Suddenly, multiple large holograms of a masked man can be seen everywhere.

Rogue: Who's that.

Kunai: The leader of Argus: The Grandmaster.

Rogue: Argus?

Kunai: Is the name of the faction that oversees the entire game.

Grandmaster: Greetings young players. I have come to personally inform you of this month's Grand Mission.

Rogue: Grand Mission?

Grandmaster: The Labyrinth of The Lovers has resurface. This time is giving a difficult time to the members of the Asaka Group in the Yokohama branch.

Kunai: ...!?

Grandmaster: Their secrets are being leaked, their networks are shutting down, and with their CEO currently in the hospital, things aren't looking so good for them. You have until the end of the month to eliminate the shadows of the Labyrinth, or you will all face erasure. Best of luck. And with that, I bid you all adieu.

The message ends.

Tempest: Okay, better get to work.

Kane: I'll be heading back to the hub. If you need anything, you know where to find me.

Kane teleports back to the hub.

Kunai: I just remember, there's something I gotta do in the real world. Talk to you guys later.

Kunai returns to the real world.

Airi removes her MatriX Glasses and leaves home. She then has her driver take her to a certain location. She then enters the Asaka Group HQ.

Bodyguard: Oh. Airi-sama. I thought this was your day off. What brings you here.

Airi: Let me speak with the manager.

Bodyguard: Now's... not a good time.

Airi: Now!

Bodyguard: M-My apologies. Right this way.

Airi walks up to the manager.

Manager: Oh, Airi-sama. How nice of you to drop by! How's your father?

Airi: My father is doing fine, thank you for the concern. Tell me, is it true that the company is in chaos right now?

Manager: W-What? Of course not.

Airi: Are you sure about that?

Manager: Listen, there's nothing you should be worried about. We have everything under control.

Airi: Is that so? Because you know fully well my father has zero tolerance for incompetence among his workforce.

Manager: That...

Airi was able to tell right away that the manager was lying.

Airi: (I knew it. This is bad...)

Ikki was at the Yokohama Internet Cafe. He then goes to the second floor. Then he hears someone calling out to him.

???: Excuse me.

He looks back to see Agatha next to a velvet-colored door.

Ikki: I knew it. You're that same Agatha from the Velvet Room.

Agatha: The very same one.

Ikki: Why are you following me around school?

Agatha: I've been curious about the human school life for a very long time, and it is my duty to assist you, so I've taken the liberty to follow you around school and collect data about your daily activities. The master approves of this action.

Ikki: Well I don't! That's called stalking!

Agatha: You really shouldn't be yelling.

Ikki: Why?

Man: E-Excuse me? Are you okay?

Ikki: What?

Man: I mean, you're yelling at a wall.

Ikki: Huh?

Ikki looks back at Agatha.

Ikki: How come no one else is seeing you, nor that door?

Agatha: As our guest, you're the only one who can see it. Anyways, the master wishes to speak with you. We shouldn't keep him waiting.

Ikki: Fine.

They both entered the door, leading them to the Velvet Room.

Igor: Welcome back.

Ikki: Why am I here?

Igor: It's about time we explain the true nature of your power.

Ikki: Hm?

Agatha: Aside from your Foresight, you are able to wield multiple personas within yourself. It is an ability that symbolizes the possession of multiples masks. We call it... the "Wildcard."

Ikki: But aren't the other players able to do that as well? How is it special?

Agatha: Your Wildcard is not to be mistaken with that incomplete ability of your fellow players. While other players can only use a couple of Arcanas to the best of their abilities, you are special.

Ikki: How so?

Igor: It's just like the number zero... Empty, yet within it, holds infinite possibilities. You possess compatibility with all 20 Arcanas, which allows you to bring out the full potential of whichever Persona you may wield.

Ikki: What?

Agatha: Surely you must have noticed after all this time.

Ikki: I did found it odd that I never had any trouble using a Persona.

Igor: Now that you've come to understand the nature of your power... We can now aid you properly.

Ikki: Aid me how?

Igor snaps fingers, revealing a bar section.

Then Agatha walks up to it.

Agatha: I shall assist you in the creation of new, stronger Personas.

Ikki: Huh?

Agatha: By sacrificing the Personas you already possess, I can help you give birth to stronger ones.

Ikki: Wait, sacrifice them?

Igor: Do not be alarmed. Personas are personalities that exist within you... Thus, you will only be discarding your old personalities and have them reborn as new ones.

Agatha: It will however come with a price.

Ikki: How much are we talking about exactly.

Ikki looks at the tablet in front of him. It had several large prices on it.

Ikki: Are you serious? I don't have that kind of money on me right now.

Agatha: Don't worry, I accept currency from The MatriX.

Ikki: It looks like I'm gonna be busy for quite some time.

Igor: To show you how useful Persona Fusion is, we will allow the first one to be free.

Agatha: After that, we ask that you work yourself to the bone.

The tablet shows Ikki his current roster of Personas.

Agatha: Pick two Personas to fuse, and master will do the rest.

Ikki: Good thing I'm legal age.

Weighing his options, Ikki chooses Mermaid and Fenrir. Agatha begins mixing them into a cocktail.

Agatha: Drink up!

Ikki consumes the cocktail. Then, his new Persona appears in front of him.

Agatha looks at Ikki's new Persona with sparkles in her eyes.

Agatha: A Koppa Tengu... So cool~!

Ikki: Huh?

The Persona transforms into data. Agatha quickly regains her professional composure.

Ikki: So what happened to the Personas I fused?

Igor: Don't worry, as I said, your Personas are not lost forever. Agatha has preserved the data of the Personas you sacrificed and cataloged them in the compendium.

Ikki: Meaning?

Agatha: Meaning that for the right price you can re-summon them anytime, then used them for fusion material over and over.

Ikki: Well that's a relie- wait! I also have to pay for re-summoning them!?

Agatha: Yes. Unfortunately you can't do much right now since your power is weak at the moment. But the more you continue to put in the effort, the master and I will consider adding new menu items to create even more powerful Personas.

Igor: Gather as many Personas as possible, and bring them here. Do so and new possibilities will open up to you. Developing your power will play a crucial role in your stand against the calamity. However, it's impossible to win a game of chess with a single piece only, so if you are to overcome these trials, you are to form bonds with people near you.

Ikki: Form bonds? As if making friends? How will that help?

Igor: For you see, the power of your Persona will only grow if you do... After all, Personas are strength of the heart. Such bonds will not only help you mature, but they will help nurture your power even further.

Agatha: However, we are not asking for superficial relationships. You must form everlasting bonds with the people around you that come from either ideals or faith. The stronger those bonds are, the greater your compatibility with other Arcanas will be.

Igor: If you have close ties to people you call friends, remember this... "Strength of heart, when united, is barred by no door..." It was the same for all our previous guests.

Ikki: .....

Igor: Normally I wouldn't do this, but it is my duty to do everything in my power to aid you... Therefore I too shall do my part. I have high expectations of you.

Just like that, I agreed to help Igor stop this great calamity and clear the game.

"I am thou, thou art I... Thou has established a new bond...

"It shall become thy strength, thy wisdom, and thy courage to clear the game..."

"Rejoice! For thou has been blessed with the power of the Fool Persona...

Ikki: I understand. I'll do my best, then.

Suddenly, they hear the bell ringing.

Igor: I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today... Continue devoting yourself to clearing the game, and remember... the future is not set in stone, so trust your visions, and do whatever you must to change them.

Agatha: Oh, that's right. Before you leave, take this.

A key appears in front of Ikki. Then he grabs it.

Ikki: What's this for?

Igor: It's a key to the Velvet Room. With it, you'll be able to access this place anytime on your own accord.

Agatha: Please feel free to come by anytime.

Ikki: You got it.

Ikki returns to reality.

ACE returns to The MatriX. Then he receives a notification from Tempest.

Tempest: "Hey, ACE. A meeting will be held to discuss the upcoming dungeon raid. I already sent you to the address"

ACE: (So a strategy meeting, huh? Maybe I'll learn something useful if I attend.)

In a high-up building room, hundreds of players were holding a meeting regarding this month's mission. ACE's group was also there.

Azule: Okay. I thank you all for coming, now let's get this meeting underway. My name is Azule, I'm the leader of the Mystic Knights faction. Today, we'd like to discuss what we know of this month's Grand Mission. Information Brokers that we hired have provided us with the dungeon's location. One of them is actually here right now, she will give you the details. Now, if you please...

A green-haired girl stepped in.

Viper: I'm Viper from the Gamma faction. I want you all to look at this...

Viper shows them a map of the first floor.

Viper: The first floor consists of several traps here, here, and here. There are various dead-ends, some untouched treasure chests, a safe zone, and at the entrance to the second floor is guarded by a super-sized . We tried taking them down, but we nearly ended up in casualties.

Player: Were you able to learn anything of that ?

Viper: It has 695 HP, 300 SP, and is able to cast Concentrate and Bufudyne. It's strong against Electricity and weak to Fire. It is also backed-up by 5 . We'll be fine if we bring Fire-based Personas, but Electric-based is off the table.

Then Azule took over.

Azule: In that case, sending out multiple parties of at least 4-6 people should be enough to defeat and map through the other floors. If we're lucky, we might find the Boss Room in approximately 2-3 days. Any objections?

???: Not exactly an objection, but I got something I wanna get off my chest.

Another player walks in.

Inves: My name is Inves. I work for no one. And I would like to ask, how are we splitting up the winnings?

Azule: We're planning to distribute money equally among all parties. Other things like items shall be discussed once the Labyrinth is cleared. Anything else?

Then ACE stands up.

ACE: Viper, was it?

Viper: Y-Yes?

ACE: Everyone... trust that woman and you'll be killed.

Those words got the players confused.

Player: Get us killed?

Player: What is he on about?

Rogue: Wait, what?

Tempest: ACE, what are you doing?

ACE just had a vision.

Multiple players were being slaughtered by shadows, who weren't but five . Azule was crawling back terrified as anwas slowly approaching him.

Azule: This wasn't supposed to happen...

Azule is stabbed to death multiple times and banished. From the shadows, Viper was standing with what appeared to be her faction, and her teammates were smiling the whole time.

ACE: Most of the info she just gave out is false.

Player: What are you on about? Are you an intelligence broker? Where's the proof?

ACE: ....

Kunai stands up and makes ACE sit back down.

Kunai: I'm really sorry about my friend. He really likes to joke around.

Player: The hell's wrong with you? Gamma risked their lives to gather this much info and you accuse them of lying?

Player: Yeah, get lost!

Azule: Everyone, please calm down. And you, would you please refrain from spewing out baseless accusations?

ACE just gets ready to leave.

ACE: I'm done here anyways.

ACE proceeds to leave. Then Rogue, Kunai and Tempest follow.

Kunai: Wait. Where are you going?

Tempest: ACE-san!

They followed ACE outside the building.

Kunai: ACE. What was that back there?

ACE: Can we talk somewhere in secret.

Kunai: We can go to Kane's place.

ACE: Then let's go.

They went to a secret room in Kane's COMP Smith.

Tempest: What is it that you wanna talk about?

Kane: What is even going on?

Rogue: Beats me.

ACE: Do you guys know any shadows that look like a red knight in a horse.

Tempest: Red knight in a horse?

Kunai: Wait do you mean this by any chance?