Roaring.

Everything around him was roaring.

But eventually, the cataclysm beyond his battened eyelids began to fade, and Gin realized he wasn't dead. Cautiously, he pried his eyes open again.

Rin stood over him and Yoko, her bat clutched tightly in her fists.

And above them loomed Tetsuo, his armor smoking and blistered and arms stretched wide enough to shield them from the force of his own attack. The two of them stood stock still, drilling holes into each other's pupils.

After several moments of terse silence, Rin couldn't hold back any longer - she cried out in frustration and swung at Tetsuo's face with all of her might. Tetsuo flexed his fingers, and Arondight leapt back into his hand just in time to block the blow.

"Rin! What are you-"

"I'm not giving up on you, that's what!" she said. "I haven't forgotten what you told me! If you really believe that someone like me doesn't need to become a Shadow to be happy, then you sure as hell don't need to, either!"

Bewilderment spread across Tetsuo's haggard features as he pushed back against her.

"You'd still believe that, even though it was a Shadow who said it? I'm sorry, Rin, but you've never known the real me. He's weak. He's a coward. And there's nothing about him that's worth salvaging."

"Don't…" she murmured, finding her voice wobbly and the corners of her eyes damp. She swallowed, and recentered herself. "Don't you ever tell yourself you're not worth it."

For just a moment, Tetsuo's eyes widened, and his strength wavered. Rin struck back as hard as she could, and Tetsuo's guard broke, sending him stumbling backwards. But instead of pressing the attack, Rin tossed her bat to the ground.

"When you suffer for long enough, you start to believe that it's the only thing that can happen to you…and living starts to feel like a chore. But when I opened myself up to you…it felt like I could breathe again for the first time in forever. Whatever's waiting for you back in the real world, I'm sure it must feel like it's crushing you flat. And while I can't promise you that it'll go away if you come back with me, I can promise you that you won't have to face it alone. Let's take our lives back – together."

Tetsuo swallowed hard. He tightened his grip on Arondight, and the cloud of black monarchs surrounding him flared out combatively.

"You're not listening to me. There's no future left for me in that world, Rin."

"I've been listening plenty. That's how I know that you're stronger than you think you are. So please…give me a chance to prove it to you."

In that moment, something resonated deep within Rin's heart. She was sitting on the hilltop under the stars again, surrounded by Tetsuo's wistful melodies as they took flight from their strings. At the time, she had been too lost in her own troubles to listen properly, but this time she could hear what lay underneath those chords. Even without his memories, he'd spilled his heart out to her that night, and each note carried with it the extent of his unconscious sorrow and frustration.

And yet, as melancholy as the song had been, there was something that cut through it, something bright and warm, a yearning for the future that was too pure and hopeful to be born from the twisted desires of a Shadow.

And all of a sudden, she knew how to speak so he would listen.

A swirl of effervescent emotions began to stir in her chest on butterfly wings. She took a step back and with a wavering voice, set them free.

The light outside the window's fading fast

Throwing shadows past

These holes inside my head

Forever's way too long to let those thoughts run free

This stranger in the mirror can't be me

As each note passed her lips, Rin was startled at the ease with which the words came to her. It felt like throwing open the door to a forgotten, dim part of her soul and letting the light rush in to fill the darkened corners. Something within was transforming, and her singing grew fuller and more emboldened.

So don't look back,

Darling, it does no good to

Stay here with your demons in the dark

Those moments have passed,

Let fate elapse –

There's nothing

That says we can't start over now

Please just take my hand

A peculiar expression crept across his features, and Tetsuo staggered backwards, clapping a hand against the side of his head.

"Please, Rin, stop this. I can't…" he whispered, but his pleas went unheard. Locking eyes with him, Rin began to advance, and each step she took sent up spirals of sapphire flames in their wake.

No matter where we go

How long it takes us

I promise that I'll stay

I'm here because of you

Now let me lead the way

These nightmares cannot last forever

Dawn's just around the bend,

That light is not the end,

Tomorrow comes and then,

It's time to try again

By now, she had drawn near to him, and the courtyard was awash in her aura. The flames that encircled her unfurled into a whirlwind of butterflies, bathing her upturned face in brilliant blue light. The curtain of butterflies expanded with each crescendo of her voice until they met the swarm of black monarchs that surrounded Tetsuo. The monarchs burst into plumes of smoke as they collided with the wall of sapphire wings, and Rin could feel her heart swell. Galahad's ghostly form appeared beside her, his chalice brimming with an ethereal light that intensified until it spilled over and swallowed him entirely.

Let's board together

The last train home now,

Won't fear the future

From this point onwards,

Give me wings to fly

I know there's no way I'll fall

So open up your eyes

It's all right

I'll be there with you

It's time to start anew

Anew

Rin held the final note long and loud, pouring out every last bit of adoration and longing she held in her heart. The light emanating from her Persona exploded outwards, driving the blue butterflies right through their ashen counterparts and into Tetsuo. Spurred on by her fervor, the thrumming of their wings became a roar as the swarm whipped itself into a cyclone. One after the other, the shimmering creatures threw themselves against Tetsuo's armor, and slowly but surely, the ebon plating began to erode under the onslaught.

Tetsuo threw his arms up in front of his face and leaned into the tempest, but found he couldn't budge an inch. Within seconds, the barrage had chewed clean through his gauntlets, and he let out a desperate cry.

"This world's the way things should be! If I wake up, it'll be like none of it ever happened! Is that really what you want?"

Although she refused to answer, the corners of Rin's eyes grew wet with tears. Instead, she reached up towards his face, and gently caressed his cheek in the palm of her hand. Tetsuo's eyes went wide, and she could feel the will to fight leave him. The remainder of his armor disintegrated in a flurry of sparks that rose into the sky like summer fireflies, and Tetsuo's limp body fell into her arms.

"What am I supposed to do, Rin? I…I'm scared…" he stammered into her, and she felt a sudden wetness on her shoulder.

"It's alright," she cooed, holding him tightly against her and running her fingers through his hair. "It's gonna hurt to let go. And you're gonna be afraid, more afraid than you've ever been in your entire life. But that's okay. Because whenever you're ready, no matter how long that takes, I'll be there waiting to bring you home. Then, we'll deal with whatever comes next."

Tetsuo slumped down into her lap, staring up at her as his irises flickered from gold to black.

"That song…you remembered…"

"How could I forget?" She gave him a warm smile. "Listen, why don't you take five for now? We'll sort everything out when you're feeling like yourself again. I'll still be there – I promise."

Tetsuo's brow furrowed with unease, but he made no protest.

"As long…as you promise…" he breathed, and tumbled into unconsciousness.

Rin laid there cradling him in her arms for a while until all of a sudden, a heavy, juddering sigh of deep relief tumbled from her lips. She gave Tetsuo one more tight squeeze and gingerly lowered him to the ground before she turned to check on her brother and Yoko. But before she had taken a single step, she heard the hiss of the hospital door as it slid open behind her.

"Credit where credit is due. I didn't expect that to work."

She recognized Nisekao immediately, yet the sound of his voice alarmed her all the same. It was both the same voice she'd grown accustomed to hearing and something completely alien all at once. Each syllable he spoke was interlaced with an undercurrent of unnerving noise; echoes of sirens and screaming that pierced directly into her brain. By the time she had turned to face him, she found herself grinding her teeth together without realizing it.

"Poor Tetsuo," he said, rolling himself towards them, "he craves love so badly that he'll let himself be talked into anything for the sake of it. But then again, most humans do, don't they?"

Rin snatched up her bat and brandished it at the boy.

"Hold it. Don't come any closer."

He halted, fixing her with an amused glare.

"Really, Jidou-senpai? You'd threaten me?"

"Cut the shit," she spat. "You did something to him; I know you did."

Nisekao raised a skeptical eyebrow, but didn't interrupt, inviting her to continue.

"He only started acting weird after he wandered off into your Cloud. And then today, he runs off to see you and comes back as a True Shadow. Doesn't take a lot of imagination to connect the dots here.

"And then there's you. You've been hard to figure out right from the start. We've all seen Tetsuo's real body, y'know. We weren't exactly sure what to think when Yoko found the two of you in Cloud One – on one hand, there's a Persona user calling himself Tetsuo that doesn't look much like the real one. And on the other hand, there's someone who looks exactly like the real Tetsuo, but he calls himself Nisekao."

She glanced back at Tetsuo's prone form.

"Of course, none of us are psychiatrists. We were never meant to be. But even we figured out that this is the real Tetsuo, or at least, who he wants to be on the inside.

"So then, what did that make you? The best explanation we could come up with is that you were some kinda cognition like the others, so we ran with that and didn't worry about it for a while because you seemed pretty harmless.

"But then things started to slip out of Tetsuo's control, and you started to step in. Pulling a perfect mahjong hand out of your ass I could chalk up to luck, but I can't handwave everything you did in Cloud Seven so easily. Every single Cloud up to that point followed the same rules – there's a Dreamweaver and an Enforcer. But you managed to create a Cloud without those just so Tetsuo could have a chance to go apeshit on that Souichiro kid. And not only that, but you were able to block Gin from scanning you. I wonder why?

"Here's what I think: you're more than just one of Tetsuo's cognitions. I don't know what you are, but I'm pretty damn sure you don't belong here."

Nisekao leaned back in his chair and idly crossed his legs.

"I don't belong here? How presumptuous. This world is the result of a contract between Tetsuo and I. I'm here to grant him reprieve from a cruel fate – one which you seek to return him to, and for what? The selfish curiosity of a few human scholars? No matter how you look at it, you are the trespassers."

An intangible, oppressive weight descended upon Rin's shoulders as he spoke, betraying the malice hiding behind his otherwise measured words.

"You're full of it," she said after a short pause. "All you've done is convince someone who's scared and alone that they ought to keep feeling scared and alone. The Tetsuo I know is more than that. He helped me understand that there's a part of me that's stronger than my fear, a part of me that wants to see tomorrow, whatever that happens to be. And I think that deep down, he wants the same thing."

A flicker of contempt slithered into Nisekao's smug expression.

"So what do you think you've accomplished here? Changed his heart with a few empty words? You can project your own delusions as much as you like. In the end, the desires of mankind are laid bare to me. In order to eradicate its suffering, humanity will abandon its very soul, and Tetsuo is no different. All you've done is delay the inevitable – and waste my time."

With a snap of his fingers, the steel frame of Nisekao's chair began to shudder as the steel became a mass of black monarchs that twisted themselves into writhing, dark appendages that cradled his body in their vile embrace.

"I've tolerated your presence for too long. It's past time to clear the checkers from the chessboard. I, Nyarlathotep, will put an end to your meddling myself."

Several of the appendages whipped out in front of him. Resolving their tips into razor-sharp points, they hurtled toward Rin. A sudden flash illuminated the courtyard in a brilliant blue, and the spears hung frozen in midair, enveloped in a psychokinetic glow.

"Nyarlathotep," she said, and the name was acrid on her tongue. "You like games, huh?"

Rin strode towards the creature, wreathed in flames and encircled by swirling, ghostly chains. With a single hand, she snatched them up and crushed them in her palm. Flames consumed her clothing, transforming her blouse into a long, white, high-collared coat and an emerald scarf that fluttered wildly in the wind, and her school pants into a pair of dark trousers and leather greaves.

"Y'know, I used to think there wasn't any fun in betting on sure things. I mean, a gamble's only exciting if you got something to lose, right?"

She twirled her bat deftly in her other hand, and in another burst of light, it became a gleaming saber.

"It's weird then, the way I'm getting all worked up right now. Somehow, the thought of rinsing a miserable thing like you-"

Two jagged panels slid across Rin's chin and upper lip and clamped together, forming a face mask bearing a wide, shark-toothed grin.

"-has me seeing nothing but jackpots."

Her sword flashed, and a wave of violet light rippled outwards. The spears shuddered, then fell apart, shredded to ribbons. A booming voice resounded in her head, not unlike Galahad's, but teeming with multitudes.

I am thou, and thou art I…

Thou hast forged an indomitable bond

Unfettering the shackles that bind thine heart

Let every secret of the Wheel of Fortune be made known to thee,

And onward we shall ride in the eternal hunt for glory!

"G-Gah!"

Rin's head began to pound uncontrollably, and her hands flew to the thin gap in the jaws of her mask.

"PERSONA! THE BEAST GLATISANT!"

A wild surge of power pulsed through Rin's body, and she wrenched the panels apart, tearing the mask from her face in a spray of blood.

Nyarlathotep exhaled lightly, and the monarch arms slid him into a reclining position on his side.

Everything fell silent – as though the Cloud itself was taking a deep breath – before a blast of azure light ripped through the air, kicking up dust and debris. The blood from Rin's mouth ignited, spiraling high into the crimson sky. It darted capriciously to and fro around her head before the light began to fade and it came to rest in front of her face.

Her Persona's new form was roughly the size of a basketball, an amorphous blob that cycled through the colors of the rainbow the way a prism glitters in the sunlight. When Rin leaned in to inspect it more closely, two bulging yellow eyes popped out with a squelch and stared back. She hopped backwards in surprise and it collapsed like liquid, spiraling itself around her waist to catch her fall. As it gamboled about like a playful child, it took on the shape of all sorts of fantastic creatures – unicorn and manticore, griffin and leviathan – but the one it settled upon was that of a haphazardly built beast with a feline body and a reptilian face. It gently nuzzled at her ankles before turning its wide-eyed stare towards Nyarlathotep with its hackles raised.

"Now…you've got the guitar, don't you? I just want you to know that I'm gonna be leaving with that, one way or another."

The Shadow scoffed.

"Hah! The timeless arrogance of man! Chaos crawls ever closer, and you haven't the wit to flee! Come then, let your comrades witness what awaits them."

At that, dozens more smoking, whip-like arms fanned out behind Nyarlathotep and rocketed towards Rin. As the first arm sought to pierce her chest, Glatisant gathered its power, and its user lit up with a violet glow. Rin's silhouette shimmered and she vanished, leaving behind nothing but a faint hum in the air. A split second later, she plummeted in from above and severed the appendage from its master with one clean slice.

The rest of the arms honed in on her and Glatisant like missiles, tracing trails of smoke through air as they gave chase. The speed of their pursuit was blistering, yet Rin and her Persona navigated the forest of limbs with the grace of a practiced dancer. Time itself seemed to slow as she flashed through the air, teleporting in and out of Nyarlathotep's searching thrusts.

"Incredible," she breathed, hacking through another set of tentacles without the slightest hint of resistance. "Incredible! I've never felt so free!"

Several monarch arms encircled her and reared back, ready to strike. Heady laughter bubbled from Rin's lips.

"Now, Glatisant! Psycho Buster!"

The Persona let out a howl, and a dome of psychic energy exploded outwards, pinning every last arm against the ground below. Glatisant pressed itself against the dome's surface and melted into it, and the dome erupted into a canvas of color and wild geometric patterns. The patterns began to shift as though the dome were at the center of an enormous kaleidoscope, and the pressure within multiplied.

There was an audible crunch as Nyarlathotep cratered into the pavement, and many of the arms ruptured into gasps of smoke. But even though the sheer psychic force was beginning to deform his body, the Shadow's smirk refused to fade.

To Gin, it was a troubling sign. He'd been fighting to keep himself from passing out, though he hardly had the strength left to stand on his own. However, Rin was demolishing the enemy effortlessly by herself, and to him, that was exactly what was so unsettling.

"Pellinore," he muttered, and his Persona shakily sprang to life. "Run analysis on that thing for me."

It obliged with a soft glow and hum. Low on power and without its drones, the task would take some time, and Gin only hoped that wouldn't make a difference.

Within the dome, Nyarlathotep laboriously craned his head skywards to meet Rin's eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, and his jaw instantly cracked and came unhinged. From within his throat, something dark and fluid stirred.

"Having fun, Rin Jidou? Do you feel in control of your fate?"

Rin clenched her fist around the hilt of her saber and Glatisant responded in turn by dialing up the pressure.

"More than I've ever been. Maybe the world out there still won't be kind to us once we return. But I'm ready to bet on myself, and try to make it a life worth living! I'm not ready to die here…and I'm not leaving Tetsuo behind, either!"

An ear-splitting screech echoed from the walls of the dome. The patterns twisted one last time, and hundreds of eyes flew open to pierce Nyarlathotep with their unblinking stare. A web of cracks raced across his exposed skin like the flesh of a damaged porcelain doll, crumbling away to reveal the outline of a shadowy figure within.

"Got you! C'mon, Glatisant!"

Extricating itself from the dome, Glatisant took the form of a tremendous kraken, using its many tentacles to keep Nyarlathotep restrained. It teleported Rin high overhead, and she plunged towards her foe with her blade extended.

It was at that moment that Pellinore completed its analysis.

Gin's HUD lit up with a violent red, and a torrent of warnings flooded his vision before the display cut out completely. Somewhere in the deepest recesses of his mind, he could feel something abhorrent wriggling its way into his psyche, and he cut off his link to Pellinore before it could burrow any further. A desperate scream tore out of his lungs.

"RIN! PULL BACK! GET OUT OF THERE! YOU CAN'T HANDLE THAT THING! RIIIIIN!"

The darkness within Nyarlathotep's shell roiled, and a single thin tendril shot from his mouth to meet Rin's attack. The dark matter struck the edge of her sword with a startling amount of force, coalescing into the shape of a long, ornate spear. She could vaguely hear Gin calling her name, but his voice sounded muffled and distant. Rin leaned into her strike with all the strength she could muster, and finally, she felt the tip of the spear give beneath the weight of her blade.

One blink, and it was over.

When Rin opened her eyes again, she found herself face to face with her enemy, his face split in two and her saber buried halfway down his torso. But despite the grievous wound, the two halves of his fiendish smile spread just as wide as ever.

"Remarkable. This wound is…painful. Your will truly does surpass that of the average human."

A beat passed. The saber dropped from Rin's hand.

"What? I've paid you a compliment. Could it be that you've run out of things to say?"

In truth, Rin was trying to speak. It wasn't until she reached up and felt the halves of the spear lodged in her throat that she understood why she couldn't.

"Ah. Well."

Nyarlathotep let out a high, cruel laugh, and tore the tendrils from her neck. Gin watched in horror as his twin crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut, and her Persona disappeared with a mournful cry.

"RIN!"

Gin clutched at his chest. The bottom of his stomach dropped out, leaving an empty void where his heart used to be. He staggered to his feet, spurred by a rush of hot anger and grief.

"You…you…!" he hissed. "I…I'LL KILL YOU!"

He attempted to summon his Persona, but the effort quickly overwhelmed him. He could only manifest Pellinore for a scant few seconds before his mind and body gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Shit! SHIT!"

He beat his fist against the ground in impotent rage and laboriously dragged himself over to Tetsuo's listless body.

"Get up! C'mon, get up! This is your fault, so wake the fuck up and fix my sister already, you son of a bitch!"

But no matter how hard he shook, Tetsuo didn't stir.

Swarms of black monarchs began to gather around Nyarlathotep's body, propping it upright and working to stitch the two halves of his body back together.

"Haaah…" he gasped, tracing the edge of his wound with a finger. "Cease your ranting. You'll join her soon." He then peered up at something past Gin. "Hm-?"

"Not another word, monster!"

A beam of Saint Elmo's Fire divided the heavens and scored the earth, scattering the monarchs as they scrambled to pull their master from its path. Yoko rushed forward and extended her arm to ready Guinevere for another strike.

"Wh-? Yoko? But you were-" Gin stammered, but a gentle hand on his shoulder interrupted him. All of sudden, he could feel his strength returning to him, and even the intense pain in his hand where the Demon Core had touched his skin was beginning to fade. Whipping his head around, he found Mariko and Nyneve kneeling beside him.

"Stay still for me," she said, as Nyneve's magic flowed into him. "It's harder if you struggle, and we need to work quickly."

Regardless, Gin smacked her hand away and shot her a look of pure bewilderment.

"What the hell are you doing?! You should be helping Rin, not me!"

Mariko tightened her grip.

"If you allow Nyarlathotep to regenerate his body, none of us will get out of this alive. You and Yoko need to stop him before that happens."

"You're not listening to me! My sister…my sister is…!"

Her gaze met his, and she turned away.

"I…I understand, but I can only do so much while I'm independent of Tetsuo. If you really want to give me a chance to save her, you have to take care of Nyarlathotep!"

Gin fell silent. For the first time, he was truly out of answers.

Meanwhile, Yoko and Guinevere were fiercely doing their best to finish their foe, but Nyarlathotep was proving too challenging to pin down on her own. Guinevere hurled fireball after fireball at the injured Shadow, but none found their target. Hitting him was like trying to ignite mist – no matter how hard she tried, the flames just seemed to melt into him.

Still, her efforts were achieving something – Nyarlathotep was too preoccupied with avoiding her to properly knit himself back into one piece. Soon, a frustrated sneer cracked his lips, and after a quick glance at Mariko and Gin, he gave a curt snap of his fingers.

Black monarchs from all over the city thronged into the hospital courtyard, choking the air and obscuring the Shadow from view. Without a clear line of sight, Yoko withdrew Guinevere for fear of hitting one of her friends. Then, Nyarlathotep's voice rang out into the teeming mass.

"Hm. It seems I must withdraw for now - Jidou left you quite the parting gift. Treasure the time she bought you. There won't be much of it.

"And Tetsuo – I know you'll remember this, linked as we are - our contract still remains unfulfilled. I'll allow you one more week to consider your fate, although I imagine the prospect of returning to the mortal world now must be quite grim, indeed. You know where to find me – and I'll be waiting. I'm very much looking forward to your decision."

And with that, the butterflies dispersed, and Nyarlathotep was gone, leaving behind three shattered people, and the Shadow that bound them there.