The crimson ripples spreading through space gradually subsided, and the scene before Ren Amamiya quietly underwent a dramatic transformation, morphing into something both incredibly familiar and strangely foreign.
"Is this Big Brother Ren's Palace? The architectural style of this Palace… looks very luxurious."
Seele's somewhat timid voice came from Ren Amamiya's left side. She turned her head, looking around in all directions, a look of wonder in her ocean-blue eyes.
Since he had already decided to invite his companions to his Palace, Ren Amamiya naturally wouldn't play favorites.
Moreover, Seele and Hare had already learned that Ren Amamiya, as a Persona user, also possessed a Palace last night when they accompanied him to the Elysian Realm. In fact, they had received Ren Amamiya's invitation earlier than Raiden Mei and Bronya.
Therefore, after using the MetaNav App to infiltrate Mementos, Ren Amamiya first went to the Kaslana Palace as a transit point, picking up Hare and Seele, before officially bringing his teammates to his own [My Palace].
"But why is Big Brother Ren's Palace designed in this museum style?"
The museum-like Palace was spacious and grand, exuding a subtly luxurious atmosphere, like an elegant and ornate royal aristocratic style.
Paintings in golden frames hung on the walls, each depicting scenes of Ren Amamiya together with his companions. There were portraits of Ren Amamiya with Hare, with Raiden Mei, with Bronya, and with Seele herself.
However, besides these Phantom Thief girls currently standing beside Ren Amamiya, there were also many portraits on the museum walls of young boys and girls whom Seele didn't recognize, posing with Ren Amamiya.
Looking at the portrait of a tall girl with elegant, wavy, grayish-brown hair tied into twintails, posing like a model, and another of an orange-haired girl wearing large, black-rimmed round glasses and over-ear headphones, looking very delicate and cute, like someone from the same "category" as herself, Seele unconsciously gulped… She felt an inexplicable pressure and urgency welling up inside her.
"Indeed, my Palace scenery is the desolate Chiba Academy; Seele's Palace is a dark and eerie labyrinth; the Herrscher of the Void's Palace is the snowy plains and tower where she was once cruelly tortured. These are all scenes that left a strong impression. But Ren's Palace… I never expected it to be such a luxurious museum."
Raiden Mei, after surveying the museum Palace, couldn't help but nod, echoing Seele's earlier words of surprise.
"The construction of a Palace is entirely based on the Palace ruler's strong impressions of the world. These impressions don't necessarily have to be scenes that actually exist in the real world. If a teacher sees the school as his castle, then his Palace will be a castle that doesn't exist in reality, and the students in the cognitive world will become slaves controlled by the Palace ruler."
Ren Amamiya explained to Seele and Raiden Mei beside him.
Before yesterday, Ren Amamiya had always treated this world like a game, using it as a way to numb himself to pain and persistently walk the path of strengthening himself and saving the world.
However, with the awakening and sublimation of his heart, Ren Amamiya, whose Persona had undergone its second awakening, no longer needed to deceive and numb himself. He now recognized the world he saw as true reality.
Logically, his inner world should have changed into another scene as a result.
However, Ren Amamiya's Palace was still the image of the magnificent and spacious museum from the game.
It could only be said that the concept of [My Palace] had been deeply ingrained into the deepest part of Ren Amamiya's cognition. He instinctively and naturally believed that his Palace should look like this and would absolutely not change into any other form.
"What a roundabout way. I remember at the very beginning, Ren, you wanted to find a friendly Palace ruler to borrow their land for recuperation, and only after many hardships did you find the Kaslana Palace, which met the conditions for a transit point… Yet, in reality, the safest and most suitable place for rest was always within your own heart."
Hare withdrew her gaze from the museum Palace, a faint smile appearing on her tranquil and delicate face.
"Indeed, but it's not too late to discover this Palace now."
Ren Amamiya agreed with Hare's words, but he didn't feel any regret or frustration.
Even Takuto Maruki, whose strength had reached the pseudo-god level, could still significantly enhance his Persona's power after receiving the boost from the Treasure within his own Palace.
This was even more true for Ren Amamiya, who had just completed the second stage evolution of his Persona.
Presumably, after obtaining the Treasure within [My Palace], Persona Raoul's strength would surge even further.
Ren Amamiya's only concern now was whether the Treasure within [My Palace] had materialized.
Although Ren Amamiya had adjusted his mental state as much as possible with the calling card, and had even brought along Phantom Thief companions like Raiden Mei and Hare to maximize his sense of vigilance, he still couldn't guarantee that the Treasure in the Palace had been fully materialized before witnessing it with his own eyes.
And Ren Amamiya himself was very curious and expectant about what form the Treasure within his Palace would take after materializing.
"Strange… Bronya hasn't found the Shadow guards that should be present in this Palace. Bronya has only detected weak cognitive presence reactions in the lounge area in the corner of the Palace… Although there are many seemingly powerful Shadows displayed in the exhibition area of the museum, those Shadows are just decorative sculptures with no life reactions."
The blue-glowing Project Bunny 19C materialized behind Bronya. After being enhanced by the Herrscher of Reason Core fragments, Project Bunny 19C's information gathering and processing capabilities had been greatly strengthened. As Bronya typed on the virtual keyboard in front of her, she quickly ascertained the specific state of this Palace.
Deeply aware that she was currently the weakest member of the team, unable to even protect Seele like before and even needing Seele's protection in return, Bronya was extremely vigilant towards everything in this Palace.
After all, this was Ren Amamiya's Palace, its difficulty level far exceeding Bronya's current capabilities. Even though Ren Amamiya had guaranteed that the Shadow guards in this Palace wouldn't treat them as enemies, Bronya still didn't dare to let her guard down.
And after using Project Bunny 19C's abilities to scout the surrounding Palace environment, Bronya indeed received an unusual feedback—she no longer needed to anxiously worry about the attitude of the Shadow guards in this Palace.
Because in this museum Palace, there weren't any Shadow guards at all!!
Even the ferocious and terrifying Shadows on the exhibition stands were just decorative sculptures with no life reactions. There was absolutely no possibility of them suddenly coming to life and attacking people; Bronya had confirmed this repeatedly.
"My scouting results are the same as Bronya's. It seems Griseo was right. Although you still have a Palace, Ren, there are no Shadow Guards in it at all."
Hare gently closed her eyes, activating her scouting ability as well. After opening her eyes, she gave the same conclusion as Bronya.
"Although it's a bit of a shame, it's also within expectations."
Back in the Elysian Realm, Ren Amamiya had already been prepared by Griseo's warning.
He had already accepted the fact that there were no "monsters" as Griseo called them in his heart, and that he couldn't materialize the Shadow Guards within his heart for combat. This merely confirmed that conclusion once more.
With the power of the Wild Card, Ren Amamiya could summon all kinds of powerful Personas for battle. Even if he couldn't command his own Shadow Guards to fight, it was ultimately a trivial matter.
Bronya's Bunny 19C's scouting ability had been enhanced after being strengthened by the Herrscher of Reason Core fragments.
However, based on yesterday's practical experience in the Palace of the Herrscher of Reason, Ren Amamiya found that Bunny 19C's scouting ability was far weaker than Hare's.
And Hare's combat-type Persona ability with support functions was inferior to Fu Hua's Persona Garuda, which was purely focused on reconnaissance and support.
As expected, the team still needs a dedicated, backline support Persona user.
Comparing the scouting abilities of the two Phantom Thief girls in his team, Ren Amamiya couldn't help but crave Fu Hua's pure support-type Persona ability once again.
"Speaking of which, Ren… what's up with those Shadow sculptures on display? And who are the people in the portraits on the walls posing with you? Since this is your Palace, you should know their origins, right?"
As a veteran support in the Phantom Thieves team, Hare's statement undoubtedly affirmed Bronya, the newcomer who had finally been promoted from the reserve team.
However, meeting Hare's gentle and loving gaze, Bronya uncomfortably averted her eyes, speaking to Ren Amamiya in a slightly stiff tone.
Although Bronya had learned from Ren Amamiya about the relationship between Hare and her mother, and had mentally prepared herself to face this elder when deciding to follow Ren Amamiya into Mementos…
Mental preparation was one thing, but when Bronya truly met Hare in Mementos and felt that gentle and loving gaze from an elder for the first time…
Bronya, who had grown up as a cold and ruthless assassin and had only received kindness from her peers in Cocolia Orphanage, was suddenly at a loss. She didn't know how to respond to Hare.
Bronya had been adopted three times. Before being adopted by Cocolia, she had been adopted by the military. And before becoming a child soldier, she had been raised by her father's friend, Maxim.
Maxim had given the young Bronya a period of warm memories. But because Bronya was too young at the time, she couldn't remember those past memories clearly now. She could only confirm from the vague memory fragments that she had never been looked at with such a gentle and loving, motherly gaze.
Completely lacking experience in interacting with gentle and kind female elders, Bronya subconsciously moved closer to Ren Amamiya, the person who made her feel the most secure, using a change of topic to regain some composure.
"Big Sister Bronya, you…"
Seele withdrew her gaze from the portraits on the wall and turned to look at Bronya, who had originally been close to her but had now moved several steps closer to Ren Amamiya. Seele's eyes narrowed slightly with suspicion.
Although the question Bronya raised was something she also wanted to know, Bronya's current intimate attitude towards Ren Amamiya made Seele feel concerned.
"W-What is it, Seele?"
Bronya, now standing beside Ren Amamiya, trembled slightly. However, she quickly calmed down, turning to face Seele with the impassive expression she could maintain due to the aftereffects of the experiments.
"No, it's nothing. Just… Seele feels like Big Sister Bronya's relationship with Big Brother Ren has suddenly become much closer…"
Seele revealed a complex smile timidly. She hadn't seen Big Sister Bronya for just a day, yet she never expected Big Sister Bronya would suddenly show such an intimate attitude towards Big Brother Ren.
Before, it had always been Seele herself who served as the link between Bronya and Ren Amamiya.
It was precisely to see Seele again, and to use Ren Amamiya's power to retrieve Seele, who was still adrift in the Sea of Quanta, back to the real world, that Bronya had willingly become Ren Amamiya's subordinate.
In Bronya's heart, Seele undoubtedly held a greater weight than Ren Amamiya—at least, that was the case before yesterday.
However, now, the weight distribution in Bronya's heart seemed to have quietly changed. Under the influence of some shared little secret unknown to Seele, the weight of Ren Amamiya's presence had nearly matched, even faintly surpassed, Seele's position in Bronya's heart.
Although Seele herself also considered Big Sister Bronya and Big Brother Ren equally important, and valued Ren Amamiya, the older brother who had saved her from the dark and terrifying world of despair, just a tiny bit more…
But when Seele discovered that Bronya had become just like her…
Her two favorite people having a closer relationship should be a good thing, something to be happy about.
Yet, a subtle and complex emotion still welled up in Seele's heart.