After undergoing the Fire Moth's Meta-Morph surgery and fusing with the Honkai beast factor of Mitra, Aponia gained the ability to peer into fate and foresee the future.
In the world Aponia perceived, everyone was a slave to fate, their lives manipulated by invisible puppet strings.
However, Ren Amamiya was the only exception Aponia had ever seen.
In this commonplace, cold world, Ren Amamiya's head lacked the puppet strings that others had.
This was definitely not some difference between residents of the Previous Era and residents of the current civilization.
Aponia had fused her own will with the Elysian Realm. Every successor who entered the Elysian Realm was silently observed by her. No matter which successor it was, transparent threads symbolizing the puppet of fate floated above their heads.
What was special was not the successors of the current civilization, but Ren Amamiya himself, this unique existence.
To investigate Ren Amamiya's identity, Aponia, driven by curiosity and concern, had activated her ability to observe a target's fate on Ren Amamiya.
Then Aponia discovered she couldn't clearly see Ren Amamiya's final moment as she could with others.
The future of Ren Amamiya that Aponia could see was very blurry. She could only foresee Ren Amamiya's general fortune ahead, or the major and minor setbacks he was about to encounter, but she couldn't clearly see the future scenes Ren Amamiya was about to face.
To be more precise, Aponia had actually glimpsed the moment of termination for the existence known as [Ren Amamiya].
However, that moment of termination was not in the distant future, but in the not-too-distant past.
According to the image of the fated end Aponia received the first time she saw Ren Amamiya, he should have died from an attack by an imaginary creature.
However, the true reality was that Ren Amamiya had overcome his own fated death, rebelled against the great being that toyed with the fates of mortals, severed the threads of fate hovering above him, and obtained a free body that no one could interfere with.
After breaking free from the chains of fate entwined around him, Aponia could no longer clearly see Ren Amamiya's future scenes as she could with others.
A fated death that should have been unchangeable was overcome and transcended by Ren Amamiya. In Aponia's eyes, this was clearly a miracle among miracles, a great undertaking she had failed to accomplish in her entire life.
Ren Amamiya had launched a rebellion against fate and achieved victory.
In Aponia's eyes, Ren Amamiya symbolized infinite possibilities. His mere existence proved to the world that fate could be changed.
Verified by Griseo's ability to see through the true scenery of others' hearts and depict it in paintings, Aponia confirmed Ren Amamiya's true beliefs and thoughts, knowing that although he looked mysterious and unpredictable, hiding his true identity under the name of a phantom thief, he was actually a fellow traveler who also harbored the conviction to save the world.
Therefore, Aponia finally felt at ease with Ren Amamiya and felt immense joy from the bottom of her heart.
If it was Phantom Thief Joker, who had already overcome his own fated death and successfully rebelled against fate, perhaps he could truly stop Project Stigma, lead humanity to victory over the Honkai, and completely accomplish the great undertaking of saving the world!
Aponia clasped her fair, slender hands tightly before her chest, piously praying for Ren Amamiya.
"So this is the painting depicted with the colors of my heart. It certainly looks like it has some skill... But it seems no Shadows were born from the painting. Are there some other steps that haven't been completed?"
In the Painter's Dream, Ren Amamiya gazed at the painting of the demon king rebelling against god, completed by Griseo. A look of surprise appeared in his eyes.
Although it was said to be a painting using the colors of his own heart, Ren Amamiya never expected Griseo to directly paint a work with the P5 grand finale's theme.
However, after Griseo stopped her brush and finished the entire painting, Ren Amamiya still couldn't see the Shadow from his heart separate and be born from Griseo's artwork. Therefore, he couldn't help but ask Griseo, who was sitting on the high chair, her small face lifted, carefully gazing at the painting she had completed with her own hands.
"There are no other steps. Mr. Phantom Thief is different from Kosma. There are no monsters in your heart. No monsters will be born from the painting."
Facing Ren Amamiya's inquiry, Griseo gently shook her small blue head, replying to Ren Amamiya in a light and ethereal tone.
Just as Kosma had said, after completing the painting using the colors in Ren Amamiya's heart, Griseo reverted to her original appearance, her words and actions no longer carrying Ren Amamiya's flavor.
"Is that so? I kind of expected that..."
Ren Amamiya wasn't disappointed by Griseo's answer.
After all, Ren Amamiya had long since become a Persona user. There were no Shadows in his heart. It was only natural that Griseo couldn't summon the Shadow from his heart.
Ren Amamiya had Griseo paint with the colors of his heart merely as an attempt, and also to take a break and recover his stamina while waiting for Griseo to finish the painting—although he had successfully defeated Kosma, Kosma had indeed caused a significant drain on Ren Amamiya's physical and magical energy.
Even Jizo Mitama and the Great Thunder Spiral Ring had temporarily entered a cooldown recovery period where they couldn't be used normally.
Fortunately, after this period of rest, Jizo Mitama and the Great Thunder Spiral Ring had recovered to about half their capacity, not enough to affect Ren Amamiya's plan to explore the Herrscher of the Void's Palace after leaving the Velvet Room.
"Your heart is very pure and firm. I can feel your will to resist from this scroll... If there's anything you need, I will do my best to help."
Kosma gazed deeply at the painting of the demon king rebelling against god, completed by Griseo. A look of emotion appeared in his orange eyes.
As the guardian who had spent the most time with Griseo, Kosma's ability to appreciate and interpret Griseo's paintings was the strongest in the Elysian Realm.
Merely standing in front of the painting materialized from Ren Amamiya's heartscape, Kosma could feel a strong conviction to resist the high and mighty god even if it meant exhausting all his strength, to break free from the shackles of fate binding him, and to save the world and humanity from the approaching day of destruction.
This was the rebellious will belonging to humanity, belonging to heroes, belonging to Ren Amamiya.
Although Ren Amamiya was a successor of the current civilization, Kosma had always admired world-saving heroes like Ren Amamiya.
After being certified by Griseo's ability, Kosma was willing to earnestly entrust his strength to Ren Amamiya, to cut down all thorns on his path to saving the world.
"This is the signet of [Daybreak]. Although it's just a tiny ray of light, it's enough to be the first hope to break through the darkness."
A ball of blue light appeared in Kosma's hand. He passed the ball of light to Ren Amamiya and explained.
"signet? Does it mean something similar to Stigmata?"
Ren Amamiya reached out and caught the [Daybreak signet handed to him by Kosma. In the center of the ball of light, which emitted a soft blue eerie glow, a strange pattern of a demon's horn emerging from a hexagram was clearly engraved.
The [Daybreak] signet slowly merged into Ren Amamiya's body from his palm. Feeling that coldness tinged with a slight warmth, like welcoming the dawn's first light in the darkness, Ren Amamiya curiously asked Kosma.
Ren Amamiya had only seen such strange patterns on the Stigmata mentioned by Hare and the others.
The [Daybreak] signet had a pattern similar to Stigmata, making Ren Amamiya curious about the relationship between them.
"...You can understand it that way."
Kosma blinked. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he tightly closed his mouth. After a long pause, he finally nodded lightly and responded to Ren Amamiya in a cold tone.
"After subduing a Shadow as a Persona, can I also receive a new power boost... Speaking of which, when I defeated Shadow Mei, she also gave me something similar."
After accepting the [Daybreak] signet gifted by Kosma, Ren Amamiya immediately felt an seemingly endless surge of abundant power within his body. A new fighting style, aimed at tearing enemies apart using various weapons, naturally surfaced in his mind.
Just like when he subdued Yae Sakura as a Persona, Ren Amamiya completely comprehended Kosma's combat techniques. Next, he only needed to make some minor adjustments based on his own conditions to flexibly apply Kosma's combat techniques in battle.
However, Kosma didn't use a sword as a weapon, but attacked enemies with his own body tissues, such as fangs, sharp horns, sharp claws, and even wings.
The experience Ren Amamiya could gain from Kosma's combat techniques was relatively limited. Persona Arsene, on the other hand, could apply most of Kosma's combat memories in actual combat.
Recalling the lightning-shaped Stigmata pattern that Shadow Mei had given him before she was completely defeated, which Hare called a [Seed of Power], Ren Amamiya couldn't help but raise his hand to touch his chest, muttering to himself thoughtfully.
Ren Amamiya hadn't been able to subdue Shadow Mei as his Persona. He had only obtained a fragment of the power Shadow Mei had given him before she disappeared.
However, according to Hare, as long as Ren Amamiya could properly cultivate that seed of power, he could still make the power left by Shadow Mei grow strong, providing great assistance on his path to resisting the evil god.
"So... Veliona, is there anything you want to say to me now?"
Under Kosma's somewhat puzzled gaze, Ren Amamiya gently closed his eyes and spoke to Veliona, who resided in his heart space.
[Huh? What do you want me to say?]
Two seconds later, Veliona's voice echoed from within Ren Amamiya's heart, her tone full of impatience.
"Your power, have you not fully entrusted it to me yet?"
Ren Amamiya ignored Veliona's impatient and irritable tone, asking her calmly.
When subduing Yae Sakura and Kallen as Personas, Ren Amamiya could feel his own power increase to a certain extent.
However, when subduing Veliona as a Persona, Ren Amamiya only gained her power as a Persona. His own abilities hadn't improved, nor had he received combat experience feedback similar to when he subdued Yae Sakura, like the Yae Shrine swordsmanship.
Ren Amamiya had initially thought this was because Veliona was Seele's "owned" Shadow, not a naturally existing unowned Shadow in Mementos, and therefore hadn't fed back any other power to him.
However, thinking about it carefully now, since even Shadow Mei, whom he hadn't subdued, could give him the seed of Stigmata power.
Veliona, who had already been subdued by him as a Persona, had absolutely no reason not to bring him any improvement.
[Uh, this...]
Hearing Ren Amamiya's very calm question, Veliona, who had initially sounded irritable, now sounded somewhat embarrassed, even trying to change the subject.
"I can understand your concerns, and I have no intention of blaming you. After all, I forcibly subdued you as a Persona. It's only natural for you to feel dissatisfied because of this... However, I hope that after you can accept me, you will lend me your power to use. You are very important to me."
Ren Amamiya spoke to Veliona in a calm and serious tone.
He wasn't blaming Veliona for holding back. After all, he himself was the one who had forcibly subdued this powerful Shadow, similar to a Palace Ruler in Seele's Palace.
Ren Amamiya only hoped that Veliona would entrust all her power to him at some point in the future.
After all, if he wanted to target the evil god for討伐 [subjugation], Ren Amamiya's current strength was still too weak. He had to find ways to gain all the power he could to improve himself.
[Tch... I know, let's talk about this later!]
Discovering that Ren Amamiya wasn't angry and instead showed a tolerant and understanding attitude towards her, Veliona, who was already feeling a bit guilty, even guilty enough to want to feign anger out of embarrassment to cover it up, instantly deflated.
What Veliona was worst at dealing with was this kind of frank and serious attitude.
After shouting out a sentence in a self-deprecating manner, as if giving up on herself, she completely disappeared and no longer responded to Ren Amamiya.
Receiving Veliona's reply, which wasn't a refusal but rather seemed like a coy agreement, Ren Amamiya immediately let out a slight sigh of relief.
"Griseo, I like this painting very much. Can I take it with me?"
Ren Amamiya gently opened his eyes. He walked slowly towards Griseo, who was sitting on the high chair, and asked her.
"Mm, this is Griseo's painting for Mr. Phantom Thief. Mr. Phantom Thief can take it anywhere he wants."
Griseo nodded obediently. Her fair, delicate little feet swayed gently in the air in front of the high chair, completely entrusting the disposal right of this painting of the demon king rebelling against god to Ren Amamiya.
"Thank you, then I'll take it back to the real world... Huh?"
After obtaining permission from Griseo, the painter, Ren Amamiya reached out towards the drawing paper. However, before he could take the drawing paper from the easel, just as his fingertips touched the edge of the painting.
This crimson scroll, exuding a strong sense of oppression, suddenly transformed into a streak of red light and shot towards Ren Amamiya's head.
Like a water droplet falling into the ocean, the crimson light transformed from the scroll naturally merged into the white spirit bird mask Ren Amamiya wore on his face.
"This feeling... is it a Skill Card? And it directly copied the skill from a Persona I possess?!"
Raising his hand to press the white spirit bird mask that had absorbed the crimson light, Ren Amamiya felt the memory of the skill usage technique appear in the medium of the mask.
His obsidian-like eyes couldn't help but widen slightly due to this unexpected joy.
It wasn't like Yusuke Kitagawa copying a skill card by painting.
The painting Griseo created using the colors in Ren Amamiya's heart, although it couldn't summon the Shadow soldiers from Ren Amamiya's heart, it recorded the skill usage methods of the Personas in his heart!
At the beginning, Persona Arsene could only use Curse-attribute skills.
It wasn't until Ren Amamiya subdued Personas of other attributes, or obtained equipment that allowed him to use skills of other attributes, that he thereby comprehended the usage of skills like Fire and Thunder attributes, thus enabling Persona Arsene to also use skills other than Curse-attribute for combat.
In other words, Ren Amamiya had always relied on his own comprehension and learning ability to make Arsene grow into a multi-attribute Persona.
However, this method was very energy-consuming and required time for adjustment and training, making it impossible to immediately and stably exert power comparable to other corresponding attribute Personas in actual combat.
However, the skill scroll created by Griseo perfectly solved this problem and even played a more excellent role.
"Come out, Persona! Arsene!!"
Under Kosma's surprised gaze beside him, Ren Amamiya suddenly summoned Persona Arsene again and commanded Arsene to extend a sharp black claw towards him.
Kosma's body suddenly tensed. He didn't think about what Ren Amamiya suddenly wanted to do but subconsciously wanted to withdraw.
However, compared to the heavily injured Kosma, Persona Arsene's attack speed was clearly much faster and more agile.
In the brief moment Kosma's body had just made a dodging motion, the warm, brilliant white light shot out from Persona Arsene's black sharp claw, like a meteor, instantly merging into Kosma's body.
"This is... a healing ability? My body's injuries are completely healed?!"