"Project Bunny, Fire!!"
With Bronya's slightly childish shout, a golden-orange particle cannon beam erupted from the muzzle of Project Bunny 19C behind her, completely engulfing the approaching group of black-gold Shadows. When the particle beam dissipated, the initially surging swarm of Shadows vanished as if evaporated, leaving only scattered remnants on the ground.
"Twentieth wave of Shadow attacks, perfectly resolved." The slender hand guiding Project Bunny slowly lowered. Feeling her dwindling stamina, Bronya regulated her slightly ragged breathing, trying her best to conserve and recover her energy. After wiping the sweat from her forehead, she subconsciously glanced at Ren Amamiya beside her.
"Your combat awareness is commendable..." Ren stood behind Bronya, arms crossed. Seeing that she still hadn't awakened as a Persona user, his brow furrowed slightly. "...But, as expected, Project Bunny is too effective, to the point where it's hindering your own growth. Even after repelling twenty waves of Shadows, Bronya, you still haven't awakened your true Persona."
When facing Shadows in Mementos, Bronya's strategic planning was undoubtedly top-notch. With Project Bunny 19C's power, she could eliminate most Shadows. Even against the elite Shadows in this layer of Mementos, Bronya could wear them down over time through attrition.
In short, the Project Bunny 19C Seele had gifted Bronya was simply too good. So good that the Shadows in this shallow layer of Mementos couldn't provide Bronya with the intense sense of crisis needed to awaken her Persona.
"Bronya, you need to carefully recall what you're fighting for. Don't resign yourself to the current reality... Resist! Let the world hear the roar from your soul! Reclaim the precious things you've lost from the world!!" A Persona is the power of the heart. As long as the heart is firm enough and the conviction strong enough, the Persona's power will naturally activate and manifest.
Bronya's inability to awaken her own Persona power, aside from not yet facing enough pressure, was also critically due to an insufficient desire to rebel within her heart.
"Alright, alright, don't push the little lady too hard now. She's still very young. Being able to defeat those monsters is already quite remarkable. Nothing can be achieved overnight." Just as Ren was lecturing Bronya, who had her head bowed, diligently learning how to awaken a Persona, a clear female voice, like that of a peacemaker, suddenly came from behind them.
Ren turned towards the sound and saw a German woman with curly golden hair and jade-green eyes. She looked youthful and vibrant but was dressed in retro clothing from the first half of the last century.
After departing from the initial station, Ren and Bronya had gradually delved deeper into Mementos, arriving at this claustrophobic labyrinthine space composed of countless blue-gray walls and floors, evoking a strong sense of oppression and loneliness. In this layer, they had encountered many human Shadows, all dressed in German attire from the first half of the century.
The German woman currently pleading for Bronya was the thirteenth human Shadow they had met here. Unlike ordinary human Shadows, the ones in this area, while possessing some power, were quite weak and easily endangered when attacked by wild Shadows. Ren and Bronya had actively intervened to save this German woman Shadow from a swarm of wild Shadows, just as they had done twelve times before.
"...No, Joker is right. Bronya has indeed become complacent and weak," Bronya's delicate hand clenched tightly. Though her exquisite face remained expressionless, her tone had noticeably deepened. "If the Bronya who came here today was the Bronya from before meeting Joker, perhaps Bronya would have already awakened her Persona power."
Under Ren's guidance, Bronya had fully realized the true reason for her inability to awaken her Persona. Just as Ren said, although Bronya still verbally declared her intention to free Seele from the Sea of Quanta, her heart had begun to grow complacent with the status quo, losing the initial desire and motivation to accomplish the near-impossible task of retrieving a lost human from the Sea of Quanta.
After all, Seele's spirit can now traverse the distance between the Sea of Quanta and the real world to meet me again... And anyway, Joker is stronger and more capable than me. I just need to obediently follow Joker's instructions and let him save Seele from the Sea of Quanta...
Reuniting intimately with Seele before completely rescuing her had undoubtedly greatly diminished Bronya's rebellious will, causing her to lose sight of her original purpose. It wasn't until Ren's reminder just now that Bronya was abruptly jolted awake, realizing her unconscious decline and the immense psychological dependence she had developed on Ren.
This acceptance of the status quo, entrusting Seele's fate entirely to Ren—how was it any different from simply handing Seele over?!
"Thank you for your reminder, Joker. Bronya is now enlightened! I'm just one step away from full awakening—I will absolutely not let you have Seele!!" Bronya abruptly raised her head, slowly clenching her small fist towards Ren.
I will save my Seele myself! Bronya no longer intended to pin all her hopes on Ren. As Seele's "Onee-sama," Bronya needed her own resolve; she had to do something herself!! Bronya gradually rediscovered her original purpose, recalling the stubborn determination to resist an unjust fate that had constantly burned within her chest before meeting Ren.
"Very good! Full of spirit! That's how it should be!!" Though the latter part of her statement sounded a bit strange, Ren could feel Bronya's overflowing determination. He nodded in satisfaction, praising her. Ren could see a strong rebellious will in Bronya's eyes now; she had the gaze of a Phantom Thief.
All that was left was to let nature take its course, allowing Bronya to awaken freely. He didn't need to do anything more.
"...It seems I was worrying too much. Your relationship is much better than I thought; there's no need for an outsider like me to interfere." Seeing Bronya, under Ren's stern guidance, not only refrain from crying like a typical girl her age but instead ignite with a warrior-like fighting spirit, the German woman, who had intended to persuade Ren to be gentler, couldn't help but smile helplessly.
Although Bronya had demonstrated formidable strength by annihilating a group of black-gold Shadows before her, looking at Bronya's small, delicate, and adorable appearance, the German woman still instinctively treated her as a fragile little girl needing care and protection. After all, it was Project Bunny 19C that actually eliminated the Shadows; Bronya was merely giving it orders.
But through the conversation between Bronya and Ren, the German woman now fully recognized her previous misconception, realizing Bronya herself was also an outstanding warrior with a firm will.
"You intend to explore deeper, don't you? The further you go, the stronger the enemies will become..." The German woman could tell from Ren and Bronya's direction that they were heading towards the deepest part of this space. "Though it's insignificant, please accept this as my apology for underestimating this warrior young lady."
To support these two kind newcomers, a gentle smile appeared on the German woman's face. Her figure grew increasingly dim and hazy, eventually transforming into a cool blue speck of light that actively merged into Bronya's outstretched, delicate hand.
"Not a warrior, a Phantom Thief..." Bronya whispered her thanks to the vanished German woman, then slowly uncurled her clenched hand. An incredibly inconspicuous, dust-like speck of blue-gray, almost unnoticeable without close inspection, lay quietly in her small palm.
"This stuff again?" Ren leaned over from Bronya's side, looking at the Treasure left behind by the German woman Shadow. "Why do all the human Shadows in this layer of Mementos leave the exact same blue-gray fragments as their Treasure?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"Every Shadow leaving the exact same thing... Could they exist in some special collective form? Or perhaps some overwhelmingly strong external force has solidified their Treasures into these fragments?" The human Shadows in this Mementos layer were clearly very unusual, and Ren was intensely intrigued by this unprecedented phenomenon.
"Although the exact reason is unknown for now," Ren continued, drawing on his experience as a master of gaming forums, "since every human Shadow leaves the exact same Treasure, it's best we collect more of these fragments. They might synthesize into something incredible, or perhaps be used as currency with some kind of merchant entity." Even without knowing the true nature of the blue-gray fragments, Ren had roughly deduced their purpose and decided to collect as many as possible.
"Bronya understands, of course. These Treasure fragments can indeed be synthesized. Bronya can feel a magnetic force of attraction between them." As a genius gamer herself, Bronya completely got Ren's meaning. At her mental command, the twelve Treasure fragments previously absorbed into her body silently reappeared.
The thirteen fragments shimmered with an iridescent blue light, like tiny stardust, slowly circling in the air before Bronya. Finally, the thirteen fragments magnetically snapped together, forming a slightly larger Treasure fragment, bigger than a speck of dust.
Although the synthesized fragment was still only millimeters in size, after the thirteen-to-one combination, Ren could finally see it was a shard of some blue-gray crystal.
"...This feels like playing one of those awful gacha mobile games where you have to collect tons of shards to synthesize one usable piece of equipment," Ren's expression turned a bit sour.
When the Treasure fragments actually combined, and only into something so tiny, he had a very bad feeling. Thirteen human Shadows' Treasures combined into a crystal fragment a millimeter or two in size. To synthesize a complete, usable blue-gray crystal—would he need to get Treasures from hundreds of thousands more Shadows?!
"Bronya's dying from the grind... Where is the microtransaction portal? Bronya needs to pay to win!!" As a genius player, Bronya was naturally well-versed in the pains of gacha games.
She completely understood Ren's implication, her face paling slightly as she clutched her liver area. The thought of needing to interact with hundreds of thousands of human Shadows to obtain their Treasure fragments for synthesis... the sheer, terrifying number made Bronya feel a deep sense of despair.
"Let's put collecting Treasure fragments on hold for now," Ren decided. "We can continue collecting them after we figure out what they're actually for." He resolved to ask the omniscient Kaslana about the name and purpose of these blue-gray crystal fragments when he returned to the Kaslana Palace.
"The specific use of these Treasures is still unknown for now. But since equipping them directly slightly increases stamina and magic power, Bronya, you should continue to equip these fragment Treasures."