["Seize him! After we kill this guy, it'll be his turn!"]
On the TV screens lining the walls of the museum Palace, the previously static images began to play like a video.
[Within the cramped and crude prison cell, a middle-aged man wearing a golden crown, his eyes gleaming gold, and clad only in a thick cloak covered in heart patterns, revealed a sadistic smile. Like a king issuing a command, he waved his arm, giving orders to the Shadow soldiers standing beside him.
Following the Palace ruler's command, two Shadow soldiers in cold, hard knight armor crossed their spears. The intersecting shafts slammed Ren Amamiya in the TV screen against the wall behind him, pinning him tightly in the cold corner.
Shadow Kamoshida's face showed a condescending, superior smirk. He drew a knight's sword from the scabbard at the waist of a nearby Shadow soldier and then personally walked towards a yellow-haired youth wearing the same red and black school uniform as Ren Amamiya on the screen, currently held against the cell wall by Shadow soldiers, his neck choked.
Shadow Kamoshida slowly pointed the tip of the knight's sword at the yellow-haired youth's face, clearly intending to toy with him like a cat with a mouse before killing him.]
"Big Brother Ren was captured by the Palace ruler and is about to be executed?! Why didn't he summon his Persona to resist?!"
With the frail body of a normal human, it was naturally impossible to resist Shadow soldiers.
Looking at Ren Amamiya being firmly pinned against the wall by two Shadow soldiers, Seele, standing in front of the TV screen in the memory viewing area, couldn't help but cover her small mouth tightly, a tense expression appearing on her face. She stared intently at the still-developing scene on the screen.
Although Ren Amamiya himself was currently standing right beside her, within easy reach, and would surely escape danger by the end of the video recording, Seele's heart was still filled with an uncontrollable worry as she watched Ren Amamiya being tormented on the screen.
"I think Ren probably didn't want to resist, but rather… didn't have the ability to resist at that time… Not only is he wearing a pair of thick-rimmed glasses, but the school uniform he's wearing, which I've never seen before, also didn't change into his Phantom Thief outfit after entering a hostile Palace. The Ren in this recording probably hasn't awakened his Persona power yet."
Although Raiden Mei also pursed her lips slightly due to Ren Amamiya's predicament on the screen, she was far calmer than Seele, and her observation skills were also sharper. She noticed the subtle peculiarity Ren Amamiya displayed on the screen.
And she wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but Raiden Mei felt that the Ren Amamiya on the TV screen looked slightly more mature than the Ren Amamiya standing next to her… as if it were Ren Amamiya a year or two later.
Thinking this, Raiden Mei couldn't help but glance at Ren Amamiya again, her amethyst eyes carefully observing his handsome face, which, unlike the one on the screen obscured by thick-rimmed glasses, now openly exuded a captivating, almost demonic charm.
"Mei is right. The Ren in this recording clearly hasn't awakened his Persona power yet… Moreover, this memory doesn't belong to the current era but is a memory of the future before the world restarted."
Hare gently rested her chin in her hand, staring at Ren Amamiya, now trapped in a desperate situation on the screen, and murmured thoughtfully.
As a Stigmata Construct, Hare, being a new form of human evolution established by the Stigma Project, naturally had senses far surpassing those of normal humans.
Even from the TV screen recordings in the memory viewing area, Hare could keenly perceive many details.
For example, the Ren Amamiya trapped in the castle Palace on the screen was still an ordinary high school student with no power to fight back.
And the memory shown on the TV screen wasn't from Ren Amamiya's experiences in the current civilization.
With the observation ability of a Will of Stigmata, Hare could easily discern the age difference between the Ren Amamiya on the screen and the current Ren Amamiya.
Moreover, Hare had personally witnessed the moment Ren Amamiya awakened his Persona power in the current civilization.
If Ren Amamiya had already awakened his Persona power before the world restarted, his familiarity with the process when awakening it in the current civilization would be completely understandable.
Ren Amamiya remained silent, only watching the video.
As the video recording on the TV screen played, the presence of the Will Seed grew increasingly apparent.
Presumably, once the video finished playing, the crystallization formed from Ren Amamiya's desires would naturally emerge.
[Within the oppressive and cramped prison cell, a butterfly, emitting a serene blue glow, fluttered past Ren Amamiya.]
[Except for Ren Amamiya himself, neither the Shadow soldiers holding him down, nor the Palace ruler and his yellow-haired companion on the other side seemed to notice the beautiful blue butterfly.]
[After hovering in front of Ren Amamiya for a while, the gentle and beautiful blue butterfly vanished as quickly as it had appeared, like an illusion.
And the very next moment after the blue butterfly completely disappeared, a low and oppressive voice seemed to echo in Ren Amamiya's ears.]
["What's wrong? Are you going to let him die to protect yourself?" The low voice, suddenly echoing in his ears like an auditory hallucination, was identical to his own, yet completely opposite in tone.
"Or do you believe that what you did in the past, what led you to this current predicament, was a mistake?" Cruel and heart-wrenching memory fragments rapidly flashed back… Returning home at night and encountering a drunken councilor harassing a woman; acting bravely, only to be falsely accused of assault by the councilor using his power to cover up the scandal; being forced to transfer schools and placed on probation for a year, treated like a real criminal and subjected to cold stares and discrimination; and even having to live like trash in the dirty and dilapidated attic of a cafe.]
["No… mistake…" Even though he was pinned against the wall by the cold, heavy hands of two Shadow soldiers, his own life in imminent danger, Ren Amamiya still couldn't deceive his own heart.
The surging frustration and anger in his chest transformed into a blazing flame of rebellion, beginning to burn fiercely, declaring his existence to the world.
"—Stop! Your opponent is me!!" Just as Shadow Kamoshida pointed the tip of his knight's sword at Ryuji Sakamoto's neck, preparing to finish him off, Ren Amamiya's fearless, rage-filled voice came from behind him, making Shadow Kamoshida instinctively halt his actions.
A petty thief who had infiltrated his Palace dared to command him, the king.
A mere prisoner whose life was in his hands dared to speak out, challenging his royal authority and showing hostility.
All of this instantly infuriated the arrogant Shadow Kamoshida. His annoyance towards Ren Amamiya now completely surpassed his anger towards Ryuji Sakamoto, who was slowly collapsing to the ground after Shadow Kamoshida released his grip.
"Fine! I'll grant your wish. Kill him first!!" Being challenged in his superior position was something Shadow Kamoshida couldn't tolerate. He waved his arm, ordering the Shadow soldiers holding Ren Amamiya to change the order of execution for the intruders.
"Excellent. I hear your resolve. Then make a contract—" Along with a strong throbbing sensation from the depths of his soul, an intense expression of pain suddenly appeared on Ren Amamiya's face. Cold sweat streamed down his cheeks, and even the image of the Shadow soldier approaching him with the knight's sword became blurred.
"I am thou, thou art I—"
"O, thou who fearest no sacrilege for the justice thou believest in!"
"Unleash this rage, along with my name!!" A violent gale surged from Ren Amamiya's frail body. The unstoppable force, like a tornado, instantly sent the two Shadow soldiers pinning him against the wall flying. Even the perpetually arrogant Shadow Kamoshida's expression changed at this powerful surge.
Ryuji Sakamoto, who had temporarily escaped death and was slumped on the ground, had a dumbfounded expression on his face.
When Ren Amamiya, having broken free from his restraints, slowly raised his head again, a mysterious white spirit-bird mask covered his face.
His hands gripped the edges of the white bird mask, tearing at it as if it had fused with his skin. Only after his face was covered in blood did the stubbornly clinging white mask finally tear away and fall to the ground.
The falling white bird mask transformed into a swirling vortex of azure flames that swept outwards in all directions. Ren Amamiya raised his mocking and indifferent golden eyes.
As he wiped his hands across his face, the blood vanished as if absorbed by a sponge, replaced by red gloves that seemed to be stained with blood.
Ren Amamiya's Shujin Academy uniform, enveloped by the azure flames, gradually transformed into a pitch-black Phantom Thief coat.
"—Come, Arsene!!!" The rattling of chains echoed. As the blue-green flames surging from behind Ren Amamiya gradually took shape, the moment the grotesque, red-suited, fanged humanoid figure unfurled its magnificent black wings, the black chains binding Ren Amamiya and the azure flames were finally broken completely.
The mere aura of the Persona's awakening knocked down all the Shadow soldiers in the cell.
A panicked expression appeared on the face of Shadow Kamoshida, the Palace ruler. He hunched over and quickly fled the scene.
And Ryuji Sakamoto, slumped on the ground, watching Ren Amamiya change into a mysterious and stylish outfit, his demeanor transforming into one of confidence and flamboyance, had a look of utter disbelief and shock on his face.]
"So this is… the moment Ren truly awakened his Persona power… Truly amazing."
The image on the TV screen froze at the moment Ren Amamiya awakened his Persona power and summoned Persona Arsene.
A stone skull, pulsing with an emerald light, slowly floated out of the TV screen, which had finished playing, and landed in Ren Amamiya's outstretched hand.
After watching this part of the video recording, Bronya remained silent for a long time before finally speaking with a sense of wonder.
"Bronya can see that the Ren in the video clearly isn't familiar with the other yellow-haired student. But even so, Ren still stepped forward to protect a stranger he didn't know, upholding his will to protect even when his own life was in danger, and successfully brought about a miraculous reversal through his rebellion… Truly amazing."
As for Bronya herself, although she could also fight to protect others, the only ones she was willing to risk her life for were Seele and her companions from the orphanage.
Putting herself in Ren Amamiya's shoes, Bronya considered that if she had encountered the situation Ren Amamiya faced in the video, she would have definitely chosen to protect herself first, escaping and waiting until she had accumulated enough strength to defeat the enemy before returning to avenge the unfamiliar victim.
Precisely because she knew she couldn't do the same thing, Bronya was even more impressed and moved by Ren Amamiya's character.
Although Bronya had long known about Ren Amamiya's grand wish to save the world, the Ren Amamiya she knew from the beginning already possessed great power. She knew nothing about Ren Amamiya when he was still an ordinary person, didn't know what his personality was like, or what kind of actions he would take.
Now it seemed that Ren Amamiya was still Ren Amamiya, with or without power, the type of person who would fight for others.
"Not only that, judging from the flashbacks in the video earlier, Ren undoubtedly fell into a miserable situation due to his previous act of bravery. Not only did he not receive gratitude from the person he saved, but that person even repaid his kindness with malice, falsely accusing him of assault."
Raiden Mei spoke softly, her beautiful face flushed slightly, perhaps because the video's style perfectly resonated with her preferences, or perhaps because she was moved by Ren Amamiya's noble character displayed in the video.
Raiden Mei gently turned her face to look at Ren Amamiya beside her, her amethyst eyes shimmering with a gentle and reassuring light.
"Even after suffering such torment and betrayal, when faced with another life-or-death choice, Ren still chose to speak out, to stand up for a stranger… I think that's very admirable of you, Ren."
Raiden Mei, a gentle smile on her lips, as if to comfort Ren Amamiya, who had once suffered such injustice, gently took his hand under the slightly surprised gazes of Bronya and Seele.
"I've long since stopped caring about that false accusation. The same thing can't possibly happen again in this world. But still, thank you for your comfort, Mei."
Ren Amamiya gently returned Raiden Mei's soft grip.
Although while playing the game, he had wanted to rush into the screen and give that bastard Masayoshi Shido a good beating, after the game ended, Ren Amamiya had naturally moved on from the resentment he felt towards Shido and certainly wouldn't bring those emotions into the current world.
"Anyway, let's take a look at the memory represented by the second Will Seed."
Perhaps because the game's [My Palace] served as the prototype for his Palace, the TV screens in this memory viewing area only contained memory videos related to the P5R game. Ren Amamiya's own memories, both before and after transmigrating, weren't among them.
Although he had invited the Phantom Thief girls to his Palace with the resolve to show them his memories, Ren Amamiya still subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief when he discovered that his girl companions couldn't peek into his real memories.
However, even though Raiden Mei and the others weren't watching Ren Amamiya's real memories, he didn't intend to take credit for all the good deeds the in-game Ren Amamiya had done and let Bronya and Raiden Mei praise him.
So, Ren Amamiya coughed lightly, interrupting Hare, who also seemed to want to praise him, and proactively placed his hand on the second TV screen containing the Will Seed crystal.
[February 15, 2015.]
[Wednesday.]
As Ren Amamiya touched the screen, the image on the TV began to change.
The date, written in red and black font, slowly appeared on the screen.
Wait, February 15th… What's that date?
The day after Valentine's Day?!
Ren Amamiya's expression froze, and beads of cold sweat started to form on his forehead.
"Big Brother Ren, what's wrong? You look a little pale. Are you feeling unwell?"
Seele, who had been secretly observing Ren Amamiya, quickly noticed something was amiss. A worried look appeared on her face as she asked with concern.
"No, it's nothing…"
At this point, the video in the memory viewing area had already started playing. Even Ren Amamiya couldn't stop it.
Even though the extremely ominous premonition in his heart was gradually coming true, he could only wait with a numb scalp as the lengthy video slowly played.
[Ren Amamiya, wearing white loungewear and a black apron over it, was cleaning the empty cafe. Sunlight streamed in through the doorway. A black cat lying on a chair yawned contentedly. It was a very peaceful and natural scene.]
"Unlike the previous video, it seems this one is a memory of Ren's life in the real world."
Bronya blinked, her tone somewhat indifferent. After seeing Ren Amamiya's exciting Persona awakening experience in Mementos, the mundane real-world life naturally couldn't stir much emotion within her.
Of course, she would still watch it. After all, Bronya was still very interested in Ren Amamiya's past experiences in the real world.