Chapter fifteen

No more gods to kill

Persona 5 and Xenoblade spoilers ahead

Café Leblanc was empty. Well, in a sense.

Ryuji sprawled out in the booth – as much as he could while stuck between Makoto and the wall, anyway. "Any new requests?"

"Several," Makoto said, scrolling through the Phan-site on her phone. "It's all the same as usual. Help my boss, he's depressed – help my husband, he's depressed – help me, I'm depressed – the same thing people have been saying for months now."

"And we're sure we can't help with that?" Ryuji asked for maybe the seventh time. "Steal away their depression?"

Morgana sighed. "Oh my god, Ryuji, that is literally the opposite of how this works," he said exasperatedly.

"I know, I know," he said. "It just feels like we should be able to do something, right?"

"If anything, we should have already solved the problem," Yusuke said. "Our destruction of Mementos should have been the end of the public's apathy."

"It was for a while," Ann pointed out. "Then it all came back – worse, even."

"It's not even as simple as that," Makoto said. "This malaise feels different than it did before."

Ryuji looked up. "Wait, what?" he said. "I must've missed something – now we're talking about countries?"

Makoto groaned. "I said malaise, not Malaysia!" she said.

Futaba poked her head up. "I'm kind of impressed that he knew Malaysia was a country," she said.

"In terms of paying attention, this appears to be a high-water mark for him," Yusuke agreed.

"Oh, ha-ha, real funny," Ryuji said. "You're all a bunch of jokers, aren't you?"

Joker looked up.

"Uh, no offense, buddy," Ryuji said.

Makoto put down her phone and sighed. "I do see where you're coming from," she said to Ryuji. "I feel so powerless, seeing all these people asking for help and not being able to do anything about it."

"It doesn't seem fair, does it?" Haru said sadly.

"Damn right, it's not fair," Ryuji said vehemently. "We killed god, didn't we? Why can't we do anything about this now?"

"Unless there is some god of depression, I don't see how that follows," Yusuke said.

"Oizys," Futaba said.

Ryuji turned his head. "Huh?"

"The Greek goddess Oizys, daughter of Nyx," Futaba explained. "She was the goddess of depression, fear, and anxiety."

"Well shit, we shoulda paid her a visit a long time ago, huh?" Ryuji said.

"Don't be silly, you two," Ann said. "Greek gods don't exist."

Everyone looked at her strangely.

"…Probably," she qualified after a moment.

"Well, in any case," Makoto said after a brief silence, "there's no point worrying about what we can't fix. We should focus on what we can. Your math exam at the end of the month will likely rely heavily on binomial theorem. Does everybody feel prepared for that?"

Everyone expressed their opinions, ranging on a spectrum from "probably" to "not really". Ryuji merely scratched his head. "Bi…what?"

"It's been in your curriculum for the last two weeks, I believe," Makoto said. "How much do you recall about it?"

Ryuji scratched his head. "There was an A, and a B somewhere. And maybe…N? There's always an N."

Her stare hardened into a glare. "You don't remember any of it," she said flatly. It wasn't a question.

"Not at all," Ryuji admitted.

Makoto pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ryuji, I swear…"

"Well, give up on me, then," he said angrily. Everyone else looked up, his harsh tone taking them by surprise. "Even if I do learn this stuff, I'm not gonna use it. I'll probably end up with some shitty job delivering takeout or something after high school, whether I graduate or not."

"Ryuji!" Ann said, shocked.

"Ugh, sorry," he said. "I'm frustrated, you know? The one thing I've ever been good at is bein' a Phantom Thief, and now I can't even do that."

Joker put a hand on his shoulder. "You're a good friend," he said.

"Yeah, yeah," Ryuji said dismissively. "I'll be sure to get you extra soy sauce."

As he fell into silence, the rest of the table did so as well. The unspoken air of malcontent that had been hanging over them was now spoken, but only became stronger for it.. It filled the whole café, blanketing them all. Their postures deteriorated, their eyelids fell.

Haru, endeavoring to salvage things, put on a bright smile and turned. "Say, Yusuke, how's your art coming along?" she asked.

"Dreadfully," Yusuke responded. "I spent three hours last night staring at a blank canvas."

Everyone waited for him to continue, or at least add in some elaborate metaphor, but it seemed that was it. He fell totally silent, glancing forlornly at the Sayuri. Gradually, the rest of them stopped looking at him.

Sojiro walked through the front door, a stack of letters in hand. "Mail's here," he said. He looked at Ryuji. "Did I hear you guys right earlier? I thought I heard you talking about killing God?"

Ryuji nodded, very grateful for the change in subject. "Yep, this guy did it," he said, pointing at Joker. "Shot him right in the face, point blank."

Sojiro turned his attention to Joker. "You shot God in the face?" he said incredulously. "Like, with a gun?"

Joker shrugged. "He had a gun too," he said defensively.

"And a sword," Futaba pointed out.

"And a book," Yusuke noted.

"And a bell," Haru chimed in.

Sojiro stared at them all for a moment. "This isn't some elaborate metaphor, is it?" he said after a while. "You literally killed God? The Christian God, capital G?"

"A god," Haru clarified. "We don't know if he was that one."

"Yeah, but didn't we have to kill the archangels to get to him?" Ann pointed out. They all pondered this for a moment.

"They could've been…fake archangels, right?" Ryuji offered.

Sojiro exhaled. "Hoo boy," he said. "When I was your age, I was just chasing women."

Joker glanced at Makoto for a moment.

"Anyway, got this letter for you," he said, fishing one out of the stack. "No return address. Any idea who it's from?"

Joker grabbed the letter, and turned it over to open it. Then he stopped. He smiled.

"Well?" Ryuji asked. "What is it?"

Joker tossed the letter onto the table. It landed in the center, the wax seal visible to all.

"Wow!" Morgana shouted.

"For real?" Ryuji said in disbelief.

"That's awesome!" Ann said.

"Already, I feel jealousy brewing inside me," Yusuke said.

"To be invited back so soon, that's a special honor!" Makoto said.

"Please, send us a postcard once you get there," Haru said.

Joker, meanwhile, had opened the letter and began to read it. He smiled and held it up. Everyone began to read it, but Ann's eyes were drawn to the eight names at the bottom.

"We're all invited!" she declared, raising her fist to the sky.

"Wow, seriously?" Ryuji said. "This just took a sudden turn for the awesome!"

"It seems they need our help," Makoto said, speed-reading to the bottom. "Some interdimensional omnipotent creature, in need of being slain."

Morgana chuckled. "They picked the right team, then," he said proudly.

"Does this mean we're actually killing another god?" Ryuji asked. "I was just kiddin' around!"

"We'll be among good company this time," Yusuke said. "From what I've heard, the Smash fighters have also killed a god."

Futaba held up two fingers. "Two gods," she said. "At the same time."

"Well, we'd better step up our game, then!" Ryuji said. "When do they want us?"

"As soon as possible, it says," Makoto said.

As if to accentuate the point, a commotion started up outside. Haru got up and looked out the window. "Um, I don't mean to alarm anyone," she said, "but there's a giant battleship floating above the city."

"That's them!" Futaba declared.

"Already?" Ann said, panicked. "Oh, I need to pack!"

"We all gotta move!" Ryuji agreed.

"Wait," Makoto said. "What about our classes?"

"It'll be fine," Ryuji said. "It says they can get us all doctor's notes."

Makoto looked back at the letter, finding the note Ryuji mentioned about halfway down the page. "Oh sure, when it's Smash he pays attention," she muttered.

Everyone got to their feet and departed, hurrying home to pack whatever they could. Joker dashed upstairs, leaving only Sojiro scratching his head.

"Two gods at once…" he mused. He shrugged. "Good thing I don't go to church anymore," he said. "Boy, would I have some stories for them!"

xxxxxxx

The village quietly hummed as it woke, the people within beginning their morning routines. From the cliff behind it, Dunban saw it all. There was a time where the clamor would easily be heard all the way up here; now, it was barely a murmur. Of course, back then he'd be facing away from the village, not towards it.

Reclined against an oak tree, he ran his fingers through the grass idly. Though he'd soon be asleep, he still felt plenty awake for the time being – certainly alert enough to keep doing his job.

Presently, he heard a series of footsteps behind him. He turned and saw a familiar redhead approach. "Reyn," he said cheerfully.

"Dunban," Reyn replied with a half-wave.

"You're late," Dunban admonished. "How's Sharla doing?"

"Alright, I guess," Reyn said. "I woke up this morning, and she was just staring at the wall, not moving."

Dunban nodded knowingly.

"I didn't know what to do, so I just sat there with her," Reyn continued.

"That is the right thing to do," Dunban said. "It helps, believe me."

Reyn shrugged. "Wish it helped more."

He sat down under the tree. Though Dunban's shift was now over, he stayed there with his old friend for a while.

"Did anybody try to…you know, go for it?" Reyn asked.

Dunban shook his head. "Not this night," he said.

Reyn perked up a little. "D'you think this means maybe they've stopped trying for good?" he asked.

"It's possible," Dunban said, though there was little enthusiasm in his voice. "Or perhaps they simply know we're watching for them now, and they'll try some other methods."

"What, really?" Reyn said. "What're we s'posed to do about that?"

"Not much we can do," Dunban answered. "Perhaps it would be a good idea to have someone stationed on the beach, as well."

"You think so?" Reyn asked. "That'd be the worst way to go about it, wouldn't it?"

"Doesn't mean they won't try it," Dunban said with a sigh. "I'll mention it to the captain on my way back."

"All right," Reyn said. "Bet he'll have the men free for it, at least."

He drummed his fingers on the ground absentmindedly. "World without gods, huh?" he said. "Dunno what I thought that'd be like, but uh, this ain't it."

"None of us could've known it would come to this," Dunban said. "Shulk, least of all."

"You seen him lately?" Reyn asked.

"In the marketplace a few days ago," Dunban said. "We talked for a bit. He seemed to be doing well enough. As well as any of us are, I mean."

"Well, he's got Fiora," Reyn said. "Figures she could take care of 'im."

Dunban nodded. He looked up across the morning sky, scanning it lazily. Something caught his attention, and he squinted at it.

"Oh, got this for you," Reyn said, unaware of whatever he was looking at. He rummaged around in his pocket and fished out a letter. "Saw this in your mailbox. I got one just like it, so I figured we should open 'em together."

He handed the letter to Dunban. The older man took it, his eyes still locked on the distant shape in the sky. Eventually Reyn realized he was looking at something, and he cast his eyes upward as well.

"What's that?" he asked. "Some kinda spaceship?"

"Perhaps," Dunban said. He glanced down at his letter, on a hunch.

Reyn looked harder as the shape gradually came into view. "Wait, that looks like…a battleship!"

Dunban smiled at the letter. "I suppose it is," he said.

Reyn looked at him. "We gotta warn the village!" he said.

He turned to leave, but Dunban took him by the arm. "I don't think so, Reyn," he said. He looked down at the envelope, now on his lap. "All we need to do is pack."