Nyarlathotep's eyes rattled furiously in their sockets. Yoko cautiously lowered her weapon as she watched their foe gibber and spasm uncontrollably. Just as she was about to ask Gin what was going on, a harsh light flooded her vision.
The fissure running through the demon's temple popped and groaned, like the grinding of bone on bone until it gave way and raced the length of the mask from scalp to chin. Perhaps in response to their master's distress, the monarchs abandoned their harassment of the Persona users and gathered themselves into the shape of giant hands, pressing against both halves of the mask in a desperate attempt to keep them unified. Still, despite their effort, the crack continued to widen and wander across the mask's surface until, finally, Nyarlathotep could curb it no longer, and let out an agonized roar.
With a thunderous bang, the mask split in two, and Merlin, Mariko, and Tetsuo burst through the seam, skidding to a halt across the stone. Yoko and Gin's eyes went wide, and they rushed over to his side.
"Tetsuo! You did it!" Yoko shouted before wrapping him up in a tight bear hug.
Meanwhile Gin, who was unsuccessfully trying to suppress a relieved smile, looked past them at what was left of the mask. It seemed that all that remained of Nyarlathotep was a throbbing mass of some dark, tarry substance that pooled between the two halves of the broken facade.
"I can hardly believe it…is he…?"
Gin wandered closer, halting a short distance away. He gestured Pellinore over, and his Persona's drones dutifully zipped towards the remains to begin collecting data.
The warning struck Tetsuo like a needle through his skull, just a fraction of a second too late.
"Gin! Pellinore! Stay back!"
It happened in the blink of an eye - several thin, wiry strands shot out from the pool of miasma, skewering the drones before weaving themselves into a tight net around Pellinore and anchoring him tightly to the floor. Gin let out a surprised, strangled cry as he hit the floor, too, unable to move.
As soon as her partner fell, Yoko leapt forward with Guinevere at the ready, already kindling the flames within her stained glass body, but another appendage, thick and weighty like a club, took her off of her feet with a powerful sweep that moved much too quickly for its size. Her master toppled, Guinevere's focus wavered, giving the clubbed arm the opportunity to bring itself down on the Persona with all its might, shattering her to pieces. Then, more of the dark strands slithered from the pool and bound her wrists and ankles tightly together.
"No, no, no!" growled Tetsuo. A wave of sheer enmity rippled throughout the chasm, a field of such awful terror and malice that he could feel its weight pressing upon him. It was as though destroying the mask had freed something more horrible still; the djinni in the lamp had been released from its restraints.
A host of tendrils whipped from the now-burgeoning mass of shadows like an uncanny anemone, barring Tetsuo's path and preventing him from rushing to his friends' aid. Gawain rushed forward.
[Allow me!]
He plowed ahead, seeking to carve a path through the forest of wild appendages, but he had badly underestimated their agility. They nimbly twisted aside at impossible angles, lodging themselves in Gawain's treads and bringing him to a sudden halt. Unable to free himself, Gawain trained his cannon on the source of the tendrils only for a cluster of them to wind their way up the barrel and stuff themselves inside. The Persona whirred and sputtered helplessly as the tendrils wormed their way through him, snuffing out the light from within.
Merlin leapt on top of Gawain and alternated between freezing and smashing the murky strands that bound him while Ragnelle attempted to keep the others at bay with a horde of wailing specters that she commanded with a broad sweep of her arms. However, her dark magic did little to deter the throng of flailing limbs. They shrugged off her spell, pushed through the specters, and soon she was tied up like Yoko was. Merlin realized this too little too late, and scarcely had the chance to defend himself before he was knocked off of Gawain and his arms were lashed tightly to the ground.
Now, only Tetsuo and Mariko remained free, yet Tetsuo found himself unable to move, paralyzed by the phantom sensation of being bound as his Personas were. He could only watch as the shadowy mass, with its dozens of tendrils spread out like roots, began to shudder and distend.
Two huge, spindly arms burst from the miasma, bending at an unnatural angle to clamp down upon the edges of the mask on either side. Using them as leverage, a lean, sinewy torso emerged, rivulets of black smoke rolling off its back like amniotic fluid. A gaunt, sunken face followed, so dark that barely any of its features were visible save for two fiercely glowing eyes, a pair of searing gold spirals that bore such hunger and fury that staring into them made Tetsuo feel as though his own might shrivel up in their sockets. As Nyarlathotep drew himself up to his full height, a pair of enormous monarch wings unfolded from between his shoulder blades, fluctuating between ebon and iridescent purple in the low light, each one rustling and chittering with the wingbeats of thousands of the smaller insects.
A series of bangs rent the air as Mariko emptied a clip into the looming giant, her eyes wide and pale. Each bullet vanished into his chest with a tiny puff of smoke, eliciting little more than a wince and a grimace from the dark god. Gathering electricity, Nyneve raised her blade for a follow-up attack, but with one swipe of his arm, Nyarlathotep batted her aside effortlessly, and her lightning bolt careened harmlessly into the dark. Then, he pointed a finger at Mariko, and a javelin of violet light shot out, piercing her in the side. She let out an abrupt yelp, and crumpled to the floor.
Tetsuo bit down hard on his bottom lip as sharp pain exploded through his own side. He was urging his body to move, to tear his friends free, to lay into Nyarlathotep with every fiber of his being, but not a single muscle would respond. All he could feel were the tendrils cutting into his flesh and the astounding weight of the dread emanating from his foe. That, and one other presence within - weak, but there.
"Launcelot! I need you!" he cried out.
His Persona appeared in a burst of sparks, but only for a moment or two before Tetsuo felt his focus lapse, and the knight vanished again. Nyarlathotep hooked Tetsuo's chin in the crook of one long, cold finger, and all at once, the feeling in his legs left him.
"YOU," he hissed, that single syllable bristling with barely restrained violence. "What resistance did you think you could offer? Have you lost your mind as well?"
He drew his horrible, dark chasm of a face closer, close enough to feel the pure hate radiating from it.
"In case I haven't made it clear: there is no hope for you beyond this place. Without me, the power to change your fate will lie forever beyond your reach. But fortunately for you, I'm nothing if not persistent. If you no longer find my offer attractive, then I'll just have to find some way to make it more compelling."
Nyarlathotep made as if to draw back, and then, quick as lightning, he pinched Tetsuo's face between two digits and wrenched him around to face Gin and Yoko. Their restraints tightened further, causing them to cry out in pain.
"How about this? Since these two seem to mean more to you than the love of your family and friends, you are going to watch as I flay them alive. Then, once I am finished, I will ask you again to uphold our contract. If I am still feeling charitable, I may recreate them as cognitions for you."
Tetsuo's pupils went wide with horror, and he began to thrash madly in Nyarlathotep's iron grip. The points of his claws raked his cheeks, leaving thin, red cuts in their wake.
"No! NO! THAT'S ENOUGH!" he screamed.
A litany of futile pleading and furious expletives spilled from his burning lungs, but the looming shadow above gave nothing but a wretched, toothy grin in return. His pulse skyrocketing, Tetsuo dug deep, calling out to each and every Persona he'd ever awakened, but Nyarlathotep's touch had a hold of him, a murky undertow whose grip dragged him farther and farther from himself. Finally, desperate, he whispered Launcelot's name like a prayer, trying to rekindle that meager flame that flickered inside his soul. It was there, it was there - but it was too deep. Too dim.
Nyarlathotep lifted his arms in triumph, and from his back exploded a throng of wriggling, appendages that snapped to and fro like living whips. He exhaled deeply, shivering in ecstasy.
"I would say it brings me no joy to have to do this, but…well… We're past the point of needing to lie to one another, aren't we?"
With a flick of his wrists, the tendrils shot forth, pitching about at wild angles as their serrated, harpoon-like tips wove dark webs through space. Tetsuo could do little else but watch, transfixed, while they danced about, seemingly taunting his helplessness.
And as he craned his head back, staring through the eye of the corkscrewing path that led back to the surface, his eyes found a single star right at its center. There were many others like it dotting the abyss, but as he watched it glimmer, he realized that, somehow, it was growing larger.
No, it wasn't getting larger. It was falling, and at a blistering speed.
Nyarlathotep noticed that something had caught Tetsuo's eye, and turned his own attention upward.
"Hm? What is-"
There was a glint of steel. The star, with her mask full of teeth and bloodstained scarf rippling in her wake, tore through the weave of tendrils and slammed her saber home, burying the blade deep in the monster's windpipe in a terrific explosion of kaleidoscopic color. Overcome with disbelief and joy, her name burst from Tetsuo's lips:
"RIN!"
A geyser of black fluid erupted from the wound, and Nyarlathotep let out an earshattering howl, retracting his few remaining tendrils as his hands flew to his throat. With a single deft move, Rin slid away from his grasp and down his torso, tearing a deep gash down the creature's sternum. Once she reached his abdomen, she yanked the blade free and tumbled to the floor not too far from Tetsuo and the others.
Gin and Yoko quickly leapt up and ran over to help his sister to her feet.
"What do you think you're doing here? Do you have any idea-" he began, but Rin shot him an incredulous look, and he caught himself. "...No, you're right. I'm glad you made it."
His legs still unresponsive, Tetsuo drug himself over to her side. Their eyes met briefly, then suddenly, Rin pulled him in for a passionate kiss. It lasted for barely more than a second, but Tetsuo could already feel the chill of Nyarlathotep's touch recede.
"You're insane, you know that, right?" he said, breathless.
She let out a raspy giggle, then winced. Tetsuo glanced down. There was a small dark stain on the bandages at her neck, and her forehead was cold and clammy with sweat.
"Hey…you're still hurt. Are you good?"
Rin nodded, and held up a firm thumbs-up that he took to mean: Good enough. Then, before Gin could open his mouth to chime in, she put a hand up to stop anyone from saying anything else and pointed emphatically at Nyarlathotep. A soft, hazy light was emanating from the wound in his chest, and his myriad arms were frantically pressing against his sides in an effort to close it up.
Gazing at it, Tetsuo felt something in his heart resonate. It was Launcelot, pulling him towards that shimmering glow, that lost piece of his soul - his Treasure.
"That's it…my guitar! It's in there!"
The other two nodded in understanding, and Gin clapped a hand on Tetsuo's shoulder. "Let us keep Nyarlathotep busy. You just gotta find some way to get up there and get it back, okay?"
"Right."
Gin turned back to the others with a resolute spark in his eyes. One by one, their Personas sprang to life in a cacophony of shattering chains and roaring flames.
"All right, this is it everyone! Let's not waste this opportunity! Nightmare! Let's get in there and hit 'em with an all-out attack!"
With that, they sprang towards the colossal Shadow at speeds that made them a blur to the naked eye, painting the air with streaks of flashing steel and bursts of their Personas' magic. Nyarlathotep growled indignantly, and a fresh set of wiry arms erupted from his sides. The limbs swatted and grasped at them as they darted about, but the three Persona users fought back like they were possessed, expertly evading each frenzied attack as they continued to harry their foe.
Down below, Tetsuo summoned up what remained of his strength and, straining against the numbness below his waist, fought to stand upright. Suddenly, Merlin was at his side, throwing one arm around his shoulder and another around his waist.
[Stand tall - I have you!]
Tetsuo gingerly put one foot in front of the other, taking short steps towards the enemy that sent pins and needles shooting up and down his spinal cord. At first, it was nearly unbearable. Just to keep his legs moving, he had to grit his teeth together so hard it felt like they might crumble. But with every step, the pain lessened. Strength was returning to his muscles, and soon he found himself able to move without Merlin's help. His shambling gait turned into a steady stride, then a brisk jog, and before he knew it, he was rushing towards Nyarlathotep at a headlong sprint.
As he drew near, Nyarlathotep's head snapped towards him, fixing him with the full intensity of his swirling, fiery gaze. Two golden lights flashed within the dormant eye sockets of the broken mask, discharging a pair of violet beams in Tetsuo's direction.
[Not so fast!]
[Stay back!]
Gawain rumbled around to Tetsuo's right, and the first beam glanced off his hulking shield. Ragnelle swooped in to his left, opening a swirling, pitch-black portal and sending the other beam hurtling into the beyond.
Nyarlathotep's monstrous face contorted with rage. He let out a scream, and a fresh cloud of black monarchs poured from his maw.
"Hold your breath!" Yoko shouted, recognizing the attack. "They're poisonous!"
Tetsuo yanked his shirt up over his nose, but it was difficult not to inhale as he ran, and what little of the fumes he had already breathed in were making his head start to swim. He stumbled, and a hand caught him by the back of his jacket.
"Go ahead and breathe, Tetsuo. We've got this," said Mariko, and Nyneve nodded. She lifted her sword, and a soft halo of light filled the air. As the light passed over them, the butterflies dropped to the floor, and the noxious smell dissipated.
Once he reached the halves of his stony face at the base of Nyarlathotep's body, Merlin ducked down on one knee and held out a pair of cupped hands. Tetsuo leapt on, and with a mighty heave, Merlin launched him upwards onto the creature's chest, where he landed with a thud.
He then looked up through the wound's pearlescent glow at the face of the being that shared his heart. He half expected (or perhaps hoped) to find some hint of Nisekao there, the smallest reminder of the strange and wonderful journey they had embarked upon together. And for a beat, he thought he saw it. Then, the light shifted, and he was again staring up at that same spiteful, cavernous pit of smoke that returned his gaze with an expression that harbored nothing but derision and disgust for everything that he was.
So this time, instead of offering his hand in covenant, he plunged it deep into the center of the cavity, and his fingers closed around the familiar touch of lacquered wood.
With a gigantic, low-pitched BANG, a massive shockwave rippled through the air, and the fighting came to a jarring halt as it seemed that time itself had slowed to a crawl. Then, a booming voice much like Launcelot's filled his mind:
AT LAST.
HAST THOU RETURNED TO THINE SENSES?
Tetsuo's hand flew to his temple as the words echoed within. A light, heady sensation was spreading through him - disorienting, but not altogether unpleasant.
TOO LONG HAVE WE WITHERED UNDER THE USURPER'S POISON TONGUE,
OUR SENSES DULLED, RESIGNED TO AN IGNOMINIOUS END.
Tetsuo pulled on the neck of his guitar, but he was met with a powerful friction, as though it was stuck in quicksand.
YET THOU HAST GLIMPSED IT,
A GLIMMER OF LIGHT BEYOND THE SHROUD.
IF THOU TRULY WISH TO FORGE A NEW FUTURE,
REACH OUT, AND SEIZE THE REINS OF FATE!
Burning. His insides were burning, remaking him from the inside out. Pure power surged within, circulating from his head to his toes. He tightened his grip around the neck of the guitar, and he pulled once more. He felt the resistance start to give way, and slowly, it began to slide out.
O, SHADOW, MINE OTHER HALF!
PRODIGAL SON!
RIGHTFUL KING!
IF THOU WOULDST STAKE THINE CLAIM TO THE THRONE,
THEN CALL MY NAME, AND LET US BECOME AS ONE ONCE MORE!
Tetsuo's entire body quaked, his irises strobing between azure and gold, and with a tremendous heave, Tetsuo wrenched his Treasure free from Nyarlathotep's chest. However, instead of his guitar, there was a breathtaking sword clutched in his palm, with a blade that shone like starlight. A single name flooded his consciousness, and as he threw his head back towards the heavens, he let out a primal cry:
"I AM THOU!
THOU ART I!
MY TRUE SELF!
ARTHUR PENDRAGON!"
A stunned silence descended over the hollow as everyone stared at Tetsuo, seemingly frozen in place as he held the sword aloft in triumph. Then, without warning, the blade ignited. There was a burst of blue, and without so much as a shout, he and his Personas vanished into thin air.
Nightmare ceased their assault, dumbstruck.
"Wh…What happened?" Yoko croaked. "Did something go wrong?"
Gin's jaw clenched tightly. "No…no, it can't have. He got the guitar back…didn't he?"
However dismayed they might have been, what they hadn't expected was to see that same disbelief etched across their foe's face as well. Nyarlathotep was staring blankly into the middle distance, and for the first time, his voice betrayed the slightest hint of fear.
"What…what did you…?!"
Suddenly, a blinding flash erupted at the edge of the horizon, and everyone buried their faces into the crook of their arms. Harsh light flooded the world around them, wiping the nightscape clean until only a boundless expanse of white remained.
A faint breeze tickled the back of Rin's neck, drawing her attention towards a small, flickering point of light in the distance. It gave off the briefest glint, almost like a wink, before bursting into a searing cascade of radiance that split the horizon. There, within the penumbra of those hundreds of glittering stars, something stirred.
Wreathed in tongues of sapphire flame, a pair of enormous mailed boots emerged with a stamp of such tremendous force that it sent tremors racing through the ground. Then, a gauntlet shot forth out of thin air, clasping its huge fingers around the sheet of roiling flames. It pulled them across the air like a cloak and flung them aside with a flourish.
Arthur Pendragon cut a commanding presence, a regal titan clad in royal blue plate mail, crowned with a circlet of fire. Beneath it, an imposing helm forged in the relief of a bear's snarling maw rested upon his shoulders, all but obscuring his face from view save for the thin line of his mouth and the cerulean blaze of his eyes.
Nyarlathotep's mouth contorted into a twisted, loathsome grin. A fit of dry laughter dribbled out, and he began to scream into the void.
"No…no, no, no! Damn you Philemon! Damn this game! I'll not be denied by the will of this mortal wretch!"
He then turned his wild gaze on Arthur.
"You…if you won't surrender yourself to me, then I'll tear your soul to shreds and claim your body myself!"
In one swift move, he pulled a jet-black spear from the swirl of churning smoke at his waist, and flung it at his foe's chest. Undaunted, Arthur deftly turned aside and batted it away with the back of his hand, sending it careening off end over end into the distance.
He then held out his hand before him at chest height, and a throne of roughly hewn marble thrust up from the ground to meet his outstretched palm. With the casual air of someone settling in at home after a day of work, Arthur slid onto the seat and crossed his legs.
"What are you waiting for?" he scoffed, resting his chin on his fist. "If you think you can take it, then take it."
Something snapped behind the demon's tempestuous gaze. His pupils shrunk to pinpricks, and a furious shriek tore from his throat. Rows upon rows of slender, insectile legs burst from his elongated abdomen, wrenching his body free of the burbling mass of shadows. Then, with his glistening wings spread wide and his maw twisted into a hateful scowl, he flung himself at Arthur.
Just as Nyarlathotep's teeth were about to sink into the Persona's neck, Arthur's hand shot out to meet him, palming the Shadow king's entire face in a single giant hand, holding him at arm's length as the fiend thrashed in his grip. Still more dreadful appendages erupted from the beast's torso - claws, tentacles, limbs that ended in sharp blades - scrabbling, desperate to slide into the crevices in his armor and gut him, but Nyneve, Merlin, Ragnelle, and Gawain quickly appeared at his side to keep them at bay.
"Ghh! Unhand me, whelp! What good do you think this rebellion will do? When all this power I've granted you is gone, and all you're left with is a bleak half-life? What will you do then? You…you need me!"
Arthur Pendragon returned his foe's glare, his expression impassive, but his words gave away the overwhelming emotion that boiled in his breast.
"Who needs who, I wonder? I never needed you to be strong - and you've known that the entire time. You know that the only way you can keep humanity in check is by convincing us that we're weak and cowardly. But the instant we stop believing it, the very moment we take back control, the lies fall apart, and we see you for what you are."
Arthur's grip tightened around Nyarlathotep's face, fingers digging into the dark, soft flesh. As he rose from his throne, a round plinth of marbled stone burst from the ground at his feet. Hoisting the wriggling monster high above his head, he then brought it down against the table with all the strength he could muster. There was an audible, sickening crunch as Nyarlathotep's madly flailing frame began to collapse under the sheer force of Arthur's weight. With his free hand, Arthur reached back behind his head, and the sword he had extracted from Nyarlathotep's chest materialized in his grip.
"You're a more pitiful, miserable creature than I could ever hope to be."
Then, with his boot firmly planted in Nyarlathotep's chest to hold him in place, Arthur drove his sword into the center of the fiend's skull.
Briefly, the Shadow went still beneath him. Then, his eyes flew open wide, and all hell broke loose. A torrent of pure light poured from the wound in his temple with a jet engine scream. More seams of light split open across the entirety of the creature's body as it ruptured and distorted, its ebon carapace flaking away in huge black chips that tumbled to the ground and evaporated into hissing plumes of smoke.
Nyarlathotep forced his lips into a revolting grin as the dark morass of his face rippled with the strain of keeping itself intact. Though his mouth did not move, Arthur could still hear the demon's voice resounding in his head.
"If this is the end you crave, then so be it. You are not so special. In time, your mortal self will find death, but I shall endure. It matters not how long, I will find another craven soul to serve as my vessel. Remember! Where there is darkness, there are shadows. I, myself, am all of you humans!"
"Then I'm be proud to have been one of your failures. Here's to many more," said Arthur. He gave the blade one final push, and felt the tip strike stone. And from that single point of contact, the world around them exploded.
The world became alive with a blinding aurora of color and sound, filling the corners of the cornerless void, framing the black outline of Nyarlathotep's hideous smile in sharp contrast for a fraction of a second before it melted into the glare, wiped away like a smear on glass until nothing remained.
At the epicenter of the dying maelstrom, Arthur loosened his grip on the sword and fell to his knees. He was suddenly extremely weary, and the power that had once surged through his limbs was ebbing away, leaving them feeling dull and heavy. But despite this exhaustion, his heart was light, lighter than it had been in some time.
He watched as his armor shimmered and transformed into motes of light that rose into the air like dandelion puffs before fading away, and before long, he was Tetsuo once again.
Thank you, he thought dimly, and within his chest, he felt the faintest pulse of warmth.
In the distance, someone was calling his name. He turned to find them, but his consciousness was waning fast, and all he could discern was a blur of indistinct shapes and noise. At last, the last of his strength gave out, and he knew no more.