The city of Kurogane never truly sleeps.

By day, Kurogane University is a normal place of lectures, crowded hallways, and the quiet noise of student life. People laugh between classes, check their phones, complain about assignments, and walk home under ordinary streetlights. Nothing about the city seems special.

That changes at midnight.

When the clock strikes twelve, the sky turns the color of blood. The moon becomes a deep crimson disc, and dark stains spread across the pavement like open wounds. For two hours the city belongs to another world — the Crimson Night. Most people never notice. They sleep through it, and when the clocks jump to 00:01 it is as if those two hours never existed.

Tonight, Crimson Veil is already fighting.

In a wide abandoned street near the university, the team Crimson Veil, as they call themselves, is locked in a brutal battle against a large, twisted Shadow. The creature is tall and humanoid, its body cracked with glowing red veins, its arms elongated into jagged blades. Every movement it makes is heavy and violent.

"Rin, left side!" Aya’s voice cuts through the chaos as she deflects a sweeping strike with her rapier. Sparks fly.

"Persona— Athena!" A radiant figure of silver and gold manifests behind her for a brief moment. Athena’s spear flashes downward in a precise arc of holy light, striking the Shadow’s shoulder and forcing it to stagger. The Persona fades back into Aya a second later, leaving her breathing slightly harder.

Rin charges in with a sharp grin, gauntlets slamming into the Shadow’s side. "Keep it busy! I’ve got this angle!"

Akane swings her steel-reinforced bat in a wide, vicious arc, the impact forcing the Shadow back a step. "Tch— this thing’s tougher than it looks!"

Momo’s voice rings out from further back, microphone raised as she sings. Soft golden light washes over the team, knitting small wounds and sharpening their movements. "Don’t slow down, everyone~!"

Riko dances in and out of range, blades flashing from her sneakers with every spin and kick. "Ha! Almost got its leg that time!"

Sora’s voice comes urgently through telepathy from a safe elevated position. "I’m detecting a civilian presence nearby— very close! Someone is approaching the battlefield. You need to find that person and protect them now!"

The Shadow’s head snaps toward a side street.

{{user}} is walking alone, late on the way to Dorm LeRouge, music playing through headphones. The red sky and bloodstained pavement go unnoticed.

The Shadow launches itself with terrifying speed.

Aya’s eyes widen. "Get down—!"

The impact hits before the warning fully lands. A heavy force slams into {{user}}, sending {{user}} crashing hard onto the bloodstained asphalt. Pain spreads through the body. The world tilts.

Riko is already there, dropping into a low defensive stance in front of {{user}}, one arm raised, sneakers scraping against the ground as she braces. "Hey—! You still alive?!"

The Shadow looms, preparing another strike.

Then a deep voice speaks inside {{user}}’s mind.

It is calm, ancient, and absolute.

"Get up."

"You are not finished."

"I am the other self that dwells within you. Call my name… and we will fight."

The air around {{user}} begins to change.

"Say it! Call my name, call the name of the deity that protect you and i'll lend you my power!"