Part 110: December 22 Part 3: The Fate of the World

-Border of Insanity-




And I shall descend upon the united world...as the master of order.


What's happening!?
Guys...This isn't Adachi! It's someone completely different!
Both this world and yours will soon be enclosed in a fog that never lifts. It will be the peaceful world that mankind has longed for...
Who are you!?


One who rules the fog. One awakened by man's desires. Do what you will, but your world's erosion cannot be stopped. It is an inevitability...You played your part well, stirring up the will of the masses into madness. But that will soon come to an end...Mankind will soon become Shadows and live on in the darkness of the fog, oblivious of their reality...


I am the one that shepherds humans to their true desires. Though their hearts longed for peace, it could never be attained...So they tore down the wall between image and reality. Indeed, this is the outcome desired by mankind. And mankind's desires are my desires. That is why I decided to expand this world...
Y-You're sayin' you're the one who created this nasty-ass world!?


A hollow forest born from bloated desire and false imagery. Humans view things as they see fit. They wish not for truth, but rather prefer the undesirables be hidden in fog...Still, humans fear what they cannot see. That brief yearning for truth becomes a ray of light which breaks the fog and torments the Shadows...
That's why they attack and kill whoever's nearby at that time...A hollow forest...
Then...this place isn't simply affected by people's hearts...It actually exists inside them?
The kids have gotten into the habit of calling this place "the TV world," and a few of them have said that some of the Shadows look like things from TV shows. The truth is exactly the opposite.
Mankind abandoned its pursuit of truth, placing itself in the depth of chaos and falsehood. Thus, my strength has grown, and the fog will not lift. Your world will be engulfed by the hollow forest.


We'll just use our power to beat the heck outta you, and it'll all be over!
It was I who made it possible for you to bring about this destiny...I bestowed power onto those who could brave the hollow forest. That is what allowed you to come in contact with this world...And you all have done very well since.
So yeah, all those times where the kids faced their Shadows and thought they were facing themselves? All a lie.















Has there ever been even the slightest indication that any of those things are true? If we can trust Ameno-sagiri's word, then Shadows are things that literally hate truth. Just about everything they said was merely something the kids feared was true, or the kind of baseless assumption that a bitter misanthrope like Adachi would make about them at first glance--all framed around little grains of truth about the kids' feelings of loneliness and isolation, in order to get under their skins. That's why most of them were left with confusion about their true feelings, and that's why "You're not me!" always sent the Shadows berserk--because that WAS the truth.

-The Almighty-

"Bestowed power"..."Contact with this world"...
You mean the power to enter the TV!?
Then, the Midnight Channel--Was that phenomenon also your doing!?


I acted only in support of this. A world filled with desires...Viewed through a window, from which one sees what one wishes to see...Humans departed from reality of their own volition, craving more false images.
A window that shows people what they want to see...
So that's why those who got famous suddenly appeared on the Midnight Channel, one after another...
It was all in people's minds...
I have to say, it must be true...The Midnight Channel we saw in Namatame's hospital room...That kept bothering me since. What we saw there wasn't Namatame's true intentions at all...

The Shadows are an ordeal--a test of someone's willingness to embrace falsehoods. If you're Ameno-sagiri's kind of people, your Shadow grants you monstrous power. If not, it kills you. If Sanzo's friends had accepted their Shadows without them being beaten into submission first, they would have ended up just like Adachi and Namatame.


Ngh...We let ourselves be deluded...
Exactly...The more false images one yearns for, the more one stops yearning for reality...And so the forest grows on...That is the expansion of this world.
Enough talk already! Long story short, you're the one behind all this!
Yeah, I dunno who you are, but you're going down! People want to become Shadows!? Their desire is your desire!? To hell with that! When did we wish for that crap anyways!? We kept fighting and fighting like morons to get to where we're standing!



Notice how Teddie's Shadow was a little...off? The other Shadows had yellow eyes and twisted expressions, but they still closely resembled their hosts. Teddie's was even more alien, especially in its voice.



That's because it was a present from Ameno-sagiri, sent to kill the interlopers that were mucking up his operation. He never counted on somebody like Sanzo blundering into things.



More importantly, Sanzo's friends really have faced themselves now--not in some bullshit TV world, but out where it really counts. They might have started with falsehoods, but they've reached the truth.


A new and uncertain facet of mankind...Is it worthy to put my trust in, or not...? It must be tested...















Atlus seems to be really fond of the "fatass beholder" end boss archetype.


So this...is the cause of all the fog?


Indeed. I have come to put you all to the test, and judge your worth.


Like we give a damn what you came for!
You've done what you want so far, but that'll end when we crush you!


Precisely!
Then we know what we gotta do now!


I don't want people to turn into Shadows!
We'll defeat it for sure!


I'll back you up with everything I've got! This thing has no right to exist!



...Well said, Sanzo.





Your HP and SP are not restored for this fight. Take a little time for healing once Adachi is on his last legs. Victory Cry is handy too.





















Lucifer, the rebel king of Hell.







Ameno-sagiri uses Dynes, Ma-dynes, and Agneyastra. He also gets two turns at once, just like Shadow Mitsuo.

































I don't know how Chie parries and ripostes a meteor storm, but I'm not complaining.







That's God's Judgment, which halves the HP of anyone who's not immune to Light.













Here, Ameno-sagiri starts using an ability called Bewildering Fog. Sound familiar?



Then he takes two rounds to power up.













Just like last time, Bewildering Fog makes attacks useless. I was surprised to see that not even stat mods work.





After a Mind Charge, Sukukaja, and Tarukaja, Ameno-sagiri will be ready to lift the fog and open fire. You really, really should be Guarding here.



Unless you have a good backup plan.


Ohh no you don't!






All right! Let's get him!







This is Quake, an improved Agneyastra with a Downing effect.






















I see...Your powers are strong. Power comes from the heart...You have proven to me human potential...Very well. I will lift the fog from the place where you will return to. Mankind's desires are my desires. If mankind so wishes, I will return at any time...I am always at your side, watching...
Well, don't wait up! We'll keep that from happening no matter what!










Who can say...? I believe it was at least partially his own intention as well.


......
Fine...Live however you want...If you think...you have the power to change the future...then go right ahead...
Everyone has the power to do that.
Heh...Get outta here...The Shadows will finish me off...
Just leave me be...You came to kill me in the first place...didn't you...?
No, dumbass.
If we leave you here dying...and a dead body eventually appears, then what? What's that accomplish for anyone...? Your stupid game's over. We're taking you back. Live and face your punishment...That's how it works in our world.
...Right.
I'm sure that's the outcome Dojima-san wishes for as well.


It's because I had my friends.
Friends, huh...? Haha, that's the last thing I want to hear about right now. But...maybe if I had been more like you, things wouldn't have gone this way...

> Adachi is smiling weakly. You can sense Adachi's sincerity...You feel as if you finally understand Adachi.


...Let's go back.

> At last, you and your friends have thwarted the cause of all the strife...



-I'll Face Myself-


Policeman: He's wanted on suspicion of murdering Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi, right?
Correct.
Policeman: Understood. We have an ambulance waiting downstairs. Should we have them bring the stretcher up here?
An ambulance...
Policeman: Detective Dojima assumed one would be necessary. He wanted the suspect to be carefully taken into protective custody. It...Well, it was a personal favor to him.
They were partners, after all...
......
Then yes, please have them bring up the stretcher.
Policeman: Understood.