I'm okay with the fused ideas. Maybe the Muses are fragments of Humanity's creativity?<br/><br/>Just an observation, If this is a debate that's spilled it's banks, the Muses include all Arts, including Rhetoric. What better way to hold a debate that might destroy Humanity that poison it's ability to fight back? And it destroys creativity, one of Humanity's greatest resources, as a side benefit? Narly likes!<br/><br/>The Hush and the Din are symptoms. Just like Apathy Syndrome was in P3. It's a strange mental phenomenon that is a (growing) cause of concern for the public. The Scratch isn't thought to be Apathy Syndrome. But it is thought to be similar to the Psychotic Breakdowns that plauged Japan during the time of the Phantom Thieves.<br/><br/>I like the idea that the Muses have a physical avatar in reality, and to save them we need to change their cognition. By playing music/making art, in a world were art is blasé or even illegal. I'll build on that in a moment.<br/><br/>For some reason, I imagine us fighting giant demonic earworms (literally 'der Ohrwurm') who are are literally whispering poison to the Muses, turning them from creation to destruction. What if the Muses are suffering from the Scratch?<br/><br/>Those Earworms are Narly's true plan. Narly knew that he'd never be able to steal the Muses, but it does make for a good distraction. My I introduce to you the concept of the Overton Window, where one can shift public opinion thought the act of first making outrageous demands and then following up with a less extreme demand. Narly is trying to basically ghostlight humanity into killing itself through the accumulated cognitive poison (e.g.: like (self-)hatred, jealousy, worthlessness) these Earworms have spread. The poison is so subtitle we see it in action and don't even react to it.<br/><br/>Imagine after we beat the first boss, someone makes a Bad Song Prison. People nominate songs that are atrocious, and if it gets enough support it's banned on campus. And it grows. The songs that are being put in each round become a little less bad each time, and then the Bad Song Prison becomes actual law, and then at the end music itself is banned.<br/><br/>P5 had a 7 Deadly Sins theme to it's villains. Taking a page from that playbook, I propose that our arc-villains be Ten Comandments themed, with Narlyhotep being the violation of the 1st Commandment - Idolatry (I am God, have no other gods before me. Do not worship graven images or idols.) (Narly fits the whole 'A GOD is me! Bow before my power!" trope.).<br/><br/>This means that we'd need a Blasphoney Boss (...use my Name in vain), Reverse Sloth (...do labor on the Sabbath), Disrespect (Honor thy Father and Mother.), Homocide (...kill /...shall do no murder), Adultery (...commit adultery), Theft...(...steal) Lying (...bear false witness) and Jealousy (...covet #lots_of_examples).