Sup SMTG, guess who got back earlier than expected.

This part is pretty uneventful, but we get some insight into Suou dad's and Shiori's thoughts.

The following day, at Aoba Park, Shiori gives a middle-aged security guard the recording she made the previous day. Suou dad listens in amazement. It's only natural. Shiori wouldn't have believed it either had she not seen Tatsuya's and Sudou's Personae. The voice recorder holds Tatsuya's Tatsuya's words about the Other Side and about what might happen on This Side and Shiori mentally apologises for breaking her promise of silence. Suou dad is stumped when he hears about Personae, but if rumours come true, then...
Shiori takes out a lucky charm from her police ID card - it's a student card Tatsuya gave her which is said to protect one from JOKER; it has lately become a rumour among students and, truth be told, Sudou hasn't approached her since then. But no matter how you put it, it still sounds unbelievable. Adults need their adult reasoning. She then tells Suou to see it for himself at Parabellum, which, according to rumours, sells this kind of things.
Shiori then talks a lot about guns (seriously, Tadashi, stop it) and mentions she's got a big gun because obeying the rules won't help protect her against Persona and demon users. Suou is amazed that that's the real thing. So yeah, she's going all out.

>>9652104
I think Tadashi wants to write a wild west story.

>>9652261
Or an espionage one.

They talked during lunch break and Shiori feels sorry she kept him so long, but now they need to return to the main point. She tells Suou Tatsuya is still pursuing Sudou and that he's the only one who can do something. He believes that since he's the only one to get his memories back, he has to do something. However...Suou asks her about Katsuya. Katsuya doesn't know anything yet but it seems he's heading Maya's way. Tatsuya told her he doesn't want his family and friends from the Other Side to get involved, so he left home. Shiori thinks this is something the police, and not a child, should do. On the other hand, they both know the police can't be trusted.
Suou wonders about Togashi, but Shiori replies he's linked to Sudou Tatsuzou. It's obvious that Director Shimazu will hinder the investigation in order not to secure Sudou Tatsuya.
Clutching his head in his hand, Suou suddenly looks ten years older. Knowing that until this very day, he has to be legally supervised for participating in criminal activities after having been betrayed by his best friend must be painful. Somehow, this man still believes in Togashi.
Shiori says that right now, the only one who can defeat Sudou and protect the world is Tatsuya and admits that what she is saying is selfish. However, she can't let him carry this heavy by himself; she will support him as much as she can. Tatsuya needs the help of an adult who knows what is going on.

Even if killing Sudou might be called self-defense, it's still killing. No matter what kind of horrible person is the other one, the fact that he has taken someone's life will remain in Tatsuya's heart forever. Shiori decides that she won't let him do it alone and will share the burden.
She's worried that Suou won't let Tatsuya do his thing. Suou rises and the look of pain disappears from his eyes. He has chosen to watch over the son who is fighting against such a cruel destiny. Suou leaves Tatsuya to Shiori and says he'll talk to his wife and abandon the investigation. Shiori thanks him and bows deeply: now it's going to be a bit easier for Tatsuya to move. He's a kid who stands out though - it would be better if they removed any unneccessary obstacles, seeing that he's going to move all around the city.
Suou blames himself for his own carelessness and the way it affected his sons. He apologises to Shiori and says that in order to protect his family, he had to submit to Tatsuzou's threats. And now look at the situation she's in...

>The growing connections around Tatsuya look like an insane mandala of models a spiteful artist drew just to laugh at him. At first glance, each person seems disconnected, but, passing by someone else, they draw a map of similar relations. What about us, who unknowingly string our names together in there, what conclusion awaits us after these ten years?
>All the unbearable loss and despair, all the piled up feelings of sadness and anger, no one was ready for them. But there is still enough time to rise and stand straight. Don't dare make fun of humans.

Shiori, however, says she would have done the same thing as Suou had she been in his place. Besides, she is now glad to have joined the police. She met Tatsuya and is now able to lend a hand to the children who unfortunately commited sins without knowing the rotten society created by adults. Shiori wishes for a world where children like Tatsuya can live smiling. That is obviously an adult's job.
A woman announces that a blimp from the Air Museum is up in the sky and a man notes that the rumour was true after all. They both go to see it. Even though Shiori and Suou can't see it, they've also become sure that the rumour became true.
Speaking of which, just a bit earlier she had head a fire engine's siren. Shiori doesn't know why, but she has a feeling Tatsuya is riding on that blimp.

>Shiori: Please do it to the very end, Tatsuya...So you won't have any regrets afterwards.

Notes and stuff

- this one was short; contrary to popular opinion Suou dad had no idea about Persona and whatever
- it's kind of sad that he never managed to reconcile with his old friend and still being under supervision is shitty
- Shiori is pretty obsessed with the idea of adulthood; I tried to put in every reference she made about this being an adult's job, adults being better at this, etc etc; there's also a line in the beginning, when she breaks her promise - "Sorry, Tatsuya, adults are all right with telling lies."
- did I mention she calls Tatsuya "Tatsuya-kun?"
- important when it comes to the timeline - this happens in autumn (Shiori mentions the autumn breeze)
- Shiori carries the awesome gun in her coat and shows it to Suou who promptly asks her to hide it again
- Suou was eating anpan and drinking milk

Welcome to another part where nothing really happens and Tatsuya finds out things we already knew! Looks like we're getting a lot more action next time though.

A couple of hours later, Tatsuya returns to Lunar Palace. He announces this out loud, even though he knows Shiori is still at work, but entering someone else's house without saying anything would feel strange. He heads straight for the shower to wash the salty ocean water off.
Tatsuya knows that killing Sudou isn't the end. Maya hasn't given up either. It seems that she followed his and Sudou's trail together with Katsuya, Ulala and the others. He hoped they'd give up after saving Yoshizaka in the clock tower and finding out about the emblem rumour...but it was naive of him to think this. That warning itself was just like adding more fuel to the fire. Tatsuya muses on what happened with Anna, Jun and Sudou and regrets the fact that even though he didn't want to involve anyone, Jun still got caught in all that and remembered his face.
-He- must be already planning his next move. Tatsuya's sure he still hasn't departed one milimetre from the line -he-'s drawn.
Getting out of the shower, Tatsuya puts on the jeans Shiori got him and his suit in the dryer goes to his room, throwing himself onto the only piece of furniture, the sofa. Even though the room is bare, he's thankful that he's got a place to sleep and from where he could rush to Maya's place in case something happens. This is more than enough.

On the other hand, he doesn't want to involve Shiori in this anymore, but can't stop himself from remembering about her little brother, who was killed in his place. He was killed ten years ago, on the same day him and Maya were locked in the Araya shrine on the Other Side. Stuff we already know about the Other Side, they lost, Maya was revived in a new world where they had to rewrite history, so their meeting ten years ago was erased. Shiori's little brother was killed in order to fill that hole. Tatsuya understands now. Realising how history was changed is a present from -him-.

>Damn it! God damn it!

He pulls his hair. Tatsuya loathes -him-.

>Unforgivable. I want to kill him. I want to put an end to it.

He digs his nails in the mark left by -him- on his right hand.
The sudden sound of a phone ringing makes him return to his senses. The answering machine's response message is a tired voice similar to Maya's.
It's from a certain phone from Shiori's room.
But this is strange.
The one who answered doesn't talk, but he doesn't hang up either; he's just silent.
The door is slightly ajar and Tatsuya approaches it when an unexpected male voice starts whispering into the phone, asking Shiori to make contact with Katsuya.
The phone call and its message give Tatsuya a bad feeling. Jumping to his feet, he barges into Shiori's room and turns on the TV.

On the Other Side, -he- sent various people to their own destruction by turning rumours into reality and bringing anxiety among the population.
Playing with the JOKER rumour, especially since Tatsuya defeated Sudou, is a declaration that he will mess up This Side too.
Rumours and news are now a clue of -his- involvement.
He changes channels and sees Wang Long Chizuru who is talking about kegare and states that envy, hatred and the JOKER curse are no good because people will be turned themselves into JOKER. Tatsuya is in shock.
The TV announcer realises that JOKER does not select any particular individuals.
Tatsuya's heart starts beating violently and all the hairs on his body stand up. The memories from the Other Side and the knowledge of what has awakened on This Side start flying through his at a dizzying speed and he finally understands the meaning of Sudou's last words and of the earlier incident with the answering machine. The man who called knew both that Shiori had contacted JOKER and what Chizuru had mentioned. He was also implicitly warning her of the danger of becoming a JOKER. Tatsuya has no idea who he was, but that man knows what is going on. But he can't deal with it alone. That's why he asked her to contact his brother. Shiori told him she managed to mislead the police officers involved in the Sudou investigation, so perhaps this man is part of the police too.

Tatsuya calls Shiori, thinking that, even at the best of times, the JOKER still attracts society's attention. When this TV programme is broadcasted, it will become a rumour in the blink of an eye. It's only a matter of time until JOKER will appear all over the city.
Normal people would laugh at this programme. But what happens when a reknown fortuneteller talks about it? There will obviously be many people who will decide that this is either laughable or plausible.
Directly transmitted from people to people, anxiety and anger will spread like an epidemic and will end up substituting reality. This way, people destroyed the Other Side when curses became common knowledge, all according to -his- plans. The same thing is happening on This Side too.
Shiori isn't answering and the earlier message still bothers him. Tatsuya returns to his room, grabs Sudou's sword and flies out of Shiori's house. He has to find her before she kills anyone.

Notes and stuff

- the Maya voice thing confused the hell out of me in the beginning, because I thought Tatsuya was actually talking about her answering machine
- the part where he gets really angry at Nyarl came all of a sudden and it was rather distressing; almost sounded like he was getting hysterical
- who's the mystery man? Togashi perhaps?
- pic related is the announcer, they actually bothered to give him a face
- he's fighting and killing people with Sudou's sword...
- the next part takes place two days later and is at the laboratory with Eikichi. It's going to be super long (200+ screenshots), so I want a little input: should I split it up or should I post it all at once?



EPP guy here, I'll dump the last half of part two in a couple of days, I'll try to finish it as fast as I can. Luckily enough, there's a lot of dialogue, so things should flow easily. I stumbled upon some pretty depressing lines though. Oh yeah, and the main point - I'm dumb and forgot to mention the dates. Stuff doesn't happen from one day to the next, there are actually some timeskips. Here's a short timeline, as far as I've translated

Autumn 1999
13.xx -> Tatsuya recalls his meeting with the gang that triggered his memories
-> Shiori meets Anna
-> Shiori and Tatsuya meet Sudou for the first time + fight + we find out about Takuya
-> Shiori and Tatsuya decide to collaborate

02.xx -> Shiori meets Suou dad and shows him the recording + he finds out about Persona and rumours coming true
-> blimp fight + Jun meets Tatsuya again + Sudou is killed + Tatsuya finds out about the multiple JOKERs
04.xx -> Eikichi meets Tatsuya again + lab stuff + to be continued

Oh boy can't wait to see how bad all these arrows look

Hello, SMTG, time to finish the second episode of Tatsuya's story aka that time when Tatsuya almost went batshit

Two days later, at the laboratory

>Maya still hasn't given up...

Tatsuya barges into what looks like a security room, and notices that the guards have already been beaten up and the alarm and surveillance equipment cut off. No wonder he was able to get in so easily. Next to the fallen guard are three coins. He only knows one person who can use them like this: that suspicious looking guy who goes by the name of Baofu.
Speaking of which, he's together with Maya and Katsuya. They're one step ahead of him - perhaps they caught wind of the fact that the abducted JOKER users were brought here. So troublesome.
Two days have passed since he left Shiori's house and came here guided by the rumours. Since then, Shiori hasn't been to her place or to the police. Looks like she got caught by -his- pawns.
Somehow, all the people who used the JOKER curse and turned into JOKERs got kidnapped at the same time. Those are now This Side's Masquerade, -his- underlings.
Tatsuya wonders if he can stop Maya's group from getting involved any further by destroying the information obtained earlier.

>All right, let's do it.

A bit later, Tatsuya encounters Eikichi and both are amazed that the other is there. Eikichi seems to think Tatsuya came with Maya, so Tatsuya is now sure Maya's group is here and that Eikichi ran into them. How could this happen...There are more and more things he needs to take care of. He inquires for their whereabouts, but Eikichi does not know; they just went to investigate what's going on in this terrible place.
Looking at the people behind Eikichi, Tatsuya notices that Shiori isn't among them. Maybe she's somewhere else. According to Eikichi, all those test subjects were there by themselves. He came here to look for a guy from his school called Sugimoto, but seeing the state of the victims got him angry and he decided to help that Nanjou
person take them to the trailer in the parking lot so they can be taken to a hospital.
Tatsuya is surprised to hear the name of Yukino's acquaintance, but then remembers that the place belonged to the Nanjou Group. If Nanjou is now working with Maya, it means the entire company is now in the hands of the organisation created by -his- subordinates.

Eikichi wants to know if he's seen Sugimoto, but Tatsuya replies he doesn't know him. He can't say he knew him plenty on the Other Side. He's afraid he might still remember. But he has a feeling he knows why Eikichi is here. After all, those two did have a bad relationship on the Other Side. As usual, the good-natured Eikichi came here to look for the guy who targeted him with the JOKER curse. He then gives a puzzled Eikichi the Sevens emblem and offers to take him to the parking space. Tatsuya can't let Eikichi go by himself, not when he cannot use his Persona on This Side.

>Oh, sorry. I owe you one.

As Tatsuya enters the security room, he is assaulted by guards who have come from a different floor to see what is going on. They're surprised to bump into a kid, but he swiftly makes sure to get rid of them and leads Eikichi to the parking space.
Before they part, Tatsuya advises Eikichi to hide among the people and keep some doors open, otherwise the lack of oxygen will kill him. Eikichi, on the other hand, is concerned about something else: why have they been so familiar with each other and how come Suou knows his name?

>Is there anyone who doesn't know the name of Kasu High's Underpants Leader?
>Underpants Leader? Whuzzat. Somehow, it sounds really nostalgic, and it kind of makes me angry...

Tatsuya realises circumstances are completely different on This Side and urges him to go back to Maya and to the others. Eikichi is worried about him, but Tatsuya leaves.
He meets other guards and, irritated by the whole affair with Eikichi, beats them down. After a while, he overhears two guards, who are taking orders from someone called Shinjou, talking about Maya's group . The young guard complains about having no gas to light his cigarette, so the nice as ever Tatsuya offers him a light then renders him unconscious. He then pins the older one to the fence and asks about Shiori's whereabouts. She's in the research chamber on the fourth floor, but there's one small problem: the elevator only leads to the third floor, so in order to go further Tatsuya will have to get a security code by pressing the right buttons. As a reward, Tatsuya offers the man a knee in the solar plexus and heads towards the security panel where he activates the automatic doors.
As soon as he reaches the second floor, Tatsuya finds himself held at arm point by a heavy machine gun. The robot, very similar to the ones in the Order of the Holy Lance, orders him to throw away his weapon, but Tatsuya knows he has to defeat him in order to get the code. The fight ends and Tatsuya makes the man, who sets the useless robot armour aside, guide him to the fourth floor. They get out of the elevator after a few seconds, and Tatsuya is surprised to see there are no guards around.

The two pause in front of a room that looks like the research chamber and the guard is forced to spill the beans about the men he's working for -- not like a kid would understand about the New World Order anyway; he only says that Shinjou is doing some experiments inside. However, he isn't the boss, just the supervisor. The higher-ups, though, are society's big shots: Sudou Tatsuzou, for example. The New World Order will make a new world free of sin!
Learning about Sudou and his son, Tatsuya realises why it was so easy for the latter to move around with Mafia, the police, mass-media and even this institution controlled by his father. No matter how you look at it, Sudou is definitely running errands for -him-.
Tatsuya enters the room, leaving the now uncounscious guard behind. The research room is an unusual view: in its middle, bound to a vertical testing bench, is a demon, its head hung like that of a criminal pelted with stones. Its face is completely covered by long strands of blood-coloured hair. The overall figure seems human, but the impossible colour of its skin is definitely not of this world. Both its clawed hands are tied to the bench surrounded by men in white gowns. Looks like they drugged it.
The men in white gowns seem to know Tatsuya was going to come -- they only go back a few steps and he realises there's no one else inside but them. A feeling of anger is starting to creep up his spine.

This is where things are getting crazy.

Tatsuya glares at the scientists and, with his weapon raised, walks straight towards them. He grabs the patient's chart from a man with narrow eyes and notices it's full of pictures documenting Shiori's transformation into a demon.
Trying to give a human a Persona by force will turn them into a demon. It was an experiment in which the demon archetypes that sleep in the universal subconscious took the place of human consciousness.
Letting out a cry, Tatsuya slams into the nearest man. While the middle-aged man collapses letting out a terrible squeal, the boy grabs narrow eyes's collar and hurls him on the operating table.

>Turn her back to normal! NOW!!

Pressing his left arm on the man's neck, Tatsuya presses the gun between his eyes. The scientist is terrified and confesses he was only entrusted with observing the transformation and managing the anesthesia.

>Can he turn her back?! The one who wanted to do such a worthless thing, where is he!!

Narrow eyes finally reveals that Kandori, under the pseudonym of "Shinjou", supplied everything and that now he's in the JSM. Full of terror and gasping for air, narrow eyes points towards the inner door with a trembling finger.

>I want to kill them. These guys are better off dead.

Tatsuya keeps pressing the man's neck with all his strength until the latter's eyes start bulging and his tongue sticks out, fighting for air. He grabs Tatsuya's arm with both hands, but his strength is too feeble to do anything.

>Keep crushing him, just like that.

A dark impulse turns into a dark flame, rising from the bottom of his heart. The mark engraved by -him- hurts as if someone is pressing it hard.
Behind them something heavy falls to the floor with a thud, making an intermittent metallic clank. Turning her face towards Tatsuya, Shiori attempts to rise from the floor, her movements interrupted by convulsions.

>G...RU...Ia...Ia...ltha...qua...

Coughing words from another world, Shiori gets on her knees and the room's temperature instantly drops bellow zero. With a whistling sound, a piercing cold blast of wind starts swirling.
The middle-aged man desperately yells that he can't restore her back to her normal form. The only one who can do it is Kandori. The man, with the puddle of blood freezing at his feet, keeps foaming at the mouth. Like sparkling diamond dust, his foam is caught in the violent blast.

Desperately, Tatsuya lifts his gaze towards Shiori's back, wondering what he should do. All of a sudden, Otsuki feebly mentions the anesthetic and points towards a certain tank. Shiori attacks just as Tatsuya realises that this is the way he can make her fall asleep, but is promptly defeated. Tatsuya manages to capture her and sprays her with liquified gas. Though she struggles, her body relaxes after a while, but Tatsuya, already dizzy, keeps spraying the gas until Otsuki tells him to stop. Looking around the room, he sees the middle-aged man has already died with a smile on his face.
Tatsuya finally calms down and, realising he almost killed Otsuki, apologises. The man experimented on her, but he still gave him a hint about the anesthetic. Otsuki then tells him about Kandori's plans, how he wanted to isolate Tatsuya from the others and how he is at the JSM, the machine which separates JOKERs from JOKER users, beyond the door Otsuki had showed him earlier.
Tatsuya exits the research chamber, thinking about Kandori and his involvement in the Mikage City incident, three years earlier, with Yukino and her friends. This can't be a coincidence.
Perhaps this JSM is the very core of the laboratory's research. Without this, it would be impossible to increase the number of JOKERs from such a widely manipulated rumour. It seems that the number of JOKERs is a problem for the New World Order.

Tatsuya continues walking down the corridor and finally reaches an iron door.

>Eikichi: Why am I...no, don't!!

A scream reverberates from the other side. Tatsuya realises he got captured, when a subdued voice starts talking. It's none other than Kandori, disappointed that he's confronted by children again.
Tatsuya can now pinpoint their locations -- Eikichi is to his right, Kandori to his left. That means the door is in front, right between them and it only opens on the outside. Tatsuya calculates the distance to the door and barges into the corridor, but Kandori is now protected by the door.
The adrenalin pumping in his veins makes everything move extremely slow. His whole body turned into a sensor, his perception sharpened, he can clearly see every single move and can hear every single sound. To his right is Eikichi, a guard's gun pointed at his head; in the vast room in front of him is a huge machine similar to a revolver's cillinder, around it countless a tank-like tubes covered in an an omnious black liquid.
On the third floor, Maya and Katsuya's group is facing that machine, aimed at by a group of guards from the top of the fourth floor. Tatsuya defeats the man threatening Eikichi and pushes the latter through the door then finally gets face to face with Kandori.

Far from being nervous, his mouth is shaped into a thin smile. Blending sarcasm and boredom, sophistication and eccentricity, more than enough talent and nihilism, it seems this kind of man has it all.
All of a sudden, Katsuya notices his brother and calls his name. Tatsuya takes advantage of this diversion and tells the group to go. Maya and the others start running in confusion while the guards simultaneously start firing their weapons.

>Heh. No matter what road any of you takes, you can't run away from your fate. You know that, don't you, Singularity Boy...?

Singularity. Tatsuya understands his words. He is manipulated by -him- as well.

>Then tell -him-...I'll protect Maya and everyone!

Kandori knows more about Tatsuya and -him- than Sudou. -Singularity-. That detestable word, what conclusion will it lead to?

>Telling him won't amount to anything. I'll listen, like this.

The Persona Kandori summons is clearly -his- avatar. Both of them have suppressed the presence of their Persona; Tatsuya only noticed his opponent's when it appeared in front of his eyes. Anger makes his blood boil, hatred can't make his body stand still.

>Tell me, have you ever thought why the endless moon you are pursuing shines so beautifully?

Burning.

>It's not because it reflects the light of sun. It's because darkness conceals it. The deeper darkness is, the brighter light shines.

Field of vision getting narrower.

>At any rate, Amano Maya will fall into darkness. And you too will become a black sun.

With a shout, Tatsuya lunges at him. Kandori praises his skills; he is still young, however, and it shows. Tatsuya jumps again, aiming for his neck, but it only takes Kandori a graceful half step to avoid him.
Pointing his sword towards Kandori's face, Tatsuya demands to know what to do in order to bring Shiori back to normal. He will only receive one hint --

>Creation is the unification of contradictions. When two things that are hardly compatible and find themselves in conflict become one, something is born.
>What are you saying?
>You too, me too, it seems that both of us have exceeded out roles. But this is nothing to be humble about. The process is an inevitable part of the result.
>Are you telling me to go run errands!

In order to save Shiori, Tatsuya needs to find a suitable place. If he can simultaneously handle the contradictory values, that is. These are Kandori's last words before he disappears through the door, leaving Tatsuya thinking about what he's just heard.

Tatsuya finds Otsuki and Eikichi back in the research chamber. Eikichi apologises for getting caught again, but Tatsuya doesn't mind and asks him not to tell Maya and the others anything about their meeting in the research chamber. Eikichi then offers to listen to anything Tatsuya has to say if that makes him feel better and invites him to Smile Prison, where he's practising with his band, any time he wants.
Eikichi hasn't changed at all. Head still in the clouds, as narcissistic as ever, passionate and stubborn, always such a stupid guy.
Tatsuya remembers the last words Eikichi said on the Other Side. He'll definitely protect them.
The two part, a new promise between them, and Tatsuya bids him a silent farewell. They'll probably never meet again.
He then urges Otsuki to leave and assures him that he'll take care of Shiori. He can't take her to a hospital...he has to find a suitable place like Kandori said. And now he knows: the only suitable place is a certain blue room hosted by a certain long-nosed old man.

Notes and stuff!

- this part managed to be several things at the same time: I honestly wasn't expecting Shiori to be turned into a demon, for example.
- Tatsuya actually interacting with Eikichi was really interesting and sad. The way they get along even if Eikichi doesn't remember and Tatsuya knowing they'll never meet again...ugh. Wish he could have met Lisa too.
- Tatsuya losing it was a little creepy; he gives in almost completely and the descriptions are rather unsettling
- he calls Baofu an "old man"
- the sin the NWO wants to remove is the original sin; no, I'm not sure how this works
- when the scientist mentions Sudou and his son, he says Tatsuzou "is like" Tatsuya
- Otsuki's name is written as "Little Moon", as opposed to if's Ootsuki - "Big Moon". Not relevant at all, just thought it was funny
-on Kandori being manipulated: the text uses the same words it did for Tatsuya in the very beginning - they're "entranced" by Nyarl/shadows
- now I really want to know what's up with all those Old Ones
- Kandori is pretty badass, I'm glad EPP reconfirmed this
- speaking of which, the "Shin" in "Shinjou" is the kanji for "god", while the "jou" is the same as the one in Nanjou's name
- last but not least, nice analogy with the moon - Maya thing.

>>10072829
>>They call him the Paradox Boy in English...as I recall, he was the ... "Singularity Boy," basically. A 'singularity' is a single something that's unique or unusual (I like to think of it in terms of mathematics or physics), but 'paradox' isn't a bad substituation at all.]
Oh, thanks! I couldn't remember the official translation. I'll make sure to modify it later.

All right guys, here's the last bit before the whole how to turn Shiori back to normal story. I feel kind of bad I haven't been able to update the translations regularly, but real life stuff got the best of me. The last chunk will be pretty big and I want to post it all at the same time, so it should be done in a week at most.

No shadow, no trace

Tatsuya brings demon Shiori in front of Igor, who apologises, saying she is beyond his area of expertise: he can expel the demon's consciousness from Shiori's body and return it to the collective unconscious, but he cannot restore her own consciousness. The soul of JOKER users can be saved, depending on the degree it has been captured by the Persona, but unfortunately, Shiori's heart has been cut off from her body. There may still be a way though: the fragments of Shiori's self are scattered throughout the domain of collective unconscious known as Kadath Mandala, the place where Personae and demons sleep and the uppermost domain of the abyss Philemon and the Crawling Chaos inhabit. Tatsuya's other self, his Persona, also comes from Kadath or, in other words, the place where the image of the gods from legends is born. Persona users of old who understood the power of their dreams and could visit the world of the collective unconscious also called it the domain of visions.

At Tatsuya's renewed plea, Igor states that surprisingly many parts are needed - recognising the physical world, the perception, knowledge, memories needed to diferentiate others from oneself. The impulses and emotions, wisdom and perseverance needed to acknowledge one's inner world. Moreover, usually even integration into the self of a suppressed complex is something crucial. Heading towards Kadath, they can gather the remains of Shiori's heart in order to restore her to her true self or...Igor is interrupted by an impatient Tatsuya who wants to find out a way to reach the mandala. Igor will open the door, but he warns the boy that the mental energy of humans is now flowing in the form of shadows and Philemon's power is severely weakened.
Nevertheless, how can Tatsuya gain the same power as the Persona users who travelled to the world of the collective unconscious? He already has great talent as a Persona user. If one has enough practise, then through their dreams they'll be able to open the door to the depths of their heart; Sonomura Maki was one of these people. However, that takes time. Back then, Shiori's heart was broken into thousands of pieces that scattered throughout the realm of the collective unconscious.

But one way to save her still exists; there is someone, who, as a human, had a key to open the Final Gate which separates this world of awakening from the world of the subconscious: the legendary Persona user, master Chandraputra. The professor's Silver Key will be able to open the door to the depths of Kadath.
Still, the journey to the realm of the unconscious is a perilous one; Kadath is a world under the protection of gods and demons, of Philemon and the Crawling Chaos. The souls of the ones who travel there are constantly exposed to danger -- as soon as the demons will encounter the oportunity, they will take over his soul like they did with Shiori.
This is nothing to Tatsuya, yet Igor warns him that the master is a busy traveller through time and space, so it will take a few hours to call for him. Tatsuya will have to come back later; meanwhile, Shiori's body will be left in Igor's care.

Notes and stuff!

- this was a short one, but damn I feel like we got quite a lot of information
- I admit I used Kadath because it looked better than Kadas, but holy shit http://www.yog-sothoth.com/wiki/index.php/Pursuit_to_Kadath
- the Japanese term for "impulses" was the one used in psychoanalysis
- the one for wisdom can also be translated as "prajna" and the one for perseverance is the ability of the common man to understand Buddhist teachings (just...thought it was neat)
- Randolph Carter is indeed mentioned later
- Chandraputra is called an equivalent to master/teacher/maître, so I first used "professor", then changed it to "master". Just noticed I forgot a professor in the last one, so oops.

>>10330014
>Holy shit, are they talking about the Dreamlands?

I guess we'll see later? The later events do seem to have a lot of entities from the stories. I think I should really start to read more Lovecraft.

TUNE IN