After a long day trekking through Mementos, Ren Amamiya and Raiden Mei bid farewell to Hare and Seele, using the MetaNav App's power to return to the Raiden residence in the real world.
The requests from the Phantom Thieves Channel website had been completed smoothly; Ren had cleared all the accepted tasks. Aside from the very first target, the little white-haired nun Shadow, all the subsequent target Shadows Ren encountered were small fry, posing no threat whatsoever.
Some Shadows couldn't even transform, simply charging the Phantom Thieves in their real-world forms before inevitably being forced to repent.
The varying power levels of the target Shadows in Mementos didn't particularly bother Ren. However, their mental states sent a chilling wave of dread down his spine, especially given his inside knowledge.
After leaving the area of the little white-haired nun Shadow, all the other target Shadows Ren encountered seemed to have given up thinking entirely.
Like NPCs programmed with fixed routines, they constantly repeated the same few lines and actions. No matter what Ren asked them, they would only parrot the predetermined phrases, often with dazed, blissful smiles on their faces.
Only after being attacked and thoroughly defeated would these bizarre Shadows finally respond to Ren's call for repentance, obediently accepting their fate of having their hearts changed by Phantom Thief Joker.
This state of utter apathy, merely following their innermost feelings, repeating lines, and barely reacting to external changes... Ren had actually seen it before. It mirrored the wave of sloth that had engulfed modern society in his original world, halting human evolution due to apathy.
From humanity's collective unconscious apathy, the Holy Grail—the Treasure of all mankind, also known as the false god Yaldabaoth—was born.
The false god Yaldabaoth imprisoned all human Shadows in the deepest prison of Mementos. Only a very few Shadows, those with intensely distorted desires, could successfully break out and create their own Palaces in Mementos. Yaldabaoth manipulated the Phantom Thieves from behind the scenes, using them as tools to defeat and reform the Palace rulers one by one.
Once a Palace ruler's distorted desires were stolen, their Shadow would be reimprisoned by the false god in the depths of Mementos, joining the masses in the prison, never again harboring thoughts of escape.
And the human Shadows imprisoned in the deepest part of Mementos existed in a state of complete, stagnant sloth. No matter what happened to them, they would remain content with the status quo. Even if the end of the world was imminent, they wouldn't react specially, simply squatting in their tiny cells, awaiting doom.
The human Shadows Ren encountered in Mementos now were nearly indistinguishable from the slothful Shadows in the deepest prison. If these target Shadows were placed in that prison, Ren was certain they would fit right in.
The fact that such Shadows were randomly appearing throughout Mementos made Ren break into a cold sweat. These ordinary Shadows, mired in sloth and lacking the powerful distorted desires needed to fuel an escape, clearly couldn't have broken past the Shadow jailers guarding the deepest prison.
In other words, either the false god's control over Mementos had strengthened, allowing him to drag all human Shadows into a state of passive stagnation, or the prison Yaldabaoth built in the depths had been breached or severely compromised, causing the normally imprisoned slothful Shadows to spill out into various layers of Mementos.
Considering that the Shadows didn't vanish and get forcibly transported back to the deepest prison after Ren defeated and reformed them, the second possibility seemed much more likely.
After all, this world wasn't just the P5 universe anymore; it incorporated elements from other Persona series as well. Yaldabaoth was ultimately just a false god. If faced with other powerful deities as enemies, even within Mementos, his home turf, he might suffer a setback.
If the prison holding the public's Shadows was damaged, that might be a good thing. Even after Ren reformed human Shadows, they wouldn't be transferred to the prison under the false god's control.
Although being imprisoned in the Sloth Prison didn't drastically affect the real-world counterpart (merely making them passively apathetic like a salted fish), and Ren fully intended to defeat the false god eventually and free the imprisoned masses, freedom was undoubtedly better than being caged by a condescending deity.
Though sloth still filled these Shadows' hearts, Ren believed that once he defeated Yaldabaoth, the embodiment of humanity's collective unconscious sloth, the Shadows dragged into that mire would surely attain true freedom and liberation.
"Welcome back. Looks like your mission in Mementos went smoothly," Bronya greeted them as they entered the living room. Ren saw her sitting at the dining table, working on her laptop, just as she had been when he left.
Noticing Ren and Mei's return, Bronya looked up from her screen, her expression neutral. "Many users have already left messages saying their wishes were granted, that people who treated them harshly suddenly became kind and fair." She updated Ren on the latest status of the Phantom Thieves Channel website.
"It took effect that quickly? That's a bit surprising..." Ren's eyes lit up slightly at Bronya's report. He quickly walked over to her side, eager to see the red-themed Phantom Thieves Channel website she was maintaining.
Excluding the time he used Jizo Mitama's power to forcibly change Cocolia's heart in the real world, this was technically Ren's first proper reformation of someone else. Yae Sakura was already dead and ended up becoming his Persona.
Seele had undergone human experimentation by Cocolia, altering her physical constitution, and her Shadow self had also become his Persona. Raiden Mei, while genuinely human, had accompanied Ren into her own Palace and awakened as a Persona user there—hardly a standard reformation process.
Ren's first true reformation target was the little white-haired nun Shadow encountered near the Kaslana Palace. So, the first thing Ren did upon reaching Bronya was look for the details of the request concerning the unscrupulous boss docking pay.
Scrolling down, Ren quickly found the request thread. The original poster had added new comments.
[No way, no way? Is this Phantom Thieves Channel for real? Phantom Thief Joker actually exists?!]
[I just posted to vent about my boss, didn't expect much, but I posted this morning, and by lunch break, the back pay hit my account!!]
[But my boss said she had a dream where someone in black clothes and a white mask beat her up... Hope she doesn't find out I posted the request. Btw, does this kind of reformation method, which sounds more like robbery, have any negative side effects on the person?]
[Even though she likes docking my pay, she's actually a pretty decent person.]
The real-world effect of the reformation was practically instantaneous. Based on the timestamp of the poster's comment, the little white-haired nun must have immediately rectified her past mistakes the moment Ren changed her heart, compensating the poster for all the withheld salary.
[I don't buy it. How could something as unbelievable as Phantom Thieves of Hearts actually exist? It's gotta be fake hype, a scam. Maybe this whole site will be exposed as promo for a Phantom Thief Joker movie soon. You guys are probably all paid shills!!]
[I've been watching this site all day. The way they're forcing promotion with this viral method, the operator behind it must be a world-class hacker. I saw someone mention earlier that targets selected by the Phantom Thieves Channel receive an electronic calling card.]
[The calling card even has the website address and a silhouette of Phantom Thief Joker in black clothes and a white mask. Your boss probably got the card, got scared, had a nightmare, and that's why she dreamed about being beaten up by Joker... Besides, they're called Thieves. Why would real Phantom Thieves use violence to make someone repent? They should be stealing something, right?!]
[I also think your boss just had a nightmare during her nap. Other people reformed by Joker haven't mentioned anything about falling unconscious and dreaming about being beaten up.]
[Maybe the dream was just her own issue, but I think Phantom Thief Joker might actually exist and can rewrite people's subconscious... That's so cool! A new urban legend!! I bet it won't be long before Phantom Thief Joker becomes famous worldwide!!]
After the original requester shared their experience, users constantly browsing the site immediately chimed in with their opinions. Some doubted the site's authenticity, while others, having experienced it firsthand, chose to believe. The largest group, however, eagerly jumped into discussions about Phantom Thief Joker.
While not fully believing in his existence, they acknowledged the existence of the "Phantom Thief Joker" phenomenon. The story of Phantom Thief Joker was spreading like wildfire through public consciousness, much like urban legends such as the Pen Fairy or Bloody Mary [Similar to Ouija boards or Bloody Mary].
"Huh? I don't remember accepting these requests," Ren suddenly noticed while browsing the site. "Why do they show as accepted, or even completed?" The number of accepted tasks didn't match what he recalled, and there were many unfamiliar requests added. He turned to Bronya beside him, questioning her calm demeanor.
"Those requests were very simple. Bronya could resolve the requesters' troubles with just a few keystrokes from home, no need to trouble Phantom Thief Joker..." Bronya explained. "If you prefer to handle everything personally, Bronya can stop resolving requests through hacking in the real world."
As a world-class hacker, Bronya could solve many problems without leaving the house.
To lighten Ren's workload and maximize Joker's renown, Bronya had specifically selected requests solvable through hacking, quietly making the targets "repent" in a very physical sense without anyone noticing.
"No, if you're willing to help like that, it's perfect. Please continue handling some of the easier requests."
Compared to defeating Palace rulers, taking down the Shadows of ordinary people offered minimal rewards.
Ren certainly had no objection to Bronya willingly working overtime under the radar to boost Phantom Thief Joker's public recognition.
"You worked hard today, Bronya. You and Seele should get some proper rest... Persona!!" Bronya had diligently worked overtime all day, making outstanding contributions to Joker's reputation. Ren naturally intended to reward her generously.
Ethereal blue flames flickered into existence. Amidst fluttering blue butterflies, a slender, well-proportioned blue-haired girl in a sea-blue dress slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Ren and Bronya together before her, a delighted sparkle appeared in Seele's sea-blue eyes.
"I'm a bit tired too," Ren stretched languidly. While not completely exhausted, the full day of high-intensity Mementos battles had left him feeling fatigued. "I'll call Rita over for some maid service, maybe get a massage. She still has some things she left here anyway."
"Rita... massage...???"
Watching Ren head towards his room, intending to find Rita's business card left behind earlier and call for maid service, Bronya's face remained impassive, but her eyes held an incredibly strange and subtle expression.
Rita... she means Rita Rossweisse, the S-Rank Valkyrie from Schicksal, right?
Just the night before last, it was Rita Rossweisse who led the Immortal Blades Valkyrie squad, crushed Cocolia's base in Nagazora City, and wore that smug, cat-playing-with-a-mouse smile as she deliberately let Bronya and Cocolia slip away, allowing Bronya to escape the fallen base.
Bronya had researched Rita; she knew Rita often presented herself as a maid, but very few people, almost none, actually received her maid services. Yet Ren had just casually mentioned calling Rita Rossweisse—one of only three S-Rank Valkyries in Schicksal—over to his house for a massage, as if deciding what to have for dinner.
As expected, Ren's connections with Schicksal's upper echelons run deep!! Bronya confirmed her previous suspicions, nodding to herself in conviction.
Schicksal must have destroyed Cocolia's base in Nagazora because she attacked Ren. That's why they sent an S-Rank Valkyrie to eliminate Cocolia as an obstacle.
Fortunately, it was a blessing in disguise.
Although the plan to artificially create and capture the Herrscher of Thunder for research was ruined, Bronya no longer had to bear the guilt of potentially destroying a city, and she had successfully reunited with Seele ahead of schedule. If she had relied on Cocolia, she might never have seen Seele again.
A wave of relief washed over Bronya at the thought, and she subconsciously tightened her grip on Seele's soft, slender hand beside her. Gazing at Ren's retreating back as he walked towards the guest room, Bronya's silver-gray eyes filled with gratitude.
However, because she was looking at Ren's back, Bronya didn't notice that Seele, whose hand she held, was also looking towards Ren. And in Seele's sea-blue eyes, previously filled with happiness, a flicker of disappointment now surfaced as Ren walked away.