I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

The moment the cold muzzle of the gun was pressed against her brow, the "world" in the girl's eyes seemed to fall completely silent.

Everything vanished, leaving only a vast emptiness, a void of darkness with no future.

Two voices, clashing, reached her ears.

"The two-faced evil god provides mankind with a false sense of security, attempting to immerse them in a so-called Garden of Eden where no thought is required—such a falsehood symbolizes the great sin of pride."

"Since it is a grave sin to bestow upon others what one considers 'happiness' without authorization and for various reasons..."

"Is the desire for peace and the pursuit of hope also a sin?"

"No...it is not a sin to pursue hope."

"On the contrary. That is the most worthy quality to learn from and the most worthy of admiration in humanity, which has many flaws."

"It is because of the pursuit of hope that humanity has come this far—that civilization has become so glorious."

"Then... how should I pursue 'hope'?"

"The answer is simple—first, you must firmly grasp 'wisdom' in your hands."

"Human beings have multiplied to this day, giving rise to many great sins... but what was the most original 'sin' before the birth of humankind?"

"...Is it wise?"

"That's right... it's wisdom. Without wisdom, humanity would be nothing but blind fools. They wouldn't have the moral compass and sense of right and wrong they have today."

"Without wisdom, there would be no humanity as we know it today... But such a prosperous civilization is built on the foundation of 'sin'... How strange."

"Isn't it precisely because it's so amazing that it's worth learning from?"

"Thank you, JOK... Now I understand why my 'creator' named me 'Sophia'."

The conversation drifted away and gradually faded into the distance.

As Ajinko opened her eyes, clusters of golden starlight gradually gathered before her and at her feet.

As Yajinzi took a half-step, the sparks beneath her feet extended into a winding path.

The "road" is gradually being widened.

Because hope gradually accumulates and grows.

The "road" is gradually becoming smoother.

Because 'hope' can make people feel that as long as their goal in their heart has not been abandoned, they can overcome all difficulties.

The road stretches endlessly.

Because hope is endless and will never be extinguished.

No matter how great the despair, it cannot extinguish or crush hope.

Flowers are gradually blooming along the "road".

Because although 'hope' is born from the 'original sin of wisdom', it is always blessed.

Do you want to turn back?

'If you can't hold on any longer, Xia Lai is always welcome.'

'No past, no future... but not nothing at all.'

'This might sound idealistic—as long as hope remains, the world can be changed.'

As the gentle words gradually reached her ears, the girl suddenly realized that she seemed to be standing in a vast and boundless world, seemingly lit by countless candlelight.

The "road" gradually expanded into a boundless world.

Because hope is boundless—but those who walk the path of hope will eventually truly feel the world they are about to touch.

That's right...

I am "the princess who can be capricious."

Recalling that night, the slightly 'whimsical' sudden invitation, and the subsequent 'life conversation' between the two.

Yazuko pulled the trigger even tighter.

According to Sensei, "Her Highness is free to make some demands as she pleases... and as a 'knight,' it is my duty to fulfill these 'willful demands.'"

Shouldn't this "princess" who occasionally acts "willfully" also learn to be more mature?

“Psona…”

"Have we finally caught a glimpse of the Crown of Thorns?"

That voice, like a divine pronouncement, finally appeared.

"Admit it, your wisdom is sharp enough."

"Although slow, it's not too late."

"Use your intellect as a hoe to cultivate the flowers of goodness from the soil of sin."

My name is Sofia—

"You are my reflection in the mirror."

"I am you, and you are me."

"I am you, and you are me... Come—"

Yajinko tightened her finger and pulled the trigger.

With a loud bang, her forehead was pierced by the "gunfire" spewed out by the Persona summoner.

The boiling sea of ​​the heart, along with the fragments of personality blasted out, gushed out from the other side of the wound, instantly converging into a river.

Then, the light gathered around the girl and coalesced into a young woman holding a lily.

【Psona - Sofia (Arcana: Hope)】

[Introduction: The "Goddess of Wisdom" in Gnosticism.]

In some mythologies, she attempted to create new things on her own without the permission of the "Father," ultimately resulting in an imperfect being: Yaldaoth, the creator of the material world.

The birth of Yldabit is considered the beginning of the "decline" in the Gnostic world. Sophia felt ashamed of her act of creation and attempted to conceal its existence.

[Yaldabait (sometimes referred to as the "God of Ignorance") mistakenly believes himself to be the only god, but Sophia and the higher spirit realms attempt to awaken humanity through wisdom (Gnos) and liberate them from the constraints of the material world.]

"Gnosticism that blossoms in the mire is the true salvation."

"...Sofia!"

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Thorns of Despair Have Been Burned Away.

"Summoned such a powerful Persona... but so what?!"

Despair is the essence of the world!

The AI ​​girl, filled with disdain, glanced at Beatrice, who had suddenly become hysterical.

"You... really are something else, possessing wisdom but not knowing how to use it properly, your mind is full of your own fanaticism."

"In your eyes... 'thorns' are forged from despair, and should be indestructible. But have you ever considered... that these thorns, these thorns born from despair, are actually... twisted forms of 'hope' corrupted by nothingness?"

"You, who measure the world in such a way... are not even as good as me, a 'newly born' AI."

As she spoke, clusters of eerie blue flames rose from behind her, coalescing into the figure of Pandora.

The surface of the box began to gleam with a molten gold-like luster. Pandora removed the box from her head and slowly opened it.

"You only see the constraints and pain caused by these thorns... but have you ever considered that this pain represents unspoken feelings from others... Ms. Beatrice? Has your cognitive bias reached such an incurable level?"

"Pandora—the flame of hope!"

"The Flame of Hope: Hope is the source of all evil, and also an everlasting flame."

The stained glass windows of the cathedral dome shattered with a crash. A shower of starlight cascaded down through the Gothic pointed arches.

In the Major Arcana, the Star card has always been a symbol of certainty and hope.

Unlike the direct brilliance of the Sun, or the restlessness of the Moon... the Star card seems to have a "subtle and gradual" influence.

The sparks of hope spread and instantly swept through the entire interior of the cathedral like wildfire, creating a prairie fire.

The fireflies before my eyes are so dazzling at this moment—brighter than the moon and warmer than the sun.

Akiko slowly lowered her eyes, listening to the AI ​​girl's highly evocative emotional outburst.

These thorns of despair that plague them were also born from hope, twisted and distorted...

True hope never dies.

As long as you have wisdom in your heart, hope will always be in your own hands in its most original form.

She reached out to the raging flames of hope, and the golden flames instantly leaped and surged toward her, coiling around her fingertips, gathering around her body, and then spreading to the Persona, Sofia, behind her.

At this moment, Yajinzi could feel...

Arius's students, in an environment of absolute despair, accumulated over decades, their hope—small yet twisted, yet tenaciously enduring—to this day.

These desires, which either never sprouted or quickly vanished under Beatrice's tyranny, were as barren as weeds, as weak, dark, and damp as moss.

The exhilarating flames made the AI ​​girl sigh softly, "How strange... even despair carries the warmth of hope in the children of Arius."

Did Arianus's students truly never have hope?

On the contrary... some things, the more strictly they are suppressed, the more they will spread and grow like roadside weeds that cannot be eradicated by wildfire.

There's a saying that perfectly encapsulates this unique philosophy: "I could have endured the darkness if I had never seen the sun."

Arius's students had seen the "sun"... so why didn't they feel even a fleeting, tiny, fragile glimmer of hope?

These thorns of despair... they are made up of one after another... [unfulfilled wishes], [tiny hopes].

Even a glimmer of hope is enough to set them ablaze.

"Everyone's...unfulfilled wish..."

Yajinzi had never experienced being enveloped by such "real hope" before.

She knew very well what she should do next.

“...Sofia.”

Golden flames surged and, accompanied by Akiko's call, joyfully and proactively coalesced on her [Sin of Falsehood], instantly coating it with a layer of brilliant gold.

At the same time, Sofia, behind Ajinko, slowly raised her hunting rifle, which was decorated with rose carvings and emerald thorns.

"An unfulfilled wish".

"Unfulfilled Wish: A bullet of hope forged from an endless stream of 'unfulfilled wishes.' The convergence of hope's power is best suited to burning away despair."

[Sofia] Pull the trigger.

"These thorns, which symbolize despair, are actually the extension of hope from the desperate outstretched hands of living beings."

"The misinterpreted desire for creation returns to its origin—then let the myriad hearts of seeking knowledge be forged into a god-slaying spear of human hope."

With a deafening roar, the spiraling bullet, carrying sparks, roared out of the barrel, smoothing out all the folds of time in the entire Misty City Palace.

After the stained glass illusion faded, mold was revealed in the underground tunnel.

That bullet, formed from countless unfinished projects, abandoned proposals, tattered music records, tears shed while gazing at the sunlight, and tattered, gorgeous dresses—all these unfulfilled wishes—pierced Beatrice's armor.

Then, a hideous gaping hole was left on it.

"How could this be... these weed-like wishes..."

Still holding onto that moment of shock and resentment, Beatrice's enormous body collapsed like a mountain of gold and a jade pillar falling over.

The false god's body began to disintegrate into pixels, and the remaining Rose Throne collapsed into countless student council file pages scattered across the sky.

As Azuko maintained her firing stance, at that moment many blurry lights and shadows seemed to flash before her eyes, the things she herself couldn't quite make out.

Almost all the light and shadow effects originated from Arius's students.

Some of the girls, their faces covered in dust, sat in dark corners, gazing up at the sky.

Some of the girls, covered in wounds from just finishing a mission, held back their tears, secretly took out a folded flyer for the "latest dresses," glanced at it, and then quickly folded it up and put it back.

Some are sighs from a solitary figure on the rooftop;

Akiko thought she saw a blurry figure sitting in the Student Council President's Office.