"Come, Persona—Boreas!"
The white spirit bird mask spun out from his hand, and a sleek, azure wolf emerged from ghostly blue flames, crouching down before Ren Amamiya and Hare.
"Riding a Persona is way more efficient than walking. Hare, hop on!"
Ren vaulted onto the back of the crouching Boreas. Once seated on the massive azure wolf, Ren reached down to Hare, offering her a hand to ride with him.
Although Boreas has fur the color of ice and commands the power of frost, like its namesake [Greek god of the North Wind], it's primarily a Wind-element Persona.
Unlike Huodou, the big, golden-red cat that makes you sweat buckets just by being near it...
Boreas's body wasn't cold; its fluffy blue fur was actually pleasantly warm, making it comfortable to ride.
Combine that with Boreas's speed, which far surpasses Huodou's, and you couldn't ask for a better Persona mount.
Hare obediently reached out her delicate hand. Ren grasped it and, with a slight tug, easily pulled the feather-light Hare onto the azure wolf's back behind him.
"Hold on tight, Hare. I'm picking up the pace."
Ren gripped the deep blue mane on Boreas's neck and warned Hare behind him.
Sitting behind Ren, Hare gazed at his back, a faint blush appearing on her fair, delicate cheeks.
Prompted by Ren's reminder, Hare hesitantly reached out her slender arms, slowly wrapping them around his waist. Finally, she gently rested her flawless cheek against his broad, warm back.
Ren paused for a split second as he felt Hare's soft body lean against him, then, acting nonchalant, urged the North Wind wolf forward.
Persona Boreas let out a clear howl. Its four slender yet sturdy legs touched the ground lightly, swift and agile, transforming into a divine wind as it sped across the Mementos landscape.
Riding Boreas, Ren felt no rushing wind; the Persona moved as the wind, a whistling gale. Its speed was incredible, effortless. The azure whirlwind surrounding it blew away any Shadows they encountered, tossing those blocking the path to who-knows-where.
"Speaking of which, Hare, do you know how to fuse Personas?"
While guiding Boreas, the North Wind wolf, in pursuit of the beacon Kallen left behind, Ren struck up a conversation with Hare.
The airflow around Boreas created a calm pocket, allowing Ren and Hare to talk normally, as if standing on solid ground, undisturbed by the wind.
Ren's Wild Card ability needed to grow.
In the game P5R, Ren Amamiya strengthened his bonds with Igor, the master of the Velvet Room—secretly the evil god in disguise—to increase his Wild Card capacity, allowing his heart to hold more Personas.
Ren's heart currently housed four Personas: Arsene, Yae Sakura, Huodou, and Boreas. Honestly, he was already sensing he was nearing his limit.
Without performing Persona fusion, Ren could probably only accommodate one more new Persona, tops.
And the Persona destined for that last slot in his heart was, naturally, the one he'd made a promise with: Phantom Thief Violet— Kallen Kaslana.
Since Ren hadn't entered the Velvet Room yet in this world, he couldn't get the power to break his limits from the evil god. That's why he had to ask Hare, a Stigma crystallization.
"...Fuse Personas? Sorry, Joker, I don't quite understand. Can Personas really be fused?"
Hare's soft voice, tinged with apology and confusion, came from behind Ren.
Even without looking back, Ren could picture the utter bewilderment in Hare's blue-violet eyes.
"Yeah, they can. You strap two Personas you own onto the guillotine like sacrifices, chop off their heads with it, and then their powers merge into a single, stronger, new Persona."
Ren sighed softly, describing the Velvet Room's Persona execution process to Hare, who was nestled against his back.
Hearing Ren describe the guillotine execution, Hare's body suddenly trembled.
As Hare shuddered behind him, Ren felt a strange sensation, as if his own Personas within his heart trembled along with her.
"'Why... why execute Personas with a guillotine— Oh, I see. Doing that really could create greater power. Personas don't truly die, they just enter a state of dormancy. They can revive again over time; it's just that the process involves pain.'"
Hare had instinctively started to ask Ren why, but the answer came to her even as she spoke.
"'But if it's for gaining greater strength, paying the price of mere pain and temporary dormancy... that's a worthwhile trade.'"
The wills within Stigmata don't truly die.
Just like Hare herself. No matter how many times or ways she tried to die, she would inevitably revive in the Sea of Quanta [Imaginary Space], futilely. Her only hope of truly passing on her self rested in the cruel Stigma Project.
Temporarily erasing the Ideal Will [The core personality/will within a Stigma] dwelling within the Stigma, allowing the Stigma Awakened one to inherit all the power directly—theoretically, this could indeed unleash even greater strength.
But while Hare could grasp the theory's correctness, she didn't know how to actually implement it.
Especially for someone like Ren, taking such an unconventional path, embarking alone on the thorny road to Origin, needing to forge his own way and break through all obstacles—Hare felt utterly helpless to assist.
The Origin path Ren walked was infinitely more difficult than that of a fully Awakened Stigma bearer. If he truly reached its end, it would be a miracle among miracles, truly worthy of the title 'Deliverance'.
"...Sigh. If only Lavenza were here. She'd definitely know a way to fuse Personas without needing the Velvet Room's equipment."
Realizing Hare couldn't help him with Persona fusion, Ren sighed softly again. He deeply missed the young Lavenza from the Velvet Room right now.
"'Who is Lavenza? And what's the Velvet Room?'"
Hearing Ren suddenly mention an unfamiliar female name with such obvious fondness and nostalgia...
Hare felt a strange pang in her heart for some reason. Her pink lips tightened slightly as she subconsciously pressed Ren for more information.
"'The Velvet Room is a special place existing in the gap between dream and reality. Lavenza is an attendant there, a guide who assists guests with their rehabilitation. She's really skilled at both Persona fusion via guillotine execution and itemization via electric chair execution.'"
Ren started telling Hare about Lavenza, the youngest resident of the Velvet Room. Thinking about Lavenza's current awkward and dire situation gave Ren a headache.
"'Right now, though, Lavenza's been captured by the evil god. He even cruelly tore her in two... not physically, I mean her existence was split. She went from one whole being to two separate entities representing her quiet and short-tempered sides.'"
"'The evil god also wiped her memories when he split her. I'm afraid even if I find the two halves, they won't guide me through rehabilitation like the original Lavenza would. They'll probably just follow the evil god's orders. If things get bad, they might even try to kill me.'"
Unlike the original P5 protagonist, who started out knowing nothing, this Ren Amamiya knew the evil god's true identity and purpose from the beginning.
It was impossible to know how the evil god would react to Ren knowing everything. Maybe he'd offer cooperation, like in some game endings, but it was more likely he'd order Caroline and Justine [The names of Lavenza's split halves] to eliminate him.
Ren absolutely didn't want to gamble on such dire, life-or-death possibilities.
Even if his Persona slots were temporarily maxed out and he couldn't perform fusions...
Ren firmly believed that if he just worked hard enough—grinded like a true hardcore grinder Emperor—he could definitely 'reroll' a perfect, ultimate Arsene.
After all, the Velvet Room was just support. Even without it, Ren could still tap into his inherent potential. It would just take more effort and maybe involve a few more detours.
But compared to being directly exposed to the evil god's sight and becoming his manipulated prisoner, that was an acceptable price to pay.
"'This Lavenza you mentioned, Joker... what does she look like?'"
A subtle, complex emotion churned within Hare. Her voice was faint as she asked Ren from behind him.
"'What does she look like...? She looks like a little girl, really cute face, wears a blue dress. Oh, and she likes using blue butterflies as symbols to guide people where she wants them to go.'"
Ren thought for a moment before describing Lavenza's appearance and attire to Hare.
"'I'm not entirely sure, but I think Lavenza is a being from the Sea of Souls [心之海 - Kokoro no Umi, a metaphysical sea connecting consciousness in Persona - you know the next misunderstanding right?]. She's incredibly powerful. Even without summoning a Persona, she can effortlessly use all sorts of strong abilities.'"
---||---
Nagazora City. Ren Amamiya's home.
Bronya Zaychik, crouching motionlessly like a statue behind the living room windowsill, felt her small nose suddenly itch. She couldn't help but let out a soft, cute sneeze.
"'Seele must be thinking about me,' Bronya muttered. 'To rescue Seele from the Sea of Quanta, I must capture the Herrscher of Thunder! I'll start by eliminating that man, Ren Amamiya!'"
Thinking of Seele, still lost in the Sea of Quanta and waiting for rescue, Bronya's gaze grew increasingly resolute.
Bronya didn't like killing innocents, nor did she agree with her adoptive mother Cocolia's plan to turn all of Nagazora City into a living hell.
But if doing this could bring Seele back from the Sea of Quanta to the real world, then no matter how much pain it caused her, Bronya was determined to see it through.
Until she could meet Seele again!