In Lak'ech's artwork, from Persona World Balance.
"An outlandish book by Mr. Kashihara and Ms. Ideal on Sumaru City as the origin of the Mayans. Contains the Oracle of Maia."
The In Lak'ech (translated as In-Laqetti in the Japanese versions) is a supposedly mystical tome of prophecies dictated by Tatsuya Sudou to Akinari Kashihara and Mrs Ideal, and is cowritten and compiled by the three. In reality, its contents were completely false until Nyarlathotep brought them to life when he manipulated Kashiahara's son to rechristen himself as Joker and form the Masked Circle, who then, alongside Sudou, spread the rumors out. According to Mrs. Ideal, "In Lak'ech" means "you are another me" and refers to the "entity" who she and Kashihara thought was speaking through Sudou.
Appearances[]
- Persona 2: Innocent Sin: Major artifact
- Persona 2: Eternal Punishment: Minor artifact
History[]
Tatsuya Sudou had always been troubled by mysterious voices resounding on his head, threatening to drive him insane. His teachers, Akinari Kashihara and Mrs. Ideal, believed the voices belonged to aliens wishing to enlighten mankind through triggering a mass extinction event, and wrote them down in the single volume that was In Lak'ech. In reality, the voices were all Nyarlathotep, orchestrating the downfall of Humanity. Worried that the prophecies will become truth, Kashihara and Ms. Ideal safeguarded the book in fear of the rumors within leaking out until Kashihara's untimely suicide. Nyarlathotep took advantage of this and manipulated his son Jun Kurosu into carrying the prophecies out by impersonating his father. Due to the false Kashihara's charismatic and confident nature compared to the real one, he was easily capable of tricking Jun into thinking that the prophecies written will lead to humanity evolving into transcendent lifeforms.
The major prophecies contained within the volume are the Oracle of Maia poem, and a text which tells of the new advent of the Last Battalion - a mythical ultra high-tech Nazi army returning for another bid for control of the world. Specifically, the book "revealed" the Nazis had been hiding in Antarctica, rebuilding their ranks and growing in power until they were ready to make their bid for global domination.
The events depicted in the book are themselves nonsensical rumors, but because of Nyarlathotep's curse, the Last Battalion is brought to reality from nothing in a bid for the power of Xibalba, and the Oracle of Maia becomes an actual apocalyptic event. With Nyarlathotep's direct intervention, the prophecy was fulfilled and a Grand Cross wipes out humanity, cementing the evil entity's victory. However, his victory was swiftly undone when Philemon recreated a new timeline.
In the Eternal Punishment timeline, the book was never written. However, it was found, strewn with other memorabilia of both Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment in Philemon's Extra Dungeon mode. It was one of the items required to restore Tatsuya Sudou's memory for the next scenario.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Okamura is largely correct in her translation, with the phrase "In Lak'ech" being a Mayan greeting used by priests. New Age writers such as Domingo Martínez Paredes link it to similar monotheism/unity Judeo-Christian themes.