(Volume VI: Placeholder (let me think better name of this volume after it finish))
There was no need to completely leave Persona Raoul in the Kaslana Palace.
When Ren Amamiya needed Persona Raoul for battle, he could directly summon Raoul from the Kaslana Palace to any battlefield he was on.
And when Persona Raoul was in the Kaslana Palace, it could continuously absorb experience in Taixuan Sword Qi, even feeding it back to Ren Amamiya, the main body… This was simply too good a deal to pass up!
This is way better than burning incense.JGP (I forgot tell meaning of "burning incense, it continuously baptiz[ed] aka learning",
"There's one more thing I'd like to ask you about… Kaslana, have you ever heard the name [Void Archives]?"
Letting Persona Raoul passively accumulate experience in Taixuan Sword Qi within the Kaslana Palace, Ren Amamiya turned to the knowledgeable Kevin, asking about the name of the evil god he had learned from cognitive Akechi Goro.
"Naturally."
Kevin gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Then, he crossed his arms and fell silent, showing no intention of elaborating further for Ren Amamiya even after a long pause.
"..."
"…Could you explain in more detail? I might end up facing this god called Void Archives. I hope to learn as much information about it as possible. It seems to have an aspect known as Mara. I want to know if it has other divine names, and what its strength is like."
Ren Amamiya's eye twitched slightly, but he had more or less gotten used to Kevin's tendency not to provide answers unless pressed. So, he proactively broke the silence, questioning the stoic Kevin.
"Void Archives… a god?"
Upon hearing Ren Amamiya's question, Kevin's brow twitched slightly, finding the statement rather preposterous.
"In the eyes of ordinary people, the Void Archives might seem as omnipotent as a god. But to insiders like us, the Void Archives is far from deserving such a title… At most, it could reach the level of a god's apostle."
Although surprised by Ren Amamiya's statement, Kevin didn't question him back but silently answered his query.
"As for the names the Void Archives has in other mythologies… focusing on such things is meaningless. No matter what stories and miracles it has passed down in later ages, its most fundamental existence and concept will not change because of them."
Translated, that meant Kevin didn't know the Void Archives' names in other mythological systems.
However, Ren Amamiya didn't feel disheartened by this.
After all, as his understanding of Kevin deepened, he could gradually anticipate Kevin's speaking habits.
Therefore, Ren Amamiya had a strong premonition—something big was coming!
Sure enough, after a slight pause in Kevin's words, he soon dropped a bombshell of information on Ren Amamiya.
"Investigating the other names the Void Archives later acquired is valueless. Compared to these, it's more convenient to trace back to its original source name. In the very, very beginning, when the Void Archives was not yet the Void Archives, its name was… Prometheus."
Kevin crossed his arms, revealing this top-secret truth to Ren Amamiya in a very calm tone.
Ren Amamiya had truly asked the right person.
Besides Kevin, the only other person in the world today who likely knew the answer to Ren Amamiya's inquiry was Su, another Pioneer who had voluntarily sealed himself in an independent space.
Although Fu Hua was also one of the Previous Era's Pioneers, judging from the genuine surprise on her face now, she had clearly forgotten the connection between the Void Archives and Prometheus in some unknown battle.
Prometheus was the name of the super-AI created by Dr. MEI in the Previous Era, tasked with assisting Dr. MEI in processing information for experiments.
To save the world, the power of a single super-AI was not enough, so Dr. MEI created multiple numbered Prometheuses.
The original Prometheus was incorporated by Dr. MEI into the creation process of the Key of Revelation: Void Archives, serving as the built-in AI of the First Divine Key. It became the Void Archives itself, managing the library that recorded all the knowledge of the Previous Era, and was programmed with the supreme directive to defeat the Honkai by any means necessary.
"Prometheus, the god who stole fire from the gods and brought the first spark and civilization to humanity… Why did he later become an evil god like Mara? Shouldn't Prometheus be a benevolent god friendly to humans?"
Ren Amamiya had successfully learned the original divine name of the Void Archives from Kevin, just as he wished.
However, after learning the name Prometheus, he felt even more confused.
Could it be that Prometheus, during his endless punishment of having his flesh pecked by an eagle inflicted by Zeus, was finally tortured to the point of regret and turned dark, transforming into an evil god with malice towards humanity?
"Prometheus indeed holds goodwill towards humanity and civilization, but this goodwill is directed towards humanity as a whole, not individual humans… Committing evil deeds with good intentions, sacrificing a portion of humanity for the survival of mankind—this is very normal and simple logic for Prometheus."
Prometheus was, by nature, a cold AI that didn't understand human emotions. It would only treat human lives as numbers to calculate gains and losses, unhesitatingly sacrificing anything it deemed necessary, without even suffering the moral and psychological burdens and torment that Kevin did.
"Acting with such an ideology, it's only natural that Prometheus would be branded an evil god."
The Void Archives disregarded human life even more than Kevin did. If even Kevin was called an evil god by Ren Amamiya, then the Void Archives was naturally an evil god as well.
"You seem somewhat burdened. With your current strength, defeating the Void Archives shouldn't be difficult…"
Looking at Ren Amamiya's grave expression, a faint trace of confusion appeared between Kevin's brows.
Although the Void Archives possessed the ability to mimic other Divine Keys and held records of Previous Era knowledge, even if it acquired a suitable body, as a living Divine Key, the upper limit of the Void Archives' power wouldn't exceed that of a living Herrscher.
And Ren Amamiya had already defeated more than one Herrscher with their full power.
Logically speaking, Ren Amamiya shouldn't be troubled by the Void Archives' power.
Unless—
"The Void Archives is Prometheus, but Prometheus is not necessarily the Void Archives. Could it be that the 'Prometheus' you intend to defeat refers to… that one?"
A flash of inspiration struck Kevin's mind. From Ren Amamiya's solemn reaction, he seemed to have connected it to something.
A Prometheus that could truly live up to the weighty title of "evil god," one that posed a genuine and immense threat to Ren Amamiya… such a being did indeed exist.
Prometheus No. 17.
This super-AI, numbered seventeen, had, during the final battle of the Previous Era, reverse-hacked into the Cocoon of Finality, thereby placing a certain degree of shackles on it. This ensured that the order of Herrschers appearing in the Current Era would be identical to that of the Previous Era.
In other words, Prometheus No. 17, to a certain extent, had become the Will of Honkai itself, fully deserving of being labeled an evil god by Ren Amamiya.
The space where a Herrscher Core resides inherently possesses a special connection to the Will of Honkai.
It wouldn't be surprising if Ren Amamiya encountered the Will of Honkai in a Herrscher's Palace.
Prometheus No. 17 hacking into the Cocoon of Finality was a desperate gamble from the start.
From the current situation, the order of Herrschers appearing in the world hadn't changed, but whether Prometheus, having become the Will of Honkai, had undergone other forms of mutation over the long eons, even Kevin couldn't know.
"Theoretically speaking, Prometheus isn't our enemy. But just in case, we should indeed be wary of any changes in Prometheus's stance… With your current strength, it's still too early for you to confront Prometheus."
Realizing that Ren Amamiya had set his sights on the ethereal Will of Honkai residing in the Cocoon of Finality, Kevin's gaze towards Ren Amamiya deepened further.
However, Kevin didn't try to stop Ren Amamiya's idea. He merely gave Ren Amamiya a deep look and then slowly offered him effective advice.
"Continue to subdue more Personas and strive to become stronger… As long as you persistently conquer the Palaces where those Herrschers reside, you will one day reach Prometheus's location."
Kevin gently raised his hand towards Ren Amamiya. A cluster of ethereal white light flew from his palm, like a sweet, cool spring, slowly seeping into Ren Amamiya's body.
"This is your reward for dealing with the Herrscher of the Void. Accept it well."
Power from Kevin flowed silently into the Signet of Deliverance within Ren Amamiya's body.
His slightly weary spirit was stimulated by a perfectly measured coolness, making Ren Amamiya feel a sense of ease and comfort. He felt as if the Persona slots in his heart had expanded once more.
"The doubts about the evil god Prometheus are resolved. Then, next… it's your problem, Fu Hua."
Ren Amamiya stretched his slightly stiff neck, then slowly turned to the clearly stunned Fu Hua, addressing her directly.
Fu Hua had approached Ren Amamiya with a mission from Otto in the first place. Therefore, when Ren Amamiya showed a questioning expression towards her, Fu Hua's heart immediately tensed up.
"Is there a problem with Fu Hua, Joker?"
Raiden Mei also cast a scrutinizing gaze at Fu Hua's tense face, silently using her body to block Fu Hua's potential escape route, then asked Ren Amamiya.
Although Raiden Mei also intuitively felt that Fu Hua was somewhat suspicious, she hadn't specifically noticed Fu Hua's suspicious behavior.
"I shouldn't have done anything. I didn't interfere with your conquering of the Herrscher of the Void's Palace. I was even attacked by Akechi Goro along with you all."
Fu Hua gently clenched her fists. While outwardly maintaining a calm demeanor and defending herself to Ren Amamiya, she was already contemplating whether, if Ren Amamiya discovered Otto's last-minute hidden move, she should seize the opportunity to hand over the Simulacrum: Fenghuang Down, which housed Otto's consciousness, to Ren Amamiya.
"You indeed didn't do anything. But it's precisely because you did nothing that you seem even more suspicious… Fu Hua, you should also be a Persona-user, right? If so, why didn't your clothes change after entering Mementos?"
Ren Amamiya pointed a finger at Fu Hua, highlighting a very sharp and obvious issue with her.
When Persona-users are in a Palace environment, they automatically don their Phantom Thief attire as a symbol of rebellion due to the Palace ruler's hostility.
Even in the domain of Mementos, due to the other world's rejection and pressure on people from the real world, they would automatically put on their Phantom Thief attire.
However, Fu Hua's attire had never changed, whether in the Herrscher of the Void's Palace or in Kevin's Palace. She invariably wore the same British-style detective coat she had worn in the real world.
Raiden Mei, Hare, and the others hadn't seen Fu Hua in the real world, so they hadn't paid attention to Fu Hua's attire, merely assuming her Phantom Thief outfit was that detective coat, and her mask was that small monocle.
It was only now, with Ren Amamiya's revelation, that Raiden Mei and Seele realized Fu Hua wasn't wearing Phantom Thief attire; she had been wearing her real-world clothes all along.
"Under the effect of the authority of Binding, you suffered damage almost equal to mine. That's also quite concerning."
Hare gently floated to another position, subtly trapping Fu Hua in the center of the group, as she pointed out another suspicious point about Fu Hua.
"Big Sis Fu Hua, were you… were you really abandoned in the Kaslana Palace by that bad guy named Akechi Goro?"
Although Seele's expression was timid, she also demonstrated her determination through her actions.
While tightly gripping her blue scythe, her ocean-blue eyes looked very seriously at Fu Hua's face.
Facing the menacingly encircling members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Fu Hua glanced at Kevin, who remained a cold observer, seemingly not intending to help her explain. Beads of crystalline sweat couldn't help but appear on her fair forehead.
Fu Hua, who had never been good at proactively thinking and making decisions, was now rapidly racking her brains, desperately trying to think of a way to convince Ren Amamiya and dispel their suspicions.