OK, you are probably all wondering where the letters for yesterday and today have been. Well, seeing how I have recently realized that I am using a lot of information in these letters that the majority of English-speaking fans has no access to, I have decided to share with you one of my primary sources that I refer to for questions regarding the inner working of the current Persona Universe:
Enter the “Persona 3 Club” Book (ペルソナ倶楽部 - P3 - Persona3). This book was released in December 2006, just a few months after the initial release of Persona 3. It is often mistakenly referred to as an “Artbook”, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
In reality, the first chapter of this book is a recap of Persona 1, Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, commented by Kazuma Kaneko. The majority of the following chapters contain character profiles of all of Persona 3’s characters and a collection of selected fanart and fanfic regarding the Main Characters, as well as the occasional Yonkoma.
However, what’s most interesting and relevant to me is the last chapter of the book. Pages 174 to 207 form the “World Guide Q&A”. This section, written by an Atlus Staff Member, reveals a lot of important backstory and supplementary information regarding the inner workings and rules of the current Persona Universe, especially regarding Nyx, Deities, Shadows, Plumes of Dusk, and much more. The Information given in this “World Guide” chapter is definitely canon. This is proven by the fact that, though this book was published in 2006, many of the concepts first mentioned in it have since implemented into the games. It indirectly explained Erebus before there was a P3FES, the Shadow Selves before there was a Persona 4, and a lot of information quickly dumped onto us in Ultimax actually originated from this book as well (and was also much better explained in it.) It can thus be assumed that Persona 5 is probably going to be using concepts from it as well.
Seeing how the “World Guide Q&A” is written in a dialog-style which fits quite well with the format of the letters on this blog, I’ve decided to translate it in the same way I’m writing letters for this blog, using sprites instead of names to indicate who is speaking. Aside from that, this is an absolutely authentic translation of the book’s contents, as far as my abilities allowed it, and I am paying great attention to not mistranslate anything that is said, so this translation will be usable as a reference for the Fandom
That said, enough with the introductions! Follow me under the cut to take a look at facts about the Persona Series that were never officially released for an English-Speaking audience! Have fun and enjoy! ♪
Questions covered in this Part:
In a world as vast and grand as that of Persona 3, the many questions often beg yet more questions. That’s why we have decided to allow the characters of this same game to answer many of these questions for you, regardless of topic and theme!
Welcome to Shuji Ikutsuki’s…
…And Aigis’
Persona 3 Q&A!
Well, then, shall we begin? I, the foremost authority in the Kirijo Group’s Shadow Research, as well as the chairman of the Gekkoukan Schools…
…And I, as an humanoid Anti-Shadow-Suppression-Weapon, will now make use of the combined expertise of our positions to answer everyone’s questions.
However, Ikutsuki-san, I have to ask…
Hm? What is it, Aigis?
I distinctly recall you falling from the school observatory’s roof and subsequently deceasing. Why is it that you are here?
Now, let’s not lose your suspension of disbelieve so quickly, Aigis. The “me” you are currently seeing before you is not the same “me” you knew from the main plot of our game, but a character who exists solely for the purposes of the Q&A. That is why my revival is merely a trivial detail, and you also shouldn’t sweat it if my personality happens to be a little different from how you remember it. Please, do not let these trifles bother you.
Your personality…? Does that mean that you will no longer be speaking in puns?
I never said that.
Tsk…
N-Now, Aigis…! When did you become such a rude girl…?
I believe the necessary phrase here is “Do not let these trifles bother you.” Let us finally begin with with the Q&A. Otherwise I will have to consider designating you the next target of my 5-Barrel Medusa.
Hm, now how to say this… I’m not exactly ‘aiming’ to be a 'target’! Ha Ha! In any case, let us proceed to the first question!
In order to speak about this, we need to take a step back and look at our planet’s prehistory first. In ancient times, there existed a gigantic living being, the size of a celestial body, drifting through outer space in a dormant state. We call such a being a “Star Eater”. At a certain point in time, this being collided with a planet which had only just begun to develop its first forms of life — Earth. The chance of this happening was merely one in several Million — no, Billion. In any case, this event can be seen as the first contact between Nyx and earth’s lifeforms.
So, Nyx was born in extraterrestrial space? It seems miraculous that the planet was not destroyed by this kind of impact.
Of course, you are correct. The matter Nyx was composed of existed under physical laws which defy those of earth. Even the mere collision alone brought tremendous results with itself. In any case, the debris broken off in the shock of the collision entered earth’s orbit and became our moon. As Nyx’ psyche, which exists in a wave-like state, was left behind on earth, her physical body was enclosed in the moon alongside the debris. However, you see, the psyche was the far more problematic part of this being to begin with.
The waves of Nyx’s psyche, which spread across the planet, stood in harsh contradiction with the life already existing on it and threatened to eliminate said life entirely. Of course, the still very primitive, survival-instinct driven lifeforms of earth made attempts to resist these 'Waves of Death’. As a result of this, the lifeforms of earth entered a period of explosive evolution, and developed coping-strategies to resist Nyx, weapons against her. The crown of this development was a plane of shared information between all living beings on earth, the so-called “Collective Unconscious”.
A plane of information…? How exactly could such a thing act as a weapon? Does it contain a form of tremendous power, strong enough to eliminate Nyx?
No, no, you misunderstand. You see, the life existing on earth had sealed the energy of Nyx’ psyche within this Collective Unconscious. What acted as the source of power needed to seal this energy were opposing thoughts, such as the desire not to die or the fear of death itself, which suppressed deadly effects of Nyx’ spirit. It is quite the irony of fate that Nyx, who was meant to embody the demise of all life on earth, ended up becoming the catalyst that allowed for earth’s living beings to evolve into lifeforms with complex, sentient psyches. It should be mentioned that the greek goddess “Nyx”, who our Nyx takes her name from, is portrayed as a maternal goddess, embodying a powerful Mother-Archetype. So you see, the knowledge of the truth that in a way we are all Nyx’ children has probably been with people since old times.
It seems very profound.
If you consider it this way, my ability to make such clever jokes and puns, too, is something we must thank Nyx for.
How unforgivable of Nyx.
Aigis, must you hurt me so…? Well, leaving this all aside, the fact of things was that as long as living beings — especially humans, who hold the most powerful, complex psyches — kept living in fear of death, Nyx should have remained sealed. In our story, however, unfortunately— Ahhh, I mean 'fortunately’, the leader of our S.E.E.S. managed to just barely avoid the worst-case scenario of a revival of Nyx and resealed her by making use of his acquired “Universe”-Arcana. What a waste…
There do appear to be people who do not mind their own death… May I also ask, what did become of this so-called 'physical body’ of Nyx?
After it had become one with the Moon, the body, which had been wounded in the collision, proceeded to gradually heal itself. I am not entirely sure, but it is very possible that by the time of our story the healing process was already just about completed. However, in its current state the body is but a mere shell. Until its psyche is freed from its seal, it will remain in idle waiting. After the battle against the Nyx Avatar, Nyx’ body began to descend onto the planet, called by its psyche. But after the seal was placed, it has once more returned to being our non-threatening, friendly, smiling moon.
Yes, what exactly was it?
As I have stated before, it is the event of Nyx’ Psyche, which is sealed in our Collective Unconscious, being liberated of its binds and becoming free. Moreover, if this were to happen, the moon, which is merged with Nyx’s physical body, would unite with Nyx’s psyche, returning her to her original form. This would be this planet’s doom and thus the end of the world as we know it — The Fall. In reality, this event has already almost occurred many times in world history.
Is that so?
Imagine, for example, a large-scale war or the break-out of an epidemic. In such cases, many people begin to think of and consider the possible end of the world. They begin to hate life, the mere thought of continuing to live. If this happens, the powers that repress Nyx are weakened, as people no longer fear death, thus bringing the world closer to The Fall.
The “Prophecy” I spoke about in our story was a recording of many such occurrences from many points in human history. Using the hints in this document, I was able to find a method to free Nyx! Isn’t this amazing?
As amazing as it may be, it cannot be permitted or even encouraged.
*sob*
However… How were people in ancient times, when S.E.E.S. did not yet exist, able to avert The Fall?
Ah, a very good question. You see, when it originally only were hundreds or thousands of people wishing for death, the negative effect this had on the seal were only very small. After all, there are many more people than just that in the world, aren’t there? The combined death-wish of these few thousand people did not suffice to break Nyx’ binds. Moreover, people continued to give birth to abstract existences within the Collective Unconscious, which furthered the human evolution even more.
This is all rather complicated.
To make it simple, this is what gave birth to mythology and religion. Certainly, you know many stories of malevolent deities or demons being defeated by benevolent deities of virtues, which protect our world? These existences we call “gods” protect the balance in the suppressed, unconscious parts of our psyche. Their providence plays an important role in strengthening the seal against Nyx. However, in an age of scientific revolutions, where such religious believes in people fade, the effect of this providence, too, weakens, and then there are also people who desire the End of the World precisely because of their faith. Especially in societies which have entered the information age, local negative developments which further the coming of the fall just a little bit, can end up spreading across the entire world in the blink of an eye, exponentially worsening an effect that was originally only supposed to be limited to a small portion of people. The Fall, as it occurred in our story, may have been initiated by the experiments of the Kirijo Group, however, even if this had not happened, it is very possible that The Fall might already have been coming in the near future…
Or you may also say that sooner or later, things just 'Fall’ into place! Wouldn’t you agree?
If you are referring to the sound of me loading new bullets into my right hand’s “Kiss of Athena”, then, yes. These will be *shot* into place very well.
*sniffle* It’s so hard to find a receptive audience these days. Do you want my soul to call for Nyx again?
A good reason to use a flashlight.
The “S” was capitalized.
*bang!*
-OUCH! Aigis, that hurt! Umm… well, then. To answer seriously, Shadows are parts of Nyx.
Does that mean that they are, in fact, not to be seen as her underlings or children?
On the previous page, I explained how Nyx was suppressed in the depths of the Collective Unconscious of all living beings, correct? In other words, Nyx is located in the deepest depths of the unconscious of the psyche of every single living being.
That appears to be the case, yes.
Now, I want you to picture the following: Assume that a certain living being, let us say, Junpei Iori-kun, for example, ends up thinking the following: “Oh man, I totally screwed up that test again~! How am I 'spossed to keep on living as such a loser?” The moment he has such thoughts on his mind, his unconscious would momentarily cease to resist Nyx. Now, what do you suppose would happen in such a case?
If this were to happen, then the “Nyx” in Junpei-san’s heart would surely emerge, even if just for a moment.
Exactly. The part of him that is “Nyx” would emerge from his unconscious into his conscious mind. These fragments of Nyx’ psyche resting in our own are what Shadows truly are.
However, for being parts of something like Nyx, the Shadows surely don’t seem to be particularly well-organized or skilled.
Because they are only very small fragments. They may be petty, however, they hold some special abilities and as they are beings existing in a state of pure thought and emotion, they cannot be destroyed by conventional means alone. Aside from that, however, they are not an especially impressive force on their own. Still, the information and energy contained in these existences we call “Shadows” is essential to the beings they dwell in.
Which means…?
First of all, in order to make the Shadows, which were originally fragments of Nyx, part of their own psyches, the lifeforms of our current earth were required to greatly limit their individual lifespans.
However, I was under the impression that it was perfectly normal for a living being to have a limited lifespan…?
This is the common knowledge about life in its current form, yes. However, the lifeforms in most ancient times were primitive. Unicellular organisms, such as amoebas, could split thir cells and multiply for limitless times, and as long as they were not devoured by other organisms, they also would not die. Earlier, I explained how contact with Nyx triggered explosive evolution in the lifeforms on our planet, however, it seems that this evolution demanded to be repaid by placing a limit on our lifespans.
Aside from this, there is also another important point. The Shadows we hold in our psyches themselves are not just mere prisoners, but have become an essential part of the inner structure of our minds. Without a Shadow, a mind — especially one as highly complex as that of a human being — cannot function properly and ceases to work, as if it had been lost entirely.
Wait… Could this possibly mean…?
Why, yes. The poor fools who have been struck with Apathy Syndrome and become but shadows of their former selves have in actuality all lost the parts of their psyches that contained fragments of Nyx — their Shadows.
I see…
I believe the answer should now be obvious. Shadows have never actually been devouring people. Shadows are born of humans and, if that happens, said people become empty shells — “Shadow Men”, if you so will. The illusion that Shadows “eat” people is created because this phenomenon occurs when people are pulled into the Dark Hour. To a mere observe, the Shadows they give birth to appear to be following or attacking the host, and since these people always become victims of Apathy Syndrome, this falsely creates the impression that the Shadows must have devoured the psyches of these people.
In our story, Fuuka-kun’s friend, Natsuki-kun, was said to have heard a Shadow’s voice calling for her when she was dragged into the Dark Hour, but in reality, what she heard was her own voice — The voice of her Shadow, that is. People who hide their fears deep in their hearts and try to forget about death, living without goal or guide, end up following the wishes of the Shadows in their hearts and wander into the Dark Hour, where they become empty shells… Quite a frightening thought, isn’t it? However, Natsuki-kun’s case is a special exception. She found new determination to live and oppose death due to her experiences in the Dark Hour, and was thus able to leave without becoming a Shadow Man. This is an incredibly rare occurrence, but people who manage to do this do exist as well! Aren’t humans fascinating?
…I am beginning to wish I was able to leave as well. May we proceed to the next question?
Much rather, I would like to have you returned to the lab, so they can take a good look at you. I do not like the way you have been talking to me… *sob*
Copyright: ATLUS, Famitsu
Translation: nenilein