Capítulo 4: Awakening, Part 1.
~Author's note~
For those unfamiliar with the persona series, I will explain more about the world, personas, and the place they are in as the information becomes relevant/ they figure stuff out. Also, I want to avoid making it an info dump if I can. However, if you have any questions you want answered now, drop them in a comment, and I will try to give a somewhat in-depth explanation.
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"Well… This is new…" Ren muttered as he looked at the castle in front of him. After the voice coming from his phone had spoken, the world around them shifted.
The sky was bright red, and the school had transformed into a magnificent castle. Right now, they were standing inside one of the exterior gardens. The gardens were covered in statues of Kamoshida wearing a royal outfit and a large crown. Ren contemplated the view around him before turning around and seeing the black-haired girl curled up in a ball.
"Ah shit shit shit shit shit shit shit. I've lost it, I've really lost it. I should have jumped off earlier. Now I have lost it." The black-haired girl kept muttering to herself as she grabbed her head tightly. Her mental state wasn't all that great before, but this had finally pushed her over the line.
Placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, Ren said.
"It's okay. If you lost your mind, then so did I. Because I can see the same thing you do. At least you aren't alone in the madness, don't you think?" Ren said as he helped her stand up.
"To be fair, I don't think we have gone crazy. Though I guess I shouldn't be that surprised that something like this could happen. Well, since we are in deep crap together, we might as well introduce each other. I'm Ren Amamiya, nice to meet ya." Ren said, making a stupid rhyme as he looked at the statue beside him with some curiosity.
His calm demeanor must have helped the black-hair girl gain some control back because her eyes regained some focus.
"Shiho Suzui… You… you aren't freaking out?" She asked as she fully stood up.
Ren simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Hakuna Matata I guess." Ever since he had died and come back to life, he had decided to just go with the flow of life. It's crazy what a little dirty dance with death will do to you. Freaking out wasn't going to do much for him, so he might as well keep a clear head.
His answer caused Shiho to give him an incredulous look before bursting out laughing. She wasn't sure why, but when she stood with someone who didn't seem to care even the slightest bit, it made her worries seem stupid. All the stress inside of her body accumulated to form the laugh that she was currently letting out into the world before turning into tears. She hadn't even realized when the transition had happened, but before she knew it, she was being held in a light hug as she let out all of her frustrations.
"There, there, just let it all out." Ren said with slight discomfort as he patted the girl's back. However, the emotional moment was interrupted by loud and heavy footsteps closing in around them.
"Uhm, actually, hold it for now. We have some company."
Two strange guards holding weapons and wearing medieval armor stood in front of them.
"Howdy, fellas. You wouldn't mind showing us the way out of here, would you?"
Ren was going to try to charisma his way out of this situation, but it seemed words would not work with them.
"It is the blasphemer and the bunny." One of the guards said as he readied his weapon.
"We must eliminate the blasphemer and return the bunny to his majesty. He is seeking some relief, so she will be a perfect offering for our king." The other guard said as he took a step closer.
"Ah, you must have mistaken us. We are but humble royal envoys. We are preparing a mighty gift for your king. However, we have left it near the entrance. If you could kindly guide us there, we shall retrieve it for his majesty." Ren said as he took a few steps back, trying to keep some distance.
His actions, however, were useless. The knight that had taken a step forward leaped toward him and tackled him to the ground. The other knight ran over to grab Shiho.
Crashing onto the ground harshly, he felt the heavy foot of the knight step on his chest before preparing his sword. His mind was running a mile a minute trying to come up with a solution, but as the knight raised his sword, he heard a voice in his mind. The voice had no clear gender or tone, and it changed from deep to high-pitched between sentences. From male to female, almost as if not having any real identity.
"Ah, at last, the curtain rises on this grand performance. How amusing it is to witness those who hide behind feeble masks attempt to end us, isn't it? The very essence of identity we've meticulously crafted now threatened by those who stumble through their own charades.
No, we shan't succumb to demise so easily, not after having been granted a second act, now shall we?"
A burst of wind emerged, pushing the knight above him away. Ren, now standing up, felt the surge of power coursing through him. He reached to his face with anger, revealing a pure white theater mask that covered his entire face. Gripping the edges with determination, he began to pry at it.
"I am thou, and thou art I. I am Tartuffe, the impostor, and the hypocrite."
The mask in his face twisted until it became a birdlike domino mask with black designs around the eyes reminiscent of full eyeliner and sharp lashes.
"Now, revealing our true selves would spoil the spectacle. Don't you think? Only we are granted access to the intimate secrets within. As long as there are spectators, I shall weave a veil around us. For now, let's assume the persona of The Pillager of Twilight, embracing the essence previously held by this vessel."
A pitch-black humanoid figure with no facial features appeared above Ren. Wearing nothing but a large black cloak that covered its entire body. From within the cape, a hand emerged that held a mask that looked exactly like the one Ren was wearing before placing it on its face. Causing it to burst into blueish flames. From which a large pair of wings sprouted, accompanied by a humanoid creature wearing a top hat cradled between two horns. All put together by a crimson eighteenth-century-esque suit.
The mask on Ren's face was holding onto his face as if it were a part of his flesh, but with one final tug, it ripped away before bursting into flames, leaving his face covered in blood.
"Arsene!"
As if being urged by the call of the name, the large figure behind Ren lunged forward towards the knights. Its arm turned pitch black as it ripped the masks from the two knights before it destroyed them.
The two knights on the floor began to convulse before bursting out and revealing a pair of floating wizards holding lanterns with a pumpkin instead of a face.
Almost instinctually, Ren commanded Arsene to attack them. A mixture of red and black fire was launched towards the two floating magicians, and after a few seconds of struggle, they both fell to the floor. Lunging towards them once again, Arsene dug its claws on their faces before ripping away a piece of the pumpkin and placing it on its face, causing the chunks to disappear.
Shiho, who had observed this whole fight, was standing in shock before slapping herself hard in the face and shaking her head, trying to remain calm. Everything had happened so quickly that she hadn't even gotten a chance to react properly.
Once the false Arsene vanished, Ren collapsed to the ground with exhaustion. The awakening process required a large amount of energy, and now he felt as if he needed to throw up.
"This body is so freaking weak." Ren muttered to himself before forcing himself to stand up.
Noticing his struggle, Shiho ran to support him before asking.
"What the hell was that? Your outfit… it had changed for a moment. And the weird ghost thing…""
"Hell, if I know." Ren answered instantly while looking at the path the knights had come from.
"We gotta get out of here. We made a commotion so more knights will probably arrive soon. Let's go. We can figure everything out later."
Nodding her head with newfound determination, Shiho and Ren entered the castle and hid behind one of the large statues just in time to see a swarm of knights run past them toward the gardens they had been at before.
Looking around, they saw the inside of the castle was quite ornate. That is if you ignore all of the strange statues and paintings of Kamoshida wearing nothing but a cloak and underwear.
Neither of them was an expert at stealth, but they could at least move around quietly enough not to draw any attention to themselves. It took them some time since they were trying not to bring any attention to themselves, but after what felt like an hour or so, they were able to find their way through the castle until they spotted a large gate that led outside of the castle.
Giving each other a look, they nodded their heads and prepared to make a mad dash in order to escape.
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