432(Author's Note)
Hey guys! Happy Halloween! (There's like, ten minutes left before it's not tops, but lemme have this!)
As a quick heads up, we got a little bit of a shorter chapter this time compared to usual. Mainly just because I felt it was a good place to leave off, and it gives me a chance to iron out the next chapter's rough beats a bit more.
I don't have a big time frame for when to expect the next chapter to come out. Holiday season starts... quick literally now, so I assume my free time is gonna start getting eaten up by work rather quickly soon, so it might be a little bit before the next chapter. I will promise that AT MINIMUM I'll have the next one out by Christmas. I'm gonna TRY to have a chapter done at some point in November though, so assuming that works out, look forward to that.
Also, the TV Tropes page got updated and uh... Yeah, it's only really hitting me NOW that I really did just pull a "Wham Episode", and I'm having a TIME figuring out the consequences of my actions. If you don't know what that is, check the TV Tropes page out. It's super cool and I STILL can't really believe this thing has one.
Anyways, let's get onto Reviews!
To hnh058513: Edelgard's mask was more inspired off of Lucina's Marth mask to be honest, just altered a bit to be a bit more "Eagle-based".
To Incognito74: It's been a journey, and the fact I'm really only still in the early game is... A daunting realization.
To Advent of Sloth: Irony indeed.
To Zepolmoon: First, thanks for the slew of reviews. Second, most of the drawbacks from Ren doing the thing two chapters ago have passed... Mostly.
Thanks for everyone who left a review! Again, they really mean a lot and help with the motivational stuff. Next chapter will be a bit more of this style of things and then I'll be shifting styles a little bit in order to speed up the pacing. We'll see if it works once we're at Lesson 30, but for now, enjoy the ride!
The act of brewing coffee was a relatively calming task for Ren. It was one he had mastered to the point where he could almost do so mindlessly.
He would usually walk through the motions while something else occupied his mind, letting his body take over so he could talk with customers, or think his next steps over.
Usually, he wouldn't focus intently on every aspect of his craft as he worked. He usually wouldn't run the numbers for how hot the water had to be, or sift through the exact ratio of beans for his house blend.
Usually, he wasn't trying to focus on something with such intensity he didn't have a choice but to not think about how BAD things were.
Usually, but today was the outlier.
Ren let out a sigh as he placed the coffee pot back into place, staring down at the cup in front of him with an almost blank expression.
"Alright, you want me to start?" Morgana asked, looking over at Ren from one of the counter chairs. "Because the last time I saw you like this was-"
Morgana stopped and let out a sigh. "Sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."
"The interrogation was months ago now, Morgana." Ren replied, sighing. "Well, almost, maybe. Feels like it."
"Joker, we both know that was a bad day for everyone, you most especially. No point deflecting."
"Still, I've had time to move past it. Most of it is still blurry anyways."
Morgana gave the thief a look. "Move past it, huh? You did this then too. You made a cup of coffee and just stared at it like it held the secrets of the Metaverse."
"It didn't."
"It didn't." Morgana nodded. "So you see why I'm concerned. What happened with Edelgard, really?"
"...I think I hate this world." Ren said after a moment, eyes boring into his coffee. "I think I said something similar at some point back in Tokyo, or maybe I just thought it…"
Ren picked up his cup and took a sip, his hands shaking lightly. "Tokyo… I hated things back then. I hated the way my classmates would flinch whenever I walked past them in the halls. I hated how people would turn against you in a moment if you so much as stepped out of the crowd. I hated how my friends were almost broken time and time again by people who chose to be the worst version of themselves."
The ceramic handle groaned under the thief's white knuckle grip. "I hated how Ryuji would never be able to run like he had before his leg was broken. I hated that Ann couldn't stop blaming herself for Shiho. I hated how Yusuke was moulded into a literal starving artist. I hated that Makoto was forced to take drastic measures no one our age should've taken. I hated that Futaba's first friend in years was a stranger in an attic and not a classmate. I hated how Haru couldn't see her Father become a better man. I hated how Akechi was so soaked in anger he couldn't turn away from it."
"I hated how I couldn't do anything to make things right…" Ren said, eyes clenched shut. "And I thought, after we finally stopped the holy grail, that was the world might be able to be changed and we could move on…"
"But I haven't. I still hate it, that there's so much I can do to help but it always feels too late to matter! I look at my students and all I can see sometimes is the small tiny ticks that show there's something that's made them the way they are." Ren continued, opening his eyes in a glare. "I see more people like us, people who have been hurt, be that intentionally or not, and don't realise it. I hate that some never had a choice, that the fact they couldn't have known better was probably their only saving grace!"
Ren jerked his arm up, as if to throw the cup but stopped, the coffee within rippling, but not spilling. "All I see is the same world I had wanted to change…" The thief said, placing the cup down. He chuckled, it was hoarse. "And in some ways, it's worse."
"...I can't change how you feel." Morgana said, sighing. "Especially when I can't help but feel the same. But we can change this world, just like we did ours."
"...There's a lot of work." Ren said with a tired smirk.
"When is there not?" Morgana asked, raising an eyebrow. "Now, care to actually tell me what started this?"
"Edelgard."
"I figured, smartass. But how?"
Ren raised an eyebrow. "Do you want the long or short story? Because I'm going to have to tell it again tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"After class, I need you to gather Lysithea and Claude and bring them here." Ren said. "I need us to come to a decision."
"Unanimously? That's pretty big. Edelgard gave us a new target?"
"No, she gave us a possible recruit." Ren said, watching the wide eyed look Morgana was giving him. "Edelgard has a Persona."
"...You took her to the Metaverse!?"
"I did. Again, long or short story, Morgana?"
"Ren Amamiya, I swear to-!"
[Candidate Found]
The two thieves stopped moving as the Metanav's announcement rang out through the café.
"...I didn't just hear that, did I?" Ren asked, eyes wide.
"...No, you did." Morgana said slowly.
Ren pulled out his phone and looked down at the screen. The Metanav was open, and the location search was activated. There, displayed clearly, was his own name.
Only, It wasn't displayed once.
"Target, Ren Amamiya. Cognition, unknown. Location… Ren Amamiya." Ren said, eyes wide in disbelief.
"...You have a Palace." Morgana said, eyes wide. "How?"
[Conditions Have Not Been Met]
"Well, it's not a palace…" Ren said almost hysterically.
"Ren!"
"I don't know, okay!? I don't know why I…" Ren paused, before narrowing his eyes. "Unless…"
"Unless?"
"...Thieves Den." Ren said, looking at his phone.
[Results Found]
The two thieves stared at the phone. "...Okay, so maybe we don't need to meet up at the café then." Ren said with wide eyes.
"Joker, could you please explain what you're talking about?"
"Remember how I was unconscious for periods of time after stressing my Personas? I think I might've mentioned being in a strange area in my soul where they hung out?" Ren replied, raising an eyebrow. "I think that's what this is. And if so, it would be a safe place where we could conduct our business."
"Even still, why do you have it?" Morgana asked, narrowing his eyes. "It should be impossible for a Persona user to have a palace. Well, in theory it was…"
"Maybe… it's the world?" Ren noted. "The Cognition of this world is different from ours. If so, then maybe that's why? Because I don't fit?"
"Maybe. But… Wait, we got off track! You brought Edelgard to the Metaverse!"
Ren sighed and took another sip from his coffee. "Okay, long story it is then."
"And then we left. And that's everything." Ren said with a sigh.
"...So, she's like us then." Morgana noted. "She's been burned by the world and until you showed up, had believed her only options were…"
"Bad ones." Ren nodded. "I will fully admit to stepping out of turn by bringing her to Mementos, but I needed to do something."
Morgana shook his head. "No… You're the leader, and unlike back in Tokyo, you and I are the only way anyone can get to the Metaverse."
The "That we know of" was left unsaid between the two.
"And you didn't mention the rest of us by name, just that whatever decision was made had to be unanimous. All things considered… I think you made the right call." Morgana said with a nod.
"So, she has your vote?"
"Yeah. But we still need to be unanimous. That'll depend on the others."
"Fair enough… Now I just need to figure out how to explain this to the other two." Ren said with a sigh.
"Hey, you focus on class. Leave explanations to me. When we meet up, we'll all be on the same page." Morgana said.
Ren raised an eyebrow. "If you're sure? Do try and leave some details out. Only reason I told you was because I trust you with my life, but what happened to Edelgard… it's not our story to tell."
Morgana shook his head. "I'll give only as much as needed. Besides, if she does join, you assume Claude won't press her for said information anyways?"
Ren paused. "...Fair enough." He said, taking another sip from his cup. "...Things are about to get really quiet."
"Hm? Why do you say that?"
"Just a hunch." Ren noted with a shrug. "We do need to lay low for a bit. And whoever Edelgard has for us target wise, I bet they're all gonna be big ones. We need to find a new way to find the smaller ones. And even then, it would only be based on problems at the monastery. We have the benefit of the doubt since Louis was a merchant, the Thieves could technically have come from anywhere, but if we only have monastery based targets…"
"It means the Thieves could be traced back to us easier."
"Yeah, hence our dilemma." Ren said, shaking his head. "I wish Mishima was here, to be honest…"
"The Phansite really was a massive boon…" Morgana noted with a sigh. "But something like that couldn't exist here. Information doesn't have a way to flow like that without the internet."
"Yeah… But maybe something else could." Ren said, taking out a napkin and a pen. "I have no clue how we'd get it up and running, but what if information like that could flow anonymously?"
"It would solve a massive problem." Morgana replied. "What do you have in mind?"
"We may not have the Phansite, and we may not have Wifi, but what if we did? Not in the same form, but what if we had a network of information that could stretch throughout Fódlan?" Ren asked, tapping the pen against the napkin. "Informants that could collect rumours and funnel targets back to us. A metaphorical web of information, with us here at the centre?"
"Is that even something we could do? Something of that scale… It doesn't feel feasible."
"...Maybe not through us, but… Now that I think about it, there's already something barebones in place, right?" Ren noted with wide eyes. "Okay, here's the plan. Tomorrow after class we decide if Edelgard is in. You go grab Lysithea, and I'll grab Claude since I have the Golden Deers for the Box. In the morning, I'm going to make true the alibi I told Seteth."
"Meaning?"
"I'm gonna go talk to Anna."
[Day 20 of the Harpstring Moon]
Ren glanced around the bustling marketplace, watching as merchants busied themselves with customers. There was a lot of reorganising that was still being done on the side however, the sudden lack of the old overseer for the market seemingly did some good for the variety on show.
"Surprised?" Anna asked, walking up behind the teen.
"A little." Ren noted with a shrug. "It's been a few days, but… I thought it'd still be more… disorganised?"
"When it comes to making a profit, we merchants can… usually put our differences aside in order to set something like this up." Anna replied with a shrug. "In a marketplace setting, the more stalls available usually means more variety, which means more possible customers. As a result, we all benefit."
"Neat."
"So, what brings you to me? And before you say anything, anytime I see you here it's ALWAYS because you're here to see me." Anna said with a pointed look.
"Guilty as charged." Ren replied with a smirk.
"So, what can I do for you?" Anna asked, turning to the thief.
Ren placed a hand to his chin in thought. "You know people, Anna. You know a lot of people."
"I do."
"Merchants in particular." Ren continued, crossing his arms. "You have connections, due to your… exclusivity. From what I can tell, you have a guy for anything someone would need, or at least know a guy who knows another guy. And from what you said before, your family consists entirely of merchants like yourself."
"You're not wrong, but you still haven't said why this is important." Anna said, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, as a prominent figure in that community, you must hear plenty of… gossip, perhaps?" Ren continued. "Information about the happenings all around Fódlan."
"Of course, a prepared merchant is the most profitable." Anna replied with a nod. "So, you're looking for information then?"
"I am, but you're thinking a bit small." Ren said. "I want Informants."
Anna paused, mentally parsing the information before replying in kind. "That's a rather big order. What kind of information are you looking for?"
Ren paused, glancing over at the marketplace. "The choice is yours, Trickster." Arsene's voice echoed in his head.
"I want to find more people like Louis Vangaur." Ren said.
"Like him, huh? So, more targets for your Phantom Thieves then?"
Ren froze. "...I'm sorry?"
"Ren, you gave me a book about a Phantom Thief in all but name JUST as Louis had an apparent change of heart." Anna said with a raised eyebrow. "You also aren't from this world, as we both know since you know a language that I only know because of family FROM a different world. If anyone would be able to do something as conceptually impossible as stealing someone's desires, you fit the bill."
"Also, mere days before he had his heart changed, I introduced you to him. You do the math." Anna finished with a smirk.
"Let's assume, hypothetically, this was true. Why wouldn't you sell me out?" Ren asked.
"You're a good kid, you know that?" Anna said, earning a confused stare from Ren. "You're not like anyone here in Fódlan. You choose to act when others can't. Look around us. This is a good change. It may not look like it now, but everyone can tell that with Louis out of the picture we'll be thriving in a few short weeks."
"And after doing a miracle once, you do another by rescuing a kidnapped student." Anna said, holding up a hand at the shocked look Ren sent her way. "Not everyone is tight lipped, and you want someone who can find out gossip like this."
"And now, you're here asking what else you can do to help… someone, anyone." Anna said, shaking her head. "As weird of a bet as it is… I feel good about it. So you have my support. You need to find the ugly side of Fódlan? I'll get you it. You want informants, you'll get them."
Ren smirked. "I suppose I should fully explain my idea then, shouldn't I?"
Anna smirked, almost challengingly at the thief. "You should. Let's talk business, Thief."
{Rank Up!}
[The Merchant Arcana has increased to Rank 4!]
[You will now earn a Stat increase in a randomly chosen stat from Arcana Boost when fusing a Persona of the Strength Arcana!]
As the lecture came to an end, Ren watched as Claude slowly stood up from his seat with an almost starstruck look on his face. Most of the other students of the Golden Deer house were taking the lesson about the same, but Claude looked as if Ren had unlocked the secrets of the universe.
As the other students filed out, leaving the classroom, Claude walked up to the other thief and placed a hand on Ren's shoulder. "...Finally, someone put it into WORDS."
Ren chuckled. "Enjoyed the lesson?" He asked, turning around to wipe the blackboard down.
"Enjoy it? I don't think I've ever been so enthralled by a lecture in my life." Claude noted with a laugh.
"Glad to hear it." Ren said, stepping away from the blackboard. He glanced behind Claude, making sure they were the only two in the room. "I want you to come with me to Leblanc. There's… something big happened and we need a unanimous decision."
"How big? Morgana said we had something to talk about after classes were finished, but couldn't be specific with me due to the bell." Claude noted, crossing his arms.
Ren sighed. "Last time I stumbled upon a nationwide conspiracy, we had at least three Palaces under our belt and we were six strong." The thief said. "We have no Palace experience, and possibly five of us this time."
"A nationwide- Wait, five of us?" Claude blinked, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean five?"
"That's what we need to come to a decision on. Come on, we don't want to keep the others waiting." Ren said, walking past Claude.
"You're trying real hard to leave me speechless today, Sensei."
"Trying implies I'm failing." Ren shot back with a smirk as he walked through the doors.
"Alright. That's all of us." Morgana said, looking over at the group gathered in the café.
"Good, before that though, weren't you going to explain it to them?" Ren asked, glancing over at Morgana.
"There wasn't a good chance to tell either of them. It'd draw too many eyes if I tried talking to him in the Golden Deer house, and while not likely, talking to Lysithea would've drawn eyes if I tried it during classes." Morgana replied.
"Why would it have drawn eyes?" Lysithea asked, looking over at the two veteran thieves.
"We'll get to that." Ren said, before holding up a finger as he walked over to the front door and twisted the lock shut. The thief nodded to himself and turned to look back at the group. "In an attempt to make the most of our time, is everyone alright with a short version of this? Because we only really have a short amount of time to get people prepared and the full story isn't really mine to tell, but what concerns you I can summarise."
"If we're that tight on time, then short will be fine." Claude said with a nod.
"To make a long story short, we have a possible new recruit for the thieves." Ren said, closing his eyes. "She has a Persona, Awakening it when we went to Mementos yesterday."
"You took someone to Mementos?" Lysithea asked with wide eyes. The unspoken question of "without asking" wasn't missed.
"I did. It was a calculated risk." Ren said, looking back at the two. "And considering what I know, I feel it was worth it. Morgana agrees with that choice."
"Wait." Claude said, narrowing his eyes. "She? You said that earlier."
"I did. The person in question is someone both of you know." Ren said with a shrug. "Lysithea, due to the fact you share the same house now, and Claude, since you both share the same role in your respective houses."
Both of the Fódlan thieves shot up from their seats.
"EDELGARD!?" Lysithea shouted in shock, whilst Claude replied with a simpler, yet still loud "HER!?"
"Yes, please don't shout right now…" Ren said with a sigh. "We may have thicker walls here, but it's better safe than sorry."
"Ren didn't reveal any of our identities to Edelgard when he offered her a spot on the team. He only said there were more like him, and that the decision to bring her aboard needed to be unanimous." Morgana continued, earning a nod from the thief.
"Why would you have brought her to the Metaverse to begin with though?" Claude asked, raising an eyebrow. "Unless I'm mistaken, there's no real way of knowing who actually has the potential to summon a Persona. At least, that's what you've led us to believe."
"Anyone with a strong enough will could theoretically summon one, but in practice it's a lot more complicated than just that." Ren replied with a shrug. "As for why I brought her there… She reminded me of us. All of us, not just the four of us here."
"You mean…?" Lysithea trailed off, looking at the painting sitting near the corner of the Café.
"Yeah." Ren said with a nod. "There's… Look, none of this is my story to tell, but life has been royally screwed up for her by the very same people we fight against. I just thought she deserved to be shown another path she could take."
"She… Always looked concerned whenever we talked." Lysithea noted, eyes narrowed. "Not openly, but… I could tell."
"For as much fun as I have teasing her and Dimitri, I can tell she has a good head on her shoulders." Claude stated. The house leader turned and looked at Ren appraisingly. "You said you didn't regret your decision. Do you trust her?"
"I would be a very poor teacher if I didn't trust my students." Ren said with a nod.
Leblanc fell quiet, the weight of the choice ahead of the four clearly weighing heavy on them all. Roughly thirty seconds later, the silence was broken up by a knock on the front door. "Sensei? I've come to talk?"
"That's Edelgard." Ren noted in a whisper, getting nods from the other four thieves. "Just a moment!"
Ren did not move to open the door, instead choosing to look at the three before him. "We make the choice now then. Raise your hand if you're in favour."
Three hands rose into the air. All eyes turned to the last thief, who merely raised an eyebrow at them. "What? Look at me, I don't have hands like this!"
"Well then raise your paw!" Claude scoffed quietly.
Morgana rolled his eyes and raised his paw, cementing the decision unanimously.
Ren nodded to the three and moved to open the door. He unlocked the front door and pulled the door open, the bell ringing as he looked out to find Edelgard standing before him alone. "So. How'd you lose Hubert?"
"I have my ways. None of them easy anymore, unfortunately." Edelgard noted.
"Well then, come on in." Ren said, standing aside to allow Edelgard to enter. As she did, the thief closed the door behind her and locked it once again. "We've come to a decision."
"You have?" Edelgard asked, turning back to look at the thief.
"They're going to want the rest of the details, but they agreed. Welcome to the Phantom Thieves of Hearts." Ren said, nodding at Edelgard.
"Welcome to the team!" Morgana said, walking over to Edelgard.
The imperial princess looked down at Morgana before glancing back up towards the Café. "And… where are the others?"
"Hey! I'm right here!" Morgana said before pausing. "Oh, right. Only those who've heard me in the Metaverse know I can talk…"
"Well, if one of them would stop slouching on the booth seat in order to be hidden so both of them could slide out to introduce themselves…" Ren said before the back of Claude's head poked up above the back of one of the booths.
Claude turned around, leaning an arm on the booth as he grinned at Edelgard. "Nice to meet you, your highness."
"Claude!?" Edelgard exclaimed, eyes wide.
"What, shocked to see me-Urk!" Claude's words cut off midway through as he was suddenly shoved out of the booth, crashing onto his side as Lysithea cleared a path out.
"Well, now that he's out of the way." Lysithea noted, slipping out of the booth as she nodded at Edelgard. "Welcome to the Phantom Thieves."
"And you as well?" Edelgard noted, nodding at the other white haired girl. "Thank you. I'm surprised though, I thought there would have been more of you."
"I mean, you're not wrong." Claude said as he stood up. "But you also forgot Morgana, so…"
"I… The cat?" Edelgard asked, looking back down at Morgana.
"Hey! I resent that!" Morgana said with narrowed eyes.
"The fact she called you a cat?" Claude asked with a raised eyebrow, earning a confused glance from Edelgard.
"Not that! She just… could've been nicer about it." Morgana said with a sigh.
"Would you look at that, Progress!" Ren said, earning a glare from Morgana. "Anyways, yes. Morgana is also one of us, and is… technically the one who's been doing this the longest."
"Wait, really?" Lysithea asked. "I thought you would've been the one with more experience though?"
"Oh, I definitely have more at this point, but who do you think I learned about the Metaverse from to begin with?" Ren noted, motioning to Morgana.
Edelgard took in a deep breath, exhaling it slowly as she turned to face Ren. "I have… several questions."
"You're not the only one." Claude replied.
"And unless we get things sorted with Morgana, it's going to be confusing to get through explaining all this." Ren said, pulling out his phone. "So we're moving this conversation elsewhere."
"Where? Mementos?" Lysithea asked. "Because it's either there, or the Velvet Room."
"Which we'd need to go into Mementos first to access anyways, right?" Claude said, waving his hand at Ren.
"Neither, actually." Ren said, pulling up the Metaverse Navigator's search history.
"Wait, what do you mean neither?" Claude asked.
"I'm sorry, what's the Velvet Room?" Edelgard asked.
"Later." Ren said, pulling up his personal destination. "Everyone ready?"
At the hesitant nods from the other three before him, Ren smirked. "Then let's go."
[Beginning Navigation]
(Play No More What Ifs - Instrumental - P5 Royal)
It was strange, for once. The act of slipping into a Palace. The Thieves' Den was a distortion, an understanding of how a world SHOULD work held separate from the cognition of Fódlan due to how alien that understanding was to its collective unconscious.
In Ren's case, he could feel it. The shift in the air, as if something wrong had slipped back into place. He had been here before, sure, but never physically, and usually when he had done something stupid that warranted his Persona's dragging him in for his safety.
The thief looked around at his Palace. It was open, unlike the labyrinth other Palaces tended to be formed as. Various platforms hung in the air, connected by winding ramps, slopes and stairs.
The biggest oddity was the decor. Various locales from his time in Tokyo littered the Palace, sliced out like they were sets on a TV show and placed here in the Den. The original Leblanc, Takemi's Clinic, The Beef Bowl shop, Untouchable, and Penguin Sniper, just to name a few.
It felt like home, almost overwhelmingly so.
Ren turned away from the sight to look at the others, who were each looking at the Thieves' Den in shock. "Sensei, this is…" Claude said with wide eyes.
"This is the Thieves' Den. The best way I can describe it is… Well, It's MY Palace." Ren replied, getting shocked looks from the others. "I said it earlier, but just because someone HAS a Palace doesn't mean they're bad in nature. It just means their desires or perception of reality has twisted enough from the collective unconscious to be ejected into its own space in Mementos."
"I thought if you had a Persona you couldn't have a Palace." Lysithea began, crossing her arms. "But if so, why do you have one?"
"Persona users don't have Shadows. We assumed that meant a Palace couldn't be formed since the person had come to terms with themselves." Morgana said, drawing everyone's eyes to him. "That said, assuming their perception of the world is still at odds with the collective unconscious, it's not impossible for a Palace to be formed."
"Is… that Morgana?" Edelgard asked, looking down at Morgana's metaverse form.
"Yep! I look like this in the Metaverse. And now that you've heard me here, you'll be able to back in reality!" Morgana said with a nod. "Speaking of, it's not what I expected your thieves' attire to look like, but it looks good on you!"
Edelgard blinked and looked down at herself, noting her clothes had changed to her thieves' garb as she entered the Palace. "It changed?"
"Well, talk about knightly." Claude noted with a raised eyebrow.
"But… Wait, why is she the only one who changed? We didn't." Lysithea noted, looking back over at Claude.
Ren sighed. "If the Palace Ruler sees you as a threat, then our thieves' garb comes to life."
"I see. I'm not too surprised, though." Edelgard noted.
"No, I should be apologizing." Ren said, taking in a slow breath before breathing it out. As he exhaled, Edelgard's thieves' garb vanished in a rush of azure. "You're one of us now. Any of my concerns are unfounded at best."
Edelgard blinked at the thief in shock, before narrowing her eyes. "How have you survived all your life being this trusting?"
"It's a gift." Lysithea said sarcastically. "That's the only answer."
"Rude." Ren said with a laugh.
"But not inaccurate."
The thieves stopped, turning to look behind Ren as another of the teen walked over to them. The thief was dressed in what looked like a slightly modernized rendition of Arsene's outfit, albeit without the tophat. Ren glanced into the yellow eyes of his doppelganger and smirked. "I didn't know you could do that, Arsene."
"That's Arsene?" Morgana asked.
"Indeed! It is most welcome to see you again, Magician." Arsene noted, looking over at the other thieves a moment later. "Usually it's more crowded, so enjoy the peace and quiet while it's here."
Claude nodded, looking around the Palace. "Was about to ask, but where are your other Personas?"
"Others? I thought you could only have one?" Edelgard asked.
"I'm a special case. And due to the incident with the Death Knight, I only have Arsene with me right now." Ren noted, crossing his arms. "I'm what's known as a Wild Card. It allows me to hold multiple Personas within my Person. Make no mistake though, Arsene is my true self."
"Perhaps now is the time to hand off the brochure?" Arsene noted, looking over at Morgana.
"Right. Here, read this over. It'll explain most of what you might not understand." Morgana said, pulling out a literal brochure before he handed it to Edelgard.
"In the meantime, care to make use of the facilities. Leblanc is just as stocked up as it was back home." Arsene noted, looking at Ren.
"Gladly."
"All caught up now?" Ren asked, looking at Edelgard.
"Yes. There is… a lot here." The white haired princess noted.
Lysithea nodded. "I understand. I'm still trying to process some of the weirder aspects…"
"So… I've been meaning to ask, but… what's with that part of your palace?" Claude asked, pointing at the set containing two chairs, a table, and a set of handcuffs. "It feels… different from everything else."
"Let's just say that I have some…" Ren began, taking in a deep breath. "Bad memories associated with that place."
"Ah… Forget I asked then." Claude said, averting his eyes from the teen.
"It's fine. All things considered, it's also the place where I achieved the impossible and won, so there's at least one good memory I can associate with it." Ren replied with a smirk.
"The impossible?" Edelgard asked.
Ren glanced to Morgana and nodded. "An enemy faction controlling local law enforcement had tried to assassinate him after capturing him." Morgana said for the teen, earning shocked looks from the others. "To summarise, we won by using the Metaverse to fake his own death, which allowed us an opening to actually perform a change of heart on the man responsible."
"I… How?" Lysithea asked, eyes wide.
"You want the full details, ask me when I actually have enough time to process it." Ren replied with a groan. "The last… Three? Four months? Have been the worst in that regard."
"Perhaps now would be a good time to switch topics." Arsene said, raising an eyebrow.
"Right. Edelgard." Ren began, getting the imperial princess' full attention. "We have some housekeeping left to go over."
"Is this in regards to codenames?" Edelgard asked, earning a nod from the thief.
"You're quick on the upkeep." Claude noted, glancing over at Edelgard.
"It pays to be well informed. Especially so for someone meant to rule." Edelgard said, giving a side eye to Claude.
"I prefer to guide, rather than rule." Claude replied. "Much like now, being the thief with the most experience out of the three of us."
"By what, a few days?" Lysithea asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Sensei, help? The small one is being mean." Claude said sarcastically.
"You're a child." Lysithea said with a sneer.
"Guys, codenames first, throw barbs later." Ren said with a deadpan. "Now, our codenames are a bit different. We've taken to using Japanese, my home language, to create codenames. As an example, Claude is Rokuó, and Lysithea is Mana."
"Rokuó, meaning Deer King, due to his position and the deer theming of his mask." Morgana began, pointing at Claude before turning and pointing at Lysithea. "And Mana, since she looks like a magical girl witch."
"I don't want to ask, do I?" Edelgard said, looking at Lysithea.
"You'll see it eventually." Lysithea replied with a sigh.
"So, how are we doing this then? Most of what I remember is the more… knight-esc design of the attire." Claude said, placing a hand on his chin.
"So something like Knight then?" Lysithea asked.
Ren hummed for a moment. "Kishi would be the basic translation if we went that way, but…"
"It doesn't fit, personally." Edelgard said, earning a nod of agreement from the thief.
"So not to get off topic, but why did you decide to join us?" Claude asked, grabbing Edelgard's attention. Claude motioned to himself with his thumb. "I want to change the world into one where prejudice is squashed out."
Lysithea narrowed her eyes. "I want to change the world so that no one has to suffer through what I did."
Edelgard looked at the other white haired girl sympathetically. "You're referring to Crest experiments."
Lysithea, Claude and Morgana all looked at Edelgard in shock. "How do you know about that?" Lysithea asked slowly.
Edelgard looked over at Ren, who gave her a nod in reply. The imperial princess took in a breath and took the plunge, lifting up a few strands of her hair as to showcase the colour. "I didn't always have white hair either…"
Claude and Morgana seemed to take a second to connect the dots, but Lysithea understood almost immediately. "You're like me… They experimented on you too."
"You carry multiple Crests then? If so, aren't you dying?" Claude asked, narrowing his eyes. "Like Lysithea was?"
Edelgard narrowed her eyes. "I agree with both of your desires. I want the world to change, to destroy the system that has choked the world for too long… I want the Crest system that has caused so much pain and suffering to so many to burn and die."
"That would put you against the world." Claude noted, earning a nod from Edelgard. "...You speak with a kind of conviction that makes me think you were planning to do just that when you became Empress."
Lysithea's eyes grew wide at the nod Edelgard gave. "I know that would have been a bloody task." Edelgard said with a sigh. "But the world is not kind, and such a thing would have been impossible to change without shedding blood."
"And then Ren showed you there was such a way forward." Morgana said, earning a nod from Edelgard.
"He promised the impossible, and then made that impossibility a reality." Edelgard said, looking over at Ren. "It was like turning night to day."
Ren opened his mouth and paused, repeating the last line over in his head. To his right, Arsene laughed. "What an interesting idea!"
"Care to explain it then?" Claude asked.
Ren looked over at Edelgard and placed a hand on his chin. "How about… Kyokkō?"
"Kyokkō?" Edelgard repeated, looking a little confused.
"It has a few different translations. Aurora is one, as an example." Ren noted before smirking. "But I think it works better translated as Daybreak."
Morgana's eyes widened. "Ooh, that sounds good!"
Edelgard glanced to the side in thought before nodding. "Kyokkō. I'll take it as a promise then, to create a new dawn we can all be proud of."
"Well, I think that's all settled then! So, anything else we need to discuss?" Claude asked.
"Yeah, this is where things get… Complicated." Ren said, glancing at Claude before looking at Edelgard. "Apparently, I've somehow found myself stumbling into a second country-wide conspiracy, not even four months since solving the last one."
"...I should stop expecting any hint of sense when it comes to you, shouldn't I?" Claude said, looking at Ren as the teen could only shrug lightly in response. "Alright… What are we dealing with then?"
Edelgard clasped her hands together with narrowed eyes. "We call them Those Who Slither in the Dark."