::The Shadow Forge:: [Floor ???]

[Arena Emperor]

~::The Tower of Babel - Shadow Forge [Floor ???]::~

Throughout the Tower of Babel rest floors which reflect the darkness inside of humanity...when humans venture within, their shadows come out to play, changing the very face of certain levels within into the dungeon of their nightmares, putting on display that which they don't want others to see. But for those whose shadows have already taken control, whose darkness rules and acts according to its own design, there are unique floors entirely under their command, bending to their will as they seek to ascend to the top of the Tower.

There is an undisclosed Floor somewhere in the Tower that is rarely open to access, tucked away in one of the hidden corners of the great Tower, and it is in this location that the great Shadow Forge tended by Raiden and the Black Messengers is located. Birthed from the Television World and preserved within the Tower of Vanity, it continues to burn with an incandescent glow and forge the steel and armor which has become the deadly hallmark of the Messengers' ranks. Much of the level appears similar to the Abandoned Weapons Factory, a nostalgic throwback to Raiden's old den...and surely if you find this level you will meet him there, along with all of his deadly creations of steel and shadow...

...

Here is the Shadow Forge, where iron and shadows converge into impenetrable armor...and outfit the enemies that seek to subdue humanity to their Lord's will. Do not enter unless you are ready for anything....

 

[Great Ryoman!]

Raiden, The Wicked One



"Welcome...to my abode." Raiden flexed his claws as he finished dragging the laggard I.Teamer behind him, thrusting his other hand forward to force Kensu to his feet a few steps in front of him. The room was dark, with walls that looked like steel save for black spots here or there that leaked with an even darker fluid that ran into pools on the floor...a dismal place with little to offer to it's new guest, and no furnishings by design. That made the table in the middle, covered in burns and charred blood, all the more poignant then...and across one end ran a bar with two holes in it, much like medieval stocks. At it's feet lay tools of all variety, some recognizable and surprisingly complex, others wholly foreign to the human world...and some of simple, rustic origins. A hacksaw lay amongst them, stained red from past...use.

"The facilities outside are much nicer, but I assure you neither you nor your friends will ever see my factory in action. The things being created out there...the machines I've developed, for ultimately crushing your foolish little party...are more than enough to crush every insignificant little insect who tries to enter, I assure you. Or who hopes to escape." Raiden folded his arms, beaming with confidence as he challenged Kensu's flight or fight instincts, taunting him to make a move to try and reach freedom once more. Even if he wanted to, this entire area was in the palm of his hand. To squeeze Kensu's life within until it had been crushed would be nothing...but he hadn't brought him here for annihilation. He'd brought him here to be destroyed, not as a body...but a a person. "Look. Place your arms in there...and I won't hurt you for now. I'll reserve your punishment until after I've shredded every last glimmer of hope Soji and his merry little band brings. Or...I can simply amuse myself in the meantime. I might even allow a little escape attempt." Raiden motioned towards the device in the center of the bleak room, the prison within the prison...then folded his arms, nodding once again over his shoulder, towards the sealed door. "There's the door. Run outside, and I might even give you a head start before I start searching. But I warn you...you won't like what happens when I count to ten." Lightning crackled around Raiden's body, a reminder of how the I.Teamer had gotten there. "Well then?"

 

[Zorc James]

Yasumoto KENSU
Bloods in the Rising Sun

With having been dropped off in a random place that he had no clue where it was, Kensu was quite paranoid. It reminded him slightly of his time back in America. And before he got away. With sweat pouring down his face, he saw his captor give him two options, to either give up his fate or to fight and see if he could escape. Since he had more then enough belief in himself that he could escape, he bolted towards the door. As he reached for his pocket, he went to pull out a phone to only realize that he phone was fried, like his father's phone that he had left at home And as Kensu neared the door, he wished he was sill at home too.

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[Great Ryoman!]

Raiden, The Wicked One



"Aw, not having fun?" Raiden's hand wrapped around Kensu's, squeezing the fingers inside with a crushing force as the phone he'd pulled out snapped and broke under the pressure, shards of plastic and metal digging into Kensu's flesh and mingling with the fresh blood. "Did you seriously think someone as weak as you could give me the run around? You're just a dog without a bark or bite, useless even to your own friends. Just hear it for yourself." Throughout the room the voice of Soji began to echo, a static filled sound that seemed to emerge from twisted speakers that existed everywhere around them, yet had no definable source. "No, I don't think we can challenge Babel yet. Maybe with just a handful of people I trust; Yosuke, Yukiko, Faust or Zeo...but the others don't have a chance. Guys like Kensu, they're not prepared for the horrors Hetero and Raiden can unleash. Truth is, they may never be." As the voices finished reciting the words, a round of laughter came from the walls, and the last few words repeated themselves. That he may never be. That he never would be ready. And in kindness Raiden's other hand shot out and wrapped metallic claws around Kensu's neck, digging beneath the skin as he lifted him in the air, carried him like a paperweight and slammed him on the table in the center again, returning them to the beginning.

"I don't know, sounds like your friends think pretty lowly of you. Maybe we should just forget about them coming for you and skip right to the main event, shall we?" Raiden turned his head and glanced into the shadows, a smile spreading across his face as his eyes flickered with an idea and he turned the golden orbs back around to the captured teenager. "What? Oooh, don't tell me, you want to listen some more huh? It's not really good to go peaking into your teammates private thoughts though. Some of them may be hiding a fair amount of mmm....paranoia? You might be surprised what wretched things are crawling around in their hearts, cobbled together by nothing but rumors and intuition."

"Soji's called another meeting. Jeez, looks like he's inviting everyone...even Kensu. Maybe I'll say I have to look after Kusuri for the time being." The voice of the effeminate Persona User Faust began to crowd the room, while Raiden forced one of Kensu's arms into the bonds he'd seen before. The cables began tying together without Raiden ever lifting a finger, as if the Shadows in the tower intended to drag Kensu in and make him one of them all on their own. This was an environment that was hostile to the person's very being, and now he was in the heart of the tower, where such changes took place...where men became Shadows, and hearts began to break. "I feel like every time we're in the same room, he can't stop looking at her. Does he know about her...condition? No, maybe he doesn't even care about that. She's the love of my life, and if he wants to interfere, there's no way I'm going to team up with a pig like him again." As the voice continued, Raiden turned and pulled his sword from it's sheathe, throwing the weapon at the corner of the room. Shrill shrieks filled the room, painful to the ears, as whatever had been relaying the voices shrunk into the abyss of people's hearts and disappeared.

"That's enough! He's my guest while he's here. Anyone who feels like sharing what his...'friends' have to say about him again, will face my wrath one by one. After all, we're going to be new comrades in arms, isn't that right Kensu?" Raiden spread his arms taunting the other creatures to attack, calling to Kensu over his shoulder. Despite being strapped down by one arm, the rest of Kensu was still free. If he wanted to struggle...if he wanted to continue fighting back, to try to strike Raiden when he'd let his guard down, now might be the time. "But first, we're going to need you to make a little...sacrifice. A token of devotion, to make us comrades in blood as much as in name. But our blood's already been filled with the dark power of this tower. So if you're going to be the same..." Raiden glanced over his shoulder, giving a simply sinister grin. "You're going to have to undergo a little change."

Regardless of Kensu's choice, while his attention was drawn by the theatrics of Raiden, standing dauntingly in the middle of the room...the ropes of the table suddenly came to life, squeezing and crushing the arm that had been trapped within, grinding it with the intention of reducing it to meal...and out from every corner shot strings like steel fibers, attempting to wrap Kensu's remaining limbs, and drag him down to become a helpless pawn.

"I doubt his Persona will ever be as strong as my Yidhra. He'd just be a burden anyways...perhaps we should continue to go to the tower in secret, and hide our ventures from him. For his sake..."

 

[Zorc James]

Yasumoto KENSU
Bloods in the Rising Sun

As Kensu felt the sharp pain of his captor grabbing his arm, crushing his phone in his own hand with the shards of it splintering into his hand. As he stunted his own screams of pain, he heard the echos of his own teammates degrading him. As Raiden had told whatever whatever was exuding the voices to silence themselves, he then strapped Kensu in a weird contraption that he wholeheartedly wished not to be in. But in his position, he was at the mercy of his captor's choices, and it seemed his captor had some plans for him. And with it, the arms keeping him still became alive as they started to crush and pulverize his own arms, the pain unlike anything he wished to ever know. It distracted him from any concentration he might of had to ignore the voices around as they had started back up again. And from the unbearable pain, Kensu screamed out in pain. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! FUUUUUCK!" Though he did speak words, they were barely audiable to him as the voices that played back and the crunching of his bones and flesh spoke louder then his own voice or this own thoughts.

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[Necromonium]

Suigetsu Mizuiro And Yoshida Rinku
And even still, as Kensu was subject to part of his disarm-ent, another figure emerged, suddenly gripping his eyes, and forcing them open.
"Now now now...It's impolite to scream like that." A taunting, almost sweetly voice cooed to him. "Such screams will ruin this complexion. Allow me to...Help with the pain."
And, as Kensu would be forced to stare up at the silver haired boy, he pulled out a small pouch. One had a few moments to wonder just what was in it, before he quickly upturned the bag, starting to Pour Sparkling, Burning Glitter in the boy's eyes, likely blinding him for a time, but making those eyes of his really sparkle.
'Now now...You need to be a bit nicer about these, Yoshida." another voice called, ambiguous. "Poor thing doesn't deserve that much....."
A thought quickly counteracted, by a sharp pain in Kensu's other shoulder, as Suigetsu's own blade started to dig into him. It wasn't a clean cut...by any means. and, as Suigetsu pulled back, a grin could almost be felt coming from his own twisted expression.
"Whoops....Didn't swing hard enough." Suigetsu's voice called, as Kensu would be subjected to a Myriad of other slashes....some of them starting to feel wetter than others after so long.
After several agonizing, pounding, and downright sadistic slashes....The only sensation that Kensu would be feeling would be of a tired limb finally giving up the battle...and hearing a sickening thud on the ground.
"There we go...All better."

 

[Zorc James]

Yasumoto KENSU
Bloods in the Rising Sun

As Kensu was already distracted by the pain of his one arm being crushed by the mechanical menace, he did not notice the other people arriving. And with his surprise of other people, he could barely make out what they said. But as the one had opened his eyes, everything then went dark as his eyes were being filled with burning glitter. He would try to rub them out, if he had any free limbs to even attempt such a feat. And with the temporary blindness that was cast over him by the glitter obstructed him from the sharp pain in his other arm as the other person began to hack at his arm. And with it, Kensu's screams started up again. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!" Slowly, with each hack, blood spurted out from the other wound as well as Kensu's screams sounding less of a human being and more of an animal in dire pain. And at this point, all Kensu could think of is his wishes of it all to stop. And the pain in his one arm did stop, as it had fallen off from the body in the messily chops that had carved into it.

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[Great Ryoman!]

Raiden, The Wicked One



"Having that perv hang around Junes all the time? What a laugh! He probably scares off customers, hanging around leering at people." The voice of Yosuke taunted the I.Teamer from the darkness, the supposed inner thoughts of his teammates the only thing to break the stifling silence now. For a while Kensu had faced his fair share off horror, but for a while now the room had been absent of all Messengers, a place for the h-armless Persona User to wait. And in the room, he had nothing to do except reflect, reflect on what the Orochi had told him were his teammate's doubts unintentionally leaking out.

"Senpai says Kensu's alright, but I know from experience providing support...I think he's definitely holding back. If Senpai gets hurt because of him, I'll never forgive him!" The distinct voice of their group's Idol shouted, a puff of frustration emerging.

"It must be painful, hearing the things your teammates don't want to tell you. That they don't trust you...that they think you're worthless. That's what your friendships are. People who use you for your value, and yet mock your shortcomings with baited breath. And they merely use one side of the coin to justify they're crusade. 'Friendship'...a concept not mutual with 'trust'. Now then." Raiden appeared from the shadows, returning to the room and approaching the table. As he came near he lifted the bandages from Kensu's side, making sure the Investigation Team member was by no means dead. "In this world, there are many times where fury and selfishness can save you. By accepting the truth, that you yearn for something, you obtain your Persona...but we're merely the other side of the coin. Don't yearn for power...take it. By living only by your honest desires, what you seek becomes the truth. So you see, Shadows are no different...it's all a matter of principle." While Raiden distracted Kensu with words, he reached down towards the side of the table, towards the thing he'd brought back with him. A masterpiece of this world...and a present for Kensu.

"Here, I've brought you something. I think you'll appreciate the thought I went through in picking your gift..." Raiden stood up, holding his hand above Kensu...and there, in his hand, he dangled the other cellphone that Kensu had held on to with such appreciation. When he'd realized Kensu had two, Raiden had spent little time wondering what it was for, of course. Sentimentality? A momento? Some other token feeling, the type that the Wicked One so enjoyed wrangling in and crushing beneath his vice grip. "I thought about giving it back to you, for your induction ceremony to the team. But you don't seem to have taken a liking to our world yet...I wonder why it is. Do you know the root of your feelings for this phone? The emotions that go into it?" Raiden stood, turning his back to Kensu and taking a few steps away as he placed metallic fingers to the device. His other hand moved to the side as his fingers snapped, and despite the focus of Raiden's attention on the phone, a Shadow moved at the side of the table, slithering up the table and latching on to Kensu's shoulder suddenly.

"It's not affection. At least, it's not nearly as innocent as you make others believe. You keep this phone on you, as reminder of the things you want to take back. Yes, you care about your past...but you want it back. The things that were taken from you, you had no control over. Because that's how their world works!" Raiden raised his voice, turning to hold the phone out towards Kensu. Meanwhile the Shadow that had latched on to him, the true gift Raiden carried when he walked into the room, began to separate and twist together here or there like interwoven threads, binding themselves to Kensu's arms. They folded into place here or there, overlapping and turning solid like concrete, stretching outwards away from the young man as they jerked away from the pivot, the place where they attached to his wounds, as if attempting to escape the transformation."You hate the things you had no say in, and we can change that. People like Soji want the world to continue spinning as if your...father, was simply another page in it's book, to be ripped out and thrown away. But you can have the tools to decide...if you want to change the world. If you want to change the future. The past. Shadows can move this world in any direction they please. Our Personas could never do any such thing." The cords seemed to be taking shape around Kensu, a terrible shriek emerging as they lunged this way and that, as if alive...as if attempting to escape. And all the while, they were beginning to take a familiar shape, that of two extremely damaged limbs.

Raiden, though, still seemed to care very little. His grip on the phone shifted, as he slid it out from his palm and now held it in his razor-sharp fingertips. The sound of metal scraping plastic was clear, a sign of the tension he was putting on it. "Being human means nothing but feeling pain and suffering! Your Shadow has power over the very principle of life and death! You are broken! But if you accept your need to feel, and your need for desire...you can fix yourself. You can come back from anything! If you don't want me to take this phone from you, then take it!" Raiden glared at Kensu with a look that exuded certain defeat, the entire room becoming oppressive with a palpable aura, as the shadows taunted and snickered at Kensu's predicament. To them, he was a human...he was their opposite, and they wanted to see his demise. If he remained as he was now, he was helpless. He. was. Helpless. "REACH OUT AND TAKE IT!" Raiden shouted, even as the steely fibers formed into five distinct threads, stretching towards the device.

"That Kensu? A total p***y." ~Kanji Tatsumi, Circa 2013.

 

[Zorc James]

Yasumoto KENSU
Bloods in the Rising Sun

As Kensu had been stuck in the room that his captor had left him in, the only thing that would break the silence that deafened even the slightest thought in his head were the doubts his teammates had about him. Each surge of pain held Kensu unable to think of anything else as he was kept prisoner. As the one who had kidnapped him had returned, he was none too happy to see his return. As he had started to hear him drone on aabout things, Kensu wished he could spit on Raiden, but his throat was too dry to do such a thing and even if it weren't, it wouldn't be the best of action. But once he said he had something for him, he grew worrisome. But his worry was quickly answered as he had saw a phone, and to Kensu it immediately brought a reaction to him. "GIVE ME THAT BACK!!!" Kensu screamed out, giving no cares to the moment of speaking the native language of where he was right now, and tried to reach for the phone that his captor dangled in front of him, Kensu unable to reach for it due to his arms already being gone, stripped from his body. "GIVE ME BACK THAT PHONE!" Kensu screamed again, his dry, scratchy throat barely giving his words the audibility that he wanted. His focus was on the phone, attracted by it, that he did not notice the shadows latching onto him, slowly turning into arms that he could use for his current goal. As the limbs slowly formed threads, ones oddly shaped similar to fingers, Kensu gave one last push for his father's phone that Raiden dangled in front of him. And then, his "present" did touch the phone.

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[Great Ryoman!]

Raiden, The Wicked One





"Ah. So there was still a spark of it left in you after all." Raiden didn't give people what they wanted. Not even those who called themselves loyal to him. When Kensu wanted the phone, he mind as well have been screaming into the abyss...but there was an old saying. 'When you look into the abyss, the abyss looks back'. Kensu had wanted the phone...with all his heart. And the dark parts that the Investigation Team tried to force Kensu to deny had responded. His Shadow moved those around him, and his new 'limbs' had reached out for the device that he now clung to with such ferocity. "The glimmering darkness of your soul. Without it, they never would have responded to you." Raiden motioned to the arms, now obey Kensu's thoughts as naturally as the old ones. "Shadows beget Shadows. If you were truly willing to overcome your dark heart...to become a beacon of 'light' like your friend Soji...then your new arms would have remained as lifeless as the last. But because you are selfish...because you wanted this phone enough to do anything to get it back, you have the power you sought. That is our gift. A Persona will only bind you. Our power is liberating."

The mockery of friendship that Soji and his friends had offered Kensu was absent here. In it's place, Raiden offered reason and a cold explanation of the truth that was his Forge's power. If one were to ask how honest the Wicked One was, this testament to his humble true self would surely satisfy them. But the gift that Raiden had offered Kensu was unfinished, and now that he knew that it was one he was capable of putting to use, it was his duty to give Kensu the finished product. Raiden's hand shot out and gripped Kensu's chest, forcing him to the table again as his other forced the left arm down into a lock, and then the right. Kensu was trapped once more. "And so I will finish your liberation. But first, I need to finish my work. These are but the bones of my newest creation, and I must still add the meat and the flesh. The process can be...painful. But when it's done, your strength will be worthy of a servant baptized in shadow." Although Raiden had offered Kensu hope...had shown him that there was power to be gained, the harsh reality of the Messengers came forward again. To build Kensu, they had first destroyed him. And now, to make him greater, he would have to endure suffering...but whether Kensu's spirit would see this new strength as worth the pain, or be destroyed by it, was left to the individual. Raiden slowly sneered as he raised his hammer, and brought the tool down with full, inhumane strength towards Investigation Team member's arm. He had faith in his young protege yet.

"The Shadows cling to most humans easily, but those touched by the power of 'Persona' are more resilient...as if coated in poison. So you see, Seta's lies have made it necessary to craft you upon the Shadow Forge. It's his fault you touched that hypocritical power, that you must be reforged...but I can give you this power. In spite of your Persona, I can allow you to touch again. But if you continue to resist your Shadow, they may lose all their strength once more. That's what Seta will want...to leave you powerless. At his mercy. He'll call you 'friend' and force you to depend on him...he'll tell you to stop using your power, while secretly waiting for you to fade into obscurity. If you want to be free...to choose for yourself...then you have only one choice when you leave here." How much Kensu could hear over the sound of the hammer and the sensation of it's repetitious beats was debatable, but Raiden still seemed confident in his listening. "Find Soji Seta. Ask for his help if you're so inclined. And when he tells you to rest...to let him find us, so he can be the hero his inner self so desperately desires...you will realize just how unimportant your assistance is to the 'great leader'. How expendable you are, because he has already gathered a dozen of you 'Investigation Team members', and each of their powers is interchangeable with the last. Someone like you, someone he chooses to see as 'dangerous', will be sidelined until you eventually become irrelevant to him. And then, you will understand what you need to do, when you meet him. When you leave here, you will kill him. Because if you don't, he will continue to belittle all that you value...he will leave you powerless."

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Raiden has finished forging Kensu's new Shadow Metal Arms! He is preparing to release Kensu back into the Human World...