Sitting in class, Ren was absentmindedly playing with his pen, thinking about what he'd learned with Mifune.
The Fool's Journey, a metaphor for one's journey through life. In a way, everyone started out as a Fool, a blank slate who would later grow to be shaped by those around them. The Fool is innocent, brimming with potential, standing on the edge of a new journey.
According to Mifune, the Fool's journey began with the Magician, one who inspires the Fool to tap into their innate potential. They highlight that the Fool is equipped with the necessary skills, tools, and resources to accomplish his dreams.
He'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious who his Magician would be. But then again, now that he looked ahead at Kawakami teaching the class, feeling that faint connection, he couldn't help but wonder just how she would teach him the values of The Temperance.
He was glad that he'd gone to Mifune.
She was a great teacher, and she'd told him the story of the Fool as if she'd memorized it by heart. She even went out of her way to do "voices" for each of the characters the Fool stumbled across in his journey. It was really something special.
He couldn't quite explain it, but hearing about the Fool's Journey felt right. It was almost like getting a class as to what he should try to learn from the people around him. And while before he'd felt somewhat lost without the script, now he had a path ahead of him, he had a journey to walk in.
There were so many people he still had to meet.
The school bell finally rang one last time, snapping him out of his thoughts as he looked up to Takamaki who gave him a nod before she walked out of the classroom to meet with him in the alleyway with the rest.
Following behind her, he eventually met with everyone else. And checking that they hadn't been followed this time, they went a bit further from the school before Ren finally pulled out his phone.
"Are we finally ready?" Sakamoto said excitedly, unable to keep his body still. "I've been raring to go ever since last time."
"We should be all set." Takamaki answered, showing the backpack she'd brought with her. It was full of snacks and a few medical essentials. "Our weapons are still here from where we stashed them this morning, so I think we are good."
"I'm ready too." Suzui added, taking a few more glances around them to make sure there was no one else around.
"Alright then." Ren began, grabbing their attention as he pressed the button on the Metaverse Navigator. "It's showtime."
[Navigation Complete]
Crossing between the two worlds, they were greeted once more by the sounds of strong wind. However, unlike last time, the storm appeared to have calmed down slightly. There weren't any more hurricanes, and though it still appeared cloudy above the castle, there weren't any more constant waves of lightning striking the castle.
Without waiting, Ren drew the replica pistol he'd bought and aimed it at one of the rocks in the distance. To everyone's surprise, even his own, the moment he pulled the trigger a real bullet flew out of it, striking the rock and causing a small chunk to fall out of it.
"Woah, for real?" Sakamoto exclaimed as he excitedly pulled out his own shotgun, aiming at one of the collapsed walls in the distance and firing. The recoil caused him to take a few steps back, but the smile on his face only grew more as he cocked the shotgun again, ready to take another shot before Ren stopped him.
"Wait, we should be careful, we don't understand how the ammunition works, so we can't be out here wasting shots." Ren muttered as he pulled out the magazine from his pistol, his eyes widening slightly as he saw real bullets in it instead of the BBs they'd loaded them with. "For now, just be careful not to aim your guns at one another."
Getting nods from the group, they approached the main door that had been dislodged open, leaving them a clear access point to the castle. There was still rubble and dust everywhere, and as he looked inside, he saw that the path was clear. There was a chance that the storm itself took out a good portion of the knights that they would encounter. Either that, or the storm had disturbed the castle to the point that everything and everyone was out of order.
Sure, getting beat up by Kamoshida might not have been the smartest move in hindsight, but it had clearly given them a massive advantage. It had turned the impenetrable fortress into a place struggling to pick itself back up.
But it was picking itself back up.
As they snuck inside, trying to move silently, Ren noticed that some of the cracks in the wall were slowly closing up. He could see the wall itself healing at a visible rate, slowly but surely. It would probably take weeks, if not months for the castle to heal to how it used to be before he'd confronted Kamoshida, but the fact that it was healing at all was concerning. It meant that the longer they took, the less the advantage he'd created for them would become.
The halls they walked through were all filled with at least some level of rubble, and it wasn't until they were fairly deep into their exploration of the castle that they stumbled upon their very first guard. A knight guarding one of the halls by itself.
Signaling for his team to stay back, Ren grabbed one of the rocks from the ground, and when the guard was distracted, he flung it to one of the far walls. The hit made the knight snap to attention, raising his spear as he began to approach the source of the sound slowly. It was then that Ren slipped from behind the wall he'd been hiding, approaching the knight carefully, and avoiding the rubble in the ground until he was right behind it.
'Tartuffe.' Ren called forth mentally, jumping the knight. As he did, Ren's mask burst into flames.
From beneath the ground, Tartuffe's shadowy arms emerged, grabbing the knight by the face and causing the mask it wore to turn to dust. The instant the mask vanished, the knight fell to the ground limply. For a moment, Ren thought they'd killed the knight in one go, but the armor in the ground quickly began to spasm before exploding, releasing a group of what appeared to be three small fairies. Each of them barely two feet tall.
Without wasting a moment, he raised his pistol, firing two shots, causing the injured fairies to fall down to the ground. Yet, as he aimed for the third he paused.
"Wait wait! Hold on there!" The fairy shouted, quickly waving her arms in the air in a panic. "No need to be rash! What do you want? Money? I can give you whatever you want, just don't shoot me."
Taking his hesitation as a good sign, the two fairies that had fallen to the ground quickly stood up, giving him their best sad expressions as they quickly raised their arms in surrender.
"We are nice little fairies, see?" One of them began before the other spoke up. "We wouldn't hurt a fly. Just let us go!"
Ren hesitated for a moment, almost lowering his gun before aiming it back at the one fairy he hadn't shot.
"Where's your king?" Ren demanded, his voice a bit less intense than he'd hoped. In the end, he couldn't quite get himself to act tough with how the fairies in front of him were behaving.
"He's at the summit of the castle." The small fairy answered quickly. "He's still recovering from his injuries. If you spare me I can guide you to him."
He gave the unharmed fairy a nod before aiming his gun back down to the other two.
"What about you two, what can you offer?"
The two fairies looked at each other for a moment, hesitating before pulling out a bundle of cash from who knows where and throwing it at Ren.
"That's all we have! Just let us go!" The two of them squeaked in unison. They didn't wait for an answer before scrambling away, flying down the corridor as fast as their little wings could carry them.
He could have taken the shot as they fled, but looking at the scattered bills on the ground, Ren let out a sigh. He holstered his pistol and crouched down to pick up the money. He expected it to be fake, something like Monopoly money, but as he rubbed the bills between his gloved fingers, feeling the distinct texture of the paper, his eyes widened.
"This… this is real money?" He muttered, causing the fairy next to him to giggle as she floated around his face.
"Of course it is, silly! We Pixies always honor our promises. We are Fey after all." She told him as she landed on his shoulder. "Speaking of which… I am Pixie! From now on, I will live inside of your heart. I am thou, and thou art I!
The small creature burst into blue flames, swirling and condensing until it transformed into a small, floating domino mask, similar to the one Ren was wearing. Then, as if magnetized, the mask slammed into his own, fusing with it seamlessly.
The moment the two masks became one, Ren felt her. It was a sensation he couldn't quite describe, a new weight settling in his soul. He could feel the presence of the Pixie in his chest, residing right next to Tartuffe, wherever that space inside him might be.
After the presence settled, he turned back to the corner where he'd told the others to wait. He saw the heads of his teammates sticking out from behind the wall, looking at him with expressions ranging from shock to awe. Seeing the coast was clear, they quickly scurried out to run up to him.
"What the eff was that?" Sakamoto asked, his voice practically vibrating with excitement. "Is this how we get those Persona thingies? We just have to talk to them and convince them to join the crew?"
"No?" Ren answered, though he didn't sound entirely convinced himself. He touched his mask thoughtfully. "I'm not really sure, but this is definitely not how I awakened my first one. I actually read up a bit about this yesterday, and according to the book, Personas are supposed to be a version of your inner self. This… this feels different. Like hiring a mercenary."
"These ones seemed to have a will of their own, independent of Kamoshida." Suzui added, stepping next to him and peering at his mask curiously, as if trying to see the Pixie inside. "Are all of them like that? Or just some?"
The question hung in the air for a few moments. Ren looked in the direction the other Pixies had fled.
"I don't know. But we shouldn't stay here to find out. Those two that ran off might call for backup. We need to hide again."
They moved quickly through the castle, slipping into the shadows of a side hallway. As they caught their breath, Sakamoto moved next to him, unable to let the topic go.
"So… dude, how do we awaken ours?" He asked, gesturing to himself and Takamaki. "I wanna help, but I just got a gun, ya know?."
"Both times we awakened, we were in danger." Suzui answered for him, her brow furrowed in thought. "I awakened mine when we were surrounded. Ren awakened when he was about to get stabbed. So maybe we need to face something dangerous? Like a trigger."
"It would be better for you guys to awaken your Personas sooner rather than later." Ren agreed, grimacing slightly as he peeked around a corner to check for patrols. He spotted a group of armor-clad knights marching in the distance. "But it's not like we can just push you out to fight those things by yourselves and hope for the best. If it doesn't work, you die."
But well… it could work…
For a moment, the group exchanged uneasy glances . Ren let out a sigh, adjusting his gloves
"Well, there is something we could try. Though… it's definitely not going to be pleasant." Ren muttered, trailing off near the end as he looked at them.
"Eff it, dude, count me in to whatever it is." Sakamoto answered immediately, keeping his voice low but his grin wide. "I'm tired of running."
At his words, Ren glanced over to Takamaki. She was clutching her replica rifle so tightly her knuckles were white. She hesitated, glancing back at Suzui, who gave her a small, encouraging nod, before steeling her resolve.
"Screw it. I'm in too." She said, her voice shaking slightly but firm. "This is all so confusing, and honestly terrifying, but if we can stop Kamoshida by getting that power… then I don't mind being uncomfortable."
With both of them ready for whatever he was planning, Ren turned to Suzui, beckoning her with a nod.
"Follow me," he told her, before turning back to the others. "You two, stay here. We'll be right back. No matter what you hear, don't leave this hallway… Well, unless you are actively getting chased by a knight. You can run then. We'll come find you if that happens, but otherwise, try not to move too far."
Sakamoto opened his mouth to ask what the hell was going on, and Takamaki looked uneasy, but they both nodded nonetheless. Once Ren and Suzui rounded the corner and were safely out of sight, Ren stopped. He reached up, gripping the edge of his domino mask, and pulled it from his face.
It didn't summon his Persona this time. Instead, he held the materialized object in his hand, staring at it.
"What is it?" Suzui asked, leaning in slightly to look at him directly.
"I can't really explain it, but I have a theory. Let me give it a try." He explained, closing his eyes and focusing on his connection to Tartuffe.
The domino mask in his hand wasn't his true mask. He clearly remembered the full-face, white theater mask that had appeared during his awakening. Tartuffe was an actor, a deceiver. And if his Persona could change roles, then maybe Ren could change his costume.
He focused his will on the mask, hoping for the best. And a few moments later, he felt it.
The mask in his hand ignited with blue flames. It didn't burn his skin; it felt cold, like dry ice. The shape in his hand twisted, growing and hardening until the sleek domino mask became a heavy, rusted iron helmet, a perfect replica of the masks the castle knights wore.
"What?!" Suzui exclaimed, taking a step back, her eyes widening in shock.
"Well, that's step one." Ren told her, giving her a slight, mischievous smile before lifting the heavy helmet and placing it over his face.
The world turned dark and narrow through the eye slits. As the helmet locked into place, he felt a surge of heat wash over his body. The strange black trench coat he was wearing caught on those same blue flames. The fire roared silently, expanding his silhouette. He felt the weight settle onto his shoulders as the fabric hardened into plate mail, the coat tails turning into a heavy cape.
In seconds, the rebellious thief was gone. Standing in his place was a towering knight.
"Woah… you look just like them." Suzui muttered, walking around him to inspect the disguise. Then, she stopped. She looked at the terrifying armor, then back at the hallway where they had left their terrified friends. Her eyes widened in realization. "Ah. Is that your plan? I thought you said…"
"Yeah…. It's not ideal, but well, trust the process."