Ren awoke from his strange dream, feeling just as confused and tired as the last time. He decides to push the dream aside and focus on getting to school. He got up and changed into his uniform, then grabs his stuff and heads downstairs, where Sojiro was waiting with another plate of curry and a cup of coffee for him.

After finishing his breakfast, he walks out of the café, remembering to flip the sign over, finding Akira waiting for him, with an open umbrella over her head and also holding a second umbrella in her hand.

"Let's get going." The girl says and holds out the umbrella. "I grabbed an extra for you." She says. Ren takes the umbrella and opens it, then they both walk to the subway station.

They managed to catch the first train, which was overly crowded, causing Ren and Akira to be smushed together. Which was uncomfortable enough but the people around them were seriously noisy. Getting off was a big relief, so they made their way to the Ginza Line, which was luckily not closed today, and waited for the next train.

"Is that her?" A female voice asks, and Ren noticed it was a girl  wearing a Shujin uniform.

"You mean the one with the long black hair tied with the velvet band? Well, I guess so." Her male companion, also wearing a Shujin uniform, replies.

"She's so thin...and her hair is so long and pretty. It's not fair, I've got my hair in a ponytail too..." The girl then remarks.

"Okay, but what's that got to do with being thin? The hair I get, but..." The guy questions. Ren soon realizes they were talking about Akira, who clearly heard them and chose to ignore it. Just then the train came and they boarded it.

Thankfully it wasn't as crowded as the first but it was still pretty packed. Akira managed to grab a seat, while Ren was literally left standing. The raven-haired girl then noticed something and suddenly rose up from her seat.

"Please, Ma'am, you can have my seat." She tells an elderly woman.

"Oh, thank you dearie." The old woman thanks her, but before she could sit down, a man suddenly sits in the free spot.

"H-hey—!" Akira begins to say but cuts off when she hears the man snore. "Oh. Sorry." She tells the old woman.

"It's alright. That was still very sweet of you." The woman reassures her.

"Do you want me to wake him up?" Ren asks the girl.

"No need, just leave him." Akira replies with a sigh.

"I have to say, I've never seen a pair of twins who looked so much alike like you two." The old lady then chuckles. Ren and Akira look at each other, blush, then look away, too embarrassed to say anything. The subway then stopped and they quickly got off.

"That was, admittedly a little embarrassing." Ren says as they walk through the station.

"Though, I guess we'll have to get used to people thinking we're related." Akira agrees while twirling a piece of his hair around her finger.

"We do look alike, it's an easy mistake. I was honestly surprised when I first saw you. I thought you were my male doppelganger, or something." The ravenette girl admits.

"Can say the same for you." Ren mutters, not sure if Akira heard him or not.

"Anyway, we should get going. Don't want to be late, again." The girl says, a little sternly, and the two leave the subway and head for school.

They arrive and split up, heading to their individual classes. The second day was thankfully calm compared to the first. Though the students still did gossip about him and his record, especially after he got an answer right in Social Studies and they expressed their surprise at him being a good student. Geez, he couldn't wait for the day to be over.

~Take Your Time~

Akira was relieved when school finally let out. Throughout the day, it was hard to ignore Sakamoto-kun, who tried to talk to her, and the other students who were all asking her questions about her relation to Amamiya. So she told the truth, he was staying with her and her father for his probation and nothing else.

She leaves the classroom, heading for her locker to get her shoes then head for ballet lessons. As she made her way through the halls, she was suddenly stopped by a tall, ripped man in a white t-shirt, sweatpants and a whistle around his neck.

"You're the other transfer student, right? Akira Sakura?" The man asks her.

"Yes, that would be me." The raven-haired girl replies, feeling nervous for some reason.

"Ah, I'm Suguru Kamoshida. The PE teacher and Coach of the Shujin Academy volleyball team. The same team that went to the nationals." He introduces and subsequently brags.

"Nice to meet you then, sensei." Akira replies back with a polite tone.

"So, you ever think of maybe joining the volleyball team. We could use more members on the girls team." He says, or rather offers.

"I'm sorry sensei, but I have to decline. Volleyball isn't really a sport that I'm interested in, and I have a lot of other things I have to do. It would take up too much time." Akira politely declines, mostly because she kind of got a bad vibe from the man and she knew to trust her instincts.

"Oh, I see. Then would you like to watch practice at least?" He says and offers next.

"I'm sorry, but I have ballet lessons today, so I don't have the time." She declines again.

"Ballet, huh? So you're a ballerina then?" The man inquires. "You defiantly have the physique for it. You must really like it." He comments as he practically leers at her body-shape.

"Yes. It's something I've done since I was little." She replies, starting to feel uncomfortable.

"You must also be very beautiful when you dance, huh?" He asks while leaning in.

"Well, my Dad and teacher say so..." She answers, her uncomfortableness getting worse. "I need to get going, sensei. I don't want to be late for lessons." She then says and starts to turn away.

"Alright then. By the way..." He began and Akira froze. "What's your relationship with Amamiya-kun? The two of you were seen walking to school together today and you kind of look alike. Are you two related?" He asks and the girl turns back to face him.

"N-no. Not really. My dad is his guardian for his probation. I just led him to school to make sure he got here on time today." She replies, nervously.

"Well, okay. Good job, then." The man says with a grin. "See you tomorrow at the Volleyball rally then, Sakura-chan~." He tells her.

"Yeah, see you then." She replies then practically runs away from the man. She hears the other students whispering, but ignores it as she comes to her locker and gets out her ballet stuff she brought to school. She then spots Amamiya and goes over to him.

"Amamiya-kun, I'm leaving now. Can you get back on your own?" She asks him.

"Oh... Yes, I can." He replies when he sees her.

"Okay, then. See you home." She then tells him and walks out of the building, down the steps where she sees Sakamoto by the gate. She quickly turns her gaze away and rushes past him so he doesn't notice her, then makes her way to the subway station to catch the next train.

~Take Your Time~

"Sup!" Ren turns to see Sakamoto by the gate as he prepared to leave. "I wanna talk to you about the castle from yesterday." He explains.

"Really? I honestly just want to forget about the whole thing." Ren says while rubbing his temples, feeling a headache coming.

"I know. I tried telling myself that it was just a dream... but I couldn't get it out of my mind. I just, can't act like nothing happened. It's all connected to that bastard Kamoshida, after all." The dye-blonde replies. "I gotta find out what's up with that place, no matter what. And y'know, you're the only person I can rely on for this. So, you in?" He says and asks. Ren thought about it, then turns and replies.

"Fine. Not like my reputation at school can get any worse anyway." He relents.

"Nice! Okay, glad we're in this together. I think we should start by retracing our steps from yesterday." The faux blonde says. "In the meantime, you're waking to the station, right? Let's go together. Let me know if you notice any other weird buildings on the way." He adds and the two walk down to the station.

"If a huge castle like that really exists, I'm sure we'll find it in no time." Ryuji says when the reach where they started that day. "When'd they build something like that though?" He questions while looking around. "We walked that way from here, right?" He asks to confirm.

"Honestly, I don't remember. Maybe we should just go home." Ren says back.

"Not yet, we still have to find that castle." Ryuji refuses and states. "This way... Let me know if you notice something." He says and leads Ren through the alley like yesterday, but it just led them back to the school building. The normal school building.

"What the hell? Did we take a wrong turn?" The boy asked. Ren shrugged unsure. "Let's go back and try again." He says and they do just that, but once again, no castle. "For real? What?" The blonde says and leans against the wall thinking. "Is it smaller than we thought it was? What do you think?" He says then asks.

"Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe we should check our phones to see if it pops on the map." Ren replies then suggests and suddenly Ryuji looks like something hit him. "What?" The bespectacled boy asks.

"Phone...? Hey didn't your phone say something like 'welcome back' when we left last time? Is it some sort of navigation app?" The punk-like boy asks.

"Navigation app?" Ren questions then he remembers Igor's words. Metaverse Navigator.

"I don't know for sure, but that's what it sounded like coming from your phone." Ryuji says. "Let me your phone for a bit." He then requests and Ren takes out his phone, unlocking and handing it to the delinquent-looking boy.

"Huh? What's this eyeball-looking thing?" The other boy asks, pointing to said app.

"I don't know, it just appeared and I can't delete. It always comes back. Even after I rebooted my phone." Ren replies and explains.

"Wait, what? What a weird app..." Ryuji remarks. "Oh wait, this is it!" He exclaims and begins tapping. "I knew it—it is a navigation app! There's even your search history here. Yes, I'm a genius!" He exclaims happily. Well, Ren wouldn't exactly use the word genius, but he wasn't particularly dumb. "Let's try using it!" The blonde says next.

"What?! We don't know what could happen. It could be dangerous." Ren tries to warn the boy.

"How? All we're doing is starting an app." Ryuji reasons and opens the app.

"Kamoshida... Shujin Academy... Pervert... Castle... Beginning Navigation. Entering; Castle of Lust." A digital voice speaks from the phone. Suddenly, the world began to warp around them and they look up at the school to see it distort and warp into a full blown medieval castle.

"Look! It's the castle from yesterday!" Ryuji exclaims, then runs up to the building entrance, Ren hot on his tail. "We made it back... That means that what happened yesterday was for real too..." He says then suddenly freezes when he looks at Ren. "Bah! Your clothes..." He exclaims. Ren gives him a confused look before looking down to see his clothes have changed into the same odd outfit from before.

"What?! Again?! Seriously?!" He exclaims as he looks over himself.

"That happened last time too! What's going on?" Ryuji questions.

"I don't know! I didn't even realize my clothes changed!" Ren replies back.

"Just what is going on here?! This makes no effin' sense at all..." The faux blonde remarks.

"Hey!" A familiar voice cries out and the two turn to see Morgana, the cat-like creature they met last time they were here, running up to them. "Stop making a commotion." He chides them.

"Ah... You?!" Ryuji exclaims when he sees the creature.

"The Shadows started acting up, so I came here wondering what it could be... To think you guys would come back to the entrance when you barely managed to escape last time." Said creature explains.

"What is this place? Is this the school?" Ryuji then asks the not-cat.

"That's right." Morgana answers him.

"But, it's a castle!" The faux-blonde exclaims.

"This castle IS the school. But only to this castle's ruler." The not-cat replies.

"This castle's ruler?" The punk boy says, confused.

"Yes. I believe you called him Kamoshida, right? It's how his distorted heart views the school." The feline then explains.

"Kamoshida... Distorted..." Ryuji says, confused. He looks at Ren then turns back to Morgana. "Explain it in a way that makes sense!" He demands, frustrated.

"I should've known a moron like you wouldn't get it..." The not-cat sighs.

"What'd you say?!" Ryuji growls, but was interrupted by a loud scream coming from in the castle. "What was that?!" He asks.

"It must be the slaves held captives here." Morgana answers.

"For real?!" Ryuji says, shocked, while Ren was too stunned to say anything as they heard more screams of pain. "Oh, shit... It is for real! We saw others held captive yesterday... I'm pretty sure they're from school." The blonde says.

"Most likely on Kamoshida's orders. It's nothing out of the ordinary; it's like that every day here. What's more you two escaped yesterday. He must have lost his temper quite a bit." The not-cat tells them.

"That son of a bitch!" The faux blonde curses.

"Sakamoto?" Ren hesitantly asks.

"This is bullshit!" The other boy shouts then runs and rams into the front door. "You hear me, Kamoshida?!" He yells at the man.

"Doing that isn't going to open it, you know..." Morgana says a matter of factly.

"He's right, it's just going to attract unwanted attention to ourselves." Ren says. Ryuji seems to brush off their words and walks back to them.

"Hey, Monamona!" He addresses the monster/cat.

"It's Morgana!" Said not-cat corrects.

"Do you know where those voices are coming from?" The blonde boy asks.

"You want me to take you to them?" Morgana asks, surprised. "...Well, I guess I could guide you there. But only if he comes with us." He then says.

"Huh? Why, me?" Ren questions. Ryuji was silent, like he knew something but wasn't saying anything.

"I just want to get a better look at your powers. Even if you don't agree, I bet this guy will go on even if he has to do it alone. Are you gonna leave him?" The not-cat replies then asks.

"I, never said that." The raven haired boy says back, reluctantly agreeing.

"All right, it's settled then." The monster/cat announces.

"For real?! Thanks, dude." The faux blonde thanks him.

"Okay, let's do this. Follow me!" Morgana says and the two follow him to the vent they escaped from last time and use to get back in.

The place was just as weird and confusing as last time, luckily Morgana was a good guide. They made it to the dungeon area, but were forced to fight when they kept running into the weird knights. Again, Morgana helped him in teaching him to ambush the enemy and the best way to fight them.

They then delve deeper into the dungeon when they reached the cells from before, only to find them empty. They continued until they came across a room that Morgana has them hide in from a horde of those same guards.

"The Shadows probably won't come in here." The not-cat tells the two.

"How can you tell?" Ryuji asks while trying to catch his breath.

"There's a lack of distortion here, meaning the ruler's control over this area is weak." Morgana replies and explains. Suddenly, the room warped and became a classroom for a moment.

"Is this a classroom?!" Ryuji asks in shock.

"Now do you understand?" Morgana then asks. "This place is another reality that the ruler's heart projects." He explains.

"This is Kamoshida's reality? Shit makes no sense at all!" Ryuji exclaims in frustration.

"One could say it's a world in which one's distorted desires have materialized. I call such a place, a 'Palace'." The not-cat explains, and Ren looked up at the word Palace. That was something Igor said last night in the velvet room.

"A Palace?" the punk boy asks.

"This is happening because he thinks the school is his own castle." Morgana says.

"I think I get it." Ren speaks up and Ryuji turns to him.

"You do?" The faux blonde says, surprised.

"Yes. Let me put it this way; this reality is based on how a person views things. You said Kamoshida acts like the king of the castle, in this reality he is. It reflects how he sees the school and himself. In this case, he actually does see the school as a castle where he rules as king. Am I right?" He explains then turns to Morgana to confirm.

"Yes. Very good." The not-cat praises. Ren honestly didn't know how to feel.

"So it's like this because he thought of it like this?" Ryuji reiterates and laughs without any humor in his tone. "That son of a bitch!" He then curses.

"You must really hate this Kamoshida guy." Morgana observes.

"Hate doesn't even cover how I feel. Everything is that asshole's fault!" The faux blonde replies angrily. Just what did Kamoshida do to make Ryuji despise him so much?

"I don't know what happened between you two, but don't let your emotions get the better of you. His lackeys are everywhere inside." Morgana warns then turns to Ren. "You're curious about your clothes, right?" He asks. Damn right he was.

"Yeah, I'm curios about it as well." Ryuji himself admits.

"You and me both. What's up with this? I mean it's cool and all, but why do I look like a stage magician?" The raven-haired boy questions.

"It's also because of this world." The not-cat starts off. "Anything distorts according to how a ruler pleases within their Palace. A school can turn into a castle like this after all. In order to prevent such distortions from affecting them, one must have a strong will of rebellion. Your new appearance is a manifestation of that. It's the image of rebellion that you hold within." He explains.

"Argh! I'm so fed with all this cryptic shit! I'm more curious about you than his clothes! What the hell are you anyways!?" Ryuji snaps.

"I'm a human—an honest-to-god human!" Morgana replies and states.

"No, you're obviously more like a cat!" The faux blonde retorts. He had a point.

"I, uh... This is, well... It's because I lost my true form. I think." The not-cat replies.

"You think?" Ryuji questions.

"Yeah, what do you mean, Morgana?" Ren inquires.

"But I do know how to regain my true form. The reason why I snuck in here in the first place was for a preliminary investigation of those means." Morgana explains. "Well, until I ended up getting caught though..." He adds bashfully.

"Besides, I was tortured by Kamoshida too! I'm gonna make him pay for sure." He exclaims, getting back his fire. "If we're going keep going, we better get along. I'll be counting on your skills this time too, rookie. You got it?" He says next, then Ryuji turns to Ren.

"Don't worry, I'm gonna force it all on you. I thought it might help, so..." He says and took out a, gun?! "I brought this just in case! It's a model though, so it only really makes sounds!" He explains. Oh, good, it was only a fake. That's a relief. "I also brought some medicine too. You know what they say: 'Providing is pre... something.' Huh? Huh?" He says next, excitedly.

"You mean: 'Providing is prevention'?" Ren finishes for him.

"So you were planning this from the start..." Morgana remarks. "Alright, we'll head when we're ready." He then says and Ren takes both the gun and medicine from Ryuji.