3 days remaining; nighttime.

Arsene had willingly walked back into a prison, been played like a puppet, and masqueraded as the very detective who he'd pulled a bomb on.

Even so, this had to be his worst idea ever.

Arsene sighed. He'd been waiting for some time for Kronos to appear. The god certainly knew he was at the Mansion, of course, but seemed to love keeping the Thief waiting. Even so, the Persona huffed with just a spark of irritation, a Time-Lord should know how precious each second was.

He crushed the thought before it could grow. Time was a strange, strange thing, and he couldn't be sure how Kronos's power manipulated its flow. Certainly he was the true owner of the Palaces- Arsene had a blank memory the night before Kronos appeared, and the last thing he remembered was a black cloak and scythe. Fairly distinct.

And because Kronos's power was a mystery, there was every chance he could see into Arsene's mind. Yaldabaoth's ass, he hated not knowing his enemy,

Arsene balanced on the edge of the Mansion's fourth floor, swinging his legs lazily. "Come out, come out wherever you are..." he sang.

Only the breeze responded, a few stray notes drifting through the air.

He huffed angrily and repeated it more forcefully.

Nothing.

"Aw, I was so sure that'd work..."

Kronos was powerful enough to create his own Palaces, meaning he was at least as strong as Yaldabaoth. So... where was his source?

Arsene, of course, already knew, but he was afraid if he thought it, then Kronos would know. Besides Nuclear and Ice skills, and the ability to freeze someone in time, he knew little of the entity's power. Time was an incredibly strong force and the sole constant- or so he'd thought in his first life- in existence.

Speaking of time...

There were two. Two gods, or beings of immense power. Technically four.

Moirai...

Just the name struck fear in his heart. Lavenza, of all people, had received that Persona? Arsene shook his head, dismissing the thought as easily as it had come.

Where was this god, anyways? 

"Are you waiting for someone?"

Arsene steeled himself against a sudden flash of terror. He tipped his head back lazily, smiling at the hooded figure standing behind him. Had that spot been empty a moment ago? "Kronos. You took your time." He raised an eyebrow. "You're pushing the boundaries of 'fashionably late.'"

"Time is... relative. And mine shouldn't be wasted by worthless scum like you."

He put a hand on his chest in mock offense. "Me? Worthless?" Arsene pouted playfully. "That's not a nice thing to call me." He tipped his head back ever further, his balance beginning to falter. "And aren't you a god of time?"

Arsene was very careful to say "a god" instead of "the god." After all, he'd nearly met three more just yesterday, who controlled what seemed to be a different aspect of Time: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos.

"Shall we skip to the part where I brutally muder and dissect you, or do you have something to say?"

He meant every word.

"Oh? Aren't you curious how I found out?" Arsene shrugged carelessly, balancing his next words on the tip of his tongue. "After all, you dropped quite a bit of clues, and I'm certain... others... would understand with only half of them."

"Who?" Kronos demanded. A sudden wind whipped around him, throwing his cloak back and revealing a barely sealed-together face. Arsene barely choked back a question on who'd glued his face together- An uncoordinated child or a blind man?- but he wanted to live long enough to know more.

"Aren't you a god? You should know this."

"Clueless mortal," he huffed. "Being too stupid to know this, yet you dare call yourself my master."

"And you were sloppy," he retorted, a feeling of dread growing in his chest. "You're too confident to notice, yet you dare call yourself a god." Oh, those were dangerous, dangerous words, but he was afraid, and he said too much when he was afraid.

I am not afraid.

"And I can call myself what I want," he laughed. Arsene's eyes narrowed at Kronos, who stared coldly back. "My question still stands."

"You're speaking of the future." Arsene opened his mouth, but the god cut him off harshly, raising a palm in warning. He hated himself for shrinking back.

Coward.

"If I had not interrupted you, the most probable future would be your saying "of course." I can read the past at will, but the future is an uncertain thing. Your most probable next move is easy to foresee, but beyond that... there are too many options to know the true future." Kronos narrowed his empty eyes. "Does this satisfy you?"

Arsene found his initial confidence giving way. This man- no, god, he corrected himself, as he was more powerful than Yaldabaoth could ever have been- was staring at him with eyes like dark, dark tunnels. A shiver wound its way down his spine. Arsene's hands began to tremble and he hastily stilled them.

"Onto more serious matters, foolish Thief." He felt Kronos stand behind him and resisted every instinct that screamed to run run run don't look back. "You called me here despite knowing I would kill you."

Arsene stared at him mutely. A crooked grin split his lips. "Should you not know already, servant boy?"

"I'd prefer a half-decent conversation. It's rather boring when I know your every move. So please." Kronos rolled his hand lazily. "Indulge me."

"Well..." Arsene tested his choices and chose the best one. "I would suggest a deal, but I trust your backstabbing, hypocritical self about as much as I do Loki." When Kronos unsheathed his scythe, which glittered gold like the blood of gods, Arsene hastily continued. "So I would like to offer you information in exchange for information. A fair trade."

"And what could you possibly know that I do not?"

He sent a silent apology to Ren, Akechi, and Futaba. "Why, plenty of things." Arsene began to count them off, flicking a burst of Eiha for good measure. "I know who's realized you're the mastermind, who knows the truth of Jamestown, who controls the Moirai-"

"Moirai?" Kronos spat the word like it was sludge. "Who?"

"Jumping the gun, aren't you?" he laughed.

Kronos bore down on him like a furious ghost. Winds whipped around them and Arsene found himself teetering on the edge of the roof. A few Maeiga sparks wisped in his hands, which Arsene made a conscious effort to extinguish. He would not antagonize Kronos by striking first. "You dare defy me?"

No fear.

Arsene cast a lazy glance over his shoulder, his hair streaming behind him. "Is that not what I've been doing this entire week?"

"You have not." But he sounded unsure. Arsene knew an opportunity when he saw it.

"You believe so?" He jumped to his feet and paced forward. Kronos lessened the winds, allowing him to stalk towards the god's cracked, unwavering smirk. "You left Goro Akechi less than a minute before I crashed on the bridge. He told me about how Loki had supposedly died. That alone was incorrect, I understood when I thought about it. Loki and I were in the same room, separated by a measly iron partition. I would have heard his death.

"Second, my memory was blank the night before Ren entered the Palaces, but I distinctly remember a cloaked Shadow. Morgana later confirmed a cloaked Shadow entered and used Dream Needle twice- you never bothered to use Dream Needle on him. You then left in the direction of Shibuya, which is, I assume, how the Personas and the Thieves arrived here.

"Third." Arsene flicked another Eiha into the air. "It was actually a clue Ren planted, I believe, in case things went south. Or perhaps it was a hint for Akechi if he ever received the letters. He spoke about a god of death, the first time he said so. It was the first time he'd lost hope of him being alive. The god of Death, Kronos, has an iconic scythe. It's not... subtle."

Arsene cut himself off as the god glowered at him, his dark, soulless eyes burning holes in him. Icy fear ran its claws down his spine and for a moment, he found himself struggling for breath. Sweat drew slow tracks down the back of his neck.

Kronos bared his teeth in a smile that wasn't quite human.

Is he using a Despair effect?

But, no, Kronos was a god: too proud to use something as worthless as status effects when he could wipe Arsene out with a flick of his wrist.

Arsene closed his eyes and inhaled slowly. He was not afraid. He was not afraid.

He had to finish.

"Your biggest slip-up? You let Reug put the 'office building' in the Despair Palace." Arsene managed a laugh, reveling in the god's widened eyes. "Morgana and Zorro confirmed it made prints for watches and clocks. Now, why on earth would a corporation waste time and money in a place like this? Jamestown is so out-of-the way that there are no pictures of it online: Akechi told me about this when I questioned how he got here." He shook his head, grinning silently to himself. Arsene refused to reveal his entire hand yet. There was another hypothesis he would keep to himself until he could confirm it.

"Even so, it was fairly obvious you were playing Ren and Akechi against each other. Why? Clearly, one needed to die." Arsene closed his fist, the Eiha extinguishing. "The Thieves killed one god with one Wildcard, imagine the power two would have! Naturally, you had to get rid of one. Then you could continue with your plan.

"You see, when I first left Jamestown, Zorro told me of a border of sorts around this place. When I arrived at Shibuya, the other Personas were doing their best to maintain a barrier around it. With all of them gone... why, Shibuya's practically defenseless, is it not?"

Kronos was silent.

"Of course, that's not all, is it? You don't really care for Shibuya as a whole. When I heard the name Moirai... I was certain. You only care for the power the people will give you. And if I remember correctly, The Moirai controlled destiny; a set course of action. Your powers contrast: yours is seeing the many timelines, and theirs is a single set course. Yet, interestingly enough, they both revolve around the lives of mortals. Considering the way you reacted to just the name... would I be correct in assuming you want control over the people?"

"You are clever for a pathetic mortal."

Oh, he didn't know half of it. Arsene was fairly certain Lavenza and her Fates were doing their best to claim the city, given how hell-bent Kronos seemed to be on controlling it.

"And yet, you must know I cannot allow you to leave."

That was alright. This location was incredibly important, and not only because Kronos owned the Mansion.

"If I cannot leave, I want answers."

"Answers?" Kronos scoffed. Nuclear power gathered around his hand. Arsene felt his heart skip a beat before resuming its double-time beat. Perhaps- perhaps this was a mistake. This would end badly, and he knew the instant he thought of it.

"Do you not understand, you foolish Thief? I am a god! I could kill you in an instant! I could drag you into a cell and crush you with the other Fool!"

Arsene smiled through his terror. The other Fool. 

So he'd been right.

"You could," Arsene mused, rolling his shoulders. "But would you know then who controls the Moirai?"

"There is no need. I can rip it out of your throat."

Arsene's hands were shaking again. Horrible, petrifying fear rooted him to the spot like he'd been stunned.

A lifetime of wandering.

A gun-barrel in the face.

Fighting.

Sonia's scream.

Kronos's smile was a distorted, ugly thing. "I don't even need to touch you. I can make you relieve every painful moment in your. Sorry. Life."

Watching the world change beyond everything he'd loved. His own image contorted and thrown to the wolves, and then slowly fading. Forgetting, forgetting.

Forgotten.

Okami Kurusu was correct after all: Arsene was a coward.

"Is the petty Thief afraid now?" Kronos mocked. His face must have gone white. "Has he finally realized his situation?" The god swung the scythe off his shoulders. It gouged the charred floor and dug up shards of wood. "I am older than you by millenia. You are nothing to me."

Arsene forced a laugh. Years- decades- of experience kept it steady, even if he could barely find the fire to move his lips. "You shouldn't speak to me so. I have seen your work before- hah! You were murdered by your own son, whom you tried to cannibalize! You were cut into a thousand pieces like your father, and thrown to Tartarus! And why- you were paranoid and insane. You are insane!"

"I will not be questioned by a worthless insect!"

Arsene took a slowl, calming breath. He'd faced unreasonable people before. There was no reason he couldn't do it once more. "How did Okami Kurusu know so much about the Metaverse?"

"Why, I told him," Kronos said lightly. "He was in and out of the Metaverse for most of his life. Or did you believe he became the Alpha for no reason? No, he knew everything that happened in the Metaverse. My... earpiece? Yes, I believe that's what mortals are calling it now."

Arsene schooled his emotions into bored, almost lazy, features. Pieces click-clacked in his mind. He couldn't reveal that he knew the secret of Jamestown. Kronos had been telling the truth; certainly, just not the whole truth.

It most definitely explained why everyone trained for battle at the age of eleven.

"You've been a wonderful help," Arsene said dramatically, adjusting his jacket casually. "You may leave now. Go on."

"Do I look like some sort of servant to you, Thief?"

"At least you dropped the 'foolish' prefix," Arsene yawned. "It was getting rather boring."

"Are you out of questions?"

"I certainly don't take them from mouthy servants uglier than Emperor Palpatine." For once, he was glad Necronomicon had forced all those movie references down their throats.

"Excuse me?"

"Have your ears melted along with the rest of you?"

"He didn't die there! How he survived was never made clear, but he lived until-" Kronos growled his frustration, a disgusting, gurgling noise that hinted his lungs weren't fully healed. "Forget it! The fact still remains you must be captured!"

"Kronos, do remind me who learned this on their own? I decide what happens." He said it with such conviction that Arsene almost believed himself. Almost. He could still feel that icy fear.

He's a god, I barely survived the last one- and that was thanks to the public! I cannot turn into Satanael at a moment's notice! This is a losing game!

It wasn't a loss until Arsene believed it was a loss. He had to remember, there was more to his plan than dying in a place that didn't technically exist.

Then again, did anyone truly plan on dying before their time? Arsene certainly hadn't.

"Your face is white," the god noted with something that was just shy of amusement. "I can taste your fear, coward."

The last word gave him a cold, empty feeling. Arsene sensed Kronos's emotions- they were incredibly difficult to track, almost like they were haywire- spike sharply in excitement. "Oh? Did I hit a nerve? Do you not like that word?"

"That's enough," Arsene commanded. "This discussion is over!"

In answer, Kronos slammed the butt of his scythe against the ground. Shockwaves rippled out, and Arsene pinwheeled backwards. He just barely caught himself. His bare heel slid back into empty air and he cursed and braced himself. This was going to be brutal.

And to think that was only Garudyne! Kronos had to have a multitude of other spells, and this was likely his weakest.

"I think it's time you disappeared."

Arsene growled, pushing off the edge and throwing a Maeigaeon spell. Kronos waved a lazy hand. The black and red waves pulled back sharply as if they'd hit a wall.

The Time-Lord was laughing! "If this is truly your full power," he chuckled, "Yaldabaoth must have been weak indeed!" He snapped his fingers. "Freeze."

Arsene choked on a breath as his body stiffened. Kronos was still as stone and the leaves in the air froze around him. His chest ached, and it took him a moment to realize it was less from the ice- painful as it was- and more from the fact that he couldn't breathe-

Something even colder than his frozen cell exploded through his chest. The ice shattered and Arsene toppled backwards, wrapping his arms around the slice right through his chest. An agonized scream shattered his throat. Arsene shut his eyes, gasping empty breaths as the pain slowly began to numb. His heart stuttered.

Fuck, was he going to die again?

A blurry shadow was standing over him. When did Kronos do that? "So ends the Pillager of Twilight," he said. Then his thin, black lips split into a frightening grin and Kronos put his hand over Arsene's heart. "However.... You never did tell me who has the Moirai." 

"I'd never tell you," Arsene gasped out, blue blood spattering his lips.

Kronos regarded him coldly, then said,"Diarama."

Arsene let his eyes drift close as the spell mended the fatal injury. So cold... He shivered, reaching weakly for Kronos's leg with razor nails.

"I don't think so, worm."

Kronos raised his foot to stomp on his hand and Arsene grinned.

"What the-"

He raised his left hand- the sleeve with the gun in it now empty- and fired.

He missed Kronos's temple by a hair's breadth, but it certainly injured him. The god staggered back, pressing both hands to an empty eye socket. When he pulled them away, they were covered in blue.

Blue blood?

Blue was for the blood of Personas and gold was for the blood of gods. Gold, like a Shadow's eyes. Arsene laughed weakly at that. "You are no god," he whispered, but Kronos heard anyways. His eyes flared dangerously.

"You-"

"Please. Don't disgrace yourself further by finishing that." Arsene pushed himself to his knees, then his feet. The skin across his chest felt stretched: the lingering pain suggested that Kronos was a terrible healer.

"Disgrace myself?" Kronos repeated incredulously, pulling the bullet out of his eye socket effortlessly. The skin sealed behind it. Natural self-regeneration abilities. "You pathetic worm!"

He lunged with the scythe, but this time, Arsene wasn't frozen. He ducked the deadly arc and came up in time to grab the shaft. Electricity rippled down the length of it, but Arsene had a sort of resistance to it by this time. After all, he lived with a rather temperamental pirate. "I mean," he said casually, as if he were speaking to a friend, "I'm still alive."

"I healed you, you piece of shit! You owe me your life!"

"Call me paranoid, but I have a feeling that debt'll be repaid in blood." Arsene leaned his weight into the shaft and felt it begin to give under his gloved fingers.

"Truly? What gave you that assumption?" Kronos smiled another terror-inducing smile. "There will be no wounds... at the end."

Arsene felt a shiver run down his spine. He was by no means immune to torture and what Kronos had in mind would surely drop his sorry carcass at death's door. There were limits in the human world, but when it was trivial to wipe away wounds, there was no end to the injuries he could inflict. And that maniac grin- the one that suggested Kronos wasn't entirely sane- sent a panic through him.

"Eigaeon!" His Curse spell ran along the shaft, spiraling around Kronos's clenched fists. It barely seemed to affect him, and Arsene growled angrily. "Mudoon!"

Kronos laughed- a harsh crackling sound like lightning- and the black-red spell bounced off him. Arsene had no warning before his own spell slammed him in the chest and sent him tumbling.

Please, please... It, mercifully, didn't instantly kill him, but it certainly hurt. Arsene probably should have expected him to have resistance to Curse. His shoulder slammed painfully into the ground with a thud that could be heard anywhere in the Mansion. For a moment, all he saw was black.

When his vision cleared, he found himself staring at the tip of a scythe inches from his face. "Arsene Lupin," Kronos hissed.

"Sore loser?" he purred back, and a distant, rational part of him realized he'd slipped into French. He also realized, if his plan didn't work, those words would be carved on his tombstone.

But it would work. Arsene was sure of it, nearly as sure of the torture that would soon follow. Between all the outcomes he'd imagined, between the real and the ideal, he decided the real outcome would be worth it.

Arsene was still laughing when Kronos drove the scythe into his stomach.

---

Well!

It was shorter than a normal chapter- 3434 words- but it should have explained the main clues I'd stuck in the the book that should've tipped you off. Also, keep in mind: These are clues that just Arsene had been there for. There may or may not have been several other clues Akechi and Ren noticed that he wasn't there for. 

Also keep in mind: Ren and Akechi have no idea of the other's motivation. Arsene only knew Ren's because of the letters, and Akechi's was pretty obvious.

Any questions about it, please comment, i really like comments!!!

AND THE PLOT PROGRESSES!

Unlike other Shuake stories, i think i've been really slow on it, BUT I SWEAR SHUAKE WILL HAPPEN IM SORRY FORGIVE ME READERS PLEASE!

Were you surprised?

Arsene said there was a second mystery to all this. If you wanna try and guess it? This is my first plot where i actually have good pacing, so i think i did a good job in this? feel free to guess and debate with others in the comments!

One more hint!: You can look up what Jamestown is now. It has significance, and not just because i put an American town in Japan.

Thank you all readers!!! You're all amazing, and maybe if you really liked this chapter, consider voting???

Also it's seriously time for me to make another banner lolllll

(And yes, that is vocaloid stop judging me)

Robin out!