At the bottom of the slope, the path abruptly ended in a massive, stone sphere with raised, rectangular protrusions and dull diamond patterns. A diamond-shaped opening glimmered with the distant glow of a large magatama, propelling Goro ahead of the others. He could feel her presence, so close, yet so dim. Marie was here. They weren't too late…
Yet as they burst through the door, an immense, camera-like eye stared down at them; its golden iris, green sclera, and the blue and red outer rings were a dead ringer for Ameno-sagiri. Upon a raised platform beneath the unblinking eye lay Marie, pinned to the ground by a towering beast barely recognizable as a woman. A lavish red cape hung from its shoulders, while metallic silver plating spread over its solid black body. Insect-like red eyes glared down at marie, with jagged horns protruding from its otherwise featureless face, and fog billowed from Marie's back.
There Marie lay, separate, with her fingers coiled tightly around… the bamboo comb? But rather than scorched, it was clean. Pristine. Shining, even.
"M—Marie-san…"
Despite her precarious position, Marie wheezed out a laugh. "About time you guys got here."
But it didn't make sense. Goro dug into his pocket. Somehow, the scorched comb remained despite the rest of his belongings getting whisked away. How could there be two?
Evidently it didn't matter, as the moment the monster set eyes upon the second comb, it lurched forward with an ear-splitting scream while a cacophony of wailing voices erupted all around.
*No… Don't go! Don't leave me in the dark!*
*I can't live without you… I need you…*
*Why does everyone leave? Nothing lasts forever… Why can't we all stay in this moment?*
"The hell even is this thing?!" Yosuke shrieked.
"...It's exactly what we wanted," Yu said, composed despite the circumstances. "This must be the fog…"
The second to last Chapter of The Crow Cries at Midnight, containing the final bosses... The end is nearly upon us. archiveofourown.org/works/487774...
#persona4 #persona5 #goroakechi #yunarukami #investigationteam #p5 #p4 #fanfiction #akechigoro
