+30 HP

+10 SP

HP:90/236

SP:37/151

Arsene returned back into Ren’s body, disappearing like a ghost, the dagger in his hand also disappeared in a blue flame, yet Ren could still feel his presence, and his newfound power.

Ryuji:”What...What was that just now…?”

Kamoshida?:”Bastard! How dare you?”

Ren faced the King, grey, steely eyes bore into the king’s yellow ones, but then Ryuji rushed towards Kamoshida and knocked him into the ground.

Kamoshida?:”Gah!”

Ryuji:”You like that you cunt?”

Ren:”Sakamoto-san. The key!”

Ryuji, looked down and picked up the keys left on the ground, they rushed out and Ren locked the cell, leaving the King inside.

Ren:”Sakamoto-san we should --”

Ren turned towards Ryuji and was shocked, and a bit sad, the boy had bruises all over, a busted lip, bloody nose, and a black eye, he was also holding a limp left arm.

Ren:”Are you alright?”

Ren approached Ryuji, giving his support.

Ryuji:”Argh, now that you mention it, I hurt all over...My face feels like burning and my eye hurts...But enough about that…”

Kamoshida raised himself picking his throbbing head.

Kamoshida?:”Damn you!”

Ryuji:“How did you do those things--And...your clothes...”

Ren:”...”

Soon blue flames surged forth from Ren,s body as his outfit disappeared leaving only his school uniform and bag.

Ren:’So, this is how it works’

Ryuji:”Whoa, it returned back to normal…?!”

Soon Kamoshida banged the iron bars with all the strength he had, Ryuji gasped in fear as both teens turned their attention to the locked King.

Kamoshida?:”You bastaaards!”

He glared and growled at them.

Ryuji messed with his hair as his confusion grew.

Ryuji:”Damn, I don’t get this at all! Anyways, let’s scram! You lead the way!”

Ren glanced at the imprisoned King with a last smirk.

Kamoshida?:”Damn thieves...! You think you can get away for doing things like this”

>>Take your time

Soon they ran up and found another iron bar wall, Ryuji wanted to jump across some boxes to get to the other side but Ren had another idea, he grabbed the iron bars as his clothing changed and Arsene appeared behind him, Arsene also grabbed the iron bars and together were able to break the iron door, Ren sprinted towards a wooden water wheel, he grabbed Ryuji as Arsene’s wings appeared on Ren’s back, he flapped his ethereal wings and soon they crossed the waterway soon they hid behind some boxes in the next room on the dungeon as the guards were alerted, soon they passed and both continued on the merry adventure.

They finally reached a spiral staircase, Ren supported Ryuji as they slowly climbed the stairs, Ryuji was too hurt to climb alone and Ren had a burnt arm, soon after reaching the top, Ryuji was panting from exhaustion, yet Ren was strangely fine, Ren helped Ryuji sit a bit.

Ren:”Here…”

Ren threw a bottle of water as Ryuji gasped in surprise, but managed to react a catch it, Ryuji opened the bottle and took a large gulp of it.

Ren:”We need to go to the hospital and treat those wounds Sakamoto-san.”

Ryuji:”Speak for yourself you’ve burnt your arm, and first we gotta get out of here!”

Ren:”True, well…”

Ren opened his shoulder school bag and grabbed a handkerchief, put a bit of water in it and passed over the wounds in Ryuji’s face, over the busted lip, and over the bloody nose, getting the excess blood off his face.

Ryuji:“*pant*, heh, this situation is kinda gay isn’t it? having a guy treat me like this…” Ryuji smirked at the idea.

Ren:”I like women and never doubted my sexuality so no matter what I do I am a ladies man.”

Ryuji:”Why did you respond so seriously...well just say no homo afterward”

Both laughed at the bad joke, but soon Ren was finished and soon he helped Ryuji to raise himself up.

Ryuji:”Let’s get the hell off this place.”

Soon both opened the double doors, but it leads towards another floor of the dungeon, Ren cloud see a river flowing down and another wooden wheel upwards, there were no exits there, the water came down from a large but thin crack on the wall, he could also see a bridge.

Ryuji:”This ain’t the exit, *pant* how big is this place?!”

Ren:”The castle we saw outside was very big, the size of a skyscraper, and perhaps bigger than a football field if this is the dungeons… we need to go upwards, we can break a window or two and escape!”

Ren sprinted towards a path to the bridge, but stopped, because suspended by the wall was a cage and inside, was a student with a helmet on, he had three stakes piercing his chest, all the while blood leaked out of the cage and smeared the fast river below, there was one other cage, and the student inside was still alive, but its movements were so robotic, it didn’t feel human to Ren.

Seeing the dead body of a student like them, a kid being impaled like that, made them sick...Seeing this a little bit of darkness grabbed a hold of Ren’s soul, a little more hatred towards the world seeped through his young mind.

The other monotonic screaming for help.

Ryuji:”What the fuck is happening down here, is that guy really dead?”

Ren:”Yeah, there is no going back to being pierced by 3 six inch wood stakes, fuck...That other guy he is asking for help, come Arsene”

Arsene surged from his body and flew above the cage with the still alive student, He grabbed the chains holding the cage to the ceiling and broke them, the persona brought the cage, flying towards Ren, it dropped the cage, and with abnormal strength, Ren broke the iron bars.

Ryuji:”What is that inhuman strength? People just don’t break metal bars like that! And what’s that thing!” Ryuji pointed towards Arsene who flew back towards Ren’s body and disappeared.

Ren:”I don’t know...I’m confused...however I know I am powerful now…”

Saying that Ren turned his attention to the robotic student with a helmet on his face, Ren lifted the helmet up and both Ryuji and Ren jumped back, the face was a pure white blank...no eyes...no nose...no hair...no mouth… no ears...the creature continued to ask for help, robotically asking towards no one...facing no one...it was creepy.

Ryuji:”What the hell?”

Ren:”It seems like a doll or a mannequin”

Ryuji:”Is this fucking for real?”

They tried to prod the doll but to no avail, it was not responsive, it just randomly asked for help, giving up on the pursuit they turned their attention towards escaping.

Passing a few cells Ryuji spotted more prisoners, Ren called his persona again, passing the bars like a phantom, and pulling the helmets off to reveal more blank mannequin faces.

Ryuji:”Tch, here too...Wait is that a volleyball, what’s it doing in here?”

Ren:”...No clue...”

Ren:’Perhaps..is it linked to the King’

Ren’s keen mind already picked up some glaring disconnects and was making an effort to understand what was this place, but there was something missing from his line of thinking.

Ren:’Arsene...The king...This castle...The velvet room...how does it all fit together?’

Igor:”This room, reflects the state of your own heart, for a prison to appear as such.”

Ren:”Reflect the state of your own heart. I see...so this is that bastards heart? But how did we get here...of course...through the app”

+10 Knowledge

Keen 14/25

Ren murmured inaudibly, his keen mind piecing together, the sharpness to gain such a comprehension was unnatural, but as stated by Arsene, Ren was crossing the boundary, he no longer could be classified as a human, however, this notion of him losing his humanity would be a surprise further down the line, while the Universe did not consider him human, he as well as everyone else was still oblivious to the fact.

Ryuji:”Hey, there is a bridge over there! And... a... Statue...?”

Ren approached a drawbridge, raised vertically, and by the side a Statue of Kamoshida, with a shit eating smile.

Ryuji:”Shit it's another dead end? Can’t we lower the bridge somehow”

Ren:”I think I can fly us across”

Unknown Voice:”...Oi, you there, Frizzy Hair! Look here!”

A voice came from the last cell in the room, as Ren was about to fly them.

Ren, ever the curious stood in front of the cell, Ryuji behind holding his limp arm, there a cute humanoid cat creature with giant blue eyes and a yellow scarf on its neck, fully bound to the floor by iron plates melded to the floor, he was being held very badly, however the cat still look up.

Ryuji:”What is this thing?”

Mysterious Creature:”You are not soldiers of this castle, let me out of here, see the keys are right there!’

The cat pointed his head at the keys being held by a hook in a nearby wall.

Ryuji:”Getting out is what we are trying to do! And you obviously look like an enemy too!”

Mysterious Creature:”I’m locked, how can I be your enemy?! Help me out!”

Ren, processing the creature, had the most intelligent thing to say.

Ren:”...........A cat?”

Mysterious Creature:”I am not a cat! If you say that again I won’t forgive you!”

Ren:”Hey cat--”

Mysterious Creature:”Huuurgh”

Ren:”Do you know a way out of here?”

Mysterious Creature:”You want to know a way out, then release me and I’ll tell you all about ‘palaces’!”

Ren narrowed at the term palace.

Ren:”Can you really help us?”

Mysterious Creature:”I never go back on my word!”

Ren:”Okay...”

Ryuji:”Hey, just like that? Aren’t you agreeing too quickly!”

Soon the door to the cell opened, and Ren entered inside, he crouched near the cat, and pulled the metal plates holding the cat down, it snapped as the metal broke apart, soon the cat was free, safe and sound, stepping outside the cell.

Mysterious Creature:”Haaaah…. Freedom taste so great...”

Ren approached the cat from behind, put his gloved hand on its head and the other on the creatures chin, and caressed and patted it just like he would to a cat.

Ren:”Soft, Fluffy...And alive.”

Ren continued his ministrations, not caring about the struggling cat.

Mysterious Creature:”Yah, Knock it off...If you continue *purr* nyan~ *purr*”

The cat started to purr and meow as Ren continued, he had a satisfied smirk on his face as Morgana formed a blush because of the petting.

Ryuji gulped and trembled as his hand approached the cat.

Ryuji:”O-Oi, let me touch the monster cat too!”

The creature broke free from Ren’s ministrations.

Mysterious Creature:”I said I’m not a cat!”

The creature put its two hands on its hips proudly as he said his next piece.

Mysterious Creature:”I’m Morgana.”

Ren:”Amamiya Ren, Occupation: Transfer Student, nice to meet you, Morgana.”

Morgana:”Nice to meet you two Ren-dono!”

Ren:”Tell us about this ‘palace’, Morgana”

Morgana:”You show promise, Ren-dono, Palaces are a manifestation of a person’s distorted desires”

Ren:”I see”

Ren:’My theory is correct, so this is what’s inside that teacher’s head huh?’

Morgana:”Now, follow me, I’ll lead you to the exit.”

>>Take your time

Kawakami sighed as she looked over her papers in the teacher’s office.

Kawakami-sensei:’...It’s the fourth period already…Sakura-san said that Amamiya-kun left the house this morning...Should I contact the police…? No...that’ll be more of a hassle...’

Kawakami-sensei:”*sigh* What did I do to deserve this...?”

>>Take your time

Morgana:”Here.”

Morgana pointed to the strange statue.

Morgana:”There is a switch on his mouth, it lowers the bridge, so go ahead Ren-dono”

Ren stood in front of the statue and readied his fist.

Morgana:”H-hey what are you doing?”

Soon Arsene’s fist overlapped Ren’s and both punched the statue at the same time, The statue was destroyed as parts of its head flew back and fell towards the river as the drawbridge lowered.

Morgana:”T-that is very violent.”

Ren:”Just venting some stress on a guy I dislike.”

Ryuji:”Remember me to never piss you off, If you have the strength to decapitate a stone statue you can kill a person no problem”

Ren:”...”

They sprinted across the bridge and then were stopped by another guard.

Ryuji:”A-aah! This is bad it's them!”

Not looking Ryuji fell towards the ground in fear, accidentally pressing on his limp arm making him scream in pain as it bent oddly, worsening the fracture.

Ren felt the need to help, but he was occupied with the guard approaching, blue flames surged from his body as his outfit transformed.

Morgana vaulted over Ryuji’s shoulder.

Morgana:”Tch, what an amateur, don’t worry I’ll heal your wounds after this! Stay still!”

Morgana pointed at Ren.

Morgana:”Oi, Ren-dono, you can fight right? Let’s go!”

Morgana:”Come! Zorro!”

Soon a persona surged forth from Morgana, it had a tiny lower body and a bulky top one, it wore leather armor with a silver belt with a ‘Z’ engraved, he held a rapier on one of its bulky arms, he had a dark cape covering his shoulder, blue eyes and a mustache on its face, he then cut the air with his rapier leaving a trail forming a ‘Z’.

Ryuji:”Y-You got one of those things too!?”

Soon the Guard transformed into a black sludge and sank into the ground, Ren called Arsene forth to battle.

Morgana:”Hmph, we will promptly shut them up!”

ENEMIES

1x Jack O’ Lantern -- weakness -- ??? strengths -- ???

1x Incubus -- weakness -- ??? strengths -- ???

Arsene gathered black flames on his hand and unleashed an Eiha on the weird demon-like creature, it damaged the flying beast as Ren rushed forward, In his hand the black dagger appeared again, he struck, cutting the demon’s wings off, however, he had to jump back as the demon struck him with claws, most of them missed yet one struck his forearm and cut through his skin, the outfit reformed yet the wound remained, Morgana went from an attack on the Jack O’ Lantern,m soon Zorro cut the pumpkin like wind, activating Garu, the remains of the pumpkin splattered on the ground as blood spurted from the dead Jack O’ Lantern, with this opening Morgana swiped the demons leg with what it seemed like a swashbuckler, the leg flew out of the demon's body, as Morgana slashed its torso, making a red line that dripped blood, yet the demon still was alive.

Ren

-14 HP

-4 SP

76/236 HP

33/151 SP

Morgana

-3 SP

HP:182/182

SP:124/127

Ren went on the attack again, feinting a swipe, he gave the demon a kick that dropped it to the ground, wingless and without a leg, Ren pinned the demon to the ground, with his other leg, Ren stomped the demon’s head, making the remains splat all across his clothing.

Reward

+7954 ¥

+58 Exp

Ren -- Level up -- Level 3

Total Exp -- 96 -- Next level -- 3

Arsene -- Fool -- Level 2 -- Next Level -- 50

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Weak to -- Ice, Bless

Strong to -- Curse

SKILLS (2/20)

Eiha -- 4 SP

Light curse damage to one foe, it burns their life away, leaving a bloodied corpse.

Cleave -- 2% HP

Light physical damage to one foe, Arsene cleaves one enemy with one claw,

STATS

Strength -- 15

Magic -- 20

Endurance 15

Agility -- 19

Luck -- 13

+35 HP

+10 SP

HP:76/271

SP:33/161

13797 ¥

Soon both bodies disappeared as well as all the blood in a black mist.

Morgana:”Not bad, you are not bad at all Ren-dono, your persona is something to behold!”

Ren&Ryuji:”Persona...?”

Ryuji:”Y’mean that thing that comes outta you guys all dramatic-like?”

Morgana:”Umu...You saw how Ren-dono ripped his mask during his first summon? Well, everybody wears a mask deep within their heart, by removing that….”

Ren:”Your true self is revealed, you can access the power of the persona…”

Morgana:”Mhm, however not everyone has the potential, after all, Persona-users are world breakers after all...no run-of-the-mill punk can access it”

Both Ren and Morgana continued talking about the nuances of persona as Ren helped Ryuji sit down correctly on the wall nearby.

Ren:”Can you heal him?”

Ren looked on his year mate, he still had terrible bruising on the face, and he could see bruises on the chest as well, his arm was bent in an odd way, it must have really hurt.S

Morgana:”Umu! H-However, you will have to set his arm back into place, muscles and organs I can heal, however, if the bone is oddly placed It will heal wrongly”

Ren:”Okay….Ready Ryuji? Ready Morgana?”

Ren grabbed Ryuji’s arm.

Ryuji:”Argh…”

Morgana:”Un”

Ryuji nodded.

Ren twisted the arm into place as a hard crack was heard on top of Ryuji’s screams, Ryuji grasped Ren’s shoulder as tears fell from his eyes, staining the dark tail coat, however the stains disappeared after a while, side-effect of having an outfit that healed itself, Morgana summoned Zorro and activated Dia on Ryuji, it healed him as the wounds disappeared, the bruises disappeared, the bloody nose, busted lips, and black eye, and a gash on hidden by his hair that Ren didn’t see, the pain went away as Ryuji stopped screaming, Ryuji raised himself, groaning all the while, and rubbed and stretched his left shoulder, feeling his healed arm.

Morgana

-3 SP

SP:121/127

Ren was about to raise himself from his kneeling position.

Morgana:”You too Ren-dono!”

Morgana’s little paws pulled his left sleeve out of the way showing a badly burnt forearm, with a giant bleeding cut on the middle, blood spurted from the wound, and the skin melted a bit off, it was very ugly to see.

Ren clicked his tongue at the unbearable pain, the cut was fine, but the burn was very painful.

Morgana activated Dia three times.

Morgana

-9 SP

SP:112/127

Ren

HP:271/271

The persona healed his wounds, and for some odd reason Ren felt full of life, his body even felt stronger than before, it was a strange feeling.

Morgana:“Come on Ren-dono, Blondie, we need to get out of here in one piece!”

Ryuji:”It's not blondie, my name is Ryuji!”

Morgana:”...”

Morgana:”... Ren-dono, be sure to keep yourself healthy, we still have to fight if we are going to get out of here”

Ren:“Un”

>> Take your Time

Soon they reached a bridge, the guard on the other side spotted them and transformed into two pixies.

Morgana:”Looks like its raring to go”

Ren:”Let’s fight.”

Morgana:”...”

ENEMIES

2x Pixie -- weakness -- ??? strengths -- ???

Ren went to attack, slashing off its wings and his hand reached towards the beautiful pixies face, the ethereal hand of Arsene’s surged from his hand and grasped the scared pixie, the other pixie tried to intercept but was attacked by Garu from Morgana, soon Ren activated Eiha cursing the poor little pixie, seeing the little humanoid being killed drove home a lot of dark feelings inside of Ren, the girl had such a human face, and such human expression that Ren felt himself changing a bit, the girl simply died limply in Arsene’s hands, the girl’s body showered blood form the skin and it fell limp to the ground, her eyes dead.

Ren, pushing his thoughts back reached for the other pixie and activated Eiha again as it seemed very effective in killing them, soon another pixie dropped dead.

Ren gulped at the horrible scene, shaking his head as both bodies disappeared in a black mist.

Reward

+4596 ¥

+30 Exp

Ren -- Level up -- Level 4

Total Exp -- 126 -- Next level -- 102

Arsene -- Fool -- Level 2 -- Next Level -- 20

+40 HP

+15 SP

HP:311/311

SP:33/176

Morgana -- Level up -- Level 3

+30 HP

+15 SP

HP:212/212

SP:112/142

Morgana:”Yosh, Ren-dono, Ryuji, let’s go...before any of them show up...but Ren-dono, you are very strong indeed...my opinion of you just gets higher and higher…”

Ren:”...”

Ren, was still stuck in deep thought, his mind plagued by uncertainty, The Jack O’ Lantern and the Demon were pretty easy to take care of, he didn’t feel so bad...if he could ignore the blood, however, the pixies just now, it was like he was killing tiny humans, their fear was tangible in their last moments, imperceptibly darkness started to slowly taint his soul...as his logical side suppressed his morbid thoughts the more the darkness inside grew.

Morgana:”Ren-dono? Are you alright?”

Ren:”Hrm, no...it's nothing Morgana...Just deep in thought…”

Ren stretched his neck.

Ren:”Let’s go.”

Ryuji:”Are we going to leave these guys behind?”

Ren and Morgana looked at the cells around them, full of people, alive and dead, killed in cruel ways.

Ren reached with Arsene as the persona went to each cell to remove the helmets, blank mannequins were all they encountered.

Ren:”They don’t seem alive...they are dolls Ryuji”

Ryuji:”B-but still”

Morgana:”Nothing will come of it...Let's go”

>> Take your time

After a bit of trekking, they reached the exit of the dungeon, they arrived at the entrance hall of the castle, and crossing it they reached some rooms in the back, where they hid.

Morgana:”We are here!”

Ryuji:”Where are we supposed to get out from here!? There aren’t any windows in this room.”

Morgana:”Ugh, Amateurs this is the most basic of basics.”

Ren:”The ventilation shaft”

Morgana:”As I thought you are a natural at this...this ventilation shaft takes you all the way outside.”

Ren jumped, did some acrobatics in the air and landed on top of the bookshelf, he did a kicking motion and a phantom leg belonging to Arsene appeared behind the shaft and kicked it, it flew all the way across the room and landed on the wall and dropped to the ground.

+7 Proficiency

Rank up -- Proficiency Rank 3 --Adept 4/25

Adept

Ren has improved body coordination, making his muscle memory very efficient, able to pick physical activities like playing sports, musical instruments and.

Ren:”Oi Ryuji, Morgana”

Ryuji:”Yes, Um...Hey cat, what about you?”

Morgana:”I’m not going, there is something I need to do, This is where we part ways”

Morgana:’...for now’

Ren:”Thanks for everything Morgana”

Morgana:’Heh you have manners.”

Ren helped Ryuji up.

Ren:”Don’t get caught again”

Morgana:”Heh, you better be careful too Ren-dono, See ya”

Ren and Ryuji left, making their way through the ventilation shaft, toward the outside world, toward the real world.

Morgana:”Even so, those two seem useful, especially Ren-dono, he is a cut above everyone else it seems, I can’t believe someone like that actually exists, just standing in his presence gave me chills, it was like tiny needles were attacking my brain, it was a pleasant, addictive feeling...It seems the blonde one, Ryuji didn’t notice, was he fine or didn’t notice, he was a bit stupid, but perhaps he is just that dense to not notice...”

20XX/04/11~11:54 AM

Monday-Morning-Cloudy.

Shujin Academy?.

To be continued~~

STATS

Ren Amamiya

Level 4

HP:311/311

SP:33/176

Knowledge-Keen 14/25 -- Rank 3

Guts-Staunch 14/25 -- Rank 3

Proficiency-Adept 4/25 -- Rank 3

Kindness-Considerate 16/20 -- Rank 2

Charm- Allure 4/50 -- Rank 5

13797 ¥

Morgana

Level 3

HP:212/212

SP:112/142

COMPENDIUM

Wu Zetian

Level 120

Arsene

Level 2

Zorro

Level 1