"Herrscher of Reason? That's..."
Faced with Ren Amamiya's question, Caroline—a manifestation spontaneously generated by the Mimic Fenghuang Down based on Ren's dream—raised an eyebrow.
Just as she was about to question Ren in return, Otto's thoughts shifted slightly, and Caroline instantly calmed down, ceasing all movement like a doll.
After carefully observing Ren's inner emotions, Otto realized Ren hadn't discovered his true identity but was merely asking a question.
He had already delved into the world's underbelly, become a top-tier powerhouse on a global scale, wielded the Key of Erosion, Jizo Mitama, and even plunged into the heart of the events that led Raiden Mei to awaken as the Herrscher of Thunder.
Yet, Ren Amamiya still didn't know what a "Herrscher of Reason," or even a "Herrscher," truly was.
This fact intrigued Otto considerably.
"A Herrscher is an apostle of God. And the Herrscher of Reason is the first apostle dispatched by God to the world, shouldering the mission of destroying human civilization. There are twelve Herrschers in total, each an absolute enemy of humanity, respectively mastering special authorities representing the ultimate of their domains."
Igor, impersonated by Otto, chuckled lightly. He leaned on the desk before him, his voice calm as he frankly informed Ren.
The "Persona" system theory, never mentioned by any organization in the current civilization; a state of mind possessing transcendent strength yet completely ignorant of the "Herrscher concept."
The "Velvet Room," something Otto had never heard of, generated by the Mimic Fenghuang Down's dream interference, and some memory fragments glimpsed through Ren's dream...
After roughly confirming Phantom Thief Kallen's identity, Otto's interest in Ren himself grew significantly.
Otto had previously ordered Schicksal's intelligence department to gather all information on Ren Amamiya. With Schicksal's terrifying efficiency, its reach extending across the entire world, the intelligence delivered to Otto could absolutely not be false.
Even modified or disguised records would be exposed under Schicksal's power, their true, complete information unearthed in minutes.
However, the biographical data on Ren Amamiya presented to Otto appeared utterly unremarkable. He had experienced no special events; on paper, he was a completely ordinary person.
Ren's paper records and his actual situation were completely contradictory. Yet, despite Schicksal's repeated investigations, no trace of modification or disguise could be found in Ren's records.
If there was anything unusual in Ren's records, it was perhaps that he was more precocious and intelligent than average.
But he wasn't so brilliant as to be a genius; he simply had a very rational and mature mind from a young age.
Recalling the memory fragments of Ren glimpsed through the power of the Mimic Fenghuang Down—where he had the same appearance as now but wore a different high school uniform than Chiba Academy's, thick glasses hiding his face, and was called by the unfamiliar name "Akira Kurusu"...
A slight smile curved Otto's lips. A bold and wild guess formed in his mind.
Hearing the False God's explanation, Ren was momentarily stunned. Then, his pupils suddenly dilated, and he began to break out in a cold sweat.
The term "Herrscher of Reason" was something Ren had heard during the battle at Chiba Academy, from that unruly blue-haired man.
That blue-haired man, calling himself the Herrscher of Reason, possessed the terrifying ability to create black holes and control gravity even without summoning a Persona.
Fortunately, that Herrscher of Reason wasn't too strong; Ren could handle him easily.
Coupled with the urgency of the situation, Ren, wanting to maintain his image as a reliable Persona user in front of Mei, hadn't paid much mind to the blue-haired man. Even after successfully regrouping with Hare, Ren hadn't asked her about it.
Only now, having found someone who definitely knew the truth, did Ren voice his doubts to the False God.
Ren had initially thought the blue-haired man at Chiba Academy was a special life form from the Sea of Souls, like Lavenza, capable of wielding power without a Persona. He was merely curious about the unfamiliar term "Herrscher of Reason."
But Ren never imagined the answer Yaldabaoth would give him would be so explosive and terrifying!
Could it be... this isn't just the world of P5?!
A lofty god, dissatisfied with humanity's stagnant evolution and greedy exploitation of the world, dispatches apostles to descend upon the world and destroy everything, completely eradicating humanity...
This overwhelming Evangelion-esque tribute... could it be—
Devil Survivor?!
Ren's scalp tingled; he couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.
No way, no way! Although Devil Survivor is also a spin-off of the Shin Megami Tensei series, and the first game was even titled 'Megami Ibunroku Devil Survivor' [Persona: Devil Survivor], didn't it later drop the 'Persona' from its name?!
He hadn't transmigrated into a world that was a fusion of Devil Survivor and Persona, had he?!
Please tell me it didn't also fuse with the main Shin Megami Tensei series! Fighting Akechi's Persona, Loki, was enough. Ren absolutely did not want to fight the real trickster god Loki!!
Due to gaming platforms and localization issues, Ren wasn't familiar with the Devil Survivor spin-off series.
He had only watched the anime adaptation of Devil Survivor 2, the only installment made into an animation, and even then, it hadn't left a particularly deep impression.
Based on the Devil Survivor 2 anime Ren had seen and the fragmented information he'd gleaned about Devil Survivor 1, the series seemed to continue Shin Megami Tensei's apocalyptic style, depicting a group of people resisting and struggling against gods as a countdown to destruction loomed.
In Devil Survivor 2, invaders called the Septentriones would appear continuously from Monday to Sunday, completing a seven-day apocalypse.
And the protagonist, Hibiki Kuze, whose initial demon was Byakko (Baihu) of the Four Holy Beasts, would eliminate all the Septentriones, eventually defeating the final boss, Polaris. After Polaris witnessed humanity's potential, the cycle would reset, restoring the world to its pre-destruction state, and those who died would be revived.
Ren vaguely remembered that the designer of the Septentriones was supposedly the same person who designed the Angels in Evangelion.
And Devil Survivor 2 even had a very obvious reference to the famous scene in the Evangelion movie where Shinji Ikari saves Rei Ayanami. Talk about references upon references!
Devil Survivor featured special organizations dealing with demon incidents.
Humans could learn Onmyodo, with the strongest even possessing power comparable to gods and demons. They could use the "Demon Summoning Program," which had appeared in P5 DLC, to summon and command demons identical in appearance to Personas in battle.
If this world also fused Devil Survivor, then the waters are even deeper than I thought!
P5 could keep releasing spin-offs, and the Devil Survivor series could certainly continue with new installments too. Who knew, maybe this "Herrscher" was an antagonist from some Devil Survivor sequel Atlus released after Ren transmigrated!
However...
Ren frowned slightly, sensing a strong sense of incongruity.
"Was that blue-haired man really the so-called Herrscher of Reason? If he truly was a Herrscher, wouldn't his strength be far too weak?"
As the first apostle of world destruction, the blue-haired man calling himself the Herrscher of Reason... his strength might have been above average, but it didn't live up to the weight of the "Herrscher of Reason" title.
Surely that brainless blue-haired man, who clearly looked like a mook, couldn't be a Herrscher in the vein of Kaworu Nagisa—the first to appear among humans, join their organization, possess no particularly strong special abilities, and ultimately go willingly to his death?
"A keen observation. The blue-haired man who appeared at Chiba Academy was indeed not the true Herrscher of Reason. The true Herrscher of Reason died long ago. That was merely a clone, an imposter using the Herrscher of Reason's name, not even knowing its own true identity."
A pleased smile touched Otto's lips as he slowly answered Ren.
Through the power of the Mimic Fenghuang Down, although Otto couldn't read all of Ren's thoughts, he could clearly perceive the changes in his emotional state.
From the heart palpitations upon learning the definition of "Herrscher," as if realizing something, to the subsequent silent, rapid, calm contemplation...
Ren's mental state, clearly indicating he had connected some dots, undoubtedly further solidified Otto's own conjecture about Ren's origins.
"So it was just an imposter? No wonder..."
No wonder that blue-haired man calling himself the Herrscher of Reason appeared with Cocolia's robot troops. It seems he was just a cloned combat weapon Cocolia researched using the true Herrscher of Reason's biological tissue. Somewhat strong, but not exceptionally so.
Effective against ordinary people, perhaps, but against a true Herrscher, he'd probably shatter on impact.
"If all the Herrschers are defeated, can one meet that lofty God and have Him reset the world's cycle, reviving those who have died?"
Ren pondered for a moment, then asked the False God before him.
Hearing Ren's question, Otto's eyes instantly lit up, his heart even quickening slightly.
"If all Herrschers can be defeated, then one can naturally meet that God. Or, perhaps it's not necessary to defeat all Herrschers; one might still meet Him through some special method... You seem interested in the world's cycle. Is there perhaps someone you wish to revive?"
Otto rested his hands on the desk, nonchalantly questioning Ren.
"Rather than whether I want to revive someone... I'd actually like to ask you: a person revived through the world's reset cycle, are they truly the same person who originally died? Or are they merely a new life loaded with memory data?"
The discussion of life and resurrection was profound and crucial in any world.
In Devil Survivor 2, Hibiki Kuze defeated the world management device, Polaris, causing the world to revert to its recorded state before destruction. However, among the companions who fought alongside him during the countdown to destruction, only one retained all their memories.
In P5R, Takuto Maruki's ideal world revived the parents of the Phantom Thieves' members, as well as Goro Akechi.
But did Maruki truly alter the world and bring the dead back to life, or did he simply rely on the cognitions of the living, forcibly creating a construct crowned with the deceased's name using fragments of their profiles?
If it was an existence constructed from the cognitive impressions of everyone who knew the deceased, then in the eyes of the entire world, the revived person would undoubtedly be the person they knew.
But the hidden aspects the truly deceased never showed others would be completely erased, becoming a non-existent facet.
Piecing together a complete person from cognitive fragments and proclaiming it a resurrection of the original was just another form of usurpation, an insult and aggression against the deceased themselves.
The fact that P5R didn't clearly explain this before unceremoniously sending the revived individuals back to their graves became one of the three major reasons players criticized the game.
In this world, seemingly a fusion of Devil Survivor and P5, Ren felt a strong concern about true resurrection.
Others might not know the answer, but Takuto Maruki had inherited the authority of none other than the False God Yaldabaoth, who now sat before him.
With the False God right there, Ren naturally had to ask.
"An interesting thought. However, rather than asking me, you should already have your own answer in your heart."
Otto's eyes flickered twice. He didn't directly answer Ren's question but deftly kicked the ball back.
In Otto's view, Ren himself was suspected to be a reincarnated person, and Kallen Kaslana, having become Ren's Persona, was undoubtedly a practical application and verification of Ren's resurrection theory.
"..."
Listening to you talk is like listening to nothing at all.
The False God's riddling, evasive response made Ren fall silent.
"Even throughout all of history, there will never be two completely identical leaves in the world. Perhaps only a true God knows the method to truly revive the deceased... Mmph?!"
When the topic of resurrection—an obsession Otto had clung to for five years hundred—was mentioned, even Otto couldn't help but add a remark.
However, after saying this, Otto suddenly clutched his forehead. A jolt, like an electric current, exploded deep within his mind.
Memories long forced into oblivion resurfaced vividly in his mind.
It was a memory from the time of the Second Honkai Eruption, when he met the true God—the Will of Honkai—in Siberia!