"After, I fell back here." Reason's explanation had ended.
The endless universe, the white platform all rested on, was quiet once more. The floating colorful clouds continued their slow, endless drift.
Around the circular stone table, no one immediately spoke.
Echo looked from face to face.
This silence felt different from before.
Before Reason had arrived, Flux had hardly stopped talking, and Aurora's yellow eyes held a gentle touch, yet now they were stern, and even Flux was quiet.
"...Well." Flux finally leaned back with a sigh. "That was one hell of a first day for you."
Echo let out an awkward laugh. "I... suppose it was."
Flux grinned. "Don't worry. It gets weirder."
"It does not," Aurora answered flatly.
Flux looked at him. "...It absolutely does."
A faint smile appeared on Aurora's face. "I think you mean he'll get used to it."
"Ah, I don't think I will." Echo rubbed the back of his neck.
"You won't?" The voice came from across the table.
Echo turned toward it.
Reason.
For the first time since returning, his eyes rested on Echo.
"..." Echo instinctively straightened.
Reason studied him for several moments. "I don't know you."
Flux leaned in and threw an arm over Echo's shoulder. "Of course you don't. He was born while you were busy trying to destroy the world."
"...Flux," Aurora warned.
"What?" Flux looked toward him, then Reason, innocently.
"Technically, he is accurate," Brilliance said.
Aurora sighed. "At least introduce him properly."
"I thought it was memorable."
Reason ignored them. "...Your name?"
Echo hesitated only briefly. "...Echo."
Reason repeated it quietly. "...Echo." Then he looked toward Original.
Original gave a single nod. "He awakened while you were outside."
"I see." There wasn't another question. There didn't need to be.
Reason inclined his head slightly toward Echo. "Then... welcome. I am Reason."
Echo blinked. "...Thank you... Uh, and hi..."
Flux smiled. "See? I told you he'd like you."
"You said no such thing... is this liking me?" Echo whispered the second half.
"I didn't have to. And yes, this is him liking you."
A few chuckles spread around the table. The tension eased. Only slightly.
Original waited until the room settled again. "Reason."
"Yes?"
"Thank you for holding yourself back so well. You did your job perfectly, as always."
Reason bowed to Original.
"Serenity— there are many problems," Zenith spoke up.
"Yes..."
"I checked. The body is completely cut off, but it seems to be recovering. It has been exhausted to its limit, so it will take time to wake. The mind still functions perfectly, though, so we won't lose light." Brilliance added, "Also, this means whatever came at the end was not an enemy, or at least didn't harm us."
"Serenity— what are your plans?" Zenith turned to Original.
Echo asked himself, very quietly, why Zenith kept using that word first — but Flux answered anyway, leaning over.
"Zenith has to say 'Serenity' before he speaks. Otherwise none of us can hear him."
Zenith ignored the aside the same way Original did, and continued.
"Serenity, Persona—" The mood shifted immediately. "He is unable to continue due to the drawbacks. Feral has chosen to stay with him. This will go on for twenty-one years."
Original nodded. "And no one is to disturb them."
Silence accepted the decision.
Original went on. "It's as Zenith said. This is one of the most dangerous situations we've faced in a long while. Two of the seventeen of us are dysfunctional, and no matter what, Echo cannot function properly without time to adjust. At best, the work of two and a half of us must now be redistributed."
Everyone nodded. Echo wore a guilty look, but Aurora reached over and gave his shoulder a small, encouraging shake.
"Without Persona, it leaves us without a face, too." Brilliance stroked his chin, thinking.
Flux raised a hand before anyone else could speak. "I volunteer."
Brilliance glanced sideways. "You volunteered before we even finished."
"I have confidence."
"You have impatience."
"They're closely related."
A small laugh escaped Echo.
Original let the exchange pass. "Anyone else?"
"I will."
Every eye turned. Zenith met them without lowering his own. "Serenity— I will accept the position."
Flux smiled. "Now we're talking. Almost like old times."
Brilliance folded his arms. "I wouldn't object either."
Reason glanced toward him. "You seek experience."
"I seek knowledge."
"They often arrive together."
Original let the words settle before speaking again. "There are others?"
Several answers came at once.
Original nodded once. "Then there's no shortage of candidates."
Echo looked between them. He had expected reluctance. Instead, several of them genuinely wanted the position.
Aurora answered the question on his face. "The light means more power, more presence. It's been fought over before, more than once, before things calmed down here."
Original stood. "But the face isn't chosen by desire. It's chosen by necessity." The room quieted again as he continued. "We must try to solve multiple problems with one choice. That's how we win."
Brilliance picked up the thread. "And to keep Insanity from becoming a problem, the new face can't be unstable."
In the end, it was Original's voice that decided it. "Abyss, Reason, Phobia."
"We're out," Reason said, and the other two nodded without protest.
Original paused and looked to Echo, walking him through the reasoning even though everyone else already understood it. "Me, Monster, and Order can't be out for extended periods of time."
Brilliance continued. "Insanity grows more active the more of us are awake, so we can't offset each other by putting out more than one at a time. Which means—"
Original finished it. "Anyone bound to a single, rigid purpose. Relatio, Brilliance, Seeker, Aurora, Eclipse." Once again, his word was final. "You're out."
Most of them simply nodded or hummed in acknowledgment.
"Man, I really wanted to be out alone this time," Relatio muttered to himself, without real protest. "Back when it was me, Persona, and Brilliance, it was such a mess..."
Echo looked between them, a little puzzled. Each of them carried a strong, defined presence, and yet Original's words — which felt like anything but an order — were accepted without a fight.
"Anyone too emotional, too volatile..." Original said. "Flux and Sylph are out."
"Echo—" At the quiet call of his name, Echo turned his head, tensing for a moment.
"—is too young." The rest of the sentence came as a relief.
"But, Echo."
"Uh, yes?"
"I need you to pay attention to the new face when you can."
"I understand."
"That leaves..." Even Flux, calm through the whole discussion, turned serious now, and everyone's gaze settled on Zenith.
"Zenith."
"Serenity..."
"You will become the new face." Original said it flatly, with no real weight behind it — it simply was what it was.
Flux clicked his tongue. "This isn't right. Isn't he the most arrogant of all of us? Wasn't he the one who conquered half of Earth just because he didn't like the ruling system?"
"He's prideful, yes, but he's also the least emotionally reactive. And that conquest was mostly a mistake to own by all of us," Aurora said.
"I was still robbed."
"You were never in the running," Brilliance said.
"I choose to believe otherwise."
A few smiles went around the table. Zenith remained completely still.
After several moments, he nodded. "Serenity, I accept."
Original continued. "But Flux and Aurora are both right." The atmosphere shifted; Zenith stared at Original, unblinking.
"With Zenith's calm, we solve two problems. His pride is still another one. Let's solve that too — and a fourth, while we're at it."
Flux tilted his head, unsure where this was going. Several others wore the same expression.
"The gods." Original's voice didn't change.
"After we protected Elah and Xalier, and our powers were revealed, we reincarnated all the same, even without Aidana — but the gods' eyes followed us."
"It's not certain why, but they tormented us however they could. My plan, giving them exactly what they wanted, worked: the bored gods forgot about us as Persona went insane — or rather, faked being insane, fooling even us."
"But even forgotten, our powers and presences shine like beacons in a dark sky. If even one of them, those who deem us enemies, notices and recalls before we've gathered our strength, we'll be in trouble again."
"What are you getting at?" Flux asked, unable to wait any longer.
Original didn't answer directly. Order did instead. "You want all of us to stop using our powers completly. At least until we're strong enough."
"Yes." Original wasn't bothered by the interruption.
Brilliance picked up the thought. "That would also ease Zenith's pride, since it leans so heavily on his absolute abilty."
"Even without my powers, I can reach the sky." Zenith's tone didn't change, though the meeting had begun to sound like a string of provocations. His gaze showed no anger.
"Then, Zenith — are you still up for this challenge?" Original's voice carried an edge now, almost daring him.
"Challenge? You speak as if the word means anything to me."
"You will have to make this body, this life, the strongest we've ever been." Original paused.
"Trivial." Zenith closed his eyes. But as Original kept speaking, his attention was drawn back.
"Stronger than the gods who dared play with us. Stronger for us and the sake of those around us." No reaction came — until the next words.
"Stronger than the old man."
Like a heartbeat, the atmosphere shifted.
"Zenith. In this life, every one of our goals, every one of our plans — they will be they must be achieved."
Silence stretched.
Then a smile broke across Zenith's face. "Hmh. Serenity, now this is interesting." His voice remained near-monotone, but the intent behind it had changed completely.
"Alright, Zenith. You have autonomy over most decisions concerning strength and power. From this point on, you are fully functioning as the face — you'll represent our decisions, act in our stead. Try not to overthrow the first ruling nation we come across."
"Serenity... if they govern properly, there will be no need," Zenith said nothing more. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat.
"Flux, Sylph — as the last two eliminated, you're allowed to interact with and help Zenith when you're awake, but try not to fight with him, and try not to stay out for extended periods."
"Yey!" Flux jumped up.
"Understood," Sylph said, far less enthusiastic.
"And the three of you — try to answer whatever questions Echo has. He needs the experience."
"Beyond the four of them, unnecessary switching is forbidden from this point on."
No one objected.
Original turned to Zenith. "One more thing."
Zenith met his eyes. "Serenity, I'm listening."
"You are absolutely forbidden from using any form of Serenity. Not just Severance."
For the first time, Zenith frowned. "Serenity, I object."
The room went still.
"My base ability exists to maintain serenity. It exists to protect us. I can control it."
"No," Original said calmly.
Zenith's jaw tightened. "Serenity..." Not anger, not quite frustration — just the quiet conviction that the call was wrong.
The silence stretched. Zenith looked around the table. No one spoke in his favor — not because they doubted him, but because they had already agreed on this before he'd even objected.
Finally, he closed his eyes. A slow breath. "Serenity... understood."
Original gave one final nod. "Good."
He extended a hand toward the table. "Before we finish — does anyone else have something to raise?"
Echo said nothing. It was only a thought, an emotion crossing his face for a moment. But Original caught it.
"Speak your mind."
Echo startled, flustered — every eye had turned to him again, and now he had no choice but to speak.
"I don't have much memory of the first life the rest of you were born into. A lot of it is jumbled in my head. Most of what I have is a compressed version of the seven hundred years Persona — the masks — lived through. But the clearest thing is still Liam. This life."
"What are you getting at?"
"Flux. Let him finish."
"...Sorry. Go on."
"Liam still had a lot of lingering thoughts. Feelings. Things he wanted. Now they're all inside me, and I feel like I have to carry them out, like they're mine. What I'm asking is — could we act on some of them, when we can?"
Original considered this. "Each of us carries our own purpose alongside the goal we all share. Liam, even as a mask, was our brother. He can't chase his own goals anymore. If those thoughts become relevant, bring them to Zenith or to me, and we'll see what can be done."
"I understand. Thank you."
"Any other business?"
The table stayed quiet for a while.
Then Reason raised a hand.
"Yes, Reason?"
His voice, when it came, was cold.
"Will we kill Tiana?"