The Investigation Team had returned to the TV World in short order. The others noticed that Kyoko and Sayaka seemed to be doing a lot better as they progressed through the Casino. Whenever any Shadows showed up to try and stop them, the two would handle things calmly and quickly.

"What happened with them?" Yosuke said.

"Guess they found their resolve." Chie said. "And it's getting me hyped as well!"

The team continued to push forward through the hordes of Shadows. Every floor was simply another hurdle to reach, though they did notice that something felt off.

"Weird… normally we'd be hearing those voices once we get to each floor." Kanji said. "But we ain't hearing nothing now."

"I guess Celeste is a really withdrawn person." Rise shrugged. "Maybe it's why things are being affected differently in this place."

Once they reached the next set of stairs, they reached another roadblock. The door opening up to the next floor was completely blocked off by planks of wood.

"So more of this shit, huh?" Kanji said. "Alright, then let's bust on through!"

"Kanji, wait-!" Rise called.

Kanji slammed his chair into the door, only for the wood to break to reveal a stone layer underneath. He hit it again, only to reveal steel.

"What the hell is this?" Kanji said, noticing his chair was getting a few dents on the legs.

"This wall is heavily compact, and there's more layers the further down you go. I think by the time we break through, we'll be completely drained." Rise said.

"Well, we don't have much choice, do we?" Yukiko frowned.

"I'll sit and bear the struggle! Teddie power will get us through!" Teddie said.

"Wait." Kyoko said. "Perhaps one of us can use our abilities to get through."

"I don't think my powers'll help us at all." Yosuke said. "Chie and Kanji'll still get drained the more they go through, and if we try using Yukiko's we'll bring the hall down on our heads."

"Then maybe it's my turn!" Sayaka said, as she held out a hand. "Go powers!"

She kept the pose up, only for nothing to happen.

"Um… Abracadabra!" Sayaka said, as nothing happened once more. "Shazam! Wapow! Howatcha!"

No matter the pose or activation words Sayaka tried saying, nothing seemed to work.

"You gotta let it come naturally." Yosuke said.

"That's not really helpful." Sayaka threw up her hands, only to wince. Looking back down at her wrist, she noticed part of her skin seemed to be peeling back. Against her better judgment, she pulled it off, and it turned into a piece of paper.

"...that's it?" Chie asked. "You make paper?"

"Oh that's just great." Sayaka crumped up the paper into a ball. "I got the short end of the stick here!"

She threw the ball at the wall, landing in the divot that Kanji broke earlier. It scratched against the stone, before glowing.

"Wait, wha-"

There was a fairly large explosion from where the paper was thrown, as everyone instinctively summoned their Personas to shield themselves.

"Okay… paper bombs." Sayaka smiled. "I take it back! This is awesome!"

Holding her hands forward, the paper flew off her arms and cheeks, completely enwrapping the damage from the previous explosion.

"Uh, you sure that's not too much?" Yosuke asked.

"Nah, we're good, probably!" Sayaka said, as Benzaiten prepared a Light spell.

"Probably?!" Chie shouted.

Benzaiten launched the small bit of light, igniting the first paper. Just in case, everyone quickly ran down the stairs, their Personas shielding them.

BA-KOOOM

Some small pebbles rolled down the stairs, as the rumbling from the explosion stopped. They all went back up to see that the barrier had been completely obliterated, along with a few bits of the hall. Peering through the damage, they saw one last set of golden double doors.

"Well… that was quite effective." Yukiko noted.

"That was awesome , Sayaka!" Rise whooped. "You knew just the amount needed to bust on through!"

"It was pretty easy, because I'm-" Sayaka started.

"Please no psychic quips." Chie groaned.

"Fine, fine." Sayaka waved her hand. "Let's keep moving."

The group reached the door, with Yosuke and Kanji pushing it open, seeing nothing but pitch black.

"Yukiko." Kyoko said.

Nodding, Yukiko had Konohana Sakuya create a small flame to give them light as they walked in. Stepping inside, it felt like polished concrete was on the floor beneath them.

"Hey, what is this place-?"

The door slammed behind them, the gust putting out Yukiko's flame. Everyone quickly prepared to fight, only for the lights to start turning on, illuminating the room.

The place was absolutely massive, resembling a warehouse storage unit. The ceiling went up at least three floors. Oddly enough, there were rows and rows of booths. The booths all had various forms of merchandise for all the popular media in the world.

"The hell?" Kanji lowered his chair. "What the hell is this?"

"I see plushies, action figures, drawings… what is this place?" Chie looked around.

Yukiko walked over to one of the booths, picking up a plushie of a small pink ball creature. "Is this some sort of market?"

"Hold on a second… this is a convention!" Yosuke recognized.

"A convention?" Chie asked.

"I used to go to these ones a few times in the city." Yosuke said. "It's a usually weekend-long event where people with shared interests over things like anime or video games come together to hang out and stuff. You got people cosplaying, people selling their art, that sort of stuff."

"Oh yeah, now it looks familiar!" Sayaka nodded. "I've been a guest for a few of them in the past."

"I've always considered doing so, but my managers always said it might not be a good idea with how crazy fans can get." Rise said.

Kyoko narrowed her eyes. She tapped her foot on the concrete floor, getting quite the echo. "Rise, could you scan the place? And Teddie, try sniffing things out as an extra precaution."

"You got it." Rise summoned Himiko.

"I'll do my beary best, Sensei!" Teddie started sniffing the air.

After a few moments, Himiko faded away, and Teddie sneezed.

"That's… really weird." Rise said. "I don't sense any Shadows on this floor."

"I don't smell anything either…" Teddie nodded.

"Wait, this floor is empty?" Yosuke said.

"That does make things easier for us, but what do we do, then?" Yukiko asked.

"I guess we just go to the next floor, then." Chie said.

They kept walking forward, though this proved a bit difficult as they stopped every now and then to look at the booths. Yosuke and Sayaka couldn't help but be a bit amused, seeing the others entranced by the merchandise.

"They have traditional fans here…" Yukiko said. "And they look quite well-crafted."

"Ooh, they have kung-fu DVDs! It's hard to find them nowadays with how things are pushing towards streaming." Chie picked up a few disks.

"Whoa… they got some pretty cute animal decals." Kanji said, looking at the small papers. "And some pretty nice designs here too."

"They have perfume here…?" Kyoko raised a brow, picking up a bottle. "Why would they sell this here…?"

"Wow… that's an entire booth filled with my merch." Rise said.

"I've made a decision!" Teddie said. "I want to go see a real convention in the real world one day!"

"You know what, I'll try to arrange something." Sayaka smiled. "I know Tokyo has a bunch of them."

"Maybe once this whole mystery thing is over." Yosuke agreed. "Could be fun."

"I'm starting to see why this floor has no Shadows, though." Sayaka said. "The real threat is all this stuff distracting us from moving forward. Oh look, there's a table with merch from my group!"

"Actually, I noticed another issue." Rise said. "I don't see a door or stairs anywhere. I checked the walls, but the only way in and out is the stairwell behind us."

"That can't be right…" Yosuke frowned. "There has to be some way forward. We're just not seeing it yet."

A bright light seemed to exit out of Rise, as she was suddenly holding a red and black scythe. "Whoa, what-?!"

Her eyes glew, as the scythe disappeared as quickly as it formed. Realization seemed to wash over her. "I sense her…! Teddie, the walls!"

Teddie went over to the walls, sniffing things out. "HOLD IT!"

He suddenly glew, as he tapped on one of the walls. He tapped around it, noting that the sound was different depending on where he hit.

"Sensei! Can you come over here?" Teddie called.

Putting down the perfume, Kyoko walked over. "What is it, Teddie?"

"Can you scan the wall?" He asked.

Kyoko raised a brow at the request, but nodded. She looked at it, only to see a small tab pop up simply saying "Wall."

"It's still just a wall, Teddie." Kyoko said.

"OBJECTION!" Teddie said. "Can you look at the other walls, Sensei?"

Kyoko raised a brow, but humored Teddie's suggestion. She took a few minutes to walk around the warehouse, taking note of the other walls. They seemed identical, but when she nearly reached back to the initial wall Teddie had called her to, it hit her.

"This is the only wall that I can identify." Kyoko realized, seeing the label above it. "The others aren't interactable."

"Then we just bust on through, right?" Sayaka asked, holding up her hands, ready to use her paper bombs.

"Wait." Kyoko held up a hand. "What if we need to progress differently?"

"What do you mean?" Sayaka asked.

"I don't think it makes sense for this one to be destroyable." Kyoko said. "Chie slashed through the chains on the door, Kanji smashed through a wall, and you blew up one with paper. I'd question Celeste if everything was meant to be destroyed."

"That and this room is a walking fire hazard, so it's probably not the best move." Yosuke added.

"So what then?" Sayaka asked. "Is this like one of those walls that open up when you say a magic word like "Open Sesame" or you gotta dance in front of it? If it's the second one, I could totally do that."

Kyoko put a hand under her chin in thought, as she looked at the wall. Narrowing her eyes, she noticed it seemed rather… plain. All the other walls in the large room had things like posters, or were even hand-painted. This one was completely dull, almost lifeless.

"Maybe…"

She turned around back towards the various merchandise booths. While the others were still marveling over things, Kyoko was looking for something in particular.

"You got a clue on what we need?" Yosuke asked.

"Not completely, but I'll know when I see it." Kyoko said.

"What about something here?" Sayaka pointed at a booth full of vampire merchandise.

"Seriously?" Yosuke laughed.

"What? She dresses kinda goth most of the time, so I thought it made sense." Sayaka shrugged.

"That was goth?" Yosuke raised a brow. "I thought it was some other kind of style…"

As the two discussed Celeste's fashion sense, Kyoko scoured the booths. Occasionally she asked the others what they had found, but nothing notable came up. That was, until she reached Kanji looking at the stuffed animals. Normally she would've expected a smile on his face, but he was frowning.

"Weird…"

"Kanji? Is something the matter?" Kyoko asked, walking up.

"Huh? Oh it's… well it's this thing here." Kanji said, pointing at the stuffed animals. Past the bright and colored ones was a worn-down antique doll, sitting on the corner of the table.

"A porcelain doll?" Kyoko blinked.

"Yeah." Kanji nodded. "I recognize that one being an old thing they stopped making years ago. Most of the ones I've seen ain't in good condition, just gathering dust in people's houses."

"I know what you mean." Kyoko said. "I used to have one of those as a child when I lived with my grandfather, but it broke."

"Ah dang, really?" Kanji looked a bit saddened before getting back on topic. "But you see why it's sticking out, yeah?"

Kyoko looked back at the pile, noticing all the stuffed animals seemed far too new. The doll was slightly worn down with faded colors, but had no rips or cracks. It was in a worn-down condition, but a condition where the owner had treated it well.

"I'm starting to see your vision, Kanji." Kyoko said, as she picked up the doll. Turning around, she walked back over to the wall and placed it down in front of it.

A white light glew on the wall, before cutting out an outline shaped as a door. The outline sank in, before rising, revealing one final set of stairs.

"It was just like a puzzle…" Sayaka said, amazed.

Rise scanned the staircase, widening her eyes. "That's the last floor… I think Celeste is there, along with her Shadow."

Kyoko tightened her hand into a fist, while Sayaka gripped the hem of her skirt. They were finally about to head in, to save Celeste. The others all gathered behind them.

"Don't worry." Yosuke said, putting a hand on Kyoko's shoulder. "We'll save her, I know it."

"Yeah." Rise nodded. "We'll do this together!"

Sayaka smiled. "Thanks, everyone. Let's get Celeste and get out of here. On your mark, Kyoko."

"Alight…" Kyoko pulled out her knife. "Let's go."

She took one step forward, and felt her special analysis abilities fade. The others likely lost their new powers too.

A small hiccup, but they didn't need these to save Celeste.

Reaching the top stairs, the team ran into one last door. Curiously, this door wasn't large like all the last. It was a simple mundane door anyone could find in a house.

"What the…? This has gotta be a trap or something, right?" Kanji asked.

"Yeah, this looks way too easy." Chie agreed. "No way a normal door would just-"

Yukiko pushed it open. "It's open."

"Bwuh?!" Yosuke shouted. "What are you-?!"

"Well, nothing is happening, so it looks like she made the right call." Sayaka said. "Let's go in."

Stepping inside the final room, the team were stunned at what they saw.

The previous final chambers for other Shadows were usually far larger, almost extravagant. But this room was anything but. It was fairly large, about the size of the gym at Yasogami High, but that was the most interesting part about it. The entire room was bright grey, with absolutely no detail at all. None of the walls were visible, aside from the one door. You would be forgiven if you thought you were standing in a void with how plain everything looked. In the center of the room was a single plain bed, and sitting on it was…

"Celeste!" Sayaka shouted.

The girl looked up from her nails, almost bored. "Ah, so you're finally here."

"Is she… unfazed?" Yosuke asked. "We sure that's the real one?"

"It's normal for her to act like this." Kyoko said. I'm sure she's likely terrified, but it's better if we don't bring it up now.

"I had a feeling you stayed in this town for a reason." Celeste said, looking around. "A killer is one thing, but this place is a whole other deal."

"She's really unfazed, huh?" Chie said.

"That imposter me kept saying things about "showing you the real me" and other rubbish." Celeste shrugged. "I'd rather leave before I hear more nonsense from her mouth."

"Then come on, let's go." Sayaka held out a hand.

"That's the problem, my dear. There is no way out." Celeste said rather cheerfully.

"What are you talking about?" Yosuke asked. "We used the front door."

"What door?" Celeste asked.

Yosuke turned and pointed. "The one right… there…"

There was no door behind them. It was just the grey wall.

"What the hell?!" Kanji ran to the wall and hit on it. "The door's gone!"

"We're trapped…" Kyoko looked around the room. "Meaning…"

"My imposter is here." Celeste sat back down on the bed.

The upper part of one of the walls pulled away to make an entrance, before the floor rose to make a set of larger stairs. Stepping out of the wall was the casino owner Celeste stepped through. Instead of the rather cocky expression she had on her face earlier, now it was completely stoic.

"You're all here. Good." Her voice was reverberating, much like the other Shadows, but her tone was calm, almost human.

"So you're here, faker." Celeste said. "What nonsense do you have for me today?"

"I'm not here to talk to you." The Shadow raised her arms, and stood on the first large step. Several mechanical arms rose from the platform, taking off the extra gold and jewelry off her body. "I am here to merely state the truth."

"The truth?" Kyoko asked.

"I wish to show you the truth about Taeko Yasuhiro." The Shadow said, stepping forward. Her boots tore apart, turning into a pair of simple sneakers. While the Investigation Team mostly looked confused, both Kyoko and Sayaka were the only ones that didn't seem to share confusion.

"Taeko Yasuhiro? Who's that?" Chie asked.

"Yes indeed, who is this girl?" Celeste asked in a tone with a slight bit of force in it.

The Shadow pointed at Celeste silently.

"I'm afraid you have me mistaken for someone else, dear." Celeste said. "My name is Celestia Ludenberg."

"You can continue running, Taeko. But I know everything about you." Celeste's Shadow took another step. Her gaudy clothes tore away, to reveal a plain grey tracksuit underneath. "The truth beneath all the lies you built yourself upon."

So that's why I couldn't sense her, and Teddie couldn't smell her. Rise realized as she scanned the Shadow. Her Shadow was doing… this thing, to keep under the radar.

"Once again, you are mistaken. My name is Celestia Ludenberg." Celeste was trying to keep composed with a smile on her face, but her voice was starting to shake.

The Shadow stepped onto the floor, as two mechanical arms reached out, taking off the two large hair extensions. Standing there was now a girl that could only be described as "plain," without anything special about her appearance. Just a simple tracksuit and sneakers, with simple black hair. A completely average girl, with nothing special; just another face in the crowd. "Do you continue to deny it, Taeko?"

"MY NAME. IS CELESTIA, LUDENBERG." Celeste said, her tone raised.

Celeste's Shadow turned to Kyoko, almost looking for confirmation. When it was clear that Kyoko wasn't going to say it aloud for Celeste's sake, her Shadow took it upon herself.

"Taeko Yasuhiro, the Queen of Liars. Born into an average family and desperate to make a name for herself in the world."

"Shut up…"

"You turned to the underworld of gambling, winning your way up to the top. You enjoyed this new life of yours, so much so that you buried your past as well as you could."

"Shut up…!"

"That obsession of yours to try and become European royalty, taking on that entire false narrative. You said that "Taeko Yasuhiro" is a loser's name, but "Celestia Ludenberg" is equally such with how it does not exist. The name of a thing is an indicator of its existence. Then what if that name is not real? If it's not real, would that mean its existence is not real either? Is that what it would mean? Celestia… or rather, Taeko."

"I SAID SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU BLITHERING PONCE!" Celeste screamed. "I AM CELESTIA LUDENBERG!"

"Is Taeko her real name?" Yosuke asked Sayaka and Kyoko.

"That's…" Sayaka started.

"It's NOT!" Celeste screamed. "MY NAME! IS CELESTIA LUDENBERG!"

"It's pointless to keep denying it, Taeko Yasuhiro. They all know the truth now." Her Shadow said. There was no joy or mocking in its voice. "They all know how you're built upon a throne of lies."

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Celeste screeched. "YOU WORTHLESS REMINDER OF A LOSER! WHY WON'T YOU SHUT UP?!"

"Because I am you." The Shadow simply stated. "I am just as much Celestia Ludenberg as you are Taeko Yasuhiro."

"You are NOT! You are nothing like me!" Celeste yelled.

"So you continue to deny it, then." Her Shadow almost looked sad.

The Investigation Team drew their weapons. They didn't bother trying to stop Celeste, knowing what was next. Kyoko and Sayaka both had a feeling that they wouldn't be able to prevent this, no matter what.

"What'll it be? Will you give up this farce and understand that I am you, or will you try to beat me down, here and now?" Her Shadow asked.

"YOU AREN'T ME, YOU LOSER PIECE OF SHIT!" Celeste screamed, punching her Shadow in the face. "I WAS NEVER YOU! I AM CELESTIA LUDENBERG!"

Her Shadow stumbled from the punch. Her expression didn't change from the stoic front she kept up. The glowing gold eyes started to shine brighter.

"So be it." The air grew colder, as her Shadow seemed to grow darker. "Then this is the end."

She swept out an arm, as a cloak completely covered her. Several bats flew out of the walls as they flipped over to resemble the transylvanian castle that made the first set of floors.

"Yosuke!" Kyoko called.

With a boost of wind, Yosuke rushed forward and grabbed Celeste, jumping out of the way and to the side.

"Let me go, you worthless trash!" Celeste screamed, still hysterical.

"You're welcome for the save!" Yosuke yelled, annoyed.

With a burst of darkness, Celeste's Shadow swept out an arm. She had grown in size by several feet, now dressed in a vampiric cloak and outfit. Her eyes had gone from yellow to blood red, her teeth having sharpened fangs. Her black hair had turned completely white, as she held up a pale hand with sharpened nails.

"I am a Shadow, the true self." Celeste's Shadow boomed. "If I am considered a loser, then those that lose to me will be even lower than trash, won't they?"

"Yosuke, Yukiko, Kanji, make sure Celeste stays safe." Kyoko said, gripping her knife. "Everyone else, with me."

"Yeah, this show has been going on for long enough!" Sayaka agreed, drawing her bow. "Let's go!"

Kyoko's Social Links:

Magician (Yosuke Hanamura): MAX

Chariot (Chie Satonaka): Rank 9

Priestess (Yukiko Amagi): Rank 7

Emperor (Kanji Tatsumi): Rank 4

Star (Teddie): Rank 3

Lovers (Rise Kujikawa): Rank 1

Hanged Man (Sayaka Maizono): Rank 6

Justice (Nanako Dojima): Rank 5

Hierophant (Ryotaro Dojima): Rank 6

Fool (The Investigation Team): Rank 7

Hope (Hope's Peak Academy Students): Rank 4

Kyoko's Personas: Izanagi, Mada

A/N: And we arrive at our next Shadow encounter. Celeste's dungeon was really fun to write out, with the hidden depths our Queen of Liars has. I saw a few comments and reviews had managed to pick up what the theme was. It allows Kyoko to show a bit more of her detective side in the TV World. We probably won't get a dungeon like this again, so I made sure to go all out for it.

Her Shadow was equally fun to write, being our first proper original Shadow as Sayaka didn't have one. Celeste's "true self" was pretty easy to narrow down, because of how much she hides away. I wanted to subvert expectations by making her a casino owner, only to reveal that one was a lie as well. I used her gym outfit as a base, and sticking with just that as the idea. Celeste is a fascinating character with many layers, and one I wanted to get across well.

Feel free to leave a review. See you all next time.