"Sorry for the wait. I'm back."
Having completely secured the World Serpent base connected to the Velvet Room, Ren Amamiya used his MetaNav App to return to the Kaslana Palace, greeting Raiden Mei, Hare, and the others who had been waiting for quite some time.
"That took longer than expected, Ren. Did anything happen?"
Raiden Mei had been worrying about Ren venturing alone into an enemy organization's territory for hours within the Kaslana Palace. Seeing him finally reappear, she let out a breath of relief. She hurried over to him, carefully checking him for any injuries.
Only after confirming Ren was unharmed did she very naturally reach out to straighten his collar, finally setting her mind at ease.
Watching Mei's casual display of intimacy towards Ren, Hare and Seele glanced at her with slightly complicated expressions.
"There were a few surprises, but all good ones. No major issues, everything's resolved now." Ren nodded gently at Mei, taking her slender white hand that was fussing with his collar. "Next, let's head straight to the Herrscher of the Void's Palace. I'll leave opening the way to you, Kaslana." He then turned to the perpetually silent Kaslana (Kevin), requesting him to open the portal.
"Big Brother Ren just got back. Shouldn't you rest and prepare before heading out again?" Seele hesitated slightly upon hearing Ren's immediate desire to rush to the next battlefield, gently suggesting he take a break.
"I can see you're in good shape..." Kevin began before Ren could reply to Seele. Standing further back than Seele and Hare, arms crossed, he spoke up first, carefully scrutinizing Ren's current state before nodding slightly. "The Signet of Daybreak. You've obtained Kosma's power, haven't you?"
As the First of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, Kevin was intimately familiar with his companions' powers. Although the Signet of Deliverance he had given Ren contained no actual power, merely serving as an empty key, Kevin could still clearly sense through its presence within Ren that he had returned from the Elysian Realm imbued with the strength of another Flame-Chaser.
The Signet of Daybreak, Kosma's power... Kevin mused. Although Kosma was one of the youngest Flame-Chasers, only a few years older than Griseo, gaining his acknowledgment is notoriously difficult.
Even other Flame-Chasers struggled to communicate effectively with him, let alone successors entering the Elysian Realm.
It wasn't unexpected that Ren would enter the Elysian Realm, gain the approval of a Flame-Chaser, and receive their Signet legacy. However, the fact that he obtained Kosma's Signet of Daybreak, belonging to someone with terminal communication difficulties, truly defied Kevin's expectations.
Kevin couldn't fathom how Ren had managed to win over the usually taciturn and somewhat indecisive young Flame-Chaser.
Kevin had encoded information about the Key of Erosion into the Signet of Deliverance key he gave Ren.
Vill-V and Aponia should have noticed Ren's presence immediately upon his arrival in the Elysian Realm and prioritized observing and testing him. If Ren passed Aponia and Vill-V's trials, he logically should have received either the Signet of Discipline or Helix, not Kosma's Daybreak.
Kevin wouldn't have been surprised even if Ren had obtained the Signet of Ego (True Self).
Elysia's authority within the Elysian Realm was also extremely high, second only to the few Flame-Chasers serving as administrators. Knowing Elysia's penchant for beautiful things, it would have been perfectly normal for her to intervene if she saw Ren.
In fact, it would be stranger if Ren didn't receive some portion of Elysia's Signet power.
To be precise, Kevin had partly intended for Elysia, the ultimate social butterfly (or social terrorist, depending on perspective), to probe Ren's depths when he allowed him access to the Elysian Realm.
Given Ren's panther-like, captivating, almost demonic charm and aura, Elysia should have inevitably approached him, even if Aponia and Vill-V tried to run interference.
Unless... Ren never took off his mask the entire time he was in the Elysian Realm.
Because Ren didn't reveal his true face, didn't showcase his extraordinary charisma, Elysia would naturally remain indifferent, leaving the holder of the Key of Erosion entirely to Aponia and Vill-V for observation... At most, she might watch with mild interest from the sidelines before turning her attention back to Eden or Mobius.
"..." Kevin's deduction felt very Elysia. Though just a guess, based on his understanding of her, he felt certain he'd hit the truth.
"Yeah, I've subdued Kosma as a Persona. His abilities are incredibly useful." Ren nodded, unsurprised that Kaslana (Kevin) had identified his newly acquired Persona. "However, Kosma's power is immense. I feel like I've hit my limit again. I'm not sure if I can contain another Persona."
Persona Kosma possessed a very practical trait: he could absorb the SP of enemy Shadows through attacks, converting it for both himself and Ren.
To the demonically transformed Kosma, the Shadows in the World Serpent lab posed no threat; instead, they became oversized walking SP recovery items, drained dry until their defeat.
Thanks to Kosma's SP-restoring ability, Ren's Jizo Mitama katana and Mighty Thunder Ring, which had only been partially recharged and were expected to take another hour or two to reach peak condition, were now fully charged and ready for use again.
Even Jack Frost, who had been thoroughly defeated during the battle with Kosma in the Elysian Realm, was restored to fighting condition by the abundant energy.
Ren himself had leveled up, his internal SP pool noticeably increased. Even the slots in his heart for holding Personas seemed to have expanded slightly.
While in the Elysian Realm, Ren felt he couldn't possibly subdue another Shadow after acquiring Kosma. But after leaving the World Serpent lab, he sensed he could manage one more... but only an average one, like Hell Hound or Boreas.
A Persona on Kosma's level was absolutely beyond his current mental capacity, unless he discarded one of the Personas already occupying his heart's slots—which was unthinkable.
Now that he'd confirmed he could forcibly subdue the Shadows of others as his own Personas, Ren's next target was naturally the Shadow belonging to the Palace ruler he was about to confront—the Herrscher of the Void.
As both an enemy of civilization and a Palace ruler, the Herrscher of the Void's Shadow would undoubtedly be incredibly powerful. Even if Ren managed to defeat her, his current mental capacity likely wouldn't be enough to subdue her as a Persona.
Fortunately, he had a reliable ally in Kaslana (Kevin), who could help expand the Persona capacity within his heart.
"..."
Hearing Ren state that he hadn't just obtained Kosma's Signet but had actually subdued Kosma himself as a Persona, Kevin's eyebrow twitched involuntarily.
Thinking it through, given Ren's usual methods and the power of Jizo Mitama (his Key), summoning memory data into the real world to fight for him was indeed plausible.
For the Flame-Chasers' memories trapped in the unchanging Elysian Realm for fifty thousand years, the chance to leave, witness the outside world again, and continue contributing their strength to fight the Honkai could be seen as a form of salvation, a way to be needed once more.
Since Ren had earned Kosma's Signet of Daybreak, it proved he hadn't forced Kosma to become his Persona. Kevin had no intention of interfering with the choices made by the memory data of his former comrades. If the Flame-Chaser memories in the Elysian Realm were willing to become Ren's Personas and continue fighting the Honkai, Kevin wouldn't object.
"...I was supposed to reward you after you defeated the Herrscher of the Void. But, since you intend to subdue her as a Persona..." Kevin paused for a moment, then slowly raised his palm towards Ren, releasing a white ball of light faintly tinged with blue energy.
If Ren could even subdue the memory data of a Flame-Chaser as a Persona, Kevin, based on his current understanding of Ren, knew he wouldn't pass up the chance with the Herrscher of the Void.
The Herrschers of the Current Era differed from those of the Previous Era.
Though born to destroy human civilization, thanks to the miracle Elysia had desperately wrought, Herrschers born in the Current Era generally possessed human-like intellect and consciousness.
Whether Ren could actually persuade the Herrscher of the Void was another matter, but theoretically, negotiating with her wasn't impossible.
Kevin wasn't optimistic about Ren converting an enemy like the Herrscher of the Void into a Persona fighting for humanity. He had observed her personality and ideology back during the Second Honkai Eruption through the Kaslana Stigmata space.
Though slightly different from Previous Era Herrschers, she was undeniably an enemy of civilization, a dangerous being solely focused on humanity's annihilation.
However, Ren Amamiya was indeed a miraculous, unique existence. Kevin was willing to give him this chance. Simply defeating the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness would be a net positive. If Ren could actually subdue this enemy of civilization as his Persona, it would be an enormous gain.
Therefore, Kevin bestowed his power upon Ren, infusing the true strength of Deliverance into the empty Signet shell within Ren's body that had previously served only as a key, transforming it into the genuine Signet of Deliverance.
"Whoa, this power... it feels even stronger than last time! With this, I can hold even more Personas!!"
As the power of Deliverance surged into him, Ren felt as if he had momentarily become a colossal iceberg floating on a frigid ocean. An intense, frosty aura emanated from his very spirit, and Jack Frost within his heart became wildly active.
After a while, Ren emerged from the vision experienced while receiving the Signet's power transmission. Feeling the newly expanded capacity within his mind, now capable of holding more Personas, Ren clenched his fists, exhilarated, and thanked the eternally stoic Kaslana.
"Thanks for the help, Kaslana... Open the gate to the Herrscher of the Void's Palace. We're ready."
Ren glanced at his companions also present in the Kaslana Palace. Raiden Mei, Hare, and Seele all nodded, indicating they were rested and prepared for the next Palace exploration. With his team's status confirmed, Ren requested Kaslana (Kevin) to proceed.
"The Herrscher of the Void wields the authority over space. Even if you possess power surpassing hers, defeating her is extremely difficult, let alone capturing her... I will open the entrance. Leaving should be within your own capabilities."
After offering this final piece of advice, Kevin fell silent once more, reverting to his usual impassive state. He merely used his authority within the Kaslana Stigmata space to open a gateway before Ren, leading to the domain where the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness resided.
Then, Kevin simply watched in silence as Ren led his companions through the gate, stepping into the realm belonging solely to the Herrscher of the Void.