Tartarus was no longer a tower:
It was an inverted abyss,
an ascending spiral leading straight to the end of the world.
Ever since they passed floor 200, everything had become inhumanly difficult. The Shadows were no longer monsters: they were living abominations, nightmare entities that adapted, resisted, and returned damage with visceral hatred.
Daniel, in response to the growing threat, had to refine every aspect of his combat.
His Observation Haki evolved to the point where he could see a few instants into the future, reacting before attacks even began. Every dodge was surgical, every step anticipated.
But that same advantage required a mind in constant tension.
The slightest distraction could be fatal.
His Armament Haki had also grown exponentially: he could materialize armor on precise areas of his body instantly, even create defensive plates on his allies by touching them. His body felt denser, more resistant, as if his very flesh was beginning to turn into something beyond human.
Tamamo was beginning to experience limits. Her magic, once devastating, required more concentration and energy. The Shadows developed resistances, and her power had to be finer, more surgical. Still, her kitsune instinct and intelligence kept the group alive, even in the worst circumstances.
As for Yukari, Mitsuru, and Akihiko...
They had transcended their limits.
Their Personas, faced with constant danger, evolved to reach their final forms:
Yukari, focused on support and precision, channeled healing energy with almost divine efficiency.
Mitsuru, icy and severe, turned the battlefield into a torture chamber with ice she controlled at will.
Akihiko, pure attack and physique, unleashed a storm of electricity-charged blows that left no room for reaction.
But not all was victory.
Daniel's Conqueror's Haki, that force of pure domination, was beginning to reveal itself uncontrollably.
More than once, between floors 100 and 200, Daniel's aura was released unintentionally, causing the immediate fainting of Yukari, Akihiko, and Mitsuru, even Tamamo on one occasion.
Although the Shadows were erased from existence by his presence...
He couldn't keep relying on that power without control.
Forced retreat was the only option each time that happened.
After those situations, Mitsuru confronted him with glacial seriousness:
—That energy... It's not magic. It's not a Persona. What is it?
Daniel sighed and, for the first time, told them about Haki: an internal energy, the result of his training and will.
He briefly explained each type and how they worked.
But he said nothing about Ddraig or being the Red Dragon Emperor's wielder.
That... wasn't the time yet.
The three SEES members accepted it with some surprise, but also with respect.
It was clear Daniel wasn't just a simple supernatural ally.
He was someone who carried a power whose scope they didn't comprehend.
Finally, after nights of constant struggle, they reached floor 246.
The silence was different.
The air... denser. Sadder.
As if the world itself was warning them not to continue.
While they rested at the floor's access portal, Tamamo healed Daniel, leaning on his shoulder.
Yukari looked at the darkness of the corridor with distrust.
Akihiko stretched his arms, preparing his body for what was to come.
And Mitsuru, quieter than ever, simply observed the darkness with eyes full of gravity.
Daniel gritted his teeth.
—We're almost at the end...
Ddraig spoke in his mind, his tone more serious than normal:
—Ryoji is no longer here. The Moon weeps. And Nyx... is watching us.
Daniel nodded, feeling a chill in the deepest part of his soul.
The world kept turning...
but the clock was already marking the final minutes.
The sky over Iwatodai was covered by a grayish veil.
The Dark Hour had begun, but this time...
it wasn't like the others.
An oppressive energy coursed through the air. The streets were quieter, time seemed stagnant.
It was as if the world was holding its breath.
At the entrance to Tartarus, the team gathered for the last time before the final ascent.
Daniel, firm and serious, with Tamamo by his side.
Yukari, with a determined though nervous gaze.
Akihiko, adjusting his gloves with contained tension.
Mitsuru, in complete silence, her icy eyes fixed on the tower as if she wanted to pierce it with her gaze.
It was then that Ryoji appeared.
He emerged from the shadows, standing in front of Tartarus's main door as if he had been waiting for them forever.
He wore his school uniform, his scarf fluttering without wind, and his smile... wasn't like before.
—Have you really decided to do it? — he asked with an almost sad calm—. Climbing to the top... facing Nyx... do you know what that means?
Yukari stepped back slightly. Akihiko tensed.
But Daniel, stepping forward, looked at him fixedly.
—We know — he replied coldly—. But we can't stand by and do nothing. Lives are at stake.
Ryoji sighed. His gaze turned melancholic.
—Nyx cannot be destroyed. She cannot feel, cannot reason... cannot die. She will only descend... and bring the end. I am just the messenger. The herald of oblivion.
Daniel knew it. In his past life, as a player, he had already experienced it.
But this time... he was inside the game.
And even if the rules said it couldn't be won...
he would break them.
Tamamo took his hand, her golden eyes shining with a mix of pride and worry.
—We're going up, no matter the cost.
Ryoji closed his eyes for a moment.
And then he smiled, softly, resigned.
—Then... I'll be waiting for you at the top.
He vanished like mist in the wind.
Silence.
The team looked at each other for a few seconds. No more words were necessary.
The final ascent began.
Tartarus hadn't changed... and yet, it had changed everything.
The stairs were longer, the air heavier, and every shadow on the walls seemed to watch them.
The ascent was a test of everything they were.
And of everything they were willing to sacrifice.
Every shadow eliminated was a bitter victory.
Every floor climbed, a promise that the end was near... but that it could be avoided.
Finally, after a hard fight against the final guardian Shadows, they crossed the threshold.
Floor 264.
The summit.
The night sky stretched before them like an ocean of broken stars.
And there, in the center, standing on an altar made of crystal and darkness...
was Ryoji, but not as before.
He was no longer a student with a scarf.
He was the Avatar of Nyx.
His figure glowed with black light, surrounded by a presence that screamed silently into their souls.
There was no hatred.
No emotion.
Only void.
—You've come far — he said in a dual, overlapping voice—. But here... the cycle ends. The End cannot be stopped.
Daniel clenched his fists.
The power within him roared.
Ddraig was ready.
His soul burned like a torch in the abyss.
—We don't care if it can't be won — he declared forcefully—. We're going to fight. And if we fall... it will be fighting until the last second.
Yukari, Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Tamamo flanked him.
Their weapons shone, their Personas trembled with energy.
The silence lasted only one more second.
And then...
the battle for the world began.
The sky at the summit of Tartarus had been torn.
Fragments of darkness fell like black tears from above.
The stars were silent witnesses to a battle destined to seal the world's fate.
The SEES team had given everything.
Yukari, wounded, unconscious after trying to defend Mitsuru.
Mitsuru, unconscious but with her sword still gripped.
Akihiko, on his knees, blood on his face and will still burning... before falling too.
Facing them, the Avatar of Nyx, bathed in a black and violet aura, had now summoned his final Arcana: Death.
His eyes were bottomless pits.
His voice, a cold whisper that penetrated to the soul.
—Everything ends. Everything returns to silence. Everything goes back to the void.
You... cannot escape.
Only two figures remained standing.
Tamamo, her ceremonial clothing torn, her magical energy sparking like an uncontrolled storm, and her gaze fixed on the enemy.
Daniel, blood running down his forehead, arms trembling from the effort, and his body glowing with Haki energy.
His eyes... were pure fire.
Ddraig roared inside him.
—It doesn't matter if you are the end — Daniel growled—.
As long as we can breathe, we'll keep fighting.
Tamamo nodded.
—We won't let you touch this world.
We'll defend it... because we love it.
The Avatar of Nyx extended his arms.
A tide of darkness rose from the abyss of the sky, as if the universe itself wanted to erase their existence.
The final battle began.
Nyx activated her ability "Night Queen's Grasp," a dark tide that blocked Tamamo's magic for a few seconds.
Daniel leaped forward, his arms covered in Armament Haki, reinforced to the point of seeming like liquid steel.
Every punch he threw shook the air.
Tamamo, freed, used her spiritual magic to summon an ancient sealing circle, which weakened the enemy's regeneration.
—Daniel, now! — she shouted.
Daniel spun, surrounded by Conqueror's Haki flames, which he controlled completely for the first time.
With a roar, his right arm grew larger, draconic, wrapped in flames and lightning.
—DRAGON KING: ASHURA STRIKE! — he roared, launching his punch straight to the Avatar's chest.
The impact was so strong that the summit of Tartarus shook.
The Death barrier cracked.
But it wasn't enough.
The Avatar of Nyx reconfigured itself, changing shape, now with huge wings and an astral scythe.
Its eyes were fixed on Daniel.
—You are the exception. The error in destiny.
I will erase you first.
With unimaginable speed, it unleashed a blast of dark energy.
Tamamo screamed his name, but Daniel didn't dodge.
He took it. Head-on. With everything.
The attack threw him several meters, his body smoking...
But he remained standing.
—If you want to take me with you — he gasped—...
you'll have to tear me into a thousand pieces.
Tamamo, with tears in her eyes and her heart aflame, stood by his side.
—Let's go together...
One last time.
Both channeled everything.
Tamamo invoked her Secret Technique: "Light of a Thousand Eras," an ancient magic that struck the soul directly.
Daniel combined his Haki with Ddraig's power and shouted:
—Boosted Gear Balance Breaker: Crimson Dragon Ascension!! —
The combination struck the Avatar with an explosion that lit up the sky like an impossible dawn.
The entire Tartarus trembled.
The dark clouds split.
And for an instant...
there was silence.
The Avatar of Nyx fell to its knees, its form fading, its voice dying out.
—...Hope...?
...An illusion... so warm...
And it disappeared.
Silence.
The Avatar of Nyx faded into the air like stardust.
Tamamo fell to her knees, panting. Daniel could barely stand.
Behind them, the SEES team still lay unconscious, their bodies exhausted, but alive.
—Did we do it...? — Tamamo whispered.
But Daniel didn't respond.
Because he felt it.
An energy... ancient. Unnatural. Immeasurable.
A presence that belonged to no known physical plane.
Both looked up at the starry sky.
And then they saw it.
The Moon.
Not as a distant celestial body...
But as an eye.
A will.
A goddess.
A black and blue aura like the cosmos itself enveloped the moon, and from it, descending... was Nyx.
A majestic figure, impossible to describe with human words.
She had a feminine form, but her silhouette floated without gravity.
Her eyes were abysses where even dreams were lost.
The air trembled when she spoke, her voice resonating in the minds of all present.
—Humanity desires the end...
Eternal rest.
I... merely fulfill that desire.
The Moon began to move.
To fall.
It was the Fall. Literally.
The moon was being brought toward Earth.
Tamamo tried to get up, but her legs failed.
—No... it can't be... We defeated the Avatar! That was supposed to be the end!
Nyx looked at her.
—I am the concept. The mother of silence.
As long as the desire for death exists...
I will come.
With a simple gesture, a rain of dark comets fell from the atmosphere.
Tamamo used all her magic to protect Daniel and the others, but the price was high.
A beam of cosmic energy descended, striking Tamamo directly.
—Tamamo! — Daniel shouted.
She fell into his arms, unconscious, with a weak smile.
—Forgive me... I couldn't... stay with you until the end...
Daniel held her tenderly, gritting his teeth.
He was alone.
Ddraig spoke within his soul.
—Boy...
Are you ready to use it?
Daniel nodded.
—Only if there's no other way.
And there isn't one anymore.
Ddraig roared.
—Then go and shatter destiny itself!
Daniel carefully set Tamamo down. His eyes no longer showed doubt.
Only fire.
He extended his arms.
His body began to glow with crimson and golden energy.
—Balance Breaker: Crimson Divine Overdrive!
Final version... for the Judgment of the World!
His draconic wings emerged.
His arms covered with living scales.
His aura overflowed with so much power that the floor of Tartarus cracked.
Conqueror's Haki enveloped the entire floor 264 like a tempest.
His gaze was fixed on the cosmic goddess.
—Nyx!
I don't care if you are the end itself.
I won't let you steal tomorrow from those who desire it!
Nyx descended.
She no longer spoke.
It wasn't necessary.
She was the end itself.
Daniel charged at her like a red comet.
The heavens split when Daniel's fist collided with Nyx's stellar barrier.
A clash of wills so powerful that space itself groaned.
Nyx used Eternal Silence, a technique that erased all sound, all emotion.
Daniel resisted with his Conqueror's Haki, staying on his feet only through his burning will.
Ddraig roared inside him, pushing him beyond his limits.
Daniel used Rokushiki combined with his Haki, moving like a bolt of light.
His fist, covered in crimson flames, impacted directly on Nyx's chest.
—DRAGON SOUL STRIKE!
But Nyx, unperturbed, took him by the arm and threw him against a tower.
Daniel's blood splattered the ground...
But he got up.
—Tch... Is that all, Goddess?
I've bled for what I love.
And I'll keep bleeding if it saves this world.
Nyx prepared her final attack:
"Lunar Collapse," a spell that would make the moon collapse onto Earth.
Daniel knew it was now or never.
He looked back.
At Tamamo. At the unconscious SEES members. At his memories. At his family, his girlfriends, his life.
And he screamed.
—DRAIG!
ALL OR NOTHING!
An explosion of energy destroyed part of Tartarus.
His body covered completely in scales.
His eyes became pure dragon.
His soul... was on fire.
And with a final charge, he shouted:
—I FORBID YOU FROM ENDING THIS WORLD!
And he launched himself at the Goddess of Death...
The world felt stopped.
Nyx descended like an absolute divinity, her eyes immutable, her power overwhelming.
Daniel remained standing. Alone.
Tamamo unconscious behind him, the SEES members still unresponsive.
The only barrier between humanity and its extinction... was him.
Nyx's aura seemed to devour hope itself.
Every blow Daniel threw, every burst powered by his Boosted Gear, felt like a storm...
But Nyx showed only superficial scratches.
Immortal. Unalterable. Unstoppable.
Ddraig spoke urgently within his mind:
—It's not enough! Even with Balance Breaker, you can't damage her as you are now!
Daniel knew it. He felt it.
—Tsk... this is worse than Angra Mainyu...
And then he remembered.
That day, against the world's demon.
Angra Mainyu.
When, out of desperation and will, he fused his Advanced Armament Haki with his Conqueror's Haki.
A power that broke the darkness itself.
—...That's... all I have left.
He clenched his fists.
Five boosts resonated within him, and then, he closed his eyes.
He remembered fear. Hatred. Love. The desire to live.
The roar of the Conqueror.
An invisible pressure exploded around him, shaking the sky itself.
His right arm began to radiate an obsidian-black tone with a crimson-red glow.
It wasn't just Haki.
It was will incarnate.
—Boost!
—Boost!
—Boost!
—Ryojin no Gekido! — Daniel shouted, as his fist was enveloped by a living mixture of Advanced Armament Haki and the imperial aura of the Conqueror.
(His ultimate technique: "Fury of the Dragon Emperor").
He advanced in a single movement, faster than thought.
And then it impacted.
BOOM!
A crater formed where Daniel's fist collided with Nyx's chest.
The cosmic goddess was pushed back.
For the first time since her birth, her eyes opened with genuine surprise.
—...A... mortal...?
A trickle of dark blood flowed from her mouth.
Daniel panted, his body trembling, his arm burning from within.
But his heart roared like never before.
—I don't care if you are the end!
I am the will that defies fate!
I am Daniel Hernández! And this is my land!
Nyx fell silent.
But she no longer descended with elegance.
Now she approached with intent to kill.
—Interesting...
Then I will show you the true face of the end.
Her body began to change, revealing her most feared form:
A celestial amalgamation of galaxies and pure darkness.
Her eyes, like dying suns.
Her wings, constellations.
Daniel felt a chill run down his spine.
Ddraig roared.
—This is your final round, boy!
Either you defeat her...
Or the moon will fall upon the world!
Daniel gritted his teeth, his fist still burning with that new power.
—Then... we go all in.
The night that fell upon the world was no ordinary one.
The sky had no stars.
The moon descended slowly, with a sinister glow, like a silent judgment.
From the highest point of Tartarus, an energy blast shook Iwatodai City.
The wind changed its course.
The trees bent.
And then, the shockwave was felt all across Japan.
BOOOM!
Buildings vibrated.
The ground trembled.
A column of light rose from the top of the tower, crashing against the clouds with a divine roar.
It was as if a god was fighting against destiny itself.
The Dark Hour had begun...
But something was different.
The coffins no longer protected humans.
Thousands of people woke up for the first time during the Dark Hour.
—W-What is this...?
—Why... can I move?
—What is that tower... and that glow...?!
Confused and terrified, the citizens of Kuoh looked up.
And there, atop Tartarus, a human figure covered in crimson and black energy, was clashing with an entity that seemed ripped from a cosmic painting.
Daniel vs. Nyx.
The shockwaves were so intense they could be felt even thousands of kilometers away.
In the Underworld, in the middle of the Bael family council, the ground trembled.
The walls creaked.
In Heaven, trumpets that should never sound, vibrated on their own.
The angels stopped praying.
And in Kyoto, Yasaka felt her heart constrict.
Her gaze was fixed on the sky.
—Daniel...
---
Meanwhile, at the entrance to Tartarus, two powerful figures tried to enter.
—Move aside! — Sona Sitri demanded, her student council uniform destroyed, her eyes full of fury.
Beside her, Rias Gremory channeled demonic power.
—Daniel is up there... and he's fighting alone!
However, hordes of Shadows emerged from the ground, blocking their path.
The tower itself seemed to reject the intervention of outsiders.
Both girls fought with everything they had, but soon they realized...
Tartarus wouldn't let them ascend.
Sona fell to her knees.
—Why...? Why can't I reach you?
Rias gritted her teeth, her fists bleeding.
—You have to come back... Daniel...
---
At Daniel's house, the tension was suffocating.
Reynare, Hibiki, Hikari, Alya, Sakura... all were gathered, looking out the window as if that gave them any solace.
—That energy... I've never felt it before — Alya whispered, trembling.
—He's fighting... against the end of the world — Hikari said, her voice breaking.
Tamamo wasn't with them. She was up there.
Unconscious.
—But... he promised us he'd return, right? — said Hibiki, with a broken smile.
Sakura, tightly holding a now-cold teacup, closed her eyes.
—Then... we'll wait for him.
And they all did.
All together.
Like a family.
Like the women who had given their love... to the only man who dared to fight a goddess.
---
The entire world held its breath.
The Fall had begun.
But the last warrior still stood, with bloodied fists, a wounded body, but a gaze more fiery than ever.
Daniel Hernández.
The human with a dragon's soul.
The one who said no to the end of the world.
The sky could hold no more darkness.
The moon seemed to weep blood.
Atop Tartarus, the final battlefield burned.
Daniel Hernández, covered in cuts, bruises, and blood, could barely stay standing.
Nyx, the goddess of the end, bled a black-silver energy that fell like stellar ash from her ethereal body.
Both watched each other...
Both knew everything would end with the next blow.
—Boost... Boost... BOOST... — the count of the Balance Breaker grew increasingly frantic.
—D-Daniel, stop! Your body won't withstand it! — Ddraig shouted from the depths of his wielder's soul.
But Daniel no longer listened.
His mind, his body, his soul...
Everything was concentrated on one thing:
> "Protect what he loves... even if it costs him his life."
Nyx, raising her hand with overflowing cosmic energy, also understood.
—Human... your stubbornness... is fascinating.
Both roared.
Both charged.
And then...
CLAAAASH!
Two titans collided.
The resulting explosion swept the sky.
Tartarus trembled.
The moon shuddered.
An eternal instant.
Daniel felt the ethereal cold steel of Nyx pierce his stomach.
He spat blood.
His eyes clouded.
But his fist, imbued with Advanced Armament Haki (Ryō) and Conqueror's Haki, struck with all his will directly into Nyx's chest.
The blow didn't just break bones: it shook her very essence.
—AAAHHHHHHH! — he screamed with his soul.
The goddess's chest caved in.
A dull crunch...
A flash.
Nyx...
Smiled.
—Then... so it ends...
Her body dissolved into particles of silver light.
The moon... stopped.
The sky... cleared.
And Tartarus... began to disappear.
Daniel fell to his knees.
Blood dripped uncontrollably.
His breath was unsteady.
Muscles, torn.
Consciousness, fading.
He barely managed to see how, wrapped in a soft glow, Yukari, Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Tamamo reappeared beside him.
The ground under their bodies was no longer the summit of Tartarus.
It was... the entrance of Kuoh Academy.
The Dark Hour was fading.
The clocks started moving again.
And just before his eyes closed...
Daniel saw an ethereal blue butterfly float before him.
Its glow was calming, gentle.
A voice without lips, without time, sounded deep in his soul:
> —Your struggle... has saved humanity... Daniel Hernández. You who defied fate, I give you my blessings...
It was Philemon.
And then...
—DANIEL!!
—DANIEL, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!
—HOLD ON!
Voices.
Familiar voices.
Rias and Sona, running desperately.
Tears falling as they knelt beside him.
—He's... alive... — Mitsuru whispered, exhausted.
—Tamamo is breathing too! — Yukari added, relieved.
Daniel could barely raise a smile...
A weak smile...
And then...
Darkness.