[Persona Tower - Deepest Underground Level] Beneath Tokigumo Academy, in a forbidden zone never opened to students - the deepest level of the Persona Tower - the stone gate slowly opened.
Yoru Mikado, Fonk, Shujin Mitou, Sayaka Oudo, and Byakuran stepped forward, each dressed in their battle uniforms.
The walls of the tower were carved with the emblems of the thirteen Card Personages. In the center stood an empty golden chair. Its back was inscribed:
[Throne of the King] Byakuran murmured:
"This... doesn't feel like a seal.
It feels more like an altar.
Fonk nodded, pointing to thirteen arcane carvings on the throne:
"According to the legend, the full set of map personalities must eventually return to the 'throne.'"
"And when they do... the personas cease to be mere fragments - they become a divine will."
The group fell silent.
Suddenly, Sayaka's bowstring trembled. She looked up and whispered:
"The air has changed... Something is awakening."
At that moment, a golden figure appeared behind Yoru - the King Persona manifested.
With flaming golden hair and eyes glowing with intelligence and mastery, the figure held a long sword and pointed at the empty throne.
"Take your place, Fuser.
"Let the personas return to the divine seat - let the rules be rewritten."
Persona Fusion × Mutation of Card Rules Fonk quickly activated a magical field that surrounded Yoru. The cube in his hand spun as he chanted an ancient incantation:
"Persona Command - Reversal Array - Activate!"
Thirteen cards appeared on the ground, each glowing with a different aura:
Jack of Hearts, Queen of Spades, Ace of Clubs... But the Joker remained blank.
Yoru closed his eyes. One by one, the cards turned in his mind. These were the personalities he had once controlled, suppressed, resisted. Now they surged back like a tidal wave:
The Queen whispered: "To win, you must give up goodness."
Jack shouted: "To protect others is to protect yourself."
Joker laughed, "I am your freest side... but also your most insane."
Yoru opened his eyes, a cold gleam flashing: "I am not your vessel."
"I am your master."
Immediately, the thirteen cards burst into golden light. A new, unknown card slowly emerged from the void - a black and gold double-faced card, one side etched with a crown, the other with an upside-down joker's smile.
[The Persona Tower shook violently. A ghostly blue crack tore through the air.
At the same time, high above the academy, a massive ritual array was spread out by the upper echelons of the Seiyu Conglomerate and aimed at the depths of the Persona Tower.
At its center stood the Vice Principal, clad in a battle robe emblazoned with the symbols of the Otherworld Wanderers. He stared coldly at the golden projection floating in the sky:
"The Persona Meld is complete.
It's time to act."
From afar, the headmaster chuckled softly.
Behind him, his shadow turned into a terrifying seven-eyed king.
"Welcome... my beloved king."
High above Tokigumo Academy, a massive gate to the afterlife began to manifest.
Its inscription mirrored the one on the Persona Tower:
"The Persona God will descend again."
Magic Club Counterstrike - Awakening Alliance Inside the secret chamber, Fonk slammed the cube into the floor.
"Go ahead.
Crows, your next step - reclaim the true throne."
Byakuran raised a hand, a field of illusion cloaking their retreat: "I'll hold off the Vice Principal's men."
Sayaka stood at the door, her eyes fixed on Yoru's back, her voice conflicted:
"You once said... you didn't want to be a king."
"But this step... only you can take."
Yoru looked back with a gentle smile:
"I still don't want to be king."
"But I won't let anyone else take our world away from us."
With that, he stepped into the rift of the Otherworld - his form disappearing into a fusion of golden light and chaos.
The Other Side of the Gate Yoru entered the Otherworld.
He stood on a sea of endless maps, the sky above painted in thirteen phantom shapes-one of which had yet to reveal itself.
At the center, on a black-gold throne, sat a faceless figure who spoke in a voice as still as a dying world: "The endgame has begun.
"Come, Fuser."
King Persona Core × The Gate to the Afterlife Opens