You might not think it, but Tanaka's job offer was actually a difficult decision for me.
Now, if I took the job, I'd be a millionaire in five years, but I'd definitely have less time to spend with my social links and strengthening my Persona.
That and there are those pesky child labour laws, so I told him I'd give him an answer within a week. The next day I still didn't have a clue as to what I should do.
Hell, it was bothering me so much I couldn't even focus in class, until Mr Takenozuka called my name during physics.
"What was Einstein's famous theory?" he shouted at me. "Quick!"
That was so easy. "General relativity theory," I answered. "It refers to gravity as a geometric distortion of space time, which allows for the existence of black holes."
"You sir, are correct!" Well, duh. It was fairly obvious.
"I didn't know that." A voice from behind me.
"I thought it was E=MC squared…" Another voice. Okay, so maybe it wasn't so obvious.
Back at the dorm, me, Yukari and Junpei were in the lounge studying. Mitsuru told us to study in groups because then we could help each other, by which she meant Junpei.
Oh, Junpei wasn't stupid, far from it; he just had no concentration when it came to books.
Me? I prefer to learn it first time round, then remind and test myself before the exam. It's the way men study.
Junpei sighed. "Man, I'm tired of studying…" Fairs fair, he had been doing it for the past five hours straight. "Wanna go to Tartarus dude?"
Actually, that was an interesting idea. Elizabeth had mentioned a new pathway earlier.
"Go on then." I turned to our other study partner. "Yukari, you coming?"
"We do have exams next week you know." she pointed out.
"Constant studying without physical exercise is stressful and can hinder your performance in the exam." I countered.
Yukari blinked, then she sighed. "What the hell, I'll go!"
"Sweetness!"
I paid a visit to the velvet room once we got inside the tower. Elizabeth said that she had a special mission for me.
"If you can reach the next barrier and retrieve the document from there by the next full moon, I will give you a special reward." She explained, pulling out a set of scrolls. "These," she said, "are the Scrolls of Armaments."
"What do they do?" I asked.
She unrolled one slightly. There were a row of 'pages' inside, each with a circle surrounding a skull. "Each scroll can carry a type of equipment." she said. "Each seal can hold one piece of equipment. This scroll can hold weapons," she said, gesturing to the scroll. "These two, on the other hand, can contain armour and equipment respectively."
This was interesting. "How's it work?"
"If you would mind..?" I handed her my sword. She took it and pressed it against the first seal. The sword disappeared, the skull replaced with a symbol of the weapon. She then pressed her hand against it again, and my sword reappeared in her hand. "Each scroll can host over fifty pieces of equipment." She told me, offering my sword back to me.
Must… Get… Those… Scrolls…
We reached the sixteenth floor in record time. Yukari and Junpei were surprised that the barrier had gone, but I expected it. "Let's go."
I was not expecting, however, what was on the next level. It was like some sort of demented cinema, and there were these… faces on the wall.
Ever seen a drawing by H.R. Giger? Because that was exactly what it was like. It... it kinda made you dizzy just to walk in there.
This was a bad thing.
"You've reached the second block, Arqa." Mitsuru explained. "The enemies have changed, and are more powerful than the ones in the previous block, so stay alert."
"Can you sense where the next barrier is?" I asked.
"I'll check, but it'll take some time. Advance while I scan ahead."
"Thanks." I turned to my teammates and gripped my sword. "Let's go."
We found the first cluster of Shadows fairly quickly. I got Yukari to shoot it from a distance so I could come up with a plan of attack. It revealed to be some cloaked things in a mask I hadn't seen before.
"Phantom mages, Hermit Arcana." Mitsuru said. "Don't use fire or dark skills. Hama, however, will be very effective."
"Thanks." I told her. "ARCHANGEL!" Cards flew around one Shadow, killing it in a flash of light. I did the same to another, but it survived. "GO!"
We all charged and stormed the two remaining phantoms. One launched an attack but I dodged it, ramming my sword through the hole in its mask and dragging my sword down through its teeth, killing it. I span around to see Yukari summon Io, blasting the phantom with a burst of wind while I stabbed it in the back.
"Where's Junpei-kun?" she asked, once the Phantom dead.
I looked back along the corridor and found him. "Oh, Hell no…" he was on the ground, not moving.
We rushed for him and checked his pulse. Heart rate fine, still breathing. "He's completely out cold; he must have been hit by a Mudo."
I nodded and pulled a revival bead out of my pocket. Brilliant idea from the pharmacist, they're capsules of adrenaline mixed with smelling salts that, when swallowed, are guaranteed to wake you up so long as you weren't dead or in a coma. I poked it into Junpei's mouth and his eyes opened. He rolled onto his hands and knees and spat the half-dissolved tablet out; he didn't even need to swallow it. It was that good.
"Rise and shine sleeping beauty." I smirked.
"Screw you…" Junpei spat the sour taste out of his mouth. "Dammit… I'm gonna taste that all week!"
"At least you're still fighting." I helped him up. "You ready to go?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Nope."
"Then let's get going!" He glanced over my shoulder. "Aren't you going to grab those? I thought you liked collecting trophies from your kills?"
I followed his gaze to see some old lanterns. Dude, how did I miss those bad boys? I grabbed them and shoved them into my bag. Elizabeth would pay good money for stuff like that. There was also a torn piece of black cloth underneath one of the lanterns, so I pocketed that as well for good measure.
"The barrier is at the fortieth floor, but you won't be able to make it there tonight." Mitsuru said. "There's a large Shadow on the twenty-fifth floor, so that is your goal for tonight."
"Thanks Senpai." I said as I turned to the others "Let's get moving."
Not much happened on the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first floors. There were a couple of standard skirmishes on each floor, but nothing important.
On the twenty-second floor, however, all warmth left the room we were in.
"IT'S THE REAPER!" Mitsuru shouted. "ABORT THE MISSION!"
Bugger.
I put on a brave face and edged into the corridor carefully. Checking that the coast was clear, I waved Junpei and Yukari over. We dashed across the hallway, relying on Mitsuru's guidance to avoid the Reaper.
Wait, is that the stairs? "Come on!" I whispered. "Let's go."
"I told you to abort!"
"This is faster." I countered. "Come on!"
We started to creep down the corridor. The stairs were a hundred metres away down a straight corridor when Mitsuru burst my bubble.
"It's found you! Hurry!"
"GO!" I ordered, running for my life. I kept behind Junpei and Yukari, making sure they got to the stairs safely. I saw the Reaper rushing for us, accelerating and quickly gaining on us. "GO! GO!"
It caught up with us, flying alongside us as we ran for our lives. It aimed its weapon at us when suddenly
It stopped.
It just floated there, glaring at us like a cat would glare at a mouse hiding behind a dog. Why? I looked around and saw that we were standing on the stairs. "Hold on…" I started walking down the stairs.
"Minato!"
"Dude, you insane!"
"Arisoto! What are you doing?"
"Testing something…" I walked towards the Reaper. It was in the hallway just outside the stair room, as if it was waiting outside a door of some sort. It glared right at me, and I glared right back.
I picked up a stone from the floor and, taking a few steps back, threw it as hard as I could, right in its eye.
"WHAT THE HELL!" was everyone's response to my actions.
The Reaper, however, didn't even blink, the stone just bounced off it, but everyone else more than made up for its non-reaction.
Time to push this further.
"COME ON!" I shouted at the Reaper, arms spread wide. "ATTACK ME! DESTROY ME OH GREAT DESTROYER OF WORLDS! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Everyone looked at me like I was insane, until I dropped my arms and smiled. "You can't… can you? You can't enter this room can you?"
No
I nearly soiled myself.
That would ruin the game
The hell?
And I shall remember your insolence, Fool, and it shall cost you dearly
The Reaper drew itself to its full height.
It was like death itself was staring down at me.
And I know how that feels like.
This was going to be a fair game, but you dare challenge ME? The Night Itself?
I stared blankly as the Reaper turned to leave.
So be it
The hell! What did I just do?
"I don't understand… why is it leaving? It could easily have killed you…"
"It couldn't…" I answered. "That would have ruined the game…"
"Huh?" Yukari responded. "What game?"
"I have no idea myself…" I was more concerned at what the Reaper had just said.
Did I just start an open vendetta with the grim reaper himself?
That... might not have been such a good move...
We got to the next floor, but couldn't see much of it.
Oh. That's what he meant.
"There are more Shadows on this floor than usual!" Mitsuru told us. "I'm sensing an increase in Shadows in the floors above you as well!"
"I'm Sorry…" I started. "I think this is my fault…"
"You just had to piss off the Reaper, didn't you?" Yukari was mad, but to be fair she had a damn good reason to be. "Ah, whatever, what's done is done. This isn't as bad as it was on the train." Only because there was more space to move in the tower floor than there was in a train car.
"Heheh… this is what I signed up for!" The mad hatter with a sword said with glee. "COME ON!" Junpei roared as he charged it.
I followed him, while Yukari took a back seat in the carnage, choosing to pick the Shadows off one by one with her arrows instead of joining the brawl.
The twenty-forth floor was the same, only we used our Personae more. When we reached the Tartarus boss, I immediately activated the escape route and ran to the Velvet Room.
"IscrewedupIgorwhatdoIdo!"
"For now, just relax." Igor said calmingly, gesturing for me to sit down. I did, panting, letting out all the fear I'd been hiding from my teammates. "Now then, you've just earned yourself the Reaper's interest, am I right?"
"You could say that." I sighed.
Igor smiled further. "Well, I'll have you know that the Reaper itself is not strictly a Shadow."
Wait, what?
"As you know, all Shadows wear a mask depicting their Arcana." he said. "The Reaper, however, does not. And it is certainly not the angel of Death. That, I can guarantee." That was calming. "However, it is true that you have just made taken your journey down a far harsher path. Nonetheless, You signed a contract, did you not?" Igor summoned it to remind me.
I, Minato Arisoto, give my word that I will take full responsibility for the consequences of my decisions.
"This is a direct consequence from a decision you made." he said, peering down his nose and into my eyes. "It was not a well thought out decision, nor were you aware of the consequences. Nevertheless, it was your decision to make and you must take responsibility."
Damn us English and our bravado. I sighed. "Can I still do this?" I asked.
Igor grinned. "Why, most certainly!" He said with glee. "I am merely stating that it will be far more difficult for you in future." That's not that reassuring. "But this is why you must watch yourself closely, and think all decisions through carefully. This will be an important lesson from you, and I sincerely hope that you learn from it."
So, he's kicking me out...
I sighed. "Alright. Thank you for everything." I stood to leave.
"Please, don't misunderstand."
I looked back to the long nosed man. "Your change in circumstances with the Reaper does not affect our agreement." he said.
Wait, what?
"I will support any decision you make."Igor explained. "For as long as you are willing to accept the consequences of your decisions, we will continue to offer you our services. And as for that Torn Black Cloth on your person…" Igor grinned as I reached into my pocket for the old rag. "We can offer you a very special service…"
I stepped out of the Velvet Room with a sadistic grin on my face. I began to approach the teleporter slowly but confidently.
"Dude…" Junpei moved to stop me. "You okay?"
"Never better..." My smile grew slightly. "Let's go."
"What?" Mitsuru was shocked. "You can't go back in there! You need to rest!"
My grin was extremely visible. "Just watch."
I see no, hear no evil
Black writings on the wall
I walked towards the three Crying Tables with a grin on my face.
Unleash a million faces
And one by one they fall
They saw me and the flames sprang to life, rushing onto the walls and setting the room ablaze.
Black hearted evil
Brave hearted hero
Yukari and Junpei panicked, the flames heating up the room. I calmly reached for my Evoker and put it to my head.
I am all... I am all... I am
I pulled the trigger, and a hooded figure rode into the battle on a pale horse. It pulled drew a scythe and sliced straight through the middle table, killing it instantly.
Go ahead and try to see through me
Do it if you dare
"WHAT THE HELL!" I ignored Junpei and rushed after the rightmost table, slicing my sword upwards as I reached it.
One step forward, two steps back
I'm here
I flipped back and BANG! The Pale Rider rode forth again, launching the two surviving shadows into the air with an evil, green wind. It caught one of them on its scythe, finishing it off.
Do it… Do it… Do it… Do it…
"This is our chance for an all out attack!"
Can you see all of me?
"Let's get 'em!"
Walk into my mystery!
"RRAARRGHH!"
Step inside and hold on for dear life…
The Shadow didn't stand a chance.
Do you remember me?
Catch you and set you free?
I am all… I am all of me…
I stood over its smouldering corpse, glaring into the hollows of its mask as it burned.
I see and feel the evil
My hands will crush them all
I turned back from it, walking back towards the escape route as the flames died.
You think you have the answer?
Well I laugh and watch you fall…
I could feel Junpei's and Yukari's stares in the back of my head, and could almost hear their thoughts.
I am everyone, everywhere, anyhow, anyway
Just what are you, human?
I am… all that I am…
"I am me. And I accept your challenge."
I could feel the Reaper's leer coming from the walls, almost as if it was the tower itself…
Igor was right. I had just made life a hell of a lot harder for myself…
But I chose this.
I didn't want this, but this is what I chose.
I didn't want to choose this, but I did.
Let's do this.