Chapter 25: Zeus and Typhon
Nyarlathotep regarded Yukari balefully, without the smugness he had displayed in his previous encounters with them. "My Tenebrae. Useless, every last one of them" he began in his deep, mellifluous voice. "Still, I believe some measure of congratulations are in order. To think that you would make it all the way here….it galls me to admit it, but I have clearly underestimated you".
Yukari lifted her chin and met Nyarlathotep's otherworldly gaze, refusing to show a hint of fear. "Get out of my way" she commanded in a calm, cold tone. Nyarlathotep grinned at her, an evil, twisted expression, and he seemed to regain a measure of his mocking superiority.
"Come now, there is no need to be so uncivil. I have a proposition for you" he told her.
"I don't want anything from you" Yukari snarled defiantly. "All I want is for you to get out of my sight, so I can beat your partner and put an end to this nightmare".
"My, my. Are you so eager to run off to your death, Yukari Takeba?" Nyarlathotep replied smoothly. Something about the way he said the word 'death' brought a chill to Yukari's spine. She remembered Mnemosyne's words, that summoning Zeus would almost certainly kill her. She had tried to put that from her mind as she focused on her desperate climb up the Storm Temple, but now….
Nyarlathotep's grin widened as he looked at her knowingly. "You think that sacrificing yourself is the only way to restore your world to the way it was, and for your friends to live in peace. Since you've pushed us this far, I'm willing to show my respect by offering you an alternative solution".
His tone was silky and persuasive, lacking its usual mocking quality. Yukari knew she shouldn't listen to this monster's words, but she couldn't help it. Some part of her, the part that was terrified of dying and was seeking any way out of what she had to do roused her curiosity and made her keep silent as Nyarlathotep continued.
"I know that you have come here with the power to summon Zeus". Yukari gasped at this, but Nyarlathotep paid her no heed. "Erebus and I have been in communion with Typhon, and we have reached a mutual agreement. The agreement is this: if you turn over the Blessed Loincloth and the power of Zeus to me now, then we shall withdraw from this world for a period of one hundred years. The Storm Temple will vanish, and it will appear to all as though you were victorious over us- without having to sacrifice yourself".
Yukari gaped at him. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard. "You're saying you'll just give up and go away if I give the Blessed Loincloth to you?" Then she remembered the other part of what Nyarlathotep had said. "Wait…what happens in one hundred years?"
"Typhon will return and ravage this world with his eternal storms of chaos, just as he seeks to do now" Nyarlathotep replied. "The future humanity will be doomed- but by then, you and all of your friends will have led full lives. No one you know now will still be alive in a century's time. You will have effectively saved everyone on this planet. Humanity will live in blissful ignorance of their inevitable fate until the time comes".
Yukari fell silent. She thought she heard Rei's voice in the back of her mind. "Yukari-chan, you mustn't! The Blessed Loincloth is proof that humans and Zeus are friends. It's a mark of his respect for you. If you give it away, humans will never be able to call on Zeus' protection ever again!"
"How do I know you're not just trying to trick me?" Yukari responded desperately. "How do I know you're not just trying to get me to give the cloth to you so you can screw us over now?"
"If that were the case, why would I bother telling you that Typhon will return in a century's time?" Nyarlathotep replied with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "If I merely wanted to trick you, would I not claim that the Blessed Loincloth was all we desired, and that we would never return if you gave it to us, or some other such nonsense? Of course, even you would not be so foolish as to believe that. No, the agreement between us is true. I have told you no lies."
Though it shamed her to admit even to herself, a part of Yukari was tempted. Why should she have to die for people who hadn't even been born yet? Still, she knew it was wrong. There were so many people counting on her, to save not only the present but the future as well. How could she let them all down just to save herself?
As if sensing her weakness, Nyarlathotep continued slyly. "You think that sacrificing yourself to save the world, even a world you will never see, is the 'right thing to do'. But let me ask you this. Just what is 'the world'? Some might say planet Earth. Others might say 'the human race'. But are either of those things truly the definition of 'the world' to anyone? No, they are not. Each individual's 'world' is nothing more than the tiny part of it they occupy, their own lives, their friends and family, their little part of a big city- or their small town". Yukari did not miss his overt reference to the Investigation Team. She clenched her hands tightly around her bow. "Things that are happening in distant nations may as well be occurring in a different universe for all they impact on people's daily lives".
"That's not true!" Yukari protested angrily. "Everyone's coming together and trying to help each other out!"
"When Minato Arisato died for the world, do you think he was dying for the sake of people he never met?" Nyarlathotep asked challengingly.
"Don't you dare say his name!" Yukari shouted at him furiously, unleashing an arrow of light directly at him. It passed harmlessly through him, and he simply rippled and reappeared a few paces to the left of where he had been standing.
"He died for his friends. His comrades in SEES and the people he knew around Port Island. He died for your sake. That was his 'world". Nyarlathotep's words were relentless. "You can save as much as he did by accepting my offer. There's no need to sacrifice your life".
"No" Yukari replied shortly.
"Let me show you the world" Nyarlathotep replied. "Let me show you what you intend to sacrifice your life to save. Then we shall see if your answer remains the same".
Nyarlathotep pinned Yukari with his stare, and suddenly the world spun about her, the Storm Temple fading from her view to be replaced by unfamiliar scenes. Nyarlathotep assailed her with images of the world as it had been in the months before Darkstorm began to enact its plans, long before the revival of the Storm Temple. She saw children living in extreme poverty, dying of thirst, malnutrition and disease while the world spun on uncaring. She saw families torn apart by war, or slaughtered wholesale by tyrannical dictators. She saw terrorists committing atrocities, killing dozens of innocent people. She saw a Caucasian man shoot another man in the head over a minor dispute and drive on as if nothing had happened. She saw women being sexually assaulted, and saw the criminals responsible go unpunished. She saw politicians ruining their countries for their own selfish ends, accepting bribes and giving away their nation's land and wealth to underserving family members. She saw cruelty and sadism even towards children.
At first, Yukari tried to help the victims. But she found she was like a ghost, and could interact with nothing. Nyarlathotep gloated and told her that these were visions of the past, of events that had already been and gone, but which were without exception true. Yukari could do nothing but watch helplessly in horror and disgust at the heartlessness and barbarity she was being forced to witness. She saw guns placed in the hands of children, saw members of a Mexican Drug Cartel scattering the body parts of innocents they had murdered around a nightclub. Even in Yukari's home country of Japan, she found no respite. There, too, she saw domestic abuse, criminal acts and unimaginable cruelty behind closed doors. She saw people of all nations and ethnicities driven to suicide through the words and actions of others.
Clutching her head in her hands, Yukari sank to her knees before the laughing Nyarlathotep. "Please" she begged, "no more. I can't take it anymore! I don't want to see this! This can't be how people are! This can't be the world, the world we're fighting for, and Minato died for!"
There was triumph and ecstasy in Nyarlathotep's face as he stood towering over her, his eyes gleaming golden against his dark skin and black clothing. "Oh, but it is the world. Everything I have shown you is true. It really took place, and had nothing to do with Darkstorm. Do you see now, Yukari Takeba? Humans are nothing but vulgar, savage, hypocritical beasts! I, who embody their base qualities, and was present in their hearts during all you witnessed, know this better than any mortal possibly could. What I have shown you is merely the tiniest fraction of the depravity of the human race. If we spent the next thousand years doing nothing but viewing the sins of those alive today, we would not be finished."
Yukari's heart felt like it was on the verge of shattering. How could she have been so blind? The world wasn't worth protecting. She had thought most people were like her and her friends; flawed, but basically good, compassionate people inside who cared about others and valued life. Yet what she had seen had obliterated that idea. People seemed nothing but heartless monsters. Could she really give her life to protect people like that?
"You see now? The world isn't worth the sacrifice you were prepared to make for it" Nyarlathotep cooed persuasively. "The only people who should matter to you are your friends. This world doesn't need a future. It would be better off without one. All you have to do is give me the Blessed Loincloth, and this can all go away".
Yukari looked up, peering through her bangs at Nyarlathotep's compelling gaze. She wanted to live. She wanted this nightmare to end. Yet something still held her back. There was a quiet strength within her, a warmth that told her that despite what she'd seen and heard, all the pain, the screams, the blood and the cries for mercy that went unheeded, Nyarlathotep was not completely right. Yukari reached within herself, seizing that strength and holding onto it with all her might. It was at that moment that she heard a familiar voice in her mind.
"Yukari-chan? Can you hear us? Please, hang in there!" Yukari recognised that voice. It belonged to Fuuka, Yukari's long-time friend. Somehow, just hearing Fuuka's voice helped clear Yukari's mind. She clung to that warmth, the memories of Fuuka's gentle kindness.
"Yukari-san? You can't give up! Senpai and the rest of us are all with you, so please, you have to fight him. I know the world can be a nasty place sometimes, but that's not all there is to it. There's love, and kindness, and good people in it too!"
Yukari blinked, feeling like she was waking up after a long illness. That voice had been Rise's. Why was Rise talking with her? Had she combined her power with Fuuka's so they could increase their range? Slowly, other voices began to form in Yukari's mind, brought to her by Fuuka and Rise. Mitsuru, Saya, Akihiko, Yu, Teddie…all her friends who had fought inside the Storm Temple with her. With their words of encouragement came fond memories, pleasant experiences she had shared with them, as well as their own happy recollections of others. Yukari was filled with Junpei's courage, Yu's wisdom, Mitsuru's iron will, and much more besides. As their voices filled her mind and their feelings thawed her heart, Yukari felt like she once again had the strength to stand.
She looked directly into Nyarlathotep's eyes, and he actually flinched and took an involuntary step back from what he saw therein. Power continued to flow into Yukari, and through Fuuka and Rise, her senses began to extend beyond the boundaries of the Storm Temple. Other voices previously unknown to her came to her, and though Yukari should not have had the capacity to hear and understand every single one, somehow she could. Her heart touched those of thousands, then tens of thousands of people, spreading out over the world.
She saw people giving freely to charity to help those in the world who were suffering and in need. She saw people who risked their lives to save strangers they had never met before. She saw people reaching out to each other in understanding, bridging cultural and other boundaries. She saw a happy couple, thrilled with the successful delivery of a healthy baby. She saw a group of proud students celebrating their valedictorian's success, and sharing in it. She saw a group of scientists, proudly developing medicines and technologies to help people all across the world. She saw leaders sitting across the table to discuss peace. She saw young people like herself, full of hope and ambition for the future.
Yet more than anything else, she felt their love of the world. They wanted to protect their families, their cultures, and their civilisation. They were united in their desire to drive Darkstorm back, to purge the world of this evil. Oh, there were still Darkstorm cultists fighting on the ground, but they were like a single drop of dirty oil in a vast ocean of pure water. Yukari bathed in that energy, and Nyarlathotep's face went pale, and he flung up an arm to shield his eyes.
"You fool! There is no such thing as a world only for good people! If you fight Erebus and try to stop Typhon's descent, you won't just be protecting the innocent! You'll be protecting all the murderers, rapists, paedophiles and other vermin as well! Is that really what you want? Just give me the Blessed Loincloth! GIVE IT TO ME!"
"It's true that there are bad people" Yukari replied defiantly. "It's true I can't cherry-pick. If I'm going to protect the world, I have to be willing to defend all of it, both the good and the bad. I was weak. Sometimes, I can be a selfish bitch- I know I'm not perfect. But you're flat out of luck, Mister, because just now, my friends reminded me what I- no what we are fighting for. They opened my eyes, and now I can see that even with everything that's wrong with it, I still love this world. I'm going to fight for it, and its future, even if it means I have to give up my life. I can do it because I know I'm not alone; any of my friends would do the same if they were in my position- and so would lots of the people outside. It's not just my will, but the will of everyone, so if it's destiny that this world gets destroyed by Typhon, then destiny better watch out, because we're busting right through it!"
A brilliant nimbus gathered around Yukari, flinging back the Shadows and filling the Storm Temple's highest chamber with light. Nyarlathotep screamed, a cry of both rage and fear, and fled from that light, scattering into a swarm of black butterflies that quickly dispersed. The power continued to gather within Yukari, the faith of her friends, and the hopes and dreams of the entire human race. The curtains of her mind were flung asunder, and she heard the powerful female voice, stronger and more jubilant than ever before.
Thou art I, and I am thou.
The bond thou hast nurtured hath finally matured. These true bonds, which transcend time and fate, shall become your path to the destiny you desire.
The Darkstorm Eradication Force social link has reached its maximum level. We bestow upon thee the ability to create Ananke, the Ultimate Form of the Judgement Arcana. With the blessing of all mankind, you may call upon the Queen of the Cosmos, Mother of the Fates and Supreme Master of Destiny!
With Nyarlathotep gone, the stairs to the roof where Erebus awaited were clear, but the door to the Velvet Room abruptly appeared to Yukari's immediate right. Despite her haste, something told her that it would be a very good idea to accept this invitation. She grabbed the handle and pushed her way inside.
The Velvet Room looked as she had never before seen it. It was like the grand ballroom of some elegant palace died in blue; the vulgar gambling machines from Yukari's previous visits were nowhere to be seen. Behind his customary desk, Igor sat alone in the middle of the large, empty space, which reminded Yukari uncannily of the Palace of Fate. Theodore was obviously still fighting alongside Margaret outside.
Igor's expression was both solemn and immensely proud as Yukari seated herself before him. "Truly, I am blessed to see this wondrous culmination of human spirit and potential" he began without preamble. "You have heard the many voices reaching out to you, have you not?"
Yukari nodded as she seated herself across from him.
"They represent the hopes, dreams and faith of all humanity" Igor told her solemnly. "The world places its trust in your friends, and they in turn believe in you. You have become the focus, the lynchpin on which this world's future turns. Your performance has been truly splendid, beyond my wildest expectations. With the power you now have within you, I can perform one final fusion for you, one that will bring out a Persona of unimaginable power".
Yukari nodded and turned over the cards. They numbered only two. Yukari couldn't explain how she knew that only these two cards would be needed, or that they were the correct combination. Igor took them from her reverently. He held the first one up, and it glowed with a pure white light.
"Isis" he said. "Your original Persona, and the truest representation of your heart. The wise and compassionate queen, master of magic and healer of the people, who walked the length and breadth of Egypt to gather the pieces of her murdered love". Igor gazed directly at Yukari with his bloodshot eyes, looking deep into her soul. "She represents your deep love for your friends, your willingness to go to any lengths to protect the ones you care about. She represents your will to stand in defiance of even Fate and the flow of time itself, no matter how difficult or dangerous it may be, or what obstacles lie in your path".
He held up the second card in his other hand. It glowed with a soft, golden light. "Moirai" he said, "the combination of the three Sisters of Fate, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos. This Persona represents your maturity, your willingness to accept that there are some things that cannot be changed, no matter how you try, but find the strength to carry on regardless. It represents your understanding that even though painful things happen, good can eventually come from them, and vice versa. You now know that it is wrong to meddle in the flow of time, and understand the need for structure and order in humans' perception of the universe".
With these words, the familiar blue binding circle appeared before Yukari. Though it was the same size as usual, it somehow seemed broad enough to encompass the entire sky. The two Persona cards moved toward each other and melded, silver-white and golden light intertwining in a beautiful and intricate dance. From that radiance emerged the image of a woman. Her bearing was regal and elegant, her form lovely and perfect. Her smooth skin was silver-white, like the soft glow of the moon. Her golden hair shone like the sun, threads of radiant gold woven from sunlight itself. She was garbed in the raiment of the cosmos itself; her long, magenta dress reminded Yukari of a burgeoning nebula in space, glowing with the heat of the young stars blazing within it. Her bodice was of white-and-gold, and patterns resembling stars and planets were woven into the sumptuous fabric. Her arms were adorned with gold and platinum jewellery, and in her eyes Yukari saw the universe itself; stars and even entire galaxies spinning gracefully through the infinite void of space. Yukari found herself having to look away from those eyes, lest she be lost in the infinity contained therein. In her hands she carried a staff; the haft was a measuring rod, the tip a spindle, and the bottom sharpened into a deadly blade.
"Who dares call to me?" the Goddess asked. Inside, Yukari quailed before the limitless power of the being that was behind this Persona, but she stood her ground, forcing herself to meet the infinity in that gaze. "You are a courageous mortal. To think that a mere human would have the power to reach out to me like this. Very well. I shall entrust you with a portion of my power. Let us see whether you can truly seize Destiny with your own hands".
The Goddess' rich, powerful and majestic voice faded away, and Yukari was left looking at Igor's stunned face. "I never thought I would see that Persona wielded by any mortal" he said breathlessly, more to himself than Yukari. "She is beyond even the Residents of the Velvet Room. Truly, when humanity unites, there is no fate they cannot overcome." He shook himself, and focused on Yukari. "With that Persona, you may have a chance at saving this world. In fact, it may even be possible- but no, one thing at a time. You have your confrontation with Erebus and Typhon to attend to first. Remember that you only hold a tiny fraction of the infinite power of Ananke. You do not order the Goddess herself. Do not be overconfident, lest the Shadow overtake us still".
"I won't" Yukari assured him. "And…thank you…for everything". Wondering if this was the last time she would ever visit the Velvet Room, Yukari turned and walked out. Her fears and doubts were gone. With her heart and eyes clear, Yukari ascended the final steps and emerged at the very highest point in the Storm Temple. It felt like she was standing at the edge of existence, on top of the very world itself. Below her, she could see the dark mass of the Storm Temple, and below that, the world stretched on in all directions to the distant horizon. The thick storm-clouds obscured the ground below, and Yukari knew she was higher than the tallest skyscraper, higher than the mountains themselves. By rights, she should be freezing and unable to breathe, but she felt no discomfort whatsoever. Above her, reality ended. The gaping black void above her appeared to have no edges from where she was now standing. Perhaps it no longer did.
Floating above the centre of the circular platform was the same dread figure she had seen kill Elizabeth. His hellish red eyes focused on her, and a look of savage triumph came across his inhuman face. "You're too late!" he snarled at her. "All your effort, all your pain, all your hope. It all comes to nothing, for you are TOO LATE!" His voice rose to a scream as he shouted the final words, and with a feeling of indescribable horror, Yukari knew what he meant. Though she could not see it from here, Yukari had a vision of what was happening. Six stone tentacles had finally burst forth from the lower reaches of the Storm Temple and anchored themselves into the ground amid the buildings of Tokyo. A torrent of power surged up from the Earth, flowing through the Storm Temple like blood through the nose of a mosquito. The power coursed up the central tower, converging on Erebus and enveloping him in a storm of darkness, raging black winds containing the raw essence of fury, despair and bloodlust.
"At long last, this wretched, worthless, pitiful race of fools who have so long been my tormentors will share in MY agony" Erebus shouted. "At last, they shall reap the fate they both desire and deserve. Weep, wail, and gnash your teeth, for Typhon has come!"
A pillar of black energy surged up from Erebus' upraised hands, into the heart of the abyss above them. From the infinite expanse of darkness, the abyss that devours all and knows no boundaries, Yukari felt something stir. It was a force that could devour entire worlds, crushing planets between its jaws. A force that could drive entire species to war and chaos, whipping them into a frenzy of bloodlust that heralds their own extermination. A force that could drive men to madness with the mere thought of the cosmic horror it represented. That force was pushing, heaving at the boundaries of time and space, matter and imagination, which separated it from our universe. Through the hole in reality wrought from the weakness of human hearts and drilled by Darkstorm and its masters, this unfathomable monster was trying to send something, an aspect of itself, to feast upon the Earth and its inhabitants, to further weaken the cage that held it and spread its evil deeper into the universe.
The black hole in the sky above Yukari suddenly changed, and she found herself looking out into deep space. Before her was the majestic sight of Jupiter, named for the King of the Roman Gods, their equivalent of Zeus. Somehow, Yukari knew that what she was seeing was akin to a picture on a television screen rather than a true wormhole to Jupiter, but what she witnessed was nonetheless real. Out of the raging depths of Jupiter's Great Red Spot, a storm so vast that it could swallow the Earth whole, a titanic form began to emerge. First, thousands of dragon-heads on sinuous, serpentine necks emerged from the depths, heedless of Jupiter's gravity. Each one could swallow nations in its jaws, but they were only the beginning. The serpents were attached to a monstrous head, a vaguely humanoid face with eyes that shone like a hundred thousand nuclear bombs were constantly erupting within them. Cruel fangs that could pierce a world's crust, a slit-like nose through which blew the flames of hell. The dragon-headed snakes erupted from the monster's scalp like the serpents that formed Medusa's hair.
A monstrous torso supported the head, rippling with muscles, plated with scales the size of continents. Four powerful arms tipped with razor-sharp claws emerged from the torso, which itself emerged from the back of a two-headed, twin-tailed dragon whose wingspan almost reached the breadth of the Red Spot itself. The Avatar of Typhon arose, heedless of Jupiter's gravity and radiation, unencumbered by the airless vacuum of space. The laws of physics were nothing to him, for he came from a place that was beyond time and space, where the petty laws of nature crumbled to dust before the madness of the Elder Forces. As yet, he was not fully formed in this world, existing partly in our universe, and partly outside of it, yet his power and presence grew by the second. On Earth, already living tornadoes tipped by the heads of spectral dragons began to descend on the terrified, helpless populace. The Darkstorm cultists and those who welcomed Typhon gained new vigour, and began to push back those who tried to defend their world. All knew that they were in their final moments.
Upon seeing the sheer scale and power of Typhon, Yukari knew why Mnemosyne, Elizabeth, Zen and Rei had warned her that he was like Nyx, and could not be defeated by mortals. While the rest of the world began to succumb to terror and despair, Yukari cleared her heart. The Blessed Loincloth blazed in her hands, and she surrendered her everything to Zeus. Power surged through her body, and an overwhelming consciousness began to swell within her mind, pushing aside her own thoughts and feelings. She felt like a balloon having an entire ocean's worth of water pumped into it. There was no way that her tiny, fragile human psyche could handle the titanic being that was now trying to force its way into the material universe through her.
Just as it seemed she would truly be torn apart in body, mind and spirit, Yukari felt something within her. It was the Persona she had recently fused in the Velvet Room. She reached for it, and felt a connection to a being immeasurably greater than herself, a power that suffused the entire universe. Yukari anchored herself to that power, to the Persona that was the culmination of all her friends' faith and the peoples' will to survive. She was carried by their voices and feelings, lifted above the torrent of power that threatened to sweep away all she was like paper tossed upon a raging river. She channelled that river, using the other tremendous power as a medium. Ananke was a vessel that could contain even the power of Zeus, and through Yukari, the King of the Gods began to take shape across from his nemesis as a pillar of pure white lightning shot out of Yukari's body and surged into the heavens, a beacon for all to see.
Zeus' skin was the brown of the rich earth of countless fertile worlds. His long hair and beard were the white clouds that danced across the Earth's surface. His noble visage struck fear into the hearts of monsters and demons everywhere, and his eyes blazed with the lightning of a hundred thousand storms. His armour was of adamant and diamond. His great shield, Aegis, shone like a second moon. Its gleaming surface could withstand a flare from the sun itself. It should have collapsed under the weight of its own mass, but the laws of nature touched Zeus as little as they touched Typhon. A great sword of pure light was in Zeus' right fist, and his mighty limbs were adorned with miniature stars, shining like jewels into the void. His robes were like the great ocean, and an atmosphere of breathable air clung to his skin. He was life personified, as if he himself were a living, breathing world in the shape of a man. He faced his adversary across empty expanse of space. Thousands of kilometres separated them, but time and distance meant nothing to these deities. Their battle transcended the mundane physical world, taking place within the very hearts and minds of men and women. It would be a duel that shaped the destiny of a world.
THOU SHALT FIND NOTHING HERE FOR THEE, TYPHON. RETURN TO THE PIT WHENCE YOU CAME, WRETCHED DEMON, FOR I SHALL NOT SUFFER THEE TO LAY ONE TALON UPON MY CHILDREN, NOR SHALL I ALLOW ANY TO IMPINGE UPON THEIR FREEDOM.
NO, ZEUS. THIS TIME, I SHALL TRIUMPH. THE PATHETIC VERMIN WHO COWER BEHIND YOU, AND THIS ENTIRE UNIVERSE, ARE NOW MINE.
Back on the summoning platform, Yukari saw a shining object before her. It took her a moment to recognise the other item Elizabeth had given her along with the Blessed Loincloth; the Adamas Steel, the same metal that Zeus' own armour was comprised off. Suddenly it twisted and unravelled in the air, wrapping itself around Yukari in bands of shining silver. It clung to her like a second skin, replacing the Featherman outfit she had been wearing. Soon, she was garbed in shining white and silver, the outfit superficially resembling her pink Featherman outfit and permitting her the same flexibility, but granting her armour stronger than diamond. More importantly, the outfit augmented her strength, speed, endurance and senses, and unlike her other outfits, she knew this one would perform that service for her no matter what Persona she adopted.
Erebus snarled at her, and his blazing eyes and open mouth contained all the hatred and malice in the universe. He leapt at her, black sword gripped tightly in his right hand, Necronomicon under the crook of his left arm. Yukari knew well his speed and power; his godlike strength had outmatched even Elizabeth, a ruler over power who could have dispatched Yukari or any of her friends with little more effort than if she were swatting an insect had she so chosen. By rights, Yukari should have no chance against this humanoid abomination, this living incarnation of darkness.
Yet she did. With speed and reflexes that easily matched Erebus' own, Yukari raised her bow, now shining like her armour, and unleashed a devastating arrow of light. Erebus was forced to pull back and dodge frantically to avoid being skewered by it. With a snarl of fury, he called upon Beelzebub, and the tower-top was suddenly awash with black flies intent on burrowing beneath Yukari's skin and wasting her away as they had done to Elizabeth. Yukari calmly summoned Shiva, and with a single blast of his devastating Pralaya attack, vaporised every last fly from the swarm.
Erebus unleashed a storm of Personas upon him. He called upon the vile Shub-Niggurath, who appeared as a giant bowl of diseased flesh covered with toothy maws and slimy tentacles covered with their own mouths and razor sharp, poisonous barbs. Yukari cleaved through it with a single stroke from Thanatos. Erebus called upon Fenrir, the great wolf and son of Loki and tried to devour her whole, but Yukari leapt gracefully into the sky and sent an arrow plunging directly into the wolf's eye. While it bellowed in agony, Yukari finished it with a blast of flame from Surt. Dagon fell to Odin's lightning, and Seth, the dread storm-lord of Egypt was put down by no less than Osiris, the Persona with which she had defeated Alistair Fox.
As Erebus was driven back, Yukari became aware of another battle taking place in the back of her mind. In the depths of space and the far reaches of imagination, Typhon raised one of the twin dragon heads that emerged from his lower body and sent forth a blast of flame that would have consumed the entire Earth. Zeus raised his mighty shield, and the planet-consuming inferno was scattered harmlessly into the depths of space. Zeus raised his sword, and a cavalcade of lightning raced from the tip, arcing across the impossible distance in a matter of moments to strike the monstrous Typhon. He roared in agony as the lightning surged through him, a roar that was felt rather than heard in the vacuum in which they fought.
Yukari's senses split yet again, and she became aware of the people fighting on the ground. The police and army struggled against armed Darkstorm cultists as well as desperate rioters. It was a brutal battle, fought toe-to-toe with guns and knives, yet the cultists were falling back, retreating as their opponents began to overwhelm them. Elsewhere, the wind dragons that had come to ravage the Earth at Typhon's behest faltered and fell back. Rescue forces successfully reached those in need, and the waters of Typhon's flood began to recede.
Yukari rained arrows down on Erebus. One lodged in his shoulder, and he cried out in pain. He tried to disintegrate her in a Black Viper from Satan, but Yukari predicted his attack, moving almost as if she had wings, and countered with a blast of lightning from Ma'at that sent Erebus reeling. In the skies above them, displayed for all in the open wound that acted as a window to the cosmic battle, Zeus scored a hit across Typhon's breast, drawing a line of blood across the scales of his chest that glowed like molten lava. Bits of scale the size of large asteroids were sent careening off into space, to be sucked in by Jupiter's immense gravity now that they were no longer a part of their owner. Typhon roared, and his other dragon head breathed a stream of pure cold that erased all heat energy from the space it occupied, bringing the temperature in an area hundreds of kilometres wide to absolute zero. Zeus took the attack on his shield and then nonchalantly smashed the rim of it against the dragon-head, sending shockwaves throughout Typhon's massive body.
It suddenly occurred to Yukari that the three battles were linked; her performance against Erebus was directly tied to how well Zeus fared against Typhon, as well as how their respective forces fared on the ground below. As the summoners of their respective deities and the two beings who stood at the pinnacle of the world's destiny, their wills would determine the outcome of this final showdown.
As she backed him into a corner, Erebus' face grew more and more bestial and inhuman, contorted with a hatred far beyond what any mortal could feel. His eyes blazed like crimson suns, and his veins stood out like inky rivers against his ash-white skin. At last, his fury and malice burst forth in a rush of dark energy, and his voice as he screamed at Yukari held the madness and hatred of billions. "Enough! The time for games is ended. By my own power, I shall destroy you utterly, so that not even the memory of your existence remains in this world!"
He cast aside the Necronomicon, and flung his sword to the ground. His claws elongated, and his teeth became razor sharp fangs. His jaw became unhinged, revealing a gaping maw that could have enveloped half of Yukari's head. An incredible blast of unholy power sent Yukari flying back almost to the edge of the platform as a dark aura of pure malevolence gathered around Erebus. Behind him, a towering Shadow began to form. It stood on massive, muscled legs supported by cloven hooves, and its skin was blacker than the depths of midnight. Vicious claws erupted from the digits at the end of its muscular arms, and two heads filled with razor sharp teeth sat upon its broad shoulders. Four eyes glowered down at Yukari like the pits of hell itself.
"Behold" Erebus cried. "This is the true gift I received from Nyarlathotep on that fateful day. This is my own Persona, the living embodiment of human malice, cruelty and despair. By pushing me this far, you have earned the right to die by the hand of my all powerful Persona, Nihilism!"
Before Yukari could react, one of the monstrous Persona's twin maws had already opened, and a blast of pure negative energy, blacker than the night sky engulfed her. A torrent of negative emotions assailed her, seeping in at the edges of her consciousness. The blast of dark power was so strong that even her Adamant costume strained to keep it from disintegrating her body. Just as she feared it might give out, the attack ceased and Yukari dropped to the hard floor of the summoning platform, feeling weak and exhausted.
She was given no time to recover, however, for Erebus was already launching his next assault. Yukari was forced to roll desperately to the side to avoid the massive fist of Erebus' Persona coming down with enough force to send shockwaves reverberating throughout the entire Storm Temple. Dragging herself to her feet, Yukari found herself having to fend off a savage barrage of strikes from Erebus' own dark claws. His mouth was open, displaying double rows of fanged teeth in a grotesque parody of a human grin as he slashed at her. Despite the protection of her new costume, Yukari sustained gashes to her arms and shoulder as she tried to shield her face and vitals, and felt warm blood coursing out from beneath the fabric.
Summoning all her strength, she blasted Erebus backwards with a Magarudyne from Osiris, gaining a bit of much-needed breathing space. She went through Persona after Persona, flinging all her most powerful attacks at Erebus, but it was all in vain. The embodiment of human malice and despair, the black Persona that had once been Erebus' original form effortlessly battered aside her attacks the way a professional athlete would deflect toys flung by a child.
In the void above them, the battle was likewise turning against Zeus. The mighty King of Olympus charged forward, sword held aloft, aiming to decapitate his foe with a single swipe, but Typhon anticipated his attack and flew down, neatly ducking under the attempted attack. One of Typhon's twin dragon heads that emerged from his lower body lashed out and sank deadly fangs into the meat of Zeus' leg. Globes of golden blood shone like stars in the vacuum of space as Zeus tried to shake his leg free. He raised his sword to strike at the head biting him, but Typhon caught his arm with two of his own clawed appendages, and with the opposing claws delivered two powerful slash attacks to Zeus' chest. The first merely damaged his armour; but the second broke through and left a gash on the god's chest. Zeus kicked the monster forcefully with his uninjured leg, forcing the dragon to release him and sending Typhon careening backwards, but the dark deity responded by launching twin blasts of flame and frost towards Zeus, forcing Zeus to raise his shield to absorb it and putting the King of Olympus entirely on the defensive.
On the ground below, the Darkstorm cultists attacked with renewed strength and vigour. They pushed those battling against them back, and the storm howled with ecstasy as its master struck at his nemesis. The dragons of wind once more began to descend from the sky, and fate itself seemed to turn against Darkstorm's opponents.
"It's over, foolish girl" Erebus gloated. "Your powers are no match for mine, nor are Zeus' for Typhon. The despair and cruelty in this world far outweigh its courage and compassion. After I finish you here, I will force your friends to watch as the world they have fought to protect is torn asunder before their very eyes!"
The titanic black beast manifested behind Erebus and opened both of its jaws at once. A gathering of pure hatred, destructive will, the absolute desire for non-existence began gathering in both mouths at once. Yukari knew there was no way she could withstand that attack; she had barely been able to survive a blast from just one head. Nor could she completely evade it; for such energy was being gathered around Erebus that it seemed there was nowhere on the entire tower-top she could go that would be out of range of the blast. The situation looked hopeless, but Yukari was determined not to give up while there was breath in her body. She would go down fighting, teeth bared in defiance of her fate.
It was at that moment that two enormous chunks of ice went flying through the air to hit squarely on the two bestial heads of Erebus' Persona. The ice clamped around the twin jaws like a muzzle, shutting off the flow of dark power that had been about to be unleashed on Yukari. Erebus let out a scream of fury and frustration. Shocked, Yukari turned to the source of the unexpected assistance.
Mitsuru and Teddie stood side by side, Artemisia and Kintoki-Douji still glowing above their heads. Behind them, the rest of Yukari's friends came pouring out of the stairwell that led to the uppermost chamber of the Storm Temple below. Yu Narukami and the rest of his friends came rushing up, followed swiftly by the familiar faces of her fellow Shadow Operatives; Junpei, Akihiko, Aigis, Labrys, Ken, Koromaru and Fuuka. Saya and Sho were there as well, standing proud and defiant with their weapons in hand. Yukari's heart swelled with love and hope and relief and a dozen other things as her closest friends and strongest allies poured onto the stage of the battle for the world's fate.
"Everyone! How'd you get up here?" Yukari exclaimed.
"As soon as you went in to fight Erebus, Fuuka-san and Rise started gathering everyone up from around the Storm Temple, and guided us up here" Yu explained with a grin.
"But what about the Reaper?"
"Mitsuru and I took care of that" Saya declared confidently. "We're all yours, Yukari".
"We couldn't help you in the battle against Fox" Akihiko growled. "There's no way those bastards are going to hold us back again. This time, we all fight together".
A chorus of cheers (and one enthusiastic bark) went up in agreement with Akihiko's pronouncement. Meanwhile, Erebus' Persona shook the last traces of ice from its jaws, and Erebus himself screamed out his fury at this unwelcome turn of events. "HOW DARE YOU! I'LL RIP EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU TO SHREDS!"
Erebus' Persona bore down on them, unleashing a rain of spikes shot out of his fingers at the heroes arrayed against him. Aigis summoned Athena and shielded the group, letting the spikes bounce harmlessly off her shield. Erebus flew forward, his claws reaching for Aigis' neck, but he had to leap backwards from twin Agidyne's launched by Yukiko and Koromaru. His leap brought him within striking range of Kanji, who brought his steel chair crashing directly into the back of Erebus' skull, sending him flying. Erebus tried to right himself, and regained his feet just in time to receive a full force punch from Akihiko that sent a spray of black blood through the air from Erebus' smashed nose. Erebus' roar of fury held nothing remotely human as he raised his claws with the intention of slashing Akihiko's eyes out. Even with his tremendous speed and athleticism, there was no way Akihiko could avoid the superhuman speed of Erebus' strikes- except Yu was there, charging his katana with the power of Izanagi-no-Ookami and bringing the infused blade crashing down on Erebus' hand, slicing off his fingers and sending inky sprays of ichor into the air.
Erebus' eyes widened in disbelief as he clutched his ruined hand. He took off into the air, hoping to rain spells down on the Persona users below, but instead he was met with a volley of magic from those he had hoped to outrange. Ken and Labrys blasted him with lightning and almighty magic, ripping small holes in the pristine black fabric of his garments. He turned on them, ready to turn them into atoms only to be smashed out of the air by Junpei's Trismegistus. Junpei danced forward as Erebus tried to defend himself, taking gashes on his arm and across his thighs as he tried to get out of reach.
Finally, Erebus' fury and hatred exploded. He shot into the sky directly above the summoning platform, and his monstrous Persona came out of him. As it emerged, it began to grow, becoming ever more monstrous and deformed. Soon, it was as big as the beast Erebus had originally been, though it retained its bipedal shape. A filthy, fanged maw opened up in the middle of Erebus' chest, and a wave of absolute darkness began to gather there that dwarfed anything he had done up to now. The monstrous Persona seemed to fill the sky, its owner no more than a tiny speck floating in front of that unholy maw. This attack would obliterate not only those standing atop it, but the very Storm Temple itself.
Time seemed to slow down for Yukari. Somehow, without a word being spoken by any of her friends, she sensed their will, and knew what to do. She stepped into the middle of the tower-top, allies on all sides, and called forth the final Persona she had fused in the Velvet Room, the Supreme Goddess of Fate, Ananke. Yukari channelled the feelings of her friends through her, and focused all the world's hope into a single point, glowing brighter than the sun at the tip of Ananke's staff. She unleashed that power, and the world was consumed in light.
The blast of pure white light connected directly with the burgeoning darkness gathering within the centre of Erebus' Persona. Her power, her will clashed directly with the might of the embodiment of darkness- and punched through it. There was a moment of perfect euphoria as Ananke's power ripped right through Erebus' Persona and out the other side. Erebus screamed as he never had before, a scream that contained no fury or madness, just pure pain and confusion. His terrible Persona vanished, scattered like darkness before a bright light, and he fell out of the sky to smash headlong into the roof of Typhon's Tower, only a little way from Yukari's feet.
As this was occurring, the battle between Zeus and Typhon had likewise turned. Typhon had been battering Zeus' shield with his twin barbed tails, driving the deity back. Yet now Zeus abandoned his weapons, grabbing the monster's tails in each of his hands and swinging Typhon round, smashing him full force into the side of one of Jupiter's moons, which shattered in a shower of space debris. Typhon roared and turned once more to face his adversary, claws extended, but Zeus was ready for him. Retrieving his blade, Zeus slashed savagely at the monster, slicing through his four wrists and sending his claws spinning off into the void. Typhon tried to attack using his draconic lower half, but it was too late. With a cry of triumph that echoed the triumph of the world, Zeus plunged the tip of his sword into the centre of Typhon's chest. The monster screamed in rage and thwarted triumph.
BEGONE, FOUL CREATURE. NEVER AGAIN SHALT THOU PLAGUE THIS UNIVERSE. THY BANISHMENT TO TARTARUS SHALT BE ETERNAL, AND PEACE AND FREEDOM FROM THEE SHALT MEN KNOW ALL THEIR DAYS!
A great portal opened in the centre of Jupiter's Great Red Spot, and Typhon began to be sucked towards it. As he lost his incomplete ability to maintain a physical presence in this universe, his unimaginably massive body began to lose cohesion, becoming no more than black storm-clouds and raging winds that were sucked into the abyss within Jupiter's atmosphere. First his tails, then the bulk of his draconic body, then his torso with its mangled stumps, and then finally his head turned to dark gas and was drawn out of our universe, disappearing from our reality entirely.
Once Typhon was completely gone from his sight, Zeus stretched forth his hand, and the broken moon of Jupiter reformed as though time itself had been rewound, like a film being played backwards. On Earth, the dread wind serpents vanished, and the cultists of Darkstorm, upon seeing and feeling that their god had been vanquished either turned and fled or dropped their weapons and surrendered where they stood.
Erebus still lived. He could barely force himself to his knees in front of Yukari. A swarm of black butterflies converged into the loathsome human form of Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos.
"YOOOOUUUUU!" Nyarlathotep roared. "You've ruined EVERYTHING! AEONS of careful planning, the sweet triumph that was FINALLY within my grasp! You've taken everything away from me! I won't forget this. Someday, I will return and exact my revenge. Even if you maggots no longer crawl upon this Earth, I will visit such agony upon your descendants that they will rue the day they were ever conceived!"
Yukari shot at Nyarlathotep with her bow, but he scattered into shadows once again and quickly reformed. Without another word, he grabbed the mangled Erebus and opened a portal into pitch darkness. He fled through it with his injured comrade and was gone.
In the sky above them, Zeus seemed to turn and face them directly, letting them gaze through the portal upon his majesty. It was a sight so incredible, so spectacular that the victorious heroes could find no words to adequately describe it. Zeus raised his sword in an unmistakable salute, a gesture of respect for the warriors who had called him forth and stood against overwhelming evil to save their world. He gave the world his blessing, and the rains ceased, the floods receded, and homes that had been torn asunder were rebuilt. Humanity felt his blessing as wounds closed and comrades returned from the brink of death. As his healing light cleansed the world, Typhon's storm clouds thinned and began to dissipate, shafts of golden light piercing through the clouds like the blessings of heaven.
Though the people rejoiced to once again see the sun after darkness had blanketed the world for so long, something even more wondrous was happening. The Storm Temple began to shake, countless cracks appearing all over its surface, and out of those cracks flowed innumerable ghostly human forms. They spread out from the Storm Temple like a web of golden light, and Yukari knew that they were the souls of the Apathy Syndrome victims that had been drawn into the Neo-Deva system, returning to their rightful bodies and lives. All across the world, families rejoiced as friends and loved ones awakened from the sleep of death.
Yukari had just enough time to see Zeus disappearing in the skies above them as the portal returned to being just an abyss of pure black before her strength gave out and she collapsed to the ground, exhaustion dragging her thoughts down into darkness.
BREAK
Mitsuru rushed to Yukari's side, her heart frantic with terror, her friends a split-second behind her. How could she have been so foolish? How could she not have seen? She had shared in the memories of Zen and Rei, and remembered the time when Elizabeth had been possessed by Zeus. How could she not have foreseen the toll summoning Zeus would take on Yukari? If they lost her as they had lost Minato, Mitsuru wasn't sure she could stand it.
Kneeling beside Yukari, whose shining armour had returned to her regular pink Featherman outfit, now slightly ripped and soiled, Mitsuru hastily reached out a hand to check Yukari's condition. She almost cried with relief when she saw her best friend was still breathing, and felt her pulse, strong and steady beneath her fingers. Still, Yukari's face was pale, and there was one other troubling thing. Yukari's rich brown hair had been bleached snow-white. Yet she was alive. They all were. Nothing was more important than that.
Her comrades shared her relief, but their respite was short lived. The ground began to shake violently under their feet, and it came to them that they were still standing at the top of the Storm Temple, now bereft of those who had created and sustained it. Pieces of the Storm Temple were already breaking off, falling not to the Earth below but upward, to be sucked into the hole in the sky that still hung above them.
"Yikes! Guys, we gotta get out of here" Junpei declared.
"No kidding, Junpei" Akihiko said dryly. "The question is, how?"
"Perhaps I might be of assistance?" came a cultured, masculine voice. Mitsuru looked up to see Theodore suddenly hovering in the air above her.
"If you can help us escape from here, we would be much obliged" Mitsuru told him quickly.
"It would be my pleasure" Theodore replied with a warm smile, and a blue teleportation circle suddenly appeared beneath them. Reverently, the heroes gently picked up Yukari, and everything vanished in a flash of blue light.
From the safety of a distant rooftop, the vanquishers of Darkstorm watched as the Storm Temple fell apart and its debris was sucked into the hole above it. The dark storm-clouds that covered Tokyo swirled around that black hole like water swirling around a basin. Just as the central tower shattered and was drawn into the hole, leaving clear blue skies and warm summer sunlight across the Metropolis, the final clouds were drawn in and the hole shrank to a single point and vanished completely.
Of the dark fortress that had stood poised to be the source of the world's ruin, not a single trace remained. The world's saviours knew that their work had only just begun, and that the world had been forever changed by what it had witnessed. There would be people to help, lives to rebuild. In a little while, tired though they were, they would go to face those responsibilities, and the gratitude of those they had saved. For now, though, they could enjoy a moment of peace and the pleasure of each other's quiet company a little longer.