Persona 3's Ending As Told By An AI

To commemorate the release of Persona 3 Portable on other consoles, I'll do an AI-generated story of  Persona 3, picking up where the ending left off. The prompt is in bold, the rest of the text is normal, and footnotes will be included Be advised- there are Persona 3 ending spoilers

You are Kotone Shiomi(FN1), a teenage girl and a second-year at Gekkoukan High School. You and your friends in S.E.E.S. recently sealed away the goddess of death, Nyx, and now, graduation day has come.

You are on the roof of the school, waiting for your friends to come, but you're feeling tired, as you have for the past few days. And so you lay your head in your companion Aigis' lap, and drift off to sleep...

"Kotone! Kotone! Wake up!"

You hear your name being called, and you slowly open your eyes. You see your friends surrounding you: Alice, Al, and Oscar(FN2). They look worried.

"Kotone! Are you okay?" asks Alice. 

"Yeah," you say, rubbing your eyes. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You haven't been acting yourself. You've been sleeping in class every day, and you're not coming to school," says Oscar.

"I know. I'm... I'm tired," you say.

"Well, you need to get your act together, because you need to graduate," says Al.(FN3)

"I know. I'm just really tired," you say again.

"You can't sleep through your graduation. We need to get you to a hospital or a shrine or something," says Oscar.

"Don't worry about me," you say. "I'll be fine."

"I know you will. Come on, let's go to the dorms," says Alice.

You get up and follow Alice back to the dorms. When you arrive, you find that it's been completely cleaned out.

"Where are all the other... students?" you ask.

"They've all left for their respective graduation ceremonies. I think the graduation ceremonies this year were quite eventful," says Alice.

"I want to go to my graduation ceremony," you say.

"I'm sure you will, eventually," says Alice.

Alice leads you to the dorms, to your designated room. You get inside and find your teddy bear.

"I... want to stay here with my teddy bear."

"I know. It's your favorite spot. I'll bring you your teddy bear when we get to the dorms," says Alice.

"I want to stay here," you say.

"I know you do. I'll be right back."

Alice walks out the door. You're alone in your room. You get comfortable in your chair, and fall asleep. 

You wake up to your teddy bear giving you a big smile.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," he says.

You blush at the familiar voice. You've had this teddy bear since you were a little girl. He's a little outdated, but he's still a teddy bear. You squeeze him tight.

"I missed you, Teddy," you say.(FN4)

"Missed you too, pumpkin. I brought you something," he says, handing you a present. 

"Teddy, you shouldn't have."

"I know, but I did. Go on, open it."

You open the present, and find a blue hoodie. Your very own hoodie.

"Thank you, Teddy," you say. "I love it."

"I know you do, honey. Now, I need you to do me a favor."

"Anything, Teddy. What do you need me to do?" 

"I need you to go to your graduation ceremony. I want to watch you get your diploma."

You smile. Teddy may be a little outdated, but you still think he's one of the best. 

"I'll go get my dress and stuff ready. Just wait here, okay?"

"Okay, honey. Just hurry back," he says.

You leave your teddy bear and head to the bathroom. You wash your hands and take a quick look in the mirror. Not bad, you think to yourself. You take one final look at the diploma sitting on your dresser, and head to the door.

You find your friends in the hallway.

"Ready?" asks Alice.

"I'm ready," you say.

"Let's go."

You walk down the hallway, and outside. You look up at the clear sky.

"It'll be a sunny day," says Oscar.

"Yeah. Too bad about the cloud cover earlier," says Alice.

"Maybe it'll be a sunny, clear day," you say.

"Maybe," says Oscar.

You arrive at the parking lot, and find your ride, a group of seven student cars. You get in the driver's seat of the first car, and your friends sit in the back seats. You drive off. 

"Bye, New York! Bye, New Jersey!"(FN5) says Oscar, as the car drives away.

You turn on the radio.

"Don't go mad, but I like this radio."

"Why? What's on it?" you ask.

"It's a mix of hip hop and rap. I just like to listen to it."

"Well, I don't like it. It's too loud," you say.

"I know, but it's a good level. We won't be hearing this anywhere else," says Oscar.

You continue to drive. It's a long drive to the Shrine(FN6). The radio is blaring rap music. You sit in the back, with your friends, listening to the music. You all laugh and sing along to the songs. It's a good time. 

You arrive at the Shrine. The parking lot is full, so you park in the nearest empty space and get out of the car.

"Well, here we are," says Oscar. "I hope we have enough room for everyone."

"We will. We've got plenty of spots," you say.

You walk into the Shrine. It's packed. The music is booming. You walk on in.

"I'll be right back," you say.

You walk up to the entrance of the Shrine. A massive dragon stands there, guarding the entrance.

"I've got the hoodie, I've got the bear, I've got the hoodie on, I've got the bear in the back of the car."

"Okay, honey. We're ready to begin the ceremony. We'll be waiting for you inside," he says.

You blush, and walk up to the door.

"I'm really nervous, but I'll try my best," you say.

"I know you will, pumpkin," he says.

You walk inside. The Shrine is massive. It must be the biggest one in existence. There are rows and rows of people. You walk down the aisle. You see a massive throne at the end of the room. A man sits on the throne. He stares at you. 

"Step forward, child," he says.

You walk up to the throne. The man sitting on it smiles.

"It's nice to meet you," he says.

"I'm... I'm Kotone. I'll try my best. I'm really nervous," you say.

"I know. I've heard a lot about you. I want you to know, I don't blame you for your powers. You were chosen, after all. It's a great gift to be given. Now, sit in the chair beside me. We're going to have a little ceremony of our own."

You walk over to the chair. You sit down. The man sitting on the throne pulls a golden chain from around his neck. He turns it, and a small golden ball rolls down into his palm. He looks at you.

"I have a very special power. I can grant you one wish, child. What would you wish for?" he asks.

You think for a moment. You'd been wondering what your powers would be like. You'd been imagining yourself as a hero, saving the world. 

"I'd wish to be stronger than everyone else," you say.

"You'd wish to be stronger than everyone else, huh?" he asks.

"Yeah," you reply.(FN7)

"Well, I don't know if that's possible. You're bound to lose against someone. That's the nature of this game. You'll lose to the dragon, eventually. That'll be your first power. But, if you defeat him, your second power will be yours."

"And what would that be?" you ask.

"I don't know. I'll leave that up to the dragon, I suppose. That's what he's there for."

Suddenly, the golden ball rolls across the floor. It stops in front of you. 

"Pick it up," the man says.

"What? No, I can't!" you say.

"You don't have a choice. The wishes of the people are the will of the gods. If you don't, you won't receive your wish. Now, pick it up."

You reach out your hand. You grab the ball. It's heavy.

"Good. Now, wish. I can't wish for something that doesn't exist, you know. I'd be sending you into a world of monsters. It'd be irresponsible of me to do that," he says.

You feel your cheeks flush. You take a deep breath.

"I wish to be stronger than everyone else," you say.

You feel your arm go rigid. Your hand grips the ball tightly. Suddenly, you feel a pain in your chest. It intensifies, shooting down into your stomach. It goes through your stomach and intestines, as if they were burning. Then, it goes away. You stand, as if lifted by invisible hands. You jump up, and turn around, ready for battle.

"What did you wish for?" the dragon asks.

"I... I wish to be stronger than everyone else," you say, your voice cracking.

The dragon laughs.

"You should have wished for speed, child. That's much more useful. Now, step forward. Step forward, and fight me. I'll see how strong you are."

You take a step forward. The dragon lets out a roar. 

"Foolish girl! Did you really think you could defeat me? Did you really think you could escape your fate? Step forward, and face your end!"(FN8)

You take another step forward.

The dragon roars. He lets out a burst of flames. They lick the ground, but don't touch you. You step forward, and keep walking. He roars. He raises his claw, firing bolts of energy at you. You raise your hand, and a gust of wind knocks them away. He raises his claw again, firing another blast. You step to the side, and it slams into the ground. He fires another bolt of energy. You raise your hand, and a gust of air blows it away. He fires another blast of fire. You step forward, and fire a beam of light at him. He roars, and dives away, trying to escape your light. He fires another blast of fire. You raise your hand, and a gust of air blows it away. He fires another blast. You raise another hand, and fire a beam of light. He dives away again, and fires another blast. You raise your hands, and fire three beams of light, one after the other. He roars, and leaps forward, firing bolts of lightning at you. You raise your hands, and the lightning forms a shield in front of you. He fires more lightning. You keep the shield up, and he keeps firing. You're about to lose, when he stops.

The dragon stares at you.

"You're a powerful lightsworn. I expected you to be stronger. But, I'm afraid you still have a lot to learn, child."

"What... what do you mean?" you ask, panting.

"You have a lot of potential, but you have some powerful opponents in your future. You shouldn't go around wishing for things you can't have. You need to train. You need to think about what kind of person you want to be. I've seen you defeat your enemies, but you've also shown bravery, compassion, strength, and intelligence. You have a lot of dimensions to your character. I think you're still a work in progress, but I want you to have this, child."

The dragon hands you a sword.

You take the sword. It's heavy. It feels good in your hand.

"I think you'll be all right. You'll get your revenge on me someday. But, I think you'll be okay."

"But... but why...?" you ask.

"I need to go. I have to slay Trelik. He's a very powerful enemy. I don't want him to become a threat. You'll be okay, child. Goodbye."

"Goodbye?" you ask.

"Yes. I'm sorry, but I can't stay. I'm simply not powerful enough to stay with you. I think you'll be okay. I'll see you again one day, child. Best of luck, and may your journey be a happy one."

"But... but...! Where are you going?" you ask.

The dragon shrugs.

"I'm going to kill Trelik. I've been away from the action too long. I need to go. Goodbye, child. I'll see you again someday."

"But... but...!"

The dragon flies off into the distance. You watch it get smaller and smaller, and disappear.

Then, you watch as a black cloud engulfs you.

__________________________________________________

You're dead.(FN9)

The goddess of death took you away from your mortal coil. She took you to her throne, in a far off land.

And, she granted your wish.

She blessed you, and gave you a sword.

You were given a happy ending.

It doesn't matter now. You've gotten the happy ending you wanted.

You don't have to worry anymore.

You're free.

You've escaped your fate.

And, the story of Kotone is over.

THE END

Footnotes

1. Kotone Shiomi is the name of the female protagonist from the stage play, and a commonly accepted name for her.
   
   
2. Right off the bat, the AI pretends this isn't in Japan, probably because I didn't specify it.
   
   
3. Even if Kotone had lived, she wouldn't be graduating for another year.
   
   
4. And now Kotone is acting like a second-grader rather than a second-year in high school(11th grader)
   
   
5. Persona 3 takes place on Tatsumi Port Island, in an unknown part of Japan near the coast.
   
   
6. There is a shrine on Tatsumi Port Island, but it's within walking distance of school.
   
   
7. The AI kept going in circles, with Kotone wishing for something, the man refusing and offering her other wishes, Kotone wishing for something else, the man refusing again and offering other wishes, repeat ad nauseum.
   
   
8. Likewise, the dragon kept boasting about his power and until I entered a close quote and stopped him short.
   
   
9. And just like that, Kotone suffers her canonical fate of dying after the final battle.