"...Synchronize memories?"
Hearing this phrase from Ren Amamiya, ripples disturbed the calm lake of Sakura's grayish-blue eyes. The slash she was about to unleash upon him halted mid-swing.
Sakura's personality was based on her state before a sudden, tragic incident. Because of this, she never had the chance to update her data in the Elysian Realm and synchronize with her original self's latest memories.
Compared to her twelve comrades among the Flame-Chasers, Sakura's knowledge of the Previous Era's end was significantly lacking. What little she knew was mere hearsay from her companions, not her own genuine recollections and impressions.
For this reason, she was exceptionally sensitive to the phrase "synchronize memories."
If this outsider was truly connected to the memories she had failed to sync with her original self, did that mean he wasn't a Successor from the Current Era... but a survivor from the Previous Era?
Sakura's brow furrowed tightly. With her own missing memories at stake, even her cool and composed mind was now flooded with a torrent of complicated thoughts.
Fifty thousand years had passed since the Previous Era. Even someone as slow-witted as her had, over this vast expanse of time, pieced together the truth her companions had hidden from her. Sakura had thought she had already accepted it and moved on.
But now, facing Ren Amamiya, an outsider who seemed to know the hidden truths of the Previous Era, her heart couldn't help but waver uncontrollably.
"Even without synchronized memories, I can still tell friend from foe!!"
A sharp, cold wind erupted from the deep blue blade of the Frozen Naraka. Glancing back at the fading figure of Kalpas, Sakura's gaze became resolute once more. She raised her sword and finally launched her attack against Ren Amamiya.
The glint of her sword was as chilling as frost and snow. Deep blue sword strikes crisscrossed, weaving a massive net that descended upon Ren Amamiya.
Kalpas's ferocious display had prompted Sakura to skip the probing phase and unleash her full power from the very beginning.
Streaks of deep blue light stretched out before Ren Amamiya, seemingly cleaving space itself apart. Her space-freezing sword technique was activated once more.
Under Sakura's cold, grayish-blue gaze, Ren Amamiya's movements came to a complete halt, frozen along with both space and time.
After completely immobilizing him with her sword technique, Sakura aimed her next swing at his neck, preparing to deliver a fatal blow while he was unable to move.
Clang—!!
The crisp sound of metal striking metal rang out. A purple tachi, wielded by a pair of floating, crimson demonic arms, swung out in response within the supposedly frozen space, parrying Sakura's blade.
Conquering lightning snaked out in all directions like vipers, freeing the space that Sakura had just frozen.
As the blades met, the immense force transmitted from the purple tachi sent a tremor through Sakura's wrist.
Her slender body was sent flying back by the crimson demonic arms, and the purple lightning that rapidly coursed up her blade left her hands feeling numb.
Flipping nimbly in mid-air, Sakura landed gracefully back on the ground. When she looked at Ren Amamiya again, her expression had become incredibly solemn.
He had figured out how to counter her space-freezing sword technique after seeing it just once. A shadow fell over Sakura's heart. With her only trump card nullified, she knew her chances of winning against Ren Amamiya were now slim to none.
At this point, all Sakura could do was stall for time, try to draw out his other abilities, and hold on until other Flame-Chaser comrades, who must have sensed the commotion just as she had, arrived.
"No choice, then. It seems I'll just have to defeat you here."
Facing Sakura's merciless and lethal sword assault, Ren Amamiya gave up on trying to communicate with her verbally. He decided it was better to beat this version of Sakura to her knees first and talk later.
It was only then that Ren Amamiya suddenly remembered that even in the game, when facing a wild Shadow he had already subdued once, he still needed to defeat it again to make it recall its contract with a Persona user.
Well, that settles it then.
"Mei, I'll leave Sakura to you for now. Just hold her off."
Ren glanced to his side, giving an order to the Persona beside him—Shadow Mei, clad in crimson demonic armor, sporting a pair of crimson horns, and followed by a floating purple halo and massive, deep-red demonic arms.
Since the real Raiden Mei wasn't present, Ren's way of addressing Shadow Mei became more casual, calling her directly by "Mei."
"Hmph, a mere insect. In the face of thunder's glorious light, there is only one end: to be mercilessly crushed... Annihilating her would be simple. Asking me to merely stall this wild woman, now that is the truly difficult command."
Persona Shadow Mei snorted coldly. Unlike the Persona Lucifer, she didn't completely ignore Ren. When he called her name, the corner of her mouth had even curved into an imperceptible arc.
However, upon receiving the command from her Persona user, Shadow Mei's expression turned cold again. As she looked down from the sky at the battle-ready Sakura, her proud purple eyes were filled with nothing but disdain and loathing.
From their brief clash, Shadow Mei had already gauged the full extent of Sakura's strength.
If Shadow Mei were at her original power level, even after absorbing enough Honkai energy to become a complete Herrscher, she would have had to treat a battle with Sakura with extreme caution.
A single moment of carelessness could have cost her her life.
But now, Shadow Mei was Ren Amamiya's Persona.
Empowered by the Honkai energy within Ren—an energy far more terrifying and immense than any Herrscher's—and enhanced by the authority of Jizo Mitama: Etched, Shadow Mei's power had long since surpassed her original limits. Even against such a formidable opponent, she could maintain her pride and composure.
"Another Herrscher... the Herrscher of Thunder this time?"
A cold sweat trickled down Sakura's pale forehead. Counting the Herrscher of the Void from Kalpas's intel, this outsider, Ren Amamiya, controlled the power of at least two Herrschers.
And what's more, the overall strength of these Herrschers surpassed the theoretical stage of a complete Herrscher!!!
Even from their brief exchange, Sakura instantly realized that she was no match for this Herrscher of Thunder.
Being completely outmatched in terms of raw power was one thing, but her ultimate trump card, the space-freezing sword technique, was completely countered by the Herrscher of Thunder's authority over the conquering lightning that could tear space asunder. It was rendered utterly useless.
"Stay back! I won't let you get any closer to Kalpas!"
While Sakura and Shadow Mei were in a standoff, Ren Amamiya, the Persona user, dashed toward Kalpas's dissipating form. Realizing his intent, Sakura clenched her teeth, turned, and swung a chilling, fierce slash at him.
"Don't look away, insect. The only one you need to face right now is the Queen of Thunder before you."
Shadow Mei's figure appeared in front of Sakura, blocking her path to Ren Amamiya and intercepting the furious slash of her spirit blade.
Facing the Herrscher of Thunder's emotionless purple eyes, Sakura could only futilely tighten her grip on her Frozen Naraka, engaging Shadow Mei in a meaningless exchange of blows.
"Just in time. Let's begin, then. Persona transcription..."
Because of Sakura's interference, the silver-haired youth's Shadow's body had almost completely dissipated since its collapse. But thankfully, the remaining part was still enough for Ren Amamiya to fully transcribe its existence into a Persona.
Reaching his hand out toward the completely unconscious silver-haired youth's Shadow, Ren activated his transcription ability. The Shadow's body completely broke down and then began a process of reconstruction.
Before Ren's eyes, it transformed into a giant king with a black body covered in crimson sigils, holding a terrifying box-like sword.
Persona: Astarte.
As expected, after transcribing and reconstructing the silver-haired youth's Shadow, Ren Amamiya had obtained a powerful new Persona.
The addition of the Persona Astarte also filled the last of Ren Amamiya's slots in his heart, leaving no more room for any new Personas.
"You've done well, Mei. Leave the rest to me."
After completing the task of acquiring a new Persona, Ren turned back around. He looked at Shadow Mei, who was trading blows with Sakura with a look of utter indifference, and gave her a new command.
By observing the battle between Shadow Mei and Sakura, Ren had fully confirmed this Sakura's strength.
Although her level was higher and she was stronger than the first Sakura he had made a contract with, due to being in the deep domain of an impression space like the Elysian Realm, the extent of her improvement was actually quite limited from his current perspective.
Even though this Sakura had mastered a powerful sword technique that could freeze space, Ren Amamiya, who had a contract with his own Persona Yae Sakura, could tell at a glance that it was just an advanced application of the Yae Shrine Swordsmanship—a modified version of the original.
While the modifications were significant, and Ren couldn't learn it just by watching during battle, he didn't need to.
With Shadow Mei, who could counter this high-level sword technique, all Ren needed to do was subdue this higher-level Sakura and make her a Persona. Then, he would naturally master this advanced sword technique himself.
Descending from the crimson world barrier that flowed down from the sky, Ren Amamiya channeled the power of the Thunder God and the enhancement of Jizo Mitama: Etched into himself.
He didn't use his dual-wielding style with the Void Archives. Instead, he simply gripped the long tachi, Jizo Mitama: Etched, and assumed a swordsmanship stance identical to Sakura's.
"..."
Seeing Ren Amamiya expertly assume the opening stance of the Yae Shrine Swordsmanship, Sakura's pupils dilated for an instant.
As a master who had immersed herself in the way of the sword for years, Sakura had a keen eye. She could tell instantly that Ren Amamiya hadn't learned this technique by watching her fight.
From the sheer proficiency he displayed in his posture, it was clear that he had long since mastered the Yae Shrine Swordsmanship, a style that no one else should have learned.
Could it be? Was he really connected to the part of her memory that hadn't been synced?
A flicker of hesitation appeared in Sakura's grayish-blue eyes.
Her heart began to waver, especially when Ren Amamiya attacked her with an extremely practiced Yae Shrine Swordsmanship, effortlessly switching between its various forms like a grandmaster. Sakura's mind was thrown into turmoil, crashing like waves in a storm.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—!
The crisp sound of swords clashing rang out continuously, like a blacksmith at a forge.
Faced with Ren Amamiya's aggressive assault, Sakura, having lost her inner peace, completely lost her offensive momentum. She could only passively raise her Frozen Naraka to block his relentless attacks.
And as Jizo Mitama: Etched slashed against the deep blue body of the Frozen Naraka, a crimson-black corrosion spread like a plague, creeping over the blade of the Frozen Naraka and enveloping Sakura's slender, delicate frame.
"————What is this?!"
In that instant, as the crimson-black aura from Jizo Mitama: Etched spread to her wrist, Sakura's carefully constructed mask of indifference finally shattered.
An expression of primal fear appeared on her face as a strange image, one that did not belong to her own memories, flashed through her mind.
With each fierce clash of the two tachi, with every powerful impact from Ren, more of the crimson-black aura from Jizo Mitama wrapped around her.
The power behind the Frozen Naraka grew weaker and weaker. Sakura's spirit waned, her face turned deathly pale, and the cherry-pink fox ears on her head drooped limply.
It was a memory from fifty thousand years ago, from an incident in the Fire Moth base.
The Herrscher of Corruption, a riot, an attempt to stop it, blood, death...
After fifty thousand years, the memories of the incident at the Fire Moth base flowed back into Sakura's mind. But this time, she wasn't experiencing it firsthand like her original self.
Instead, she watched the end her original self had met from a third-person perspective. Then, through a first-person view, she witnessed all the torment and suffering her younger sister had endured...
Finally, in their next struggle for dominance, the Frozen Naraka was sent flying, spinning through the air before embedding itself in the ground.
As for Sakura herself, she had completely lost her will to fight. Utterly lost and broken, she knelt before Ren Amamiya.