Down Through the Gates of Hell

[madimpossibledreamer]

I am very proud of this dungeon design and symbology.

Main Points:
Persona 2/Persona 4 crossover (Broken Hero)
Chapter Summary: The Investigation Team enters the new dungeon.
Word Count: 765
Rating: gen

 

        The feeling that something is wrong only strengthens as they approach.  The first impression, that the dungeon is related to ice, is quickly made apparent.  The way the dome glistens in the sunlight is beautiful and terrible.  Jun reaches out to touch and instantly snatches his hand back; it’s so cold as to burn, and Hanamura-kun instantly moves to heal him from damage he hadn’t yet realized he’d received.  He doesn’t tend to be squeamish, but the look of his skin beginning to curl makes even his stomach turn.  By the way Hanamura-kun winces, he agrees with the sentiment.
        “This is basically the city you grew up in, huh?” he asks quietly, catching on, and Jun nods.
        “We don’t usually get snow like this, though.  Inaba is higher up and closer to the mountains.  Sumaru actually has a beach.”
        “Perhaps we can visit one day,” Amagi-chan suggests with enthusiasm.
        “Stand aside,” Seta-kun announces, and swings the katana with no fear.  No wonder he’d been chosen as their leader—he reminded Jun, on occasion, of Tatsuya.  It merely bounces off so hard Seta-kun stumbles back a little.  It may appear delicate, paper-thin, but it’s clearly stronger than they had believed.
        “How are we going to get in?” Satonaka-chan yells, kicking it, but despite her ability to punt Shadows into the stratosphere, the dome remains.
        And then, with no warning, Amagi-chan casts an Agilao, and the whole dome shudders and then breaks like it was actually made of glass.  Jun can’t explain it himself, but he feels a sudden sense of loss, like something important to him was just destroyed.  Hanamura-kun stumbles out of the way belatedly, swearing, already casting a Dia as the spots of red on Jun's skin disappear.  In response Amagi-chan merely smiles, perfectly beautiful, perfectly cold.  “After you, Kashihara-san,” she states, bowing to him, and Jun matches her smile with one equally dangerous.
        It seems in front of them is the Kounan Ward.  The road in front of their feet goes right past the Kounan PD, where Katsuya-san is now the Police Chief.  Everything is more crowded than the real thing, of course, given the difference in scale.  Jun steps forward and instantly shivers.  The contrast between the air outside and inside the now shattered barrier is bracing.
        “It’s good you decided to wear your winter uniforms for this,” he calls back, and apparently it’s enough of a warning.
        “Ow, how the hell, you’re not kidding, Kashihara-san!” Hanamura-kun complains through chattering teeth, and even though Seta-kun says nothing from his expression he doesn’t enjoy the atmosphere, either.
        The other two Persona-Users are interrupted while moving to join them.  “D-dead person!” Satonaka-chan screams, and Jun follows her shaking arm to see—hmm.  “What are you doing?” she shrieks, and Jun smiles at her.
        “It’s not as if many people have gone missing, so it’s probably not a corpse,” he points out reasonably, examining it closer.  “It’s an ice sculpture.”  One that looks exactly like a human being, but from a distance it does appear like a person who’s been frozen in ice.  He reaches out to touch the hand, ignoring Teddie yelling in the background, and hears the snatch of what could be a conversation.  “…fire at the shrine…” it whispers, and that hurts.  At least it doesn’t burn like the shards lying unmelting beneath his feet.  The bear is oddly quiet.
        “Where are the Shadows?” Hanamura-kun asks, and that’s a good question, too.
        “It feels like…Tatsuya’s Shadow wants to show us something.”  True, doing what it wants might be a mistake, but it feels like they have to make it past this obstacle before they can even get anywhere.
        Which means the next place of any true importance would be the police station.  “Follow me.”
        They pass a few more sculptures along the way, whispering of the Kuchisake-onna and the Masked Circle when touched.  There’s something painfully familiar about this, Tatsuya stopping to chat with passersby on the street to determine whether the rumors had taken correctly each and every time, like it was some kind of ritual, despite the proof they had that it wasn’t necessary and the fact that he didn’t much like making small talk.  Hanamura-kun nearly jumps out of his skin when he accidentally brushes one and turns up his music.  Jun understands the impulse; the quiet stillness is usually a blessing, but at the moment it’s nothing but concerning.  If he listens closely enough, he suspects he might catch a distant note here or there, but it sets him on edge (like everything else about this place, really).