Rui and some of the others quickly discussed what they were going to do, and not a moment later Rui addressed the rest of the persona users.
"We're going to head on in," He said, and, without a word more, stepped into the mirror world. Sato followed suit, going through the tall mirror. Immediately after entering, he could already feel the familiar pressure of the mirror world. It dug into him, and he wasn't sure if it was a physical or mental heaviness.
Without Megumi with them, they had to rely on Ayano to navigate them. Sato was skeptical about having someone so new to it take the reigns so soon, but part of being a team was having faith in each other. She summoned her persona, the ethereal flames not failing to impress Sato. More importantly, Ayano located both Kami and another as well. To his surprise, she listed Alexai as being the other presence. Could he be the victim? Of all people, Sato didn't expect him to be kidnapped. "He's in my class," Sato concurred, nodding to what Kotori and Akane said.
It only took Ayano an impressive few seconds to get directions to Alexai's dungeon. As the group made their way there, Sato considered Ayano's innate talent as a navigator. Megumi seemed nowhere near Ayano's level of ability. Did Megumi have something to make up for that relative weakness, or was she just inherently worse? Sato was distracted from his train of thought when they approached their destination. Gothic architecture rose above dull neon colors, bright enough to be obnoxious yet restrained in nature. A banner was strung up, with the name "Crypt of Hopes and Dreams" on it. If this dungeon was like anyone else's, there was some kind of meaning to it all. Sato tried to think back on any kind of hints as to what it meant, but he came up blank. He'd only met the dude once or twice, and even then he seemed to have the emotion of a watermelon.
Biceps the size of watermelons as well. They caught up with Kami, who told the group what he'd seen before they got there. Sato was once again chosen to enter the dungeon out of the limited party they had. Sato took a deep breath, inhaling the weirdly lacking scent of the mirror world.
Entering the first floor, Sato quickly found out the name was rather literal. Tombs filled the interior, each one holding sets of items. Candles lit the crypt, and it was all pretty eerie. Walking down the halls, they soon came up to a clearing. Expecting some random shadows ambushing them, Sato was surprised to see Alexai standing before someone who looked just like him... His shadow, no doubt. Kami had said the dungeon had only just formed, so maybe that was why it was such a short trek. They only watched as the two Alexais begun their back and forth, the shadow bringing out hurtful exaggerations and demons better left secret. Even with barely knowing the guy, the shadow's words stung Sato. Cringing from the rage the tall man had, Sato and the group stayed silent as Alexai uttered that sentence.
Sato took a step back as the shadow transmogrified into a bloody monolith with blades sticking out of it, lashing out with one final threat. A masculine figure stood on top of it, a sword through the monolith's midsection pointing at a feminine figure. It didn't take a genius to get the symbolism. Sato was barely prepared when the shadow threw blades from its back at the party. He and Rui split to the side to avoid the attack, while Akane shielded herself and Kotori with her persona.
"It seems to have trouble turning, try and get onto the flanks," Rui ordered. Sato followed suit, and as he dashed to the side he watched as Akane tried to retaliate, the attack almost seeming to work. It was only after a few moments did a molten shade of red reveal that she was merely striking some kind of shield. A dome around the shadow. Rui attacked with a mudo from the back, turning around to face Rui. He avoided the attack instinctively, repelling Akane from the side as well.
Sato got caught up in watching the others that he neglected to watch himself. He'd slowed down unconsciously, and was too far from the shadow's side to be able to avoid any attacks. The boy made a mad dash to get away from it, but a rain of blades halted him. He skidded right to a stop just before the bulk of the shot, but he still felt several of the swords ripping through his flesh, knocking him away. The wall caught Sato, slamming to the ground. The pain was worse than anything he'd felt before, an testament to his sheltered upbringing. Looking up, Sato looked through his disheveled bangs to see a rush of steam coming out of it's back. That had to mean it was cooling down. What was the trick? Did they have to overheat it somehow?
A warm light suddenly enveloped Sato, a majority of his wounds disappearing and the pain subsiding. He looked over to Kotori to see her persona casting a healing spell over the party. His energy restored, Sato leaped back to his feet, his now partially ripped clothes a reminder to stay cautious. Everyone remained cautious, hesitant to try to attack lest it counter-attack like it just had. Akane had the right idea, as she summoned her persona to cast a defensive spell on herself.
He could do one better than that. Sato summoned his persona, Chronos appeared before him. "Marakukaja!" With a flashy swing of the scythe, shields of light appeared around the whole party. It wouldn't stop against anything strong, but it would definitely help. Sato dismissed his persona, making sure he kept a low-profile at the shadow's flank. He braced himself to make any kind of attack or movement. If any of them figured out some kind of opening, Sato had to be ready to capitalize on it.
