Mathias Oshiro

Appearance
Mathias stands at 6'8, which is absurd given his 25% Norwegian and 75% Japanese lineage. Despite his height, he's rather lean, but sturdy all the same. He usually has a beanie on to conceal his currently bald head, but when he can grow his hair out again, he'll look something like this. His eyes are a blue so faded, the color could be mistaken with a light grey. When not in the Yasogami uniform, he usually sports black jeans and a grey collared button down. In the fall and winter, he wears a fitted black pea-coat and black leather gloves.

Personality
Mathias is not the most outgoing person, which usually works against him. He finds it hard to function in larger groups of people, and would rather have a handful of great friends instead of an ocean of acquaintances. He's usually very reserved and observant, but he can be a real goof when it suits him. He's quite the cinephile and camera geek, with a love of old films, new films, anything you got. You'd never know he was also into video-games and anime stuff unless you asked him. Mathias has developed a very deeply seeded bitterness towards many things, but he'd never show that side of himself to anybody. He has grown to be very patient when it comes to dealing with people, and has a very high breaking point. However, this can be reached quite easily, depending on the topic of conversation or just the things around him. His personality will sometimes change depending on who he's hanging out with, if anybody.

Persona
Mathias' persona is Charon, the ferryman of Hades who carries the souls of the newly deceased across the Rivers Styx and Acheron that divide the worlds of the living from the world of the dead. Charon stands nearly twice as tall as Mathias, wielding a long silver glaive, the base model for the copy that Mathias uses in battle, except on the end is a lantern that glows a soft blue attached by a black rope/chain/life-thread, where his ice attacks come from. Whenever Charon is summoned, he brings with him a grey mist, usually floating around his legs and feet which are almost always left out of sight. Charon's face is almost never visible due to the large hood covering his entire head. Charon usually stays completely silent during battle, but will sometimes whisper or scream like a banshee. For those who'd prefer an image, you can find one here.

Background
Mathias, having lived in Norway for most of his life was subject to frequent moves due to his illness. At a young age, Mathias was diagnosed with Pediatric Thyroid Cancer. His family moved from hospital to hospital in search of treatment once it stopped working. The doctors were able to remove the cancer, only after discovering that it had metastasized upwards into his head. After playing a long game of tug-o-war, Mathias is finally gaining control over his condition. His parents have decided that it is time to stop moving, and return to where their family started without the hassle of another relocation: Inaba.

Plot
Awakening

On a catwalk in the shadow world, a figure beckons for Mathias and the three unfamiliar people he'd entered with. As they wander down the metal path, the faint, constant beeping of a heart monitor is heard. After stepping through a set of large metal doors, they meet the Shadow of Mathias, clad in a dark tux with tails and a noose as a necktie. He turns his gaze away from the large screen showing what is implied to be Mathias' lifeline. With open arms, it begins to walk closer to the group. "Ah, yes! At last you've arrived! Welcome!" it says to Mathias with a mad sort of happiness. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up! Better late than never, that's what they say, ha ha!" The shadow is followed by the far wall of the room, keeping pace with the figure. "Come now, we must not wait any longer. The end is at hand!" it says before noticing the three a ways behind Mathias. The shadow begins to speak with a look of disgust, "What did you bring those for? You won't need those. Let's move now. Right this way!" Mathias follows, disregarding the actions and words of Daisuke, Yuri, and Hayate. The shadow pushes through the screen on the wall, opening it as though it were two swinging doors. Mathias follows closely.

Through the doors lies an seemingly infinite hallway, the walls lined with single beds. In the beds lie humanoid figures in hospital gowns. The faces of the figures are devoid of features.

"Where are you taking me?" Mathias inquires. The shadow continues to walk as it responds.

"To the end of course! Don't mind these. They'll end up there too."

Mathias halts.

"I....I-I'm not going any further until you explain this."

The shadow turns to Mathias on a dime.

" These things? Don't mind them, they don't matter. They're behind you now. Forget them. Like I said, you'll all end up in the end together! See?"

With the snap of it's fingers, spears protrude from the chests of the bed-ridden manikins leaving blood splattered on their gowns and the area surrounding the beds. No cries of anguish are heard, only the sounds of the spears retracting back into the beds taking the bodies with them. New faceless manikins replace the ones that were impaled, like clockwork.

It doesn't matter who they are. You hate them anyway. You'll continue now, alright? This way."

Mathias doesn't understand why the shadow referred to itself as him.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Us! We two! One and the same! We both crave the end! And that end is right up ahead!"

The end? What end?"

"The end we crave so badly! Remember how close we came? We both bear the mark to prove it! Let me remind you!"

The shadow appears beside Mathias and violently removes the beanie he wears to cover the large scar he'd acquired during a past surgery. Tracing it with his finger, the shadow begins to taunt Mathias.

" This you see? The mark of the survivor, is that what some call it? Strange...Last time I checked, that mass in your skull was still there. Let's not try to be something we're not, ok?"

Mathias struggles to cover up his scar so the other's behind him might not see, however the shadow makes sure he can't.

" We're nearly there! Right through here!"

The shadow continues forward, Mathias trailing close behind.

Through the wall of the hallway lies a smaller chamber, softly lit by candles and a small fireplace. Along the back wall lies an assortment of coffins. At the leftmost side is an ornate sarcophagus, decorated with gold and other precious stones.

"Hmmm...Hmm? No no no no, this simply won't do."

The shadow begins to walk down the line from left to right. The quality of the coffins suffers noticeable downgrades as he continues, eventually reaching the rightmost coffin: a few planks nailed together rather shoddily.

"Ah, here! This one! And it's our size too! Now, if you'll just step inside, we can reach the end. Come!"

"I don't understand. What is all this?"

The shadow loses it's jovial tone and turns to Mathias.

"This is what we want. The end!"

It turns around and faces the wretched box.

"Adapt or die. We've clearly not the means to adapt. We've been dying for most of our life, it's what we're comfortable with. Adapt or die. It's a law of the universe. We're clearly not suited to adapt, so what does that leave us?

It turns and points right at Mathias, glaring through him with golden eyes.

"Adapt..........or die."

The shadow returns to it's joyous demeanor.

Now, if you'd just step in here we can reach the end! It'll be quick, I promise!"

It guides it's hands along the jagged exterior of the box, lid ajar.

".................No."

The shadow clenches it's fists, stamping it's feet on the rickety floor.

"NO NO NO NO NO!"

The room shakes. Sounds of machinery can be heard from the other side of the four walls.

"We want this! This is all we've ever wanted! The end is right here! You missed it once, here it is again! Grab it! Embrace it!"

The shadow throws it's arms to the ceiling.

"RETURN TO THE BLACK ABYSS FROM WHICH YOU CRAWLED YOU PATHETIC WASTE OF SPACE! They aren't here for you! No-one is! Just the way you want it!"

The walls crack and fall to reveal a massive graveyard. Conveyor belts move body after body into massive craters in the ground. The sky is on fire.

"Here it stands before you! The end! See them? They've reached the end, and you can too! You don't want to wait years and years again, do you? Let's just get it over with! Let's end the suffering, hmm?"

T he shadow begins to age. Wrinkles appear, and it's hair falls out, revealing the same scar that Mathias has. It begins to look like a corpse.

"No more games. Please, if you'd just-"

"No."

The fiery sky grows more violent, and the wails in the distance grow louder and more tortuous.

"ENOUGH!"

The shadow ages even faster now, revealing bones and rotten flesh. It gets down on it's knees and grabs at Mathias' legs, begging. It's unclear whether or not the shadow is sobbing or laughing maniacally.

"GET IN THE BOX AND MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! IT HAPPENS OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER! END IT! ALL OF IT! RIGHT NOW!"

Dead hands emerge from the dirt, where the rickety wooden floor used to be. They latch on to Daisuke, Yuri, and Hayate, pulling them down.

"GET IN THE BOX! GET IN THE FUCKING BOX AND MAKE IT ALL GO AWAY!"

The corpse-like shadow's head begins to burn as it rises to meet Mathias face-to-face.

"We don't have a future, it's already set in stone! Them? They do! They live normal lives, and you hate them for it. Look at them, the disgusting things, all of them. They're just like the others! You've seen this all before: the looks of fear and sympathy, exactly what you don't want, all of it! And this game of tug-o-war you play with that cancer? You're going to lose, and you're looking forward to it! That way, we won't have to drag anyone else down into despair. You don't want support. You don't want to move forward towards a beginning that will never be. You don't want anything but the sweet embrace of eternal sleep! A wonderful escape, if I do say so myself! And adapting? Pfft! You've been gone too long. It wouldn't be any use. You'll never be able to catch up to the lives these people have already made for themselves, never be able to create the bonds they have, never understand what love and affection are. We know only hatred and jealousy, and we know them well."

The shadow ends his monologue and returns to a calmer state, still ablaze.

"Please, let's just face reality, and stop wasting time. The end is the answer.

The shadow caresses Mathias' cheek.

"It's for the best."

The shadow gestures once more towards the coffin as the party descends farther into the dirt.

"Let's go. Nice and easy."

The shadow wraps his arm around Mathias, and the two begin to approach the mess of nails and wood.

Before the end he stood, gazing into nothing. It was peaceful. Mathias turns to face himself, a mournful look on his face.

"You're...you're right. I do hold a deep seeded hatred...for everyone. The life I had been living was interrupted by...the cancer. The reality of my life thus far had shattered. The people I called friends began to treat me differently, teachers began to look on me as though I were helpless, or some kind of freak. Everything changed, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. I moved from school to school, rather hospital to hospital, looking for treatment after it stopped working. This continued in a loop for years, and I'd become familiar with being avoided and looked on with pity. I was still human, but it was almost as though they didn't want me to be."

The shadow looks on in confusion.

Wherever I went, I brought an aura of despair and bitterness. I pushed away my peers, expecting what I had come to know as truth. I watched as they milled about every day, interacting like I couldn't, socializing like I couldn't, bonding and finding things to love about each other, just like I couldn't. Their mere existence was a testament to my contempt for them, living the lives that I had no hope of ever knowing because I got unlucky."

The shadow takes his arm off of Mathias, and steps back towards the wooden box.

"And again, I find myself somewhere new. I finally, after years of torment, have the upper hand on this cancer that I've grown familiar with. The cycle I've lived through time and time again starts anew. But this time, I'll make a difference, in one way or another. I have to."

In an instant, the scenery changes to a blank white room like before. Featureless, adorned with nothing. The shadow stands there in prime condition. No burns, no tears. Tranquil.

"You've been with me...for all this time."

The shadow stands expressionless.

"You and I. One and the same."

The shadow closes his eyes and smiles as it slowly descends into the ground. From that spot emerges Mathias' Persona

"I am Charon, the guide of souls. Let me lead you through the Styx so you may find Elysium." says the menacing figure before it morphs into a card of the Death arcana and into the open palm of Mathias. He finds his hat and replaces it on his head. He trembles once more before finding peace after what had taken place.

-

Awakenings of Misa Hiroyoshi and Makoto Sato.