03/01/2012, Underworld, Early morning
Deep undergound the devil side of Underworld an Old Satan Faction's facility is currently reigned by chaos. A bloodbath. Inside the building, in the most secluded room, where all the most secret and important experiments took place a shadowy, obscure figure stands in the center. Around it maimed bodies of scientists and guards are slowly turning into darkness. The figure grins widely looking towards the exit and slowly walks towards it, witch each step corrupting the space around him.
"What's happening!?" shouts a menacing man with long brown hair that cover half of his face wearing a long black coat. He slams on of his fists on a near desk forming cracks on it's surface and coldly glances at another man who is currently trying to understand what hust happened. This is Shalba Beelzebub, one of the three leaders of the Old Satan Faction, a cruel and ruthless individual.
"We don't know lord Beelzebub! Something came out of the portal we created. We lost all signals" says apologetically the OSF' head researcher while trying to reactivate the cameras.
"Send someone there this instant" orders the Beelzebub descendant. He looks at the screens displayed all over the wall in front of him. "Show me the recordings we have". As Shalba says this one of the scientists immediately obeys and projects the last registration on the main screen.
03/01/2012 04:56, says the recording. The video shows a group of devil scientists gathered around a blue crystal skull contained inside a glass capsule. "Prepare to turn on the power" says one of them after removing the object from it's container and sucuring it into a charge station with a skull-shaped charger.
"Today we are going to achieve something only gods can dream of, time magic. At my signal give energy to the artifact". Everyone is in position, two are ready to pull the power levers, while the others are ready to document every second of their experiment. One last devil prepares to use teleportation magic in case of malfunctioning.
"Three... Two... One... Go!" as the scientist gives the order levers are pulled and a spark of electricity is given to the skull.
Silence.
Then all is enveloped by darkness and everyone is nothing more than a pile of flesh. "Replay the last part" says Shalba, looking heavily at the screen. The head researcher nods and rewinds the recording. Shalba looks at the chronometer of the video, even by slowing down the registration no time seems to have passed and the scientists died instanly, literally.
"Go on with the registration" says Shalba snorting.
A dark figure with the blue skull on his hand watches amused the scene in front of him. It then looks at the camera, it waves it's hand mocking the spectators with a wide grin exposing sharp white like avory teeth. The video then abruptly ends.
"What was that!? Who dares to come here and mock us!? Where are the guards? I'm going there myself!" shouts Shalba Beelzebub enraged by the intruder. The man exits the room and heads towards the lab. "To all elite guards, reach me over to lab 77" he commands via magic circle. A squadron of twelve six-winged devils, everyone comparable to a high-class devil, join their lord and follow him to battle.
They arrive at the entrance of the lab, the door is destroyed and inside the room only darkness is left. One of the guards tries to illuminate the area, but his attempts are futile as the room doesn't seem affected by the light, nor magical nor mundane. "Reveal yourself and I may spare you" says Shalba, but no one answers back.
"Go in" he orders to one of his men who obeys, entering the room.
Seeing nothing is happening Shalba decides to enter the room himself. "I don't sense anything, it ran away". Shalba is exiting the lab, but suddenly the guards around him disappear. The Beelzebub's descendant turns around and casts 4 defensive magic circles around him "Show yourself!" he shouts grinding his teeth in annoyance.
'You are weak Shalba' Shalba freezes gor some good seconds as he seems to hear the voice of his uncle, Bidleid Bashalun Beelzebub inside his mind.
"WHO ARE YOU!?" shouts again Shalba Beelzebub blindly firing a magic spell behind him, but nothing is hit. Shalba fires another spell only obly to hace the same results as the former.
'He will at least be useful as cannon fodder against those traitors' he hears his uncle's voice again. 'A weakling like him doesn't deserve the bloodline of Beelzebub'. 'He couldn't even fight against that Astaroth brat'. Shalba starts to scream in pain as he takes his head in agony. "Get out of my head!" he scream at the top of his lungs.
"I don't deserve my bloodline, I'm so weak boo hoo" a new voice says. Shalba turns back and pales as he sees a perfect copy of him with yellow eyes looking at him with a mocking grin.
"H-How you dare!?" Shalba immediately uses his bloodline power to attack the 'fake' with a swarm of hundreds kamikaze flies. The flies stops themselves mid air as the yellow eyed Shalba also uses the King of the Flies trait of the Beelzebub bloodline. "Don't you dare staining my bloodline!" shouts Shalba again trying to attack the other one.
"It's all useless, you don't deserve being part of the prestigious Beelzebub bloodline. You are just a scared kid, afraid of the new Satans. Especially that Sirzechs Gremory. He's so strong he killed uncle!" sarcastically says the other Shalba with his corrupted voice shaking his head while looking at the original Shalba.
"I'm not afraid of that arrogant traitor!" Shalba answers back with shacking voice. "He just used some tricks like a coward to kill uncle fake!" Shalba casts another defensive spells and prepares to channel another attack.
"Why are you on the defensive? I am just an illusion, no? Oh that's right, I'm not. I AM YOU and you know I am right" the other Shalba laughs maniacally.
"NO! I'M NOT AFRAID OF SIRZECHS GREMORY! YOU ARE NOT ME!" as Shalba says that the other one stops laughing and instead just grins at him.
"Yeah, you are right. I am not you. I am a shadow! the true self!" shadow Shalba declares as he transforms into a literal monster, worse than every devil, angel or fallen angel the Beelzebub's descendant has ever fought. At its sight Shalba freezes in fear taking a step back.
The shadow's eyes becomes large red bulbs, his ten bat wings becomes two giant insect ones. From all his body a green slimy liquid starts to leak out from necrotized pores. Its legs and arms become twelve black crustacean legs and his main body is now worm-like. Shalba screams in horror trying to harm the thing in every way possible, but it's all useless. His flies turn back against him obeying the monster buzzing in unison in a hellish orchestra. His fire spells or his ice ones don't even scratch the thing's sturdy carapace.
Then the giant Shadow crushes the devil with ease breaking him like a twig ignoring his shouts and screams and all the spells he desperately tried to launch at him. Shadow Shalba slowly turns back into his devil form and looks enthusiastically around him.
"Master Nyarlathotep, Father, I succeeded in your mission! I overwhelmed my false self and imposed your blessing" says Shadow Shalba bowing to a black butterfly who was witnessing the scene from the first moment.
"Well done my child. Well done. From this moment onwards you will be Shalba Beelzebub" says the butterfly in a dark and deep voice, flying away.
"Sir! Is everything okay!?" a squad of guards flow inside the lab that in the meanwhile has went back to normal. "Yes it is. I fixed the situation. I'm going to update Creusery and Katerea on the research" declares the shadow leaving the guards behind.
"And get back to work and clean up this place, it's disgusting" says Shalba pointing to the bodies still on the ground of the laboratory. With this last order he leaves the lab while the guards bow obeying their lord's order.
04/01/2012, Tartarus, Morning
And so Makoto is once again inside Tartarus.
He notices many things have changed. He doesn't see any teleporter or any mechanical debris left by the Kirijo Group's experiments, but the atmosphere is still the very same.
'It looks like an uncontaminated version of the tower' comments Makoto venturing within the tower. He soon finds himself at the start of the main stairs on which Yukari was usual to sit down waiting the start of the operation. 'The top of Tartarus... I have to go there'. This is the only thing Makoto can think about as he starts to climb the tower as fast as he can.
He passes through the first sections of Thebel and Arqa in little time: delighted to not see any shadow, but as he arrives at the first floor of Yabbasha he's stopped by a wise and fatherly voice calling him.
"Little one, what is tormenting your heart?" asks the voice, who's owner is an elderly man with a long white beard wearing a conical straw hat and a yellow mantle and holdong a cane.
"You..." Makoto looks at the old man confused at first, but he feels a strange connection to the figure in front of him.
"Kohryu? Why do you look like this?" asks the boy, however he shakes his head thinking abput his goal.
"Not now, I have to reach the top of Tartarus" says Makoto dismissing the Huang Long and returning to run, but the dragon doesn't listen tk the boy putting his cane in front of him stopping Makoto from running away. "Calm down and breathe boy. Speak to me" says Kohryu with calm in his deep voice.
Makoto stops and looks at the old man. "Kohryu... I don't feel Thanatos anymore, but Elizabeth said that my bond with Death is still as strong in this world". Makoto clenches his fists.
"Ryoji could be here Kohryu! I have to see him..." says Makoto with a regretful look. "This is a trivial matter boy. Death, or as you know him, Ryoji Mochizuki is indeed here, after all Tartarus is his dominion" says the dragon pointing towards a Monad door. "But still this is permitted by the Universe inside your soul. Enter the door and cleanse your mind. Don't let regret consume you" Kohryu puts down his cane letting Makoto free to leave.
"I know... you are right. I shouldn't feel this way, but still... it's hard Kohryu" Makoto thanks the chinese dragon who nods in understanding. "It's only normal to feel fear, regret or pain Makoto. Now go" says Kohryu patting Makoto's shoulder like a grandfather does to a grandson who just needed some good old wisdom.
Makoto doesn't wait a second more and heads to the Monad. Once he's in front of the red door he opens it and enters the distorted section of Tartarus. By following Kohryu's instructions he creates a new Monad passage which leads to the very top of Tartarus and Makoto starts to ascend the tower.
Once he steps out from the Monad the door just created behind him crumbles down and he finds himself at the very top of the tower, under the full Moon.
He looks ahead and sees him. Ryoji with his usual yellow scarf is looking at the Moon. "You have freed both of us Makoto" he says smiling. Ryoji then faces Makoto, the two look at each other for a second face to face.
"You are alive..." Makoto says breaking his usual stoic face on the verge of tears. "I'm here Makoto. I promised you I'd always be by your side and now I'm here" says Ryoji reassuring Makoto. They stay in silent for some time under the Moon.
"Well, we have work to do don't we?" says Ryoji with a wide smile.on his face. "You know what my mission is?" asks Makoto surprised.
"Yes, and I hate it. Even Nyx herself warned me how much Nyarlathotep is dangerous, she described him as a rebellious yet cunning child, but I trust you and this time I won't leave" says Ryoji.
"You never left me" Makoto looks again at the boy smiling with contempt.
"Well, let's go and explore this world" says Ryoji transforming into Thanatos and delving into Makoto's mind. After this the blue haired boy returns to the Velvet Room and is greeted by Elizabeth who was still sitting at the counter.
"Has your meeting with Death gone well?" asks her to which Makoto nods smiling. "Liz have you found something about the city we are in?" says the Messiah changing subject and returning to a work mindset. "I'm happy you asked, I have indeed found something. This city is named Kuoh Town and it's in the Kanto region" informs Elizabeth taking out a sort of map.
"Yatagarasu has scouted the area and reported back useful information. I have drawn this map myself. I hope you like it" she says proudly, giving Makoto the map. "Useful, thanks Liz" Makoto briefly studies the map given to him not finding anything out of the ordinary, it seems a normal city.
"Well, I'm heading out" says Makoto exiting the Velvet Room. "I didn't find any shadow presence in town or in the sorrounding area so it should be safe, but-" Elizabeth doesn't finish speaking that Makoto has already left. "Eh well, I guess I'll go out too then" as Elizabeth says this she stands up 'Maybe I could try new clothes, I never actually wore anything aside my uniform' thinks the woman. "Well shopping is a common human activity and it should be useful to acquaint myself with the city" and so Elizabeth too exits the Velvet Room.