December 11th, 20XX (Sunday)
Afternoon - Holy Grail's Temple
Seconds passed. Every single second that passed felt like an eternity. Not just for Toya, but for everyone. The Phantom Thieves had regained enough consciousness to see what was happening… to see what happened to Akechi. To hear Toya's response… the screams of anguish and horror… it was terrifying, in a sense. Everything seemed so hopeless all of a sudden… fighting against a god… they felt like fools for thinking that they could ever win against that.
"What… do we do now…?" Makoto said, still trying to pick herself up, but… she was having little success, and the threat of Yaldabaoth's next attack looming over her… it intimidated her.
"We can't… give up here…!" Ryuji punched the ground, glaring at Yaldabaoth and trying to move, but clearly, he couldn't.
"Hmph. Fools. Save your breath and surrender to the oblivion that awaits. Lest you wish to suffer the same fate as your fallen comrade." Yaldabaoth's condescending tone echoes down to everyone, sending a chill down their spines as they stared at what could very well be their demise.
"It doesn't… it doesn't make sense… Why…? Why would he try that…!?" While Yaldabaoth bad talked Akechi and scared everyone for their lives, Toya was… stuck. He was stuck in his own head, trying to process everything that had just happened. "His redemption… his hope… Why would he throw everything away like that!?"
"Focus, damn it!" Osiris yelled out in Toya's mind. The sound caught him off guard, causing him to let out a soft gasp.
"Osiris…!?"
"You think he died for you to sit here and cry to yourself!? Surrendering yourself to the will of some faceless god!? You're better than this! HE knew that!"
"..."
"Are you gonna disappoint him? Are you gonna let his death be in vain?"
"No…" Toya clenched his fist tightly. There were tears still streaming down his cheeks- but it was different now. His sorrow wasn't overwhelming him… he felt something different inside of him.
"We both know there's one way we can beat him. You understand what you have to do now, right?"
"I do…"
"Then get up. Stand before the malevolent god, and honor Akechi's death!"
"Bastard…" Toya grit his teeth, finding the strength to stand up.
"Hm…? You dare to still oppose me? When will humanity learn the evil of their ways? The sin of rebellion?"
"I don't CARE if you call it a sin!" Toya stood his ground, glaring at the malevolent god with a sinister look in his eyes. "You don't get to tell me the difference between right and wrong!" Toya yelled, and when he did, his voice was… different. There was a distortion in it… but it wasn't completely distorted.
"A rebel who has accepted that they are a sinner is no more than just another meaningless human. Such a pathetic creature can never dream to surpass my precedent."
"Humans are the ones who are gonna overrule you! Everything you stand for… we're gonna be the ones to destroy it, no matter how many times we fall!"
December 11th, 20XX (Sunday)
Afternoon - Shibuya Station Square
Meanwhile, the streets of Shibuya were filled with even more terror than before. As people continued vanishing into thin air, the police had a harder time calming everyone down, and reassuring them.
"Someone… Someone just disappeared!" A woman yelled out in fear, as she tried running, in hopes of getting away from the madness that filled the streets.
"What the hell!? What's going on!?" Yelled a man, as he fell down on his back, nervously trying to back away.
"Do something, dammit! Aren't you the police!?" A man got up into a cop's face, yelling at them and trying to get them to fix whatever was happening to the city.
"Please, you have to calm down!" Yelled the officer, but… to no avail. It was impossible to calm people down. He turned towards the older, more experienced officer. "Sir, what's going on here?!" He cried out, but… there was no response. Nobody had a clue what was going on, all they could do was fear for the worst.
"Humans are the ones who are gonna overrule you!" Suddenly, a voice echoed throughout the streets of Shibuya. Everyone paused for a moment, as they instinctively looked up towards the monitors that were attached to the tall buildings. As they looked… something began to flicker on the screen. It was a red hat, with a white flame for an eye. "Everything you stand for… we're gonna be the ones to destroy it, no matter how many times we fall!"
"...What was this again?"
"...The Phantom Thieves?"
"Weren't the Phantom Thieves those-"
"They haven't given up yet…"
"Can they even do anything about a situation like this?"
"No, it's impossible… There's no way…"
"Take it down, Phantom Thieves!" Mishima, who was a part of the crowd, started yelling out and jumping into the air and cheering for the vigilante group. Everyone that was in the crowd turned towards him as he held one fist in the air, staring at the screen. He paused for a moment, then looked around, noticing everyone staring at him. "Come on, why do you think they've risked their lives all this time!? Dammit, you guys, snap out of it! When will you stop running from the truth!?" He yelled out to everyone in the crowd… and after he did, there was a pause. A moment of pure silence… before suddenly, one person spoke up. And then another. And then another. Eventually, everyone was yelling, cheering for the Phantom Thieves, placing all of their trust into them. "Phantom Thieves, can you hear us!?" He yelled, along with everyone else, as the logo on the screen got brighter and brighter.
"Are you someone who's been charmed by the Phantom Thieves too?" Someone called out to Mishima. He turned around and saw Sojiro, walking up to him.
"...I sure am. Is the same true for you too?"
"Pretty much. Looks like it's not just us though." Sojiro said, looking at the massive crowd around them.
"I'm not letting you lose after getting this far. You better finish what you've started!"
"It may not look like it, but I've got high hopes for you guys. You better win this!"
"They'll win if I cheer them on? Then I'll cheer them on as much as they need!"
"Look forward, and keep fighting! You taught me that, after all!" Countless people who were inspired by the Phantom Thieves began screaming out, cheering them on from the crowd.
"It's you guys' fault I don't know when to quit either. Get back up! Don't lose to that thing!"
"No matter what anyone says, I believe in you guys! Go for it, Phantom Thieves!" Sojiro and Mishma yelled out, displaying their hope for them.
"I'm counting on you, everyone… I will believe in you to the very end…!" Sae said, keeping a bit of distance from the crowd. She was more nervous than anyone… the two people she held closest were up there, fighting against that thing. But, even though she was scared… she was hopeful, and confident. She believed in those two, more than anyone ever could…
December 11th, 20XX (Sunday)
Afternoon - Holy Grail's Temple
"You hear that!? Those voices cheering against you!? Those are those same humans that I was talking about! The ones who believe in us, and want us to stop you! The ones who believe in free will!" Toya shouted, and as he did, everyone that was behind him started slowly getting to their feet.
"Why do they gotta word it like they're looking down on us?"
"But, they're cheering for us…"
"Heh… Doesn't feel bad…" Ryuji, Haru, and Futaba all stood up, as more voices of encouragement reached them all.
"They don't have to tell us twice…"
"We won't let ourselves be erased!"
"We're going all out, dammit!" Yusuke, Makoto, and Ann all got up just after, standing behind Toya and staring at the malevolent god.
"Those humans you made fun of are the ones who are giving us this strength! No one wants you to rule over them!" Morgana said, jumping up standing by Akira.
"We've rebelled against people like you this entire time…" Akira said, as he slowly picked himself up, slouching over and taking deep breaths. "Like hell we'll stop that now!"
"God is the one who creates this world!" Yaldabaoth yelled, angrily looking down on the Phantom Thieves.
"And humans are the ones who decide what happens in it!" Toya shouted, turning his head back to the Phantom Thieves. "Everyone here has fought against the ones trying to take free will away from us… That's why we're gonna be the ones who take this world from you!"
"Foolish humans… my rule cannot be overcome! This world is mine, and I shall not tolerate a group of rebels in it!"
"The world is about to change!" Toya yelled out, as his mask erupted into a purple flame. He moved one hand towards his face, covering half of it, with only his eye being revealed… Then, a purple flame appeared behind him, as well as Mephisto. "Your existence won't belong there!" He screamed, and when he did…one of his eyes changed. The purple color of the eye disappeared, and instead… it was replaced by a bright shade of golden. It shined through his fingers as the hand hid the rest of his face, with the other half of his face staying the same as it was before. The purple flame around his body grew bigger and bigger, and eventually it spread to Mephisto. Mephisto roared… and then, much to everyone's surprise, he… exploded. The Phantom Thieves gasped and began stepping back in both fear and shock, not expecting a result like this. The golden color of Toya's eye faded as well… it was almost like everything vanished all at once.
"So you have failed to harness the power. No matter how many prayers of those foolish masses come together…" Toya didn't respond. Instead, he simply smirked.
"Let's see if you're as strong as you said you were…" Suddenly, the clouds in the sky… they began turning dark, as the sound of a thunderstorm was heard…
"...Hm!?"
"I-Is that…!?" Makoto said, taking a step further back. Everyone else followed suite… all except for Toya, who just stood there, still smirking. As soon as they all backed away, a massive portal appeared in the ground, in between where they stood and where Toya stood. Then, from the heavens… there was a purple hook, attached to a black chain. It fell down and pierced through the clouds, and sunk right into the portal. It paused for a moment… and then, the chain hook started pulling something out… it was a coffin. A massive one, at that- with chains surrounding it, meant to seal it completely. But… as soon as the coffin was all the way out of the portal, it began to shake. The chains around it went wild, until suddenly… they broke off. Then, a hole was broken in the coffin… and from the outside, Yaldabaoth could see into it… and all he could see was a massive purple eye, with a golden outline around it. Once Yaldabaoth saw the eye, the coffin shook once more… before completely breaking open. And then, from the inside of the coffin, emerged… something. It broke out of the coffin and landed on its hands and knees, before then slowly picking itself up… and staring right at Yaldabaoth. It was massive- even bigger than Yaldabaoth was. With two purple eyes that had a golden outline around them… a set of horns, as well as claws… and fangs that poked out of the creature's mouth. It looked horrifying… and it stood there, staring directly above Toya… and looking right into Yaldabaoth's soul.
"W-What the-"
"It's… enormous…!" Makoto and Haru proclaimed, taking a step back out of intimidation.
"What an immense power…! No way… Is it a Persona…?" Morgana said, staring at it. He then looked back down to Toya, and saw a purple flame still burning around him. The mass public that were watching from below… their cheers continued on, forming small bubbles of light… which converged around all of the Phantom Thieves who were standing behind the monstrous Persona. When they light converged around them… they felt all of their wounds completely vanish. They felt like they were in perfect form, despite the intense fight they had just went through.
"Fools…! This is why man is doomed…" Yaldabaoth spoke out in his usual condescending demeanor, before once again, unleashing his ultimate attack… the same one that had previously knocked everyone down. However… once he fired it, the monstrous Persona simply held one arm out… completely absorbing the attack. "Impossible!" The cheers of the public rang out once more, forming more bubbles of light that filled the air around them.
"So that was your plan…" Akira said, looking at Toya. He closed his eyes, letting out a soft sigh. "You really are something." He then chuckled a little bit, before opening his eyes again. "This is your moment, Hazard! We're entrusting the people's hopes and dreams to you!" Akira yelled out, as everyone else stood proudly, nodding their heads. "Take the power… and pillage him with it!" Toya snickered to himself, as he held his hand out. When he did, the bubbles of light that symbolized the people's wishes… they all converged onto him. He closed his hand on them, as they erupted into a bright light, infusing himself with the power.
"Pass your judgement… OSIRIS!" Toya yelled out, the purple flame around him… and extended onto the monstrous Persona behind him… the true form of Osiris. Osiris smirked, and took a hold of the chain hook that had originally dragged him out of the portal… and ripped it out of the sky. He held the massive chain hook in his hands… before beginning to spin it around, and launching the massive chain hook towards Yaldabaoth. When he did, the chain wrapped around his massive metallic body. "This… is the end of your reign!"
"Preposterous… You dare rob the people's wishes!?" Yaldabaoth cried out, as a portal appeared underneath him… the same one that Osiris came from. "S-Stop! I am a GOD! Don't you realize the evil of your ways!?"
"Who cares if you're a god!? If stopping you makes me evil… THEN THAT'S WHAT I'LL BE!" Toya yelled, with an angry glare in his eyes… as Osiris dragged Yaldabaoth down. Closer and Closer to the portal… until suddenly, he was dropped straight into it. Yaldabaoth's body completely disappeared… and then, Osiris threw the chain down into the portal with him… and once it was all the way in, the portal closed. There was nothing left… Yaldabaoth was gone, completely. Toya turned and looked up at Osiris… who then looked down at him. The two of them nodded their heads at each other… before Osiris slowly faded away.
"Is… is it over…?" Ryuji nervously asked, looking over at Toya.
"Yeah… it's over…" Toya took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Somehow… that worked. They did it… they managed to kill a god.
"Look!" Ann said, pointing towards something. Everyone looked up into the sky, as… something materialized. It looked like a trophy… which slowly descended down towards the platform, as everyone else walked up by Toya's side, getting a closer look at it.
"Ain't that a Treasure? Right, Mona?"
"Thanks for everything, gang." Morgana said, walking up to the trophy.
"Mona…?" Haru and Futaba both said, having a bit of concern in their voice after what Morgana had just said.
"Humans have the power to change the world. They just forgot about that a bit…"
"Hey…" Yusuke had the same concern in his voice, as everyone walked up closer, looking at Morgana.
"Thanks to you guys, I was able to complete my duty…" Morgana said, softly smiling.
"Everything was thanks to you, wasn't it, Morgana…?"
"Nobody could have made it this far without your knowledge on the Metaverse, Morgana."
"Thank you. For everything." Makoto, Toya and Akira said, as Morgana jumped up a bit.
"I got to be useful for humans that I admired so much. Nothing could make me happier." Morgana looked over to the trophy, as it started glowing "...This place will soon disappear too." Morgana closed his eyes and shook his head a bit, before looking back at the trophy. "Time to go home." The trophy began emitting an even brighter light.
December 11th, 20XX (Sunday)
Afternoon - Shibuya Station Square
When the bright light finally faded, the group found themselves back in Shibuya… only, for some reason, they were surrounded in… a strange, red liquid.
"The hell…!?"
"What is this…?" The group started looking around, before noticing that… everyone was frozen in place. It looked like time had stopped for everyone other than themselves. The group began walking around the city, through the water… until suddenly, the rain stopped, and the clouds in the air… disappeared. The light of the sun finally found its way through to the city, shining brightly on the group… and the water. Once it did, the water hardened around them… and cracked open, flying into the air. As it flew into the air, the fossils that were in the city… vanished into nothingness. It was a beautiful sight… and then, there was a bright light on the entire world around them, as the light slowly trickled out of everything… and up into the sky above. It was… breathtaking.
"The whole world is a product of cognition… not just the Metaverse. It can be freely re-made… The same goes for you, and everyone else." The group heard a voice behind them… and when they turned their heads, they saw Morgana… who was also fading away, along with the rest of the world.
"Dude, Mona…!"
"Mona…!"
"This can't be happening!" The group was nervous beyond belief and tried running forward, but when they did, the ground beneath them opened up… creating a rift between them and Morgana.
"Soon a new world will come. One where mankind isn't held captive. The world will shine brightly as long as you hold hope in your hearts." Morgana said, as he began floating up into the air.
"But what's going to happen to you!?" Makoto cried out, looking towards him. Everyone looked up at Morgana… not speaking another word.
"Remember… There's no such thing as the 'real' world. What each person sees and feels- Those are what shape reality. This is what gives the world infinite potential. Even if you feel that only darkness lies ahead… As long as you hold hands together… See it through as one… the world will never end! The world exists within all of you…!" A bright light flashed once more… before suddenly… the group found themselves back in the world, once again. Everything was moving as it normally did… nobody was frozen in place, or anything of the sort. It was… back to normal, it seemed.
"Morgana…" Ann spoke softly, looking down.
"Mona…" Futaba had the same soft spoken voice, closing her eyes.
"The Meta-Nav… It's gone…" Haru said as she took out her phone. "Mementos must have disappeared too…"
"We can't see Mona anymore… can we?"
"He can't just be gone forever… right? We'll run into him one day… I know it." Akira said, trying to comfort Futaba however he could.
"...What're you all so gloomy for? Mona would laugh at us for it…" Ryuji said, feeling a bit down himself, but… trying to hide it.
"That reminds me, what about the public? Were we able to change their hearts?" Yusuke asked, listening in on the crowd around them.
"It's kinda hard to tell." Ann said, in a… curious voice.
"Aren't we going into the new year without a prime minister? Will this country be alright?"
"But, there's no way we're getting Shido. There are tons of shady rumors about him, you know?" They heard two people speaking from the crowd around them…
"I wonder how things will go… I hope they go well…"
"Let's believe in the adults. Sis promised us, after all." Makoto said to Haru, trying to encourage her that there was still hope.
"From here on out's the prosecutor's job, huh…" Ryuji said, as he begun to understand the group's position now.
"If we can't enter the Metaverse, that means we've been relieved of being Phantom Thieves." Yusuke said, looking at everyone.
"It feels a bit sad…"
"Well… we all did what we could, right? We just have to… believe in everyone else now, I guess." Toya said, and as he spoke… everyone gave him a weird look, almost of concern. "...What's with the funny looks?"
"Um, Toya…?" Makoto took out her phone, letting Toya see a reflection of himself. He looked at it… and instantly noticed what they were all confused about.
"M-My eye…!" Toya recoiled a bit in shock. One of his eyes… it was still golden, similar to how it was when he was fighting against Yaldabaoth, before summoning Osiris. "When the hell did this happen…?"
"It happened when you summoned me." Osiris's voice rang out, only… everyone could hear it now. It wasn't just in Toya's head anymore.
"O-Osiris…!?"
"Don't worry, nobody else can hear me. Only the ones who have been to the Metaverse… not including everyone who were only there when the worlds fused together. Likewise, if they can't hear me… they won't notice your eye."
"S-So you're just… living in my head now…!?"
"You formed a bond with me by summoning me. Don't tell me you regret doing all of that now…" Osiris teased Toya, causing him to look down at the ground. Everyone laughed a little bit.
"So I'm stuck with a tsundere Shadow living in my head now…?"
"D-don't use that filthy term on me!"
"Yep… definitely a tsundere." Futaba said, tilting her head at the sound of Osiris.
"How did all of this happen anyways? Where did you run off to after Shido's Palace?" Akira asked, looking towards Toya with a confused look.
"He was hiding in the Metaverse."
"You don't have to answer my questions for me too!"
"He was hiding in a secret underground police interrogation room."
"...How did you even know that existed?"
"He broke Akechi out of it the day he was labeled a criminal."
"...Why do I feel like this is gonna keep happening…?" Toya said, as everyone laughed once again. It was a good, light hearted change of pace… Toya could at least be happy about that.
December 11th, 20XX (Sunday)
Evening - Kazero Household
"Are you sure it's a good idea for us to hang out back here…?" Toya asked, looking at Makoto. Now that the Metaverse was gone, the two of them could finally spend some time together… something they hadn't gotten a chance to do for quite a long time.
"My sister told me that the police have already searched this place top to bottom. There's no way they come back to check again after a week."
"If you say so…" The two of them slowly went up the stairs, getting into Toya's room. Then there was a pause… as Makoto just stared at Toya for a moment. "...Uhh…?"
"Hang on." She said, still staring. It took Toya a moment… before he realized that Makoto was specifically staring at Toya's now-golden eye.
"...What? You want me to leave?"
"...Well, yeah." She said, still staring at the eye with a bit more stern of a look.
"Jeez… I help save the world and you're all still so bossy… Fine, fine… I'll be back tomorrow." Osiris said, before suddenly… the golden color faded from Toya's eye.
"...Wait, seriously? He can just do that? Wait, then where did he go-" Toya was cut off by Makoto suddenly wrapping her arms around Toya- squeezing him tighter than ever. She gently pressed her head against his chest, hugging him tighter and tighter by the second.
"...Let's save that discussion for another time."
"...Yeah, I'm fine with that." Toya softly chuckled, wrapping his arms around her as well. The two of them kind of just… sat there for a minute, not really saying anything. "...I really missed you, Makoto…"
"I missed you too…" She said softly, closing your eyes. "I was… really scared that we wouldn't spend more time together, you know…?"
"...I was too. I didn't really… know what to do. So I just… ran." Toya sighed, closing his eyes. "I ran away to try and avoid hurting you, but… I think I only hurt you more in the process. I'm sorry…"
"It's fine. You don't have to apologize." She said, softly giggling to herself. "But… next time, don't run away from me, okay…?"
"I won't. I promise." He said. Makoto was just happy that things were a bit more normal now… but… there was something else on her mind.
"...Toya?"
"Yeah?"
"...You're gonna do what I think you're gonna do. Aren't you?"
"W-What do you mean?"
"Come on. I've known you for long enough to know how you work." Makoto looked up to Toya, staring right into his eyes. "...You want to turn yourself in… don't you?"
"I…" Toya closed his eyes for a moment. This was… something that had been on his mind, ever since Yaldabaoth was defeated, and they were back in the real world. "...I don't know. I mean… it's not like I can just go back to school. I can't really… live a normal life anymore. But…" Toya opened his eyes again, looking back at Makoto. "...I don't want to leave you again. Not after… all of this. Both options… have something bad about them. You know what I mean?"
"I do. I know how hard this must be on you too…" Makoto closed here yes, pressing her head against Toya's chest a bit harder, pressing her ear to the area his heart would be, listening to it beating for a moment. "...This might be the last night we have together for a while again, right?"
"...Yeah." Makoto heard Toya's heart skip a beat. She could hear the pain in his voice, too…
"...You don't mind if I stay with you until you leave then, do you?"
"...Please do." Toya wrapped his arms around Makoto tighter. It was...a weird mixture of feelings. He was so happy to see her again- he wanted nothing more at this point in time. But… he knew he wouldn't get another chance for a while. Still… there had to be some way to make things bearable. Regardless of that… he didn't want to really think about it anymore. This… was going to be his last night of a teenage life- at least for a while. He wanted to enjoy it… with the person he loved. "...I love you, Makoto. So… even if I go… do you think…" Toya struggled to speak for a moment. "...that you'd wait for me?" Makoto paused for a moment, then let out a soft giggle.
"Of course I would. I fell in love with you too, remember?"
"...Y-You promise?" Toya's voice was… breaking up a bit. Makoto looked up to him… only to notice he had started sobbing a little bit.
"Toya…"
"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't get all emotional now, but…" Toya closed his eyes, as tears continued streaming down his cheeks. "...I pushed a lot of feelings back today, mostly because of adrenaline, and… it's all starting to hit me at once."
"You don't have to apologize… I know how hard it's been…" Makoto hugged him a bit tighter, before moving one hand up to his face, gently rubbing the tears off of his face, then giving him a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Everything will be fine… and no matter what happens… I'll be here with you. Don't forget that, okay?"
"I won't. I promise…" Not another word was said for a bit. The two of them just sat there in each other's arms… conflicted. They had a love of mutual emotions, and most of them directly conflicted with each other. Their teenage lives weren't normal, no matter how badly they wanted them to be, but... at the very least, they still had each other. That was enough to keep them going for now… and hopefully, for long enough, until everything sorted itself out.
December 12th, 20XX (Monday)
Early Morning - Kazero Household
After a long night of emotions, Makoto woke up… and as soon as she did, she noticed that Toya was… gone. It made her sad, but… she figured as much. Although, in his place, there was a letter… as well as his bandana. Confused, she picked the letter up.
"Hey, Makoto… I know this is probably really screwed up for me to do. But… I couldn't say all of this to your face. I figured this would be easier to tell by letter… and I think it's a bit easier to hear by letter, too.
I woke up really early this morning… and I started thinking about some things. And… I want a normal life back. Obviously, I can't have that yet… I've come to terms with that. But… that doesn't mean it's impossible for me to get at some point, right? So, I started doing some thinking… and I got an idea.
I hate to ask this of you, but… I have a request for you- as well as your sister. Make sure you tell her this next part too… it's important. And… maybe you should tell the rest of the group, if you get the chance. It's… the only way I can think of speeding up this process." Makoto was a bit confused and concerned, but… she continued to read the letter. She saw Toya's request, and… admittedly, it wasn't exactly something she was looking forward to doing. But… she understood the importance of doing it. She pulled out her phone, calling her sister while putting the paper down, picking up the bandana. Her sister would like this idea even less, but… it was worth it. She'd understand that.
Yaldabaoth is dead, the Metaverse is gone, Morgana is gone (for now), Osiris is a permanent part of Toya's mind... and Toya's got a plan for getting his normal life back.
There's a lot I could say, but... I want to save it for a bit. After all, the next chapter will be the final chapter of this story. That's really weird for me to think about to be honest, it kinda makes me sad, honestly. But... at the same time, I'm happy that I'm getting this done. This fic has been going on for about 7 months now.
That being said- if you have any questions to ask... now is the time. I won't be posting another chapter after this, after all. That is, unless I want to post a preview for the Royal Rewrite at the end, for some reason. Which... I don't know, maybe I'll do that? The Royal Rewrite is definitely happening, but the previews might just stay to Twitter.
Anyways, I'll stop before I start rambling. See you all for the finale this weekend.