Chapter Text
Time lost its meaning when Minato became the seal. Within that starry void of golden mist, nothing ever changed and so, nothing separated one moment from another.
Minato himself was usually immersed in slumber, filled with dreams of a life he would never get to live. Sometimes the mistakes he made along his journey would claw at his mind, images of Shinjiro lying dead in Akihiko’s hands, Chidori giving her all for Junpei and many others. Yet at the same time, he was filled with hope, hope for the future he had sacrificed his own life to give to those who still lived.
‘I wonder what they’re up to now?’ He would often think to himself. ‘I hope Junpei was able to move on, he deserves to be happy with someone who can love and care for him.’ Fond memories of one of his first ever friends swirled in his mind. ‘I wonder if Yukari and Mitsuru ever became official.’ He hoped they were doing well regardless. ‘I hope Ken is doing well, Akihiko should have made sure of that after he practically adopted the kid.’ His friends, his family…
Yet most of all, he thought of Aigis. ‘I should’ve said sorry…” He had been unfair to them all, not mentioning anything about the cost of the seal, but he felt the most guilt in the case of Aigis. His best friend, even in his last moments he had heard her promise to protect him. He never gave her a chance to fulfill that promise. It had hurt her, he knew that for a fact.
In one of the few moments Minato was awake and aware, usually caused by Erebus’ presence, he had seen them, his friends. They had been full of grief and sorrow, but Aigis was the worst. She had discarded so much of herself… the wound that left upon Minato was far greater than anything Erebus could hope to accomplish.
He hoped beyond hope that, where ever they might be, his friends were happier than they had been then.
Though given the fickle nature of time with this realm, it could also be very possible that all his friends were already dead and gone…
Minato’s thoughts and dreams were cut short as a great presence approached, his consciousness surfacing into wakefulness to be greeted by face of the ever staring Erebus. He waited, as Erebus stretched a massive black hand towards Minato’s petrified body, for Elizabeth to come and drive the beast back as had been the routine for quite some time now.
Yet, as the black hand continued to approach, no sign of that signature velvet blue, or platinum blonde, or pure golden yellow showed themselves. He wondered if something had happened to her, or maybe she had finally decided to stop in whatever goal she had been trying to accomplish. Minato hoped it was the latter, Elizabeth too deserved a peaceful life.
Erebus’s hand was almost close enough to grab him when he felt another force, or… pair of forces? They dwarfed Erebus in power though even then they were still nothing compared to Nyx. Before he could even think of doing anything, the forces had latched on to Minato and pulled him into black oblivion.
In a starry sky, a butterfly spoke with its shadow.
“Do you truly believe that they’ll be able to accomplish this? Honestly you get more and more outlandish by the day!”
“Even with just a single companion, a human can achieve many things that would be impossible alone.”
“Even with all the companions in the world I doubt someone could stand up against her , no matter how mindless she might be.”
“Sacrifices will indeed be necessary, but if they hold the resolve to live and remember what they fight for, I have no doubt they’ll make it through alive.”
“Yeah yeah whatever, this time it’s a fair bet got it? No interfering.”
“I believe you should first and foremost apply that rule to yourself.”
“Geeze have some faith will ya. Though I can’t wait to see the look on the faces of those little servants you keep around when those humans inevitably fail, it’ll be hilarious.”
“You never cease to underestimate humanity, do you?”
“What can I say? It’s in my nature.”
Slowly but surely, some state of reality solidified around Hamuko, a very familiar reality at that.
The Velvet room was just as she had last seen it during the battle with nyx. The signature velvet blue floor, walls, furniture and the blue cloth covered table that separated her from the room’s master, Igor. The elevator gate at the very back also sat open, the white void beyond it beckoning.
Theodore stood to Igor’s right as usual, however a new face stood to Igor’s left. A woman very similar to Theodore. The same hair, eyes and blue clothing.
At the new sight, Hamuko turned her head around to properly inspect the room for any changes, and found another person seated in a chair just like hers to her right. But unlike the woman, the boy appeared to be human instead of a velvet room attendant. His appearance though…
Blue hair and grey eyes, it reminded her of…
He was staring right back at her, having turned at the same time she did as if mirroring her movements. That was when Igor decided to speak.
“Welcome, esteemed guests, it is a pleasure to have you once again.” Igor’s ever grinning face spoke cheerfully. Hamuko put aside the worry of who the guy next to her was and instead tackled a much greater worry.
“Igor, what am I doing here? I became the great seal, if I’m not stopping Erebus Nyx will-“ the blue haired boy cut through, “Hold on a sec, you can’t be the great seal, I’m the great seal.”
At this Hamuko turned towards the confused looking boy with an equally confused look on her face, “But-“
“Please dear guests, allow us to explain.” Theodore spoke. “I, Theodore, and my sister here, Elizabeth” he gestured to the woman who stood to Igor’s other side, “have been trying to seek out a way to free both of you from your respective seals for quite some time now, while maintaining the seal to stop Erebus itself of course.”
Hamuko was still confused. ‘So all those times he drove Erebus back, it was all to somehow save me from being the seal?’ “But that still doesn’t explain why both of us think we were the great seal.” The blunette said, now that the shock had left him, the boy’s voice sounded much more… dead? Monotone?
Atleast that’s a difference…
“Ah I was just getting to tha-“ Theodore began to say when he was interrupted by his sister, Elizabeth. “As my dear little brother was about to say, the reason why both of you think you were the great seal, is because both of you were indeed the great seal. In fact, both of you were transfers to gekkoukan high school, both of eventually became members of S.E.E.S., both of you climbed Tartarus alongside your team mates and close friends and both of you eventually face Nyx at the very top.” Elizabeth’s arms stretched out to her sides as she struck a pose, appearing as if she was praising the heavens.
“Wha??” None of that helped to clear Hamuko’s confusion. “What my dear sister is trying to say is that,” Theo came in for damage control, “both of you are from parallel worlds. The two of you lived through the same year, faced the same challenges and at the end, reached the same conclusion.”
The pieces were slowly putting themselves together in her mind, “Wait, so the multiverse is real!?” Hamuko couldn’t believe that was the first question out of her mouth.
Elizabeth answered, “Indeed, there are an infinite amount of universes, each containing an infinite amount of possibilities, however the only worlds the two of you should concern yourself with are the one the both of you come from.” Well that sure was a shock.
“So, since we’re sitting here, does that mean you guys managed to free us from being the seal?” Hamuko hazarded a guess. After all, that seemed like the only logical conclusion for why the two of them weren’t petrified and in that weird starry fog realm.
“In a sense, yes” Theo replied. Oh no, that wasn’t a good sign, “In a sense?” Hamuko had a bad feeling about this.
Igor chose that moment to once again speak, “Nyx is free rice that dwarfs any other, her origin rests far out in the sea of stars instead of the sea of souls. Only those with the power of the universe and an unyielding will can seal her.” This wasn’t sounding like a ‘Yet they managed to overcome the odds’ speech. “Elizabeth and Theodore have searched far and wide for a solution to the conundrum the two of you were in, however they were unsuccessful, and so they asked for the help of my master.”
Igor had a master??? “You have a master?” The boy, who Hamuko had started to just call ‘the blue guy’ in her head, spoke sounding a little shocked once more. Igor chuckled.
“Indeed, he and his counterpart both agreed to help the two of you, however the only way they could accomplish such a task involving the grave threat of Nyx, was a bit unique.” Oh boy. “What our master means to say is,” Elizabeth jumped in once more, “the solution they devised was time travel.”
First the multiverse, now time travel!?!? “W-what!?” Both Hamuko and the blue guy said in unison. “It is as my sister says,” Theo picked up where his sister left off, “The only way the master and his counterpart were able to save the both of you was by rewinding time and unifying your worlds such that you two would restart your journeys from the very beginning, when you arrived in Iwatodai.”
“So we’ll have to live through the year again?” The blue guy asked, the shock in his voice already gone… or maybe suppressed? “Indeed,” Elizabeth was quick to answer, “however a few key changes will be present.”
“Yes,” Theo spoke up, “the greatest of all being that the two of you will face this new journey together.” Huh? “So like, we’ll exist together? In the same universe? At the same time?” This entire conversation was perplexing to Hamuko.
“The universes you two hail from are remarkably similar in nature, possessing only a few differences from each other,” Igor responded. “It is because of this that my master was able to merge your worlds together, as he believes that only together can the two of you overcome your fates as the great seal.”
“If your master is powerful enough to merge universes, why couldn’t he just create seals to replace us himself so we didn’t have to go through all this?” The blue guy questioned, voicing Hamuko’s own question. Igor simply shook his head.
“A seal capable of preventing the Fall can only be crafted by one who wields the power of the universe, a power that os gained through forging deep, long lasting bonds with others and obtaining one’s answer to life. An entity such as my master who exists within the sea of souls is not capable of gaining such powers.” Igor explained. Thankfully it was a simple explanation, quite unusual for stuff relating to personas and shadows.
“Well, I mean, I guess there could be worse things.” Hamuko said, trying to look on the bright side of things. It was a second chance, a do over to try and fix the mistakes she had made last time.
“Now then, that was all we wished to discuss with you two for now, the time has come for your journeys to begin anew.” As Igor finished speaking, the elevator doors in the back of the room closed shut and the room began ascending once more.
“We wish you two the best of luck.” Elizabeth said. “It will be a pleasure to serve you once again.” Theo followed up.
“After all…” Igor spoke as the room began to be engulfed in white light, “the two of you were the best guests we ever had.”
The last thing Hamuko heard were Igor’s chuckles as she faded into absolute white.