Hikari (Labyrinth)

Hikari, also known as ??? before its true identity is revealed is a Labyrinth in Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth.

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A reality in the Movie World created by Hikari from her desire to escape reality, discard her self and end all of her pain with her self-destruction. Initially, its name is obscured by black scribble. The Labyrinth majorly appears as a whimsical fairy tale landscape taking inspiration from animated musicals and various fairy tales, such as The Wizard of Oz and Snow White, but at the deepest floor it suddenly turns monochrome and unsettling, with the flowers in the background having hollow eyes and tearing blood, symbolizing its owner's desire for self-destruction as a terminal for her pain. Even before reaching the final floor, though, the party expresses nervousness at the overly cheerful scenery contrasted with Hikari's depression and the characters frequently breaking out into songs with the repeated "moral" that individuality is an obstacle to happiness.

After clearing A.I.G.I.S., Doe supposedly kidnaps Hikari into this Labyrinth and the announcement for its airing begins. Unlike the past three movies, the announcement voice for this one quickly turns distorted. The party ventures here in an attempt to save Hikari. It was later revealed that Hikari was not kidnapped, but followed Doe to here at her own will in an attempt to face herself.

The floors of this labyrinth are known as "Scenes" and several floors have musical-like devices. All of these musicals depict a trauma that Hikari had experienced. These musical stages are constructs from her memories and she would deny her tormentors with her cognitive copies following the denial, angering her tormentors and they turn into Shadows and attack the party. Each of the first three musicals also relate to a previous movie. After each musical, a flashback is played which involves Hikari's relationship with her father. It was revealed that at the past Hikari was often dehumanized and denied uniqueness and was heavily traumatized as a result, which caused her to develop a depression that is so tremendous that she isolated herself from reality in her room and became apathetic in living itself. When her father told her to get out of the room to get the notebook he bought for her, he asked Hikari why was she like that. In reality, he did not have any ill-intent and was just asking her to get out of the room, but she mistook it as her father denying her and considering her an outcast, which results in her falling into a life-consuming despair that causes her to completely break down.

After the Shadow in the musical related to her father was defeated, the party meets Doe, which enters the depths without much interaction, only muttering Hikari's name. They follow him to the depths and encounter him, in which he expresses a wish to keep Hikari in the Cinema for eternity in an attempt to prevent her from getting any more harm. She denies this wish and he becomes berserk, transforming into a morbid abomination surrounded by film tapes. When the party destroys his eyes and body, his remains unleash a dangerous attack that triple binds the entire party, which cannot be recovered using an item. However, Hikari steps in and joins the fight by unbinding party members, allowing them to do sufficient damage in a situation where they otherwise cannot.

They successfully defeat Doe and Hikari steps in to hug him, and he transforms into an image of Hikari's father, revealing himself as nothing other than a cognitive copy of him that is built by both Hikari's positive desire to become unique again and negative desire to end all of her pain in self-destruction. Hikari's heart has been successfully changed and she tearfully repents for her distorted despair and grief before Doe vanishes and transforms into the key required to escape the Cinema, then she also confesses to the party about her distorted thoughts and desires. She was able to make a full rehabilitation, reigniting her desire to live as a person.

The credits roll with Nagi watching the movie alone, with the true name of the movie revealed as "Hikari" and "To Be Continued" shown afterwards, indicating that Hikari has officially regained her life back.

After clearing the movie, Nagi allows the party to escape the Cinema, only to reveal a twisted landscape and drop off her guise, with her true identity being the administrator of the collective unconsciousness Enlil. Enlil announces her twisted patronizing of humanity and her seemingly genuine but heavily deluded salvation plan to help them, and lets them escape the Cinema. However, to save other people trapped in the Cinemas in her domain, the party and Hikari decides to confront her.

Trivia

 * Hikari is similar to Futaba's Palace, as both are born from distorted desires of self destruction and grief, contain objects that are formed from their host's memories and the cognitive copies of their host's beloved parents whom they also developed delusions and guilt with appear at the end as bosses.