[Endgame: rise or DROWN]

[warpweft]

[How long have you been exploring Nessa's palace now? You've met her family, viewed her memories, learned how to fight as a witch and tried to find the source of her power and the Treasure of her palace: the Voidheart. And along the way, you've tired your best, with mixed success, to avoid the incarnation of her eldest cousin and the representation of her trauma and fear, the Nightmare of Esmau.]

[Wherever you are in the Palace right now, you feel the ground briefly shake under your feet. Little shakes here and there haven't been out of the ordinary - Esmau is trying to blow the place down to the studs, after all. But that felt different. That felt....worse.]

[Your phone beeps as you receive a message.]

Comments

[messianic]

[ Minato has to drag in a few deep breaths, his chest tight with each hit, wincing a little--but he stands strong, and after a moment, he can feel the call from his Personas deep in his soul. The magic might be different here, but nonetheless--

He knows it. It's familiar to him.

He flicks his Evoker to his temple and calls on Satan and Helel, for Armageddon.

He's only used it once before even back home--but if ever there's a time for it? He thinks now is it. ]

[voidhearts]

[She sees Sprezzatura tearing open the hole into the Void first. She lunges at her and delivers a Savage Strike, kicking her in the stomach. But that leaves her open to be struck by Akira's dagger from behind. Before she knows it, she's being attacked from all angles again, except this time the Void Fissure has touched all of them, granting them all Volatile Sparks that they can strike her with as they pass by.

Explosion after explosion after explosion wreaks her body until she lunges at the one who started the All-Out Attack, Akira, delivering a second Final Rush that strikes him in the shoulder this time. When she rears her glaive back to thrust again - Tsumugi jumps on her - and jams a spoon into her face. Esmau screams a mix of frustration and bloody murder and just punches Tsumugi in the head as hard as she can to knock her off. She then gives her a Savage Strike for good measure, kicking her in the side to knock her away.

She looks around.

She sees Minato. She sees his Evoker pointed to his head.

She lunges at him with one more Final Rush.

The impact doesn't knock him away this time - she stabs him through the chest with her glaive. The same way she did Nessa. The pain is indescribable.

It's also not enough to stop him from pulling the trigger.

Esmau's eyes widen as a fault opens up between her and a truly cataclysmic amount of Void energy pours out of it directly onto her. Her screams are muted by the way the temple rumbles and practically shakes itself apart.]

LILITH.....

FORGIVE ME!

[And a massive explosion as the fault finishes releasing its Void energy....]

[rise]

[voidhearts]

[And all of a sudden, everything...exhales.

The pressure is gone. You can move again, unbidden.

The Disciple is on the ground, unmoving. Defeated. The ground crumbles beneath her....and she falls into the abyss below.

Your fight is over.

You have risen above the Void.]

[survivaltricks]

[OOOOOOH MY GOD]

[the only reaction Akira has to this is to spam WELL OF LIFE WELL OF LIFE WELL OF LIFE on Minato]

[messianic]

[ thank u boyfriend.

Honestly, undoubtedly it helps, and eventually Minato just reaches for Akira with a hand exhaustedly, from the ground. ]

[survivaltricks]

[jesus christ his blood pressure has gone up like a billionty and five points from this palace alone]

[crouching next to Minato, Akira reaches for that hand, clasping it tightly in his own]

[. . .]

. . . I think that's enough being stabbed for a lifetime. . .

[messianic]

Yeah... no arguments from me.

[ Minato just kind of... flops back to the ground. He knows he needs to get up and see what's going on now, but...

in a minute. ]

I'm... pretty tired.

[survivaltricks]

[it's only when Minato speaks that Akira feels relief flooding through him.]

Y. . . yeah. Haaaah. . .

[drawing that hand up to press a kiss against the back of Minato's knuckles]

. . . let's see the end of this, and then go home.

[messianic]

Yeah... okay. That... that sounds good...

[ They have to see this through to the end. They have to.

So, exhaustedly--he pushes himself up a little bit, leaning heavily on Akira, so he can talk to Shadow Nessa. ]

[survivaltricks]

[and he hoists Minato up into a sitting position, allowing the other wild card to lean heavily against his shoulder]

[he's got you, boyfriend]

[cosplayed_out]

[Junko falls back from the punch]

Worth it!

[messianic]

[ The fight is over, and... Minato topples. Just Armageddon alone would've been enough to dump him on his ass. Getting stabbed straight through the chest? That's overkill.

He crumples to the ground, Evoker clattering to the ground next to him as it falls from nerveless fingers.

But hey, he's still alive! Hooray! ]

Re: [rise]

[velluminous]

[ she just killed a person.

............................................................................ ]