The station entrance pulsed with a quiet hum.
Ren led the team toward the alley's hidden access to Mementos, flanked by familiar figures and one not-so-familiar anymore—Sora Sakura, now clad in a deep crimson version of her barista coat, flaring like a cape behind her. Her glasses shimmered as her steps slowed.
She hesitated. "Still weird, doing this without a cigarette or mug in hand."
Futaba chuckled from behind her goggles. "You'll get used to it. Kinda."
ACCESSING… VELURIA-LINKED DISTORTION ZONE: "The Unpoured Cup."
The space warped around them, and suddenly they stood in a vast café suspended in mirror shards, hanging upside down and sideways at once. Steam rose from cups that had never been filled. Behind the bar, countless reflections of Sora stood frozen, each one representing a different "version" of her.
Tae murmured, "Her cognition's stronger than mine was. This… feels ancient."
"Not cognition," Sora whispered, stepping forward. "Memory. Regret."
Fenestra: The Persona of Contradiction
A soft shimmer echoed through the room as her shadow emerged from one of the shattered mirrorframes—a younger Sojiro, cold-eyed, smoking alone behind a register.
"You never thought you deserved happiness. So you buried it behind coffee and guilt."
Sora didn't flinch. "And you're still a bitter bastard."
"Until you claim your true contradiction, you'll never pour what you've withheld."
The team instinctively spread out. Ryuji and Makoto flanked the back. Tae pulled a vial from her coat. Ren stood beside Sora, who clenched her fist.
"I'm not scared of you," she said. "Because I already lived through you."
A ring of shattered espresso cups spun around her. Her Persona, Fenestra, bloomed into full form: a silver-winged figure with a mask shaped like a café clock, draped in tapestries woven with text and sigils.
New Skill Unlocked: Mirror Veil – Reflects all incoming magic attacks for one turn. New Fusion Trait: Dual Pour – Allows two conflicting skills to be fused into a single cast.
But Then: Veluria Arrives
The lights dimmed.
Futaba screamed from the rear. A ripple spread across the mirrored floor as Veluria emerged—not through a door, but through a version of herself. Her face wore a curious, almost pitying smile.
"What a rich contradiction… You were meant to be a guide, Sora Sakura. Not a player. And yet…"
She turned her gaze—piercing, surgical—directly toward Makoto.
"And you, Iron Will. You still deny the pleasures of surrender."
Makoto froze, her Persona flickering at the edges.
"Come to me, and I will show you a world where duty and desire are one."
Makoto clenched her jaw, but didn't answer.
Veluria's Offer: "One of you may ascend—if she accepts my gift freely."
Sora's Choice
Sora stepped forward, hand raised. "She's not yours to tempt. I've already made my contradiction mine."
The reflection behind the bar shattered.
Boss Battle: The Barista's Regret
A twisted version of Sojiro merged with broken espresso machines and chains of unpaid debts. The team spread out as steam hissed through the air, each attack coming with personal guilt phrases whispered in their ears.
Tae cast Adrenal Surge on Sora.
Ryuji smashed through regret vines with Thunder Vein.
Makoto, visibly trembling, still stood tall—but her shadow flickered faintly.
Ren drove his blade forward, into the core of the boss, locking eyes with Sora.
"You do deserve to pour. Pour for yourself."
With one final cry, Fenestra unleashed "Brew of Paradox", a wave of mirror-shards fused with scalding light.
The enemy fell.
Aftermath: A New Reflection
Sora stood among the ruins, panting, a hand pressed to her heart.
"Guess I'm part of the team now, huh?"
Ren smiled. "Looks like it."
Makoto sat beside her, quieter than usual. Veluria's voice still echoed in her mind. That offer hadn't just been a trick.
It had tugged on something real.