Prologue: Manipulations
?-?
The last thing he remembered before his life ceased to be was the Revenants killing him. He remembered the Unnamed Revenant, Louis, Mia, Yakumo, Jack, and Eva fighting him to a battle to the finish, ending with his demise. As his seemingly immortal dissolved like embers, his existence was snuffed out like a bad disease.
Juzo Mido had met his fate.
Or, so it seemed that way.
Within an enclosed and endless dark space, the Yami Matter manifested and reconstituted a familiar evil Revenant. As he came to, Mido found himself not only revived but looking good as new. The previous battle wounds from his final battle were healed. His memories of that battle returned to him. It was as if he had never died.
"How is this possible? Shouldn't I have ceased to be?" A bewildered Mido wondered while trying to make sense of his sudden revival.
"You can thank me, Juzo Mido. I have granted you another lease on life." A distorted voice unfamiliar to Mido garnered his attention. He heard the creepy whispers coupled with the distorted voice. He sighted an ominous figure that appeared to look like a young girl.
"Who are you? Are you the one who revived me?" Mido asked, being ever cautious with the unknown entity.
"I am an avatar of the Yami Matter. You may call me Pandora," the distorted voice suddenly revealed its feminine tone while maintaining its mysterious and baleful vibe.
"You chose to revive me, but for what purpose?"
"Don't you want revenge on those who ended you?"
Without a second thought, Mido responded. "Precisely, my vengeance will not be satisfied until I seek the ones who finished me. I must continue my work and create the ultimate life forms meant to replace humanity!"
Pandora chortled behind the dark veil. "Then, why don't continue your work another way?"
"What do you propose?"
"The Revenants you seek have counterparts currently residing in another reality. They're fated to meet with a rebellious group called the Phantom Thieves. Why not infiltrate this dimension? You can observe its timeline and the Revenants' counterparts. Better yet, why not form an organization?"
"An organization? Who then would I recruit?"
"If you're worried that you'd attract unwanted attention with your current appearance, then use your genius to create a facade. Blend in with the humans that you loathe so much."
"Become what I hate most? What a horrid but ironic twist. Sounds very enticing. I'll gladly don a human facade if I'm to recruit subjects. They can help monitor these Revenants' counterparts and I'll gather the data. This will give me enough time to harvest new experiments and use them to kill these Revenant counterparts before I go back to my world and finish off the ones who killed me!"
"Yes, I like your meticulous planning, Juzo Mido. Permit me to lend you my support. No, 'our' support." With that, Pandora summoned her two bodyguards, Fredegund and Ildikó. "We will assist you in forming your Consortium."
"I'll gladly accept your terms. Consider this my thanks to you for my revival."
"Then, let us spread the Yami Matter's influence and let it be drawn to the darkness in humans' hearts. The more darkness that manifests, the more the Yami Matter will consume until nothing is left of that reality but a void."
"As a scientist, I propose we make use of the Yami Matter's effectiveness and experiment on other realities. Surely, there's a bounty of worlds to play with before we use the Yami Matter to destroy my enemies' world?"
"I suppose we can try. Yes, this should prove to be an intriguing experiment, Juzo Mido."
An unholy alliance was struck between the parties. The Consortium was then founded. With the Yami Matter's power, Pandora shed her old form and infiltrated the Thieves' Akane-no-Mai dimension. After swallowing one of the Velvet Room's blue butterflies, Pandora utilized its power to copy the appearance of a girl named Miki Nakamura from another reality. Taking on the guise of Miki, Pandora walked freely among society. Additionally, she influenced the Yami Matter to cause the reverse time shift in the Akane-no-Mai dimension, turning it back from 2020 to 2018. The only ones who had any recollection of 2020 were the Thieves and the Vein Remnants. In response to the Yami Matter's meddling with their world's time shift, the humans who shared the appearance of Mido's enemies became Revenants thanks to Io's power.
Witnessing the Vein Remnants manifest in this reality, Mido saw that everything went according to his plans. Now, he accelerated with this next phase. Having seen Hifumi utilizing Shin-Io's power, the Revenant scientist sought interest in her inherited goddess powers. By copying Hifumi's design, he created his daughter Jinyo.
Dimension: Akane-no-Mai
He spent endless nights witnessing the creation of his daughter. He placed his hand on the glass, meticulously staring at the nude body of his yet-to-be-awakened daughter. By combining the attributes of Togo Hifumi's biology and a B.O.R. Parasite, he created a perfect Revenant whose power could rival Hifumi and her goddess form Shin-Io.
The chamber containing Jinyo suddenly crashed to the ground, breaking into pieces, and releasing a nude Jinyo. While the container's stasis fluids spilled over the ground, the Hifumi clone fell and coughed out extra fluids she intended to spit out. She struggled to stand and opened her eyes, revealing Hifumi's green eyes. The Revenant Hifumi steadied herself and saw Mido in front of her.
"Wh-Who are you…?" She asked, her voice and mannerisms are akin to Togo Hifumi's. She didn't know how she appeared in Mido's laboratory. She saw Mido, in his human disguise, approach her.
"My Jinyo, it'll be ok. You're in good hands."
"Who are you…?"
"I'm your father, Jinyo."
"Why do you call me Jinyo? I'm Togo Hifumi… or, am I? Am I truly her?" She gazed at her hands and gasped at her reflection. Appearing confused, she grasped her face as her whole body quivered. "It's me. But, I have her face! This is her boy! I'm Togo Hifumi!"
"You're just her clone, Jinyo. Nothing more. Now, let's wash you up." As he reached out to her, Jinyo slapped his hand away and turned to run, but Mido trapped and seized her. After restraining Jinyo, he put her on a table and inserted IV needles, inflicting torturous pain on her.
She screamed fearfully as excruciating pain seared through her pale body. "Let me go! It hurts! Skyler…! Io…! Help…"
"You're being a naughty child, Jinyo. I see you came with Hifumi's memories. Well, we can't have such weakness holding you back. You must be disciplined for rebelling against your father," Mido sternly said while shoving more IV needles into Jinyo. Some of these IVs formed like vines, binding her arms and legs. When she tried letting out a blood-curdling scream, Mido clamped her mouth shut. Where she was, no one could hear the clone Hifumi's screams. Her eyes widened with sheer horror when Mido mounted her. Trepidation quickly consumed her very core and suppressed her urge to resist.
Unable to fight back, she was at the monster's mercy. The last thing she remembered was her 'father' inserting something horrific into her. It was a piece of his fragmented soul 'inserted' into Jinyo, which was meant as a way for him to control her. As her free will diminished completely, the Revenant Hifumi's green eyes turned dark blue as a side effect of Mido's fragmented soul manipulating her.
Later, she awoke and obediently bowed to her father.
"Who do you serve, my daughter?"
"You, my father. I willfully serve you," she replied, her tone devoid of emotion as the conversion was completed.
"Excellent, now let us fetch you some clothes."
Dimension: Akane-no-Mai-Vein
Walking outside of a cavern, Jinyo came out wearing a dark variation of Tennyo's attire. She faced down a group of Lost, consisting of Gilded Hunters, Blade Bearers, and Cannoneers. Mido summoned them to test his daughter's power and fighting prowess.
"If you can kill them, my Jinyo, then this experiment is a success. Now begin!"
With that, Jinyo demonstrated her power and attacked the Lost. The Lost surrounded and ambushed her in a melee battle, but Jinyo skillfully brandished her ko-naginata. She easily made short work of the Lost, killing and ripping them to shreds with her ko-naginata. She even tore the head off of a Gilded Hunter and dropped it. With the Losts' corpses dissolving into black dust, Jinyo turned to face Mido, who was joined by Nakamura Miki, Fredegund, and Ildikó.
"Jinyo's power is coming out quite nicely, Mido. I'm impressed," Fredegund coolly smiled.
"I'd like to see how she measures up against us, Fredegund," Ildikó scoffed.
"It's best if you let her rest now," Miki admonished Ildikó.
"Jinyo, it's time to rest. We'll have you perform another field test tomorrow," Mido said, monitoring the Revenant Hifumi crushing the head of the slain Gilded Hunter beneath her foot. "Excellent, you're progressing well, my Jinyo. You shall become the embodiment of evolution beyond human limitations. You will be the ultimate Revenant, the pinnacle of my genius. My Jinyo."
Jinyo grunted and kicked the remains of the Gilded Hunter's crushed head. "Togo Hifumi, when will we cross paths? I'll take great pleasure in ending you."
Dimension: Akane-no-Mai-Vein
With his wormhole opening up, Mido was dumped outside a ruined citadel. His body, while somewhat battered and cut in half by Shin-Io, was put back together by the Yami Matter's power. The defeated Revenant crawled itself toward the citadel's entrance. Having to crawl his way into the mouth of the entrance, a humbled Mido crawled his way toward the darkest area of the citadel's inner chamber. The hostile air and aridness were suffocating as he breathed, though it didn't affect Mido. The pain from his scars left him with stinging sensations.
"These mere scars are nothing. Thank the Yami Matter for putting my body back in one place. This is just a mere setback. It's nothing I can rebound from," muttered Mido, his red eye veering toward a throne forged from obsidian stone and golden steel. "Any scientist always has a contingency when one plan goes awry. I still have my B-plan: the endgame. " His eye scanned and discerned a recognizable figure sitting on the throne. "Hehe, besides they may have beaten me in battle, but I won the war. Now, they can live with the harsh reality of the public fearing them and calling them monsters! Yes, your supporters will gradually turn on you!"
As he boasted over the Vein Remnants' public reputation being stained, he approached the seated figure. "Now, it's time to awaken."
Awakening from the sound of Mido's voice, the figure opened her eyes. Stirring from her sleep, the figure emerged. She has a striking resemblance to Togo Hifumi minus some notable features. This Hifumi's eyes have dark blue pupils with black filling out her iris, similar to Cruz, Mido-Sekiken, and Mido-Sion's eyes. Based on the nature of her eyes, she seemed to be a Revenant. Her outfit was similar to Tennyo's, except this one was wearing a dark blue sleeveless dress, had layers of black bandages covering her waist coupled with a gray waist belt, had dark blue fingernails & pedicure nails, black-winged accessories rather than Tennyo's white, and a pair of black sandals with dark blue straps over the front of the toes.
The Revenant Hifumi waited for Mido to stand on his own feet. The Revenant scientist chortled as he faced the dark-garbed Hifumi entity.
"You…" mumbled Mido. "Did you have a nice nap?"
No response from Revenant Hifumi.
"Well, I hope you've had enough rest because there's a big battle forthcoming. I need you at your best."
Revenant Hifumi obediently nodded.
"Heheh, that's right my Jinyo. They've beaten me in that dimension, but we can anticipate their arrival in this dimension for the endgame!" Mido declared as he then communicated with the Yami Matter surfacing on the walls. "Yes, we shall have our way with them, won't we? Their luck shall run out when we're done with them!"
Suddenly, a soft and insidious giggle caused Mido to cease his boasting. The Revenant scientist slowly pivoted behind him, noticing a solitary figure walking out of the Yami Matter wall. Acknowledging this figure's presence, Mido knelt and bowed.
The Yami Matter's shadows mostly concealed the figure's presence. The left side of this individual's body was cloaked in a shroud of darkness. The right side revealed Nakamura Miki's face and body. The once-believed deceased Miki was alive and well.
Replacing her neutral look, a faint and insidious smirk curved over her features. Miki raised a hand and conjured two dark holes. Emerging from these holes were Miki's assistants: Jocelyn/Ildikó and Carolyn/Fredegund. The two ladies faced Miki and bowed.
"Our humblest apologies for failing to destroy our enemies," Fredegund acknowledged their loss against the Phantom Thieves and their allies. "As you command, the Vamkyries are in their resting places now."
"The Yami Matter forgives you," Miki responded as her tone became low-pitched and distorted, reflecting her true nature as an entity connected to the Yami Matter.
"While I'm grateful you repaired my body, I could've easily put myself back in place," Mido scoffed.
"And I had to show restraint during that whole battle, fooling Togo Hifumi, Skyler Jones, and the Phantom Thieves into believing I was on their side. And I especially had to restrain myself knowing I could have very easily obliterated you without a second thought, Juzo Mido," Miki said as she pointed toward him as the Yami Matter shadows spread over the interior walls, making Mido flinch somewhat.
"Yes, as you say, 'Nakamura Miki'... no, I should call you as you truly are… Pandora."
With her right eye gleaming bright gold, 'Miki' furrowed her brows. "And yes I believe there's a pretender out there using a Persona with that name."
"It's true. We can confirm that to be the case," Fredegund replied.
"Do you want me to destroy the pretender for you?" Ildikó queried Pandora.
"No, don't bother with that insect. Having earned Hifumi's trust and making her naive friends believe Nakamura Miki is dead, I can continue to use this puppet freely until it's time for me to confront the Phantom Thieves and their Revenant allies," 'Miki' said, floating toward the ceiling as she showed them a screen displaying a fabric distortion between two worlds: Akane-no-Mai and Akane-no-Mai-Vein. "The fabric between fiction and reality is becoming undone. Already, their cognitive presences are surfacing. The Urban Myths from humanity's fictitious stories will cross paths and ally with our enemies soon. This cannot be allowed to stand. We must find our Yami King to help us destroy the Phantom Thieves and the Vein Remnants."
"That will certainly help my Yliasterites. My message has humanity fearing the Revenants. Once we've obtained enough followers to become Yliasterites, there's nothing the Phantom Thieves, the Revenants, and these aforementioned Urban Myths you've alluded to can do anything to halt our progress," Mido proclaimed.
"So, let us commence with the next step, Juzo Mido," Pandora stated as Mido acknowledged her command. She then pivoted toward Ildikó and Fredegund. "And you two, be ready. We have a guest set to land in this reality from another realm. Will you and your subject be ready?"
Nodding, Fredegund earnestly responded. "Yes, we will take care of this grievance for you, Pandora."
Pandora maliciously smirked. "Very good. Now, let us sow the seeds for the coming war… not just any war but our endgame."
Mido added. "My Yliaster Utopia won't be the only development our enemies will face."
"Yes, but also an Ethereal War," Mido, Fredegund, Ildikó, and Pandora declared in unison.
Awakened by Mido's laughter amid the Yami Matter's ominous whispering, the Revenant Hifumi's body tingled from the mere mention of Hifumi's name. She was ready to meet her 'sister'.
"Togo Hifumi, our paths will converge soon. Just for nearly killing my father, I shall end you and take Shin-Io's power."
Dimension: Akane-no-Mai/The Velvet Room (ベルベット・ルーム)
On one December night, Ren, Hifumi, and Skyler were summoned to the otherworldly realm between reality and dreams. However, they didn't meet with Igor. Instead, Lavenza summoned them. She discussed with them the dangers that still lurked and an unresolved battle yet to come.
"Welcome, you three. I'm glad you heeded my call."
As both scanned the Velvet Room in awe, Hifumi and Skyler turned and faced Lavenza.
"What's going on? Is it Mido?" Ren asked Lavenza.
"No, and while he is still at large, there will come other entities and one will appear in your reality," she stated.
"Are these some of Mido's associates? I remember Sumire telling us she and the others fought Miki's bodyguards, who were revealed to be enemies," Ren recalled although not being present during that battle.
"I wouldn't surprise me if Mido has more associates working with him that we're unaware of. I doubt he's been working all on his own," Hifumi said.
"Especially since we know the Yami Matter on his side. There's no doubt we'll see more of these 'Yami Matter' events," Skyler said.
Lavenza smiled knowingly. "Yes, but not is all bad. For you see, an unexpected new ally is about to breach your world soon. No, I'd say as long as our meeting here is adjourned."
Hearing this message, Ren queried. "Who is this new ally?"
"You will find that out soon, my friends."
Skyler muttered. "A new ally? Well, we have no shortage of friends who can help us deal with Yami Matter concerns. I wonder what makes this one special?"
Just then, Hifumi heard Io's voice in her mind.
"This one individual is linked to one of our enemies. I can sense her presence is about to materialize in our reality, Hifumi."
Upon hearing Io's vague message, Hifumi muttered. "How soon, Io?"
"Sooner than we think. Be ready because our enemies will seek her out as well."
"Ok, you two. Once we find this ally, we have to protect her," Hifumi informed Ren and Skyler. "We cannot allow Mido and his partners to destroy this source."
"Yes, you know what you three and your friends must do now," Lavenza acknowledged their new mission.
"Of course, we won't let any harm come to this ally. C'mon, you two, we have work to do," Ren firmly stated as Hifumi and Skyler gave him resolute looks and nodded together.
A/N: Surprise! Book III's prologue is out and this makes it the final 2023 update.
So, this chapter in contrast with Book I and II's shows us the villain's perspective of events. We get to see how he was revived and the creation of his daughter. Yeah, it's good that I didn't show him 'planting' himself into Jinyo. Seeing one do that to their daughter is gross. And so, we see a small demonstration of Jinyo's savage power. And the second to last scene is the same one from the final Book II chapter, save for Jinyo's last dialogue.
Jinyo is also meant to contrast Tennyo. Just the same as Jingoku (Hell) and Tengoku (Heaven).
The last scene takes us out of the villains' perspective and takes us back to the Velvet Room again to set the stage for Book III's beginning stages. Of course, that new ally is that mysterious Valkyrie girl from the last scene in Book II's final chapter.
The OSTs used for this chapter are as follows:
Code Vein - Mido Cutscene Music (Mido's revival and interaction with Pandora) - Honestly, I don't know the official name of the soundtrack but this is what I found on YT.
Shin Megami Tensei V - Sahori (Jinyo's creation and violation)
Shin Megami Tensei V - Devil's Castle (Mido and his associates meeting after the former returns from his losing battle)
Persona 5 - Aria of the Soul (Velvet Room scene)
And that's all. If you read this, Happy New Year and be safe going forward. It will be the year of the dragon and let its good fortune shine over us.