Knocking on Death's Door

[AN]

[I can't wait for Persona 3 Reload! And the Isekai ATLUS game? Wow, ATLUS, you rock hard.]

...

...

...

The shadow reared its head, twisting its masked face around like that of a particularly slimy snake. Black tar poured out of its eye-holes. A chill ran down my spine.

It was time to move.

"FOLLOW ME!"

Grabbing Akechi's hand, I kicked open the door and ran down the stairs, across the living room, and straight to the backyard where I kept my bicycle. Grabbing the handles of my bike, I jumped onto its seat, making sure that the 'thing' I put inside the front basket was still there.

A howl pierced the sickly yellow moon, as something climbed onto the roof and thundered towards our direction.

"Wrap your arms around my waist!"

"But-"

"Do it!"

Akechi immediately sat behind me and clung on tightly. She was shivering.

Once she sat down, I instantly started pedaling to the park nearby. Right behind me, the shadow screeched and jumped down from the roof in hot pursuit.

We soon reached the park, where I hastily pumped the brakes, skidding to a stop. I grabbed the bundle in the basket and shouted.

"Follow me!"

Akechi didn't need to be told twice as she started running after me.

I pulled on the cloth and unwrapped the bundle, revealing the 40cm long Sashimi Knife (Yanagi Bouchou) underneath it. It was a blade made by a famous smith that was renowned for being one of the best Katana smiths in modern Japan.

While it was not supposed to be used as a weapon for its edge was rather frail and dulled fairly quickly, its cut could easily slice through flesh and bone.

Of course, I didn't think that would be enough to kill the shadow, especially one that was bigger than a 50-year-old crocodile, but having a blade in my hands helped calm my racing heart.

Reaching the public toilet that had a steel door with a small glass window, I grabbed Akechi's wrist and pushed her inside.

"Hey-!?"

"LOCK THE DOOR!", I roared back. Akechi looked at me and the shadow that was rapidly closing its distance with us.

"What about-"

"LOCK IT!"

I turned, made sure that the large knife was gripped tightly in my trembling fists, and faced the shadow that came to a grinding halt several meters before me.

Up close, it looked even more menacing as it grew several arms that stretched out in a mock imitation of an inviting hug. To be honest, it looked like those giant amebas that belonged in a Ghibili movie.

I stared into the depths of those dark sockets that seemed to swallow the light itself, like an endless pit in hell. None of us moved.

I was suddenly struck by a sense of Deja-Vu...not due to my memories...but one that stemmed from the very instincts of Mishima's...Yuki's...this boy's body. A deep sensation that triggered the deepest parts of my subconsciousness.

Suddenly, an unknown memory flashed inside my mind. A memory that was dotted and scrapped like a recording from an old black-and-white camera, one filled with so much noise that I wasn't even sure if it was my own.

A bridge. The burning scent of asphalt. The crushed metal frame of a burning car. An outreached hand that was bloodied and broken. Empty eyes that lifelessly stared at me. A frozen smile on a deathly pale face. The sobbing of an older girl. The flash of her silver hairpin in her dark-red hair as it reflected the sickly yellow moonlight.

[XXII]

"Mi■■to...live!"

Then...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGHHHH!!!!!"

The pain was frankly unbearable.

It was as if some sadistic eldritch being stabbed a white-hot rod through my ears as it melted, morphing into trillions of tiny microscopic ants as they slowly ate their way through my flesh and nerves.

My blood boiled and bubbled as they burnt their way through my veins like corrosive acid, and every breath I took was like inhaling icy needles that punctured my throat.

I realized that I was clawing away at the stone pavement and that my nails had been partially peeled off by my frenzied scratching.

It was hell in its purest form.

Sheer, intense, agony.

I wanted it to stop. I wanted it to stop. I wanted to be released from this infernal torture. I wanted to be free.

Free?

[Embrace...me...]

A voice echoed inside my head. Deep down in my soul, Orpheus Picaro screamed as something tore apart its limbs and crushed its head.

[Release...me...]

The voice was now that of a church bell as it rang within my skull and blasted my eardrums. Orpheus's body was tossed up and down like a lifeless rag doll...broken and destroyed.

[For...I...am an old friend...'you' know well...]

Something cracked as the lock on my mind was shattered into a million pieces.

My lips moved on their own, spelling out the words that nailed my fate.

"Come forth...our Death..."

[I am thou...thou art I...]

The shadow before me raised its arms and wrapped them around its head, cowering in fear as it sensed its promised doom. It then turned around and bolted, trying to flee as far away as possible.

However, from the time of the ancients...there was one unchanging truth.

You may fear, you may hide, you may flee, as far as the sun may ride.

Death shall always find you...King or Slave...Dead or Alive.

And in this case...Death really didn't mind whether the Shadow was 'alive'.

Unleashed and unrestrained, the Beast within burst through my mind and out into the moonlit night, warping reality itself as it declared its freedom from its shackles, in the form of a mighty, ground-shaking roar.

"THANATOS PICARO!!!!!"

With an ear-shattering BOOM, the black and crimson cloak fluttered as the beast lunged forward with incredible speed.

With its metallic golden horse skull-like jaws wide open like a blood-crazed shark, it bit down ferociously onto the heels of the fleeing shadow.

The Black coffins chained around the Death God's shoulders flared open in a half-circle formation as a mighty force of raw, unadulterated power gathered within its jaw, compressing into a small, incandescent orb before finally-

-Megidolaon-

White filled my vision.

Then, the sound hit me.

I crumpled onto the ground, like a puppet whose strings were abruptly cut. Debris and dust rained down on me, clogging up my already blood-soaked airpipe.

My eardrums were ringing so hard, I was almost shocked when I found that I wasn't bleeding from my ears. I lifted my head and saw the newly created 30-meter-wide crater that swallowed the now-decimated trees of the park.

Thanatos Picaro looked back at me, before tilting its head to the side and promptly picking me up by the throat as it raised me to meet its hollow gaze.

It was surprisingly gentle considering how brutal it was just a minute ago, but to the bystanders, it must have seemed like something else entirely.

"Hey, let him go!"

There she stood on trembling legs, with tears in her terror-filled eyes. Gorou Akechi, my newest friend.

"...Akechi...", I croaked out.

"Let him go!", she screamed again as she hysterically tossed the Sashimi Knife that I'd unknowingly dropped earlier in the fight.

Thanatos caught the knife by its blade and softly dropped it on the sand below.

It observed Akechi for a few seconds before it turned back to me with a blank gaze. I had a feeling it was telling me to say something. I agreed.

"...Akechi...listen to me..."

"Let go of him!"

No use. I felt the edges of my vision blackening. I tried to dispel Thanatos, but he seemed to somehow resist my calls. I was going to faint.

Well, at least my Persona will disappear...now, if only Akechi would calm down...oh, who am I kidding...she's just a kid who is rightfully freaking out...

Just as I was about to lose consciousness, I heard the sounds of a motor engine as a sleek red bike screeched to a halt right next to us.

A Ducati Supersports 950. An engine that works in the Dark Hour.

No way...did she come all this way on a fucking...

"Hey, you! ...This is Mitsuru Kirijou! We have a young boy who has just suffered a self-Persona Rejection! ...There are also signs of a large-scale explosion and a witness..."

I did the most responsible thing as an adult.

I fainted.

..

...

...

OMAKE: Persona Stat

Thanatos Picaro

Trait: Omen

Skills: Door of Hades, Repel Bless, Almighty Amp, Almighty Boost, Megidolaon, Firm Stance, Gigantomachia, Enduring Soul

..

...

Character Information:

Yuki Mishima (Mi■■to Ari■■to)

Arcana: Moon (?)