The door to the Fourth Descent opened without a sound.
No key. No fanfare. Just a mirror that blinked—and the world shifted sideways. One moment the Phantom Thieves were standing in the heart of the Mirror Cathedral. The next, they were walking down a corridor shaped like a spiral of gold leaf and candlelight.
A whisper followed them:
"To know what you desire, see what you might've been."
The Labyrinth of Wishes
Mementos reshaped itself into an infinite theater. Each chamber was a dream, a lie, a truth twisted into longing. Every door opened not just into another room—but into an alternate path.
Ann stepped into a studio where she never met Shiho, where her fame eclipsed friendship. She stood on stage, surrounded by beauty and isolation. Her Persona shifted slightly—Helewa, now with a burning mirror in place of a face.
Ryuji, watching silently, slipped into a memory of a world where he never quit the track team—but became hollow inside, a mask of strength without rebellion. She touched her own shoulder, feeling both power and doubt.
Yusuke, draped in twilight silk, saw his art celebrated—but without soul. Without pain. Without the Phantom Thieves. Without Ren. His fingers trembled.
They all reconvened around a soft-lit garden, one that shouldn't exist in Mementos.
"This descent isn't just testing you," Tae Takemi murmured. "It's... harvesting something."
Eiko's Shadow Team
Before they could ponder the meaning further, Futaba's scan picked up something—a second team of signals, not far ahead. Different Personas. Not Shadows, not demons.
"I think they're like us," Futaba whispered. "But... off. Distorted."
They caught a glimpse—through a mirror-lined corridor—of Eiko, leading four others. Her team wore outfits twisted from Phantom Thief designs. Veluria's sigil shimmered subtly on each of them.
"She's not working alone," Makoto said flatly. "She's building a court."
Sora stepped forward, hand on her weapon. "A mirror of us."
Back in Tokyo
Unbeknownst to them, mirror distortions had already begun creeping into the waking world.
People across Tokyo reported strange occurrences:
Reflections moving slightly out of sync.
Shadows flickering in the corners of vision.
People claiming they saw themselves doing things they'd never done.
In Shibuya, a subway car crashed after the operator claimed to see "a mirror-self" sitting at the controls.
In the middle of this chaos, Sojiro Sakura (now youthful, female, and sharp-eyed as ever) gathered intel. She pulled Ren aside, voice low:
"These events... they're linked to the distortions. We need to seal this fast, or Tokyo will split in two. Maybe worse."
Persona Evolutions: Seeds of Change
The labyrinth affected them all.
Makoto's Persona evolved—Johanna dissolving into Justizia, a half-armored saint riding a serpent-bound chariot, her fists glowing with divine law and raw emotion.
Ryuji's changed again, her thunder cracking wider—Kapnos, the smoking spark of rebellion and compassion, now wore both a track uniform and divine war paint.
Even Tae, new to it all, felt her Persona—Nyx Aeternum—grow wings of violet fire.
Fragment Discovered: Mirrorheart Talisman
At the center of the Labyrinth stood a shrine, pulsing with soft blue.
A Fragment hovered there: the Mirrorheart Talisman—a divine object tied to Veluria's origins. When Ren reached for it, it split into two pieces.
One for them.
One for Eiko and her Court.
A whisper filled the team's minds:
"The world does not shatter from force... but from reflection."