ㅤ❝ㅤ Climbing towards the gods, we forget our humanity.
Creating humanity, gods forgot our strength. ㅤ❞ㅤ

XXI. The World Arcana.

Portrayed as a young woman (or an androgyne, depending on deck) surrounded by figures of an angel, a bull, an eagle and a lion (representations of the four elements in transcendent form, as well as the symbols of the four Evangelists (Luke, Matthew, John and Mark respectively), The World Arcana is a representation of the world's totality, the symbol of fulfillment, wholeness and harmony.

VIII. Xian of Takamagahara.

Also known as a Piece of God, Xian is the power to subjugate and control humanity through Understanding. Not only this, but the power of the Xian grants each bearer a specific power. Raidou Kuzunoha LIX is the Xian of Takamagahara, granting him the power to slay and strike down gods; He derives his power from the High Heaven, allowing him to gather strength not just from the nation of Japan, but the collective willpower of humanity. In his younger years, he obtained the other powers of six Xians; Ashihara, Hachimangu, Nenokuni, Ongoro, Sanzu and Onigashima. Those abilities are as follows:

IX. Immutable Truth.

Through the endless fight between man, demon, god and all of which presides in between, Raidou Kuzunoha LIX’s existence remains undiluted to all falsehoods. The masses’ and their distortions can no longer influence him, for his eyes see and ward off any who try to change his own Understanding of the universe. Therefore, against all odds, the ideas and laws of the Gods, the thoughts of mankind and the machinations of devils cannot manipulate his soul or break his mind.

25XX.
In Yokohama, a city within Kanagawa Prefecture, there was said to be an old man who lived in a simple, yet outdated, house. The house itself was old and rickety, but it did not fall apart. Even if the old man were to take the wrong step, the entire house would fall apart and bury him alive.Yet, no matter who passed by, regardless if it was night or day, sunrise or sunfall, the old man remained at the porch of the house. He looked towards the sun, his eyes closed akin to a statue. He was quite tall for his age, despite being in his eighties, and his body, although frail, held muscle that could easily destroy stone. His hair was gray and reached down to his lower back; it was still quite smooth. He was seated just like Mahavairocana, yet one could tell he was far from a Buddha.He was always looking towards the sun, quiet in his thinking. Many people feared the old man, because he did not speak, look, smell, or even breathe. Many people within that neighborhood thought he was a statue, similar to erected statues in temples. That was how motionless this old man was. Many thought he was an urban legend made true, a living specter of the past. And as such, those who lived around his house feared his presence. There was no one willing to touch the decaying house, and as such, they left him alone to his solitude.However, after fifteen springs, winters and summers passed by, on the fifteenth autumn, a young man approached the old man. The young man was youthful, full of vigor. He was still passionate and filled with ideas; His dark green hair was filled with vitality, and although his eyes were closed, the young man saw everything. Yet as he observed the old man before, he was rigid, cold and filled with bitter respite. He had given up on living, but could not die. His Will was overwhelmingly strong, it was akin to the sun itself.The young man, who had gathered a crowd of locals around him, decided to break the ice towards the old man. “Why have you sat here all alone?”“I have come here to reflect upon the past.”“But not the present or future?”“No. The present cannot do anything for me now, and the future is long out of my grasp. I have condemned the future with my past mistakes.”“Were you a politician? A police officer? Let me guess, were you part of the yakuza?” There was a sense of teasing and jovial excitement within the young man’s voice. But the old man sounded defeated. He had given up everything to reflect on his mistakes.“No. I was a hero of justice. Yet the only justice I was able to give was temporary. The people have fallen into decadence and laziness, unable to think for themselves. The people seek to cling to a God that they might find, yet they are too lazy to truly seek out an answer. This is my sixty-eighth year of living. My allies and friends have long since passed. My relatives have disassociated from me due to my failures. My granddaughter is around... Six right now. I have given up all of my possessions and titles, and now live as a man who has almost forgotten his name. This Keikogi and cape, is all I have left.”“So you’re living in exile?”“Indeed.”The young man did not know what to say. He stood in front of the man for hours, unmoving. Before long, he sat next to him on the porch. Yet and still, the ruined house did not collapse. It was being held up by faith and willpower alone. Neither of them moved. Whilst the young man stared into the sun, unflinching, the old man did not move, his eyes closed shut, isolated from humanity.The people gathered dispersed after an hour. Before long, night fell. A day passed, then a month.After a season, the young man spoke again.“Why do you live in exile?”The old man responded quickly. “I live in shame of my actions. I was given the greatest power in the world, yet could not harness its true strength.”“That is?”“The ability to change bonds into strength. To grasp innumerable souls and to use them in combat. I was given the power of innumerable possibility, yet I could not harness infinity. Despite all that I could do, would do, and had done, I was still a man possessed by stagnation. I could not help the one closest to my heart, despite being able to foster and harness strength from others. Despite everything, even after fostering a child, I could never truly understand her.”“So you could not understand her. Is that why you’re living in exile?”“Indeed. She was the one who should have earned this power. Yet, doing so would’ve spelled doom to all humanity.”“I see.”The young man did not know what to say. He sat alongside the old man in silence. Eventually, he would turn his sitting position to the one of the old man. Yet and still, the ruined house did not collapse. It was being held up by faith and willpower alone. Neither of them moved. Whilst the young man stared into the sun, unflinching, the old man only opened one eye. It was dull and unkindled, yet the azure hue within was one of pure beauty. He had not used it in so long.A crowd formed once again to hear the two of them speak. But after two hours, they had once again disappeared.Half of a season passed this time before either of them spoke again. This time, the young man decided to ask something more direct. “If you are in exile for a past mistake, did you not live to correct it and improve?”The old man opened his other eye; golden and filled with wisdom. The blue eye was filled with power, and the golden one was filled with wisdom. The two of them created knowledge, and that knowledge allowed him to have an unbreakable sense of spirit.“I did. I spent seventy years trying to correct my mistakes. Me and my allies continually worked hard to build a world that would change for the better; one that would protect the nation. However, out of differences for one another, we had all split up after forty years. Throughout time, I continually trained my body. Fought opponents not just in this world, but beyond and within other realms. I continued to fight and reached a state where I could go no higher.I had reached Apotheosis.”The shadow underneath the old man, which was standing behind him due to a rising sun, shimmered and waved. “The army that I walked with reached a pinnacle of power that only they could remember. Yet now, they lay in dormancy, rotting away with me. My allies who I had known since I was a boy began to die off. My child had married, and now had her own daughter. While I spent searching for a battle that would truly save the world, I felt nothing. I could do nothing. By the time I was seventy-five, I saw the world as gray and monochrome. Even the sun now, does not burn my eyes nor my skin. The wind does not touch my skin or soul. I do not breathe, nor do I circulate blood. My soul itself, yearns for battle, yet could never find one once again.I await the end, to which the world I have condemned will finally move on without me.”“What is your name?” The young man asked. The right eye, filled with power, gazed down at the young man’s appearance. Like a serpent, feeling its way through the earth, the young man’s questions continually invaded his rigid soul and being. It was eating away at his solitude - a temptation that continually gnawed at his being. But the old man could not refuse his call. He broke from his immutable position and faced the young man.“Masaharu Ameno. I was known as Raidou Kuzunoha LIX, but until I pass, that title will not renew itself. I am the last Persona user.”“The last?”“Without spiritual strength, there cannot be more like me. God’s lack of presence has left me no choice but to stay vigil until I have given up.”“But you haven’t given up, have you?”The young man persisted. For the first time, Masaharu looked into the young man’s face, and soon, the young man opened his eyes into a green color. The snake had got him within its jaws. Ready to drag him further out of his isolation. “You say that you’ve given up, but your will still remains strong. You are a soldier that continues on a path of solitude, but you yearn to pass on your legacy. You’ve waited here so someone could inspire you to fight once again.You yearn for the desire to fight.”The old man said nothing. But the young man was right. No.. the serpent, the Judge, was right. He yearned for something to inspire his heart once again. He wallowed in despair because his life was too short, even as he walked alone. He allowed his wisdom to rot. He could not face the failures that he convinced himself he made up for. He failed himself, and after comparing himself to a Buddha, had isolated himself, waiting for enlightenment to occur.But with all that he had done, he had not reached enlightenment, nor a status of elevation. He was still human. He had forgotten what it meant to truly be human.He forgot what it meant to cherish the world, and to protect not just himself, but those around him. Out of everyone, he himself fell victim to his own consequences.The old man blinked. He could smell, see color. The vitality in his soul erupted in flame, blazing like it never did. For the first time, he felt something within his breast. He felt emotion. He felt desire.He felt a sense of desire to reclaim his mistakes.“My master lives in a plane far beyond this one, upon the mountain of Hourai. Before you seek to correct your mistakes though, you must embrace the truth. Surely now, you see that you have not lost everything that you once knew.”The young man disappeared from sight, to a place beyond understanding. Masaharu only looked around, only to gaze across the porch. What he saw next, was a sight he hadn’t seen in years.A blue pair of doors, ready to open like a pair of traditional Japanese sliding doors.Ones that were traditionally used, yet they were custom to his eyes only. Masaharu Ameno, after registering that his eyes were not playing tricks on him, stood and walked to the door silently, as they opened and embraced him; that familiar feeling he had not felt in fourteen years.The only two within the room, an all blue room that stood at the top of an immeasurably high pagoda, was of course, Masharu Ameno, but another old man. His legs were long and spindly, with beady eyes and a long nose. Yet he dressed as formally as always. He had worn the same suit he had on the day the two of them had met. That old man stood in front of his desk, and his legs were perpendicular with one another. Masaharu said nothing, but the old man in front of him spoke a singular sentence to him. And those words invigorated him to give the world another chance.“There is still more work to do.”

In the year 25XX, Masahiko Ametsuchi was voted in as the Prime Minister of Japan. An honorary position that was not to be taken lightly, and one that was honored by the Emperor himself. He looked young and inexperienced, with his hair and eyes both being jet black. His body was the pure image of the Victorian man, a physical body that was both muscular and attractive; there were no flaws within it whatsoever.However, because of his sudden appearance, many people did not trust him. In fact, the public did not, at first, accept his rise to power within politics. Many saw a candidate that rose to fame amongst the Japanese Government with worry and issue. But at the same time, many began to explore his background.He was an intern of the former Prime Minister, an individual with perfect grades and an immaculate history of work, even for his age. He advocated for the youth to process more breaks, and assisted with helping others find successful jobs. He was quite popular amongst his fellow youth, and impressed the older folk from within. He helped those around him with a certain charisma that attracted all around him like a globe. He was a leader, and although he had no intention of winning the seat of Prime Minister at first, Masahiko had ideas of what he might do in order to claim that seat.“Secure the future, as our youth will look up to us in order to seek advice. We must be able to rationalize with them, and appeal to them with our actions, in order to provide sanctity for this country. We must be able to help our elders and ensure their safety, as they will provide a proper foundation. Not everyone will agree with me and my ideas, yes. But if you are willing to listen, then I will take the nation to the top. I will secure the Nation and ensure that our traditions, our ideas and our future does not continue to waste!”His past was pretty straightforward. He was a child from Yokohama with an ambition to change the nation. Many kids would give up on their dreams and move onto greater things, but the Prime Minister of Japan saw a vision that would improve their slowly decaying nation. To turn back the clock and fix the wrongs of his parents, his parent’s parents, and so forth.He was a modern hero of justice. One that could never turn a blind eye to injustice. One that could never look away when others were suffering. One who understood all sides, and even united opposing forces. His charisma was potent and powerful, and as if he held the minds of those around him, bent them around him with not power, but kindness.He walked on his path alone, but others joined to follow him.Many who saw him before he got elected claimed that he always stood in front of a torn down shack. It was old and rotted, and although no one had lived there for a long time, he claimed that an old man had lived there. However, not a soul had seen that old man in a long time. Overtime, it became an urban legend.If anyone asked who was living there originally, the Prime Minister would always say, “He was an old man who had given up everything, despite not looking for answers outside of his box. He was so focused on the future, that he forgot that he could still change it. That he could continue to make a difference in this world. He forgot what it was like to have joy, to empathize. He was lost in the past of his failures, to the point where none could ever reach him. He was filled with despair, despite hope yearning for him.When hope finally touched him, he was able to transcend and escape the world. He was able to find peace and move on. Or, so they say. Ahahahahahahahahah!” And then, he would walk away. Presumably to go out to lunch, dinner, or even return to work.Yes, Masahiko Ametsuchi held that man close to his heart. He loved everything in this world, including the man that he once was. Because of that man, he was able to reach the apotheosis of what was, and become something that could be greater than his understanding.After all, he returned from the dead to reclaim his spot as the Leader of Yatagarasu, and essentially worked two identities: The first was Prime Minister Masahiko Ametsuchi, the leader of Japan, the overseer of political control. The second was former Raidou Kuzunoha LIX, the Amatsukami, the Leader of Yatagarasu, and who would put the organization’s talents to good use.Before his intervention, Yatagarasu fought a battle with no leader and tactician. But now, Masahiko was able to lead both his allies and the nation to a much more positive position. He did not lead young men to their deaths, but he shepherded them and taught them the ways of the future. He did not condemn the people, but uplifted and changed their lives. It was Yatagarasu who was able to forge his history and implant him into the public eye, as he worked in the shadows tirelessly until he was able to fully reveal himself.There was not a person in Tokyo who did not recognize his name and spoke positively of him.There was not a person in Yatagarasu who saw his positivity as a front. He was a genuine being of goodwill. A true Amatsukami incarnated into a human.But Masahiko denied these claims. Even as he walked the path and uplifted those to be just like him, he denied the idea that he was ever a divine being. “I am simply human. I want to help others, even until it kills me. Is that such a bad thing? Hahahah... Ahahahahahah! From the greatest ant, to the largest god, I love everything humanity has to offer! But that love is precarious. I will not hesitate to strike down that which threatens the Nation. That too, is out of love.”He was not filled with naivete. He did not seek to be perceived as naive. Even with his saintly, pure ideology, many saw that burning desire, the wisdom that was beyond his years of thinking. The man that both Masahiko Ametsuchi and Raidou Kuzunoha LIX embodied was a man who sought not only to love creation and assist its progress, but to inspire those around him to ascend to his same strength.To surpass and become greater than what he was! That was his goal. Everytime he thought about it, and everytime he brought smiles to himself and those around him,All he could do was laugh.On a certain night, the Prime Minister’s right hand man, a tall gentleman by the name of Lei Gong (His Japanese name Hiraku Kitagawa), eyes as green as emeralds and with long flowing green hair, dressed in his governmental business attire, walked to approach the other. The Prime Minister did not see him, as Masahiko Ametsuchi was looking over his plans that he had formulated for over the past year. He sat within his desk in the Diet Building, reading with such precision.He had visited all the corners of Japan, investigated many hiding holes all across the Nation. He even visited places like Korea and China, though this was without his entourage. He was doing so because his plans needed to have as much information as possible. There were eleven names on a sheet, his name included. There was also Lei Gong, his granddaughter Mayumi Date, and his Master, whom he had not seen since his fateful reincarnation.“I have waited so long for this day, Lei Gong.” Though he did not see him, he could sense the other’s resonance, and that made the Prime Minister glance up to see him. Lei Gong had already bowed, but Masahiko raised his hand. “I have worked with people on both sides, found information that would benefit the future. Exploring people’s pasts and choosing the best candidates. You, Mayumi... You’ve all done well.”“My master... I am grateful for this opportunity. However, I must ask. These Persona users... What do you plan to do with them?” Lei Gong’s voice was curious, if not cautious. Raidou would look towards the young man and nod his head.“The Wild Card’s advent... I can feel it. Whether it’s by luck, or it's by intuition. I have trained you and Mayumi in order to prepare that person for what is to come. I want to ask for their assistance, not their forced cooperation. My goal is to build all of you up together, not forcibly stick all of you together.” He would put the sheet of names away, sliding open a cabinet and closing it. “No one else who I’ve scoped out will work. For some reason, it seems like all of you have the best capability that we have. But this conversation is for a different time.”From the doors leading outside of the Prime Minister’s office, a young woman soon approached the Amatsukami. Black hair, dressed in a black jacket with a white shirt, her striking red eyes were the only thing that contrasted the duality of coloring aside from her skin color. She held a white tablet with Yatagarasu’s (a crow with three feet) insignia upon it. “Grandfather,” The young woman spoke politely and with a neutral tone, bowing in respect and holding the tablet to her side.“I have heard police chatter. Someone’s been taken into custody after reportedly burning down a building and taking the lives of at least a dozen men.”“So it is time, then. The real work has officially begun.” Masahiko Ametsuchi clicked his tongue, now standing up. He walked over to his granddaughter, and soon rubbed her head. Which she quickly moved out of the way from. He only laughed. Lei Gong, who had moved to an attentive position, was soon gestured to by Masahiko. “Lei Gong. See to it that whoever is there is observed and monitored. We can’t be sure that this isn’t some Devil Summoner incident. I’ll be sure to meet whoever this is personally. I’ll be leaving to go recruit some more... individuals.” Lei Gong raised a question, watching the Prime Minister leave.“How can you be so sure that this is the person we’ve been looking for?”“Trust me! I’ve never been wrong before! Ahahahahahahahah!”With that, he left his two closest confidants within the Diet Building. They would be able to handle things from here. The next generation needed to lead themselves for once. He would help here and there, but his personal mission had officially begun.There was still work to do.

“Yet, why did Masakado forge this blade?”Born to a Devil Summoner family of low status, Masamaru Ameno was not one who looked like a true hero. In fact, he barely stood out from anyone else. He was once a boy who once he became an adult, sought to work underneath Yatagarasu and not only change Japan, but changed the world. To save as many people as possible. From living a life that was mundane up until that point, that was always Masaharu’s goal.But the rules from when he was a boy had changed when he became an adult. After all, corruption was rampant within all functions of society, and it was that corruption that seeded itself within their own organization, and threatened humanity itself.As if being pitted against each other by God Himself, eight individuals were chosen in order to carry a piece of God; each piece was strong enough to not only carry influence over Demons without a COMP, but also be able to influence and subjugate humans. Those with these powers were known as the Xians, and while many in Yatagarasu had collectively begun to think of ways to control these powers, the eight individuals who were chosen saw themselves above Devil Summoners. They broke off from Yatagarasu, and sought to bring Japan under their influence. They could not see the full picture.Except for Masaharu Ameno.By this point in history, the idea of “Persona” had long been reduced to a myth, practically even a thought. But through his circumstance, perhaps because he too carried the power of the Xian within him, awakened to rousing his true self; the awakening of Taira no Masakado, the Guardian of Japan himself. Many saw that the combination of these powers, alongside the fact he carried the power of the Xian, to be a work of divinity that even surpassed the others.The Xian of Takamagahara, the power to fell Gods, the ability to be connected with Japan itself, given purpose to defend its nation. Following the fact that Masaharu Ameno was carrying a Persona, many saw him as truly a target to destroy and overcome. When he had awakened to his powers, Masakado had told him this:“Why had I forged this blade of mine? If you seek to right this world from its wrongs, you will defend the nation as I have. Rise against injustice, strike down the evils of the world. With my blade, we shall overcome the throes of death, and rain down justice upon those who oppose us!”Masaharu Ameno worked with Yatagarasu in order to fight the other Xians. He met seven allies, and both Persona user and Devil Summoner alike, to dismantle those who sought to ruin the world not out of subjugation, but with aligned goals to protect the world they loved. Atsuhiko Fumetsugawa, the Xian of Ashihara (that is, the embodiment of peace), had walked alongside him, seeking not to bring chaos to the world, but injustice.Alongside Atsuhiko, Masaharu and seven other individuals fought the Xians.There was the Xian of Hachimangu, the embodiment of war, which brought the most destruction to the land. He was known as the hero of chaos.The Xian of Nenokuni, the embodiment of strife, which brought those around him to feel a wrath of never ending desire to bring everything down to ash.The Xian of Ongoro, the embodiment of bonds, which used those around her as shields to preserve her own life force, both humans and demons alike. She was the most immature of them all.Then there was the Xian of Sanzu, who had embodied fate, who aimed to control and oversee the fates of others around him. He foresaw the future, but could not control his own.The Xian of Onigashima embodied myth, and only controlled Demons, as she did not trust humans. But while she blended in with those around her, they did not respect her, and thus, all fled upon her defeat.Each Xian had desires to overthrow and claim God’s position as their own. They had all mentioned that Yomi was the one behind this tragedy. The Xian of Yomi had continually pushed them further into their own methodologies.However, the Xian of Yomi had been with Masaharu the entire time. The one he had loved the most, the one he had sired a child with... It was all of her machinations that led to this world being the way it is. She had waited for him to collect the rest of the Xian's power, so that she might approach him and allow him to replace her spot upon the Throne.But he could not take it. Even as he recognized her as Evil, even as he awakened and grew to an entirely new self with Ame no Minakanushi, even as the bonds of those he met surrounded him,He could not take her life. Standing at the Throne, he could not touch what was the center of his life for what felt like an eternity. She, who was equivalent to God, transcended the idea of the Throne itself, and evolved into a being that was beyond its restriction by stealing the Xians from Masaharu.Without God’s influence, the world began to decay. Not physically, but spiritually and mentally. After being rejected from the Throne and God’s former domain, Masaharu Ameno split ways with his allies, and trained himself and dedicated his life to a path of solitude. Even after being awarded with the title of Raidou Kuzunoha LIX, he could bear to handle the title when all hope was lost for humanity.He sought to atone for his crimes. To atone for the life that he had lived. Before, he had seen himself as a man who let his emotions cripple and harm the mission. He saw that the world before him was his own mistake. He could not bear to allow his allies within his heart, and thus, closed himself off from others.Years passed.Although he was a successful father, his child did not love the way he consistently pursued his goals. Even when she married, she forbade him from ever approaching her child, as she did not permit him to spread his ideals upon her. Masaharu’s daughter did not want to become a Devil Summoner; it had consumed her father, and her mother was a being beyond her comprehension. He did not wish to persuade her. After all, he yearned for them to live a normal life.His closest friend Atsuhiko Fumetsugawa had passed away some time ago. His friends were no longer able to carry the torch, or had already passed on.In Kanagawa Prefecture, sitting in a house that was about to collapse at any moment, Masaharu Ameno had begun to contemplate the meaning of life, or what the meaning of his life was. Had he worked for nothing? Why did he wish to walk this path, if he had truly never accomplished anything? All his blade did was kill, slaughter, and maim. His blade had improved, but he had never once grown. He had reached Apotheosis after so many battles, fighting within and outside of his own world, but ultimately to him, he was the greatest failure in the world. Everything in life had turned gray and dull, meaningless and without worth.He could not even realize the power of infinite possibilities, the power of zero. He was the Last Persona user, the one who would watch over the world before it eventually crumbled to dust. He closed his eyes from the rest of the world, and yearned for death.That was what he thought.All until the Judge had brought itself before him. Before he had seen those blue doors open before him, and saw not only the man who had opened his eyes to the power of Persona, but his own self stared down at him.‘There was still work to do.’Masaharu Ameno walked upon a mountain that he had not seen before after his meeting with the Judge. All of the pain that he had felt upon his journey, all the regret. The emotions, positive and negative, good and evil, punctured into his body like needles. After fighting so many battles, so many pointless fights, he had forgotten what it meant to be human.He had forgotten his goals, he had forgotten how to live. The traversing of this mountain allowed him to recall all of the joy that he had. What it meant to truly be free. Instead of fighting back against the decay that overcame this land, he had allowed it to fester and corrupt his noble heart.He wished to atone, but did nothing to seek it. Instead, he ran, avoiding his problems like he had done before. As he had done upon the Throne.“I must learn. I must learn how to atone. I wish to know how to make up for what I wish to do.” He prostrated himself to the Judge and those alongside him on the top of this divine mountain, and they spoke to him with their guidance. For their voice was legion, and they were many.“We will teach you the secret to immortality. Here upon this mountain, we observe and await a true hero who will be able to either deliver upheaval, or establish order. If you are to survive the days that are to come, then you must be able to lead those just like you to protect this world and free humanity from the shackles of absolute order and chaos.”Underneath new masters, Masaharu Ameno worked alongside those atop this divine mountain, the name of which was Hourai (a land that stays immutable to the gears of transmigration). He and the Personas next to him, fought with a purpose in mind, a journey that they themselves must embark upon. Upon that mountain, it was there in which Raidou Kuzunoha LIX died, and Masahiko Ametsuchi returned from it.He had transcended.It is impossible to tell or understand who or what Masahiko Ametsuchi is. After all, asking the Prime Minister about anything is bound for him to talk about his adventures and his love for humanity. As if he had completely forgiven himself for the crimes that he had brought towards all of creation. He was a jovial man, one who never gave up on those around him. It was that charisma that allowed him to gather those around him who aimed not only to learn from him, but to grow beyond him and surpass him as both master and ally. He had already garnered many who were willing to follow in his footsteps!There was his granddaughter Mayumi Date, who was more than willing to follow his teachings. She was eager to learn and although her personality was quiet and direct, he could tell that she would make a worthy successor. Then there was his student Lei Gong, who reminded him of himself back when he was a teenager. He was brimming with justice, and would serve as an excellent backbone for the plans he had wished to admonish.Then there was his master Xueyu, and although she could not speak, her soul was brighter than any star within the universe. Although she was a former member of Hourai, she had taught him just as well as her master did upon that mountain. With that knowledge, she passed onto Masahiko, and he would do the same with the one born with the power of a true Wild Card.He had garnered so many allies! So many people were willing to follow him not as a leader, but as friend and peer! While they respected him, they also saw him as an authority figure willing to be followed. Whether it be Yatagarasu, or the Persona users that came after him.There was a chance to correct the wrongs he had made.So why did Masakado forge his blade?“He forged his blade to defend the nation. He had turned against the people for forgetting him, and throughout his travels to become deified, it was the people who eventually appeased him. He became the Guardian Spirit of Japan, because the people were able to exonerate him. You should never forget about the past, lest it will haunt you. You should never forget about the journey, for you will lose your way.You should never be able to forsake your ideals, even if it comes at a great cost. Mistakes such as those, will haunt you for an eternity. Commit to your path. Your blades will be able to be forged, so long as you are able to remember who you truly are.Ah... There is still so much work to do!”

MASAKADO. "A general who declared himself the new emperor of Japan but fell to Hidesato Fujiwara and Sadamori Taira soon after. He was quickly enshrined as a means of quelling his vengeful spirit, causing him to later become known as the protector god of Kanto. According to the Otogizoshi, he stood over 6'10", had a head, arms, and legs of gold, and had two pupils in his left eye. His body was made entirely of iron, save for his one weak point, his temple."

AME-NO-MINAKANUSHI. "The Lord of the August Center of Heaven. The first god to appear in Takamagahara upon the emergence of heaven and earth from primeval chaos, soon hiding themselves from mortal eyes; becoming quiescent in the grand scheme of creation. With no beginning and no end, Ame no Minakanushi sovereigns over all existence, the root of all humans. This god was later equated to the likes of Myoken, Okuninushi and the source of Taiji; the Supreme Ultimate of Where Existence Flows."