December 11th, 20XX (Sunday)

Afternoon - Kazero's Palace (Ninth Circle - TREACHERY)

With a sadistic glare in his eyes and a wicked grin plastered all over his face, Osiris charged forward- completely disregarding his previous strategy of staying back and keeping the two of them at bay. He had no interest in that any longer- all he wanted to do was attack. He wanted to press the attack and demolish both Toya and Akechi- and he knew that he was strong enough to do just that.

"He's coming… Get ready! We're not gonna get another chance to breathe!" Toya took a deep breath and stared down Osiris as he charged the two of them down. He prepared to defend himself, but before he could, Akechi jumped ahead of him, surrounding himself with a physical barrier. Osiris didn't care about the barrier though, Akechi wasn't even his main focus anymore. Instead, he used the power of his wind magic to launch himself high into the air, soaring high above Akechi. As he was ascending into the air, he took aim at Akechi and fired, breaking the barrier without the bullet being reflected back at him. After shooting, Osiris averted his gaze straight at Toya, and used another gust of wind magic to dive straight down in his direction. As he was diving down, Toya could see a pink beam surrounding his body… he was preparing himself for a powerful attack. He pointed his gunblade towards Osiris and began to open fire, but shooting at him did almost nothing. Osiris simply used his own blade and had enough speed to defend himself from any meaningful shots, rendering Toya's attack completely useless. Having exhausted his only viable option of retaliation due to not having enough time to cast a spell to stop him, Toya was forced to use his hookshot to quickly zip away, getting himself to the other side of the room. As soon as he got out of the way, Osiris crashed down onto the ground, landing right down where Toya was originally standing.

"You're mine!" Seizing the opportunity he had seen, Akechi raised his blade into the air and tried to swing at Osiris, but he was too slow for Osiris- especially since he was angry. He ducked undeerneath Akechi's attack and punched him right in his gut. Since he hadn't hit anything since he originally charged up, the punch was extra powerful, much more than Akechi was prepared for. Akechi staggered and started stepping back, gasping in pain as his chest heaved, trying to process the hit he just took. But Osiris wasn't going to play nice anymore- he was getting serious, which meant he was getting violent. Before Akechi could get away, a pink beam rose around Osiris once more, and as it did, he punched Akechi straight in his face, sending him flying away.

"Akechi!" Toya called out, as he started running towards him.

"WORRY ABOUT YOURSELF!" With a tone full of malice and anger, Osiris looked back at Toya and rushed him, using a gust of wind magic to quickly close the distance between the two of them. Toya stopped in place and stared Osiris down, before aiming his hookshot towards the ceiling, trying to create a bit of distance between them. However, Osiris knew all about Toya's hookshot tricks- and he wasn't about to fall for this one. He changed his trajectory with the use of wind magic and looked towards the ceiling, soaring to the top and grabbing on to Toya's hookshot before it lodged itself into the ground. He yanked on it and swung it around, which forced Toya into the air and started spinning him around in circles. Toya started feeling nauseous as he was spun around in the air, but he knew he couldn't falter here. He pushed down as hard as he could… and after some time, he was able to get close to the ground once more, planting his feet down into it to slow down his movement. Once he did, he took his other hand and grabbed on to the hookshot, pushing it in the opposite direction to stop the movement even more, keeping him still.

"Your tricks won't phase me, damn it…!" Toya's entire body shook as he tried desperately to hold on, trying to prevent Osiris from flailing him around once more.

"You damn fool… you really think you can outmatch me in raw power!?"

"I don't NEED to!" He yelled, as he saw Akechi getting up out of the corner of his eye. "NOW!" He called out to him, as Akechi prepared a blast of light magic, aimed directly at Osiris. Without a moment's delay, he fired, sending the blast straight at him. Osiris was forced to let go of the hookshot, and instead of keeping himself in the air with wind magic, he had to quickly descend down to the ground to get away from the attack. He landed on the ground and went to look towards Akechi, but before he could, he felt a fist smash against his face, pushing him down and causing him to fall flat on his face.

"Tricky bastard…" Osiris slightly lifted his head up and looked out of the corner of his eye, seeing Toya looming over him. He got back up onto his own two feet, breathing heavily. He felt weakened… he could dish out damage, but… he couldn't take hits anywhere near as well, especially when he wasn't expecting the hit. That was the one thing Toya had over him… Osiris might have had more raw power, but Toya was much more durable. Osiris was very aware of this flaw, and that's why whenever he influenced Toya's mind, or even took control over his body… he did his best to not take many hits. He knew that if he took too many hits… he would be done for. Thankfully for him, up until this point, that flaw didn't matter at all. He was able to beat everyone down without them ever having a chance to put up a real fight. But… it mattered now. Fighting two people at once was tough enough, and unlike the fight against the Phantom Thieves where he was infinitely stronger than all of them, the gap between him and the two people he was against was much smaller… it potentially didn't even exist at all. He could take them down one by one, but… he never got the chance. The teamwork of Toya and Akechi was… surprisingly good, but that was mostly due to Toya's strategy, and Akechi's trust in him. Toya was smart and knew how to turn fights around in his favor, while Akechi had a lot of raw power due to his new Persona, and after all the trials they had been through so far, he had more than enough trust in Toya's brain. As crazy as his ideas always sounded… for some reason, they just worked.

"Damn it…!" Osiris started thinking to himself, trying to strategize against them. "I can't beat them both at the same time… they're too smart for that. They don't take nearly enough risks. I need to separate them and take one of them down immediately… then I can focus on the other. I know I can beat them on their own…!" Osiris glared at Toya, then looked at Akechi from the corner of his eye. He had an idea… an idea to separate the two of them. It was risky, but he had to take the shot- otherwise he was doomed.

"This is as far as either of you make it." Osiris said calmly, as wind magic began to circle around him. It formed a small tornado, progressively getting bigger and raising him into the air. It was a trick Toya had done before, and one that Akechi had seen before as well, so neither of them were too surprised by this. Toya stepped back a bit, keeping a bit of distance. Toya and Akechi weren't close to each other… this was Osiris's only chance at beating them. "This ends NOW!" Osiris raised his hands into the air, with his mask off of his face and Mephisto right behind him. "TEAR HIM APART!" He roared while staring at Akechi, before firing a massive blast of dark magic straight at him. Akechi's first instinct was to fight back, so he sent out a blast of his own, of light magic. The two blasts collided with each other, and because of this, Akechi had to put all of his effort forth to stop it. However, Osiris wasn't exactly focused on the blast. He slowly descended down to the ground, just glaring at Toya.

"...Are you even trying to win that…!?"

"Of course not. This is much simpler." Osiris chuckled to himself, and before Toya could process it, Akechi's blast of light magic broke through Osiris's, and started heading straight for him.

"What the hell are you doing then!?"

"I'm doing THIS!" A blue beam rose around Osiris's body as he turned around, facing the blast of light and sending out an even bigger blast of dark magic at it. The blasts collided, and because of how much force Akechi was putting into it… his blast didn't just instantly disappear this time, unlike the first time. Instead, there was a bit of a struggle… and unfortunately, Akechi had to keep that struggle going. If he stopped focusing… he wouldn't have enough time to put on a magic barrier to defend himself, and there was no way he could possibly get away from a blast that big in time. He was forced to stay focused on the blast… which left Toya alone to deal with Osiris. "That should keep him busy for quite some time. I don't even have to focus on that anymore… I've put more than enough strength in the blast to handle him without me putting in any more effort."

"You're kidding me… this was your plan? To fight me alone!?"

"This is what you've always wanted, isn't it? A dance with the devil of your own mind? You should be happy." A gunblade materialized in Osiris's hands once more, as he stared directly at Toya. "Now you finally have the chance!" He charged forward, gripping the blade tightly and swinging at Toya. Toya raised his own blade into the air to deflect it, as the sound of steel crashing against steel sounded out the room.

"Yeah. It is what I want!" Toya pushed against Osiris harder while taking his fist and trying to punch Osiris in the gut, but Osiris saw it coming. He dodged out of the way, giving Toya room to breathe. With the few seconds he had, he took a look towards Akechi… he wasn't really in danger, he was just stuck. He could hold out there for quite some time, but he couldn't get out himself. He needed Osiris's attack to fade away before that was possible… and once it was, Toya was sure that Osiris was done for. He had only one idea… but he needed an opening. And to get that opening, he needed to be aggressive… and distract Osiris. With that thought in mind, he charged straight ahead, bringing his sword into the air trying to strike Osiris. Osiris was surprised that Toya was rushing forward like this out of nowhere, but he didn't question it much. He was glad that Toya was doing it, because this is what he wanted, too. The two of them swung their blades at each other over and over, endlessly striking each other while Akechi was on the other side of the room, too focused on his own struggle to even watch. The sound of their blades clashing over and over again echoed throughout the room though… and somehow, Akechi knew that Toya was up to something. He would have kept his distance if he didn't have some kind of a plan… he just needed to wait for the time.

"You can't beat me!" Osiris yelled out as he started swinging faster, pressuring Toya much harder. Toya took the opportunity to back off, jumping away from Osiris while ripping off his mask.

"THIS can!" Toya summoned Diabolos and sent a blast of dark magic straight at Osiris. He didn't even try to block… he just stood still and took it like the cocky bastard he was.

"...It can? Are you su-" Before Osiris could finish talking, Toya had rushed at him again, not giving him a chance to even finish speaking. He kept Osiris focused on him… repeatedly striking him. "Like I said… YOU CAN'T BEAT ME!" Osiris yelled, as he started putting his own pressure on. And this time… Toya wasn't able to resist him anywhere near as much. Osiris caught Toya off guard, found an opening, and punched him right in his face while he wasn't able to defend himself, knocking him back. OSiris started laughing to himself. "See? I told you. Your teamwork was the only thing that gave you a chance against me."

"Yeah. That's how you're going down!"

"Please. That dumbass over there is too focused on the blast to ever help you-" Once again, before he could even finish talking, he felt someone grab him. He turned his head and saw Akechi behind him, and then moments later, he heard the sound of his blast colliding with the wall, making a loud explosion. He tried to move, but… he couldn't. Akechi's arms were underneath his and wrapped around, keeping him completely in place. "How the hell did you escape…!?" Osiris yelled as he tried to break Akechi's hold, but as he did… he noticed something. Akechi's hand… there was a gauntlet covering it- Toya's gauntlet, the one that had his hookshot in it.

"So that's why…!" Osiris recalled back to when Toya suddenly blasted him with dark magic. He wasn't trying to hurt him… he was just distracting him. While Osiris was distracted for a moment, Toya threw his gauntlet towards Akechi, which gave him the chance he needed to get away from the blast.

"What are you waiting for!? Do it! Blast him with everything you have!" Akechi yelled, holding on to Osiris.

"A-Are you insane!? You were supposed to be the one blasting him! Now you're just gonna get yourself hurt!"

"It was too risky! If he blocked it, then we would completely lose the element of surprise!" Akechi grit his teeth and tried to keep Osiris still, but he was struggling. "Just do it, damn it! I survived it the first time, didn't I!? You can't waste anymore time!"

"But…"

"DO IT!" Akechi yelled. Toya was still hesitant, but… he had to. He ripped off his mask and summoned Diabolos once more… staring Osiris down.

"N-No! Stop it, damn it!"

"End this… DIABOLOS!" Toya fired off the strongest gun attack he could, aimed right for Osiris's stomach. The shot pierced through his stomach… and while it didn't pierce through Akechi as well, it definitely hurt him. Both of them fell to the ground as their bodies separated, both landing on their back. Akechi was hurt, but… it wasn't fatal by any means. Toya ran over to him, reaching his hand out to him.

"See…? I-It wasn't… that bad…" Akechi winced in pain as he reached out for Toya's hand, as he slowly got up on his feet again.

"You really are crazy…" Toya took a sigh of relief. He was worried that Akechi would be seriously hurt… but thankfully enough, he was… alive, at the very least. He was in pain, but it wasn't going to be the death of him by any means.

"Im...possible…" Osiris started coughing as he looked towards them. "None of this… none of this makes… any sense…!" Osiris looked over to the two of them, who were glaring at him. "I… I was supposed to be the chosen one…! The one meant to rule over this world! I just needed to beat you… I needed that power… so why…!?"

"I pity you, Osiris." Toya said, closing his eyes.

"What…?"

"You've lived through every hardship I've been through. Only… you never saw the light at the end of the tunnel. You just got lost in the darkness… and lived your life in anger and hatred. And because of that, you want to continue a cycle of destruction… until only you are left. And for that… I pity you."

"..."

"I accepted you a while ago, Osiris. I accepted that you were a part of me. But… you never accepted that. You wanted me to be a memory… and for you to have full control. That's what this all is, isn't it?"

"...It doesn't matter anymore."

"What doesn't matter anymore?"

"This! All of this… nothing matters! If I can't stop him… the God of Control… then nobody can. If I don't have that power… then there's nothing in his way. He wins."

"No, Osiris. I'm still in his way."

"You? You're just a human…! What makes you think you can stop a god!?"

"Faith. In myself, in my allies, and…" Toya slowly opened his eyes, looking into Osiris's eyes. "Faith in you, Osiris."

"Faith in me…? What the hell do I habe to do with this?"

"All of this talk about needing to control my body… what makes you think that there's no other way for that power to be unleashed?"

"What the hell are you implying…!?"

"All you wanted was for me to accept you as king, right? Then let's do the opposite. I want you to be the one to accept me."

"A-Accept you!? You're out of your damn mind! You think you can just defeat a god if I 'accept' you!?"

"You don't have another option. Besides… you lost already. I'm the only chance you have left at defeating god and changing the world." Toya slowly walked forward, slowly kneeling down and holding his arm out. "There's no other way. If you don't do this… then that god wins- and that means we all suffer."

"You… really are an idiot, you know?" Osiris paused, before chuckling to himself. "...But I suppose I am too for trusting this. Very well, Jester. Just this once…" Osiris started to fade away into a small purple light, that slowly moved towards Toya's head. "I shall give you control over my power." Osiris's voice slowly faded, and when it did, a purple flame arose around Toya. However, he wasn't scared… and neither was Akechi. This wasn't something to be scared of anymore… this purple flame meant something different now… it was hope, in a way. Hope that anyone can overcome their darkness… no matter what it took.

"It's finally done…"Akechi sighed, feeling completely exhausted. "I feel like we spent over a month in here…"

"Yeah… that took way too long…" Toya took a deep breath, before suddenly… something appeared in the room, around where Osiris's throne originally was. "Is that…!?" Toya ran over to it, with Akechi following behind.

"What's up? Is it our phones?"

"That's here too, but… this is…" Toya was… speechless. Akechi peeked over his shoulder, and saw… a hookshot. It wasn't the same one that Toya had in his gauntlet, it was completely different.

"What… is that…? Is that your Treasure?"

"Father…" Toya softly spoke under his breath, as he reached out and took hold of it. "This… was my father's. I lost it a long time ago, but… I used this when I first started coming to the Metaverse. I guess this is… my Treasure…" Toya held it in his hands and stared at it for a while, before suddenly, the room began to shake, as if it was falling apart.

"The place is falling apart…! How the hell do we get out of here!?" Akechi yelled, before suddenly… a blinding light came from the other side of the room. Toya and Akechi both covered their eyes, and then once they opened them again… they saw a door. And standing in front of the door was a girl… she was small, almost appearing like a child, but her hair was long, and her eyes were golden.

"Who are…?"

"There's no time to explain." Her voice… it sounded so familiar to Toya. "You must get out of here, before you both perish!" She walked towards the door, and without questioning anything, Toya and Akechi realized that they had no other option. They ran for the door, getting out of the Palace before it collapsed on top of them.

The Hell of Origin... has finally fallen.

I finally get a break from writing fight scenes. Granted, it's not gonna last very long, since there's a certain literal god that's showing up pretty soon, but... for now, I'm just going to enjoy this very small break I have.

Toya's Treasure, as you read, is his father's hookshot. I thought this would be the most symbolic one, considering all of this started with his father dying, and he has nothing else to really remember him by other than his memories. The only other thing I could think of was a bandana due to the fact that he runs around in the real world wearing one, but I thought this fits better, and I'm sure most people reading this agree.

Anyways... we're almost done now. Just a few more chapters to go, and this story will be done. Well, until P5R comes around, at least. Then I have to rewrite the entire thing. Of course there are going to be a lot of changes to it, but... I'll explain that at the end of this story.