Mementos had grown colder.
Not in temperature—but in sensation. The wind carried voices now. Echoes of choices not made, shadows of emotions never spoken aloud. The team's steps reverberated with more than sound.
Ahead, rising from a canyon of crystalline memory, stood the Mirror Cathedral.
A spire carved from fractal glass and obsidian veins, it pulsed with light from within. Doors opened without being touched. Windows revealed nothing, yet everything.
"This is Veluria's core territory," Futaba whispered, goggles twitching with scans. "I don't think it was here before. Or maybe... we weren't ready to see it."
They stepped inside.
Inside the cathedral, mirrors stood in rows like pews, all facing a grand altar that reflected the viewer instead of any icon. No Persona masks here—only raw reflections.
Each mirror shimmered faintly as a member passed.
Makoto saw a version of herself in white robes—soft, open, and deeply in love. She recoiled.
Ryuji glimpsed a vision of her former male self, grinning with pride—and mocking her new, vulnerable strength.
Futaba paused too long at one mirror—where her reflection seemed to be leaving the team behind.
Sora stared calmly, seeing herself still behind the café counter... but pouring for herself this time.
Ren stepped to the altar. His reflection... didn't show just him. It showed every bond—glowing, tangled—and something else watching through his own eyes.
A Step Echoes
A footstep.
Not one of theirs.
From the center aisle emerged a figure: dressed like a thief, but with none of the usual flair. Her coat was stitched from stardust and antique velvet. A half-mask of crystal shimmered across one eye. Her voice rang with familiarity and detachment all at once.
"You're slow," she said. "The cathedral's already offered its mirror. I took mine."
"Who are you?" Makoto stepped forward, defensive.
"Call me Eiko, if you want. Or not. Names are for people who still doubt what they've become."
Behind her shimmered her Persona—Eratheia, a being woven from cracked chandeliers and wings made of torn diary pages. Her aura buzzed like divine static.
"Veluria opened the doors for all of us. But not all are meant to kneel at your leader's feet, Ren Amamiya."
Her gaze locked onto him.
"Some of us were meant to rewrite the Mirror War."
Eiko's Challenge
Suddenly, the mirrors all pulsed in sync. Eiko raised a hand—and the entire cathedral turned inward on itself, forming a dome of reflection.
Mini-Boss Encounter: The Mirror Duelist
Eiko fought not with brute force, but with illusion. Each of her attacks mirrored the team's own—projecting their inner doubts, weaknesses, desires. Ann was forced to face a version of herself that never left modeling. Haru's reflection whispered of a life untouched by rebellion. Makoto's... almost accepted Veluria's offer.
Only Ren, Sora, and Tae broke the illusions in time, driving Eiko back with synchronized skill fusions—Sublimation Veil, Fractured Brew, and Binding Pact.
Eiko fell to one knee, smiling—not wounded, but curious.
"So you're not lost yet," she said, rising. "Good. It's no fun if your reflections crack too early."
She vanished in a glint of mirror-light.
Aftermath: The Cathedral Shifts
With her gone, the cathedral... breathed. The altar unfolded, revealing not treasure, but a message carved in divine glyphs.
Fragment Unlocked: Fourth Descent – The Labyrinth of Wishes
Futaba translated: "To know who you are, walk among who you might've been."
Makoto stared after Eiko's exit. Something about that girl felt wrongly familiar—like a dream she'd forgotten.
Sora muttered, "She's not the only one with Veluria's favor."
Ren nodded. "But we still have each other."
Tae: "For now."