Persona: HEAVEN (Persona/Sword Art Online/Isekai Multicross)

And you open your third eye.

You see him.

You know him.

And for fleeting moments you are him.

You are standing in the office of that brainless husk who calls himself your boss. Nodding along to his stupid anecdotes, smiling when he asks about your parents, and bowing when he offers you the promotion you should've received years ago.

"L... lux? What... is that?" Gwen's hatred of OBERON is set aside, just for a moment. Her attention is fully focused on the glowing eye adorning your forehead. You try to answer, but your mind is slipping back and forth between you and Sugou, and all you can do is make a noise somewhere between a laugh and a scream.

You shake his hand and welcome him to the lab. You marvel at his ideas, and challenge his unrealistic dreams. He was quiet, shy, and hopelessly naive. You like him. You like teaching him, guiding him, helping him. Until the day you realize he's taken your place.

Sugou's eyes are bulging, and his hands reach towards his forehead, clawing at something only he can feel. "W... who..." he demands, "Who... am..."

It's too much. You're learning his weaknesses, all of them, and this man had weaknesses to spare. It's too much for one mind alone.

You're at a bar. Drinking with an annoyance who calls himself your friend, but your mind is on the plain girl with freckles who's smiling at you. As you approach she waves at that man behind you.

The eye burns brighter, and you fall deeper into his mind. You can't hold on, you need to turn it off, you need to close the door, but the thoughts are spilling out. I... I need... save...

Fuck me, focus!
It's... silent?

No it's not silent, I'm hearing cucklord's redpill fantasies loud and clear right now! Since you got the body I'm masking the effect for you. So just shut up and stop thinking for once, and get with the program! Your job's to KILL HIM!
You were channeling your Persona, so how could you still hear your Shadow's voice?

STOP THINKING AND FIGHT!
Your third eye still burns, but you're whole again. You can focus and more importantly than that, you can fight. You blink the pain out of your eyes and gaze at the battlefield. Gwen's crouched down next to you, a healing potion in her hand, unsure if giving it to you would do anything. Sugou's sitting there, eyes blazing with light, scrolling through your own secrets. You push Gwen's hand away, pointing instead at the mumbling man, and order an all-out attack.

"No strategies, no elemental vulnerabilities, just hit Sugou as hard as you can!" The wings on your back flicker into place and you lunge toward your target, Sugou still reeling and near catatonic from the sudden barrage of memories. You don't know what he's going to do with your memories, but you need to keep him off-balanced while you still have the chance.

"R-right, just hit him with everything I've got!" Gwen says, a wave of fire erupting from her fingertips. "Let's crack him open!"

Gwen charges ahead, overtaking you with an immense burst of speed. Her apprehension has melted away into excitement, grinning like a madwoman with the oversized glowing hammer in her arm dangling behind her like a comet trail. Fire erupts around Gwen, forming a haze that rises off her body, coalescing into the familiar fox spirit for the second time this fight.


"I'll grind you into cinders!" Gwen screams, Daji echoing the warcry with a screech. The hammer melts, warps, and buckles under the heat, and Daji's legend, her very memory seeps into the core of the metal. With each passing moment the lightning around «Mjolnir» dissipates, as if Thor himself was being purged from every corner of his weapon.

The thing in her hands, once gold, has become a horrendous thing of slagged bronze, billowing in smoke that smells of human meat. It's more a censer than a hammer, but it's a weapon nonetheless. Gwen grabs the censer's chain and flips forward in midair, twirling the weapon around like a flail. The device bursts into ribbons of living flame and at the apex of the swing, she lets go, casting the censer towards Sugou with the strength of a thunder god.

Even near catatonic Sugou reacts, and a purple barrier appears between Gwen and her target. For half a second you can even make out the words: «Immortal Object»... before it shatters like glass. The censer slams through the barrier like it wasn't even there, and smashes into his torso. Sugou buckles, his chest warping around the metal and toppling to the floor.

With that hit the sky erupts into flames, and the frost covering the «World Tree» sublimates into vapor as the cold of eternal winter gives way to the heat of a furnace. As if the attack was targeted at all of Alfheim instead of just one man.

"How's that you asshole?" Gwen says, summoning her weapon back into her hand. Her Persona's effect has worn off and the hammer is back to its original shape, crackling with sparks. "That was for fucking with my head!"

Sugou staggers, but there's no damage. No sign of injury, no scalded burns, and no drop in an HP meter. But there is still a break, fine and imperceptible, crisscrossed over Sugou's chest.

NOW! HE'S WEAK TO GETTING HIS ASS BUSTED OPEN THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY!
What!?

JUST HIT HIM WITH ANYTHING THAT ISN'T SHARP!
You switch beats, calling forth the familiar form of Pūtanā. Your body fills with the rage of the rakshasa, stronger than you've ever experienced. When did this Persona get so powerful?

DOES IT MATTER!?
You flash against Sugou's prone form, «Excalibur» gleaming beneath the fires of Ragnarok. You don't give him a chance to recover or even to speak, instead, you slam it into his chest with all his force. Again the barrier.

«Immortal Object»

An impenetrable defense. OBERON was a God, an all-powerful creator entity within the fiction of the world. But he was still moored to it, he could be hurt, he could be overcome. Sugou was beyond that. Sugou was real. A GM Superuser with built-in protections, not some avatar-like account. He didn't have HP to deplete, he didn't have stats to overcome.

He couldn't be damaged.
But right now? You couldn't give a shit.

«Excalibur» bounces off the barrier, but you pay it no heed. You have two swords after all.
«Excalibur Avenir» glows red with Shiroe's buff, and you slam it down alongside its partner. The barrier flashes back into being, but this time it's flickering. Struggling to withstand your strength.

"Shatter!" Pūtanā manifests in front of you. She walks, calmly and without haste towards Sugou. Your Persona passes through the barrier like it was made of air, and rests her hand on Sugou's chest, the man too dazed to even mount a protest. The beauty of Pūtanā, said to rival even Parvati, melts away. Luscious lips open to reveal razor-sharp teeth and a tongue dripping with rot. Smooth skin wiggles as putrid flesh erupts from beneath, and a face once made to please twists into a nightmare.


The Rakshasa plunges its fist straight through his heart.

The barrier fractures. Pūtanā dissolves into motes of light, and the moment it does the hole in Sugou's chest vanishes.

But something else breaks instead.

A simple contradiction. Sugou is a QM. He has no health, he has no stats. Attacking Sugou would be as pointless as attacking ALO itself.
But somehow you still hurt him.
But a censer melted him into cinders.
But a demon ripped out his heart.
So while Sugou could not harmed...
The world would instead bear the brunt of your fury.

...

The «World Tree» itself shudders, branches toppling into the ground, the very trunk swaying back and forth. The bark beneath your feet buckles and groans, the earth itself shaking in pain. In the distance, mountains collapse and the nine great regions of Alfheim shudder in pain.

There's no hesitation. You were planning on destroying the world anyway. So you begin carving, twin blades twirling in your arms.
A sapphire blade cuts off Sugou's arm. In the blink of an eye, it's regrown, but in its place the island fortress of the «Undine» race falls into the waves, the very sea beneath it split in twain.

A golden blade slices through Sugou's stomach. The valley of the «Salamanders» turns into a chasm, and the most powerful race in ALO falls through the new void.


You bring your wings to bear, jumping in the air and holding your weapons together. A move that comes to your mind unbidden, «Dual Blades» eager to reveal to you its secrets. You spin vertically, once... twice... three times. With each spin, another forest burns to dust. Another city crumbles into rubble.

You feel a gust of wind behind your back. As your attack finishes Yuuki jumps straight into the gap you've made. Her black blade cuts through the air, Yuuki smiling as she charges, motes of healing magic still hanging off her like a veil.

Just like with you, a barrier stops her attack millimeters away from Sugou's prone face.
And just like you, she doesn't care.


Something strikes out from behind Sugou's barrier, slicing into his side and then knocking him up into the air with concussive force. A green haired ninja...? But the apparition is gone as soon as you notice. The damage to Sugou doesn't stick, but the distant sound of «Goldpot» detonating reaches you even this far away from the city of Leprechaun. Sugou's barrier fails, and Yuuki draws her own pound of skin, collapsing the mines of the Imps in the process.

The world is already broken. The sky is torn into shreds, red and black lines visible at the seams in reality. The world of Alfheim collapses around you with every blow, and soon the only souls left in ALO will be those trapped within this tree.

"ARRGGGHH! ENOUGH!" With pain Sugou's lucidity returns, his mind no longer a slave to the memories that ravage his brain. "You're just a cabal of hackers! Criminals! You.. YOU!" His bloodshot eyes reach yours and in them he finds recognition.

...

He laughs. A slow rolling laughter that evolves into outright cackles. "You... hehehe... hahaha...." Sugou's anger breaks, his body shakes as he laughs, his face breaking into a deranged grin.

"So that's who you are, huh? That's how it is. A murderer, here to kill me! Hahahaha, this is perfect!" Sugou blabbers on, spittle flying from his mouth. "Of course, it'd be you here to ruin this! Of course, of course, of course! Who else but a murderer!?"

Yuuki backs away, looking towards you with confusion.

"HAHAHA! Oh, how rich! But it doesn't matter! Crazed murderer, government spook, or just a lucky hacker, what difference does it make!? Right now you're just a villain! And the hero is here to save the day!"

A light spears down from the heavens. It strikes Sugou and his form is consumed, the glow of his avatar replaced by an even greater light, blinding you even in the midst of the Apocalypse. It coats him in power, forming pauldrons, armor a cloak, and a crown, and when the light fades you see the familiar visage of OBERON cast in full plate wielding the silver shield.

"Now where were we? Ah yes... the part where you beg for mercy."

Fire and Curse! Hit him with those elements!
Do we even have any Fire attacks!?

I don't remember, you think I got every one of these Personas memorized!? Pick something and hit him with it!
He has effectively infinite HP! It's not about damage, it's about knocking him out of that form!

Alright fine, you want to psyops this bastard that badly!? Go seduce him!
Didn't you tell me that was a shit idea a month ago!?

Yeah, yeah, that was then and this is now! Still, got that disguise potion? Drink it now and follow my lead!
That thing you bought on a whim? Won't he see us drinking—

WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING IT WON'T MATTER! NOW MAKE WITH THE MAGIC AND TRANSFORM!
You drink the potion, feeling a strange magic overcome you. Your mind focuses on that one image your Shadow sharpens, projecting it into your mind. The plain girl with freckles. Koujiro Rinko.

"Buy her some time!" Shiroe shouts from behind you, casting a healing light at Yuuki.

OBERON takes one look at the Imp and flashes into action, teleporting into Yuuki's position. She brings up her blade in a quick guard, but OBERON's faster, and rams her torso with his shield. Yuuki's drawing all the attention, despite still being half injured. Shiroe and Gwen both use what healing they can, and Yuuki's form is bathed in green light, but OBERON pays them no heed.

"So weak, so pitiful." He slams his fist into her stomach. The punch lifts her into the air but she deploys her wings, preventing the blow from dealing damage.

"So many of you, and you're not even strong enough to harm me." OBERON taunts, "I will enjoy breaking you in."

"Harm? Hey, I totally cut off your arm!" Yuuki responds, locking blades with OBERON from her position above him in midair. She pushes down with all the force her wings can muster, but OBERON only shakes his head in contempt. With a casual twist of his sword, Yuuki is knocked back into the air.

"Delusional as well." OBERON snorts. It seems that with his patch, Sugou has wiped his own memories of defeat away. "You are trash whose only role is to provide me some fleeting entertainment."

"E... even if we're trash... we're here together!" Yuuki says, a fire burning behind her eyes. "We're gonna beat you together!"

"Hmph. If you want to talk numbers..." OBERON snaps his fingers, and the sounds of a hundred valkyries descending into the field respond to his call, "...then I'll simply summon my concubines to crush you."

Despite the raging battle between the harem and the «Sleeping Knights» high above you, the moment their master calls you feel the gaze of a hundred victims turn their collective attention towards your small party. The distraction is enough for another round of magic to knock down swathes of the group, but it's not enough to stop them outright.

I'm with you, my love!
OBERON, my life is yours!
Death to the heathens!

The horde charges as one, wailing and cursing. Magic, weapons, and skills of all kinds flash in unison as the army descends on you... only to be met with an equal force of a hundred swords, screaming through the air in defiance. OBERON doesn't even have the chance to look surprised as a Sword Rain cuts off any hope of reinforcements behind a dome of steel.

"Can't hide behind your victims forever!" Yuuki says, jumping back to continue the fight.

"Arrogant bitch, you think this will protect you!?" OBERON snarls. "I alone will be enough to break this farce of a resistance!"

...

Your mind twists and the Apsara reasserts herself into your mind. You feel her suffusing the magic of the potion with the memory of Urvashi. With the time your team is buying you, you let it saturate within you. Your Persona fills the veil that now settles over you. And with her whispering in your ear, it all feels natural. Seduction, flattery, the act of lying. In ways, it was its own dance.

Instead of jewels and gold, a faded blue shirt and khakis. Instead of the divine glow of heaven, your makeup is the sweat and oil from a long day's work. Instead of a face that could tempt sages away from immortality, you are a plain-looking woman with freckles. Your Shadow's in your head, feeding you the lines, and Urvashi is in your soul, guiding your actions.

Whether OBERON noticed your ploy or not, it scarcely matters. The moment he sees the new you something changes. The battle stops, and OBERON's weapons lower. Shiroe's communicating orders to Yuuki and the rest of your party slowly backs up, waiting to see if OBERON would walk into your trap.

"...Am I dreaming?" OBERON's words are hollow, and you sense the voice of Sugou creeping through the radiant form of his avatar. "Rinko...?"

Don't try to act like a normal person. I don't have a damn clue who Rinko's supposed to be IRL but Sugou's expecting her to be a trembling waif.
You stand, but not to your full height. Your knees buckle and embers singe your dress shirt. You place your right hand against your chest, as if in deep prayer, and you take a slow trembling step towards OBERON.

"Where... am... I? What is this place? Why is everything on fire?!" You turn to OBERON, latching onto the sole familiar face in this blasted world. "Sugou? Is that you?"

OBERON drops his sword and shield, rushing to your side. He lifts you up in a hug, the warmth of his avatar almost burning against your skin. You fight back your reaction, leaning into his arms like the hopeless babe he expects you to be.

"Rinko... you... you came back to me? I... knew... you would..."

Keep up the act!
He separates and you see his face. There's happiness, but also a twinge of anger. He grips your shoulders hard, and you find yourself unable to wiggle away. The only thing that's lacking is suspicion; OBERON is convinced body and soul that you are the real Rinko made manifest. He must've dreamed of something like this happening. What he would do, what he would say. A fantasy he's been reliving in his mind since before he even conceived of OBERON.
"Why did you leave me...?" He asks, tears forming in his eyes. "I... I tried to help you! Save you! That man was going to ruin you... but now... you're back. Back in my arms, as you should be."

You point a shaking hand toward the fractured sky above you. "...what... is this place?"

OBERON laughs. A small, loving laugh. "A world of my own creation! A dream I've longed to share with you!" He turns to the chaos around you, and the dying world of Alfheim crumbling in the distance. "Some gnats have disturbed it, but I can fix it. I can fix everything. I'll fix you too Rinko."

You give him a smile. You're reassured. You're happy. OBERON smiles back, and for a second you feel him let go of your shoulder, running his hands down your arms. You entwine your fingers with your own, looking up at him with warmth in your eyes.

Now!
You bring his hands up to your cheek. His touch is rough, but you force a smile on your face, even as his fingers run down your jawline and brush against your neck. "You were always looking out for me, Nobu. I'm glad... I'm glad that you're here to save me now."

OBERON is enraptured.


You lean forward and tap your forehead against his. A light emanates as Urvashi calls forth her memory. The world melts away into the black and red of the SEED's infrastructure, and Urvashi touches his soul.

"Y... you are the true queen." He says, wonder in his eyes. "Here to claim this world as your own! I... I have longed to serve you..."

Fuck that worked!? Would've been more fun the other way.
OBERON's breath hitches. A sharp pain cuts through his mind, Urvashi's magic seeping into OBERON. "I don't need them... I... don't need all these toys!" Urvashi has sunk her roots deep and he's not even resisting. "Rinko! Yes... yes, I can cast them away for you, my queen! All of them! Just the two of us, forever more!"

"Of course, Nobu. You were always the one protecting me."

OBERON lifts up his hand, the light of destruction saturating into a ball of power. "I will make you the only one... just for us... Rinko! I..."

A warning sounds in your mind, but you didn't need to have bothered. Sugou isn't even targeting you, the light saturating everything but the two of you. A bubble of peace forms around your avatar and OBERON. The sounds of battle, the collapsing world fade away into nothing.

You note your party members knocked back, but the light is unfocused. OBERON more concerned with pushing everyone but the two of you away. Yuuki moves in front of the «Jewel of Union», batting away the magic with a wave of her sword, the maneuver leaving her lightly singed in the attempt.

But you can't afford to worry about them. Right now OBERON's attention is solely focused on you.

"You are who I longed for in the darkness. You've come back to me... Rinko... my queen!" He's reaching the climax of his delusion, "You'll forgive me... won't you? For all the things I've done! It was all for you."

You cup his cheek with your hand and nod. "That's it, Nobu. Just the two of us, right?"

"Yes! You will be my «Titania», no my «Queen Mab»... I love you so much..."

Your mind is clear. The headache from suddenly shifting different Personas is fading away, Urvashi settling back into your mind. You can almost see Sugou's thoughts, and envision the yearning in his soul through your third eye. You seize his head, dragging him down to meet you face to face. The third eye burns over your brow.

"Yes...you loved me. Or so you say...Have you heard yourself, Sugou?" The fire intensifies and OBERON squirms, sensing that something is wrong but unable to look away. Your Shadow descends and the two of you speak with one voice.

"What you felt wasn't love. It was lust. It was greed."

"W-what are you saying? I love you, you know that!" he cries out, tears forming along the edges of his eyes.

"You looked at Koujiro Rinko, a genuine woman that wanted to be your friend, and you spit in her hand with spite, refusing her feelings. You got it all wrong, Sugou Nobuyuki."

"I... I gave you everything you have! I rescued you from obscurity, I raised you up! Because I loved you!" OBERON wails, tears flowing like rivers.

"It wasn't you that lowered to talk with a measly peasant. It was the opposite. It was Rinko getting down to talk with a vermin like you. Even if I question her taste in men...Rinko wanted someone that was decisive, had a future in mind. You? All you wanted was a trophy wife."

"N... no..." He tries to escape but his body isn't responding. He's incapable of looking away, your third eye rooting him in place. "Y... you're not my queen! You're not Rinko! She would never say such cruel things..."

"Oh? You don't know anything." You say, cupping his face. "I'll tell you what she thinks of you. I'll say the words that were hidden in her heart the whole time, her true feelings. Do I need to say them? You already know what they are, don't you?"

OBERON heaves, panting in exertion. "No... please... please no!" He's begging you, "Don't say it, I don't want to hear it!"

With Rinko's face, you twist your features into a sneer. With Rinko's face, you furrow your brow into a scowl. With Rinko's voice, you speak the final line.

"You disgust me."

OBERON screams, his tears saturating the floor. Your disguise melts away into motes of magic and you reach out with your hands, taking grasp of the tears flowing from his broken mind. The water swarms around OBERON orbiting in ever-spreading currents that surround him in a whirlpool.

"System call... Undine..."

You call forth the divine spirit of water who mixes into the gathering fountain of tears. There were many gods and spirits associated with water, and Undine was no force of nature incarnate. She was just a love-stricken maiden who would sooner scatter her soul into the waters than live without her love. A spirit borne from tears who became tears herself. You look upon the pathetic figure of OBERON, the sins of his life shining bright in your mind. You don't know the true Rinko's feelings, but your thoughts were clear. And Sugou? He didn't know Rinko's feelings anymore you did. You just fed on his fears and told him what he's always suspected.

That deep down he's a pathetic, disgusting creature undeserving of love.

You spit in his face.


With the force of a river.

Undine gathers his tears and the deluge flows into his mouth, into his nostrils, and into every opening in his body. The water doesn't relent, the tears erupting from OBERON's eyes far beyond what should be possible. But yet it flows, and Undine guides every last drop back into OBERON's body, saturating him with his own tears.

"Now drown!"

He thrashes, trying to escape, but Undine is merciless. First, his belly expands and then his whole body follows suit, bloating up like a balloon. Whatever complaints he might have are drowned out as a series of bubbles explode out of his mouth and nose. OBERON heaves, a cascade of water erupting from every opening, but as soon as it leaves him Undine drives it back in.

OBERON, unceremoniously and without fanfare, simple... pops. The water shoots up into the sky, and thick rain mixed with the pixels of OBERON's dissolving avatar pours down on the battlefield.

...

The scattered pixels reform. The armor is gone, and flopping around in a puddle like a drowned rat, Sugou's back in his GM avatar, no traces of OBERON left to cling to. He's on all fours, heaving water, trying to cough up more.

Don't celebrate yet! This guy's a cockroach!

"L...laughing coffin... should've known..."

"NOW! ATTACK HIM WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!" You scream, hoping to drown out Sugou's thoughts. The more time he has to think the more ways he can use his newfound knowledge against you. You have him right where you want him, weak, vulnerable, and unable to react in time.

Sugou simply lifts his head up, looks you straight in the eye, and does the worst possible thing he could do.

...

He runs.

The burst of speed is immense. Sugou rushes back towards the center of the «World Tree», making a beeline straight for his palace. Towards the heart of the SEED and the core of Alfheim itself. With unlimited flight and the power of the world within him, he easily slips through Shiroe's hasty attempts at casting a binding spell. Yuuki is faster, but Sugou raises his GM barrier and pushes her away.

"Stop him!" Shiroe calls out, running towards the palace as fast as his avatar can push him. You all charge after the rapidly retreating form of Sugou, but you fight back a curse. You don't know what Sugou's planning but it couldn't be good. It wouldn't be the end of the world if Sugou escapes, then you could log out the remaining SAO survivors in peace and then arrest him in the real world with Asuna's testimony.

But if all Sugou wanted to do was escape he could just hit the logout button. No, he was aiming for something.

You can see Sugou's destination in the distance, his palace on top of the «World Tree». Sugou's speed intensifies and his form dissolves into a blur, flying at breakneck speeds towards his final destination.
And then a flash of light skewers him in midair.

Then with a loud crash, Sugou smashes into the earth. His body bounces across the marble walkway, slipping and skidding across the tiles before slamming into a pillar. He groans in agony, and another land crumbles off in the distance.

When the dust clears you see her. No longer in the regalia of «Titania» Asuna is now armored in the familiar uniform of the «Knights of Blood». Like you, she must've spawned in with her SAO items intact, though it appears in the «World Tree» that her SAO equipment was spared the effects of data corruption. She stands over her captor, rapier pointed at his neck.

Her eyes are red and her hand is trembling. You'd almost mistake it for anger if you didn't just see OBERON cry his eyes out just seconds ago. Those weren't fresh tears, something happened to Asuna, and she was thinking about it the whole way here.

"Sugou. It's over. You can't harm me, or anyone anymore. Logout the SAO victims, Sugou, and surrender."

Sugou turns his head up at her and laughs. "Asuna...? Hehe, you have no idea what you're talking about. You poor, stupid girl, I've done nothing wrong. You've got nothing that will stick."

"I'll testify. I'll tell them everything you did."

Sugou spits. "Ha, that's your plan? What will that prove? You're still operating under a delusion that I was harming people. Phff, I'm doing nothing of the sort. These Fluctlights are just being experimented on for the benefit of mankind! After I'm done I'll simply restore them to backup states and allow them to wake up. No trauma, no memory, no worse for wear. If it is a crime, then it's a victimless one."

Your blood runs cold and you land beside Asuna. Soon the rest of your party joins you, a makeshift tribunal over Sugou. "You kidnapped them! Meimi still remembers everything you did!"

"Oh really? And who is to blame for that...?"

Gwen flinches, raising a dagger in her hand. "IT'S YOURS SUGOU!"

"Really?" Sugou says, still trying to worm his way out. "Because if the experiment progressed according to protocol, you would be awake in a few weeks fit as a fiddle without even a single lingering memory. Why, I'd say the person responsible for your pain... would be this young lady right here!" He points at you with a manic smile on his face. "It was all her fault, you see. If she hadn't interfered in my experiment you would be happy right now!"

"Don't you dare try to weasel out of this," you say. "I know what you're planning. You're going to use this research to control everyone in ALO. Just to fulfill some sick fantasy!"

"A false accusation," Sugou says, "Even if what you say is possible, just because I can do it, doesn't mean I will, now does it? I'm hearing a lot of accusations about theoretical crimes from actual criminals. Isn't that quite ironic?"

"Enough! Say what you want but it doesn't change what happens next." Asuna says, raising her rapier.

"Before you do that, you might want to reconsider your choice of allies, my dear Asuna." Sugou says, grinning from ear to ear. "Do you even know who your friends really are? Did you know... that Lux has been deceiving you all along?"

Gwen is the first to react. She knows your secret and realizes that this is a particularly awkward time for that truth to be revealed. She rushes Sugou, Daji forming a spell of madness in an open claw. But it passes through Sugou's body as if he isn't even there.

Gwen follows up with a quick swipe of her blade, but the barrier pops in place, bouncing her back. "Shit, it's not working!"

"And here I thought you were just a bunch of lucky hackers. Oh dear, Lux, you've certainly led an interesting life..."

Shut him up!
You charge forward, raising «Excalibur» high to cleave through him, calling upon the strength of your Persona to bypass his GM barrier once more. Just a few more strikes and you should be able to break his avatar once again. But Sugou looks at you, and in that moment your muscles seize up.


"Don't hurt him!"

Her voice echoes in your mind. It's just as you remember, the voice of the one who died to save you. The idiot girl who gave her life for a murderer like yourself. You could always picture her in your mind, but her face, you've never seen that expression on her face.

She's scared. Of you.

Your sword stops a hairbreadth away from her neck. You need to continue but your hands are seized by an invisible force. You can scarcely think, much less attack.

"What's wrong? Can't bear to do it? Hehe... HAHAHA. Such a fascinating ability, I'll be sure to look through the logs in great detail. Mind reading, though I suppose it would be called cognition reading. Perhaps «Fluctlight» synchronization? Did you learn that trick in «Laughing Coffin»?"

This isn't Rossa. It's just an illusion manifested by OBERON to stop you... just a trick... but you...
You can't...

Asuna's rapier quivers as she waves it between you and OBERON. "W-what did you say? Coffin? T-the... PKers!?"

Sugou continues to talk, the mirage of Rossa dissolving into motes of light as he lectures. "Oh Asuna, you've really been led astray. Lux has managed to fool everyone here, even you. Did you know...? Lux is a proud member of the murder guild: «Laughing Coffin»! She's a mass murderer and a terrorist. How could you ever trust her?"

"Y-you're lying..." You try to protest but most of what he says remains the truth.

"I'm afraid I'm telling the truth. Don't believe me?" He snaps his fingers and the sky fills with projections. Magic from ALO that allows for remote viewing is instead inscribed with visions from your life.

You, standing beside PoH digging through the remains of his recent kill, too scared to do anything but work.
You, handing the poison to Johnny Black as he rants about the person he plans to kill with it.
You, haggling with a nervous player about the rising costs of contract killing.
You, trying to stay awake as the LC spy within the «Knights of Blood» gives you more information than you ever wanted to know about Asuna.
A hundred broken memories, paraded before you in full view of your allies.

...

Gwen steps up. "So fucking what? All you're doing is dragging up history. Me? I'm the fuckin' same! That's how «Sword Art Online» was! It wasn't some walk through the park, it was hell! She did what she had to do to survive, unlike you who's doing this just to satisfy your sick urges!"

"This is a distraction," Shiroe says. "I'm not here to judge Lux or her past. We've all done things we regret, and Sugou's goal is to divide us. Ignore his words, he's only saying this to confuse us."

You look up. "Y... you're not mad?"

"Well... Argo did already tell me about you..."
THAT FUCKING RAT.
He sheepishly scratches his cheek. "But I wanted to form my own opinion. And I know you're here for the right reasons."

"Yeah!" Yuuki shouts. "She's here on her redemption arc! It's an epic story, and this just makes it more exciting!"

"You guys..." All that time spent worrying and it was all for nothing. It's only been a few months but you've all worked together. Fought together. You weren't just teammates anymore, you were among friends.

...

"D... did you know?"

But there was one person here who wasn't your friend. One person who understands the word «Laughing Coffin» like no other.

Asuna's shaking, her rapier still quivering. Her eyes are still locked on yours. You don't know what to expect, but when she finally speaks you don't know if you'd prefer she say nothing at all.

"Kuradeel, did you... help him attack us? K-Kirito almost died because of him! Did you know the whole time!?"

Oh, that's what his name was! Damn, that was bugging me for months now! If he attacked the «Clearers» then he's probably dead. Too bad, he was a funny guy.
You want to lie but the memories you possessed were floating around you. "I... I helped him. I didn't know he was planning to attack you and Kirito, but I..."

"How long were you working for them!?"

You wince. "F... for a few months." you lower your head. What could you even say to her that wouldn't sound like a hollow excuse?

"DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY FRIENDS OF MINE DIED TO PKERS? DIED TO YOU!" Asuna's screaming and crying now. "AND YOU COULD'VE STOPPED IT? YOU COULD'VE ENDED IT BUT YOU... YOU..."

"HAHAHAHAHA! Oh, how rich, how lovely! Such good friends already!"

"SHUT UP!" Asuna shouts, suddenly finding herself surrounded by enemies.

"You see now Asuna? You're just a patsy, and they're the real villains!"

Asuna turns her rapier towards Sugou. "Y... you're no better! I promise, I'm going to drag you into a hell you'll never escape from, do you understand me!?"

You try to approach Asuna but she waves her weapon in your direction, warding you off. "Lux... Coffin, whoever you are. Sugou's the biggest threat, so he needs to be dealt with first. You can come later."

With that declaration, you feel a shift. It's just a tiny change, but you feel the SEED watching you. Judging you.

The AI is happy. A last-minute plot twist, a new development. Asuna indeed broke free of golden chains, and with her arrival, your prophecy would've been complete. You were the Fangs of Fenris, all you needed was your own Fenrir to take to the field and fulfill the prophecy you set in motion months ago.

But Fenrir was free.
But it was not yours.
It hates Sugou.
And it also hates you.

In Alfheim's eyes, you are no longer the «Fangs of Fenris».

---

Fimbulveter
Hyrm and Naglfar
Axe Age, Sword Age, Wind Age, Wolf Age
Loki causes the Death of Baldr
A wolf swallows the sun and the moon
Gjallarhorn is Sounded
The Battle between Jormungandr and Thor
Surtr sets the World Ablaze
Fenrir Breaks Free of Golden Chains