AN: I really shouldn't be surprised by this, but editing these longer chapters takes more time. Also, I noticed that some of my formatting didn't get transferred when I upload documents to this website. I've gone back and revised the first two chapters, although I had to substitute crossing out words (which this site seems to no longer allow in stories) with hyphens, mainly in Futaba's PoV to represent her distorted thoughts.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the third chapter!

April 6 – Wednesday

Urano Motosu's PoV

As I rode the subway to school, I held my bag in my arms so it wouldn't get crushed by the throng of passengers. After all, Morgana was inside.

"I still can't believe you were able to make the infiltration tools so easily," said the not-cat.

"My mom has a habit of getting really invested in a hobby – mainly arts and crafts – for a bit before giving it up," I responded. "She would always make me join in, hoping that I'd become interested in something other than books, so I've gotten pretty Skilled when it comes to crafting things."

With the Proficiency I'd built up, I was able to make a Lockpick and a Vanish Ball last night, then a full Element Set before breakfast. Morgana had told me that these tools were his minimum requirements to reenter Futaba's Palace. He'd actually wanted to make more, but we didn't have the materials to do so.

(On a related note, apparently that Garuda fought I dropping a map was normal behavior for a Shadow. A defeated Shadow will occasionally leave behind items, possibly due to the Cognition of defeated enemies dropping loot in video games.)

With the tools completed, Morgana agreed to visit the Palace after school today. He stressed to me, however, that it was unlikely we would be fully exploring the place today. Even though we'd realized that the Garuda's map was of Futaba's tomb, it only had the basic layout. We'd still have to locate the Treasure and figure out how to get past all of the Shadows and security measures within the tomb.

Luckily, we had a few days to explore. I'd been able to convince Sojiro to let me have the rest of the week off at Leblanc with a lie about wanting to focus on getting used to Shujin Academy. I felt a bit guilty about tricking Sojiro, but it was for the greater good. Plus, I doubted he'd believe in the existence of the Metaverse.

As the train stopped at Aoyama-Itchome Station, I got off and began walking to Shujin. A grin found its way onto my face as I made my way closer to the most exciting thing in the world – a new library, full of new books. After all, if I couldn't infiltrate Futaba's Palace until after school, then I might as well enjoy myself until then.

Makoto Nijima's PoV

As Shujin Academy's Student Council President, Makoto would often receive tasks from Principal Kobayakawa. In fact, he had contacted her just yesterday and asked her to come in before classes began in order to perform one such job.

Apparently, the spare library key had gotten ruined and he sent a janitor to make a new one from the original. But Kobayakawa had been forced to leave Shujin on business before the janitor came back, so he needed Makoto to confirm that the job had been completed.

It bothered her a little that the principal asked her to help instead of just coming in early himself, but she supposed he must have been busy this morning. Probably.

The job wasn't all that difficult, though. When Makoto arrived, the library door was already open. Moreover, an unfamiliar female student was already checking out a book.

"Huh, this might be the first time I've seen someone in the library before classes started," observed Makoto. Looking closer, she noticed that the book the girl checked out was written in English.

"Oh!" exclaimed the student, noticing Makoto and smiling. "Are you also here to check out your first book of the semester?"

"No, I was just checking that the library was open for Principal Kobayakawa," replied Makoto.

"I see…" said the girl, deflating for a moment. "Ah, right! My name is Urano Motosu and, as of today, I'm a second year student here at Shujin. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Makoto Nijima," introduced Makoto. "Third year and Student Council President. Pleased to meet you, too. By the way, I couldn't help but notice that book you took out is written in English."

"Yep!" confirmed Urano, her previous enthusiasm returning. "It's a foreign work called 'The Book Thief.' It's about a young girl living in Nazi Germany who steals books to prevent them from being destroyed. She's a true hero!"

"O-Okay."

Overwhelmed by Urano's sudden burst of energy, that was all Makoto could say. Additionally, the Student Council President had a strange premonition that, if she showed any interest in the book itself, she'd be trapped in conversation with Urano until they were both late for classes.

"A-Anyway," started Makoto, recovering from her surprise. "It's quite impressive for a fresh first-year to understand English so well that you can read a book."

"It's not just English," bragged Urano, puffing her chest out. "I learned the basics of a bunch of different languages in order to read foreign books. Mandarin, Spanish, German… even a dead language like Latin."

"Wow, that's some dedication!" exclaimed Makoto, genuinely impressed. While Urano's motive was odd, the fact that she had basic literacy in multiple languages (because it was clear to Makoto that Urano was being honest) despite being two years younger than her was quite a feat. "If you're ever interested, the student council is always looking for new members."

"I'm sorry, but I can't," answered Urano immediately. "At least, not for the next week or so. I'm busy trying to help out Fu… err… my little sister with a problem of hers. Maybe afterward?"

"I understand," said Makoto, smiling in spite of the stab of envy she felt. How long had it been since Sae had made time for her instead of focusing on work? "I wish you the best of luck in aiding your sister. Have a good day."

Feeling a bit guilty about her darker emotions, both toward her sister and Urano, Makoto took the opportunity to leave. However, some of her bitterness must've leaked out, because Urano had a look of concern on her face (which only made Makoto guiltier) as she left.

"How worthless of me," the Student Council President muttered to herself, full of self-loathing. As she was now, Makoto was only a burden on Sae. She had to change.

Ann Takamaki's PoV

Ever since coming to Shujin and having the misfortune of meeting Kamoshida, Ann preferred to keep her distance from her classmates. Aside from Shiho, they all saw her as that creep's trophy. Rumors circulated the entire rotten school about how she was sleeping with Kamoshida, something that couldn't be further from the truth.

"Did you know that the girl in front of you, Ann Tamaki, is dating the gym teacher?" 'whispered' the girl two seats behind her. "I heard the slut is even slept with him!"

Since class was about to start, Ann didn't really have any choice but to endure yet another slander session.

However, to Ann's surprise, the girl sitting behind her (who had stood out to Ann for being nose-deep in an English book on the first day of school) didn't play along.

"Sorry, but I'm not really interested in gossip," responded the book girl bluntly.

Stunned, Ann took a glance back and saw the gossip girl scowled at the book girl, who had already returned to her novel.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl said sarcastically. "I didn't realize I was talking to an antisocial nerd. It's my bad, too. I really should have guessed by looking at you."

"I'm just glad that you realized it," replied the book girl dryly, not even looking up from the pages. "I'm a bookworm, through and through, not a gossiper who spreads false rumors because she's jealous that another girl is prettier than her."

Ann stifled a laugh as the gossip girl's face turned bright red. The gossip girl looked like she was about to make a retort, only for the teacher to interrupt her by announcing the start of class.

Ann smiled as she faced back toward her desk. It faded quickly, though, as her thoughts drifted to Kamoshida. That creep was a lot more dangerous than a gossiper, and he wouldn't be shut up as easily, either.

Ryuji Sakamoto's PoV

"Ack!" went Ryuji as he collided with a second year girl, sending her sprawling to the ground and causing her to drop the book she had been holding.

Instantly, people began whispering about how the bad-tempered delinquent had intentionally knocked a girl down for no reason. It made his blood boil, but there was nothing he could do. With his shitty reputation, nobody would belief the truth – that he'd gotten a bit too excited about the ramen he'd brought for lunch and hadn't been paying attention.

"At least it can't get any worse," muttered Ryuji. People were already spreading rumors about him thanks to that shitty Kamoshida.

"What's going on here?" bellowed Mr. Ushimaru, causing Ryuji to wince. It was just his luck that the strictest teacher at Shujin would show up right now.

"Sakamoto shoved a girl to the ground, Mr. Ushimaru," tattled one of the students, making Mr. Ushimaru's face turn red with fury.

"He did what!?" roared the teacher, directing his glare at Ryuji. "That's it, Sakamoto! You're coming with me straight to the principal's office. Violence against your fellow students is not…!"

"Wait!" interjected the girl Ryuji had ran into. She had picked up her book and stood up. "It's a misunderstanding. I was reading my book instead of looking where I was going and ended up bumping into him. It just seemed like I was shoved because I was the only one who fell down."

Mr. Ushimaru blinked, surprised to hear that Ryuji was innocent. The rest of the students reacted similarly, although Ryuji heard whispers about a 'book-obsessed girl' who apparently visited the school library before classes started.

"Well… then you better have learned your lesson," Mr. Ushimaru said to the girl. Ryuji frowned, noticing that his tone wasn't as harsh as when he thought the blonde was at fault. "Not looking where you're going is dangerous. You're lucky that nothing happened this time."

"I'm sorry," apologized the girl, giving a small bow. "It won't happen again."

"It better not, Motosu."

With his scolding complete, Mr. Ushimaru left. The other students lost interest, too, and returned to what they were doing before.

"Hey… Motosu, was it?" said Ryuji, drawing the girl's attention. "Thanks."

"For what?" asked Motosu. "I just told Mr. Ushimaru the truth."

She looked genuinely confused, which made Ryuji confused too. But, before he could explain that most people would've just let him take the heat, Motosu started walking away. She started to open her book again, only to close it.

Ryuji didn't think he would ever understand girls.

Morgana's PoV

"I still don't get why he thanked me," said Urano as she and Morgana stood outside the tomb in Futaba's Palace. She was back to her original Phantom Thief outfit, though she refused to tell Morgana why. "I just felt like I wouldn't be able to concentrate on reading if I felt guilty about getting him in trouble."

As the two of them had discovered upon entering the Metaverse, the MetaNav had updated the location of the Palace. It now deposited the duo directly in front of the tomb instead of in the middle of the desert. If Morgana knew who or what was responsible for the MetaNav, he would be thanking them for their kindness.

"The more I get to know you, the more I realize you're a total weirdo, Urano," commented Morgana, causing her to huff.

How did the girl not understand? The fact that she was bothered so much by an innocent person getting punished made her a good person. And acting on those emotions instead of ignoring them out of convenience meant she was better than most people.

The lighthearted conversation didn't last for long, though. The duo soon grew serious, preparing to infiltrate the pyramid that stood before them. Morgana gave Urano a knife and a few doses of medicine, which she put in her bag alongside her infiltration tools.

"Did you find a way to get deeper into the tomb?" asked Urano.

Morgana hadn't just been napping in her bag throughout the school day. He'd studied the map of Futaba's Palace intensely, looking for a way past the blockade Shadow Futaba had put up.

"Not exactly," answered Morgana. "There are no other pathways to Futaba's Treasure. Although, I did find a secondary entrance over there…" Morgana pointed to the right of the tomb "…which will put us in another part of the Palace. If we're lucky, we might find a way forward there. If not, we'll at least get some infiltration practice."

"It's not like we have any other options," replied Urano, sighing in frustration. "Let's go."

The two of them went over to the entrance Morgana had pointed out. It was a doorway at the bottom of a flight of stairs, one that led to an underground corridor in the tomb. They entered, immediately coming face-to-face with a mummy-like Shadow.

"Intruders!" shouted the Shadow, transforming into a pair of blue-skinned men with the lower bodies of snake, both of them armed with a spear and a shield. Morgana decided to dub them Snakemen.

"Follow my lead," Morgana said to Urano. She nodded. "Come… Zorro! Garu!"

Appearing in a flash of light, Zorro gestured with his sword and unleashed a blast of wind on one of the Snakemen. The Shadow was knocked onto its back by the skill, though it didn't dissolve. Morgana smirked at his luck, encountering an enemy that was weak to Wind right off the bat.

"Kouha, Liesel!"

Snakemen apparently weren't weak to Bless, though. That much became clear when Urano's attack struck the other one. It still took a fair bit of damage, but not as much as the first one had.

"Zio!" hissed the Snakeman, firing a bolt of lightning at Morgana.

"Urgh!" he grunted as Zorro's weakness hit him, sending a ripple of electric pain through his body.

"Double Fangs!" shouted the Shadow, following up by charging at him and thrusting its spear into him twice.

Already weakened, Morgana was knocked down. Between the Zio and the physical strikes, he wasn't in any shape to run as the Snakeman slithered over to deliver the finishing blow.

Morgana briefly wondered if this was how his life end. If he would die in this tomb, alone and never able to remember his past.

Fortunately, both him and the Snakeman had forgotten about his partner.

"Kouha!"

A blast of light struck the Shadow, reminding it of Urano's presence. Hissing, it shifted its attention away from Morgana and toward her.

"Dia," said Urano, having Liesel heal Morgana.

"That's right… I'm not alone anymore," he muttered as his strength returned.

.

Rank Up!

Confidant: Morgana. Arcana: Magician. Rank: 2.

.

The Snakeman turned to look at Morgana, no doubt remembering that he possessed its weakness, but it was too slow.

"Garu!"

Already weakened by Urano's attacks, the point-blank skill finished off the Snakeman and left behind only cash. With its defeat confirmed, Morgana turned his attention to its ally, which had recovered from its Garu now.

But, as luck would have it, the Snakemen didn't attack him or Urano. Instead, it sighed gloomily.

"I would never have accepted this task if I knew it would involve this sort of suffering," complained the Shadow.

Urano and Morgana exchanged glances.

"Do we really have to kill him?" she asked, likely caught off guard by the sudden change in behavior. "I feel kind of sorry for him."

"That Shadow is our enemy," answered Morgana, preparing for the future. While it was possible to negotiate right now, that wouldn't always be the case. "If you aren't willing to finish the fight, you should give up on changing Futaba's heart right now."

Urano looked at the Snakeman guiltily, causing it to speak up.

"It's fine. Do as you please."

"Are you sure it's fine?" asked Urano, still unconvinced.

"You are quite a nice girl," said the Shadow, his gloom giving way to a soft smile. "You remind me of my daughter…"

The Snakeman frowned, confused by its own words. Then its eyes widened in realization.

"Wait, I remember now! I'm not just one of her subordinates, I'm an existence that drifts about in the sea of humanity's souls! My real name… is 'Naga'! Young girl, if you'll take me, I'll live on inside your heart!"

In a flash of light, the Snake… no, Naga transformed into a glowing mask. That mask then floated over to Urano, fusing with the one she was already wearing.

"What was that just now…?" said Morgana in disbelief. Nothing like this had ever happened when he was on his own. "What happened!?"

"I have no idea," said Urano, the look on her face making clear she was just as surprised as him. "But, if I'm lucky, I might have a way to find out."

Urano Motosu's PoV

When Morgana and I entered Futaba's Palace, my surprise had only been half because of where we arrived. I had also been surprised because Justine was present, standing next to a jail cell door made of blue light. Oddly, it seemed like Morgana couldn't see Justine or the door.

It didn't exactly take a genius to figure out where the door led, so after Naga became my second Persona – because I could somehow tell that that was what happened – I decided to pay a certain long-nosed Confidant a visit.

"The prisoner Urano Motosu has returned," announced Caroline as I entered the Velvet Room.

"Well done," Igor complimented me. "It seems you have remembered my words. You truly make it worth rehabilitating you."

I had no idea which vague statement he was referring to.

"Rather than a congratulations, I'd prefer if told me how Shadow just because my second Persona," I said dryly.

Igor, like usual, chuckled at my sarcasm. I was getting the feeling that he saw my disrespect as a source of amusement. Maybe, as a mysterious higher being, it was a novel experience for him to be sassed by a mere human.

"I am not attempting to withhold information from you," he claimed, earning an unconvinced look from me. "The essence of the rehabilitation you must complete will be explained in due time. Once you encounter allies who share your ideals and discover your place in reality… only then, will I explain it all. Such a day should not be far off."

Allies, huh. Did that mean there were more Persona users out there? Or maybe people who, under the right circumstances, would awaken to their Personas like I did?

"This time, I wish to introduce you to the aid we are providing," continued Igor as I pondered his previous statement. "Due to your potential in wielding the power of the wild card, you can handle more than one Persona. That power holds infinite possibilities. We will assist you in nurturing that potential."

"I guess that means people normally can't have multiple Personas," I whispered to myself. That explained why Morgana had never seen what happened with Naga before.

"…To that end, we must execute your Persona."

"Wait, what!?"

"Do not be alarmed," said Igor, snickering at my distress. "Personas are personalities that exist within you. Thus you will only be discarding old personalities to have them be reborn as new ones."

"How is that supposed to make me less alarmed!?"

"By discarding your old identity, you give way to a new one. Hence, we call that process 'execution.' Think of it as a fusion of your Personas."

"Fusion?" I echoed, calming down. "Does that mean that this 'execution' isn't about killing parts of my personality?"

"Of course not," replied Igor. "Now, allow me to tell you something of great importance. Do you remember how I mentioned forming bonds with Confidants?"

I nodded.

"Personas are the power of your heart. The stronger those bonds, the stronger your Persona will be. In other words, the effects of your bonds on execution… or fusion, if you will, are quite substantial. When you fuse a Persona that shares its arcana with one of your bonds, it will gain great power."

"I see," I said, glad to finally be getting a straight explanation. "My Confidants were… the Hierophant, the Magician, and the Fool, so I should try to fuse those types of Personas."

"In anticipation of your progress, I have prepared a gift for you," stated Igor. "I hope you shall accept it."

.

Rank Up!

Confidant: Igor. Arcana: Fool. Rank: 2.

.

As my bond with Igor deepened, I felt a strange sensation in my eyes. When I focused on it, my vision changed. The world became darker, but I could see translucent images of Liesel and Naga made out of blue light. They stood between myself and Igor, albeit closer to him than to me.

"That is a thief's skill, allowing one to tap into their sixth sense and see what is hidden in the dark," explained Igor. "I believe you can handle it now. May you continue devoting yourself to further rehabilitation."

On instinct, I thought about fusing the two of them. A new figure appeared in front of my Persona's, one whose name and abilities I knew at a glance.

"This is the form your new Persona is expected to take after fusion," explained Igor, apparently aware of what I was doing. "It's possible for them to inherit skills they normally wouldn't gain. These skills and specialties are distinct from one another. Skills are traits that can be passed along through fusion."

Huh, Igor made fusion sound really useful. I still didn't feel comfortable getting rid of Liesel or Naga, though.

As I thought this, the image of Liesel spoke up, startling me.

"I am the other you that exists within…" she said with a slight German accent. "Do not be afraid to 'execute' me, for I shall always exist within you. The same goes for the others too, albeit to a lesser extent."

Probably because she was me, I could tell that Liesel's words were the truth. When I glanced at Naga, he nodded in affirmation. And, with how resolved the two of them were, there was really only one thing I could do.

"Igor, I'd like to 'execute' my Personas," I declared, shutting off Third Eye.

His grin widened as Liesel and Naga appeared in the flesh. Igor then gestured to Caroline and Justine, who walked over to the Personas and stuffed them in bags that they pulled from nowhere.

The twins then dragged those bags to a pair of… guillotines!? Where the heck did those come from!? They weren't here a moment ago!

I was broken out of my shock, however, when the blades of the guillotines dropped, decapitating Liesel and Naga. Even though the two transformed into wisps of light upon impact, I still winced at the sight.

The wisps in question swirled around in a ball for a moment, before coalescing into the figure I had seen with Third Eye.

"I look forward to working with you, Isis," I told my new Persona.

"Likewise," she replied, transforming into a mask and flying into my face.

As a Priestess arcana Persona, Isis wouldn't benefit from my current Confidants. But, even without that boost, her magical strength was higher than Liesel's and Naga's. Plus, she would allow me to put Morgana's advice about targeting enemies' weaknesses into practice.

After all, between Isis's natural skills (Agi and Dia) and the ones she inherited (Kouha from Liesel, Zio from Naga), I had quite a few options available.

My business done, I left the Velvet Room and returned to Futaba's Palace.

Morgana's PoV

"Leaving the pyramid to stare off into space… I don't think I'll ever understand you."

Morgana had no clue why Urano was just standing there, not moving or responding to his snarky comments. However, he had no choice but to trust that (yet again) her weird behavior would somehow lead to a positive result.

After a few minutes of inaction, Urano began to move again.

"I'm back," she said to him.

"From where?" asked Morgana, confused. "You've just been standing in place, staring at nothing."

"Is that what you saw?" responded Urano, curious. "Could this be a cognition thing too? Maybe only people who've been to the -Velvet-Room- can see it."

"See what?" questioned Morgana.

"The -Velvet-Room-," she answered, though her exact words refused to stick in his mind. "It's this weird place that I visited in my dreams the last few times I slept. I got the MetaNav from the guy who runs it, and he also explained how I got a second Persona. Apparently, I have a special power to possess multiple Personas."

"Multiple Personas!" exclaimed Morgana. How was that even possible? "So you have Liesel and Snakeman right now?"

"Naga," Urano corrected. "And no. Actually, I fused them together in the -Velvet-Room-, creating a new Persona called Isis. She can use Fire, Bless, Elec, and healing skills."

Morgana didn't know how to respond to that, so he decided to just move onto the next topic.

"Regardless of what Persona you have now, that battle should've shown you that fighting our way through the Palace is a bad idea. If those Naga hadn't been weak to Wind, they would've easily taken me out and then ganged up on you. With that in mind, its time I teach you about stealth…"

Urano Motosu's PoV

After Morgana's impromptu lesson, we reentered the tomb. I was a little worried that it would be tough to put his teachings into practice, but, with the not-cat leading the way, we were able to sneak past several Shadows.

"You're doing good," whispered Morgana as a Shadow passed in front of us, oblivious to our presence. "I think you're ready to for ambushing now. Rip this guy's mask off when his back is turned."

"Why?" I asked, not interested in fighting if I didn't have to. "We can sneak by him easily."

"That won't always be the case," replied the not-cat. "There isn't always cover to use, and some Shadows stand guard over important spots instead of randomly patrolling the Palace. And it's better to practice near the entrance. The Shadows are weaker here and we won't have to run as far if things go south."

"Fine," I conceded unhappily. Even if they were just masses of human emotion, I didn't really like the idea of fighting and killing Shadows. I'd rather just run away or recruit them. Yeah, I should recruit whatever enemies this Shadow turns into once I ambush it!

With my plan in mind, I quietly stepped closer to the patrolling Shadow, who had stopped to examine a group of vases. When I was right behind him, I jumped onto the Shadow's back, grabbed his mask with both hands, and tore it off with one fierce tug.

Thanks to the athleticism boost my Persona gave me while in the Metaverse, I was able to land on my feet as the Shadow vanished out from under me and became a trio of enemies.

In addition to two Naga, there was a short man with a crescent moon-shaped face and a sack that he lugged over his shoulder. Morgana and I only had to share a glance to decide on our plan of attack.

"Garu! Garu!" shouted Morgana, striking the Naga with their weakness.

Meanwhile, I used Isis to probe the new Shadow for weaknesses.

"Kouha!" I cried, blasting the new Shadow with my signature skill. When that didn't cause more harm than usual, I moved onto Elec. "Zio!"

This proved to be far more effective against the moon-faced enemy, knocking him down and putting all the Shadows at our mercy.

"And now, an All-Out…" started Morgana before I cut him off.

"Wait!" I cried. "Can't we just negotiate with them?"

"I told you already, you need to be ready to finish off the enemies!"

"I am finishing them off, in a way," I retorted, turning to face the new Shadow and smiling. "So how about it? Would you like to become one of my Personas?"

Unfortunately, the moon-faced Shadow was a lot more… irritable than the Naga had been earlier.

"Fuck off!" he yelled, flipping me the bird. "As if I'd agree to work for a softie like you! Dormina!"

"Look out!" exclaimed Morgana, pushing me out of the way of the Shadow's skill. It struck him instead, causing him to collapse.

"Morgana!" I cried, terrified over the unknown effect the skill had on him. I frantically checked his body for any signs of what the Shadow had done to him, only calming down when I noticed the not-cat was snoring.

Now aware that Morgana was just asleep, I tried shaking him awake. His only response was to mumble about fish. Worse, in focusing on him, I left myself open to attack by the still-active enemy.

"Garu!"

Getting hurt by Morgana's skill and knocked away from the not-cat made me look at the moon-faced Shadow. The two Naga had recovered, too, flanking it on both sides.

"Are you ready to die, softie?" sneered the moon-faced Shadow.

Hearing his words, the harsh reality finally sunk in. Morgana and I might die here, and it was all my fault. Both the not-cat and the Shadow were right about me being too soft.

Morgana was risking his life in the Metaverse to regain his memories. Futaba was fighting against her suicidal desires. I was the only one who wasn't giving my all!

"Zio," I uttered, blasting the rude Shadow again. I didn't stop there, either. "Zio. Zio!"

Even though he was already down, I hardened my heart and attacked the Shadow until he burst to pieces. I felt a sense of accomplishment… for exact one second.

Wham! I had been so focused on killing the moon-faced Shadow that I hadn't noticed one of the Naga moving in to attack me until his shield slammed into my face. Even with my power as a Persona user, the blow left me seeing stars.

Reeling from the hit, I tried to step back only to stumble over my feet and fall on my butt. The Naga slithered up to me and raised his spear, aiming to kill. Despite the fact that my head was spinning so badly that I couldn't summon Isis, I was somehow able to gather up enough brain cells to pull out the knife Morgana gave me and point it at the Shadow.

However, I couldn't really hurt the Naga with my knife since it had waaay less reach than his spear. He wasn't all that intimidated either, actually taking a moment to snort at me for being stupid enough to pull a knife on him.

Hey, I'm trying my best here!

Unfortunately, my best wasn't enough. The Naga thrust his spear at me and hit…

Clang!

…Morgana's sword!? The Naga pushed against the blade with his spear, but he wasn't able to move it an inch.

"You should've killed me when you had the chance," said Morgana with a grin. He was trying to sound cool, but he sounded more like a little kid quoting his favorite edgy anime character.

Regardless of the not-cat's words, he actions definitely were cool. He effortlessly pushed away the Naga's spear, then finished off the Shadow with a single slash from his sword.

The other Naga, though visibly intimidated by Morgana's display, attempted to attack him. "Zio!"

"Oh no you don't!" I declared. The pain in my head had resided enough that I could bring out Isis. "Zio!"

Our two skills collided in midair, cancelling each other out. Morgana then finished off the remaining Naga with a Garu.

Now that the enemies were gone, we took a moment to heal ourselves with Dia and collect the money they dropped.

"I'm sorry," I told Morgana as we pocketed the cash. "I shouldn't have been trying to take the easy way out by negotiating with the Shadows. I was scared – I am scared – but I won't run away anymore."

"Apology accepted," replied Morgana with a wave. "I mean, your reaction is pretty natural given that you were an ordinary person until two days ago. Well, ordinary-ish. I mean, who the heck thinks of negotiating with Shadows as the easy way out?"

Having said his piece, the not-cat put an end to the conversation by returning to stealth mode and moving deeper into the Palace.

I puffed my cheeks at his words, but they made me happy. After all, if he felt good enough to call me a weirdo, then he really had forgiven me.

Feeling a bit lighter inside, I followed after Morgana.

Morgana's PoV

The infiltration went rather smoothly after the fight with the two Naga and Sandman (as Urano named it). Morgana and Urano were able to move through the Palace, defeating several more groups of Shadows as they went. Urano even recruited another Naga, whose physical skills were a good complement to Isis's purely magical capabilities.

Before long, the narrow hallways opened up into a larger room with massive, sealed door (just like the one Shadow Futaba had put up in the main hallway) and a ballista. After consulting their map for a bit, the duo discovered that the door was the only way forward, which was problematic since there was no clear way to open it.

An inspection of the room did turn up a large button on a ledge next to the door, but the setup screamed 'danger' and 'trap' to Morgana.

"This button must open the door," declared Urano, oblivious to his fears.

"No, wait!" cried Morgana, attempting to stop the reckless girl. "It could be a trap!"

However, his warning came too late. Urano had already slammed her hand onto the button. The ballista activated, firing its bolt into nearby wall. As the wall crumbled, a beam of light shot through and shined on the giant door, causing it to unlock.

What the heck?

Morgana didn't have a clue why the Palace had a mechanism like that, but he wasn't going to complain about it. He did chastise Urano for thoughtlessly pressing the button, though.

The two then visited the room that the light originated from, finding that its source was a hole in the ceiling and a reflective panel. With their curiosity satisfied, Morgana and Urano passed through the giant door and found themselves before a stone tablet containing a strange message in glowing green text.

"'The light shed by the god of the underworld shall become the sign for those who traverse the pits'?" read Urano, confused.

Morgana didn't understand what the message meant either, although his gut told him it wasn't just nonsense. His instincts proved correct, too, as the duo pressed onward and found a stone statue of a dog-man with a glowing green gem.

"Anubis, the Egyptian god of the underworld," identified Urano upon seeing the statue. "Maybe this is what that tablet was talking about?"

"Probably," agreed Morgana, taking the gem from it. Even if it turned out that the stone wasn't important, it was still a valuable piece of treasure.

(Incidentally, Morgana had been amassing quite a collection of lowercase-t treasures from the Palace as they moved through it. After all, it wasn't like the Shadows needed them.)

A little bit further into the tomb and another Shadow fight later, the two found a second Anubis statue with another green gem. They took it and kept going, soon finding themselves in a familiar location.

"That door… it's the same one Shadow Futaba put up after siccing that boulder on us!" exclaimed Urano. Indeed, the duo was back in the Palace's main chamber, albeit in a balcony containing a reflective panel instead of on the floor below. "If we can make this panel reflect the light onto the door, it should open up like that other one did."

As Urano said, the reflective panel was currently bouncing light into a wall in the opposite direction of the doorway. But Morgana didn't see any buttons or switches to adjust the angle of the panel. Heck, the only things of note nearby were two stone pedestals.

"Wait a second…" said Morgana, having an idea.

He placed the green gems they had collected on the pedestals, and the tomb began to rumble. The reflective panel spun around, shining its light onto the now-unlocked door. Additionally, the wall to the left of the panel pulled back, revealing a pathway down to the main hall.

Morgana and Urano descended the pathway, proceeded to the giant door, and, upon its opening, ascended the stairs of Futaba's Palace once again.

Urano Motosu's PoV

"Hey, Morgana," I said as we walked up the staircase. There weren't any Shadows here for some reason, so it felt like a good time to talk. "I've been thinking about why Futaba's Palace would have such convenient things like the ballista and the hint tablet. Could it be because of the part of her that wants to live?"

"Maybe," answered Morgana. "At the very least, I can't think of any other reason why the Palace would have things that only benefit intruders."

Before long, we found ourselves at a second giant, sealed door one-third of the way up the staircase. This time, there were regular-sized doors to either side of the huge one.

"Again?" I grumbled, suddenly feeling tired. Not only was the current door blocking our way, there was probably also another one or two sealed doors past it.

"Maybe we should stop here for today," suggested Morgana. I nodded, not having the strength to argue. "But first, I want to show you something."

My curiosity piqued, I followed Morgana as he entered to room to the right of the giant door. The room didn't look like anything special, just a small space with a few crates, some vases, and a pile of sand. Then the space flickered and…

"It's my room!" I exclaimed, shocked as the room in Futaba's Palace became my room in Sojiro's. It was identical to reality, complete with all of my belongings.

Wait, why did Futaba know what my room looked like? Had… had she entered my room at some point?

As I shuddered at the thought of my privacy being invaded, Morgana launched into an explanation of what Safe Rooms were. After he finished, the two of us returned to reality for some well-deserved rest.

After giving a brief update to Futaba via text, I spent the remainder of the day finishing 'The Book Thief' (Liesel had a lot of Guts, opposing those evil, book-burning murderers). The only time I stopped was for dinner with Sojiro.

"Welcome back," greeted Igor.

Was this just my life now? Would I end up in the Velvet Room every single time I fell asleep for the rest of my life?

"I have another gift that shall aid in your rehabilitation," he continued.

I looked at Igor skeptically. While Persona fusion and the Third Eye were useful, I couldn't forget how frustratingly vague he tended to be.

"Justine," called Igor, beckoning to the more polite attendant.

"Yes, Master," she replied, stepping outside of my field of vision. When she returned, she was carrying… a giant book!

"It's amazing!" I exclaimed, overjoyed. I mentally took back everything I'd thought about Igor being super creepy. I stuck my hands through the cell's bars, desperately trying to grab the book the moment Justine brought it within range. "Thank you so much!"

"Control yourself, Inmate!" commanded Caroline, slamming her baton against the bars. Thankfully, she hadn't electrified it this time.

"To avoid distracting you from your rehabilitation, I withheld this gift until now," explained Igor, chuckling. "What you see here is the Persona Compendium. It is a record of every Persona that has ever held a place within your heart. You may summon any demon recorded within it, although they shall possess only their base strength and skills."

It bothered me to hear that he had kept the Compendium from me, but I couldn't deny his words. If I hadn't chosen to sacrifice Liesel and Naga without knowing when I'd see them again, or if I'd been aware that a successful negotiation with Sandman would contribute to a book's contents, then I might not have been able to gather the resolve to kill Shadows.

"Thank you for this gift," I said with sincerity, bowing. "I'll use it wisely."

The residents of the Velvet Room smiled at my show of respect. Well, Caroline's was more of a smirk, but a proud smirk rather than an arrogant one.

"Now, with your permission, may I summon Liesel?"

Although my original Persona's abilities were weaker and her skills less diverse when compared to Isis, it just felt wrong not to have her by my side. Besides, I got the feeling that Liesel still had some hidden potential in her.

"But of course," replied Igor, prompting Justine to begin the summoning process.

As Liesel returned, I grinned. Overall, today had been a good day. I could only hope that tomorrow went just as well.

…

And that I didn't just jinx myself by thinking that.

AN: This chapter had a brief shot of three canonical Phantom Thieves and their perspective of Urano. No Haru, though, partially because I forgot about her when outlining the chapter and partially since I wasn't really sure how to have her meet Urano in a way different than the others.

By the way, Urano and Morgana's conversation about why she helped Ryuji is based on Myne's reason for helping the orphanage. The bookworm doesn't really understand that doing something because you feel bad about someone's situation is being kind, not selfish.

That is all. Goodbye for now!