Beliefs Have Consequences

“Do you remember what you once thought…not so long ago?” I muttered quietly to myself, still desperately trying to figure out what the Being meant. No definitive answer popped into my head. I was left stranded, having no choice but to remain silent.

What confused me even more was the fact that the Being had singled me out, just as it had at the exit of the cave. Did this mean something? Was it that the Being preferred to torment me? Or, more likely, the Being knew I was more vulnerable to its deceptive and harsh games, and so he played with me instead of Ren.

And as I had thought before, there were too many things this could mean. Thinking any longer was pointless. I had to get to the bottom of what the Being was implying.

“I don’t understand what you’re getting at! Please, tell me what you mean. Whatever you throw our way, we will be sure to overcome the challenge.”

The Being remained still, and let out a low, mocking laugh.

He began to talk, slowly floating past both Ren and me. “Come with me, and I shall show you what I mean. If you refuse, then you both shall die here, and the game will be over. Therefore, your brother will remain dead…and you will not return to the other world.”

Ren and I grunted, rooted in place, because the moment we moved, all we would want to do was attack the Being.

My self-restraint, however, was quick to fail. As the Being left my eyesight, I frantically turned to lay my eyes upon it, reaching out for its arm, attempting to grasp it tightly.

Nothing happened.

My hand moved through the Being, feeling nothing as it closed and grabbed the air in front of me — no bones, no flesh, not even its cloak graced the senses of my hand. What the hell was this thing?

A sudden catch in my throat made me splutter and cough as I watched the Being continue forward, ignoring my act of defiance.

“Consider this your last warning,” the Being uttered.

With that, Ren started to follow, ushering me with his left hand to go with him. “Come on, Taro, we don’t want to be left behind. This is our only chance. Though everything has changed, we can’t complete the game and save Junpei if we stay here.”

There was nothing that could possibly be said to Ren in resistance, so I conformed. We lightly jogged to catch up with the Being, it not even bothering to turn and ensure we were following it.

“But make sure to look out for more traps. I feel we might come across some again. And don’t forget about the final boss. There’s still a chance he makes a spontaneous appearance; he could jump out of nowhere and kill one of us with ease.”

They were both good observations by Ren. However, I didn’t particularly agree with either. I knew the Being had something cunning and deceitful up his sleeve; something far more sly than walking us into traps like before.

As we stepped into the crimson-lit room, Ren’s observations were proven wrong. My hunch, however, was confirmed in such an unpredictable way that it forced me to contemplate the nature of the Being more deeply than ever before. What was revealed to us told me that the room wasn’t originally red; nor was the red on the walls paint.

It was blood.

There, hanging against one of the walls, held up by chains which pulled its arms to the top corners of the room, rested the final boss — its lower body completely missing.

Blood no longer dripped from its body, but it had stained the floor beneath it, creating a ghastly and dry puddle.

I glanced over at Ren, his face tightening in fear, his eyes widening. Strangely, I wasn’t overly terrified like Ren. I was more confused than anything else. I couldn’t quite grasp why the Being had done such a thing. If the Being had created this world, what was its purpose in doing something like this?

I nervously laughed after believing I had found the answer.

It was likely the Being had done this to send some sort of message to us. In a way, the Being must’ve been flexing its muscles, while sending a message, reminding us that its existence was absolute, and we could do nothing to destroy it.

Who knew even something like the Being cared what others thought of it?

Perhaps it was more human than I had originally thought. Or perhaps it understood humans so well it knew exactly how to scare them. After all, that could've been why the Being knew how to tempt me with a new life.

And perhaps I should have realised sooner — the Being’s offer to resurrect our brother revealed just how deeply it understood the lengths humans would go for family.

“Why—Why did you do that to the final boss? I thought it was our duty to fight him,” Ren stammered.

The Being didn’t respond again, opting to move closer and closer to wherever he was leading us.

We walked to the end of the room, once again being faced with a pair of massive double-doors, their imposing presence hinting that whatever lay beyond was significant.

The Being raised both of his arms and flung them to the side, the double-doors immediately imitating his movements and swinging open, crashing against the walls to their sides. A forceful gust of dusty wind met our eyes, coercing us to rapidly turn away and protect our eyes. We remained looking away until it had faded, later turning and seeing that the Being had already stepped outside and beyond the doors.

Finally, it went still. Then it turned, lifting a bony finger whose tip wagged in a slow, deliberate arc, urging us toward it.

We followed its command and stepped outside.

The winds were harsh, beating our eyes and distorting our hair as we tried to get closer to the Being. Everywhere was dark; dark enough to fear what could have been lurking around us, but not so dark that we couldn’t see what was nearby.

We were high in the clouds, lightning bolts and thunderous slams popping around us at almost every second that passed.

A wide, clear, concrete path lay before our feet. The Being stood at what appeared to be the end.

Upon reaching it, there was no doubt it was the edge. Both of us peered over the edge, glancing down at what lay below.

Darkness.

Whatever was there, we had no chance of knowing. Was it a pit? A portal to an alternate reality, perhaps? It could’ve been anything.

The twisted dark mirrored the relentless, unseen dangers that had haunted us since our arrival in this world.

I tried to read the Being, attempting to predict what the darkness meant. “We’re ready for whatever comes from that pool of darkness. My brother and I will defeat anything you throw at us.”

“Coming from the pool of darkness?” The Being exclaimed confusedly. “You seem to have got it all wrong.”

I shouted out of desperation once again; all of this confusion and lack of comprehension was starting to get to me a bit too much.

“Just tell us what’s going on!”

“A moment ago…I asked if you remembered something you had thought not so long ago. Do you remember it now?” The Being responded in its calm tone.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Just—”

Ren suddenly butt in, taking charge for the first time in a while, sounding more wound up than I did. “If you’ve brought us here to fight us, then you’ll have to get through me first. If that’s the case, then let’s just get on with it. I’m tired of waiting.”

The Being let out another laugh. More screechy and strange this time, however. “There would be no fun in that.”

The Being then turned once again and pointed right at me. “This ending is predicated on your brother's ignorant beliefs.”

Ren achingly asked me what he meant by that, but I didn’t have an answer. I began to weep a little, doing my best to convince him that I really didn’t know what the Being was talking about. Ren continued to plead, but I could only tell the truth, and that unsettled Ren all the more.

The Being had clearly had enough watching us go back and forth, stepping in and ending the mystery that imprisoned our minds.

“I shall settle your nerves…but only for a moment. Stop bickering, and listen carefully, so I can tell you the bargain we must settle.”

Ren and I immediately ended our argument, turning our attention to the Being.

Another bargain? I thought. Not another one. This could only mean something notorious was coming.

“Player,” it pointed at me again. “The day before I appeared in front of you…you thought about something, didn’t you? About what you wanted to do to the person who killed your brother.”

“What’s it talking about, Taro?”

I didn’t move. I ignored Ren, instead gritting my teeth and staring intently at the Being. I couldn’t believe it. How did it invade my mind without me knowing? How did it know what I was thinking that day?

The Being continued after ushering Ren to be quiet. “You desired that the person who killed your brother be killed, didn’t you?”

I worryingly nodded, failing to say anything but letting out a raucous choke.

“Well, you have your brother to thank,” the Being quickly turned its attention to Ren before averting back to me. “The end here, therefore, conforms to your belief, meaning it should be to your liking…as it is what you wish upon others.”

I knew where this was going, and could only close my eyes and wish the Being’s words took another path.

They didn’t.

It spoke the words I dreaded most.

“An eye for an eye…or, rather…a life…for a life.”