"What do you mean, 'already fused'?" Karasawa tightened his grip on the wine glass.
"Exactly what it sounds like." Leon picked up another glass and poured himself a drink. "You know the storyline too. You know what happens when the Cognitive World fully merges with reality. And this world of detectives—"
"Time loops endlessly, high schoolers investigate murders, crime scene photos get slapped on the front page, someone shatters concrete pillars with bare fists, and any random person can turn homicidal at the drop of a hat... Can you seriously call this a 'real' world?"
Karasawa swirled the wine in his glass, thoughtful.
Persona 5, in keeping with the fine tradition of its predecessors, has multiple endings. Besides the proper heroic route, there's also the co-conspirator ending, where the protagonist joins forces with the big bad.
In that ending, the world doesn't actually get destroyed—it just becomes a chessboard ruled from the shadows. The protagonist, lost in the thrill of being a secret vigilante, is worshipped as a false hero of justice.
Looking at it that way... you know what? This does feel familiar.
Detective Conan's world is full of strange rules. The timeline never progresses beyond a year. Physics gets routinely defied... It was never meant to be a realistic world to begin with.
"You're saying the Conan world was already an idealist construct. So, the Cognitive World no longer exists?" Karasawa asked uncertainly.
Well, damn. So he'd barely cleared the intro, just gearing up to start stealing hearts—only for the world to tell him: Game over! Thanks for playing!
"That's not quite it," Leon replied. "But the boundaries are extremely blurred. Abilities might even be transferable between the two worlds. I mean, if people here can punch through structural columns, why shouldn't you have a few tricks of your own? If I had to summarize it... the worlds are inseparable now. And honestly, there's no point in drawing lines—they're both just part of the same whole."
Well, isn't that wild...
So the Cognitive World still exists. Its core rules are still in play. But they probably differ greatly from what he remembers.
And as long as he doesn't break the Conan world's internal logic, he might even be able to use abilities typically exclusive to the Cognitive World—like climbing towers with his bare hands.
...On second thought, that's a bit much. Maybe stick to karate chops. In Conan logic, a single hand strike can solve everything.
"Got it. That's how Conan physics works. Now I completely understand," Karasawa nodded repeatedly. "So, what now? What's my goal?"
"If even you don't know... how could I?" Leon said, unbothered.
Karasawa set down his empty glass and fell silent.
Honestly, the two storylines were so wildly divergent—was there even a way to reconcile them into a unified endgame?
He really wasn't sure.
But Leon wasn't wrong. In one hand, he held supernatural powers. In the other, two clashing narratives. Right now, he held the initiative—whether to dive deeper into the chaos or find a way to escape it.
Leon didn't interrupt his thoughts. He simply picked up the bottle and refilled Karasawa's bourbon.
As the glass filled, Karasawa began to form a plan. A sly smile spread across his face—one of those smiles that crinkled the corners of his eyes and practically screamed "villain energy."
Watching his expression shift, Leon instinctively leaned back, putting some distance between himself and this very clearly "up-to-something" guy.
"I see it now. All I've got to do is survive this damn probation period. Keep my head down until the end, right? But Leon," Karasawa raised his glass and gave Leon a look of betrayal, "weren't we done with the cryptic riddles?"
Leon raised his glass as well and countered, "Well? How was the monologue just now?"
"...Fine. Kinda cool, actually."
"Thanks. Cheers."
The two glasses clinked with a clear ring.
Karasawa downed his bourbon in one gulp—and before he could even taste it, he was falling again into that pitch-dark dream.
"Hey, hey—Ran? Ran!"
After calling her name several times and getting no reaction, Sonoko Suzuki waved her hand in front of her friend's face.
"Ah! Sonoko, what is it?" Mōri Ran snapped out of her daze and blinked up at her.
"Geez, what's with you today?" Sonoko gave her desk a pat. "You've been spacing out all morning. You didn't even listen during class!"
"Ever since we left the amusement park yesterday, Shinichi hasn't shown up. He didn't come to school this morning, either."
Sonoko waved dismissively. "Pfft, probably caught up in another case."
"But he's not answering his phone at all... No messages, nothing."
"C'mon, it's Kudo. The 'savior of the Japanese police.' The second he gets tangled in a complex case, he forgets about everything else—including his phone. Don't worry about it." Sonoko brushed off the topic, then leaned in with fresh excitement. "Hey, guess what? I heard we've got a new transfer student today—and he's a total dreamboat!"
"Transfer student?" Ran, unimpressed by the 'dreamboat' part, focused on the former. "That's pretty rare, mid-term and all..."
Sonoko clasped her hands with a dramatic sigh, lost in fantasy. "My high school life felt incomplete without a romantic meet-cute on a cherry blossom path with a handsome, mysterious upperclassman. And now, halfway through sophomore year—bam! My shōjo manga dream might still come true!"
Ran, used to her friend's theatrics, let her indulge in the daydream and quietly took out her phone again.
Still no reply from Shinichi.
The vague unease from yesterday hadn't left her. She tapped out another email, urging him to call her as soon as possible.
Dun~ dun~ dun—dun~
As the school bell rang, Karasawa followed the teacher step by step into Class 2-B, a shoulder bag slung casually at his side.
Turning to face the students, it took him exactly one second to spot Sonoko Suzuki's sparkling eyes—and the girl seated behind her: Mōri Ran.
They were unmistakable.
The teacher scribbled his name on the blackboard in neat strokes, then introduced him. "This is Karasawa Akira. He'll be joining us starting today. I hope everyone gets along well."
"My name is Karasawa Akira, from Kyoto. Pleased to meet you all." He bowed his head slightly, eyes lowered.
"Whoa... Is he mixed?" Sonoko clutched her collar. "His eyes are blue!"
"Keep it down, Sonoko." Ran gave her friend a discreet nudge, embarrassed when Karasawa glanced in their direction—clearly having heard the outburst.
But Karasawa just smiled warmly at Sonoko, showing no sign of offense, which only made Ran think: What a friendly guy.
Of course, Karasawa didn't mind.
In fact, he'd say it was perfect.
Because right here, right now—his ideal entry point into the main storyline had just walked through the door.