Eventually, Tylissa and the others encountered all the other humans that had been brought to this netherworld. Normally, Tylissa would be excited to see a whole crowd of people, but in this specific instance, she didn't know
how she should feel. Her head sank low and her smile began to fade again.
'Tyler was right. There are other people here,' mere seconds after this though came to mind, Tylissa found herself gripping the side of her head again,
That still doesn't stop this from not making any sense, though!'However, there was something different about the mass of people there. They looked they've been here before, and they looked like they were prepared to battle... which was a good thing because a battle was exactly what they all got. Monsters were coming in from all different directions and attacking the large group, only to be blown away by all sorts of spells that were being flung wildly through the air. Naturally, witnessing all this had enthralled Tylissa, as she inched closer and closer to the fray so she could get a better visual.
"Wooow. This is so cool!" Tylissa exclaimed in her excitement.
However, before she could separate herself too greatly from the others, the sound of someone being slammed to the ground caught her attention, and as she turned back around to see what had happened, she saw that a stray Shadow had managed to trip Jacob over.
"JACOB!!" Calling out his name, Tylissa rushed back towards him, but someone more capable of rescuing him had got there first.
It was the White Rabbit; the very same being that Tyler was trying to find for everyone, all in the flesh. Not only did she effortlessly kill the Shadow that had attacked Jacob from behind, but her Persona was able heal him back up to full strength.
"That was amazing. How did you...?" Tylissa was about to ask the White Rabbit how she could do all that, but the answer to that question had came before she could complete it; in the form of a Chronovoker being tossed her way. She had to drop the stuffed toucan she'd been carrying so she could have her hands free, and she'd fumbled so badly with her attempted catch that it looked more like she was playing hot potato hot potato with the Chronovoker instead of actually grasping it, but it eventually it rested in Tylissa's hand.
The White Rabbit had said that she didn't have time to properly explain how the Chronovokers would work. But for all the good that sorry excuse of a summary did, she might as well have expended that time anyway. How she expected a child of all people to successfully comprehend something anywhere
near that vague, no-one would ever know. But Tylissa... well, she tried. She opened the Chronovoker, waited for a few seconds for something to try and set in her mind, and closed it again. When that failed, she repeated those same steps. And repeated them. And repeated them. And repeated them. And repeated them once again. The pauses between each open and each close were growing shorter and shorter as desperation began to sink in on Tylissa's end, until they ultimately proved non-existent, and all the girl looked to be doing was rapidly opening and closing the Chronovoker endlessly.
"This isn't WOOOOORRRRKIIIIIIIIING!!" Tylissa screamed as she neared her breaking point.
Unfortunately, that only caught the attention of another, different looking Shadow; one of the ones that resembled monkeys. It looked over towards Tylissa and, deciding that she'd be its new target, charged in her direction and lunged at her. With her failed attempt at getting her Chronovoker to function properly, Tylissa could only shriek and raise her arm in an effort to protect her head.
...
However, before it could touch her, a pitch blackness had seemingly erupted from the Shadow, and enveloped the whole forest, the ground beneath her feet and even the whole sky. Tylissa blinked in confusion, having absolutely no idea what had just transpired.
"Hey, did any of you guys see that?" Tylissa turned to face the others, only to find they weren't there,
"Tyler? Arthur? Jacob? Anyone?!"No-one was able to answer her. Now starting to be concerned, Tylissa looked down at her Chronovoker in hopes that something
it had done might explain what was going on around her. Sure enough, its hour hand had been moving backwards at a size-ably quick pace, and the rotations that the minute hand was performing were barely registering as anything more than a blur.
"The hell is this thing doing?" Tylissa mused,
"Take me back to my friends, you stupid thing!"As if to defy her command, the Chronovoker continued with its rotations. It passed the 12 o'clock mark once. Twice. Thrice. Four times. It was only passed the 3 o'clock mark on its way to complete its final rotation that the Chronovoker showed any signs of slowing down, and even then, it still had enough momentum to effortlessly pass the 2 o'clock and 1 o'clock mark. By the time it stopped, both of its hands were on the 12 o'clock mark. Then suddenly, the sound of thunder struck, and that was enough for Tylissa to finally see something.
...
Everything beyond 200 meters of Tylissa's vision was all hazy, but she could at least identify that she was in a cemetery of sorts. Just ahead of her was what looked to be an array of human adults dressed in black, all of which were facing her left, and standing in front of a priest. And to the priest's left, Tylissa saw another group of humans carrying a coffin, and preparing to set it down. Right at the very front of the first group, Tylissa noted an elderly couple trying their best to comfort a heavily grieving girl, who had the top part of her face buried in her hands as tears leaked through her fingers. Tylissa gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth with her eyes wide open.
"I know that girl. That was... th-that was me!" Tylissa renounced to herself,
"But the only time I remember crying that much was..."As the ceremony that the priest appeared to be conducting came to its close, the two front-most pallbearers had reunited with the elderly couple, with the girl rushing towards the open arms of the female pallbearer. In an instant, every image that ever represented a human vanished, and in their place were cascading drops of rain that had pelted on Tylissa and the ground on which she stood. The coffin was no longer visible either; all that was there to mark its location was the main headstone. Another thunderclap could be heard in the distance, and with that, Tylissa sprinted towards where the headstone could be found, only to fall onto her hands and knees. She knew it. This was the funeral for the P3 Syndrome victim that was Kazie Cannon, and as her big sister, Tylissa knew the pain of losing her all too well.
"She was one of your own... was she not?""Huh?" Tylissa's eyes lit up for a second, having caught the sound of an unfamiliar voice,
"You mean my sister Kazie?""The very same," replied the strangely soothing voice,
"Tell me. How painful is it to lose one that you love?""It hurts... it hurts way too much..." tears streamed down Tylissa's cheeks as she said this. Taking the time to wipe them away, she stood up, and turned to face the owner of the voice; a lone womanly figure in a grass skirt and bare feet. The figure looked completely out of place in a graveyard setting, but then again, Tylissa wasn't one to complain.
"I was only 9 years old when Kazie died; and Kazie herself wasn't even 7 yet. When I found out that the P3 got to her, I... I..." before she could finish what she was trying to say, Tylissa found herself wailing in agony once more. Noting this, the figure's face had significantly saddened as well, realizing that the pain Tylissa must've felt was too much to describe.
"I understand your anguish," she stated solemnly,
"However, if I may correct you on something... this "P3" that you speak of does not exist. In truth, the one you loved had been targeted by a malevolent will, as have multitudes of those younger than yourself.""WHAT??!!" Tylissa exclaimed, her eyes being shot wide open,
"You mean that she didn't just simply die?! But that someone killed her?!""Yes; that is in essence what I am conveying," the figure acknowledged,
"Even as we speak, more and more lives are rendered forfeit by those from your own world, and this number will only escalate so long as this malevolent will remains unopposed. Will you allow this to continue? Or will you stand against the malevolent will and fight?"Tylissa was still shocked from the possibility that her little sister could've been killed off this entire time but, after taking a few seconds to steel her resolve, she gave her answer. There was only one suitable answer, and there'd only been one from the
start.
"Are you kidding?" Tylissa asked defiantly,
"I'd walk right up to that bastard and kick his ass if I could!""Very well; then let us forge a contract, and together, we shall enact retribution in the name of those that had fallen.""Yeah! Now we're talking!" with her mood improved, Tylissa suddenly remembered that she forgot to ask the figure something important,
"Wait, hold on. Who are you, exactly? Are you... my Persona?"In this respect, the figure simply smiled... and then her entire body began to emit a blinding light that enveloped the entire area.
"I am thou. Thou art I. From this day forth, know that I, Hi'iaka, will always be by your side..."...
Suddenly, Tylissa found herself back in reality. The Shadow that had lunged at her wasn't right in front of her anymore, but she found it again after turning around a full 180 degrees. It looked as though the Chronovoker was able to throw off its aim when it activated, causing it to overshoot completely. It growled, and was rearing to go for round two. But this time Tylissa was ready for it.
"Let's do this. Persona!" a familiar dark-skinned woman stood in front of Tylissa, staring down at the monkey Shadow with a distasteful look in her eyes. Some more monkey Shadow ran over to reinforce the first one, but that wouldn't save it from Hi'iaka's divine judgement.
"Alright then; which one of you bastards was the one that killed my little sister, huh?" Tylissa asked the Shadows angrily,
"Was it you? Or was it you?!"As Tylissa pointed to each of the Shadows, Hi'iaka casted a pillar of light underneath their feet, which effortlessly disintegrated them into black mush that would later be absorbed by the ground. Fearing for their own lives, the other Shadows quickly scurried away, leaving Tylissa to try and find more Shadows that weren't already in battle with all the others.