Persona 4: Burn Me
“You were supposed to take me away…”
Another flash, another burn to add to the collection. But she welcomed it. She welcomed the pain.
“I know…I-I’m sorry.”
“You were supposed to save me!”
Chie screamed as yet another burn scorched her body, adding to the numerous burns already marking her skin. She didn’t fight back, she didn’t say another word. She simply hung there, suspended by her wrists in chains. She panted, shaking with the agony of it all. But she didn’t beg to be released. She deserved this, and more. And more would come; her tormentor would make sure of it. Not that it was permanent. All wounds would be cured before they left this horrible word and already some of the burns were slowly being healed. But there would be more to take their place.
“You failed me…my knight in shining armor.”
Chie winced at the hatred in those words, at the sarcasm being spat out with disgust and anger. Worse yet, deep down it was all true. She had failed. She was supposed to be the protector and she had failed her one and only charge. What did that make her? In the old days, warriors who disgraced themselves ended their own lives. Would she go that far in her self-discrepancies? Perhaps not, but right now she felt that low.
She dared to look up at her tormentor, the one who burned her and hurt her. The one she had failed to save. Delicate features and dark hair, the very image of a princess in need to saving. Her eyes burned with anger and need as she stared hatefully at her failed protector. Yukiko practically burned with her anger and disappointment. Chie noted the Shadows that swirled just beyond, and she was reminded suddenly of the rules of this strange place. As long as they were careful…
Shadows were creatures of instinct. They were the darkest part of the human subconscious given form. The voices no one wanted to listen to, and it made them angry and mindless. They made this Other World dangerous and when they had first found out about this place, they very nearly turned away from the temptations it had to offer. But it was Chie who noticed it, thanks to Teddie. Shadows went berserk as humanity constantly rejected them, rejected their darker desires and whispers. Otherwise, they were rather docile.
So they let go. They cast off their own chains and opened themselves to their darkest whisperings. And they were not lost, as they had feared. They had allowed themselves to act on their deepest, darkest selves, allowed those other sides of them to manifest and take control. They found release, control. It was dangerous but it was something they desperately needed between them. So many things, good and bad, left unsaid between them. They needed those things out and in the open if they were going to survive this.
Chie and Yukiko both locked eyes with one another, the Shadows around them swirling in anticipation and eagerness. They would make up, they always did. And when they returned to the Normal World things would continue as it always had. But right now…there was only their desires in this dark, dangerous world.
Another flash, another burn to add to the collection. But she welcomed it. She welcomed the pain.
“I know…I-I’m sorry.”
“You were supposed to save me!”
Chie screamed as yet another burn scorched her body, adding to the numerous burns already marking her skin. She didn’t fight back, she didn’t say another word. She simply hung there, suspended by her wrists in chains. She panted, shaking with the agony of it all. But she didn’t beg to be released. She deserved this, and more. And more would come; her tormentor would make sure of it. Not that it was permanent. All wounds would be cured before they left this horrible word and already some of the burns were slowly being healed. But there would be more to take their place.
“You failed me…my knight in shining armor.”
Chie winced at the hatred in those words, at the sarcasm being spat out with disgust and anger. Worse yet, deep down it was all true. She had failed. She was supposed to be the protector and she had failed her one and only charge. What did that make her? In the old days, warriors who disgraced themselves ended their own lives. Would she go that far in her self-discrepancies? Perhaps not, but right now she felt that low.
She dared to look up at her tormentor, the one who burned her and hurt her. The one she had failed to save. Delicate features and dark hair, the very image of a princess in need to saving. Her eyes burned with anger and need as she stared hatefully at her failed protector. Yukiko practically burned with her anger and disappointment. Chie noted the Shadows that swirled just beyond, and she was reminded suddenly of the rules of this strange place. As long as they were careful…
Shadows were creatures of instinct. They were the darkest part of the human subconscious given form. The voices no one wanted to listen to, and it made them angry and mindless. They made this Other World dangerous and when they had first found out about this place, they very nearly turned away from the temptations it had to offer. But it was Chie who noticed it, thanks to Teddie. Shadows went berserk as humanity constantly rejected them, rejected their darker desires and whispers. Otherwise, they were rather docile.
So they let go. They cast off their own chains and opened themselves to their darkest whisperings. And they were not lost, as they had feared. They had allowed themselves to act on their deepest, darkest selves, allowed those other sides of them to manifest and take control. They found release, control. It was dangerous but it was something they desperately needed between them. So many things, good and bad, left unsaid between them. They needed those things out and in the open if they were going to survive this.
Chie and Yukiko both locked eyes with one another, the Shadows around them swirling in anticipation and eagerness. They would make up, they always did. And when they returned to the Normal World things would continue as it always had. But right now…there was only their desires in this dark, dangerous world.