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[open; 11/11 - 11/15] Personal Shadow Event

WRATH OF BONGOGAMI

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→ Lake dungeon, 2nd floor

No wind from outside blows towards the lake, no other indication that there's any reason to be down here. Sleet falls endlessly from above on the second floor, scattering ice pellets across the frozen ground and sticking to any wet surface from the passage out of the lake, and the sub-zero temperatures seem to have plummeted even lower. The Shadows on this floor seem constantly agitated these days, and several have peeled off from the main group to crowd around a new hole that has opened up in the middle of the area, but will ignore those who simply want to bypass them to get to the next floor.

ONIKUMA
Type Shadow	Resists Ice, Physical	Weak None
Giant Onikuma loom around the hole trying to swat anybody nearby down into it, whether Persona user or Shadow. Strong and durable, these Shadows are difficult to defeat, and their roars cause anybody who hears it to become Enraged, lashing out indiscriminately until calmed down by a status healing spell or item, or are knocked out. Indestructible claws can be collected as loot.

ARCTOS
Type Shadow	Resists Ice	Weak Fire
Packs of Arctos also mill around the hole, hunting in groups with fangs that Charm their foes with the slightest nick, causing them to fight on the Arctos' side while the Arctos attack from behind. Rather than trying to drive people into the hole, they're simply out for blood. Fangs that cause Charm, and small gems that heal any status ailment once can be collected as loot.

It would be advisable to stay away from the Shadows, but if, for whatever reason, you fight your way to the hole they're protecting, you're faced with a pit five feet wide and lined with spikes of stone and ice that protrude from the walls and jut out towards the center. Unlike the ice elsewhere on the floor, these spikes cannot be melted with fire, and the sleet continuously raining down makes them slick and hard to grasp. The hole is only thirty feet deep, but unless you climb down carefully, there's the danger of slipping and being skewered.

→ 2nd floor, ???

Upon reaching the bottom of the pit, you find yourself in a large cavern filled with floating doors, sets of stairs leading up to each one and seemingly infinite from the way the place stretches on without boundary. The area is just as frigid as the space above ground, but is lit by blue-white flames that provide no heat with their light. Touching the flames causes unprotected skin to blister similar to frostbite, and staying too long around them will sap your strength and life energy, but while they float around the cavern and are drawn towards people, they're slow enough to be outrun.

Each door looks exactly the same, some accessible from the stairwells, while some hang in mid-air and must be flown to in order to open them. Each door that is opened, there is nothing but empty space behind it, nothing more than a door frame with false promise of an exit. Because Ichi has great ideas, there is a small chance of opening a door and getting drawn into one of the memory or fear floors like in the shrine dungeon. It doesn't matter which doors are opened, in what order, or if the same one is slammed open and closed multiple times; on the 107th door that's opened on each given night, you can finally see through to the other side, at a pure white and empty room with Nekogami sitting at the center, tail swishing back and forth, the tips of his fur dark grey like soot. At the very back of the room, Shadow Kido is seated upon a throne of ice, staring back with golden eyes.

In your head, you hear her voice, soft and slow: "What would you sacrifice to get her back?"

There is nothing preventing you from walking through the door without another word. But when approaching an Emperor and a cat god, perhaps you should follow tradition and make an offering.

You know what? Fuck it. As of 11/13, the room is covered with copious amounts of blood and there is no barrier to talk to the Shadow and nobody is allowed to sacrifice anything wtf. She's still there on her throne, but she has zombie Rei on her lap and Nekogami on Rei's lap and everything sucks.

→ NOTES

⬥ ICly, this dungeon will appear on 11/11 and the event is expected to conclude by 11/15, although the dungeon itself will remain until the end of the month. OOCly there is no deadline for getting Kido to accept her Shadow, but if the Shadow is killed at any time even once, the end result will be ego death. If this happens, Kido will not be able to be revived and will remain a zombie for the rest of the game.
⬥ Character must engage with Nekogami first before he will step aside to allow passage to Kido's Shadow, but there are ways to convince him without fighting depending on 1) who the character is, 2) their first action, and 3) whether and what they choose to "sacrifice."
⬥ The "sacrifice" may be physically offered or spoken out loud, but Nekogami will take whatever is offered, whether it is something tangible or conceptual. Depending on the nature of the sacrifice, Nekogami may be appeased and easier to reason with, or enraged and prompted to begin the fight. Sacrifices may or may not be returned at the end of the battle.
⬥ The toplevel to interact with Shadow Kido will be unscreened after the first time Nekogami is either defeated, or convinced to let a character through. Shadow Kido will only interact with those recognized by Nekogami, either through a thread or otherwise discussed. This is to establish how the interaction with Nekogami will affect the interaction with Shadow Kido.
⬥ Kido will unavailable until her Shadow is either 1) persuaded to let her go and be accepted, or 2) killed, resulting in an ego death.
⬥ This month, the full moon occurs on 11/11 - 11/13, so... haha.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Despite there being no indication, Terry had been paranoid about what has been happening to his friends ever since his original came to Hirajiro for real this time. This is why he's been pinpointing everyone every day to see if they're okay. It's a surprise when he finds out that Kido hasn't been going to the shrine Dungeon, since that's what she'd say she'd do with everyone else.

His own fears have been realized, and that's why he's storming through the lake Dungeon. He doesn't seem to be affected by the freezing temperatures and the raining sleet as much. If anything, there seems to be little steam rising from him instead in contrast to the sheer cold. He is extremely hot to the touch, so if you want an angry, zooming portable space heater, just latch onto him. It doesn't help that the Shadows are extra aggressive towards Terry, but that doesn't matter, because Terry is killing them all. The second floor of the lake Dungeon is covered in flames from half a dozen molotovs that lead to the new hole. ]

GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY!!

[ It's a Shadow slaughter here... ]

wildcard

[ For anything else, hit me up. Terry's body temperature is abnormally high and Shadows will be hyper aggressive to him for three days. ]

[ out of all the resistances that rei hsa gotten during her time in hirajiro, ice was not one of them so she's pretty cold while trying to keep up with terry. she doesn't have any winter clothes so she shivers in the midst of trying to stay behind terry and healing him if he ever gets hurt. ]

T-chan, don't push yourself too hard!

[ Who needs ice resistance when you have hellfire all around you from exploding molotovs and greek fire bombs... The rain of sleet is having hard time extinguishing them too. He quickly snaps out of it from his violent stampede to listen to Rei. He has his own high body temperature and a hoodie, so that's fine, but Rei doesn't have anything. So he takes a quick break and hands her the cat sweater. ]

Wear this. It has freeze protection traits. It should keep you warm.

[ An Arctos comes to crunch onto Terry's head, but he mercilessly kicks it, sending it flying before its fangs can touch anything. ]

[ normally, rei would see that sweater and go "ohhh, cute!!!" and rave about how these cats know what's up because pizza is delicious and if she had the chance, she would also totally ride on giant slices of pizza through space! but there there is a time and place for everything... so she just takes it and puts it on after thanking terry. it's probably too big on her so she has to roll up the sleeves, only for them to keep falling down. ]

But what about you? Are you going to be okay?

I'll be fine.

[ He says it quickly and tries to smile a little as he pats her head. Though that should be enough for Rei to tell that his bare hand was freaking hot to the touch, but not to the point it's searing. There is some steam coming off him after all. ]

We're here to rescue Kido. So let's do our best.

[ He's not going to waste any more time on these small fries anymore, so Terry summons Vassago who thankfully listens to him during this full moon phase. He doesn't disobey anymore when the situation is dire. ]

We'll ride on his back, so let me carry you.

[ the pat is also enough to reassure rei so she nods. rescuing kido is important but she also knows that pushing themselves too hard will lead to disaster. after all, that's nearly what happened to her and zen in the first dungeon. ]

Okay...

[ she'll do whatever terry says/directs her to do so it's easier to pick her up. ]

... is neechan really somewhere in here?

... Yeah.

[ Terry's expression hardens as he picks Rei up and gets on Vassago's back so that they travel to the hole, but then Terry sees it's not like the hole that leads people to the third floor. It's covered in spikes. Ugh. Vassago is unfortunately way too big for this, so he dismisses him, but still holds onto Rei. ]

Hang tight.

[ More like Terry will absolutely not let go of Rei as he carefully climbs down the hole, avoiding the pointy ends of the spikes and using the more protruded ones as steps to go down.

Then they arrive at the bottom of the pit. There are doors. Doors everywhere. ]

[ she does as she's told, clinging on tightly without hurting him (not like that she probably could do anything) and tensing up as they make the descent down into the pit. the spikes do intimidate her so she tries to make herself as small as possible as terry makes his way all the way down until they're finally at the bottom. ]

[ she stares at all the doors. ]

There are so many doors... [ where do they even start? she looks at terry. ] Is she in any of them?

[ Terry tries to pinpoint Kido's location, but all he can get is that she's "somewhere around here" and it frustrates him to no end. It feels like he's just been told to find a single lightly colored grain of sand out of billions on the beach. ]

... I can't tell, but let's start looking. I'm gonna keep holding onto you.

[ Terry should be more than enough warm for her, Rei won't have to slip on the stairs and fall into the abyss, and they can move together as those blue-white flames are hovering over in their direction. He doesn't have a good feeling about those and they remind him of will-o-wisps, so he'll make sure to avoid them.

He goes to open the first door. It's empty. He doesn't linger and moves to the next one. It's empty again. Terry grumbles and summons Vassago to help him with opening the doors that are in midair too. ]

[ oh, t-chan can't just magically find it like he normally does? hmm, that's going to be a problem when there are so many doors to look through but this isn't going to stop her. they just need to try over and over again! ]

[ easier said than done, though. rei can't directly help while she's being carried by terry, but she does summon ananke and her bunnies to start opening some doors. ananke takes a few that are reachable by the stairs while the bunnies take another few, albeit a lot slower since they're small and their paws can only do so much. after they only their second door, though, they jump up and down while a few others loudly tap their feet on the steps to try and grab rei's attention. their attempts are successful because she looks on over and then tugs on terry's shirt. ]

Oh, I think one of the bunnies found something!

[ they're not that much further from where terry and rei are, just at another set of stairs. they left the door open so once terry heads over there, he'll find a completely dark room with absolutely no defining features. it's hard to tell if there's a ceiling or any walls with how the area is pitch black, but there's one thing for sure: kido is lying face down a few feet away from the door's entrance, her hood up and her face covered. ]

[ Terry's shoes are seriously worn out from all the dungeon trekking he has done in the past several months and being affected by external things and whatnot, but they still help him out--they help him not slide on the stairs when he immediately zooms over to the door the rabbits found. Vassago also pauses in his search. When he sees it... ]

Kido!

[ He crouches down, still with Rei in his hold, but he makes the other hand free to turn her around to see Kido's face. ]

[ rei holds onto terry's shirt tightly as he zooms over to the door and then towards kido. she doesn't let go, having a strange knotting feeling in her stomach as she sees kido face down, but she doesn't take her eyes away. when terry flips her over, he'll find that kido has already expired. ]

[ thanks for spoiling it already, card, but her skin is pale, she's cold to the touch, and there's absolutely no life in her anymore. across her abdomen is a large gash, as if a large she was struck by a pair of long claws. blood soaks her clothes and the ground below her, but before either terry or rei can mourn, something approaches. ]

[ it's sudden and if terry isn't fast enough, the enemy will crush him underneath its feet and heavy weight. ]

[ Fortunately, Terry still has his head in the game, immediately backing away from the room and shutting the door with Rei still in his hold. He shakily breathes out, though it's not from the cold. He still remembers seeing Kido dead from the hacksaw ending... and in the hell floor in the lake dungeon. The memory floors really served him well into completing the memory that he didn't want to remember, being haunted by the sheer guilt, but his eyes refocus and resume opening the doors. ]

Kido... Kido is still alive. I know she is. She has to be! Otherwise, this place-- it still wouldn't be here! And... she doesn't have anything related to rabbits personally and...

[ He's taking it a lot harder than he thought, so he stops checking the doors and puts a hand to his own face, remembering to breathe in and out slowly. ]

... There would be some kind of sign. If I'm wrong... then we can come back to the door.

[ rei is shocked utterly to her core, going speechless when she sets her eyes on the lifeless kido. luckily, she's with terry and he's able to quickly escape from the threat. if she was alone, she would have been easily crushed, so she should be grateful for his presence, but she can't think right now. she didn't get a good sight of the monster that just attacked them, but she saw enough of that and of kido that she can't do anything but be paralyzed with a deep sense of fear, dread, and horror. even as terry goes through the other doors, opening them, she remains frozen. ananke isn't summoned to help and rei just stays there, a hand wrapped tightly around terry's shirt and staring into particularly nothing. ]

[ ... ]

No...

[ she doesn't say anything until terry stops opening the doors and puts a hand to his face. she shakes her head slightly, still staring off into thin air. ]

... don't go back to that door.

[ Terry looks down at Rei, who he's still tightly holding close to himself. Maybe it was the trauma of seeing Kido dead like that. Who wouldn't be, after seeing a loved one dead on the floor, brutally murdered? Terry nods and resumes searching through doors. Vassago goes back to opening the ones in midair too. The thing is, Vassago ends up finding a room where there are disembodied hands suddenly flying for him, and he just. Quietly closes the door. Terry doesn't need to know about this. Next door. ]

[ rei doesn't manage to be much help, unable to bring herself out of her shock just long enough to summon ananke. she remains still and silent, staying that way for the next few dozen doors, until she finally is able to vaguely snap out of it. the sights that she saw in that door still weigh heavily on her, but she has somehow managed to learn how to breathe and talk again, enough for her to finally glance up at terry. ]

... are you all right, T-chan?

[ she never did manage to ask him how he was after that door, how his breath shook and how he put a hand to his face. ]

[ Instead of saying "I'm fine" or "I can still go on", it's... not that bad to admit when you're feeling weak. It's not running away. He pauses in his search. ]

Can you cast Amrita Shower for us, Rei? Minato did it for me before, and it felt calming when I was distressed. It'll help us feel better too.

[ it's nice that he admits that he needs something rather than being stubborn about it. this way, she doesn't need to bother him and ask him if he's sure about that. instead, she can just focus on casting amrita shower like he asks so she pulls out her omamori again, intending on summoning ananke, but after a few seconds, nothing happens. ]

... she's not coming out again.

[ sorry, terry, but tough luck, you're not allowed to calm down. the trauma of seeing kido dead and that giant rabbit enemy is enough to have her mind scrambled enough to prevent ananke's summoning. ]

[ Terry has gotten a little more mentally resilient since the canon update, so he can endure it for himself, but he's more worried for Rei. He'll just hold Rei's head to hold it to his chest. It's warm. It'll be fine. It'll be okay. ]

It'll be okay. Try to calm down. Take deep breaths. Things will be alright, Rei, so focus on yourself, okay?

[ And now he's resuming to check on the doors. ]

[ having her head against his chest helps by a little, being able to focus on his own breathing and trying to match her own with his. trying to just focus on her is easier said than done, though. ]

But-- but what if neechan is--

[ she doesn't dare to finish the sentence. there's also another side to this fear, but that's something she won't admit for a long while. ]

She's alive.

[ It's said a little too quickly, and Terry notices it after he says it. ]

She's alive. I know she is. We'll keep searching for her and bring her back.

[ He says it with conviction. ]

She's family, and no matter what, we'll bring her back. We can't give up on her.

[ ... ]

... o-okay...

[ that's enough for ananke to appear, but barely visible and as if she's glitching in and out as parts of her zip in and out. however, she gets the job done and manages to catch a quick amrita shower before she immediately disappears. unfortunately, terry was only able to calm her down on one half of her worries. ]

Does that feel better?

[ Terry gives Rei a quick hug from a momentary break in opening doors. ]

Much better. Thanks. How about you?

A... A little bit better. Thanks, T-chan.

[ she still has some worries and fears, things that won't go away with a simple bandaid being stuck over them, but it at least calms her down and makes it easier for her to think. she'll start to fret again once she leaves the dungeon. ]

We've opened a lot of doors... how many more do we have to go?

I dunno...

[ Terry looks up the stairs. It seems to stretch on forever. His outrageously high body heat does help him stay warm, but it still gets uncomfortable. ]

I'll just have to keep opening the doors.

premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation

→ Lake dungeon, 2nd floor

→ 2nd floor, ???

→ NOTES

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