Chapter Text
The ground shook beneath Ren's feet.
Chunks of white concrete crashed from above as the corridor twisted and cracked around them. The once pristine halls of Maruki's Palace were collapsing faster with every passing second.
"We need to move!" Makoto shouted.
Another section of the ceiling gave way behind them.
The Phantom Thieves broke into a sprint.
Ren ran at the front of the group, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The distant roar of collapsing structures echoed throughout the Palace.
No one spoke.
No one needed to.
They had won.
Maruki had been defeated.
Reality had been restored.
All they needed to do now was escape.
A simple task.
Or so they thought.
The corridor ahead suddenly split apart.
A massive crack raced across the floor.
"Look out!" Ann shouted.
The Phantom Thieves scattered.
The floor collapsed into darkness.
Ryuji barely managed to grab Morgana before he fell.
"Damn it!"
Yusuke landed hard on the opposite side.
Makoto reached for Futaba.
Haru stumbled.
Ren caught her arm before she could fall.
For a brief moment, everyone was safe.
Then the Palace groaned.
The sound was deafening.
The entire structure shifted.
Ren felt his stomach drop.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
A support pillar shattered.
The ceiling above them began to collapse.
"RUN!" Akechi barked.
The group moved.
Concrete and debris rained from above.
One obstacle after another.
One dead end after another.
The Palace was dying.
And it was taking them with it.
"Joker!" Morgana shouted.
Ren turned.
A section of the corridor disappeared behind them.
There was no way back.
Only forward.
Only survival.
The exit finally appeared in the distance.
A single doorway.
Freedom.
Hope.
They were almost there.
Then the Palace chose that moment to break.
The floor beneath Makoto vanished.
Ryuji lunged.
Makoto shoved him away.
The collapsing debris swallowed her.
"MAKOTO!"
The scream tore from Ann's throat.
Ren froze.
No.
No.
Not her.
Not now.
Not after everything.
Another explosion rocked the Palace.
The ceiling above Ann collapsed.
Then Yusuke.
Then Haru.
Then Futaba.
One after another.
The Palace consumed them.
Every time Ren tried to reach them, something blocked his path.
A wall.
A collapse.
A chasm.
He was always one step too late.
Always.
Always.
Always.
By the time he reached the final stretch of corridor, only three people remained.
Him.
Akechi.
Sumire.
Akechi laughed bitterly.
"How fitting."
Another section of ceiling collapsed.
Akechi shoved Ren aside.
The debris crushed him.
For the first time, there was no mocking grin.
No mask.
Only acceptance.
Then he was gone.
Ren stared.
Unable to move.
Unable to think.
A hand grabbed his sleeve.
"Senpai!"
Sumire.
She was crying.
The exit was right there.
Only a few more meters.
They ran.
The Palace screamed around them.
The floor cracked.
The corridor split apart.
Ren jumped.
Sumire jumped.
The gap widened.
Too far.
Their hands met.
For a moment.
Only a moment.
Then the ground beneath Sumire gave way.
"SUMIRE!"
Her grip slipped.
Tears filled her eyes.
Yet she smiled.
A small smile.
The same smile she always showed him.
"Senpai..."
The Palace collapsed between them.
Ren lunged forward.
Too late.
The world disappeared.
Darkness.
Silence.
Then—
"Trickster."
Ren opened his eyes.
The Velvet Room stretched endlessly around him.
Yet something felt different.
Wrong.
The blue prison was cracked.
Fading.
Lavenza stood before him.
Her expression was sorrowful.
Igor sat upon his chair.
Even he seemed weary.
"You have arrived at an ending beyond any path we foresaw."
Ren lowered his head.
"...Can I save them?"
Silence.
Lavenza closed her eyes.
"There may be a way."
A light appeared within the room.
The Compendium.
Every Persona Ren had ever forged.
Every bond.
Every friendship.
Every struggle.
Arsène.
Satanael.
Raoul.
Countless others.
The pages turned on their own.
One by one.
They began to vanish.
"The power of your bonds can create a miracle," Igor said.
"But miracles demand sacrifice."
The Personas dissolved into light.
The Compendium itself cracked.
The accumulated strength of an entire journey compressed into a single point.
A single possibility.
A single chance.
"The past may be reached."
Lavenza looked directly at him.
"But history resists change."
"The God of Control may notice."
"And there will be no second opportunity."
The light intensified.
The Velvet Room trembled.
Ren did not hesitate.
"Please do it."
For the first time, Lavenza smiled.
"Please do your best, my trickster."
Then the world disappeared.
Ren awoke with a gasp.
His room.
His bed.
Morning sunlight streamed through the window.
For several seconds he simply stared.
Then he reached for his phone.
The date appeared on the screen.
February 2nd.
One year earlier.
It worked.
His hands trembled.
Slowly, he closed his eyes.
Makoto.
Alive.
Ryuji.
Alive.
Ann.
Alive.
Yusuke.
Alive.
Futaba.
Alive.
Haru.
Alive.
Akechi.
Alive.
One after another.
Every name.
Every friend.
Every person he had failed to save.
Alive.
Then his thumb stopped.
Sumire Yoshizawa.
Alive.
Ren eyes begun to tear up.
Unable to breathe.
For a long time, he simply sat there.
Eventually he opened his eyes.
There was too much to do.
All of them.
Kasumi.
Wakaba.
Shiho.
Okumura.
Akechi.
Maruki.
This time he would save them too.
All of them.
No matter the cost.
Ren looked out the window.
His reflection stared back at him.
Alone.
The sole survivor of a world that no longer existed.
"Wait for me."
The words escaped before he realized it.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"This time..."
"I'll save everyone."