Elysian Realm, Deep End.
When Ren Amamiya opened his eyes again, a familiar, reassuringly warm breeze greeted him. Being in the cold, empty, and dark prison environment made him feel a rare sense of relaxation.
"So this is the Velvet Room... It's a bit more oppressive than I imagined..."
Raiden Mei stood beside Ren, looking around with a slight frown.
This was her first time in the Velvet Room. The oppressive, suffocating silence and darkness of the prison cell were already making her feel uncomfortable, even though she had just arrived. Mei couldn't understand how Ren could wear such a relaxed and comfortable expression, as if he had just come home.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room, dear Mr. Phantom Thief Joker, and Ms. Phantom Thief Acheron!!"
A spotlight suddenly lit up in the darkness. Raiden Mei instinctively squinted at the sudden bright light, but Ren remained completely unfazed, as if he had already anticipated it.
Vill-V, appearing out of the darkness, couldn't help but smile with satisfaction upon seeing Mei's slightly startled reaction.
However, when she saw Ren, who remained calm and composed, showing no emotion at her magic show, she pursed her lips in disappointment. Her pink-and-white gradient eyes darted about, seemingly contemplating a new entrance that would amaze even Ren.
"Vill-V, here's the new Greed Will Seed Crystal and the Herrscher of Wind's Core Treasure. I'll leave the creation of the new weapon to you."
The moment he saw Vill-V, Ren got straight to the point, taking out the Greed Will Seed Crystal and the Herrscher of Wind's Core and handing over his important gains to the highly skilled supporter.
"...The Herrscher of Wind's Core Treasure? You've already obtained a new Will Seed and Core Treasure so quickly?"
Vill-V was taken aback, her thoughts of a grand magic trick interrupted. Her eyes fixed on the Greed Will Seed and the Gem of Desire that Ren held out in his palm.
Indeed, it was the real Herrscher of Wind's Core.
As a professional developer of Divine Keys, Vill-V could easily identify a real Herrscher Core from a fake. The one Ren showed her was undoubtedly genuine, but...
This was too fast!
The speed at which Ren was acquiring Herrscher Cores was as absurd as slaughtering chickens and sheep in a farm. Just yesterday, he had given her the Key of the Void, forged from the Herrscher of the Void's Core, and today, he was handing over the Herrscher of Wind's Core, requesting a new Divine Key.
Although Vill-V was always full of ideas, this was so sudden that she had no brilliant inspiration for a new Divine Key at the moment.
"There's one more thing. I want to master an ultimate skill called [Sinful Shell]... If I were to progress normally, I should be able to learn this move naturally after collecting all seven sins and awakening the latent power of my ultimate Persona. But I've already collected six of the sins and want to try practicing this ultimate skill in advance. Do you have any way to help me, Vill-V?"
Seeing Vill-V accept the Greed Will Seed and the Gem of Desire with a contemplative expression, Ren posed his second question.
"[Sinful Shell]? Such a strange and ridiculous-sounding move, and you're asking me for help with it? Do you think I'm some kind of all-powerful wish-granting machine?... However, if it's just about condensing the seven sins into a single bullet to pierce through an enemy, I might actually be able to help."
After listening to Ren's detailed explanation of the ultimate skill, Sinful Shell, Vill-V first threw up her hands in a helpless gesture. But then, her tone changed. Stroking her chin, she began to murmur to herself.
"...In any case, this is perfect! Your goal is to collect all seven sins, and in the domain of the Elysian Realm, there just so happens to be a powerful shadow from whom you can steal an original sin, completing the set of seven required for Sinful Shell!!"
After her dream-like mumbling, Vill-V's face suddenly lit up with a fervent expression. Her pink-and-white gradient eyes shone brighter, and she exuded an incredible aura, her voice soaring as if she were about to cause some trouble, making a promise to Ren.
"Consider it a bounty I'm issuing to you. If you can steal the original sin from a woman named Mobius in this Elysian Realm Palace, I'll do three Persona fusions for you, free of charge!"
"Three Persona fusion supports? Then I'll take this request."
Although Vill-V's attitude was a bit strange, as if she were gleefully planning a prank, Ren nodded without hesitation and accepted her request.
Collecting all seven original sins and fulfilling the prerequisite for the ultimate skill [Sinful Shell] was already his goal.
Even if Vill-V hadn't offered the reward of three Persona fusion supports, upon learning that Mobius possessed the last original sin he needed, Ren would have chosen to steal it without a second thought.
After all, these original sins were formed from the distortions of the heart. Regardless of whether the person was good or evil, stealing and eliminating these distortions was a good thing for society and the world. However...
'Is this Mobius the ruler of this Elysian Realm Palace?' Ren asked the clearly delighted Vill-V.
He had already sensed that the Elysian Realm was a deep, large-scale Palace, similar to Kaslana's Palace.
An original sin could not be stolen from a mere shadow.
Therefore, Ren naturally assumed that the target, Mobius, was the ruler of the Elysian Realm Palace.
'No, the true master of the Elysian Realm is someone else. You should be meeting her soon... Although Mobius is not truly human, with the support of this great magician, extracting the original sin she carries is simply too easy.'
Vill-V shook her head with a meaningful smile. Then, she held up a finger to Ren, revealing the method to extract Mobius's original sin.
"It's very simple. You just need to defeat her like you usually do with shadows. Once you defeat Mobius, the Will Seed of Sin, formed from the distortion in her heart, will naturally appear before you."
Having developed Divine Keys using the Will Seed Crystals provided by Ren, Vill-V had, of course, studied their composition.
Based on her research, she had already figured out how to separate an original sin from a living being's heart.
And now, this secret technique she had developed was about to be used on an old acquaintance, Mobius, who had been trying to get information about Ren by pestering her.
The thought of Mobius finally meeting the long-awaited Phantom Thief Ren Amamiya, only for him to defeat her and extract the Will Seed of Sin from her heart, made Vill-V want to laugh. Even before it happened, her heart was already filled with joy.
A portal opened. Ren and Raiden Mei stepped through it, leaving the Velvet Room under Vill-V's gleeful wave.
"Ren, I have a feeling something's not right with Miss Vill-V's reaction..."
As soon as they left the Velvet Room, Raiden Mei spoke up hesitantly, sharing her feelings with Ren.
"Although I can feel that Miss Vill-V has no ill intentions, she's clearly hiding something from us."
'Yes, I can see that too. But it's fine. Once we meet this Mobius, we should be able to get the answers from her.'
Ren had also noticed Vill-V's strange behavior when she issued the request. But as he said, once they found Mobius, the answers would surely reveal themselves.
Ren was now in reality, not a game.
The distortions of the Palace Rulers could be roughly divided into seven types of sins, not just seven sins in total.
To have encountered a Palace Ruler with a different type of original sin each time, collecting six different types of Will Seeds in one go, felt like a miracle to Ren himself.
And now, he was at the critical moment of collecting the last piece.
If he missed this special shadow, Mobius, whom Vill-V had explicitly stated could complete his ultimate skill, Ren couldn't guarantee when he would be able to collect all types of Will Seeds... The completion of Sinful Shell would be indefinitely postponed.
Therefore, even if he sensed that Vill-V was hiding something, no matter what awaited him, Ren would resolutely move forward until he stood before Mobius and obtained the Will Seed she represented.
"As long as you're prepared... Speaking of which, the scenery in this area is quite beautiful, especially compared to the cold and dark Velvet Room."
Hearing Ren's response, Raiden Mei let out a sigh of relief. She finally had the leisure to observe her surroundings.
The soft, green grass, the nameless flowers blooming by the roadside, the clear blue sky, as if it had been washed clean—all of it made Mei squint her eyes in comfort.
"Help! Help!! Help—!!"
Just as Raiden Mei was stretching her arms, enjoying the leisurely moment before any shadow attacks, a sweet, honey-like, yet somewhat affectedly tragic, melodious girl's voice came from the distance.
"...Someone's calling for help? In a place like this?"
Raiden Mei paused her stretching and looked in the direction of the cry for help, a look of suspicion on her delicate face.
"Let's go check it out first."
Ren quickened his pace, passing Mei. As they drew closer, he finally got a clear view of the scene.
"A group of shadows with only beastly instincts are attacking a small, fairy-like girl shadow? Why is this happening? The Elysian Realm should be in the deep domain of the impression space. A shadow with self-awareness should be stronger than these mindless shadows..."
Looking at the small pink fairy, who was surrounded by ferocious and terrifying shadows and was earnestly calling for help in a beautiful, singing voice, Raiden Mei's eyes widened in astonishment. She couldn't understand the scene before her.
"Persona!!"
Without hesitation, Ren swiftly raised his Key of the Void pistol. The heavy, cold firearm emanated a faint cerulean glow. As he pulled the trigger, cerulean spatial fragments burst forth, and a Persona was summoned to the battlefield.
On one side were beast-type shadows with no intelligence, only the instinct to destroy. On the other was an intelligent, fairy-like girl shadow that could communicate. The course of action was clear.
"—Surtr!! Wipe these shadows out!!"
The towering, magnificent body of the giant flame king rose from the void behind Ren. The black giant, wielding a flaming sword, swung its blade, and a terrifying flame, like a divine punishment, swept across the ground.
The small, cute pink fairy only felt a wave of heat rush past her. Then, in the blink of an eye, the Honkai beasts that had surrounded her completely disintegrated, turning into wisps of barely visible black dust and disappearing into the air.
Her previously relaxed body instantly tensed up.
"...S-so strong!!"
After a moment, a brilliant light shone from the small, doll-like pink fairy's knees. She clasped her hands to her chest, a pair of small, flawless white wings gently fluttering behind her.
Her small body flew gracefully and ethereally in front of Ren, her tone filled with the admiration and praise of a fangirl as she lauded him.
"You saved my life! You are a truly noble and powerful warrior! Thank you for your help!... Sir Warrior, may I ask why you are looking at me with such a strange expression?"
Controlling the pink fairy armed puppet made in her own image, Elysia skillfully played the part of a fangirl. However, halfway through her words of admiration and praise, she was stopped by the strange look in Ren's eyes.
"I feel like... you look really familiar. Who was it again? Let me think..."
When Elysia saw Ren's contemplative expression, as if he were delving into his past memories, her eyes lit up with anticipation and excitement.
She stared intently at his lips, waiting for him to utter the name that held the answer.
"Ah, that's right! I remember, her name was Elysia, wasn't it?"
Finally digging up a memory related to this little pink fairy from a corner of his pre-transmigration memories, Ren felt the satisfaction of solving a puzzle.
He slapped his palm and spoke a name that was completely unfamiliar to the other two people present.
This very Q-version-looking little pink fairy's image was very similar to a certain big-headed emoji that a sand sculpture group friend had sent in a chat group before his transmigration.
However, the specific details were different.
For example, this little pink fairy had a halo on her head and a pair of small white wings on her back, making her look not only like a fairy but also like a little angel.
"...Eh?"
Upon hearing Ren's name for her, the expectant look in Elysia's eyes instantly died.