The Masks Behind the Mirror (P5 X Twisted Wonderland)

The Basement and the Turning Point

Looking around the Velvet Room, I saw both Igor and Sophia and a room covered with a curtain. Noticing me, Igor greeted me with, "Welcome back, Wanderer. Congratulations on forming more bonds. As you know, the power of the wildcard entails that you can wield more than one persona. This power has infinite possibilities, so we will do our best to assist you in nurturing that power. One of the methods that we use is fusing personas. We will do this by shattering your worldview and recreating it afterward. Sophia, could you show her what I mean?"

As Sophia said, "Okay." she led us to the room with the curtain. Once we entered, it looked like there was a tome in front of the door farthest from where we were currently standing. As I walked over to the book, Sophia said, "That is your compendium; it records all the information about your personas that you currently have and allows you to burepurchase the personasor a small fee. Do you want me to register your current personas that you have on hand?"

"Sure. Also, why is the book placed so far from the entrance to the room?"

"It is because it is easy to access for fusions. Now, please enter the room to your right. Also, which personas do you want to fuse together?"

"Let's fuse Bai Suzhen and Timely Rabbit."

"Okay then."

As Sophia says this, she shows a mirror containing Bai Suzhen and another containing Timely Rabbit. As she brings both to the center of the room, she lays an empty frame between the two mirrors. She hits both mirrors with her yo-yos as she steps back, causing the shards to align into the new mirror. Once she picks up the mirror, a spectral version of Silky appears before she says, "I am Silky. You who has gained a new mask, my master... Allow me to take care of your heart." After exiting the fusion room, I asked, "Would it be okay if I regained Timely Rabbit and Bai Suzhen?"

"Of course."

After repurchasing the two I fused away, I said, "Thank you for doing all this. I think I'm ready to head back now."

Before Sophia could tell me how to exit, I heard Igor say, "Normally, I would show you the fragment of knowledge when you are closer to the space between dream and reality. However, I feel like it is a wasted opportunity not to learn the pattern that history always follows. Sophia, could you grab the second shard?"

"Okay! Hmmm~♪"

Once I stared into the shard she brought back, I was transported to the same place. After a few minutes pass, I exit the mirror fragment looking a little upset. After taking a deep breath to calm down, I asked, "Would it be okay if I went back? Wait, how would I get back?"

"Of course, all you have to do to exit the Velvet Room is to walk into the gate."

"Thank you. See you soon, Sophia."

'Is it just me, or is Sophia's mannerisms different? Oh well, let's get everything set up to look around in the basement.'

I see Ace leading everyone down the stairs as I leave the gate. I hear him saying, "...dunno what he wants us to do with the basement."

Seeing that Ace had Yuu and Grim nearby to give everyone light, I took out my phone and turned on my flashlight. "Hey, I dunno what is in here, but maybe we could use it to upgrade the house a bit or see what we need to replace."

As soon as I say that, I hear Ace say, "Man, I know that I said this before, but this whole place is a dump."

"Can't do anything about it, at least not right now. Don't exactly have the money to do repairs."

Once Yuu looked around, he asked, "Is that a washing machine and a dryer over there? I can't really see that well."

After pointing the flashlight over there, I say, "Seems like it. Also, sorry it is so dark, I couldn't seem to find a light switch."