I never thought I would be going to class again. Especially one in America. Of all the places I've moved to, they've usually been within Japan.
And this Japan isn't exactly a great place to be in compared to the one I was familiar with. The complete destruction of one of the largest islands in the country by an apparent monster of extreme power. I have no idea how I would compare to these endbringers but their threat is to not be underestimated.
Well considering my previous track record, I suppose I should prepare myself to combat them.
As I mentally marked Japan as an unlikely place for me to go to, I decided to just stay at the place where I've found myself, Brockton Bay. With nothing else to do I enrolled into school. I never ended up starting my final year after all.
Arcadia High is the name of the school I've found myself in. With faked records of my existence to help me with transferring to here.
Minato Arisato. That was what I wrote upon the worksheet provided during class. It was rather lucky I already had a decent proficiency with English before being dropped off here, but it still felt strange writing my name in starting with my first name rather than my last name and in English rather than Japanese.
In fact I have mixed feelings regarding my new situation. Elizabeth had somehow freed me from the Great Seal and without having death encroaching upon all living things. I'm free to live my life as I please, without the threat of the end of the world on the line if I do nothing. However, I've been transported to a completely different earth. Earth-Bet as it has been designated by this world. A world where I no longer have the connections I once had, none of my friends are with me. I'll likely never see them again.
But in the end, it's not so different from when I was the Great Seal. I couldn't see or visit my friends anymore previously either.
There's no point in dwelling in the past, I know they're alive and living their best life so I should live my own life to its fullest.
Despite the declaration of no longer dwelling upon the past, I couldn't help myself as I stood outside during the middle of the night, looking at the clock on my new smartphone courtesy of the money that Elizabeth had left me. An accumulation of funds of my time within Tartarus and what I had spent on the compendium for fusing, all returned back to me and converted to the local currency of American dollars.
The seconds ticked as I stared down at the device.
11:59:58
11:59:59
12:00:00
12:00:01
I waited a few more seconds before putting my phone on sleep mode. I already knew there was no Dark Hour here based on previous nights but the ingrained habit of being wide awake at midnight during a full moon is difficult to break without checking that nothing was going to happen.
I slightly shifted my equipment so I could more easily put away my phone. It felt weird to just be standing outside with my combat gear when there was no Dark Hour but on the off chance something did happen, I wanted to be prepared.
It wouldn't even be that weird wearing my uniform in this world considering the number of superheroes that run around doing whatever. In comparison I would seem rather mundane considering the fact that my outfit is just a modified reinforced version of my old school uniform from Gekkoukan. Although my sheathed sword, evoker, and armored SEES Armband would most likely raise an eyebrow. And my featherman mask I got from a festival back in my old world would definitely make me seem like someone with powers or a 'cape' as they call them in this world.
If I'm going to be standing outside with combat gear, I might as well hide my identity with a mask.
As I started to head back home, I spotted a mugging in the distance.
Hm, that isn't something that I can just let slide when I can do something.
I used to be someone who was devoid of emotions and motivation. The day my parents died and Death was sealed within me, my life changed in a way I could have never foreseen. I was someone who was filled with apathy ever since I carried the harbinger of the Fall, but that person is no longer me. I slowly changed when I encountered SEES, when I reached out to others they became my Social Links and so I further changed. It was from such change that I was able to do the impossible and prevent the Fall.
Inaction was no longer something I could tolerate. An uncaring approach in life can lead one to an uncaring future. What is life if not a culmination of decisions and actions, to ignore what one can do is the same as ignoring your own life.
I readied myself as I switched to a Persona with high agility. The Universe Arcana pulsed within me, granting me a greater connection to my Personas as I felt their attributes affect me more than it should have been possible in a place with no Dark Hour.
There was no need for a strong Persona or to even summon it, I was only dealing with thugs. I once dealt with three times as many of them barehanded with Akihiko and without a Persona.
Matador was in the forefront of my mind as Auto-Sukukaja flowed into my body. The skeleton's cackling echoed within my psyche as I ran, buildings blurred past me as I had already moved past them. Almost immediately after I started my run I was already standing in between the victim and the group of muggers.
"Hello."
Silence. That was my only answer. Shock was clear on their faces as I stood there and waited for them to say something.
Seconds ticked by until I just came to a decision.
My fist moved in blinding speed, literally, because I blocked his vision with a punch to the face. His body crumpled onto the ground as he was knocked unconscious.
The outrage began, the muggers began to get aggressive as they readied pipes and knives.
Compared to Shadows, such actions were not very threatening.
My tone was calm as I said, "Come at me."
It was lunch period as groups of students got their food and sat down at tables throughout the cafeteria.
"Hey, have you heard? There seems to be a new cape!"
That question wasn't directed towards me but I heard it clearly enough as I sat at the same table along with some friendly acquaintances. There was certainly some discussion from a few others today about a new cape. It didn't particularly bother me much, so I didn't give the situation much thought. It's essentially the equivalent of light gossip about public figures, the only difference being that it's about me. Nothing much to fuss about.
I still would have preferred if the person I helped didn't go online to tell everyone about me fighting gang members.
"Apparently he's a mover with brute powers."
"Really? Didn't he just move really fast?"
"How else could he so easily beat up a large group of people?"
These classifications this world has for their powers is certainly interesting. I could probably fill up a decent portion of them if I bothered categorizing what I could do myself. What would summoning a Persona count as for classification of my power? Possibly make me a Master because of my control of my Persona. That feels weird though, 'I am thou, thou art I', that's the vow that encompasses me and my Persona. They're me and I'm them, saying I'm a master is like saying that I have the classification because I can control an aspect of myself. Whatever, I'll just let the Protectorate decide what my ratings are when they find out.
A blonde teenage girl called out to me, "Hey Minato! What do you think of this guy?"
The girl who had just started a conversation with me is Victoria Dallan. A super heroine who has their identity known to the world. Unfortunately, her identity isn't known to the wide multiverse so it flew over my head. During our first encounter, my confusion and reactions towards certain statements made it clear that I had no idea who she was and so I became a target of occasional teasing from her.
My lacking knowledge of Glory Girl almost made me perceive her aura as an attack upon my mental state the first time I experienced it. Luckily I was not one for immediate impulsive action but instead opted for caution and observation.
Her aura failed to affect me thanks to my Amritite Necklace's effect of protecting me from status conditions, some of which include mental abilities. I had the habit of constantly wearing it on the off chance I needed it ever since I had got it. I did not want to deal with a similar situation that the Lovers Full Moon Shadow had put me in again.
My ignorance towards the local cape scene despite living in Brockton Bay could have a multitude of potential consequences whether it be small or large. It would mark me as unusual for having no knowledge that would be considered common sense, that would carry the risk of others casting light upon other things that may be considered unusual about me such as Minato Arisato not existing until a month ago. The lack of information could also potentially make me react in the wrong way to certain capes and create a bad situation.
Ever since the incident, I tried to at least keep somewhat up to date about the local super heroes.
So I do now have a general grasp of Glory Girl and her family's team, New Wave. They had an initiative of revealing their identities in order to create accountability for capes and their actions. Victoria has her aura, flight, super strength, and durability, all apparently impressive according to the PHO forums.
"Hey, Minato! Did you become completely unaware of my existence again or is your music too loud?"
So impatient.
I took off my headphones and addressed her, "There isn't enough information to say much about the new cape aside from being inclined in helping others."
Despite her teasing, I didn't mind Victoria much. I suppose she's the closest person I could call a friend here. It feels strange trying to form connections without Social Links but it's not like I've never done so before. It only feels so odd because I don't have additional Social Links to attend towards constantly.
The blonde boy on Victoria's right, her on and off boyfriend named Dean Stansfield, began to talk, "Well, I do think you could glean more info from his actions. For example, right after the cape finished fighting the E88 guys he continued to hunt down nearby bases of theirs."
I replied, catching the implication of his statement, "He went after other bases of theirs, there could be a multitude of reasons for such action. Whether it be a vendetta or something else. His actions allow for too much interpretation and there's a lack of reliable accounts."
Of course the real reason for what could be considered to be overextending on my part is because the victim I helped informed me of the constant harassment the people in the local area have suffered through because of those E88 members.
I had interrogated the gang members for some information on that. They gladly shared what they knew since they didn't want to risk getting hurt again. Hardened criminals they are not. They seemed to be on the lower totem pole and were trying to get into higher positions through increasing their 'street cred' by mugging, extortion, and threatening others. In addition, they were also trying to expand the E88's territory since they assumed it would look good for their higher ups.
I took down multiple of the bases based on their information, although it was clear it was only small frys. No villains. That still sounds weird to say in a serious context.
The conversation drifted off on its own without me inputting anything else. I continued to eat the bento I had made for myself today.
A katsudon that I learned to make from Shinjiro. I ate the fried pork cutlet as I felt the nostalgia and hint of sadness that was associated with the dish.
I may have only known Shinjiro for a short amount of time but just like the rest of SEES, he's someone that I will never forget and will forever treasure my bond with.
He hid his feelings and condition from the rest of the group, never truly knowing the depth and seriousness of the situation until it was too late. The guilt that had built up within him had never gone away. For years he held it in as he let those feelings of guilt and self hatred grow.
A part of me had blamed myself for not realizing the implications of both Shinjiro and Ken being missing upon that full moon operation. But I know that's an unreasonable stance to take, I did not know the context required in order to properly act. On the other hand, a stance that I don't think is unreasonable is that I should have been able to get Shinjiro to open up so that I could have the proper context to know that I needed to do something to prevent the situation. With the amount of experience I had doing that from other Social Links, I feel it would have been possible.
But… Shinjiro's death has already happened. It's not something I will ever be able to change. It's not healthy to dwell on what I could have done.
The conversation that I was half paying attention to got directed to a girl with curly brown hair and freckles.
That's Amy Dallon, Victoria's sister, who's also in New Wave. She has the ability to heal upon touch, which is apparently considered a rarity among parahumans. Seemingly more limited compared to my own healing.
Looking at her after I let myself think about Shinjiro made me think about some of the similarities between the two.
I can see the guilt, the resentment that she held within, and the self hatred that seems to have been built up over years. All of those things that she constantly tries to hide, but the mask she hides behind is nothing compared to my own experience in using masks. I can pierce through and see what she truly feels. I've had ample time to do such a thing as she constantly tries to hide such negative feelings.
As Amy begrudgingly continued the conversation after some prodding from Victoria, I was briefly reminded of Akihiko doing something similar with Shinjiro.
As I glanced at her, I was reminded of even more similarities to Shinjiro. She looked terrible in a way that was somehow worse than a man who was slowly dying from a constant usage of drugs.
Her complexion constantly seems pale and dark bags are often seen under her eyes, evidence towards the notion that Amy is constantly overworking herself at the hospital. Such obligation and seemingly fervent need towards healing others does not seem healthy.
It made me feel inclined to pay a visit towards the hospital soon. My healing is faster and can help multiple people at once. Doing so will help others and alleviate some of the stress Amy has.
But such action is not sustainable, I cannot constantly go and heal others and neither can Amy. This does not address the core of her issues either, I may not know what those issues are but I have experience diagnosing and helping people address such things through past Social Links.
I no longer have Social Links to use as a crutch but such a limitation is no problem.
Amy seems to be the opposite of another one of my Social Links, Keisuke Hiraga. Keisuke struggled with the expectations of becoming a doctor that were placed upon him by his father. Because of those expectations, he strived to find another field to excel in without external influence such as art. But in the end, Keisuke chose to continue his medical studies because he desired to and not because it was expected of him.
Instead of one person having high expectations, everyone who knows her expects her to continue in the medical field because of her power. Such constant pressure would make anyone's mental health worse. It's unknown to me if she even wants to heal in the first place. She's seemingly unable to pursue anything else or to even explore possible new interests.
Her power allows for healing and so she feels obligated to heal. Others expect her to heal because of her power, putting her into further obligation.
If I had to guess, her guilt originates from that very obligation. Fear of failing to meet that obligation towards others.
School had ended, so I left the gates as I began to approach towards a destination I had in mind. I took my time in traveling as I walked and took in my surroundings. I was still unfamiliar with the area so I took the chance to familiarize myself with the surroundings more. I glanced around as I memorized locations within downtown and various other places.
When I was getting close to the largest hospital in Brockton Bay I ducked into an alleyway that was the nearest to me. I glanced around me as I shifted to another Persona.
Juno.
The Ultimate Persona of Fuuka Yamagishi, the navigator of SEES.
When I first found myself within this alternate universe, a few things stood out immediately. I had full access to every Persona I've ever used and fused. And considering that I completely filled out the compendium, that means access to hundreds. What was once a limit of twelve Personas is now gone.
Another thing was that I had access to all of the Personas of the members of SEES. It was strange to the highest degree, the notion that I could use a Persona that belongs to someone else just feels odd. It doesn't feel like I can call upon them with the same ease that I could with other Personas, almost certainly because I'm not the true user of them. They are the complete representation of their other self so someone who isn't them would of course have a harder time.
To compensate I have to change my mindset to embody them, something I'm already used to from changing Personas to match the Arcana of a Social Link. Doing so allowed me to more easily understand them and in turn connect with them. Despite that experience however, I need to go even further than just changing Arcana to match.
I close my eyes as I think of Fuuka, her kind and forgiving nature, constantly supporting others throughout her endeavors. Putting herself in danger to protect her bully who eventually became her friend because of those efforts. Her desire to help came from a feeling of being unable to truly support others and an inferiority complex that her parents had caused, such feelings became resolved through the help of SEES and her former bully and now friend Natsuki. The desire to constantly be connected to those she cares about, and having the ability to protect them is the very core of Fuuka and in turn Juno.
I open my eyes and Juno blooms in my mind with a kind of power I'm unused to, it's not the sheer force some Personas exude but instead it gives me intense awareness that I've never experienced before.
I clasped my hands together as if I was praying, just like Fuuka would do when summoning and analyzing. There was no need for me to summon, I just needed the navigational power that Fuuka routinely used even when Juno wasn't summoned or when it wasn't the Dark Hour.
I checked my surroundings for observers or just anyone in general who could potentially find me. I combed through the environment with Juno and didn't find anyone.
I felt safe from observers to do something I've never been able to do before coming here. Blue flame flashed around my form, enveloping me and just as quickly receding back into nothingness. And once again I stood wearing my SEES combat uniform along with all my other equipment. That also includes the featherman mask.
This new ability of mine came about from an improved connection to the Sea of Souls, as evidenced by my complete access to my whole compendium. And with a better connection to the Sea of Souls also comes with an improved connection to the Collective Unconscious. The two aspects are forever linked with each other.
The Collective Unconscious is shared with all of humanity and their minds. That allows for Personas to form within the Sea of Souls in the image of figures of mythology.
Just as human belief and cognition influence Personas, I can use my own cognition to always be able to form what I consider to be my combat uniform. If I ever need to explore Tartarus or fight the Full Moon Shadows, I will always default to my SEES outfit for my preparation. Because of that, I can use this cognition to form my combat uniform whenever I need it. The featherman mask is also included when I connect my cognition of my uniform to also be a superhero costume. A change like the mask is easy to make when this whole world has heroes running around, influencing the cognition of the Collective Unconscious here.
The Collective Unconscious has always held a connection to cognition, I'm just hijacking the connection for my convenience.
These changes I've come to experience recently came to be because of the Universe Arcana, its abilities are incredibly vague but undeniably powerful. Ultimately, what the Arcana that represents the ending of my Journey does is allow for me to perform a Miracle. But I have no need for a Miracle at the moment, so it's quite possible the excess unused power of it improves various aspects of my abilities.
My new ability to summon the Personas of SEES may have also come from my strong connection with them and their Social Links. The Fool and Judgement Arcana Social Links come to mind. In addition, during the final battle with Nyx where I left SEES behind in order to fight her by myself, I had gotten injured from her attack. That's when I heard their voices.
Though they could no longer follow me as Nyx's gravitational force pushed them down, I could hear them trying to push back against Nyx and trying to help me in any way they could. Hearing them allowed me to heal and gain greater access to the Universe Arcana with each voice I heard. The bonds that connect me to them then and even now pushed me forward with a power that gave me a Miracle.
I can even feel those same bonds connected to me through their Personas that are now within my psyche. I may be extremely far away from them but I'm still connected as I feel a portion of them within their other selves.
I decided to stop reminiscing as I continue to scan with Juno. I 'looked' at the hospital and felt Amy there, but along with her was something else. Her power? It feels like something is connecting to her… allowing for some kind of expression that originates from that connection. That expression gives off a feeling of it being biological. Likely Amy's power.
I see, it seems that there's a connection to something unknown that allows for Amy to heal. Looking at it deeper, I found a name. Its designation: Shaper.
I would need to summon Juno and more time to get a clearer idea of what exactly is going on with the connection but there's currently no strong need to.
It seems that I may have discovered how powers work here but it isn't exactly relevant to me. What could I do with information like that right now? Not very much, there is the worry of what the owner of that connection could do considering that the parahuman isn't the one with complete ownership of their powers but there isn't exactly anything concrete for me to do in that case.
I'll look into the situation some more with Juno later. For now, it's time to head inside the hospital to heal some people.
I switched to Orpheus as I let myself release the impression of Fuuka I was holding. I let my hands fall from the praying position they were in and instead put them in my pockets as I began walking out of the alleyway and towards the hospital.
The name of the hospital was already in view, Brockton General. It was only a short distance away so it only took a few minutes for me to enter through the front doors. The lady at the front desk immediately noticed me and gave very concerned looks.
Honestly, I should have expected that. Unknown armed person with a mask enters a hospital and of course people would be worried.
Various people who were waiting in chairs were now staring at me. At the same time, a security guard walked towards me while palming his holster on his side but kept a cautious distance.
The guard said, "What is your purpose here? And you can't bring weapons in here."
"Ah sorry, habit," I let my sheathed sword and holstered evoker disappear in a flash of blue flame, "I can heal."
The guard startled and tensed at the blue fire, his gaze immediately jumped back to where my eyes would be if I didn't have a huge mask covering it when he heard the healing statement.
"You a cape?"
"Yes."
"I've never seen you before."
"I'm new," I could see his hesitancy about me, "Hero, I'm the one who took out several E88 bases the other night."
"Oh?" He relaxed slightly as he had confirmation about my allegiance, "Okay, follow me and we'll see if Panacea can verify your healing."
What came next was verifications of what I can do, how much I can heal, the exact mechanics of how I heal, etc.
Honestly I couldn't answer some of the questions. I only ever healed during the Dark Hour and before I acquired the Universe Arcana so I'm not sure how different it would be. And for the exact mechanics, I'm fairly certain I'm using the very concept of healing from the Collective Unconscious to facilitate its effect but saying it is conceptual sounds too unbelievable so I just made up an answer that sounds plausible.
Once I was finished with that, they directed me towards where Amy is. It seems that she was informed ahead of time about my presence since she was waiting for me outside of a hospital room.
The grumpy girl was wearing her costume as Panacea, a white cloak reminiscent of healers in fiction.
She waved me over as she began talking, "Okay, I got an overview of your apparent abilities, you can restore people to a previous healthy state and can flush out things like poisons from their systems," she stared at me skeptically, "Anything else I need to know?"
"Nothing else in terms of healing."
It seems that she doesn't completely believe that I can heal. Understandable considering the rarity and my own lack of reputation. She may even possibly believe me to be a fan who tried to meet her by lying about my own capabilities. Such worries of her's should be dispelled as soon as I actually heal someone.
"You have a cape name?"
"The Fool."
Amy just stared at me unimpressed and with slight confusion, "Is that supposed to be some sort of joke?"
I shrugged, "It was either that or the Universe. I'm just used to being the Fool more."
I've also started a new journey here on Earth-Bet so it just felt more appropriate.
Death or Judgement may have also worked but the former would just seem ominous and the latter would make me out to be a harsh judge of others.
The Universe as a name may seem arrogant but I don't particularly mind that interpretation, it's the greatest explanation for my full capabilities and my very endpoint. The creation of the universe is a miracle in itself after all.
The Fool is my starting point, who I was for the longest amount of time as well as my most natural state. It allowed for the power of the Wildcard, the act of using multiple Personas. I don't care if others consider it a silly name, it's about what it symbolizes to me.
I could have used the names from my Personas such as Orpheus, but being called the same name as a Persona I regularly summon would just cause confusion. Besides, I have multiple Personas that fully represent me, just picking one of them for a name feels like leaving out other aspects of me.
Her face just scrunched in confusion more, "Those names are polar opposites of each other. And they just seem stupid, you're fine being called a fool? What kind of name is the universe?"
"If you're interested, just research Tarot Decks and the Arcana."
She just sighed, "Whatever, just follow me."
I wasn't bothered by her reaction. Confusion over my title is understandable, for those unfamiliar with Arcana it may just seem like nonsense. The actual name itself doesn't help either. It's in the name after all, who can take a Fool seriously?
She opened the door to the hospital room. Heading inside I could see multiple people injured in beds along with a doctor and nurse attending to them.
Amy walked towards the center of the room to introduce herself in a more professional manner than how she was earlier, "Hello everyone. My name is Panacea. I'm here to oversee a new healer to verify his effectiveness. If there is anything that may go wrong, I assure you I will be able to fix it." She nodded towards me.
I stepped up next to her, "I go by the Fool. I can heal."
Once again there were looks of confusion over my choice of name, one person even had a look of mockery.
Amy placed a hand upon a man who had visible injuries covered in bandages and wore a cast around his leg. I would guess broken bones and other more minor injuries.
"I'll monitor the process to understand his way of healing and to check for abnormalities if you are fine with this arrangement."
The man only stiffly nodded his head.
In singling out one person at a time for healing, it made me realize I should have opened up with this earlier, "I forgot to tell you this but I can also heal everyone here at once, do you want to continue with healing one at a time or multiple?"
That took Amy off guard as her face shifted to a multitude of different emotions that were hard to decipher before she forced her face to stay neutral, "Just… One at a time for now."
The surprised and partially incredulous looks from the medical staff makes me think they don't believe me. Makes sense considering that Amy can only heal one at a time, at least if they aren't right next to each other so that she can touch them both at the same time. Actually, could she really heal two people at the same time like that? Eh, I don't know the mechanics of her healing and I don't care that much.
That kind of reaction makes me think that I may have overestimated the abilities of healers in this world if my statement got this kind of reaction. I suppose it makes sense, healing is already a rarity here and more powerful and versatile applications of it would be even rarer.
I'm an unproven cape as well, I'm guessing they believe that I'm just boasting. It's likely that beginners have overconfidence in one's own powers, leading them to believe that they can do more than what they actually can. If they assume me to be a novice in my power and am vastly overestimating myself, the doubt makes sense.
"In order to heal them I need to bring out something using my power, it's not dangerous."
Just like how Fuuka almost never used her evoker for summoning, I also technically don't need to use my evoker. It does make it easier for me though.
But since I am going to be constantly using my evoker for theurgies and easier summoning I might as well get some people used to the notion.
"Well, it should be fine. But what's with the ominous clarification?"
I let the blue flames manifest around my waist and they traced something that turned into my belt holding my holster and evoker before the fire dissipated.
"Because it looks like a gun."
Amy looks flabbergasted, "I can't just let you–"
"It doesn't shoot anything, I won't even aim it at anyone," as I said that she grew even more confused. I took off my holster and handed it to her, "Here, you can check it yourself."
As multiple people were tensely watching what they thought was a firearm being handed over, Amy began to look it over as she released the strap that acted as active retention allowing her to draw the evoker. She looked it over before saying, "I'm not the best judge for guns. I can't exactly confirm if it's real or not."
"Well, I can just shoot myself to prove it's fake."
She gave me a horrified look, "Isn't there some gun safety rule about that?"
"Yes," I would know them. Officer Kurosawa firmly went over them with me when I was purchasing firearms for Aigis and Aigis herself went over them with me again when I was trying out every weapon SEES were using. I blandly recited a summary of what the two of them had drilled into me, "Always treat the firearm as if loaded, point in safe direction, finger off trigger, and know your target."
It was definitely a bad idea for someone using an evoker to carry a real gun, too many bad habits that would transfer over. But I did want to try out the sniper rifles and grenade launchers Aigis had used. She usually uses modified versions in order to mount them on her arm, but it was apparently easy for her to reconfigure them to have the standard grip and trigger. Ended up not really being my thing but it was interesting, it felt significantly different compared to the melee weapons that the majority of SEES had used.
"Okay," Amy began slowly, "It sounds like you're not following any of those rules."
"I know," I brought out a hand for the evoker and waited for a moment before Amy reluctantly gave it back along with the holster. I put the holster back on before starting. I mentally switched to a dedicated healing Persona as I lifted the evoker to my head, "It would be inconvenient if I let those rules stop me."
"Wait! Just show us by shooting a limb not your—!"
"Persona."
The sound of glass breaking erupted as I pulled the trigger. A gentle power comes forth from me, a sense of mischief and pranks bubbled within as my Persona revealed herself.
I am Thou, Thou Art I.
From the Sea of Thy Soul, The First of Many Have Come.
I am Pixie, the Master of Pranks.
A tiny humanoid with wings and wearing a blue leotard, gloves, and thigh highs flew around the room. Pixie has arrived.
Everyone was gaping at what they witnessed. A man who just shot themselves (me) with a self proclaimed fake gun somehow equated to summoning something. That would seem unusual.
"Pixie, did you really have to copy Orpheus' title almost exactly?"
The mischievous girl just flew towards me with a smile, "Please, I get to be the first Persona to debut here! I need to really rub it in that guy's face since he hogged all the attention last time. And if he has a problem, then he shouldn't have such a simple and easy to steal template!"
Personally, I think Thanatos was the one who had the most attention during my first summoning. He did force himself to be summoned by breaking through the inside of Orpheus. It was rather unnerving. And painful.
Thanatos' harsh inhuman laughter reverberated in my head, his amusement being directed towards Orpheus.
Orpheus' only acknowledgment was a slight feeling of annoyance. Despite Pixie being summoned, she still has a connection to my psyche so she still noticed his response, "Aww, don't be so annoyed. I'm sure you'll be summoned when we need to fight."
Probably. There is the worry of Orpheus' face being too similar to my own but my own identity being exposed isn't something that I'm that worried about. First off, his face has some inhuman features that distinguish it. And secondly, my civilian identity is a nobody in this world, there are very few people who personally know me since I only started existing here weeks ago. In addition, when I would need to summon him, the rush of a fight and my Personas moving around would make the face more difficult to connect if he isn't completely still.
I could tell there was an incredible amount of confusion about the conversation we were having, even more when Pixie had responded to Orpheus when they didn't hear anything else. Having no context would do that.
Amy began to sputter, "What was that about! And you said it can't shoot anything but it sure looked like it did! Something shot out of the side of your head and your body recoiled as if actually hit!"
This time I pointed the evoker towards the ground, which Amy flinched at seeing me move my arm, and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
I holstered the evoker, "See, it doesn't shoot anything."
Amy paused for a moment and then sighed, "Okay, fine. I'll just take the assurance that it's safe. But what's with the flying fairy?" She narrowed her eyes as she waved her hand towards Pixie.
"Hey! I have a name you know! Are you actually going to treat the Persona that's going to help you with healing in such a rude way?"
Amy raised her eyebrows, "She's how you heal? And Persona?"
"Yes, she's a manifestation of an aspect of my personality, a mask that one uses in the face of hardship. A Persona." I turned my head and nodded towards Pixie, "Diarahan."
"You got it boss."
Pixie raised her arms and healing energy gathered around the stunned patient. He relaxed as his injuries mended.
Amy, who was touching the patient for monitoring, began mumbling, "What? All of his injuries are gone nearly instantly. The way that the wounds mend…" She trailed off as I couldn't hear her properly anymore.
"Am I allowed to continue healing the others now?"
Amy snapped out of her inaudible mumbling, "Ah, as long as I continue observing. I still need to confirm how your healing interacts with different types of injuries."
I nodded as I mentally directed Pixie to continue healing.
Amy continued to monitor as she did before. We moved through multiple rooms where Pixie had healed a variety of injuries, ranging from stab wounds to severe alcohol poisoning. Thanks to the latter, I've learned that most types of overdoses can most likely be cured through Amrita Drop, possibly because of the similarities to the poison status effects I've experienced during combat against Shadows.
Diarahan and Amrita Drop are not usually a part of Pixie's normal moveset but I decided to completely change it when I fused her again. I have a fondness for her as she's among the first Personas I've obtained. Adding to that it seems that she's a favorite of Elizabeth as well. Instead of going for almighty damage like Elizabeth had done, I opted for the opposite with having Pixie specialize in healing. It would be difficult and time consuming to get her to the same strength as my strongest so she became one of my utility Personas that I mostly used outside of battle.
The latest patient had a multitude of bruises, broken bones, a bad concussion, and was unconscious. I didn't feel the need to use Samarecarm since I didn't want to talk to another person if I didn't need to. Waking him from his unconscious state using that spell would also be rather jarring for him. Using Diarahan would allow him to eventually wake up anyway since he was only unconscious because of his wounds, no injuries means that his body no longer needs to conserve energy for self healing. It didn't seem like something I was unable to heal so I did so. However, it seems that Amy disagrees.
"What?" Amy widened her eyes before shifting to a pensive look as she asked me something, "You managed to heal all of his brain damage?"
I raised an eyebrow at her that went unseen behind my mask, "Yes. I don't think it was anything special."
"Not special?" Amy's face leveled me an intense stare, "The brain is an extremely complicated organ, it's responsible for our memory, motor skills, thought processes, and a number of other functions that allow the human body to properly work. How were you sure that you were able to seemingly perfectly and instantly heal the brain without accidentally changing anything in the process?"
Healing skills that Personas use have never failed me in the past. No matter what, they would at least heal something and never make anything worse. Empowered as I have been recently, I have even less reason to doubt my own ability to heal others.
That kind of answer wouldn't satisfy her however, she's likely asking more about how my healing works that would allow for healing brain damage. Considering that I myself am unsure of the exact mechanics of it, I don't have a satisfactory answer.
"There's always a connection to previous iterations of a person within that sea that we share."
Oh? There's a general sense of agreement from my other Personas about that statement by Pixie. It seems that they have elected her as the spokesperson since she's the one summoned right now, allowing for Amy and the doctors to hear it too.
Although, I don't think they would understand what she means by 'sea that we share'. As evidenced by the questioning look from Amy towards me that seems to be asking for elaboration. As for me, I'm starting to understand what Pixie is getting at.
The Sea of Souls has the Collective Unconscious of humanity. Human minds are connected to that sea, allowing Personas to use their thoughts as a template for themselves.
What about the reverse? When healing we use their connection to the Collective Unconscious to access previous iterations of them to use as a template to restore them to their prime state. As humans are always connected to it, younger versions of themselves should be able to be accessed as their thoughts are constantly influencing the Collective Unconscious. That's also ignoring the other possible interactions that the concept of healing from the Collective Unconscious may have upon the power of Dia spells.
Such a thing isn't far-fetched considering that Shadows are able to influence time and space, as evidenced by the Dark Hour and Tarturus.
Explaining that to the others would be a bit much, my power draws upon humanity as a whole and that sort of scope isn't usually something parahumans can do. I'll just change the explanation to make it make sense without needing the intimate knowledge of Personas that they lack. It won't be entirely correct but it'll be close enough.
I nodded at Pixie to show my agreement with her, "As she said, it's through previous iterations of that patient with no brain damage that allowed for me to heal him. The body remembers and so, Pixie will heal him according to past records from that body."
Amy got even more serious at that as she pushed for more information, "If it's the case that you're basing your healing based on past records of the body then won't the patient end up losing memories of after the time he had gotten brain damage? He has records of having brain injuries even before this concussion."
"No. They won't follow the template fully, only to the extent of what needs to be healed. They won't affect memory."
"Yep! Don't worry about my competency lady, I'm confident that I did a great job!"
Amy stared at the both of us before she sighed once again, "Okay, it does seem like nothing had changed besides the damage but I don't have a previous point of reference for this patient." She turned to the doctor in the room, "We should keep a close eye on the patient to see if there's any side effects."
The doctors nodded at Amy before turning to me to speak excitedly, "If there's really nothing wrong and there are no side effects, that would be amazing! Panacea herself is unable to heal brains, so for you to be able to do so was rather shocking."
Amy can't heal brains? As far as I know, she can basically heal anything within the human body. For her to be unable to do anything about brains seems strange and arbitrary. Perhaps it's because of that complexity that she had previously mentioned, she didn't want to risk doing something wrong to such an important aspect of a human being.
Well, powers work differently here. It could just be a limitation that her power has that she can't change. Impossible for me to really know.
Amy turned to me once again and said, "I've reviewed enough of your work to reasonably say that there should be no problems with you healing others without my supervision."
I nodded, "Understood," I briefly thought about the amount of time healing individually would take, "Do you mind if I heal everyone at once?"
"What? You mean everyone at once in this room? If that's the case then it should be fine. I still haven't seen how you heal multiple people at once."
Not exactly what I meant. Well, going for something smaller in scope first can help me prove I can do it on a larger scale.
"Mediarahan."
Pixie raised her hands, and the three patients within the room that were still injured glowed with a green light that intertwined with their wounds.
Amy began checking everyone else, confirming that they were healed.
The doctor on standby exclaimed their excitement, "Healing multiple people at once instantly! You're an incredible healer!"
"Do I have permission to heal everyone in the hospital?"
Amy stared at me as her face slowly shifted to comprehension at what I was implying, "Do you mean healing everyone at once?"
"Yes."
The doctor looked at me with a dumbfounded look. Amy herself looked as if she was contemplating something about me. Perhaps about the possibility of what I'm suggesting.
Amy furrowed her eyebrows as she talked, "...We can only heal those who give permission for parahuman healing."
"That's fine, just give me a list. And tell them what I'm going to do so they don't freak out."
They complied with my request as I now had a list of names and general relevant information about them. I am once again stared at with doubtful eyes. Once again, understandable considering the feat.
The maximum number of people I have healed at once was ten, everyone within SEES. But the amount of people has never proved an issue for me, the limiting factor is distance for multi target healing spells. There's no difference between healing two or ten for my Personas.
I could push the distance, allowing me to heal everyone within the hospital. The actual issue I'll have to deal with is specific targeting, I never had to deal with specifically excluding certain targets when healing.
I'll have to lean on Fuuka once again.
I dismissed Pixie as she waved goodbye towards the others, "See you later!"
Amy and the doctor were surprised by the action. Likely because they assumed I was going to keep using Pixie for healing. Not in this case.
What I need is Juno.
With slightly more ease than before, I changed my mindset to embody Fuuka. And so, her Persona's power bloomed within my mind once again. I scanned the hospital and with such a small area to cover in comparison to the 264 floors of Tartarus, Juno easily and quickly found those listed.
I loaded a magazine into the evoker, activating the theurgy function as a slide pulled out of the back. A red glow emitting from both the backside and where the ejection port of a regular gun would be.
Amy objected, "Hey! What are you loading? Don't tell me the reason it didn't shoot before was because it was empty!"
I shook my head, "No. The function of the magazine just gives me more options. It doesn't load bullets."
Amy's face contorted into exasperation as she opened her mouth as if to shout before she paused and breathed in order to take a moment to think on it, "Fine. You used that gun thing to shoot yourself to make a projection so I guess other functions like reloading would do something unusual too," she mumbled under her breath, "Seriously, what kind of tinkertech device functions like that."
With Amy momentarily assuaged of some of her worries and the doctor deciding to follow her lead, there were no longer any interruptions.
I raised the evoker to my head, "Juno," and pulled the trigger, "Revelation."
Juno enveloped me as her body provided protection and gave me increased insight into everything surrounding me. I ignored the extra superfluous information and focused on what I wanted this theurgy to do as it can be rather random. There is a way to influence it however, through the user's will and what is needed most by the recipients of Revelation.
I can already feel the effect that has been chosen, a full recovery and a removal of all ailments.
I jolted in surprise as I faintly saw an image of Fuuka in front of me clad in her SEES uniform, hands clasped together and eyes closed before opening them as she looked above her. A small orb of light rose as it began to get enveloped with more lights, then one final layer circled around it making its appearance similar to that of water.
The orb dissipated into the air and I knew the targets I specifically chose had been healed.
I glanced back down towards Fuuka where she began disappearing, but even still, I managed to see the smile that she sent towards me.
I took a moment for myself as I breathed out. My mouth curving upwards in a slight smile.
I did not expect that, but a possibility like this should have been considered. Especially since there's a precedent for this through Chidori appearing in Junpei's second theurgy, Blaze of Life.
Just as Chidori fused her Persona with Junpei's and in turn giving Trismegistus aspects of Medea, I've been given access to the SEES member's Personas through the strength of my bonds. Those Personas are still a reflection of them, allowing for appearances such as Fuuka to show up. It's likely that Theurgies are the only way for the other SEES members to appear following previous examples.
I allowed for Juno to dissipate and switched to another Persona I felt more comfortable with as my default.
"...Who the hell was that?"
"One of my friends," I looked at the doctor, "I healed everyone listed."
The doctor was staring at where Fuuka had once stood before looking away and responding, "Ah yes, I'll go and confirm with the others."
With me having healed everyone who needed it and had given permission for it, there was nothing else to do besides wait for full confirmation that everyone was healed and that there were no complications.
There was already a tentative belief by the doctor that previously was with us that I was able to heal everyone with no mistakes. But there was still a need to completely make sure.
As a result, that led me to waiting within one of the private break rooms. Amy also joined me after I suggested she take a break and after she confirmed the condition of the closest patients affected by the theurgy.
Amy looked at me with a rather intense look. I have a feeling that the only reason she even agreed with the break suggestion was because she wanted to interrogate me. It seems like she's still formulating how to ask what she wants.
If I go by her pace, the conversation is just going to end up rather one-sided. If I want to properly address her situation and how it's already negatively impacting her, I need to have a bond. She won't let a stranger help her. An interrogation is not a good start to a proper friendship either.
So let's change the tempo, "Do you want a drink?"
That took Amy off guard, "What? I mean… I guess I am sort of thirsty."
In the same way that I could let my cognition form my own outfit whenever I need it, I can also use an aspect of the power for storage purposes. I let the blue flames manifest a thermos filled with luxe night tea, something that Mitsuru used to brew for me.
I unscrewed the cap and set it down onto the table where I poured the tea into it. The relaxing floral scent of the still hot drink perfumed the room. I pushed the tea towards her.
"Go ahead."
She grabbed the cup and brought it close to her nose as she took in the herbal scent. After that, she brought it to her mouth as she took a small sip, "Oh, this is pretty good. I just had some coffee but having tea for the additional caffeine is nice."
Does she have a caffeine addiction?
I pulled out a small bento box filled with Karume-Yaki from my internal storage. A type of cookie that Mitsuru had shown me how to make that goes well with the tea. It's a rather simple dish to make, a majority of it being entirely sugar and only requiring microwaving for the cooking part. The sweet, crumbly, and melt in your mouth cookie makes for a nice contrast compared to the mild tea. I placed it upon the table as I took off the lid.
I gestured towards the dessert for Amy to take some as she raised an eyebrow at me.
Food helps make for comfortable conversations.
So how shall I go about this?
In order to better facilitate this conversation it's preferable to switch to a Persona that matches her Arcana. It would allow me to have an easier time understanding another's perspective. It's also easier to grow a stronger bond with others through matching Arcana. If looked through a psychological perspective, mimicry of another person during conversations makes the mimicker more easily liked. The reason being that people like seeing similarities of themselves within another. It's the same principle with matching Arcana.
I already instinctively know what Amy's Arcana is. A symbolization of hope, renewal, and healing. And when reversed, it symbolizes a lack of faith and despair. The culmination of those elements being the Star Arcana.
I can already see how that Arcana matches her.
Hm, a foundation for a solid bond can't have a mask preventing the other person from knowing who they are. There's the risk of the constant thought that the person who's masked is not acting as their true self, just pretending. It's not impossible for a bond to stay strong through such doubts but I rather not have to deal with it. And besides, I'm already acquainted with her in my civilian life so trying to juggle how to act in two different relationships with the same person sounds tiring.
I switched to a Persona of the Star Arcana as I let the previous Persona go back to my internal mindscape.
I took my featherman mask off and let it disappear in a flash of blue flame in my hand. I reached over for one of the cookies and tossed the whole thing in my mouth. The real plus of unmasking myself is that I can now partake in my own snacks and tea. Can't exactly eat with the featherman mask.
Amy was staring at me with her mouth wide open, "Wha– you– huh?"
"Yes?"
"Minato?"
"That is my name."
"Don't get snarky with me," Amy rested her face on her hand as she sighed, "I was just surprised to see that the weird cape that did all of that bullshit today is actually the quiet kid that sits with me and Vicky at lunch," she lifted her head as she waved her hand at me, "Why even reveal your identity to me? It's not like we really know each other."
I shrugged, "I don't care."
"What? You don't care about revealing your identity? Seriously?"
"Even if you were to tell everyone who I was, I would only feel slightly inconvenienced."
Amy stared unconvinced, "I'm doubtful that's actually the case. If someone with bad intentions finds out who's under the mask you wear, they could target your family for leverage or a grudge."
"It helps that I don't have any family."
Amy flinched hard at my statement, "You don't–? I mean–. Uh. Sorry, I didn't know."
I waved my hand at the apology, "Don't worry about it, it's been years."
Besides, that isn't the main reason why it wouldn't be much of an inconvenience.
It's simple, anybody who tries to take advantage of my civilian identity will simply have to deal with being set as an example. That way it's a one and done deal, less effort with maximum profit. It won't stop some people from bothering me in such a scenario but it will stop the vast majority.
Just like when Akihiko and I had beat up those gang members thoroughly, they stopped bothering us after that. Previously they would constantly hound Akihiko since he never fought them properly, the closest being just dodging their attacks. Shut someone down completely then they'll sometimes give up.
Of course there are situations where that isn't the case, such as Strega. We had defeated them but they never gave up until their bitter ends. Takaya even believed he won during the final battle too, that Nyx had won against SEES. I don't think he even realized that a miracle had been achieved, that she had been sealed.
"What's with the gun?" I looked at Amy as her question interrupted my internal monologue, "With how you use your power, I was wondering if that was an intentional choice. It's… kind of worrying."
Is that her way of subtly asking if I'm suicidal? Either that or she just means seeing me use an evoker is uncomfortable for her to witness. Both thoughts are understandable.
Now I'm wondering if everyone I talk to when acting as the Fool is going to ask me about it. The benefits of being anonymous to the general public during my time with SEES no longer apply to me.
"It's a reminder that I'm mortal. To face death in order to truly live."
Amy looked at me confused, "What? How is that relevant to summoning your projection? It just sounds like you're telling me about your own personal philosophies."
"Because it's part of the reasoning why it's shaped like a gun," I paused in order to sip some of my own tea, "Tell me, how would you react if you were to put a gun to your own head and wanted to pull the trigger, despite knowing it's unloaded."
"Well, I guess I would be nervous, stressed, doubtful if it was actually empty, and…," Amy shifted around in her seat as she became clearly uncomfortable at the thought, "Scared…"
I nodded, "Yes, when faced with imminent death and the stress that comes from it, my Persona comes forth automatically for self preservation."
There's also the Plume of Dusk within the evoker that acts as additional aid towards summoning. Without it, the evoker would just only be a convenient way to immediately get into a mindset of facing death and would be much more stressful upon the body.
Now that I faced Nyx, I can tell that the Plume of Dusk is a fragment of the Night Goddess. It emanates a somewhat similar feeling to her, albeit significantly and incomparably weaker. It feels strange to know that I'm carrying a piece of the deity that I had fought and sealed away.
"You're essentially forcing yourself to feel like you're about to die in order to summon your projection for self defense? Are you serious? That does not seem good for your mental health."
"Don't worry, I've already faced Death countless times. I've seen what it can do towards myself and those around me. The grief that arises from such incidents pushes a person towards self destruction, whether it be physically or mentally. But it's also through working through that grief that one may find themselves with a self realization, a change in mindset that strengthens their heart as well as honor the dead the way they think is best. Those who had died had left behind an impact upon the people they interacted with, and they will never be truly gone as long as their loved ones remember them."
The images of the members of SEES who directly dealt with death before awakening to their ultimate Personas flashed in my mind. Akihiko, Ken, and Junpei.
I closed my eyes while reminiscing about my journey as I continued speaking, "It's through that experience that my perspective has shifted, for death is a part of life, and only a singular aspect of it. It's not something to let consume your whole life. And because I understand that, I can truly live life to its fullest with others. With no regrets, even if such experiences are short," I opened my eyes to look at Amy with a soft smile, "My mental health is in no danger of deteriorating from me metaphorically shooting myself. I just see it as a sign of my determination."
Amy looked truly bewildered, "...I've never thought I would hear you speak so much at once. Especially about such a heavy topic like that. I don't usually hear such a well defined and philosophical perspective on death, or rather hear it discussed in that kind of way at all. Whenever people talk about that subject in the hospital, it's usually about factual statements like the cause of death."
"I was faced with my own mortality before, and I was friends with people who knew they were dying. For me to not have a defined perspective on the topic would be an impossibility."
Amy was quiet for a moment before she began to speak, "So, those experiences of knowing people who were dying… You said that it lets you believe that you should live to the fullest with no regrets. What exactly do you mean by that?"
"Exactly as I stated."
"But isn't there a contradiction between living life to the fullest and having no regrets while doing so?"
"What makes you say that?"
Amy gathered her thoughts for a moment before she said, "If someone were to theoretically live as they desired to chase a full life then they would be ignoring all of their other obligations and responsibilities that they don't want to do. Doing things like that would have consequences that they would end up regretting."
I hummed at her as I pondered my response. My own interpretation of living to the fullest, is to pursue what I believe is important and act upon my feelings so that I won't regret doing nothing. But even so, regrets still happen because life is unpredictable and everything will never go according to one's desire.
Based on what I know of Amy, I can see how she would end up with such an interpretation for my words.
"To escape feeling any sort of regret is impossible," Amy opened her mouth to interject, likely because of the contradiction with my earlier words. I interrupted her, "But living life with no regrets is a real possibility."
"What? That makes no sense."
"Regret is something that can be overcome and in doing so, disappears. Those feelings are a response towards a situation that you feel sadness, disappointment, guilt, and other negative emotions from. They can be addressed."
That night upon the Moonlight Bridge where my parents had died and I had survived, being unaware of the situation between Ken and Shinjiro which led to the latter's death, allowing Ikutsuki to manipulate us to bring about the Fall, and the feelings of inadequacies of being the field leader because of these regrets I had.
But I had done as well as I could have and allowed for one of the best endings possible for me. The regrets I mentioned still happened and I felt their effects but they don't define what I achieved. They were mistakes and failings on my part but I continued to strive to do better and live how I wished to live. I resolved myself to fight Nyx even when it seemed pointless, but most importantly I did it so that my friends would be able to live out their lives. And so when I died, I died with a smile on my face. Content that I could spend the last moments of my life with everyone in SEES.
I had my regrets but I seeked to learn and try to grow stronger from them. I forgave myself for my failings and realized that it was unreasonable for me to have such hindsight at the time. They helped shape my view on life and pushed me to be better.
Amy furrowed her eyebrows, "Okay, I'm starting to get what you were saying before. But someone addressing all of their own regrets doesn't sound feasible."
I took a cookie and broke it in two, "Anything involving one's own issues is never easy, but in the end such feelings are a product of a person's own cognition. It's still possible even if it seems improbable. You can leave it be and let the regret fester," I placed one half of the cookie back with the others, "Or you can address the root cause of such feelings and no longer allow it to affect you." I ate the other half of the cookie in my right hand.
Her voice was low as she said, "It doesn't seem so cut and dry to me. There's a number of issues that come up from trying to live a life however a person wants." Her voice rose to nearly her normal volume, "What if the regret is not just based on the mindset of the person but also outside factors?" Her voice rose in volume once again, "What about the other people that makes an ideal life impossible because of their reactions?"
I'm fairly certain now that she's speaking from her own personal thoughts regarding dealing with regrets and not hypotheticals. Some of her thoughts and responses are too comprehensive and specific for it to not be about herself. Well either that or she's basing her responses on another person she knows well.
My assumption is that she wants to do something different from her current activities but is afraid of the backlash and regret that would arise. Most likely those activities are healing based on the context of what she said.
I do wonder however, who is she specifically talking about with that last sentence? Perhaps she's referring to the general public? Or maybe some other specific people in her personal life such as family members.
"Then either find a compromise between all of the available choices, decide on one path that you believe to be best, or create an option that doesn't exist to live a life without those obstacles. There's always going to be outside factors and other people, work around them or directly confront them."
Amy sighed, "Minato, that's not exactly helpful with all of those vague options."
I shrugged, "I can only give a detailed response if I have those details in the first place. And besides, it's up to the person themselves to decide which way is right. I'm not here to solve everyone's problems, but instead help them along the way."
She leaned back as she slumped into the couch, "What are you, a therapist? All of that stuff you said doesn't sound like something a teenage hero would say."
"All therapists are heroes to those they help."
Amy snorted, "You're not even denying being a therapist? I doubt that a parahuman high schooler is certified in that field."
I smiled at her as I remembered what my baseball cap wearing friend had said once, "Well that's only for normal cases. For me? They call me Minato Arisato, Ace Therapist."
Amy barked out a laugh at what I called myself, "Really? That sounds so stupid."
As the conversation drifted towards lighter topics and occasional jokes, the tea and snacks were gone as the both of us consumed them. Even the broken cookie that I had used as an example earlier symbolizing regret had been eaten.
Eventually the doctor came and informed us that there were no problems with the healing. I had already put my mask on before he came in as I instinctively knew someone was coming. It seems that Juno can still help me even when not selected as my main Persona, even if in a more limited manner and only through my instincts.
As the two of us left the hospital since there was no one we needed to heal, my thoughts drifted to how I handled the conversation. I do not expect Amy to suddenly be okay with all of her problems over one chat, if that did happen then that's the equivalent of me making and maxing a Social Link in a single day. It's inconceivable. I haven't directly addressed any of her problems either, only referred to in a tangental manner or as if it wasn't in reference to Amy.
But this is only the first step, the equivalent of rank 1 of a Social Link. It's also a sign for me to do what I've always done, help others and in this case, help my friend.
A/N
Word Count: 11,897
Crossposted on Archive of Our Own. Also planning on posting my Oregairu x Shin Megami Tensei story, "When There is Life, There is the Demonic", on AO3 too when I feel like it.
Soon after posting a chapter of my other story, I somehow got a huge urge to write this crossover fic despite not really knowing Worm that well and having several other crossovers I wanted to write first. The majority of my knowledge of the series is from fanfiction since I didn't read the source material.
One of the first Worm stories I read and was actively engaged with was The Most Dangerous Gamer by Chimmon. A few years later I read Plan? What Plan? By Fabled Webs, and immediately afterwards read Brockton's Celestial Forge by Lord Roustabout since I was craving for something similar. The latter two stories were what really made me want to explore this series.
I'm also unsure of my characterization of Amy because of my unfamiliarity with the source material. And so I also struggled with the exchange between Minato and Amy at the end there. I have not written dialogue like this and to this extent until this story. As a result those 3000 words for the dialogue took twice as long as the 9000 words before it.
I also took inspiration from A Colorful Life by Fabled Webs for the hospital parts, since I wanted to write something similar but expanded with a different character.
Don't expect this story to be that long, I'm going to be trying to cover major parts of the story with each chapter and have less of the smaller parts of the narrative. I don't have the required knowledge of Worm to have multiple other perspectives and include the nuances of some situations and characters. As a result, there will be less downtime and some story beats won't have the build up required, on the other hand I'm much more likely to actually write those story beats.
Having played Persona 3 Reload I wanted to read a story that had those new elements in it like Theurgies which I drastically prefer over Showtimes in Persona 5 because of their controllability and the variations of their effects. So I wrote this.
I was unsure about giving access of the Personas of SEES and their Theurgies to Minato but I eventually decided to do it since I want to explore how the unique aspects of their Personas would interact with Worm.
It's a nice change of pace to write a protagonist who is endgame level, compared to Hachiman in my other story who I'm trying to slowly raise the strength of and have become more skilled as he fights.
Something to note is that the explanation for Persona healing is based off of what happened during the end of Persona 2 Innocent Sin because of how they used the Sea of Souls to solve their situation. Additionally I'm making it so that the Universe Arcana boosts everything that Minato can do, similar to Golden Experience and its Requiem version where all of its base stats and abilities are amplified.
I'm prioritizing my Oregairu and SMT story over this one, I just wanted to get this off my chest.