After finishing the hearty breakfast Raiden Mei had woken up early to prepare, Ren Amamiya used the MetaNav app on his phone to take Mei into Kaslana's Palace, where they regrouped with Hare, who was on standby.
"You've waited a long time, Hare. And Kaslana... you've got a new look today."
Upon entering Kaslana's Palace, Ren's body automatically changed into his black, wing-like phantom thief attire.
Mei, following behind him, similarly activated the dormant power within her, donning her lightweight crimson samurai armor.
Gazing at Hare and Kaslana standing in the boundless crimson desert—each like an isolated island in a corner, showing no sign of interaction—Ren raised a hand in greeting, then curiously examined Kaslana's new appearance.
According to Kaslana itself, it was the collective consciousness of everyone in the Kaslana family's history. It had no fixed appearance and could only reflect the impressions of Kaslana clan members onto itself.
When Ren communicated with Kaslana, it would not only take on Kallen Kaslana's form but sometimes also Siegfried Kaslana's. Occasionally, it would even appear as a Kaslana clan member Ren didn't recognize.
Kaslana was quite arbitrary with its appearance, so Ren wasn't surprised by another change, merely a little curious.
Today's Kaslana wore a windbreaker-style combat suit, predominantly black and white with cyan striped accents. His features were handsome and striking, but his face was as emotionless as ice.
As for hair and eye color, it was, of course, the characteristic white hair and blue eyes that instantly identified a Kaslana.
"..."
Today's Kaslana was even more taciturn than usual.
Ren had thought their relationship had grown somewhat closer, but to his surprise, Kaslana merely stared silently at him in response to his greeting.
Kaslana's blue eyes looked at Ren with the indifference of ancient ice, like a stranger scrutinizing him, its gaze lingering a little longer than usual.
Ren's steps towards Kaslana suddenly halted, his body stiffening uncomfortably for a moment.
Although Kaslana was usually this cold and indifferent, seemingly devoid of human emotion...
Ren still felt something was off about Kaslana today.
Kaslana slowly raised a hand towards Ren.
Before Ren could react, a magnificent golden feather materialized from his body, shifting from illusion to reality. In a flash of golden light, it landed in Kaslana's black-gloved palm.
"...That is?!"
Upon seeing the familiar golden feather nestled in Kaslana's palm, Ren's eyes widened slightly.
Isn't that the golden feather the False God gave me in my dream last night, containing the cultivation method called "Sword Qi of Taixu"?!
As expected of Kaslana! A being on the level of a false god, easily able to retrieve the golden feather the False God bestowed upon me!
No wonder Kaslana's gaze felt a bit off just now. So it sensed the False God's aura clinging to me?
"...You learned the techniques recorded in this feather?"
After pausing for a moment, its gaze fixed on the golden feather floating in its palm, Kaslana's blue eyes once again focused on Ren. It finally spoke its first words to Ren today.
"That's right. Is there a problem with the cultivation method in this feather? It's said to be the cultivation method of a certain immortal from the East. After practicing it, I do feel it can significantly enhance my combat abilities."
Ren nodded, answering Kaslana frankly, and then voiced his own doubts.
The False God suddenly throwing an unknown cultivation method at him to learn in his dream last night... Ren truly didn't understand its intentions.
What if cultivating this Sword Qi of Taixu to the end led to some irreversible consequences? Or perhaps the False God had altered the true cultivation record, leaving some backdoor that could affect Ren.
If possible, Ren didn't want to start practicing the Sword Qi of Taixu so soon.
But unfortunately, the False God hadn't given Ren a choice last night. It had directly trapped him in the dream, subjecting him to what felt like a month's worth of mind-numbing indoctrination, forcing Ren to cultivate the introductory "Heart Intent" of the Sword Qi of Taixu to the second stage, the "Realm of No Dust."
The cultivation of Taixu Sword Heart didn't require the practitioner's active cooperation. Even passively listening to those strange syllables would cause the listener's body to spontaneously begin cultivation.
As another being on the level of a false god, Kaslana was the most likely one to discern any peculiarities in the Sword Qi of Taixu. Ren naturally held high expectations for its answer.
"Yes, but also no."
Faced with Ren's question, Kaslana remained silent for a long moment before finally giving a slow, ambiguous reply.
Kaslana's riddle-like answer caused the scene to fall silent for a period.
Seeing Ren not asking further questions, as if waiting for it to continue, Kaslana frowned slightly. After organizing its thoughts, it explained further to Ren.
"The Heart Intent of the Sword Qi of Taixu recorded in this feather, while greatly enhancing the practitioner's combat ability, is a double-edged sword."
Merely by looking at the golden feather for a moment, Kaslana, with its unique insight far surpassing this era, had analyzed the pros and cons of this mysterious cultivation method.
"While cultivating the Taixu Sword Heart, a certain obsession within your heart will take root deeply in your soul in a distorted form. The deeper the obsession, the stronger the distortion will become, and your own actions will become uncontrollable by reason due to this distortion... However, obsessions vary from person to person. Some obsessions lead to loss of control, while others cause no significant impact. It all depends on you."
As the strongest of the Previous Era, Kevin Kaslana recognized at a glance the true origin of the so-called "Heart Intent Sound Method" within the Sword Qi of Taixu.
The so-called Taixu Sword Heart was merely using "SWARA" to regulate the body's development, causing an adolescent's body to evolve and strengthen in a way more adapted to Honkai energy.
And the origin of SWARA was the Disciplines. The power of artificially replicated SWARA was far inferior to the true power of Disciplines, and its side effects were also milder than true Disciplines, yet still not to be underestimated.
After all, everyone's obsessions were different. Before they truly manifested, no one knew if the distortion catalyzed by the Divine Sound would become some fatal flaw.
If it were my past self, I definitely wouldn't explain this so patiently to someone...
Even Kevin himself was somewhat surprised by his own patience. His usual style would have been to remain silent or tell Ren to seek answers from other knowledgeable individuals.
The memory records obtained from the Kaslana Stigma space management terminal seemed to have caused a slight, imperceptible change in Kevin's heart, which was as cold and indifferent as ancient ice.
For example, towards this naive youth of the current civilization before him, he felt a tiny bit of... anticipation?
How Ren Amamiya learned the full details of the Stigma Project, Kevin had no way of knowing, nor was he particularly interested.
Being called an "Evil God" by Ren, Kevin, knowing the cruelty of what he was trying to achieve, had no complaints.
Even when Ren openly declared to the Kaslana Stigma management terminal his intention to defeat the "Evil God," Kevin felt no animosity towards Ren, no thought of eliminating this phantom thief of hearts who was rapidly growing like a sponge soaking up nutrients.
Quite the contrary, Kevin was actually looking forward to Ren being able to defeat him and stop the Stigma Project.
Because if Ren could truly stop and destroy the Stigma Project, it would mean he had found a method superior and gentler than the Stigma Project, a method that could effectively overcome the final trial of the Honkai!
Hearing Kaslana's answer, Ren nodded thoughtfully.
As he expected, the False God had indeed dug a pit for him.
Fortunately, with Kaslana's reminder, knowing this drawback early allowed Ren to prepare in advance and find ways to mitigate this dangerous flaw.
"So the Taixu Sword Heart can cause mental distortion and rampage? But I've already awakened the power of Persona and am now a skilled Persona user. Will I still be restricted by the Taixu Sword Heart even so?"
Kaslana's description of the Taixu Sword Heart undoubtedly sounded very familiar to Ren.
Mental changes and distortions... The False God is clearly up to its old tricks!
A normal person cultivating the Taixu Sword Heart would naturally experience mental distortion due to some seed of obsession, eventually even leading to the disastrous experience of a Palace manifesting.
But Ren was a Persona user who had already awakened his Persona.
And as everyone knows, Persona users don't develop Palaces... with Takuto Maruki being the exception.
"...Indeed. As a 'Persona User,' you are fundamentally different from a normal practitioner of the Sword Qi of Taixu. The Taixu Sword Heart cannot restrict you as it would an ordinary person."
Kevin looked deeply at Ren, his tone flat and seemingly devoid of inflection as he spoke.
"For example, under normal circumstances, a male can only cultivate the Taixu Sword Heart to the Realm of No Dust. But you, having awakened a Persona, have no such limitation. You can completely cultivate the Taixu Sword Heart to its highest level, just like a female."
(TL Note: I really don't know Official EN TL of Taixu level)