Dark Hour



Dark Hour is a phenomenon that occurs in Persona 3. The Dark Hour appears every night as a hidden period of time emerging every midnight.

Profile
During the Dark Hour, the outside world is totally altered, mostly with respect to atmosphere and color. The buildings, the night sky, as well as the moon would assume a sickly green color, while bodies of water turn crimson. Puddles akin to blood pools will form in random surfaces as well, and all electrical appliances will cease to function. Normal humans will transmogrify into coffins and become oblivious to what is happening. Shadows become active during the Dark Hour and will attempt to lure humans out of their coffins in order to feed on their psyches, turning them into one of the Lost. If an ordinary human survives the Dark Hour without being attacked by a shadow, their memories would be erased instead.

Only those with the potential to invoke a Persona are able to stay fully active during to Dark Hour and resist shadow attacks; even if they sleep, their bodies will not transform into coffins, and will retain their memories. A known side effect of people able to experience the phenomena is a significant decrease in stamina; The longer they stay awake, the quicker they will become tired.

History
Before the occurrence of the Dark Hour 10 years ago, the Kirijo Group discovered the existence of Shadows. Upon realizing that they had the property to manipulate time and space, the group decided to perform experiments on them to to refine and acquire their powers, carrying out their project in the man-made Port Island, where a laboratory was built for such a purpose. During the course of conducting the research, the Kirijo Group mass-collected Shadows and found out the prophecy of The Fall, or the end of the world. Accepting death as a deliverance and following the wishes of their employer, the senior scientists began rejuvenating Death, the appriser of Nyx to descend on humanity to bring about the advent of The Fall.

During the final stages of Death's rejuvenation however, One senior researcher named Eiichiro Takeba opposed the efforts to initiate the The Fall, interrupting the experiment. As a result, Death was forcefully separated into thirteen distinct Shadows, each bearing their respective arcana, with the thirteenth shadow, Death in an incomplete state.

The remaining Shadows went berserk, destroying the lab and everyone within it. This in turn, made a significant impact on time continuum, creating the Dark Hour. In turn, a tower emerged from the ruins of the lab. This was Tartarus, considered the lair of the shadows.

To cover up the incident, the Kirijo Group put all of the blame on Eiichiro Takeba, altering all records of his findings and withholding all printed matter addressed to his family, making him an essential scapegoat for the tragic incident. The ruined laboratory was later rebuilt as Gekkoukan High School, but every time the Dark Hour occurs, Tartarus reemerges, altering the structure to use as it's own.

Full Moon Operations
During a Full Moon that occurs for the next few months, a fragment of Death reawakens (sometimes more than one), wishing to return to it's original body. S.E.E.S. is tasked to kill all of them as per their chairman's orders. The twelve fragments each represent a Major Arcana from the Tarot, starting from the 1st Tarot (Magician), to the 12th Tarot (Hanged Man).
 * Arcana Magician
 * Arcana Priestess
 * Arcana Emperor
 * Arcana Empress
 * Arcana Hierophant
 * Arcana Lovers
 * Arcana Chariot
 * Arcana Justice
 * Arcana Hermit
 * Arcana Fortune
 * Arcana Strength
 * Arcana Hanged Man