin and her reflection were hulking figures made of multiple rusted armor parts from many metals that were patched together to form a chestplate, gauntlets, leggings, and boots. On their shoulder blades, Iselin had a balista and her reflection carried a canon. Both had fingers made from palette knives and protected the shadowy, and strangely colorful, essence underneath their armor.

"Holy shit… I seriously pissed her off." Johei said as he stared at them.

Daichi shook his head.

"Honestly, sometimes I wonder how you even got to second year. Her getting angry at us has nothing to do with your perverted questions."

Everyone blocked against the attack, which thankfully, didn't hurt anybody too much. Kazuhiko switched his Personas.

"King Frost! Bufu!"

"Foolish servant! You must request for my services in a more respectful ma-"

"Do it or I'm changing you with Slime."

"… Fair enough"

Kazuhiko cast a freezing wind that sprouted icicles on Iselin's reflection but did very little damage to it. Mikan tried to follow it up.

"Skadi! Let's get them!"

"Bufula!"

The attack was headed straight for Iselin but her reflection quickly ran in front of her, the attack barely flinching it. Daichi cursed.

"It's resistant to ice and somehow recognizes when Iselin's going to be atacked. We're going to have to take down her reflection first before we go for Iselin."

"This is all you've got? Fine then, you'll make my job even easier!"

Iselin raised her fingers towards the sky and cast a spell.

"Rakukaja!"

A shimmering light flashed above her reflection and it's presence immediately became stronger.

"She just buffed it's defense! It's impossible to take it out for now until it wears off." Daichi yelled to the group.

Iselin's reflection then started it's attack.

"Agilao!" It said while casting a pillar of fire at Kazuhiko.

Kazuhiko, who was still using King Frost, was sent onto the ground.

"Ugh!"

"Kaz!"

Johei rushed to his side but was cut off by another fire pillar.

"Gah! Shit that burns!"

Mikan continued casting Bufu spells but they always ended up getting blocked.

"Bufula!"

"Too slow!"

Mikan gritted her teeth as she pulled her chains again to defend from an oncoming attack.

"Protect me, Skadi!"

Skadi braced for impact and was able to parry a 'Clean Strike' but was knocked back.

"I won't be able to hold out much longer if you keep using Bufu. Save your energy."

Mikan nodded and tried shooting through the chinks in the armor, but the arrows ended up doing nothing, even the ones that made their mark.

"What's working right now?" Mikan asked as she fired another arrow and quickly ducked to cover.

"Nothing really. Insta-kills have no effect on her." Daichi said after using Hugin and Munin to do dark and light spells.

"Truly she is a force not to be reckoned with." Hugin said.

"She's even stronger than that table we met." Munin commented.

"A shame we couldn't recruit it."

"We could have used the floating utensils to win us the utensils in Johei's cabinet."

"Didn't that Andrew Jackson guy rely on his Kitchen cabinet to make decisions?"

"I think so. Maybe we should ask him for help?"

"The guy's been dead for over a century! Will you please stop talking and focus on the battle?!"

"Sorry Master Daichi." Both of them said.

The reflection got ready for a defense by using 'Attract' on everyone to keep the attack from landing on Iselin. In this time, Iselin initiated another attack.

"Why are you stopping me? Rika had an entire life ahead of her and she just lost it! I have to do this! I need to do this! Artist's Palette!"

A bright flash appeared from Iselin's hands and blinded everyone, forcing them to close their eyes.

"Munin! I need a Mudo!" Daichi shouted to his Persona.

"Right away! Caw!" Munin said as he cast a darkness spell which helped take the stress off the brightness.

Immediately, Daichi noticed Iselin's reflection's hands going towards him and quickly dodged them. Unfortunately, his arm got caught and a large cut had opened.

"AGH!"

Daichi yelled in pain as he went on his knees and clutched his arm.

"Mikan! Heal him!" Kazuhiko said, but Mikan was also knocked down.

Only Kazuhiko and Johei remained. Thinking that he should have another approach at the opponent, Kazuhiko switched back to Tyr for some help.

"This isn't good. We can't have a clear shot at Iselin, but I'm sure she's weak to ice. Her reflection shouldn't be too different from her so I guess she has Ice Block."

Kazuhiko nodded as he parried attacks with his sword.

"Ice Block, huh? That's a passive skill if I remember correctly. Activates whenever she gets hit by an ice spell."

Kazuhiko recently learned about these types of skills from Igor who had enabled a new type of trade with him: Skill cards. Iselin started another attack.

"Just get out of my way! Artist's palette!"

"The same move again? At least we're ready for it! Turn away!" Johei said as he covered his eyes.

Kazuhiko did the same and waited for the bright flash, but what he got instead was a sense that he was being physically drained.

"What? I… I feel kinda tired." Johei gasped.

Daichi hissed at his cut but got back into the fight by using 'Twin Strike'.

"It's a special move of hers. I'm guessing it causes a random effect. An artist always has a colorful palette."

Kazuhiko cursed. He should have known about that, but he was taking too much of his energy dodging and parrying to think. He came to a stop from being too tired.

"Get ready for your end! Agilao!" Iselin's reflection shouted as it shot a final jet of flame straight at him.

Kazuhiko looked to the left of him.

Johei was rushing to his side, but wouldn't be able to reach him in time.

He looked to the right.

Daichi and Mikan were already preoccupied and couldn't protect him.

Kazuhiko knew that he wouldn't be able to take another hit.

It's already over? He said to himself.

He closed his eyes and waited for impact.

Suddenly, Tyr stepped in front of him.

"Fire Absorb!" He yelled as he sucked the flames into his palm.

Kazuhiko blinked, then get back up with a renewed resolve in his eyes. He felt his strength flowing back into him as the flames were dispersed.

"Feel better now?" Tyr asked him.

Kazuhiko nodded.

"Hell yeah I am. I've got a plan this time too. Johei! Daichi! Distract them as much as you can! Mikan! Catch!"

"Huh? Okay, man. Loki! Let's do this!"

"No need to tell me! Magarula!" Loki shouted as he threw two miniature tornadoes at Iselin and her reflection.

Iselin's reflection dodged the tornado and quickly protected Iselin. This time, it took a little more damage, but not a lot.

Mikan turned and caught an item in her hand.

"Huh? A skill card?"

Kazuhiko nodded.

"Fire it at the reflection. Make sure it sticks."

Mikan, not sure what to do, followed his orders and shot an arrow at the reflection with the card tied to the shaft. Kazuhiko switched back to King Frost.

"Alright! Now try using Bufu on Iselin!" Kazuhiko shattered his chains while Mikan started to protest.

"B-but, I don't have that much energy! It'll just get blocked!"

"Mika-senpai, just trust me on this. King Frost! Bufula!"

"I still think you should at least say please…" King Frost grumbled

"O-okay! Come, Skadi!"

Mikan broke her chains and felt the last of her energy disappear.

"Bufu!" Skadi yelled as she cast out the spell from her clawed hands.

The combined ice spells morphed together into an even more intense attack.

"Whoa! That's like the power of a Bufudyne!" Daichi said as he drew back.

The (technically) Bufudyne rushed towards Iselin but she was quickly protected by her reflection.

"You're really that desperate, aren't you?" The reflection said.

"Well, after this, I won't let you have anymore chances. Huh?"

Quickly, the reflection dodged the attack and it met the designated target. Iselin immediately crumpled onto the ground in agony.

"AAAAUUUGH!" She yelled as the shadows fell off of her.

The reflection, being connected to Iselin, also crumbled to the ground and left it's true form lying face down. Johei looked impressed.

"Dude! How did it get past her?!"

Kazuhiko smiled.

"Simple. Remember the time I gave you all some skill cards?"

Daichi nodded.

"Yeah. I remember that. What happened, though?"

"Well, I had a couple extras just in case. I tossed one to Mikan who stuck it to the reflection giving it a skill that would guarantee that it would dodge any Ice spells."

Mikan looked shocked.

"You mean that card was-"

"Yup. It was Ice evade. Activates whenever an ice attack is about to hit you."

Johei's jaw hung open.

"Dude… you really have learned the ways of the prankster, haven't you?"

Daichi raised his eyebrow.

"Ways of the prankster?"

"You have shown your powers! Your pranking skills are superior to mine! Please! Accept me as your student Sensei!"

Mikan slapped the back of Johei's head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Johei said while rubbing his head.

"That was for the stupid idea you had of asking a transfer student for her cup size! Actually, that's just a stupid question to ask in general!" Mikan said while slapping the back of his head again.

Skadi glared at Loki.

"It was all your fault for making this battle even more difficult than it was!"

"What?! Why are you blaming me?!"

"Because you most likely put that idea into his head you perverted villain."

"That was entirely Johei's fault! It's his perverted mind that made her mad!"

"So you're saying that you weren't thinking about her cup size?"

"Nope! I was mostly thinking what yours was."

"YOU WHAT?!"

*WHAM*

"We still lack the knowledge of what a cup size is." Hugin said.

"Would somebody please explain it to us?" Munin asked.

"*cough* Once Skadi is well out of range *cough*"

"Believe me. I will always be in range…" Skadi said threateningly while holding up her bow.

"Guys! Iselin's coming round!" Kazuhiko said as he rushed to her side.

Iselin was kneeling on the ground crying. Her chains were keeping her kneeling down to the floor.

"I… I can't do anything right… I can't even give Rika's life a meaning… Why are you doing this to me?"

Everyone else gathered around Iselin along with the Personas. Johei spoke up first.

"Hey, I know that revenge might be the best or only choice you have, but my friends taught me that it's just yourself not thinking clearly. You don't really want to kill them. Just trust me, you don't."

Iselin shook her head.

"But… their murderers… they murdered my best friend… my only friend…"

"Would Rika want you to do this? She would have wanted you to be happy. Murdering her parents would ruin your life. She wouldn't want that type of blood on her hands." Johei said.

Mikan nodded.

"We all know what it's like to lose someone we care about. We could have made a wrong turn too. But look at us now. We took a step to the future but we haven't forgotten about them. We make our memories of them help us grow stronger. You can't let the past hold you down, you have to embrace it to grow up."

"I won't be able to look her in the eye… I can't even bear myself to see her empty bed next to mine anymore…"

"You're giving yourself too much of a burden." Daichi responded.

"You're being too hard on yourself and keep thinking that whatever you do won't be enough. That way, you'll run yourself ragged and die unhappy and unsatisfied with life. I almost fell into that trap; I'm not falling for it again."

Iselin looked up with tear streaked eyes.

"Then… What should I do?… What can I do now?… I can't even save somebody from dying… I can't even stop you guys… What else can I do?"

Kazuhiko looked into her eyes.

"You can help us. You know what it's like to suffer; So do we. We're not the only ones who are suffering from despair. You can join us and stop people like us from going down the same path. You can protect people you care about. You won't fall again."

Iselin was at a loss for words. She couldn't speak, either because of the dryness of her throat or the sheer awe that she had that she was being supported by other people. She hung her head before replying.

"Yeah… you're right… I can't do anything about Rika now except keep the memory of her still alive. God I feel horrible. I'm going to make sure that nobody is ever going to have to feel like this again. I think I'm finally ready to go back into the light…"

Turning to her reflection on the ground, who had gotten onto her feet, Iselin smiled.

"Hey, let's get this over with. Killing Rika's parents isn't going to solve anything. Now I'm sure about it."

The reflection nodded and disappeared as Iselin struggled to get back on her own feet. Mikan and Johei offered to help, Johei mostly so he could get closer to a hot girl (Mikan smacked him later for that), but Iselin shook her head.

"This is the first step I'm making. I want to do it myself."

She stepped up and struggled against the chains until they cracked and eventually shattered. A shimmering figure appeared behind her and disappeared just as quickly. Then she asked them for help to the exit. This time, Kazuhiko and Mikan helped her (Much to Johei's dismay) .

6:37 PM

Nuzoko Mall District

Evening

"Please… have mercy on my wallet…" Johei moaned.

The entire group was sitting at a table in the nearby Wild Duck Burger. They decided to take Iselin there for something to eat and to help her calm down. Apparently, Iselin could eat much more than the average Japanese High Schooler, that is to say, a lot. Kazuhiko shook his head.

"This is what you get when you offered to pay. Besides, I could have easily paid for this with the money we make from killing shadows."

Johei pounded his fist on the table.

"But that's no fair! You get to keep all the money we make from Niflheim!"

Mikan scowled at him.

"That's because he's more responsible than you are and we don't want to take that kind of responsibility. Besides, he only uses that money for the group."

Iselin nodded along.

"Yeah, plus you should stop that. You know throwing a fit isn't very attractive."

Johei's face slightly lit up.

"Oh, so if I were more mature-"

"I still wouldn't consider you attractive."

"Oh come on!"

Johei sat down in his seat and sighed, Loki trying hi hardest not to laugh.

"And he strikes out folks! Looks like Shiroka's sitting bench for the rest of the season!" Loki said with an image of Masataka Itsumi on his monitor.

Skadi snapped at him.

"And you should be more respectful to your partner. It's not like you're going to be leaving him anytime soon."

"I can't help it if my user's a total failure at life."

"Hey!"

Iselin stopped eating a burger for a moment.

"Uh, hey! What are these shadow things that you guys keep fighting anyways?"

Daichi replied after finishing his drink.

"They're technically manifestations of the true emotions of people. They tend to act independently but they gather around someone who is being affected by the chains of despair."

"Huh." Iselin said as she went back to her burger.

"And what exactly are theses chains of despair?"

"They chain you to your next actions that you carry out. You can only overcome them by breaking your chains and summoning the power of your Persona." Daichi said.

Iselin put her burger wrapper down and rubbed her temples.

"Geez, this is a lot to take in. I don't think I'll even have enough space in my head to remember the notes in History."

Mikan patted her shoulder.

"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it. For now, let's just get you back home."

Right after she said that, Mikan's phone buzzed and she picked it up.

"Oh, looks like I've got to go home right now. One of you guys take Iselin home, alright?"

"Ooh! Does that mean that I get to-"

"Except for Johei."

"Damnit!"

8:32 PM

Foreign Transfer Student Dorms; Front

"Okay, I think I'll be able to take myself to my room from here."

Kazuhiko nodded.

"Okay then. Just focus on getting some rest for now." Kazuhiko said as he began to see her inside the dorms.

Iselin hesitated for a moment.

"I just have one last question, though." She said.

"Did you know what I did when you met me at the park?"

Kazuhiko paused then shook his head.

"No, I really had no idea. I found out when you were talking to me on the rooftop. It was like you had this new air around you; Like you weren't the same person anymore."

Iselin listened to him and her spirit sank. Kazuhiko quickly noticed this and tried to mend the situation.

"Ah! Um, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been too blunt about it."

"Oh no. It's okay, really." Iselin said while turning away from him.

"It's just that… I want to know what I was like; How I acted that made me do terrible things. You know what? I really owe you guys!"

Iselin turned to face him with a hyped look on her face. Kazuhiko shrank back a bit at her eccentricity.

"Oh, you really don't have to. The only thing that would make us feel better is for you to gather yourself and-"

"Don't talk me out of it! One of the only things I'm good at is art! I'm going to make a piece for each of you! It'll be the best painting you have ever seen! It'll support you in your times of sadness and bring joy back into your life! Nothing's gonna stop me now!"

Iselin finished and nearly teleported into the dorms leaving a very stunned Kazuhiko on the doorstep.

"Well, she's back to normal… I hope."Tyr said from behind Kazuhiko.

"I just hope she doesn't overwork herself…" Kazuhiko said as he chuckled and walked back to the hotel.

Foreign Exchange Student Dorms; Iselin's Room

"O-kay! Let's get started!" Iselin said to herself as she pulled out an empty canvas, a palette, and a paintbrush.

She squeezed out the colors onto her palette and set up her stand. The moment of truth was at hand. She picked up her paintbrush…

aaaaaand…

10 minutes later

"Why can't I think of anything?!" Iselin yelled into her pillow.

Earlier, she had just gotten out her art tools and was suddenly stopped due to artist's block. What a pitiful way to start a painting.

She rolled onto her back and kicked her feet to get the blood pumping to her head; Nothing happened.

Not a single idea came into her head, not even a color.

Iselin turned her head to the other side of the room, hoping to look for something that would spark her creativity. Her eyes zeroed in on something stuck under Rika's pillow. She got up and walked over to it.

"What's this?" She asked herself.

Iselin brought up the pillow to pull out a picture frame. The picture being held in it showed two girls wrapping an arm over each other's shoulders and smiling like madwomen while standing on a long bridge. Behind them, was a gorgeous sunset over the horizon. But it wasn't the view that took Iselin's attention, it was the two girls.

"I… I can't believe she still had this…" She said.

The memories started to flood back into her head, happy ones and sad ones alike, they all were treasured memories of their time together.

"The sunset crossing bridge. Man, we took that picture years ago! Boy did that cameraman suck, though…"

In a split second, Iselin's head came up with an idea for her art project. Rushing hurriedly to her empty canvas, she picked up her palette and paintbrush and began to mix colors together to form the crisp and fading light of the sunset. But her excitement made her hands fidget so she pulled out a cigarette and lit the end to calm her down.

"Alright. So here's the sun right here… No, that's a little too dark… Maybe a little violet would help… onto the bridge… Oh, should have made an outline for it first…"

"Maybe you should try adding a slight dark orange to emphasize the sun in the painting."

"Yeah! Good idea! I should probably do tha-" Iselin stopped herself.

She slowly turned around and saw a tall figure in Viking armor, a dark blue blindfold, long golden hair, and two light axes.

"So, what else should you try?"

Iselin stared at the cigarette, trying to discern if it really was a roll of weed.

April 25, 2021; Tuesday

Kyuto High; School Gates

7:10 AM

Morning

Kazuhiko was walking up to the front gates with Tyr by his side.

"Do you think she's well enough to be back at school?" Tyr asked him.

Kazuhiko shrugged.

"Beats me. Right now, our current situation is to stop the Colburne's from committing suicide. Luckily, after saving Iselin, we extended the period to the beginning of Golden Week, but we won't get lucky again."

Iselin ran up to Kazuhiko.

"OkaylookIwantyourhonestopinionAremyeyesredDoIlookreallytiredDoesmybreathsmellbad?"

Kazuhiko withdrew from Iselin's sudden questions.

"Ah! Geez! Don't sneak up on me like that! Whoa, did you get enough sleep last night?"

Iselin's eyes were barely seen as her eyelids threatened to permanently keep them closed. Her hair was slightly messed up and her glasses were barely hanging onto the tip of her nose. She ignored Kazuhiko's comment and asked again.

"Please. I've been hallucinating about a giant viking lady in my room. Right now, I'm hallucinating about another robot -like thing behind you. Please tell me I'm just high off a weed."

Kazuhiko wasn't paying attention to her, but instead was paying attention to the shimmering figure behind her.

"Oh, hello there." The figure waved to Kazuhiko.

"Wow. Your Persona looks badass."

Iselin sighed.

"I'm guessing I'm stuck with her, right?"

"Yeah, pretty much. What's her name?"

The Persona bowed to them.

"My name is Hildr; A valkyrie among Odin's court, chooser of the slain for Ragnarok, reviver of the dead."

Kazuhiko whistled approvingly.

"And she's kinda respectful too."

"Well, I'm still in a bad position."

" At least things could be worse."

"How so?"

"You could have ended up like Johei over there."

Iselin turned to see Loki pulling up the skirt of a student showing her undergarments to Johei. The girl pushed down her skirt and turned menacingly to Johei who was right behind her.

*SMACK*

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

So, I'm back! Hope you guys liked this chapter; RosyMiranto18 actually suggested this segment and I await all of your opinions or things you want to see. Just send it to me via PM and I'll get back to you about it. Iselin's finally in the gang! Boy her segment took a bit too long to make but, you know what? It's worth it. Also, I'm featuring Iselin in the next interview on the aftershow, so place in your questions in the next 2 week period! I'll see you guys later.

Professor Loki's Lesson

"Good morning class! Please, take your seats. We have a lot to go over today. Onto our History lesson: Women's Lingerie."

"During the times of early history, mankind has worshiped the undergarments of women."

"Men became so infatuated with them, they even created factories just to make women's lingerie. Company include the world famous Victoria's Secret."

"But such luxuries came at a price. Imbeciles of men believed in decency and thought that such resources should not be wasted on undergarments."

"And so started the Great Panty War of 1979. Eventually, men of the pro-panties side won the battle and today, we all are free to enjoy watching women in such beautiful accessories."

"Your homework for tonight is to go on a panty raid through any of your fellow High school girls drawers and bring me at least 3 pairs each; most preferably from the hot girls with the large breasts and bosoms. Any questions?"

The class consisted of Kazuhiko, Johei, Daichi, Hugin, Munin, and Tyr.

"I still don't understand what you mean by cup sizes" Hugin said.

"Me neither." Munin cawed.

"Trust me, you guys don't need to know." Daichi told them.

"Why are we even here? It's a Sunday." Kazuhiko asked.

"I am definitely raiding Mikan and Iselin's drawers tonight." Johei said.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Mikan and Iselin shouted from outside the classroom.

"HOLY SHIT RUN!" Johei said as he jumped out the window with everybody close behind.

"Ah, to be young and capture the panties of women." Loki said to himself.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around.

"What… did you… tell them… to do?" Skadi said through gritted teeth.

"I may have been born yesterday but you're not getting into Iselin's drawer." Hildr said her glare feeling intense even with the blindfold.

"Oh… GUYS WAIT FOR ME!" Loki said as he dashed out the window after everybody else.