Disclaimer: The following chapter contains scenes of trauma, violence and abuse. Viewer discretion advised.

Chapter 12

The Foolishness of Wrath

Futaba starred at Revland expressionless.

"What do you mean by that?" Revland asked.

"You don't get to ask questions. You're nothing like I thought you were."

Pillars of green flowing text shot from the walls at odd angles to punctuate her words. While Revland wasn't fast enough, Arséne was. His world slowed as he felt his body start to move of its own accord, bending in such a way that made him uncomfortable before dropping to the floor to dodge another pillar. He looked to the other Futaba before rolling to his right forearm and swinging his legs in a vertical arc to avoid another attack. Using the momentum, he spun on his knees and planted a foot to jump up and land on the last offending pillar that was a solid as the stone around him.

"That… was Awesome… How did I do that?" He said in staggered breathes.

"You mustn't focus on just one aspect while engaged in battle." Arséne scolded, "You must watch for an attack that could, quite literally in this case, come from anywhere!"

"No one likes a nag you know." He quipped.

Futaba was surprised that he managed to dodge everything so far. She thought about giving him another chance but discarded the notion after calling her a 'monster'.

He's no different than the others… so if he doesn't leave… then I'll kill him… I won't let him hurt Futaba Sakura… I won't give him the chance.

"Get Out…" She said bluntly, "if you value your life, then you'll never return…"

"You don't have to ask me twice, just need you to stop throwing shit at me…" He retorted, "not that you'd be able to hit a broad side of barn with your aim."

"Must you provoke her?"

"She started it!"

"I have to disagree, you're the one who drew a weapon and insulted her."

Revland was about to retort but found that he was right. In this instance, he was at fault for this current conflict. "Okay, you got me, my bad."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

"Then who?"

"Oh, I don't know, the lady Futaba maybe."

"She's a shadow, she's not the real one."

Arséne sighed, "Ignorance can only make up for about half of stupidity sir Antrie."

"Come again?" He said irritably.

"You're not blind, haven't you noticed that she's no simple cognition?"

Revland looked back to Futaba, who was standing with her hands at her sides waiting for him to respond. Flashes of the castle shot across his memory, making his chest ache slightly.

"Those are memories of the past, pull them from your thoughts for now and see this world anew…"

Revland closed his eyes as he focused on slowing his heartbeat and to steady his breathing. The memory of Kamoshida and his fight with the Bicorn began to fade as he stared directly into Futaba's eyes. Just as before, there weren't any visible signs of emotion but noticed that her eyes were flitting to different parts of his body while focusing on his right hand.

She's waiting for something… but for what… an attack?

"I don't think so… but that's not the issue here. You're not seeing her for what she represents."

Care to explain?

"So intelligent yet so…" Arséne took a deep breath so not to lose his temper, "You're aware of the relationship between us, correct?"

Revland nodded. I am thou and thou art I, kinda hard to forget.

"The same applies to the rulers of this other world, this Metaverse. They're the other half of the person you see in front of you at the time. Morgana was trying to explain it to us while we were trying to escape though I'm only now beginning to understand."

And you're giving me shit for not figuring this out sooner?

"I'm telling you this now instead of screaming it in your ear ain't I?" he stated sternly with some of his English accent bleeding through to show his annoyance. "The perfect example was standing before you and wasn't hostile until but a moment ago. Why not take a closer look, you should be able see what I'm referring to."

Revland stared at her for a moment and found that Arséne was telling the truth. The aura surrounding Futaba was the same shades of blue and pink that he saw the night before. While there was the lack of fear, the darkness that was barely noticeable was evident in the metaverse. Her aura was larger and looked to be growing still. He started looking for the colors that he knew, after clarifying with Arséne, Revland felt his will to fight drain away as realization dawned.

"You're… You 'are' Futaba… aren't you?" he asked hesitantly lifting his left hand in her direction.

"I told you… you don't get to ask any questions… leave this place… NOW…" She said as she raised her right arm in warning.

Revland raised his hands up in surrender, "Wait-wait-wait-wait!"

The light in the temple flickered as Futaba stared at him waiting for him to leave… or continue, he couldn't tell which. "Can you at least let me explain?"

She stood staring, saying nothing. Revland took it as an allowance to continue. "I've seen eyes like yours before… the owner was hell bent on trying to kill me and a friend of mine. He reveled in the pain of others and if I hadn't have fought back… I wouldn't be here now. I'm sorry I threatened you, for insulting you… I panicked. To me… I was back in that damn castle laying on the floor… bleeding out." He lowered his hands as he finished, staring down at the floor remembering the encounter that nearly cost him his life.

"You… almost died?" she asked.

Revland couldn't pick it out but he thought that he heard a hint of worry in her voice. He raised his left hand to rub the back of his neck, "Funny enough, it was my fault I got hurt and It could've been avoided had I thought things through…"

Futaba hesitated. She thought over what he said and how he acted when he first arrived. Not only was he worried about my wellbeing… but he's also apologetic and appears to be docile for the time being… it doesn't fit into my original assessment… I need time to further assess the situation.

"Leave now… and never return." She said flatly.

"Hold on a minute, let's talk about th-' he started to say before a pillar appeared inches from him.

"I said… leave… or do you not value your life…?" she said in such a way that made it known she was serious.

"At least explain the state of this place… please Futaba, you said it's going to collapse soon… what do you mean by that." Revland asked taking a step forward.

She turned to him and saw that he was walking towards her, "I said, Get-Out." As she raised her right hand in his direction.

Revland finally had enough, "Not until I get some fucking answers damnit!"

A pulse of azure flame erupted from Revland as he took a step forward, causing him to hesitate. Futaba simply stared at him, then at the surrounding area. She saw that some of the cracks in the temple were mending as if they were never there.

Revland was confused but no less determined, "Tell me what going to happen to you when this place collapses."

Futaba met his eyes and saw the worry in his eyes, "When a palace disappears… it can only be explained in one of two ways… The first: the palace core is taken from this place and into reality…"

Revland nodded, "And the second?" he asked not liking what his intuition was telling him.

"The second: the palace's ruler is destroyed… or their life ends…"

"What…?" he said as he felt his heart sink.

"It is as I said, this place will disappear… and me along with it…"

Revland was speechless, he felt helpless and didn't know what to do. He tried to find the right words to say but found that he couldn't.

"Now you understand why you must never come back here… you don't need to have your life ruined by me."

Revland felt an angered twitch course through his body as his eyes shoot up to hers, "You truly believe that my life would be ruined simply by having you in it?"

"I've already done so with others who were close to me… you would be no different."

"How do you know that?"

She looked down at him, "It's already happened, with Sojiro, with Uncle Youji… and Mom…"

Revland felt the heat in heart rise, though he found it odd was that it was directed at Futaba specifically. "How could you say that…?"

She looked at him with what he could only guess is confusion.

"How could you say that you've ruined Sojiro's life when he always has a smile on his face whenever he talks about you!?"

No reaction. His tone and volume rose as he continued.

"And don't get me started on that piece of shit uncle of yours! He doesn't know that first thing about raising a child let alone take care of one!" He was screaming while failing to notice that his clothes were starting to burn with blue flame.

Still no reaction.

"I don't know everything about your mom… and part of me doesn't want to know…" his tone softened but was no less heated, "but what I do know, is that something is off about the whole fucking thing! You're not capable of killing someone let alone your own mother, I can't… No, I WON'T believe it!"

Still nothing. His flames burned freely as another image started to overlap his own.

"Why wont you answer me God damn it, this is your life were talking about?! SAY SOMETHING!"

While he wasn't paying attention, the light in the room had dimmed, his flames being only source of light in the room as the shadows crept toward Futaba in vaguely humanoid forms. For the first time since he met her, Futaba showed her first emotion: Fear.

"Because she's a little monster who caused her mother to suffer!" The first said in a shrill female voice.

Futaba put a hand to her head, "I know…"

"She causes nothing but grief everywhere she goes." said an older male.

She crouched down as if to take cover. "You're right…"

"She's a freak and scares away anyone who gets close to her." Said a smaller one that Revland assumed was a child.

"She's the one who killed her mother, it's only fitting for her to pay with the loss of a body… with that of her own…"

Revland's anger was mounting, he felt his nails dig in to the palms of his hands as he clinched his jaw hard enough to chip a tooth.

"Such a sweet supple young creature… the fear brings out the paleness of her skin…"

"Stop it…" he whispered roughly.

"A shame no one else would ever want such a thing… for who could ever love such a disgusting girl…"

He snapped at the sound of soft, pleading voice, "Please… stop… someone… help me…"

The voice came from all around him as the darkness had all but swallowed the light and was closing in on the crouching figure of Futaba. "That's enough…" he said softly.

When no one responded, he repeated himself. "I said… That's Enough!" his fire blazed to life as he leapt up to Futaba, summoning his wings as if on instinct to drive the shadows back. He could feel the heat of the azure fire building up inside him as he felt his heart pound in his chest and knew exactly what to do.

"Now… GET-THE FUCK-OUT!" He yelled as he brought his foot down as hard as he could, causing another explosive pulse of azure flame to drive the shadows back while setting them ablaze.

He stared at his hands and saw that his clothes had changed just like when he was at the castle. Revland felt the warmth of his thief attire form around him and solidify as he let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding as his fire blazed around him.

"I've heard your heart's desire Sir Antrie… While you may not fully understand yet, I will gladly aid you in your pursuit." Arséne said with a note of joyful admiration.

Futaba felt his presence standing over as she looked up to see him dressed in a black coat with black wings that were as dark as the night sky. He stared the mouthy shadows down as he shrugged off his coat before turning to drape it over her. She stared into Revland's visibly softening eyes and she saw that he was smiling at her.

"Think I'll be just a minute, wait for me?" he asked as he placed a light hand on the top of her head.

She nodded as she saw his eyes harden before turning his attention to the ten or so formless shadows.

One stepped forward, "Witless cur… you dare defend her… after what she did to our beloved Pharaoh?"

Revland nodded, "With all of my being…" he said as his dagger appeared in his hand as his other was surrounded by dark shadows that appeared to be like a burning flame. "So… Who's first?"


Futaba was in a panic, Revland was here a second ago but now he's gone. She covered her head as if to protect it, trying to figure out what just happened. She couldn't come to any conclusion other than he ran away. That thought alone made her blood run cold as her heart dropped.

"You scared him away, he figured out that it was all your fault and couldn't face you."

"No… he isn't like that…" she whimpered.

"He saw what a little monster you were and wants nothing to do with you… if he ever did at all."

"Stop it…"

"How could anyone love such a despicable creature…"

"Stop It! Leave Me Alone!" Futaba screamed then added in a whimper, "Please… somebody… Help me…"

"GET-THE FUCK-OUT!" Revland yelled in response.

Warmth wrapped around her like a blanket as Futaba looked up, Revland… was that you? Where are you?

"I'll only be a minute… wait for me?" Came his response seemingly from nowhere.

Tears freely fell from her eyes as relief washed over her. She nodded in response to the new voice, hoping that it wasn't a trick.

"So… Who's First?" He asked.

Futaba looked around the hallway confused, she knew it was Revland's voice she heard but could swear that it was all in her head along with all the other voices. She also noticed that the other voices had stopped after he challenged them. Futaba managed to stand and wipe her sleeve across her eyes as she started to process events without panic clouding her judgment.

That's the bag he was carrying while he was standing at the gate, his shoes aren't here so that would point to him being outside somewhere… but the door's locked… he has a key now, he could've locked it on his way out. Meaning he could've ran back to the shop to tell Sojiro about Uncle being outside the house… meaning that he should be back shortly.

Her heart lifted at that as she began to relax knowing that he wouldn't leave her so easily.

A loud thud along followed by a grunt of pain came from upstairs, causing her to jump and let out a small squeak of panic.

If the door's locked and I've been sitting here… than who was that…?


Revland watched to see which shadow would make the first move. He didn't have to wait long, the first leapt into the air to serve as a distraction while two others ran to either side to flank him. He threw a ball of shadow at the one in the air along with a few feathers laced with blue fire, turning it into a dark burning heap. The one to his right was slightly faster as it lunged for his throat, he caught the shadow by the wrist as he planted his left leg behind the shadow before twisting the shadow's arm backward, causing it to trip. While dazed, Revland buried his dagger to the hilt into where he suspected the shadows heart would be as the figure made of dark mist evaporated.

The second, thinking it had an opening, jumped for his back only to be countered by a large black wing, blocking the creatures attack before flicking it upward. Revland went on the offensive by grabbing the shadows leg and brought it back to the ground with enough force to crack the sandstone underneath. He spun once and threw the seemingly unconscious shadow at its companions, knocking a few to the ground. The other's looked in his direction with their blank faces and while he couldn't read expressions that didn't exist, it seemed like they were beginning to second guess the decision to fight him.

Revland cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders, noticing for the first time that it was quite chilly in the temple. He looked down at his bare arms and noticed that without his coat, his arms were completely bare up to the shoulders.

Couldn't make an undershirt with all that extra willpower?

"I'm sorry, the coat wasn't supposed to be given to the first passerby you came across."

Either way, seemed like she needed it more than I did.

Arséne went to argue but decided against it seeing that Revland had a point.

Revland had his attention on the now seven remaining figures as he stepped forward. The darkness seems to dissipate with every step as azure flame burned away the shadows like a piece of parchment. The remaining shadows hesitated as he drew near and decided that strength in numbers will win them the day. Revland's reflexes were not his own but felt as if they were. His hands ignited in dark blue flame as he engaged the first shadow.

He dodged left, caught the arm and drove his elbow into the gut before upper cutting the jaw, blue sparks showering the floor with each impact. He threw it over his shoulder before driving his boot into its shoulder, breaking it. The next two were on him as he finished, Arséne intercepted the second as Revland dealt with the first.

Arséne parried the first strike before driving his talons through the shadow's chest. Revland, in unison, parried with his dagger before driving it into the shadows arm, then pushed the blade to rotate the arm 180 degrees causing the body to turn before removing it and quickly stabbing it in the neck.

Before the others could move, Revland was on them. Arséne had picked up one by the throat as Revland threw his dagger to embed itself into the center of another's skull as they both erupted into blue flames. The Final Shadow looked at the massive figure of Arséne then to Revland who stepped closer. It started looking to flee before Revland was face to face with it. He didn't move, just stared into the empty abyss were its eyes should be unblinking.

"Boo!" he said suddenly, causing the last shadow to dissolve without further confrontation.

Revland relaxed, looking around to see if the area was clear. He met Futaba's eyes from her perch above him and smiled. His smile evaporated as he saw a familiar figured appear behind her with scimitar drawn and held high ready to strike. He didn't think, he moved as the large sharpened blade started its downward stroke.

Futaba gasped at the sudden movement as blood decorated the floor with scarlet droplets. Revland had met the oversized blade with a severely outclassed one of his own, still managing to stop the blade though 4 inches of it was buried in his shoulder. His arms started to shake at the pain as azure flame ignited in his hands as he began to lift the blade from his shoulder causing blood to pump freely, all the while staring death into Youji's eyes.

Youji was surprised that the lad would protect the Pharaoh's killer so vehemently. He saw the vicious malice in the young man's eyes as, with one hand, he lifted the blade away from his body. Youji applied pressure, causing Revland to groan loudly.

"You protect her so readily, Why?" A new voice asked.

Because I want to…

"Are you devoted to her?"

As much as one can be in my current state…

"Even onto death?"

Even if its only for a day… I will fight… until the end.

A hand made of stars formed from the azure flame that surrounded Revland as it took hold of the upper half of the blade. A different being materialized behind Revland wearing a dark grey suit that appeared to be made of clouds, his skin was dark blue and his hair was bright white.

"You… you're not… Arséne…" Revland said breathlessly.

"You would be correct child Antrie… you already know my name… all you need do is call out to it…"

"I do… but why to you look like that?"

"Why you ask… it is the form you could easily identify me."

"Awfully straightforward for a god… fine then…" he said as he took breath to speak the words of power. "I am Thou, Thou art I… lend me your power oh 'Shepherd' of souls… and grant me the ability lead them to their judgement, HADES!"

Hades fully formed behind Revland at the reveal of his name as he plucked the sword from the awestruck bandit. Revland's arm fell limp to his side as the rest of his energy was channeled elsewhere. Blood was flowing freely from the cut on his arm but he didn't seem to notice nor care. Here was a man that deserved judgement, though the word didn't feel right as Hades offered an explanation, "I do not offer judgment to those in my realm, only to oversee their sentencing."

"Then let's say that he's already been judged… and found wanting… would that work?" Revland offered with a halfhearted grin that didn't reach his eyes.

Hades seemed to ponder this fact, then nodded. "An apt assessment, the putz reminds me too much off Apollo for my liking… I think I have just the thing…"

Revland raised his still bleeding arm toward Youji who was quickly backing away from him. Azure fire coiled around Revland as he whispered the spells wording with detain. "Apollo's Bane…"

Lines of blue flame leapt towards the now terrified bandit as he turned to flee before being caught in Revland's spell. He instinctually knew how to operate the spell by flexing the fingers of the hand he cast the spell from.

"Wait lad, please… spare me. I-I-I-I'll give you riches. Name your price!" Youji tried to plead.

Revland stepped closer with murder in his eyes. "What I want… you can't give…"

"Name it and I will try, please!"

Revland returned his panic with a cold unfeeling glare, "You stole the innocence of that girl over there… there's no returning what you've already taken…" he said as he started to close his hand. His fires blazed bright as Youji screamed in pain, the flames drawing closer to his core. The spell was designed to be as painful or as merciful a death as the caster wished but the longer he kept the spell active, the more power it draws upon.

"Honestly… I hope it hurts like hell… maybe then you'll feel a fraction of the agony you caused…" he started to close his fist as the flames continued to eat away at Youji's body.

"Please! Make it Stop!"

"Didn't Futaba ever ask you to stop?!" he asked in anger. "Didn't she ever plead with you to make the pain go away?!"

His body was at its limit, Revland closed his fist, rotated and brought it down with enough force that the body of the bandit exploded in a bloom of ash.

His arm fell limp to his side once more as stars formed at the corner of his vision. He heard two voices speaking to him, "Revland, are you alright?"

"He's used too much of his spirit and he's lost a lot of blood." Hades explained.

"Quite the spell he used… maybe next time you could give a chap some warning before you kill our bearer." Arséne chided.

"I knew his hatred for the being know as Youji Isshiki would be enough to fuel the spell but I wasn't expecting him to hold it for so long." Hades explained calmly.

"Could you save the argument for later…?" Revland asked weakly as his body finally gave out and collapsed to the floor.

"Fear not, I already slowed the bleeding… you won't be dying this day my boy." Arséne said.

"Thanks…"

Futaba was already kneeling next to him, clutching the coat with one hand as the other was trying to find a clean spot where she felt safe to touch him.

"You are a reckless human being." She said flatly.

Revland started to laugh but stopped as it jostled his shoulder. "Can't argue that your highness… you okay?" he asked.

She stared down at him, "You're bleeding, on the floor with almost no energy left… and you're worrying about me?"

"Why are you so surprised?" he asked, offering a weak smile.

"You confuse me Revland Antrie." She said before looking around at the refurbished area of the temple.

The whole area had been completely repaired, from the destroyed pillars to the smallest crack. Even the lights in this area seem brighter than they were when he first arrived. She turned to the exhausted young man and saw that he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Fear gripped her as she opened a small screen with green text to take a closer look at his body's data. She saw while his blood pressure was dangerously low, he was stable for the time being. She's never been very good with other people, but she does have plenty of data on Revland to make an attempt at healing him though she didn't know exactly where to start.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance my lady." An older man in scribe robes said. He knelt down next to Revland who managed to open his eyes to see the newcomer.

"Sojiro…?"


Sojiro was sitting at the shop reading today's newspaper. Other than the rise of accidents and mental breakdowns happening across the country, there wasn't anything that caught his interest. There was a political article about the current state of the country that featured the opinion of someone he'd rather not think about. As if the universe was out to mess with him, a news channel brought up that very same article along with an interview clip from another chairperson on congress.

"The state of this country is dismal; wouldn't you agree Sakura-san?" an elderly man asked.

He looked up from his newspaper, "Huh, sorry wasn't paying attention."

The customer shrugged and went back to sipping his coffee.

A few minutes, he stood for the stool he was sitting on to stretch while reminiscing on his younger days. That brought one of Revland's snarky comebacks to mind, "You saying you're old Boss?"

Sojiro sighed at the memory, cheeky brat… you remind me of my age just by being around.

He thought about the kid's parents and how longs it'd been since they all had a chance to sit down for a drink. Sojiro smiled, kid hasn't been here a week and he's already making miss the old days… did they send him here on purpose or was it truly by chance? No, judging by the way the kid was acting I don't think they thought about where he was going when they asked me to watch over him.

He picked up one of the mugs in the sink behind the counter and wondered if Revland managed to check on Futaba and thought about sending either of them a message.

He did say that he was about ten minutes out and that Futaba had already invited him over. Shaking his head slowly in wonderment, the thought of Futaba inviting another person over was astonishing. If someone had told him a week ago that she would befriend his new charge, he would have called them mad and think about reporting them to the police.

He hesitated for a moment as his fatherly instincts started to act up. His daughter, blood or not, invited a boy over… without him knowing…

I… might have to have 'that' talk with her again… after all… shit, where do you start when she's as smart she is… she isn't an idiot, she would've gotten curious.

The last time he brought the subject up, she had stated very adamantly, that she had no interest in boys. It was before she met Revland and, come to think of it, she had been trying to ask him about something but couldn't ever get it out before her face turned red and dropped the subject. He stared daggers at the stairs that lead to the attic as if Revland himself was standing there.

He kept his glare for a few seconds before relenting, "He's got a head on his shoulders, He'll tell me if something comes up."

The door flew open hard nearly breaking the glass windows. He jumped, ready to curse out the offender but found a panic-stricken Futaba, tears freely falling with what appeared to be blood on her hands.

"Futaba…?" he asked in wonder. "You're…"

"Sojiro, come quick! It's Revland…" she breathed, trying to keep it together. "He's hurt and he's… he's…" she took another breath, "he isn't waking up!"


The scribe leaned over Revland, "His suprascapular is severed… matter of fact young man, you should be dead. It's a small wonder you were able to move at all."

Revland nodded in agreement, "I had a little help." He managed.

"When did you return?" Futaba asked.

"I never left, your highness… I'm sorry for worrying you."

She stared at him, then to Revland; "It's because he repaired the temple, isn't it?"

The scribe Sojiro nodded, "the repaires have stabilized the temple as well as yourself."

Revland was lost, he felt like a patient on an examination table and the doctors are speaking a completely different language.

"Honestly, I'm not surprised to find you here… but I never pegged you as a scribe." Revland said meekly.

Sojiro smiled at him, "While you're correct about me being a cognition, but I believe my form is in fact accurate. As a scribe, I serve as an advisor to the Pharaoh and their lineage much like a father advises their child."

Revland nodded at his point, feeling his consciousness begin to fade in and out.

Sojiro turned to Futaba, "You must reform the artery if he is to survive once he returns to his reality."

Futaba looked hesitant before nodding while nudging closer to place her hands upon Revland's wounded shoulder. While she showed almost no emotion, Revland noticed her hands trimer slightly as she prepared.

He placed his hand over hers in an effort to calm her, "Don't worry… I trust you…" He said.

Futaba met his eyes before he closed them and waited for the spell to activate.

"Now Revland, this is going to be painful… so please bare it for a time, it'll be over soon." Sojiro said as he placed a hand on his opposite shoulder to steady him.

Futaba tried to focus on the image of Revland that she held in memory, however the memory of him protecting her had a stronger hold. Going off of her instincts, she brought her focus to bare and muttered, "Aistieada".

Heat ran down his arm as it felt as if someone drove a white-hot knife in to his shoulder while twisting it for good measure. He tried to scream but couldn't find the breath to do so. The pain felt as if it would last for an eternity as his vision started to go white and black spots started to form on the outer edges of his vision. After a few seconds the pain began to subside as a dull throb radiated from his shoulder. He managed to crack one eye open and saw that sweat was beginning to form on Futaba's forehead.

"I couldn't make it the way it was before… I'm sorry…" She said, trying to avoid eye contact.

"All things considered, it could be worse." Sojiro said as he inspected the area in question. "So long as you don't have any issue with scars."

He reverted back to his school clothes during the healing process and saw that he bled through his shirt all the way to the jacket. "I do apologize though; your spirit was nearly drained so there wasn't much of a buffer between you and your psyche."

"It that why it felt as if I was being set on fire?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"As a matter of fact, Yes." He said simply.

Revland gave the scribe a quick glare as he tried to sit up but a gentle hand stopped him. "You shouldn't stay here for much longer…" Futaba said lightly.

"Not this again…" Revland went to argue.

"She's right, you're weak and will be no good to anyone if you're dead young Antrie. You should return to your world and recover, for the time being at least." Sojiro added.

Revland turned to Futaba but she was trying to avoid making eye contact with him. He couldn't tell what emotion she was trying to hide but saw she wore nearly the exact same expression from when they first met.

"Then I'll come back." He said plainly.

Futaba turned to him with a glimmer of surprise and hope.

Revland continued, "You are Futaba and so is the one in reality. If I help you, then I help her and vice versa."

She nodded as he turned to Sojiro, "You said that I repaired the temple, that means it won't collapse right?"

"Well no, but the more you repair it, the more connected you will become with the palace's ruler." Sojiro said gesturing to Futaba. "It may have some unknown side effects."

He nodded as he sat up and took a few deep breaths and stretched his newly healed shoulder. "You happen to know what some of those might be?"

Sojiro scratched the end of his chin, "No one truly knows what happens when two minds become connected. You may be able to feel each other's emotions as if they were your own or you may know the exact location of said individual. I honestly couldn't tell you young one."

"I think I liked it better when you called me a brat…" he said with a small smirk. "I'll keep an eye out for any side effects." He turned to Futaba and this time she didn't avoid his gaze, she seems so small with my coat over her shoulders. Something itched in the back of his mind but shook it off.

"Are you ready to leave?" Sojiro asked.

"No… but I do have another promise I need to keep." Revland said with a knowing smile.

He pulled out his phone as the scrolling text came across the center of the screen, [Do you wish to return to reality?]

Yes, take me home. He thought clearly.

The forms of both Futaba and Sojiro started to warp as he saw Futaba lifting her hand with a clearly sad expression on her face, causing him to pause. But before he could say anything, he found himself in the hallway outside of Futaba's bed room… about three feet off the ground. He fell to the ground with a heavy thud while letting out a pained grunt as the wind was knocked out of him. He managed to sit upright and put his back against the wall while trying to catch his breath. He feared that his shoulder had reopened but found while it was still scared over, the blood was never cleaned off as his hand came away red.

"Well… that's not-" his vision blurred as the world started to spin.

"Revland, are you alright?"Arséne asked.

I don't… know… where's Hades… is he alright?

"Think of yourself for now child." Came his soft response, "I'm never far if needed, for now… save your strength."

Revland smiled at the reassuring tone, it reminded him a lot of his dad whenever he had a rough day.

Oh, right… he did say something about low blood pressure… and a mostly drained spirit… there's also the healing spell that lasted an eternity… I really need to stop getting the shit kicked out of me...

"To be fair, you took this one instead of getting blindsided." Arséne quipped.

His head started to droop as an orange haired girl poked her head over the top of the stairs. He wondered what kind of shampoo Futaba used and if it was orange scented before unconsciousness finally took him.


Revland awoke in a room that he didn't recognize. It was bright in color but felt gloomy as if the resident themselves didn't feel quite at home. It had several posters that lined the walls with the caricature of a stitched-up bear giving health advice. He tried to sit up to get a better look but a bundle of wires coming from his right arm and chest made him pause. One was an IV line and the others were sensors that lead to a heart monitor. Currently, it showed that his heart rate and blood pressure were within stable range.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he sat up to place his feet on the floor and noticed that he was in fact shirtless. He looked around the room and found the torn remains of his school uniform, still stained red with blood. Looking around, he saw a work station straight across from where he was siting. It was an older looking computer with a work program still open on the screen. A large medicine cabinet lined the upper part of the wall and was locked with a sturdy look combo lock.

Revland rubbed his eyes and felt that his glasses were missing but saw them on the work desk next to the rest of his belongings. He looked at himself in the mirror and did double take, rubs his eyes and looked again. Revland never had much fat on him, in fact most would say he didn't have enough, but when looked in the mirror he saw that he was fit.

He saw two versions of himself, one overlapping the other. One was what he remembered looking like, tall and lanky but not too skinny. The second was one where his muscles were more pronounced with a six-pack ab structure.

"Okay… this has to be a dream… I've never been built like this…" He whispered to no one in particular.

He noticed the scar that ran down the middle of his right shoulder and let out a low whistle and he felt the hard-white line of the toughened skin.

"Or… maybe not…"

He heard voices coming for the other side of the door and could clearly hear Sojiro's and the Doctor from the other day.

"Oh, he'll live… the question is how he managed to survive for so long with that much blood loss."

"So, it was his blood?" Sojiro asked.

"Unless you can find a corpse around here, I'm going to assume so. He has a new scar that wasn't there yesterday, it's bright and agitated so it would've been hard to miss. There's also the question of his blood pressure, that compounded with how weak his pulse was, I put him on an IV drip for the time being to be on the safe side. Matter of fact her should be waking up and able to move around soon."

Revland heard the door open as Dr. Takemi entered with a very irritable but worried Sojiro in toe.

Takemi looked him up and down before giving a nod of satisfaction. "See, What'd I tell you?"

She gestured for Revland to take a seat before removing the IV line, "You, my little Gini pig, were down approximately 2100 mL of blood. Blood pressure at time of arrival was, 63/50 and pulse was approximately 22 bpm… By the clinical definition of the word Mr. Antrie, you should have been dead."

Revland nodded solemnly, partly because he knew how close he cut it, that and he could feel Sojiro's glare boring into him.

"Not to mention that when you were examined, you were covered in what I presumed to be your blood but not have a scratch on you. Your body is, in fact, in better shape than when I saw you … save for that angry looking scar on your shoulder." She continued.

Revland started to scratch at the scar subconsciously while trying to piece together a story that someone could believe. The one that came to mind wasn't untrue though the one responsible didn't belong to this reality, but anything was better than nothing.

"Thanks for your help but, not to be rude, where the hell am I?" he asked, deciding to start with something simple to get his bearings.

She gave Revland a rare smile, "You're at my clinic, the one I told you about yesterday and, from this point forward, now your new place of employment."

"Employment, wait… you mean I work here now?"

"That's right, you get to work off the bill you racked up during this little visit of yours or would you rather me bill Sakura-san for your treatment." She said with a small purr.

Revland looked to Sojiro and saw that he was surprised as he was, Guess he expected to pay for it regardless, I should thank him later.

Revland nodded and held out his hand, "Sound's to me like you got yourself a deal doc."

She took it and shook once, "Excellent, I'll leave you my contact number so I can get in touch when I need you to stop by."

"Sounds good to me."

"I'm glad you're getting along with the lady Death Papa… I can't wait to finally meet you…" he heard a little girl say as her giggling faded in echoes that made his hair stand on end.

Arséne… please tell me that was you…

"Unfortunately… can't say it was."

Hades?

"Wasn't me either."

Great… there's another one wondering around in there… he thought, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

He gathered what remained of his belonging and was ushered out with Sojiro as he was being told to take it easy for the rest of the night. Sojiro walked him back to the café and told him to get a shirt on and meet him at the bar so they could have a little chat.

Boy, he looks pissed…

"This is the second time that you've been found wounded in as many days, I imagine it's to be expected." Arséne offered.

Revland got changed into his evening attire and went down stairs. When he arrived, Sojiro had put his phone away and pulled out three cups as he poured coffee into each.

He was about to sit but Sojiro raised a hand to stop him, "You might want to stay standing for now." He said coolly.

Revland was about to ask why as the door slammed opened and Futaba jumped into him at a dead run, nearly tackling him to the floor.

As he tried to regain his balance, he noticed that Sojiro was now wearing a knowing smile, "Had you been sitting, you could've gotten hurt or, more importantly, my stool." He said as he sipped his coffee.

Futaba had her face buried in his shoulder and sounded like she was trying to hold back sobs, he could feel the wetness of her tears starting to soak through his shirt.

"She was the one who found you while you were unconscious." Sojiro explained.

So, I wasn't imagining things.

Futaba's glasses sat crooked on her face as she sobbed freely into his chest.

He's real… he's not dead… he's still here… he's not gone…

He placed a hand on her head, "I'm sorry to have worried you." He whispered into her hair making her hold on him tighter.

He already knew the next question Sojiro was going to ask and barely managed to loosen Futaba's embrace so he could sit down.

"So…" Sojiro started. "What happened…?"

Revland took a sip from the cup in front of him before he began. "It was him… the one you asked me to keep an eye out for." Trying to be careful enough not to say Youji's name in front of Futaba.

"It was Uncle Youji, like I told you Sojiro. He was trying to get into the house but Revland stared him down, you should've seen him." Futaba said excitedly.

The outburst caught Revland off guard as a few things started to accrue to him. "Futaba… you're… outside?" he said, choosing his words carefully.

That hadn't really accrued to her, when she heard that he was awake and at the café, she rushed over without thinking. The wave of fear that usually followed was washed away by a warmth that hadn't dissipated since she heard his voice in her head. It felt like a warm blanket that had just come out of the dryer that had yet to lose its heat.

"I think i-i-i-it'll be okay, as long as you're here…" she stuttered.

He looked back to Sojiro who was scratching his chin in thought. "Why didn't you tell me he was there, we could've called the police."

"I did, I sent a text telling you what he was up to." He said as he pulled out his phone to double check. As he unlocked it, he saw that the message was still in the text box, unsent.

"Or so I thought…"

He pressed send as Sojiro's phone buzzed once and went still. To show he wasn't making it up, he handed it over to Sojiro and saw what time the draft was saved.

"Okay, I'll let that go… but why confront him afterwards, I told you that he shouldn't be taken lightly." Sojiro scolded.

This was the part of the story he didn't have an answer for, that and how he ended up upstairs without Futaba noticing, he decided to play dumb instead.

"Honestly, it's all kind of fuzzy after I went inside. I don't remember any fighting or how I got upstairs… last thing I remember is seeing Futaba poking her head up over the stairs and then… nothing."

I also tore a cognitive version of her uncle apart and scattered his ashes throughout the surrounding dessert… yeah, like he'll believe something that outrageous.

Sojiro let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head, "You don't remember if he was the one that…" he paused and gestured toward his new scar, "did 'that' to you…?"

In this world no…

"Sorry, I don't remember."

Sojiro let out a breath of air and removed his glasses to rub his eyes, Revland got the feeling that Sojiro was a little disappointed in the answer but was willing to live with it. "As I said before, Futaba found you and ran over here in a blind panic saying that you were hurt. I had thought of the worst but when I got there, I couldn't find a mark on you… save for the fact that you were covered in blood. I carried you over to Takemi's clinic so she could have a look at you. Before I knew it, she was barking orders at me to go to certain cabinets just to gather supplies. She had you on the road to recovery in a matter of minutes."

Futaba looked like she was going to add something but decided against it as her hand went to her pocket. She was wearing a black long sleeve shirt and lime green shorts, what she wasn't wearing was shoes of any kind.

"You doing alright, you look cold?" He pointed down at her feet as well as her bare legs.

Suddenly subconscious about the paleness of her legs, she quickly hugged them to her chest and started to whisper, "I didn't think about it… I saw that Sojiro said you were awake… so I rushed over…"

She'd didn't understand why she felt so nervous all the sudden, she never really cared about the way her legs looked before. After some consideration, she figured it was more to do with Revland's opinion of her.

Revland resisted the urge to lift her chin up to double check that her eyes were indeed the mauve color that he was familiar with. He didn't want to act so forward with her only having known her for a few days. Instead, he tried a different approach.

"Sorry I missed our private concert, any way I could reschedule?" He asked.

Futaba blanched at the reminder of their 'almost' date and how much she worried over it. She looked into his eyes and found that he was smiling at her. No hate, no judgement, only acceptance.

She smiled back at him, "I think it could be arranged."


Author's note:

Finally done… son of a… it's done.

So, these last two chapters have been something that I've been building up to in the background for awhile now, with subtle hints and interactions between Futaba and Revland. Their purpose was not only to set up Futaba as a character but as a love interest as well and, as promised, I'll go into a deeper explanation of my reasoning for some of the changes.

First: Uncle Youji and the bandit.

While he played more of a role in Sojiro's confidant mission, he had more of an impact on Futaba psyche as a whole, resulting in her becoming a recluse after Sojiro officially adopted her. The bandit in the Wrath mission is never named but I figured it was the storyteller's way of saying that he was someone of importance, otherwise he wouldn't've had a specific cognition assigned to him. By diving into what happened to her, it made the most sense to me to just give Youji Isshiki the title of the bandit and run with it. Reason: he is the one who stole her childhood from her after her mom died…come to think of it, her dad is only briefly mentioned in the game as an unnamed person of interest and left at that… ideas for later.

Second: Sojiro appearing in the Palace.

Kind of the same thing with Sojiro as Youji, he's a large influence in her life and I found it weird that he never made an appearance in her palace. While with other Palace rulers, you can almost always find a cognitive version of the person in question. Thus, Sojiro the Scribe was born and is used to offer insight on subjects that Futaba herself wouldn't readily talk about. That and he can act as a conscience to her whenever she has any doubts… Sojiro as Jiminy Cricket… not sure if that's a cursed image…

Third: New Persona, Hades.

Few things on him, I used the design from the "Lore Olympus" web comic series mainly for the exact reasoning stated above, it's the easiest way to identify him and show that even a persona could be based off someone's cognition.

Why he's here:

My first thought while bringing Hades was to make him what Loki is to another character, that way they were more alike. How I understand it; the Protagonist can use multiple Persona because he can manipulate is own personality to match that of the persona in question, where in the other's case, he as multiple personalities that his persona can be born from. I figured I could use this to show the protagonist's fury as viewed through his persona. What made me decide against it was a line from the game during one of the final missions.

"You're just like this guy… you guys are the same in the regard."

The point of this character was to show the other side of the coin where the protagonist didn't have positive influences and went insane, so I took a different approach. That and I wanted to play with the pretty blue flames some more… and introduce The Shephard as an arcana.

As for his design choice, I originally was going to go with the description used in the God of War series to show his anger. But I went with the calm suit and tie design because I find it more disturbing when the quiet ones start to get angry.

I think that'll do it for this chapter, thank you to everyone who's decided to follow me down the rabbit hole and I hope to see you all again soon.

Special thanks to the new followers I got within the last two weeks and to the one who reviews after every chapter. You guys are partly the reason I'm still pushing through.

JWS


Post Edit: 8/10/22

Hi again,

It was brought to my attention that I had made quite a few grammatical errors in this chapter. I confused the spelling of since with sense. In hindsight, it was mistake that I should have caught but slipped through.

Fun fact: I'm actually dyslexic so these kinds of mistakes happen often when I'm not careful.

So, without further ado…udoo… (Checks Google for official French spelling) adieu, some special thanks.

Chimchar14: main reviewer of my work, as I said before: you pretty much gave me the motivation to continue, which resulted in three chapters being posted within as many weeks. Keep it up and I hope you'll be able to see this through to the end.

BP69420 (It's abbreviated): thank you again for telling me about the errors, it's part of the reason that the review system exists.

Newest and Oldest Followers: Brrigan & Larrygost, welcome and thank you for being one of first to give this story a shot.

Alright, I have to work on the outline for Chapter 13: Fool's Rumor and the Shepherd's Hunt. (Working Title)