AN/N: Hello again everyone, another chapter for reading.

Once again, thanks for all the reviews and comments; they're really helpful. Though I wanted to address some of them.

I agree with your words, Kinaki747. After going through another playthrough of P3P, I did realize that people can represent different Arcana. Akihiko and Shinjiro are perfect examples, since Akihiko's Persona represents the Emperor Arcana while his Social Link is the Star, while the latter's Persona represents the Hierophant, but his Social Link is the Moon. Aigis would make sense in this case.

Regarding the seemingly strange tone of speaking for the dialogue and wording of this entire story, I do apologize. I normally don't write like this, but the reason why I was doing so was because I was trying to interpret a way to how Aigis herself would speak. Prior to gaining proper emotions, her dialogue was robotic and high in vocabulary, though over time is has gotten more relaxed. Perhaps I should look into Persona 4 Arena and Ultimax and see what would suit her best based on her inner dialogue. Other than though, I'll start writing how I usually do from this forth onwards.

For Aigis' Social Links, I do plan to involve some of the Phantom Thieves as some of the representatives, but I plan to bring back some old characters to fill in the for the 22 total Arcana.

Now, for the topic of the Shadow Operatives entering the Metaverse on their own, I have a few ideas. I'm thinking that either Fuuka or someone back in the Kirijo Group could hack into one of the Phantom Thieves' phones and extract the data from the Meta-Nav, or like Sociallinksora proposed, used the pseudo Dark-Hour device to create an effect similar to entering the Metaverse. Well…it's those two, or I can have Elizabeth do some shenanigans as she always does as a ruler of power. "Igor" is the one that actually gives out the application after all.

And that should be it for the time being. Let me know what you think of this chapter.

Also, I'm seriously excited for P5R, though mostly I was nearly crying due to seeing the Protagonists from P3 and P4… YOU GET TO GET WRECKED BY FUSION-SPELLS I HOPE?! ARMAGEDDON!

The Phantom Angel

Chapter 3: A Different Side of Reality

…

April 2016, mid-month profile storing process initiating.

Replaying saved transmission contents.

…

…

Files successfully identified, replaying messages:

It hadn't occurred to me until after I had discovered this new 'world' with the others... We hadn't previously discussed much about the conditions to why Tartarus and the TV World had appeared, mostly because we already had so much info on the former, and that the latter was difficult to explain to the average person. If I were to elucidate in my own understanding, these worlds were manifested, or had already existed, due to the everlasting existence of the human unconscious. Rather, while attending my own journey, Igor-san would refer to this phenomenon as the Sea of Souls, a universal setting that linked together the souls of the many connected by the collective unconscious.

Tartarus was a sort of…infection prompted out from the Sea of Souls, leaking into the real world due to the concentrated amount of Shadows that the Kirijo Group had gathered together during that incident well over a decade ago. By manipulating the hearts of mankind, they dared to try and temper with supernatural entities and control them, leading to the fabled accident.

Evidently, now that I am remembering all of this, I recall some words that Narukami-san and Shirogane-san had once told me, which also prompted myself to relieve memories of the Great Seal.

The TV World, better properly known as the Midnight Channel, was proposed to be another part of the Sea of Souls, primarily targeting the collective desire to the learning of truth and the wishes of the people. The reason why these phenomena occurred in the first place was because of the collective unconscious's hidden desire to see these wishes be granted. Wishing to stop the sufferings they face in their daily lives, and by turning into Shadows or yearning for death, they yearn for an underlying reality where their needs would be taken care for, whether forcefully or not.

What these entities did not take into mind however was the potential of humanity: the small, but prideful representation of those who weren't tempted by such conditions. Persona users, such as those in SEES and the Shadow Operatives, or that of the Investigation Team, confronted their inner desires for the hope that humanity could make their own decisions and have their own will to live and go on.

Nyx and the Great Seal were dominating examples. Now that my memories served me correctly, when we arrived in that starry world and confronted Erebus, it seemed at first to be simply 'space'… We were in fact standing firm and straight right in the middle of the Sea of Souls itself. Because Nyx and Erebus both represent two universal aspects of life, the concept of Death and the coming and yearning for Death respectively, it would make sense that they would exist within the seemingly endless ocean of souls. Knowing that the vast sea contained many strayed individuals, my beloved friend took it upon himself to prevent the mass incarnate from achieving their dangerous temptations.

In response to his sacrifice, it would be our duty to create a world where the people stop longing for The Fall, or to stop longing for their lives to be concealed and unwilling to move on with a truthful goal in life.

I shall never give up. For his sake, and for the sake of my friends. After all, I exist to protect, as is revolves around my name, Aigis.

…

…

End of data entry. Shadow Operative serial #5, signing off.

…

April 11th, 2016. After School.

It was now the final period for the day. Most of the class periods we had prior to this were review or introductory lessons, things that I had already learned about. For Ken-kun and Labrys however, it was a bit fulfilling for them to acknowledge the fact that the former was actually completing his final year of high school, while the latter was experiencing was it was meant to be to act like a student while also blending in with the populace. As the final bell rang out throughout our classroom and out of the entirety of the facility, our teacher got up to lecture us on a few things that we ought to remember, before baring farewell to us and leaving the classroom.

It did not take long for me to recollect my possessions and stand up, but before the three of us could leave the classroom, Nijima-san stood up and turned towards us.

"Ah, Arisato-san… Er, I mean, Aigis-san." She corrected herself, knowing that Labrys and I shared the last surname. "Are you busy after school?"

The three of us turn to face her. Was she intending to invite us out? It would be a good idea to get a better understanding of the area. Even if she weren't… I suppose the experience would still allow me to memorize the school's layout. Glancing at Ken-kun and Labrys, they both gave me an approving nod, prompting me to face back at her.

"No, not in particular. We were really just thinking of looking around the area to oversee the local attractions." I replied. "Did you need something?"

"In fact, I was thinking of something similar to you, though for something relatively nearby." Nijima-san smiles, contrary to her questioning. "It might not be the entirety of Tokyo, but I was wondering if you three would take an offer to have me show you the sights and areas of the school? If you don't mind, that is. I'm assuming that you three are still a bit confused as to where and what everything is."

"That's true…" Ken-kun replies. "Sure, we can go with that, right?"

"Yeah, sure!" Labrys smiles.

I nodded, but it was then that when Nijima-san picked up her bag, I noticed that her expression was a bit troubled. Raising my brow in response, I figured that she may have been using this opportunity to relief herself of some bothering experience. Not that I mind, however.

She responds with a heartful smile a moment later, slinging her bag's straps over onto her shoulder. "Alright then. Let's start from the entrance, shall we?"

With that in mind, the four of us began to follow through and exit the classroom.

And as expected, the Student Council President of Shujin Academy was very professional in the way she acted, but in a way… It wasn't in the same demeanor to how Mitsuru-san acted as the Student Council President of Gekkoukan High. Instead of going through her own pace and acting all as an actual leader on her own, in my eyes, it looked as though she was trying to appeal her way up the hierarchal ladder of the school's system, though it didn't seem to be a conscious decision by her own person. Perhaps it was a complex on her own side?

Approaching the school entrance, Nijima-san began to point out various things from the outside. The shrubbery, the surrounding neighborhood; while the information was useful indeed, as she went off with her lecture-like touring, it was then that I noted off another certain student who was wearing the red and white gym uniform of the school. She was the student that sat next to Labrys. I believe her name was…

"…Okumura-san?"

I walked over to her, standing next to her person. I took a look towards what she was endeavoring to do. She was attempting to push a cart filled to the brim with hefty bags of fertilizer, not even giving it a nudge despite her best efforts.

"Come… On! Please… Move!" She grunts hopelessly, before nearly jumping in shock at the mention of her surname. "Hyah?!"

"Oh, my apologies. I did not mean to startle you." I quickly acclaim words of apologies. Blinking a few times, she gives off a small sigh before giving me a small giggle.

"Ah, my bad…" She admits. "You are… Aigis-san, correct? I don't believe I've properly introduced myself. I'm Haru Okumura. But please, just call me Haru."

I respond with a nod, my eyes then glancing over to the heavy piles of fertilizer bags. Haru-san notices my gesture, before also turning over to them. "Oh! Um… Would you happen to be interested in gardening?"

Gardening… It reminded me of when Yukari-san and I visited the former Kirijo Group lab station. It had turned into a greenhouse over a long period of time and abandonment, but it also gave a sense of gentle comfort for my lost sisters.

"Yes." I then respond with a tender smile. "It's a gentle activity done to respect the stages of life, as well as those significant to your lifetime and growth as a person."

"Yes, yes!" Haru-san responds with a happy grin, before sheepishly twirling her fingers. "Er… If it's not too trouble, could you help me unload this? I wanted to attend to the shrubbery around here for their daily maintenance, but I'm not that…"

"Surely." I respond, knowing the gist of the situation.

"Oh, I can carry some as—Oh. Huh… That's…impressive, Aigis-san."

Before she could respond, I sauntered over to the bags of fertilizer, lifting them all up with a single arm… Hmm, if I had to compare the weight, it would be just a tad bit under what my beloved friend weighted... Strange, did I ever carry my beloved friend before? Now that I think about it, my own memories are a bit fuzzy about any kind of correlation to it, but it would seem that my body remembers the sensation somehow.

Nevertheless, whilst blistering under the effect of Haru-san's amazement at my supposed supernatural strength, I carried the luggage to the nearby hedging, gently placing them down in an upright position.

"T-Thank you. You sure are strong, Aigis-san." Said jersey wearing girl said. "Do you train?"

"Train?" I think to myself for a moment. Specifically saying, I only trained my mental and phycological thinking, as well as the abilities of my Persona. In terms of physical strength, my parameters are determined by the type of body that I utilize. Compared to my old modeled body, I suppose that even though this one resembles a more or less fragile form, the power behind it would be the same, or greater if this was supposed to be an upgrade.

But in terms of training, I suppose that fighting against Shadows would count, so I nodded after confirming my thoughts. "Yes. Back at where Labrys and I lived, it was key that we kept up our physical form. We also tended to perform gracious amounts of cardiovascular activities, typically with long sessions of walking or running to various places."

Haru-san was a bit taken back by my remark again. "O-Oh, I see… That's nice, you get to go around to pretty much everywhere you please I'm assuming?"

"Indeed. It is a wondrous experience. I believe that in order to truly live, one should have the ability and freedom to perform activities that they wouldn't have the chance to do so normally." I say.

However, while Haru-san did seem to be in agreement, as I looked upon her face, there seemed to be a tone of sadness on it. Was it perhaps something I said? I would of like to ask her, but I feel as though it would have been awkward to get to something so personal. If I had to guess in the long run though, it would be her situation as being the sole family member of the famed Okumura family, being the only daughter and only child of its CEO. To be quite frank, her situation would sort of be like Mitsuru-san's, granted that Okumura Foods wasn't involved in trying to harness the abilities of supernatural phenomenon and the calling of a Death God to our world.

I digress though. Looking at Haru-san, I decided to end the conversation, bearing her a friendly farewell before turning back to the others; and to my own disbelief, Nijima-san was still going on with her speech. I snickered a little upon seeing Labrys' disordered expressions. Even Ken-kun was trying to keep a straight face with how much information that our fellow senior was giving out.

As I began stroll back to them, I glanced my eyes back to Haru-san. While her expression wasn't back completely to its puffy self, it was looking a bit better now that she was attending to her hobby. I could see a small smile on her face growing by the moment. Perhaps I could talk with her again sometime, or maybe even establish a Social Link?

Returning, Nijima-san immediately turned to frown at me. "Aigis-san? Where were you?"

"Helping out someone with luggage." I answer with a tone of vagueness in my voice. I didn't want Haru-san to get involved with anything else for the time being.

The answer seemed to be satisfactory for Nijima-san, who merely shrugged as she turned back towards the school.

"Very well then. Anyhow, how about I give you all a tour of the other facilities? Maybe some of the various clubs or sports teams?"

"…"

"…"

Today was going to be a long day indeed.

…

Evening

After a painstakingly long tour of the school, the three of us had finally returned home to our residence in Ginza, barring a somewhat heartful farewell from Shujin's Student Council President.

On the bright side, awaiting us was Koromaru and Saikawa-san, the former barking happily as well as running circles around us as we entered through the main hallway. Both Labrys and Ken-kun went to appropriate him with their desired pets and fluffery as we all took a seat in the living room.

"Welcome back." Saikawa-san greets us as we all take a seat. "So, how was your first day?"

"It was pretty cool!" Labrys grins widely. "But… I could've gone without all the staring and such."

"Well, the two of you are quite contrasting compared to the average Japanese student." Ken-kun notes with a smirk. "Besides, out of all the students there, you two are some of the only ones that look like foreigners. I heard there's a second year with foreign blood. I think her name was… Takamaki?"

"Really now?" Labrys turns to him. "What, is she pretty or something?"

"I've only heard some bits and parts from when Nijima-san was dragging us around, but apparently she works as a model for her part-time job… However, as a person herself, she seems to be spoken about in a generally negative way." Ken-kun replies. "It's more like they're berating her for her looks and origins, though I don't know if it's out of jealousy or hatred."

"That's certainly an interesting event." Saikawa-san nods, before turning to me. "How about you, Aigis? Did you discover anything today?"

I nod, which prompted Ken-kun's and Labrys' expressions to change once I donned a formal look.

"Affirmative. We have confirmed the existence of a Persona user in Shujin Academy." I reveal, acknowledging a widening in Saikawa-san's eyes. "And not just that, but the Persona belongs to that of the Fool Arcana."

"Are you serious?" She responds, hands on her knees. "Are you absolutely positive?"

"100%!" Labrys confirms. "Sister and I even wore our specialized visors to see the Persona's form whilst it wasn't materialized. It sorta looked like…a thief, though a bit freaky in a sense."

Saikawa-san takes in all of this information, nodding a few times before reaching into her phone. "Very well. You seem to be familiar with this student, I assume?"

We all nod, prompting her to text a message to a certain leader of ours. After doing so, she stares straight at us before standing up. "Then we can finally get started on our mission."

With that in mind, Saikawa-san took on a straight posture as she stood up. She gestured for us to follow, prompting the four of us to gallantly trail into her own room on the first floor. It wasn't anything special, but it did have the proper appearance for the person who was Mitsuru-san's personal maid and childhood friend. Their tastes were a bit similar in that regard, but that wasn't the thing we were there for.

"What's all this for?" Ken-kun asks with a curious expression on his face.

"Equipment for the three…no, four of you." Saikwawa-san answers. "Aigis and Labrys should already have their weapons, but Amada-kun and Koromaru still need to be endorsed with some weaponry for our upcoming operations, plus the four of you all need armor as well. Here, take a look."

Taking hold of a large wooden container, she uncovers the lid to reveal four individual boxes. She quickly hands each of them to us, allowing us a moment to open them up. I was quite surprised by what I saw, not by how formal it looked mind you, but also by how…normal it seemed to look in appearance.

"Armor? Aren't these just typical Shadow Operative uniforms?" Labrys tilts her head upon holding her out outfit in the open. Shadow Operative uniforms consisted of jet-black blazers and slacks with bits of armored coverings. They also held a few openings for medicinal supplies, and for those with the ability to wield Personas, there was also a sling for keeping one's Evoker.

"Yes, but we've outfitted them to be even stronger than before, we've experienced too many casualties due to a lack of serious protection. Also, we thought it would be better for you all to better disguise yourselves, so there's a few more additional functionalities." Our advisor answers, turning around for a moment before doing so once more to show us a few curious masks, enough only to cover our upper faces however.

"Masks?" I say aloud. "Are these really necessary? I doubt that we would need them."

"Better safe than sorry. If this new Shadow Nest is anything like Tartarus or the Midnight Channel, then who knows the location from which you guys can enter. With how populated Tokyo is, there's a risk that the public may accidentally discover your identities. That could compromise everyone and everything."

"I see…" I forget how blunt that Saikawa-san can be sometimes. Not that it's a bad thing though.

"Wait, I get how we'll be able to wear disguisable armor, but what about our weapons? I doubt that we can just roam around carrying giant double-bladed axes and spears in the middle of the streets." Ken-kun argues, bringing forth another valid point.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that we've developed compactible versions of your weapons along with the new upgrades?" It was then that Saikawa-san gave him a cheeky smirk, twirling a small, black cylinder in her hand. Pointing it out towards us, it nearly extended out towards my face as it grew out to the length of a fully embellished spear.

Labrys nearly fell over from seeing how close it was to me. "G-Geez! I didn't that you were a bit on the other side like Mitsuru-san!"

"Well, enough about that." Our purple haired maid quickly reverts back to her stoic face as the extendable spear regresses back to its compacted form. "I'm assuming that none of you have any other complaints then?"

We all remained silent, though mostly due to the shocking flash in emotional responses that our pseudo-leader showed to us. Regardless though, I was quite satisfied by how prepared this next operation was going to be. Weapons and armor, utilities to blend in with the crowd, tools to gather information; the only thing we have to do now is actually start the investigation. Meaning…

'…Looks like I'm going to have to show my true tailing skills once more.' I decided. I wonder if my beloved friend would think negatively to me expertly stalking someone in the middle of the capital of Tokyo. He was already pretty unsettled by the fact that I stalked him all the way up to his room back during the Kyoto trip. I could hear some strange music playing in my mind as I thought of the would-be scenario.

…

April 12th, 2016.

Today was officially the start of our mission.

Our objective: secure connections to the Tokyo Persona user(s) and the entrance to the newly spawned Shadow Nest. Prioritize investigations rather than direct confrontation, but in the case that we must infer ourselves on the former, make our actions as discreet as possible.

With that in mind, it was simply a case of waiting for our classes to end. Luckily for us, today was a rainy day, which would be even better for allowing the four of us to sneak up on Kurusu-kun. Unfortunately for Koromaru though, the poor thing had to survive in the rain for a while. Luckily, when we began to exit the facility, we found him standing near the school entrance under a building's cover, wagging his tail anxiously as he wore his new equipment. It consisted of a black Kevlar vest for canines, and he also wore his custom-made Evoker collar, now designed to resemble an actual collar.

People were giving him odd looks, but I suppose it was mostly due to the fact that he was wearing policing equipment, and the detail that Koromaru was an albino shiba inu.

"Koro-chan!" Labrys grinned, picking him up. He licked her face a few times before being put down.

"Alright, now that we're all here, let's wait for Kurusu-kun to step out." Ken-ken advised. Acknowledging a nod from all of us, we proceeded to wait at the school gates.

It took a little bit of time, but after a good while of playing with Koromaru and idle chatter, my eyes caught a familiar head of fluffy, unkept hair. Glancing in the corner of my eyes, I nudged everyone else as another familiar student met up with him. It was the same blond haired, vulgar looking boy from yesterday.

"Yo." He greets Kurusu-kun. "Got a minute?"

A pleasant expression of surprise was shown on Kurusu-kun's face, but he didn't appear to be bothered by the boy's appearance. "Sure. What's up?"

Glancing around a few times, the blond boy folds his arms up, leaning towards his friend's direction in a discreet matter. "…I wanna talk about that castle from yesterday."

We all looked over in response to that phrasing. A castle? What did he mean? Did Kurusu-kun and his friend possibly wander off into another world just as we thought? I turn around to face Kurusu-kun, whose face was turning to a sterner one as he nodded for his friend to go on.

"I… I tried tellin' myself that it was all a dream, but I just couldn't do it, you know?" He reveals with an ecstatic tone. "And besides, I can't act like nothing happened! This is all connected to that bastard Kamoshida, after all."

"Kamoshida… Does he mean the P.E. teacher? He's the coach for the Volleyball Team, right?" Labrys whispers. We all nod in response as we continue to listen in.

"Yeah, that's true." Kurusu-kun nods. "What're you thinking about though, Sakamoto-kun?"

"Come on man, just call me Ryuji!" The blond boy snickers with a playful look, but quickly reverts back to a serious voice. "But anyways… I wanna find out what's up with that place, no matter what. And y'know, you're the only person I can rely on for this stuff. So, you in?"

Kurusu-kun nods, admitting to his own curiosity as well. "Yeah, I'm still wondering about that myself. The castle, that unsightly version of Kamoshida… And those powers I gained… Persona, was it?"

"Oh? Hey, looks like I managed to talk some sense into you!" Sakamoto-kun grins with a pleasant smile. "Alright, then how about we retrace our steps back from yesterday? It was the school that was the castle I think, but maybe something might've caused us to wander in."

"What, like a portal?" Kurusu-kun jokes with a smile.

"Heck, it could be for all we know." Sakamoto-kun shrugs. "Anyhow, in the meantime, you were walkin' towards the station, right? Let's go together then. Lemme know if you notice anything weird, aight?"

With another nod from Kurusu-kun, the duo proceeded to walk down the opposite street. Over the next few minutes, we then proceeded to follow them, relying on Koromaru to keep a proper distance away. It was a bit strange though; Kurusu-kun and Sakamoto-kun were wandering around quite aimlessly, venturing from the Yongen station and all the way back to the school. They even went through and took some shortcuts, cutting through some alleyways and other small openings.

However, it proved naught in the end. Approaching Shujin Academy for the third time, Sakamoto-kun leaned down in dismay near the gate, with Kurusu-kun glancing at him with a slightly annoyed look on his face as we watched from a nearby alleyway.

"For real…?" He groans, taking a look at the large building. "I… Is it actually smaller than we think it is? What do you think?"

Kurusu-kun cups his chin, thinking of an answer for a moment before turning back to Sakamoto-kun. "Have you tried checking your phone?"

"Nope, I already did that. Nothing like the castle ever showed up on my GPS or anything location related." The blond revealed…before widening his eyes. "Wait… Phone…"

"Hm?" Kurusu-kun blinked a few times in question.

"It was your phone, wasn't it?!" Sakamoto-kun suddenly says in realization. "Didn't you have that weird navigation app thingy on, back then?"

"Navigation app…" Kurusu-kuns a lock of his hair, before also widening his eyes as he takes his phone out from his pocket. "Oh!"

"I'm not sure if it was actually that app thingy, but I heard stuff coming from your phone that sounded like we were traveling to some weird destination." The blond answers back with remembrance, the two of them taking a look through the various applications from Kurusu-kun's phone. "It said stuff like "returned to the real world", or something like that?"

We took a few moments to take all of this in. Taking point to their conversation, we could follow through with the following: the Shadow Nest in Tokyo, or rather, a supernatural destination, did indeed exist, and an entrance lied around the usage of a strange phone application of all things. However, since it only appeared on Kurusu-kun's phone… Perhaps there could've been some tinkering by Igor-san? If I recall correctly, Narukami-san revealed that even before he obtained his Persona, he was given the power to travel into the televisions by an outside factor.

After a few moments of going through the black-haired boy's phone, it was then that I noticed Sakamoto-kun make a frown.

"Huh? What's this weird eyeball-lookin' thing?" He wonders.

Kurusu-kun shrugs. "I'm wondering about that myself. Not only did it suddenly just show up on my phone, I can't delete it. It just shows up again every time I try to trash it."

"Wait, what?" Ryuji raises a brow as he taps the icon for the app. "Huh… What a weird… Wait, this is it!"

Grabbing Kurusu-kun's phone out of his hands, the duo look at the screen, showing a menu with a single location on it, as well as a list for things such as 'keywords', 'descriptions', and the likes. "I knew it—This IS a navigation app! Take a look, there's even your search history!" Sakamoto-kun grins. "Ye-heeeah! I'm such a genius!"

"Really? Then what should we—"

"Let's try usin' it." Sakamoto-kun suddenly says, causing his friend to stagger comically.

"Wait!" He retorts. "You really want to just go for it?"

"It's fine! We're just going to be taking a look." Sakamoto-kuns as he begins to type in a few things into the application's search bar.

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this…" Ken-kun narrows his eyes.

Koromaru seemed to be in agreement as he whimpered. However, as we continued to watch, suddenly, a synthetic voice began to speak out from Kurusu-kun's phone upon applying the keywords that Sakamoto-kun placed.

"Kamoshida… Shujin Academy… Pervert… Castle…"

"Beginning Navigation."

"Alright, there we go!" Sakamoto-kun grins with a triumphant look. "Alright, then I believe we went in a certain direction and—"

Before he could finish that sentence however, I suddenly felt a surge of energy radiating out from Kurusu-kun's phone. Labrys and I immediately placed down out visors, witnessing the twisted and…distorting aura beginning to consume the nearby area. Even Koromaru seemed to sense the eeriness of the application's effects as all of our visions started to twist and turn, curving as we looked around. It was…nauseating, for sure.

"What's going on?!" Ken-kun frowns, grasping his head in discomfort. "Everything's feeling…warped!"

"A surge of energy is transporting us to another location." I answer, looking back at Kurusu-kun and Sakamoto-kun. They began to turn their heads to Shujin Academy, so ours did in return. To our shock, the twisted and deforming nature of the navigation application of Kurusu-kun's phone began to affect the literal building and the nearby surroundings.

And it was just a moment later… That the school did change into a castle. Malevolent energy was leaking all over its perimeters, causing me to glare in shock as the readings I got began to stagnate to insane levels. This kind of phenomenon… Wait a moment…

This was just like in Wakaba Isshiki's reports on Cognitive Psience. According to remaining data retrieved by Mitsuru-san's end, the concept of cognition refers to one's perceiving of reality in the world, specifically towards what they personally believe is such. Depending on the intensity and quantity of those who share similar aspects for such desires, such a concept can affect reality on a scale. Since Kamoshida-sensei was the one to be said in the navigation application…

"Wait, isn't this kind of how I was like when I was thrown into the TV World?" Labrys recalls with a grunt. "I thought I was a human student, so strongly that a school was formed by my heart's thoughts."

"I would assume so… In that case, Kamoshida-sensei thinks of this school as a castle, with him as the King no doubt." I growl lowly. "He believes such a thing with such strong intentions that this world of cognition has literally transformed it into his image."

The school turned into a castle had dark, dirty beige bricks for its foundation, with the staircase being replaced by a long dark oak drawbridge. Various amounts of greenery were seen on the top parts, but they appeared to be poorly attended even as they tried to compliment the other decorations, and amongst the walls were wooden barricades meant to storm off invading intruders. The only thing that made it worst was the dreary magenta red miasma floating around the area, complimenting the eerie purple and black sky above the tallest tower in the backwards area.

As the twisting of our visions came to an end, we all stood amongst the duo in front of the castle, still hidden within the alleyway. However, what really caught us off guard was the fact that Kurusu-kun's appearance had completely changed, at least clothing wise. Instead of his Shujin Academy uniform, he instead wore a black ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waistcoat with gold accents, black pants, brown-black winklepickers, and a pair of crimson-red gloves. His glasses were also changed into a black and white birdlike domino mask.

"L-Look! It's the castle from yesterday!" Sakamoto-kun yells as he starts to sprint inside. "Come on!"

We watched as the duo began to run across the bridge. We waited for a moment, looking as they then stopped at the entrance to gaze around. We took this opportunity to sneak up, approaching right up to the entrance gate itself. It was then that we ourselves noticed that our appearances had also changed, even it was only slightly.

Underneath our Shujin Academy uniforms, our Shadow Operative clothes had donned themselves on top of us as our former disappeared within blue and black flames. Whilst Labrys and I quickly donned our visors, Ken-kun donned on his mask, frowning as his vision was blurred for a moment as his eyes adjusted to the new perspective. Nonetheless though, we took a moment to confirm everything else before looking back at the duo.

"This castle…" Kurusu-kun muttered.

"We made it back… That means what happened yesterday was for real as well." Sakamoto-kun explained as he looked at his friend, only to flinch at Kurusu-kun's appearance. "W-Woah! Hey, those clothes…!"

The teen in question blinks curiously as he takes his hand out from his pocket, flinching as he only now notices that his clothes have changed. "Huh…"

"That happened last time too, right? What's with that outfit?" The blond teen remembers. Last time… It must've been during Kurusu-kun's awakening. I wonder how it differed from SEES's and the Investigation Team's methods.

Kurusu-kun eyes his clothes, but to our disbelief, he grins in approval as he tugs on his gloves. "Heh… Not bad, huh?"

Sakamoto-kun looked exasperated as he took a step back in disbelief. "You LIKE it?! I mean—Nevermind… Urgh…! What's goin' on here?! This is makin' no effin' sense at all!"

"Tell me about it…" Ken-kun grumbles, before squinting his eyes at a figure that then peeked over from a nearby pillar from the castle's entrance. "Hm?"

Glancing over to said wall, a high-pitched voice sounding like a boy's was heard.

"Hey!"

"Huh? Wait, it's you…!" Sakamoto-kun's eyes wandered towards the figure's direction as it wandered out near the duo.

When it appeared, Koromaru nearly barked on instinct, prompting Ken-kun to keep his muzzle closed as we gazed at the appearance of this newcomer.

To my astonishment, when I got a look at this figure, it reminded me deeply of Teddie-san. Well, instead of a bear, this creature was an anthropomorphic cat with the appearance of a thief. Possessing a rather large spheroid head, his fur was predominantly black, with the exception of his white limbs and tail, as well as the bottom half of his face. He wore a bandana-like mask that covered the majority of his upper face, revealing his large blue and black eyes. His outer ears were black with white inner ears.

In regards to his actual equipment, he wore a yellow scarf around his neck and a utility belt around his hips, with two golden buttons and two bags attached which kept a cutlass hanging off from his back.

"…A cat?" Labrys wonders out loud. "Why does that remind me of Teddie?"

"I'm assuming that you're thinking that because of how he looks." Ken-kun guessed with a frown. "We'll discuss the topic of him later, let's keep watching."

Nodding in unison, we did just that. Looking back at the black and white cat, he seemed quite surprised to see Kurusu-kun and Sakamoto-kun in this place again. Perhaps they had met before in this place the last time they were here with him.

"Stop making a commotion." He warns the duo before giving them a stern frown. "It's weird… All of the sudden, the Shadows around this area started acting up, so I came back to see what was the cause… And what do I find—To think that you two would actually come back here to the entrance when you barely managed to escape the last time!"

"Geh… A-Anyways, what is this place? Is it the school?" Sakamoto-kun brushes off the cat's berating as he changes the subject.

The cat nods. "That's right."

"But… It's a frickin' castle of all things? This makes no sense whatsoever!"

"Yes… This castle IS the school. Though, it's only that way to its ruler." The cat answers back. That confirms it then…

"The castle's ruler… Do you mean Kamoshida?" Kurusu-kun cups his chin. "With that haughty appearance and that crown he wore…"

"Yep. This is how he, or rather, his distorted heart views the school, rookie." The cat replies with an all-knowing smile.

"Kamoshida… Distorted…?" Sakamoto-kun scratches his head, before groaning in frustration. "Ugh! Explain it in a way that makes sense!"

"Typical… I shouldn't have expected a moron to get it…" The black and white cat rolls his eyes in disappointment, even going so far as to groom himself in a mocking matter.

"What'd you say?!"

Before the cat could retort to the angry reply from Sakamoto-kun, suddenly, we all heard a scream echoing out from within the castle walls, causing Sakamoto-kun and Kurusu-kun to recoil in reaction.

"Huh?! What was that?!" Said blond quirked.

"It must be the slaves captive here." The cat answers. Sakamoto-kun's eyes widen in shock and disbelief as he processes the words that the cat says.

"Slaves?" Ken-kun raises a brow as he turns to us. "…Do you think they're real?"

"…I doubt it." I answer, recollecting all the information to this point. "If this is a world created by cognition, then most likely that anything that appears in this world is merely superstitious, those versions of themselves are the ideal versions of people that Kamoshida thinks of. How he views them as from his perspective and darkest points."

"I remember seeing a couple of injured male students with bruises and blackeyes. I think they were members of the Volleyball Team. Some of the females were a bit roughed up, but they looked more mentally scarred if anythin', compared to the guys." Labrys also answers.

"Males as slaves… I can only assume what he thinks of the female students at the school…" Ken-kun utters with an anguishing voice of disgust.

Another scream flourishes through the space, causing Sakamoto-kun to pale a little. "Oh shit… It's for real! We saw some other guys being held captive here yesterday… They must be members of the Volleyball Team from our school!"

"Yeah, and most likely on Kamoshida's orders." The cat-like being folds his arms. "It's nothing out of the ordinary; it's pretty much like this every day here."

"But this area seems to be even more riled up than before." Kurusu-kun argues. "Is it because Ryuji and I escaped, Morgana?"

"Most likely. Kamoshida probably lost his temper quite a bit." The cat-being, now revealed as Morgana, answers.

Sakamoto-kun growls with a gut-wrenching hiss. "That son of a bitch…!"

"…Ryuji?" Morgana looks worriedly in his direction.

"This is bullshit!" He suddenly yells, slamming his shoulder into the castle's entrance. "YOU HEAR ME, KAMOSHIDA?!"

"You know, doing that isn't going to open it…" Morgana sighs. "Still, looks like you've got your own reasons."

With another frustrated groan, Sakamoto-kun turns back to Morgana and Kurusu-kun, sighing before calming down a bit. "Hey Morgana, do you know where those voices are coming from by any chance?"

"…You want me to take you to them?" The humanoid cat quickly guesses what the blond is thinking. He gives it a moment, thinking in silence before glancing towards Kurusu-kun. "Well… I guess I can take you to them. Though only if this guy comes along with us. The more manpower, the better chances we have of getting in and out safely."

"Sure, let's go." Kurusu-kun didn't even hesitate to answer, which surprised the both of them.

"…Then it's settled." Morgana smirks.

"R-Really?" Sakamoto-kun looks at his classmate with astounded eyes, before softening his expression with a cheeky smile. "…Thanks, man."

"Alright, let's do this then!" Morgana grins, stretching his arms. "Follow me, you two!"

Zooming over towards the left side of the castle entrance, Morgana gestured for the duo to follow him towards what appeared to be a ventilation shaft of some sorts. Drawing further away from us, it was difficult to hear what exactly they were saying next, but judging from the context from the conversations up until this point, it looks like the three of them were going to depart to where the cognitive versions of the Volleyball Team members were. The anthropomorphic cat was the first to enter, jumping on top of a nearby barrel before fitting himself inside. Shortly thereafter, Kurusu-kun and Sakamoto-kun ventured inside after him. It had appeared that the former had an easier time doing so compared to the blond boy. Perhaps this too was due to this world. Tartarus and the Dark Hour increased one's physical attributes somewhat, but also strained on their stamina, much like the Midnight Channel.

However, I was a bit impressed that they weren't going through the front entrance. It was also as if they were trying to act as thieves or burglars. However, with that in mind, we decided to wait until they were a bit further ahead. After counting to around half a minute after hearing a door open and close, I gestured for everyone to follow my lead towards the same shaft opening.

"Alright, I'm getting the feeling that this ain't the Shadow nest that we were lookin' for." Labrys looks around with an unsure look. "Don't you guys think so?"

"That's a good assumption, but let's not sell this place out just yet." Ken-kun replies. "That Morgana character seems to be a little odd…he seemed to know an awful lot about this place. He might know other things if he's the one calling Kurusu-kun a rookie."

Koromaru barks in agreement, earning a nod from myself as well.

"Then we have a unanimous decision. We'll use this time to investigate this location, but we'll also be keeping a low profile in order to spy on Kurusu-kun's group. Who knows, they may lead us to the actual Shadow nest in the near future."

With our actions detailed out, we turned towards the ventilation shaft, each of us taking a turn entering the small space. Koromaru was the first, leaping in with grace to scout ahead. I was the last to enter, keeping an eye on our blind spot until I grabbed the metal entrance. Swiftly drifting out of it, we had appeared to have entered a small library or relaxation area. A few bookcases here and there, some large tables and chairs were present as well. Though this area seemed to be safe, I could only suspect that Shadows and other entities lurked further inside

Upon exiting the room, we made a right, turning away from the small corridor until we entered into the main entrance, which appeared to be the central hallway. A stereotypical long red carpet was robed all the way down from the majestic looking staircase until the exit. Everything appeared to be normal, at least for a cognitive version of a grand castle, but a shuddering image of a certain Volleyball Team coach made some of us nearly vomit in disgust.

"You have got to be kidding me… Can… Can I just tear it down, please?! Aigis-san, please grant me permission, since you are the lowest serial!" Ken-kun averts his gazes from the horrifying painting located in the middle of the room, hanging off from the central walls.

It was an extravagantly painted portrait of Kamoshida-sensei, gallantly flexing while posing with a background bouquet of flowers. A glamorous shine was shown emitting from the crown atop his head, but it couldn't hide the disturbing grin and lecherous expression he had. That, and the fact that his entire upper body was buck naked, change for a skimpy red and white cloak hanging around his shoulders. I could only imagine the lack of garments he also didn't have for his lower regions…

As we walked through the main room, as we tried to figure out where Kurusu-kun's group went forth, every so often, the interiors of the castle reverted back to the school. I could recognize parts of the school's second floor hallway, billboards and club advertisements included. It was then that we decided to go through the other end of the hall.

The reason why? We heard a bunch of screaming, which was primarily the reason why the former group was probably here in the first place. Kurusu-kun and Sakamoto-kun most likely had a misunderstanding of the concept of cognition, but given that the identities of the students here were probably relatively similar to that of the ones in the real world, the duo could most likely use their faces to identify which students specifically were being harassed, male and female respectively. So far, the only screams that have echoing through the halls were male voices, so most likely the ones that were adjourned to extreme physical abuse were them.

…

Eventually, we tailed the trio until they reached the deep underground areas of the castle. Prisons cells were present everywhere as a flowing stream of water seperated off the pathways in half. Hiding amongst the small bits of barrels and other rotting objects near the damp areas, we witnessed the first battles between Kurusu-kun's group and the Shadows lurking within this area. Though what we weren't expecting were…

"To gain an advantage in battle, it's recommended that you sneak from behind and tear their masks off." Morgana explains as his group hid behind some cover. "It'll disorient the Shadows as the ruler's control over them wavers for a moment."

Nodding, Kurusu-kun grins as he snuck up behind a Shadow. Compared to the likes of the Shadows we had faced off before, these ones didn't exhibit any traits relating to their respective Arcana. There were no numeral masks to distinguish them, and they all took on the form of dark metal knights with masks.

To my complete shock, when Kurusu-kun latched onto the back of one of said Shadows, as it struggled to get him off, he placed a hand on its mask, grunting as he ruthlessly tore it off in one fell swoop. While it wasn't blood that splattered out, as he leaped off from the Shadow's back and landed back with Sakamoto-kun and Morgana, the Shadow began to twitch and spaz out of control, eventually drooping down and deforming into a pool of black and red mass.

"What the hell—"

Before Ken-kun could finish retorting, all of our eyes widened as two figures wisped out of the mass of darkness, congregating into two very familiar forms. One was a small fairy wearing a blue jumpsuit whilst fluttering with two pairs of wings. The other was a small being with a jack-o'-lantern for a head holding out a small lantern with a tiny flame. However, the two of them appeared to had a dark aura surrounding their bodies, the clear evidence of such an influence being the pulsing red and black energy converging up from their lower bodies.

"…Pixie and Pyro Jack?" I utter, recalling the two familiar Personas. "Wait, a minute, what's going—"

"I'll bash you up, hee-ho!" The Pyro Jack calls out as it flies towards Kurusu-kun, whacking him with its lantern. Luckily, the transformed teen was able to block the attack with a knife from which he took out from underneath his coat.

"Careful!" Morgana warns, dashing forth. He quickly swishes his cutlass into his paws and smacks the Pyro Jack away from his partner, causing it to fly back until it regrouped with the Pixie. "Rookie, wait up!"

With a grunt, Kurusu-kun runs forth as he ignores Morgana's words, leaping into the air before attempting to slash at the duo.

"Wait, watch out!" Sakamoto-kun cries out.

Before the former could connect his attack, the Pixie, whilst frowning for a moment for her comrade, snarled as she began to cast a Zio spell. Right before Kurusu-kun's knife reached the Pyro Jack, his eyes widened as a small bolt of lightning zapped him midair. He yelled out for a moment before landing down on the floor, growling at the Pixie before backing up.

"Watch their movements. All of the Shadows have the ability to use close range attacks, but there are some that can use long range ones, including elemental variants." Morgana scolds. "Here, I'll heal your wounds."

With the flashing of his eyes, blue flames began to surge around Morgana's figure as a large humanoid figure appeared behind him within a pillar of light. "Come, Zorro!"

Blasting back the Pixie and Pyro Jack with a burst of wind, Morgana's Persona emerged to reveal a muscular man wearing a mask. Wielding a rapier and a large belt with a fanciful "Z", it twirled his weapon before casting a Dia spell on Kurusu-kun, healing him of the damage done by the Pixie's Zio.

"Zorro, the masked gentleman of Los Angeles—An outlaw that defended commoners from nobility during the era of Californian Mexican rule." Ken-kun recalled. "…I wonder what kind of Persona Kurusu-kun has."

Looking back towards said teenager, after groaning from his recovery, he and Morgana nodded at each other as he grasped his mask, flames surging off from his figure as his own Persona began to surface. A haughty tone of laughter was heard as the winged figure that Labrys and I saw before was summoned, its face glowing ominously as it tipped its hat.

"Ravage them, Arsène!" Kurusu-kun yells. "Eiha!"

"Show them your might, Zorro!" Morgana followed through. "Garu!"

By his command, Arsène began to pile together a mass of dark energy in his hands as Zorro's rapier began to amass a swirl of wind. Together, they then unleashed their spells, consuming the two enemies within masses of black and green, causing them to disappear within hazy shadows as their screams were heard.

With the two enemies gone, both Sakamoto-kun and Kurusu-kun gave off a sigh of relief as Zorro and Arsène vanished away. Morgana shakes his head out of relief, turning to the duo.

"You've still got to practice a little, rookie." He says, scolding Kurusu-kun for his actions. "And you can't get cocky with the chances that arise in front of you."

"Yeah… I might have gotten a bit too enthusiastic." The black-haired boy admits, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, as long as you get it. You'll get better with experience." The cat-being smiles. "Now come on, let's get going."

"Man, this is all too whack…" Sakamoto-kun manages to blurt out one last retort before the three began to travel deeper into the castle's dungeon.

Leaving them to their travels, after waiting for a little while longer, we finally were able to emerge out from our hiding spot, with Koromaru whining a little from how close we were to the water. Well, witnessing this battle granted with a whole new plethora of knowledge.

"Well, let's go over what we know now…" Labrys tilts her head.

Ken-kun nods. "Starting off, apparently, Shadows don't take on the forms of those we saw within the likes of Tartarus or the Midnight Channel. They're instead based on the Personas that we all used to know, and they all have their own respective Arcana."

"Pyro Jack belongs to the Magician, and Pixie is…the Lovers, right?" Labrys turns to me in confirmation.

I nod in return. "And they seem to even be acting like the way I used to know them as. I would say that the influence of the castle's ruler has them under control as those forms from earlier. Morgana-san mentioned a small thing about relinquishing control over them by tearing off those masks on the Shadows."

"So, in those knight forms, they're completely under Kamoshida's control, but if you tear off the mask, you can confront the true entities within while they're confused and exposed." Ken-kun summarizes. "Now then… What about their Personas?"

"Ah yes…" I then start to recall. "Zorro and Arsène, were they?"

"The rival to Sherlock Holmes, Arsène Lupin." Labrys says with an amused smile. "And the gentleman outlaw, Zorro!"

"Zorro seems to specialize in Garu and healing spells, while Arsène has talents in Curse spells, though they seem to be more damage-based rather than being one-shot elimination techniques like Cerberus'." I say, petting Koromaru's head as he barks in response to his Persona's name.

After waiting for a few more minutes, we began to move on, following the trail that the trio took. Crossing by a dampened dirt path and even crossing a bridge, along the way after approaching a large holding cell, as we looked around, the presences of all three of their group seemed to had vanished from my sensors. There were only a few rooms and other entrances, but there shouldn't have been any way for Kurusu-kun's group to had gone up that much ahead of our own…

"This is strange… Where did they go?" I wonder.

"Think about that later, Aigis-san." Ken-kun quickly retorts however as he points out towards the end of the long hall of cells. Koromaru begins to growl as well as we all take a look down the pathway. "Incoming!"

"Intruders! Get them!" A Shadow suddenly yells out, appearing with another half-a-dozen knights.

"Aw crud…" Labrys curses. "Well, prepare for battle!"

Taking out our weapons, the groups of knights began to splurge down into piles of black and red, reforming themselves into familiar Persona forms. Two of them were transformed into Pixies, while one had morphed into a creature resembling a demonic unicorn with two horns. The rest of them however had formed into the shapes of metal knights on horses, all of them wielding golden yellow trident-like spears.

"Thieves! Take them to Lord Kamoshida!" One of the horsemen, or rather, one of the Beriths, ordered as he and his fellow Shadows began to charge at us.

The unicorn-like Shadow growled loudly as he charged forth, attempting to ram me down with its two horned head. Standing my ground however, I stuck my hands out, grasping said horns before they could reach me and stopping its momentum in no time. Surprisingly so, this Shadow didn't seem to possess that much power; was it perhaps related to the standing of the Kamoshida's control? Thinking of Tartarus, the lower leveled floors of the tower often contained weaker Shadows compared to the higher floors, so perhaps this was similar in that regard?

Whilst in my thoughts, Labrys propelled herself with her jet-axe, slamming the brunt of her weapon into my enemy's side. It was launched out towards one of the prison cells, whimpering as the metal gate shook eerily from its body smashing into it.

One of the Beriths growled, glancing at one of the Pixies to order to tend to its wounds. While the small fairy began to fly over, Ken-kun quickly dashed forth, slamming the bottom of his spear into its face and knocking it aside.

"Sorry, but I'm not going to let you do that." He says as he begins to take out his Evoker. "Now then… Come, Kala-Nemi!"

Aiming the barrel of the model pistol to his cranium, his eyes flashed a glowing blue coloration as he pulled the trigger; the sound of glass shattering as a pillar of blue light formed behind his person. Within moments, a large, red entity was summoned forth. It had a humanoid body, but between its two arms, two swirling masses with orange glowing marks were seen contained with cylindrite-shaped openings.

And following up, Koromaru yipped loudly as he zipped forth towards the other Pixie, slashing it with the knife in his mouth. It quickly fell down, screaming in agony as the albino shiba inu began to howl. His Evoker glowed, summoning forth a pillar of light that materialized a black three-headed hound resembling a Doberman. This was Koromaru's Persona, Cerberus.

"Koromaru!" Ken-kun yells.

To his response, both of their Personas began to invoke a spell, Kala-Nemi with a Hamaon, and Cerberus with a Mudoon. Engulfing the Pixies within flares of light and darkness, a bright flash gleamed through the echoes of the hallway as they both were eliminated.

Turning my attention back to Labrys as the light faded, she turned her attention towards the Beriths. All three of them flinched as she charged forth, swinging her doubled-bladed axe in a wide arc. They barely managed to escape the lethal attack, their horses skidding away before charging forth towards my sister.

"Sister!" She calls out. I responded accordingly, leaping to her side.

Nodding at each other, my vision went blue as we each began to activate our built-in Evokers, showering pillars of lights as our Personas were summoned. "Let us proceed."

Charging towards the Beriths, the light from our summoning died off, revealing our Persona. My own Persona, Pallas Athena, charged forth to slam her shield against the spears of my enemies, leaving them at a standstill as Labrys' own Persona began to make her move. Her other-self, Ariadne, a pale white and blue humanoid Persona, twirled a glowing red yarn around its person before conforming it into the shape of a bull.

"Blastoff, Ariadne!" She commanded, gesturing her Persona to launch her attack. "Beast Weaver!"

Knowing that the attack was coming, I quickly called back Athena into myself, jumping out of the way a moment later. Watching the Beriths whelp in horror, the manifested bull plowed through them like putty, exterminating them all into shadows.

With the battle nearly over, all of our Personas vanished as we turned our attention back towards the last injured enemy. Gathering around, we all pointed our weapons in its direction, causing it to gasp as it looked up.

"H-Huh?! H-Hey, come on now!" It cried out. "Do you intruders really think you'll get out of this scot free?"

"It can talk?" Labrys frowned.

"Of course." I answer. "Shadows are manifestations of humanity's feelings. Of course they can have emotions and forms. That's the basis behind Personas as well."

Turning back to the creature, I begin to speak. "Where is the king of the castle?"

"Pfft… At the top of the castle, duh." It rolled its eyes. "Come on, there's no chance you'll be able to get to him though."

"Do you really think so?" Ken-kun says otherwise, pointing his spear right beside its neck. It gasped in fear, prompting me to glance in its direction.

"We're not here to invade." I explain. "We more or less came here to explore."

"…What, like tourists?" The four-legged being frowned. "You really think Lord Kamoshida would accept a reason like that?"

"Well, I mean… We didn't exactly come here of our own free will…" Labrys retorts, earning a scoff from our enemy. "B-But hey, you guys were the ones who attacked us at first!"

"Only because you thieves were intruding into Lord Kamoshida's territory!" The unicorn-like entity barks back. "Bah… Come on, kill me or something already, would ya?"

"How about this then?" I suddenly intervene, causing everyone to look in my direction. "If you can tell us where we can find a map, or where the prisoners are, we'll let you go. After all, living is the best experience one can have in kind of place, isn't it?"

"…"

"I… Suppose." The entity answered with a reluctant tone of agreement. "F-Fine then, I'll tell you. There's a map located in the deeper parts of the first floor… And the prisoners are kept down in the dungeons just beyond here."

Ken-kun and the rest of the team were a bit surprised that I was trying to negotiate with the enemy, but were kind enough to let me do my thing. I'm a bit surprised at how calm downed it was; I suppose engaging in a conversation made it relax a bit. Giving it a small smile, I helped it off from the floor, nodding in thanks.

"Thank you." I say, which caused it to stagger back a bit.

"E-Er… Whatever. Anyhow, I'm going now!" It then growled, galloping away until it vanished away into thin air.

As we sensed its disappearance completely going away, it was then that my vision flashed a tinge of blue. Suddenly, a row of cards appeared before me in my mind, shifting a couple of places before floating in place. Ah… So, Shuffle Time is back? Smirking inwardly, I selected the tarot card right in the middle, causing it to flash to the image of the Hermit Arcana tarot—an old hermit holding up a lantern. As it flipped itself, the image of the same unicorn-like entity was shown, revealing itself to me as a new Persona was placed inside the sea of my soul.

'…I am thou, thou art I. From the sea of thy soul I cometh. I am Bicorn, harbinger of sinful comings.' Bicorn appeared by side in ethereal form, nodding in my direction before vanishing into me.

Smiling, I turn to glance back at everyone else. With everyone all accounted for, I pointed down forth towards the dungeon.

"Shall we continue?"

This should be a good point to end this chapter. I don't want every individual part to be super long.

Regarding chapter sizes and canon… Should I involve any relationships for Akira? It wouldn't have much of an impact on the story itself, but it may prove to be quite the catalyst for otherwise humorous dialogue, such as in Persona 4 Golden when you interact with characters who aren't in your party mid-dungeon while dating several girls.

Also, regarding Aigis and her usage of the Wild Card. Like Persona 3, her methods of gaining Personas won't be like Akira's/Persona 5's, as in talking with a Persona and freeing it from a Palace Ruler's control. Shuffle Time will be her main method of Persona gaining, but the kinds of Personas gained will be dependent on things such as battle or the likes.

That should be it for the time being. Leave a review or a PM if you guys want, and I'll see you all in the next chapter.