Chapter 14: A Prophecy

What was really needed in a new world? Chiaki thought over it all as they kept walking through the sands. There was so much that she didn't like in the old world: the vast majority of her peers, restrictions that were given for no good reason, the injustices that came every day. While she worked hard and had all the right talents, people still denied her what she deserved. But what did it mean for a new world? She wanted the ability to get what she deserved and cast aside all that got in her way.

And she might just get that ability soon.

It took far too long wandering the desert to get here, but now they were approaching Asakusa's main gate. However, it was strangely silent. This place should be bustling and lively. But then most of those people were fools making more noise than they should. If no one else was here, didn't that technically mean she ruled here now? Being able to think like that gave her a thrill. Now if she could just back that claim up.

"There is an active cathedral here," Persephone said, pointing out a door with a glowing symbol.

"So we're not alone here," Chiaki said, a bit disappointed. "Well it's where we meant to go."

Inside, the building had a different air, cool and clean. The person inside was sitting on the steps leading up to three tall pillars, reading through a leather-bound tome. He looked over, not even closing his book. "Hello, what business have you here in the Cathedral of Shadows?"

"You're the guy who does fusion, right?" she asked. He nodded. "Will you fuse me with the demon here?"

The man shifted his dark glasses. "There could be a several issues with that. She's a servant of Kagutsuchi, so it must be within her duties."

"Her Reason has been named, so I will do as she wishes to continue protecting her," Persephone said.

"And does this Reason allow for such fusions?" he asked.

"I would think so," Chiaki said. "I'm advocating Yosuga, for a world of strength and beauty."

"That should work," he said, putting a hand on his book. "Do you have the backing of an approved summoner?"

"What do I need approval from someone else for?" Chiaki asked. How many barriers did she need to cut down for this?

"We decided to make that a requirement after some similar fusions caused some tragic events in the past," he said. "They were done recklessly and the hybrids lost control of themselves."

"Getting permission seems needlessly complicated when we both want it," she said. "But who can be approved in this world? There aren't many who aren't demons around."

"True, we have only three approved clients: the demon Baphomet, Hikawa of the Assembly of Nihilo, and Naoki the Demifiend. You'd need the agreement of one of them."

So it was a demon she'd never heard of, the nutcase who destroyed the world, or her friend who had changed so much. She wasn't sure if she could count on any of the three, but it was more likely Naoki would agree. "All right, was there any other restrictions?"

"No, that should be it."

That meant tracking Naoki down; maybe she'd have to figure out the terminals after all.

Kabukicho Prison was busy today. The nagas and oni here were complaining about missing an anticipated match at the headquarters. While Thor wasn't around because of said match, Mizuchi was worse to have immediately in charge. He had decided that the best way to amuse the restless bunch was to bring Futomimi out of his cell and torment him.

With his hands on his knees, Futomimi sat on the floor and tuned them out. He felt hazy with weakness and mostly numb to the new pain. They'd become bored before long. For now, they were jeering him with things that he wouldn't let himself hear. Thor had said not to kill him for the time being, so he could resist all he liked. If only they didn't have the other manikins watching; perhaps he could inspire them with his own strength.

The air turned nauseating; one of the onlookers must have suggested poison as a way to drag agony out of him. This would be tough. Closing his eyes, he tried to distance his mind from his body.

His awareness flipped around, putting the pains of his body beyond notice. All of his visions before were momentary glimpses of a few pieces in focus, dreams of potential. This was as clear as life, somewhere he was not.

Immediately, he recognized the uncertain demon of his earliest prophecies. He was trailed by four others… no, five. A demon bearing a red cape was watching over him as a spiritual being, not called to manifest. The other four were all with him: a momunofu that bore a different soul that his kin, a fairy-like shade of the goddess Uzume, a robotic dog that was silently pining for forgiveness, and a human boy with the potential for Creation.

"It's going to be an all-out war between the two groups. You really don't want to be involved."

The human hurried towards him. "Can't I do anything, Naoki? If there were more puzzles, I..."

So the uncertain one's name was Naoki. "I expect that out of Nihilo, but it's going to be deep in their base past the initial battle lines." That disappointed the human boy. "Like I suggested initially, try to contact Hijiri; he's investigating Hikawa and Nihilo as well. We've also got to be thinking ahead, about how to bring the old world back and end this mockery. I'm thinking of training myself so that whatever you and Chiaki come up with, I can fight back against whatever Hikawa summons to oppose us."

"Yeah, that's probably how we should do things," he said.

"Just don't get yourself in trouble, I have a lot on my hands," Naoki said, then entered the terminal room with two of the demons. The spirit followed as well.

And on the floor overhead, an ikusa had overheard the conversation. "Hmm, I thought he was going to take his slave somewhere else. But if he's just going to leave him here, then we don't have to lose such a valuable resource." The ikusa chuckled and went off to tell some friends about this. It was unfortunate, but would that human then come here? And lead Naoki to come after him?

However, the vision shifted him to another terminal room, the one in Asakusa. There was a human girl along with a demon girl. "Can you read this script?" the human asked.

"Of course," the demon said.

It made the human laugh. "I wonder if he ever thought to ask his dog to translate. Probably not. Can this tell us what Naoki's up to and where?"

Nodding, the demon girl moved the bottom ring, then examined the other two. "Hmm, it seems he has business in Ikebukuro and Ginza. There's going to be a huge conflict in the latter town soon, between the Assembly of Nihilo and the Mantra."

"Some group named Nihilo can't be up to any good. But who are the others?"

She turned another ring. "Mantra… is a group that has built up a kingdom of the strong within the Vortex World. They long to bring it into the world to be born."

Brushing her hand across a ring she wore, the human considered that. "They could make for good backers of Yosuga if they're willing to accept a queen over a king. And that does sound nice. Hmm, but is there any way to get to Ikebukuro now without using these? I will if we must, but I'd rather not."

After some searching, the demon came up with something. "There are transit tunnels still intact from here to Ikebukuru. The power has failed there, so much of it will be dark. But as a servant of Kagutsuchi, I can bring its light anywhere."

"Good, let's move on."

Then he was moved to a third terminal room. A man in a scaled brown suit examined the drum; symbols moved swiftly by his hand. "Two identical buildings separated by a collapsed highway," he thought aloud. "Both claimed by Nihilo, but only one is taking in magatsuhi. The area around that is left free for the residents of nearby Ginza, but the area around its quiet twin is kept under secure watch by Nihilo forces. And that area holds the inactive tower and a tunnel to the area with the Diet Building."

His inner thoughts continued on, strangely unheard by the individual. He was divided from a significant part of himself. It's a clear set-up; there's been plenty of similar situations. The flow of magatsuhi is being directed to the apparently inactive facility. When that part does something, it's going to be big. Perhaps a grand scale weapon? But a person of Hikawa's caliber wouldn't stop there. This weapon or system, it can be abandoned and their base moved, if that's their base at all. See if there's anywhere else magatsuhi is being directed from this harvester.

While those thoughts were unheard, they still affected him. "It has to be the inactive portion, that's important somehow. I don't know... if this directed flow can be traced, it'd reveal more of their hand. But that active part definitely feels like a cover operation. Maybe I can tell better at Ginza itself."

That's dangerous, but it should be a risk worth taking.

"Dangerous, but should be a risk worth taking," he murmured aloud.

And a fourth terminal room appeared. The rings spun in sync, then flashed bright to release Naoki and his followers there. Leaving immediately, they entered a space of concrete floors and rounded steel walls. Futomimi realized this was the sewer underpass between Ikebukuro and Ginza. They went to a collection of rooms and found some manikins there, putting together makeshift furnishings from metal and wood scraps.

"Oh, you're back," one of them said, wary but respectful. It was much less than the quaking fear that most of them had of the Mantra demons.

"The Mantra are going to come marching through here in a few hours," Naoki said. Trying not to alarm them more than necessary, he held a hand up. "They're not after you; they're after Nihilo. And I have a plan for this. Can you lift that giant gate in the center? If so, we can direct the path they'll need to take and hide all of you in a part they can't access easily."

"S-sure, we can shift all the gates from the control room here," one of the manikins there said.

"Um, why're you helping us?" another manikin said. "I mean, we're grateful, but, um, you're a demon too."

There was a twitch to Naoki's eye. He didn't consider himself fully demon? "Maybe," he said, putting that issue aside. "What matters more is that you all were kind to me when I had trouble passing through here. I'm repaying that favor now."

"Well that works, thank you." They started moving off to get others to help out.

Naoki glanced at the watery channel. "And if we had some paint that would stand out on the walls and floor, we could even outline the path for them. The other chambers are enough of a pain that I don't think they'd question if this one seemed simple."

That was occurring right now. Futomimi felt grateful too; those in hiding had done a great service to other manikins to get this demon to exchange favors already. With that, he knew it was more likely that Naoki would help them rather than destroy them.

And then he felt a shift that he knew instinctively was the vision moving into the future. This battle that the Mantra were marching out for, Nihilo expected it. The Mantra would destroy so much, including a token force of Nihilo demons, that they would declare their victory rashly. However, the leader of Nihilo was a human who could have been a devil in disguise. He would command the force of nightmares to overcome the headquarters of his invaders when they had returned to celebrate. The magatsuhi would flow out of that tower like a waterfall. Even the mighty Gozu-Tennoh would fall.

And the manikins in the Great Underpass would not be discovered thanks to the actions of Naoki.

With a rude blizzard, his visionary trip was over. Futomimi's body shivered as the water that soaked him tried to turn to ice. Mizuchi was wrapped around him, staring with unseen eyes. Around them, the oni and nagas teased the water snake. "How dare you fall asleep on us! You will not be able to imagine the suffering that will be given to you now!"

"The Mantra will fall," Futomimi declared calmly, causing a hush over the guards, visitors, and prisoners. "I have seen it just now. Your lives will flow upwards like a waterfall in a nightmare system designed by Nihilo. Gozu-Tennoh will crumble and there will be too few of you to regain strength. When the time of Creation is at hand, the Mantra will have no influence on the new world."

He blacked out shortly after, but he wasn't afraid.

"A prophecy has just been spoken."

Hikawa raised an eyebrow. Who would be a prophet in this world? Perhaps if certain demons had shown up… it might be worth it to try allying with one. They might see things Yuko couldn't. "Who gave this prophecy?"

As his system was getting close to completion, Yuko was now hanging upside down over the dais here. "A manikin named Futomimi; he is their leader."

One of them? "They're nothing more than clay and a cocktail of strong emotions. They shouldn't be capable of producing a prophet."

"He is named. He has a more coherent soul."

"Perhaps that could make the difference. Repeat his prophecy for me."

"The Mantra will fall. I have seen it just now. Your lives will flow upwards like a waterfall in a nightmare system designed by Nihilo. Gozu-Tennoh will crumble and there will be too few of you to regain strength. When the time of Creation is at hand, the Mantra will have no influence on the new world."

It made him smile at how accurate it was without making sense to those who heard it. A nightmare system, then? He'd not given it an official name, but it could scare whatever of the Mantra managed to survive. "It'd be nice to see that prophecy spread. The system is basically complete, so I can easily hold off on activation for a good moment. What are the Mantra up to now?"

"They are gathering their warriors for a surprise attack on the Ginza facility from the Underpass."

"Hmm." He rubbed his chin. That meant that the force could be slammed as they tried to exit the tunnel. Or even inside the warehouse; an explosion there would cause mass hysteria for humans trying the same tactic, perhaps the same for these demons. But then they'd come over the one bridge, or cross the river itself, to attack from a predictable direction. That facility was already a ruse, so they may as well take advantage of that.

"The Demifiend will be involved," Yuko said.

That caused him pause. "Then that theory came true. Interesting. Let me guess, it was that average student of yours?" It made sense, to tempt the one who got lost in a crowd with the power to stand far above the rest.

"Yes, it's Naoki."

"We should see if he's clever enough to reach the true core. I will be leaving now, there is much to do." He brought out his miniature Amala drum and transported himself to the Ginza base.

She'd found some of the information she'd been assigned to, such as how the sword of Masakado was under the care of the Cathedral of Shadows. She'd found other interesting tidbits, like one of the other children had attempted to fuse herself with a demon already. Since the idea amused him, Hikawa planned on sending a note to the ministers giving them the permission she sought. He wasn't about to babysit her, but seeing what came of that was too good to pass up.

Unfortunately, Yuko was not able to clear up the issue with the Divine Messenger. The riddle was still the same: there were two trumpeter angels roaming the Vortex World, chose the one of living revelations over deadly. It seemed that Kagutsuchi wanted to force them to take their time in its realm. If it wasn't for that riddle, Hikawa could have everything prepared to summon the road to Kagutsuchi within a few of its cycles.

At least there were plenty of things to entertain himself with in the meanwhile.

While he'd proposed the attack, Naoki didn't think it was wise to get in while the Mantra were fighting. He'd have to get by both Mantra and Nihilo demons in what was sure to be fierce battles. Once he made sure the Underpass manikins were securely hid, Naoki went to the terminal there. Lucifer's attendant had given him instructions on how to access the labyrinth to return the candelabrum. After setting it up for a transport, he held Sovereignty to the area with possible destinations. A red symbol appeared in a blank spot, glowing brighter than the rest.

Choosing that one brought them to another terminal room, identical to the one he'd left. Leaving let them into one of the strangest halls Naoki had ever seen. Red magatsuhi flowed through the black walls; all surfaces were curved and very organic. Wait, organic? It wasn't nearly as disgusting as that first passage, but it felt similar to his horn. If these were the depths of the Amala abyss, he could believe that it was alive.

"Isn't this in the Abyss?" Momunofu asked, looking into the walls himself.

"I thought it might be," Uzume said. "If those candelabrum belong to Lord Lucifer, then of course the place to return them would be his domain."

"Well if you wanted to avoid battles, this wouldn't be the place to do it," Momunofu said, although he had an eager smile saying this.

"It shouldn't be as chaotic as what's going to happen in Ginza," Naoki said. "We'll look around a little while, then get back near the end of that." Although he could only hope that his estimates were right.

The room past the hall looked starkly normal compared to the hallway. Rectangular in shape, it had wooden floors and peach-colored walls. A simple chandelier with six candles lit the room surprisingly well; he felt enchantments at work doing that. There were three chairs with simple cloth covers and metal backs; those were the only furnishings. In contrast, one of the walls was covered entirely by heavy red velvet curtains.

While there should be nothing but a wall behind the curtains if Naoki's senses were right, the edge of one was pulled aside as a woman walked in. She was the one who with Lucifer any time Naoki had been in here; the simple black dress and face veil wasn't an outfit he saw in everyday life. "Welcome, Demi," she said, giving him a small bow. "I see that you have already reclaimed one of the candelabrum."

"You're by yourself today?" he asked, since that was the most curious thing to him.

"My master will meet with you again if you make it to the bottom of this labyrinth," she said. "Until then, when you come across spaces like this, I am permitted to come up and speak with you. I can teach you things that you would have no way of learning for yourself."

These things could be half-truths or outright lies. But it shouldn't be a problem to listen and consider their tales against everything else. "All right. What do I call you?"

"My name is not important, but you may call me Yuriko if that makes you more comfortable," she said. "Go ahead and sit down with me. Today, I can tell you about the man who brought about this Vortex World, Hikawa."

That would be good to know if he encountered him. Yuriko took one of the chairs on the side. Momunofu gestured to Uzume; he seemed fine with standing nearby. Taking the seat on the other end of the grouping, Naoki wondered if this would pass enough time.

"First, you should know about a cult that operated in hiding on your old world," Yuriko said, making a book appear in her hand. It had a pentagram on the cover, reminding him of something he'd seen in the hospital. "The Cult of Gaea was devoted to finding enlightenment through the chaos of the world. By accepting all doctrines and studying them seriously, they sought the ultimate truth in the universe. This includes attaining knowledge from us demons and striving for a partnership. Nearly every summoner in your world had connections to Gaea as that is the main way they had to study and practice their arts.

"Yet within such an open-minded society, Hikawa was considered a heretic. Gaea would have been torn apart and hunted down by scientific rationalists if they operated openly; he wanted to use their knowledge to change the world. There were those who wanted to see him thrown out. However, he provided vast funds as a powerful businessman and helped to negotiate property deals to improve their hidden temples and academies. It made them hesitant on losing him.

"He used that reliance to search for documents within their Great Library to make his ambitions real. In his research, he stumbled across a small book that others had forgotten about: the Scriptures of Miroku. It had been written by an obscure prophet who had discovered the mechanisms of the Amala Universe and its system of world rebirth. The scriptures told of how Earth would die, leaving a shell of itself behind to create an egg for the next world's birth.

"Also within those passages were instructions on how to summon relics that recorded and displayed all the knowledge contained within the Amala Universe. Those are the Amala drums that you know as terminals. With those instructions, Hikawa was able to summon a drum into your mundane world. It confirmed all that he had read. Not only that, but the appearance of a drum within a world connects it to the Amala Network. It could be called an omen of what was to come.

"Hikawa then spent several years and a few billion dollars in order to trigger the Conception in a way that favored him. His fellow Gaeans discovered this obsession of his and tried to talk him out of it, to no avail. By the time they officially denounced him, an opposing cult known as the Church of the Messiah had been alerted to his deeds. The Mesian Templars organized a raid to stop him as well. Instead of being concerned about this, Hikawa turned his enemies against each other."

That part sounded familiar. "That's when they clashed at the construction site?"

Yuriko nodded. "Exactly that. But the bloodshed and strife was not enough for him: he released his own demons into the crowd to slay both sides equally. This gave him enough sacrifices to trigger the Conception event. While that last day you spent on Earth may have seemed peaceful, the truth is that the world was dying rapidly on a planetary scale. That battle was the last chance anyone had to stop this from happening."

"But even if it had and he died then, the scriptures were still there to be found again," Naoki said. If this story was true, then the origins of this went all the way back to whenever this Miroku decided to write down how the world would end. But who had told them?

"That's so," she admitted. "That should be enough for now. You can see how much preparation he made for this all; take care when you come up against him."

He'd already been sure that Hikawa wasn't someone to take lightly. But this put it into sharp perspective. He was a high school student and Hikawa had manipulated two cults at once. If Naoki could manage it, avoiding Hikawa for now seemed the best option.

"There is one more thing I should do at this time," Yuriko said. "Do you have the means to light the candelabrum?"

Well, there was Fire Breath. "Nothing practical."

"Give me your hand." Once he did, she placed both of her hands around his. "I pass onto you the spell Lightoma. It can bring light anywhere. While it seems a mundane utility, it can be an invaluable aide. The stand for the Candelabrum of Foundation is in the next room. You'll be free to travel through the First Kalpa then."

"I didn't want to spend too much time here," Naoki said.

"Don't worry about it; we can send you to the moment you intend to return, as long as it is after when you entered. I will be watching over you."

As he went to the next room, Naoki considered that it would make for a good place to train if he didn't have to care about time spent here. This room was the same as the hallway, a dome of black with red magatsuhi flowing through it. The pedestal was a strange thing, like art meant to be understood only by a select few. Even with his horn, it was hard to tell if it was petrified wood or wood-like stone. It might even be clay. The uncertainty annoyed the magatama; he felt compelled to touch it and confirm the material.

Naoki ignored the compulsion as best he could and set Foundation on the pedestal. Then Lightoma… it worked like the healing items. He created a glowing bubble on his palm, then crushed it. As a larger glowing orb left his hand to settle behind his head, the white candles came alive with golden white flames. A door to another passage lifted up with an unsettling organic sound.

Past that, their surroundings changed yet again. Naoki still felt how alive this place was, but it now looked like somewhere people might live. White marble and decadent furniture even made it look luxurious. But on second thought, maybe it wasn't somewhere humans would live. The tables, chairs, and vases were scattered about seemingly at random. There was an upside down table to his right and a loveseat facing the wall to his left; they were hardly the only unusable pieces around. Not only that, but the doors were all circular and corners jutted in and out everywhere.

"Is this what the Abyss usually looks like inside?" Naoki asked. What pictures he'd seen of it were abstract or symbolic renditions.

"It normally wouldn't be so white," Momunofu said, bothered by that for some reason.

Uzume nodded. "Other than that, yes, it's a place demons would live in together. Can't you see the chaos mocking order?"

"It's a thoughtless chaos, at least I think so," Naoki said.

Before he could decide on a direction to explore first, the door squelched behind him and made an irritating metallic ring. He turned and found that three red chains were now crossing the door. There was a sign on the wall by it: 'Until the second and third pedestals are located, there will be no escape from the First Kalpa. Use whatever means necessary to reach them. As always, new contracts are forbidden within the labyrinth.'

He hoped that the time spent here really didn't matter, or else he'd miss his chance to find Yuko.

Isamu was reading the Amala drum again. "Oh, that Hijiri is the author of that article Chiaki was into. But if I work with him, I'd be the assistant to the assistant. It might help, but that's even less important. If only I could use the Amala network itself as a real power..."

"Master?" Pascal crept around the drum, trying to get his attention. "There's an important place to the rituals of Creation that can only be reached through the network. It's the Amala Temple, and the key is within the network's passages."

"Well what good is a temple right now?" Isamu asked. "Unless Ms. Takao is there."

"I don't know," Pascal admitted. "But if you named your Reason, you will easily be able to locate its key. That key is sure to help you become a master of the Amala Network."

"That sounds cool," he said. Pascal wagged his tail briefly, but Isamu didn't smile or come over to pet him. It seemed like he was still mad. "A lot better than being somebody's assistant; a network master could make everyone else his assistants, right?" He chuckled, shifting a drum. "So I just need a named Reason to start looking? Why don't we just call it Restoration and be done with it? That's what Naoki was talking about."

As Pascal expected, the Amala drum did not react to that. "But that'd be his Reason, if he could form one. It's not your Reason."

"Can't I make it mine?" Isamu grumbled. Then it clicked. "If he could? Wasn't Naoki brought into this place with us?"

"Yes, but in being reborn with a demon's body, he can no longer form a true Reason," Pascal said.

"Well that's one thing I have over him, I guess." Isamu scratched his head. "I could still go with it, if it's better than nothing."

"No, you need to do this ritual properly and start by agreeing to play by Kagutsuchi's rules," he said. As much as he wanted to please this master, he was strictly forbidden from disobeying his true master.

"Some of those rules sound dumb," he said. "And this isn't getting me anywhere with doing something helpful. Go watch the door and make sure no one interrupts me."

Pascal whimpered at that, but it did not sway Isamu. Still, that was an order and protecting his master was something that had to be done. He sat by the door and watched with an ear towards Isamu. Maybe he would need something, maybe Pascal could still prove himself to be good.

A/N: I'll go ahead and say that this Yuriko is not the usual SMT Yuriko. Her name really doesn't matter.