Shin Megami Tensei: Dark Phantom

Returning Favor

[The Velvet Room]
[?:?? ?M]
[July 2020]

(The Velvet Room. As quiet as it can usually be with its sporadic visits of its guests, today has become unusual. The tension of the room is uniquely foreboding, fostering a sense of a very mixed implication. Igor, sitting by his desk with his hands clasped, has his eyes closed as he senses the unusual feeling. Lavenza too senses it. She looks around the room, her eyes filled with confusion as she tries to grapple with the dilemma.)

Lavenza: Igor.... this.... strange feeling.... Do you notice it?

Igor: Yes. I do.

Lavenza: It's as if..... The Trickster is no longer within our reach and yet..... I can still sense he is there.

Igor: It is quite an extraordinary phenomenon. It's almost close to a guest being at peril.

Lavenza: And yet the Trickster is certainly is.... but he also feels as if his conditions are closely normal. It seems as if in his heart, there is a gap between life and death. It's as if..... he has no control and yet his presence remains.

Igor: Well articulate, Lavenza. Perhaps it is so.

Lavenza: It is not in our place to intervene, but.... deep beneath my heart..... I wanted to help him.

Igor: Fear not. Before your time around, I have experienced similar setbacks before.

Lavenza: And how did you assessed them?

Igor: Faith. Like all of our previous guests, I had faith in them. Their ability to be resilient and prevail already speaks volumes. After all, those bounded by our contract never fail to exceed my expectations.

Lavenza: I.... understand. Yes, I too had faith in him when he and his comrades confronted the very threat that set the stage of his fate. Perhaps I'll hold on to it until it is over. If his chances are unlikely..... then whoever is out there for him..... I implore them to lend their hands.

[August 5 2020, Wednesday]
[At a highway leading to Yamagata]
[1:13 AM]

(The yellow-striped van runs through the highway that is almost barren. A handful of the Phantom Thieves are awake, with the worrying thought of Ren clouding over their minds as they harbor a sense of determination in what lies ahead. Meanwhile Akechi is asleep as Maruki's eyes are fixed on the road.)

Ryuji: *yaaawn* Damn, at this point we're just taking road trips...

Makoto: Necessary, road trips.