Chapter Text
I blink my eyes open, the warmth of the sun on my face, and the softness of my friends thighs under my head. “I will keep living, so I can protect you, no matter what.” Said the blonde girl whose lap I was resting in, a cool breeze blowing her bangs across her face. “Thank you for everything.”
My eyelids grow heavy as she strokes my hair. “You’re tired, aren’t you? You can close your eyes. I will always remain here by your side.” I close my eyes, a small sigh of contentment escaping my lips as I hear familiar voices and hurried footsteps draw closer. “The others will be here soon.”
The sounds of the city slowly drift away, as I do the same. I can barely hear the cars, or the sounds of the sea nearby. I still hear the slightly mechanical voice of the girl, one of my closest friends, as I drift further and further away. “Do not worry, soon, all your friends will be here by your side.” Her voice seems to drift further and further away as I descend into slumber.
“Don’t worry, I’ll always protect you.” I hear as I fade away.
///
I stretch as I wake up, ready to begin the new day. I wince a little as I hear a few pops come from my spine as I stretch. I look at the calendar on the wall, a sad smile crossing my face as I see what day it is. March 6th. It’s officially been fifteen years since I took up this position, to be the guardian who defends humanity from Nyx, and keeps the full brunt of the Collective Unconscious from descending on humanity.
It’s also been fifteen years since I officially died, but let's not focus on that.
I walk over to the mirror, taking in my appearance. You’d never guess that I was almost 33 years old, considering I’d barely aged any these last fifteen years. “Still the same Kotone.” I mutter before I slide on my Jack Frost slippers and pull my fluffy gray bathrobe over my tank top and sleep pants. I smile at the photos I have on the mirror and the wall of my room, of my friends back in SEES, or I guess they call themselves the Shadow Operatives now. My mind lingers on the photo of Yukari I have on my mirror. ‘Though, I miss some people more than others.’ I think, a wistful smile on my face. I hear a quiet bark by my feet and look down to see the world’s most adorable shiba-inu.
“Good morning, Koro-chan. Let’s grab some coffee.” I say as I scratch between his ears, his tail going berserk as I find the sweet spot. “We’ll grab you some kibble too while I’m at it, yeah?”
I’m answered by a VERY excited “Woof!” as the pup circles my legs.
This is Koro-chan, or Koromaru. He was a member of SEES just like I was, and he passed away a few years ago from old age. From what I could see, Ken was a mess for a few months, understandably so. I was beyond surprised when I heard a knock on my door and opened it to see Philemon holding Koro-chan, asking if I’d like to have some company in my solitude.
Oh right, Philemon is basically Igor’s boss. Philemon is basically a god, but also hella vague on the specifics of it. Apparently he has a bet going on with another god from the Collective Unconscious that he doesn’t really want to share the details on. I think the gods name is Nyarnla… something. It’s very Lovecraftian, I know that much. Anyway, back to coffee.
I yawn as I walk around my small cottage, Koro-chan hot on my heels. I wander into the living room, glancing at the box tv in the corner, smiling as I remember some of the things I’ve observed in my solitude. I’ve seen the fates of those who were like me, Chosen Ones, Wild Cards, Tricksters, etc. I’ve used that TV to watch the fates of those that have come after me, and to keep tabs on those I had been close to. Plus it was really cool that I could keep up on the shows I enjoyed, and check out a lot of stuff that’s come out since I died. I can’t believe everything that’s happened in One Piece, but that’s a conversation for another time.
I remember watching a young man named Yu Narukami fight to find the truth, and solve a heinous crime. I saw his highs, his lows, and his losses. ‘I did however cheer a good bit when he and that idol, crap, what was her name? Risotto? Resort? Ris-something. Anyway, I loved seeing them get together.’ I couldn’t believe he was able to figure out the truth and solve the mystery of the serial murders in Inaba, and then, to top it off, solve the mystery of who created the midnight channel. Though that fighting tournament he ended up in when he went to visit them during Golden Week was kinda weird.
I made my way into the kitchen, laser focused on the coffee maker and bean grinder I had on the counter. Well, as laser focused as I could be considering that I was still mostly asleep and was filling Koro-chan’s bowl with kibble. I took out the bag of Le Blanc house blend beans and put them in the grinder, making sure that it was set to medium-fine as my mind began to wander again and Koro-chan started munching on his breakfast. ‘It really is pretty awesome that I can get things like this here as long as I will it.’ My mind then began to drift to the exploits of a certain group that had been based in the Yongen-Jaya part of Tokyo as the signature smell of the coffee that belonged to the home of the Trickster began to fill my nose.
I remember watching the journey of a young man who had been wrongfully accused, and given a sentence that he didn’t deserve, as he stayed in the attic of that café. I remember watching him overcome challenge after challenge in an unfair game that had been stacked against him from the start. I remember him and his friends defeating an evil, arrogant god that had imprisoned the likes of Igor, the proprietor of the Velvet room, just to have to fight and defeat another would-be god almost a month later, though that one at least seemed to care about humanity, even if his methods were wrong. ‘And then that boy Ren and his friends had to fight ANOTHER god only six months later. Kid was beating gods like they were Pokémon gyms.’ I sigh as I fill my mug with coffee and some cream and sugar before going over to the couch to enjoy the mug of life and happiness as Koro-chan followed close behind.
No sooner did I sit the mug down and Koro-chan hop onto his spot on the couch did I hear a knock at the door. ‘A visitor?’ I was a little surprised. I get them from time to time, but not very often. Usually Philemon when he’s in the mood to gossip or if he wants some coffee. I walk over to the door and open it to see Philemon standing there. I was about to greet him when I saw that he looked slightly disheveled and his right arm was covered in blood.
Needless to say I was now VERY awake.
I ushered him inside quickly. “Philemon? What happened?”
He collapsed on the chair I had next to the door, his mask appearing to sweat somewhat as he breathed heavily. “Hello Kotone, it’s lovely to see you. Is that a cup of Le Blanc’s house blend? I could certainly do with a cup. I’ve had quite a morning.”
I handed him my mug as I held out my hand, gauze, bandages, and antiseptic appearing in a cute first aid kit that had an image of Jack Frost on it. “Hold still as I bandage this.” I muttered as he took a sip and held out his arm. I quickly cut the sleeve back up to just above his elbow before I started to dab at the gash on his forearm with the antiseptic. “What the hell happened, Philemon?”
He stared off into the distance, the eyes on his mask narrowing slightly as he took a long sip of coffee. “They’ve decided it’s time to enter the endgame of our wager.” he said solemnly.
“Who has?” I asked, quickly wrapping the gauze and bandages around the wound as Koro-chan came up and put his head in Philemon’s lap.
Philemon sat the mug down before he absently scratched Koro-chan between the ears, a grim look on his face. “Nyarlathotep.”
I finish wrapping his arm before I look him in the eyes. “Right, the Lovecraftian dude. What is your wager with him anyway?”
Philemon leaned back in his chair, a sigh escaping his lips. “I am meant to be a neutral observer, living between the realms of conscious and unconscious. However, I truly believed that humanity could become enlightened beings, ones that can rise above their nature. Nyarlathotep, however, believes that humanity will not, and that they will completely and utterly destroy themselves. Our wager was supposed to probe humanity's hearts, so that we could truly see what lies inside.”
My jaw drops slightly. “The wager that you both have is literally just to see if we can be decent people or not?”
Philemon glowers at me slightly. “That’s fairly reductive, but essentially, yes. We believe that through various trials the truth of humanity would come to light. It did for those in Mikage-cho, as well as Sumaru City. The efforts of you and your friends were a huge stopping point for Nyarlathotep. For a while they believed that they had lost, thanks to your sacrifice, showing the true selflessness of humanity, but their interest was piqued during that incident in Inaba, and after what happened with Yaldabaoth, that doctor, and the Demiurge, they have deemed that the wager is still active and that they still have a chance to prove that humanity is as destructive and self sabotaging as they believe.”
“Ok, but why are you here bleeding?”
“Oh, they decided that they were going to take a much more hands on approach to showing the destructive side of humanity, and I tried to stop them but they caught me by surprise.” Philemon said, a smile splitting his face.
I couldn’t say anything. My jaw just flapped in the wind as I tried to think of a good way to call this, for all intents and purposes, god-like being, a complete and utter idiot. “You… you have got to be shi-” I was cut off as the sound of thunder echoed throughout the house, and slammed into my chest.
“What was that?!” I said as I stood up quickly, Koro-chan standing next to me, growling at the back door. I rush out onto the back porch where I would normally see my barrier blocking my small cottage from the Sea of Souls.
Instead, I see a massive black creature the size of Tokyo Tower covered in tentacles with a golden crown on its head, slamming said head into my barrier every few seconds, the thunderous echo resounding through every fiber of my being as the beast howled with every headbutt.
Philemon let a small, sad smile grace his face. “It looks like they’ve followed me. That is one form of Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos. I’m terribly sorry, but don’t worry, in the event that this happened, I made arrangements for both you and Koro-chan. I just need you to strengthen your barrier for a few moments and everything should be fine.” he said as the massive head slammed into my barrier again, this time causing cracks to spiderweb their way across.
My jaw dropped as Philemon placed his hand on the doorknob to my home, turning the door a very familiar shade of blue. “Dammit!” I yelled as I ran to the barrier in my robe and slippers, placing my hands on it and pumped it full of as much energy as I could, Koro-chan standing between my legs growling at the massive beast.
It felt like I stood there for an eternity, pouring more and more energy into the barrier, just to see cracks appear almost as soon as I fixed them. “Dammit!! All I wanted to do today was snuggle Koro-chan and watch anime! Why the hell did you have to drop this at my door?! I won’t let you put my friends in danger you bastard!!” I yelled as I poured even more energy into the barrier.
Only for Nyarlathotep, The Crawling Chaos, to rear back a final time and slam its entire body into the barrier causing it to shatter, and throw me and Koro-chan to the side from the shockwave. I sit up as quickly as I can, wiping blood from my right eye only to see the Crawling Chaos drag its body through my home.
“No…” I mutter, tears going down my face and mixing with my blood as Koro-chan whimpers. A sudden realization makes my heart drop, however. “If the barrier is gone, that means that Nyx…” I look to the side as the embodiment of the night slowly makes its way past, a large black wolf-like dog padding next to it, before the ground beneath me cracked and shattered with Koro-chan and myself falling through. I quickly pull Koro-chan close as we descend into the dark depths.
“Don’t worry boy, I’ve got you!” I whisper in his ear before I slam into something and black out.
///
I feel rain on my face, as well as a familiar dog tongue as I wake up. “...Koro-chan? where are we?” I mutter as I slowly sit up and look around, noticing that it’s currently dusk. I sit up and lean against a small wall as I look up at the building in front of me, not sure if I’m hallucinating when I read the name on the sign.
“Café Le Blanc? I’m in Tokyo?” I whisper, horror filling my entire body. “No, no, nonononono. The barrier, and Nyx…” I can feel myself begin to hyperventilate as the realization hits me.
“Ren! come quick, there’s a girl out here that needs help!” a voice from on top of the wall behind me says, but when I look to see who, all I see is a cat. I hear a door chime in front of me, and look up to see a young man with frizzy hair and glasses coming towards be before I pass out.