Chapter Text
“I know you’re facing a difficult task… But I’m sure you can overcome it, as well as with any other hardship life may throw at you” Hidetoshi Odagiri – The Emperor.
“Something very frightening is going on… But we’re not giving up”
“That’s right, dear… Minato-Chan wouldn’t want us to give up…” Bunkichi and Mitsuko Kitamura – The Hierophant.
“I know with all my heart that you’re doing all you can, Minato-Kun… You always helped me out... You saved me from a horrible fate… It’s my turn to help you!” Saori Hasegawa – The Hermit.
“Minato… Things are going crazy right now, and I’m really scared… But I’ll be all right… I can feel it in my soul that you’re doing your best… You have to believe… that you’re not alone either…” Rio Iwasaki – The Chariot.
“Minato-dono, how are you doing? Ca va, I hope… I am here for you… just like you were there for me!” Andre Laurent Jean Gearux – The Temperance.
“Everyone else’s scared, but not me… you showed me how to be tough, so I won’t give up!” Maiko Oohashi – The Hanged Man.
“What on earth made me think of you at a time like this? Well, I admit you did teach me a thing or two about trust…” President Tanaka – The Devil.
“You were the one who taught me that runnin’ away solves nothin’… And I bet you’re out somewhere fightin’ the good fight right now… Well, I’m here for ya, too, kid” Mutatsu – The Tower.
“I know I’m not the only one who suffered… You’ve endured a lot, too… But you can’t just give up… you taught me that…!” Akinari Kamiki – The Sun.
“I truly regret that things have come down to this, even though I know you all made this choice on your own free will… But I, too, know that you’re doing what you think is right… And I know that you will fight to the very end for a brighter future, as short as it may be… Good Luck, my friend…” Ryoji Mochizuki – The Wheel of Fortune and Death.
Minato Arisato was aware that it was actually pretty corny, but the power of friendship as well as the power of the bonds he forged through his journey as a wild Card was not just healing his wounds, but also giving him new strength as he was face to face with the pure essence of Nyx: Death itself.
The manifestation that wishes to annihilate all life launches another powerful blast of Almighty energy at the blue-haired Wild Card. Minato struggled to maintain his footing as every muscle in his body cried in agony because of the impact.
“We can’t just stay here and watch—we have to do something to help him!” Ken Amada – The Justice.
“We’re not giving up! We’re gonna get through this together! You’re not alone, Minato!” Akihiko Sanada – The Star.
Minato gritted his teeth as he tightens the grip on his Blade of Lucifer. With a battle cry, Minato charges forward and delivers a nice and vicious slash towards the shining core. He could hear a cry of agony from it.
“I can’t believe it… Is he really facing it alone!?” Fuuka Yamagishi – The High Priestess.
“Like hell he’s alone! I’m so NOT lettin’ him die!!” Junpei Iori – The Magician.
Minato could both hear it and feel it. Everyone in S.E.E.S. was giving him their full support. Just as he did, they all went through a lot before and throughout this year. No way in hell they were going to give up, so neither will he!
Proof of it was him resisting another blast of Almighty magic launched at him.
“Arf! Arf! Awroooooo!!!” Koromaru – The Strength.
“Alright... Let’s do this shit… Don’t you dare give up now, you hear me?” Shinjiro Aragaki – The Moon.
“You hear that, Nyx?” Minato asked through ragged breath. “They are not giving up…” He charged at the core again. “NOT EVEN AGAINST YOU!!” He slashed at the core again, and it responded with another blast of Almighty power. This one hurt a lot, actually. The young man with 2000’s Emo haircut fell to one knee, heavily breathing and sweating as if he was trapped in a sauna.
“I am NOT going to lose you, too, understand!? You’re like a brother to me at this point, so you better come back from this alive!!" Yukari Takeba – The Lovers.
“I will not let this world be destroyed! We all made that promise… I made a promise…! And we are not going to let anyone break them! Not even Nyx!!” Aigis – The Aeon.
“You helped me when I was at my lowest point… I will do my best to support you now—even if it costs me my own life!!” Mitsuru Kirijo – The Empress.
There was something a little special about those last three voices he just heard.
Yukari: The first friend he made along with Junpei and the person who helped him come out of his shell of apathy. Hell, she’s the reason Minato could finally mourn his own parents! Yukari was without a doubt someone he was more than proud to call a sister at this point.
Mitsuru: A woman whom with just a little push from Minato, broke free from the chains that were forced on her due to her status and found the resolve to walk her own path. And surprisingly, the woman who stole Minato’s heart. He wasn’t complaining, though. At first, he thought that she was a dominating independent woman. And to some extent, she is. But when he discovered she wasn’t less of a dork that Minato himself was, it made him fell for her even harder.
Aigis: A sentient Anti-Shadow Weapon who thanks to everyone in S.E.E.S. found a new purpose in life and considered Minato as the most important person to her. She made to herself the promise to always be there for everyone in the team, especially Minato and – to an extent – Mitsuru, since she was very close to him.
Minato admitted that if he didn’t fall for Mitsuru, he could see himself with either Yukari or Aigis.
But he could feel it now. The power of the Universe Arcana was fully loaded and ready to be used.
It was time…
“You know… I really didn’t want things to come to this” Minato began, glancing at the core of Nyx. “I mean, just think about it… I’m going to break a lot of promises and pretty sure piss off a lot of people close to me. Are you sure that this is how it should be?”
(Warning: Quite Loud! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obAHcamxyRI)
“I guess that’s my answer…” Minato groaned. He really wished he had a better choice here. That he didn't need to kill himself to stop this. But that didn't seem very possible at the--
Wait…
Possible...?
As in... Possibilities…!?
What you have in your hands, is the power of The Universe… Nothing is beyond the realm of possibility for you now…
Igor’s words suddenly echoed in Minato’s mind, remembering the moment he gained the Universe Arcana. Nothing beyond the realm of possibility. That mean that nothing was impossible for him. Was Igor right, though? That he could do technically anything he wanted to with this power? It was a good question since Igor himself never dreamt of seeing this Arcana with his own eyes.
Minato glanced at the card, then at Nyx’s core, then he glanced back at the card.
His eyes fixed a fully-determined glare at the card. “Alright, Universe. I admit I’m going to be pretty selfish here, but Igor said nothing is impossible with your power” He said as the card quickly turned into a small sphere of golden light in his hand. Suddenly surrounded by a bright blue aura, Minato raised his hand as high as he could and glared at Nyx’s core. “So if you don’t mind, I’m going to test that little theory... Great Seal!” He shouts as he unleashed the power of the Universe, and everything went white…
Minato found himself in a void of pure darkness with Nyx's core in front of him, slowly disappearing into what Minato was sure was The Great Seal. But it wasn't the sort of darkness that represented evil or shadows. This was more like the sort of darkness that represented a peaceful night, as if he was glancing at a beautiful sky full of stars. He was already imagining taking Mitsuru to gaze on the stars one night...
But before he could keep imagining that sweet date at night, a small spark of bright purple light appeared out of Nyx's core before the core finally disappeared. The spark fluttered towards Minato as if ti was a butterfly (or a moth, considering this void seemed like it was night time) and rested on Minato's chest for a second before is was absorbed into his body. Minato could feel the spark fusing now into his very soul. The wild card gasped, as many images suddenly appeared before his eyes. All of the regarding Nyx and the Dark Hour.
Once the images stopped, Minato slowly ran a hand through his Ocean-Blue hair with an expression that said absolute shock.
"Fucking Hell..." Minato muttered, eyes as wide as a deer's when in headlights. "All of us were wrong about a lot of things...!" That's all he said before he disappeared into the void...
*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*
One by one, every member of S.E.E.S. sans Minato opened their eyes and stood back up, glancing at their surroundings for they were no longer at the top of Tartarus. They were back on ground level.
“Is everyone ok?” Akihiko asked.
“Yes, we are” Mitsuru said. “But how did we end up back here?”
“Whoa, what the hell!?” Junpei shouts before anyone could think of a good reason as of why. “Look at Tartarus!”
Everyone turned to where Junpei was glancing at, and became just as shocked as he was. The massive bizarre tower was disappearing as chunk by chunk of it was consumed in a bright white light. At the same time, a hole of white light opened in the sky, quickly consuming the gloomy dark-green and replacing it with the dark blue of the night that belongs to the human world.
“So it’s really happening…” Yukari could finally point out. “Everything is going back to normal…”
“Our job is finally done…” Mitsuru glanced at the tower as it finally disappeared. “But Minato… where is he?”
“Guys!? A little help here, please!?”
The sudden voice caused everyone to turn around and saw something that was both relieving and a tad unexpected.
Minato was back with them. Only that he was stuck into a trashcan with his legs comically flailing in an attempt to get out.
The team didn’t hesitate to rush where their field leader was and helped him out of that unexpected and comical situation. Once out of such unexpectedly ridiculous moment, Minto dusted himself off, he winced a little as he took a banana peel off his head and tossed it back in the trashcan. “Well, shit. So much for the dramatic comeback”
“You’re back!” With teary eyes, Yukari was the first one to hug him, not caring that he was trapped in a trashcan just a few seconds ago. “You’re really back!”
“Minato-Kun!” Fuuka was the next one to hug him. “I’m so glad you’re ok!”
“You sure took your damn time, man!” Junpei said next, giving him a friendly clap on the back. “Seriously, you were stringin’ us along there!”
“You jackass!” Ken cried out, his eyes just as teary while he hugged Minato next. “I thought you were gone, too!”
Minato couldn’t hold the tears as he smiled and pats Ken on the head. “Sorry for worrying you, squirt. For worrying all of you”
“You’re damn right to be sorry!” Mitsuru snapped, having tears already running down her eyes. “Not only Amada here—I thought I lost you as well!” That’s all she said before wrapping her arms around his neck. “Don’t you ever do that to me or any of us ever again!”
Minato smiled as he cups Mitsuru’s face with both hands and gave her a chaste kiss. “Don’t worry. I’m not going away anytime soon. That applies for all of you here”
“I’m very happy to know that” Aigis smiled with teary eyes as she hugged him next. “You’re very important to me, Minato-San”
“Come on, everyone” Akihiko sighed, shaking his head. “This is not the time to be crying”
“You’re crying, too, Sensei” Minato remarked, causing the whole group to laugh in good nature as they all returned to the dorm while their leader told them what really happened back there. Minato and Mitsuru were holding hands. It was not a surprise for the group that they were dating, after all.
There was a massive relief as the team walked away from where Tartarus was. It was finally over.
The Dark Hour was gone for good…
*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_vCWB7kZgk)
Minato opened his eyes, finding himself once again in the Velvet Room. The large elevator room was going upwards just as fast as before. And right in front of him, were Igor and Elizabeth. Both of them were flashing amused expressions.
Minato sighed as he walked towards them and sat down on his designated couch. “Hello, Igor. Elle-P” Minato greeted them.
“Well, hello again, dear guest” Elizabeth smiled at him as she greeted back. “It is truly good to see you again after such fierce battle with Nyx”
“I must say that I’m truly impressed for the use you gave to the Universe Arcana” Igor grinned as he interlocked his fingers. His eyes flashed absolute interest. “Truly impressive, indeed”
Minato scratched his nape. “Well. I have to say that I must thank you for it. At the last moment, I remembered what you said about the Universe—that nothing is impossible for me with its power. And I know. I admit I was pretty selfish back there. But considering what you said, I imagined I could have the opportunity to seal Nyx away from the Erebus Monster without having to kill myself in the process. After all…” He sighed. “I really don’t like the idea to leave my friends and my girlfriend behind…”
Igor said nothing for a few seconds. Then he chuckled in pure good-natured amusement. “You are indeed correct about the Universe Arcana. I did say that nothing is beyond the realm of possibility for you with its power. And despite what you mentioned just now, you were not being exactly selfish”
“I fully agree with my master here” Elizabeth chimed in. “After all, all those bonds you forged throughout this year are the reason you found a purpose to live. To appreciate how precious the short gift of life truly is”
“And I have every intention of living my life to the fullest” Minato nods, full of determination. “With the people who are important to me”
“As expected from our most remarkable guest” Igor claps in amusement. “But I’m afraid your work is not over yet… There is something else you have to do”
“Oh, right…” Minato sighed. “The Erebus Monster and the Abyss of Time… as well as the truth about Nyx… When do we exactly have to do it?”
“In about a month from today, if our estimations are correct” Elizabeth replied. “When that happens, your teammates shall finally learn the truth about Nyx and the Dark Hour. So please… we understand how frustrating it will be for you to be cryptic about it, but do not tell your teammates about it until the time is right. However, you are free to tell them, about the impending mission if you wish, as well as a bit of what it is about without... how you say...? Spoling it”
Minato groaned. He hated being cryptic. “Fair enough, I guess. See you two in a month”
“Farewell, young Wild Card” Igor said. “We know you and your friends will do great in the rest of the journey”
*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*
Minato stirred a little as he slowly opened his eyes. He found himself wearing only pajama pants as he was in his room. He also found himself with Mitsuru. The couple was sharing a bed, cuddling comfortably after the intense battle with Nyx. Minato carefully glances over the bed and checks the clock on the night table. It was still ten minutes before the alarm went off, so there was no reason to keep sleeping.
Minato then glanced back at the woman who stole his heart. His eyes softened as he smiled fondly at her and gently gave her a kiss on the forehead. She stirred a little, but she didn’t wake up. Instead, still sleeping, she nestled a bit further into their embrace, which made Minato smile brighter.
I’m afraid our job isn’t exactly done yet, Mitsy. He thought. In about a month, you all shall learn the truth. But we will make through it together.
It seems that the time has finally come for the truth to be revealed… A mysterious voice echoed in Minato’s mind. It wasn’t Orpheus or any of his Personae. It was a female voice. Are you prepared to face the true nature of the Dark Hour, young Wild Card?
Minato nods. He wasn’t scared at all. In fact, he seemed to welcome the voice, since he already knew who that voice belonged to.
I’m ready. Minato replied in his mind.
Very well. The female voice said in full understanding. I shall see you and your teammates in about a month, so your teammates can learn the truth… By the way, are you already aware of what is going to happen to you, correct?
Yes, I am. Minato replies. But let's be honest. It can't be worse than the alternative.
In that you're correct, child. The voice said again, with a noticeable hint of amusement. Until we meet again...
With a determined nod, Minato glanced at the ceiling, waiting for the alarm to go on.
I don’t know how long it will take us, but you have my word…
We will help you fix this mess and help you recover your body…
…Lady Nyx.