Ren took Jizo Mitama from Hare's hands, fondly handling the black katana that possessed the power to fundamentally change him.
Just by gripping Jizo Mitama's hilt, Ren knew Hare wasn't exaggerating; he had spontaneously grasped a power allowing him to project his Personas from his heart without needing to remove his mask.
Whether it was P3's gun-shaped Evoker fired at oneself, P4's crushing of a Tarot card, or P5's tearing off a mask, they were all essentially preliminary actions to enhance psychological suggestion and look cool.
If one's emotions were sufficiently intense, a Persona could be summoned instantly without these prerequisites.
And Ren, holding Jizo Mitama, was effectively able to skip the wind-up animation entirely, even summoning Personas in the real world.
"This Palace is about to collapse... Phantom Thief Violet, who exactly are you? You're not purely human either, are you?"
During the process of forging the Will Seed of Wrath and the black box Treasure into Jizo Mitama, the apocalyptic scene had already consumed the landscape surrounding the Yae Shrine.
Only the shrine itself remained, precariously existing amidst an encroaching, profound darkness on all sides, evoking a sense of desolate ruin and annihilation.
Amidst this atmosphere of impending doom, Ren lowered the Jizo Mitama katana and turned to ask the white-haired girl beside him, who was blinking curiously with her blue eyes.
His conversations with Phantom Thief Violet had consistently felt discordant. Despite both being phantom thieves, Violet had used terms like "Stigma," similar to Hare initially, and had shown confusion when Ren mentioned "Persona."
Ren had also seen Phantom Thief Violet together with Yae Sakura in the memory stored within the Will Seed of Wrath – a memory from five hundred years ago. No normal human could possibly live for five centuries without their appearance aging or changing at all.
Perhaps Phantom Thief Violet was once human, but now, she was definitely no longer an ordinary one.
"Speaking of which, I haven't formally introduced myself yet. My name is Kallen, Kallen Kaslana. I was Sakura's friend five hundred years ago... But now, the 'me' standing here is merely a temporary existence constructed from Sakura's memories and perception of Kallen, plus a little miracle beyond Sakura's awareness."
A faint smile touched Kallen's exquisite features. She placed a slender hand gently over her chest, frankly explaining her identity to Ren.
"Simply put, Sakura's and my perceptions haven't been updated for five hundred years. It's only natural I wouldn't know what you mean by 'Persona'."
Yae Sakura and Kallen Kaslana were already spirits from five hundred years ago. In their era, the concept of "Persona" didn't exist. They only knew of the power of Stigmata.
"I see. So you're a cognitive existence of Sakura. To wield such power, you must hold a very important place in Sakura's heart... But why the phantom thief outfit? In Sakura's Will Seed memory, I clearly saw you wearing a nun's habit."
A look of understanding crossed Ren's face. He had encountered cognitive beings possessing power comparable to, or even surpassing, the Palace Ruler before – namely, Wakaba Isshiki in Futaba Sakura's Palace.
Futaba's distorted perception of her mother, mixed with the nightmares tormenting her mind, had created a terrifying cognitive existence resembling a Sphinx monster, causing immense trouble for the Phantom Thieves.
Yae Sakura might have unconsciously constructed this cognitive Kallen, but there should have been some reference point. Kallen couldn't have inexplicably changed from a nun outfit to a phantom thief costume.
Because of Kallen's violet phantom thief attire, the black bird-beak mask she wore, and even the golden cross named Judah she wielded, Ren had initially mistaken her identity, thinking she was a fellow heart-stealing phantom thief.
But it turned out Kallen was just a cognitive being coincidentally dressed as a phantom thief...
"I believe it's because you visited this Palace, Joker. When we forcibly broke through the Palace walls to enter Yae Village, the interior of the Palace briefly connected with the external Mementos."
Before Kallen or Yae Sakura could respond, Hare beside them revealed the answer first.
"The cognitive Kallen within Miss Yae Sakura's Palace resonated strangely with the Stigma Kallen... the Persona Kallen... existing in Mementos. This caused the cognitive Kallen in the Palace to be temporarily overwritten by the image of Miss Kallen as Phantom Thief Violet, resulting in a form unknown even to the Palace Ruler, Miss Yae Sakura."
As a Crystallized Stigma, Hare's understanding of the current situation was clearly far ahead of everyone else present. With the Herrscher of Corruption defeated, Hare could now use her information-reading ability without restraint, essentially cheating by looking at the script, making her exceptionally proficient at gathering intelligence.
"I believe the real Miss Kallen must have also had moments as a phantom thief. That's why she was stirred by the phantom thief identity you use, Joker, bestowing her power and will upon the cognitive Kallen within Miss Yae Sakura's Palace."
Hare, having scouted Yae Village once before, had already determined that this Stigma Space was trapped in a loop. But because Hare had forcibly intruded twice, bringing Ren, the Phantom Thief of Hearts, along the second time, the Stigma Space's cycle, briefly connected to the external Imaginary Space and invaded by numerous Imaginary creatures, had been forcefully broken by the overlapping factors.
Kallen Kaslana, who should have appeared as a nun, instead donned phantom thief attire, ran around under the name Violet carrying the Soulium black box sealing the Herrscher of Corruption, and ultimately encountered Ren and the others at the Yae Shrine.
The subsequent events unfolded into the current situation.
"A brilliant deduction, quite close to the truth! Miss Hare is truly remarkable!"
Hearing Hare's explanation to Ren, Kallen couldn't help but applaud, praising the cheating Hare with sincere admiration.
"I see. So, somewhere in Mementos, there exists a Kallen who is a Persona?"
Ren's eyes lit up slightly, his voice tinged with excitement.
Hare could understand why Ren, striving to create a perfect Stigma nation within himself and gain power enough to challenge the "Evil God" Kevin, was excited.
But why Yae Sakura's eyes were also sparkling, her breathing becoming rapid, was puzzling to Hare. Sakura couldn't recruit Personas herself; she had even become Ren's Persona. What was she getting excited about?
"Mr. Joker! Please, just consider it for my sake! Could you please recruit Kallen's Stigma into your heart as well?!"