『 The shadow vanished once more. Aventurine clutched his head as a murmuring voice rang in his ears.
You cannot escape from the past
You ██nnot escape from the pa██
You ██nnot ███ape from the pa██
You ██nnot ███ape from ███ pa██
You ██nn█t ███ape from ███ pa██
You █████t ███ape f██m ███ pa██ 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: This is getting a bit creepy.
....
『 Aventurine continued to pursue until he reached the vicinity of the labyrinth, and text drifted in the air once more.
(Here is no water, only the rock)
(Rock and no water, only the sandy road)
"There are still so many flowers… Sister, this purple one is for you—" The child's tender voice drifted from the depths of the labyrinth. Aventurine followed the direction of the voice, heading deeper into the maze.
He didn't know how long he had walked, but suddenly, a wall appeared in front of him, blocking his path.
"A dead end… did I take the wrong turn…?" Aventurine muttered to himself, looking at the wall before him with a helpless expression. Just as he intended to turn and leave to find another way out, the corner of his eye caught something on the ground.
He focused his gaze, and when he saw clearly what it was, his face was filled with confusion. "These are… shackles?"
The shackles were rusted, filled with the marks of time.
"What's on your mind?" The shadow's mocking voice came again.
Aventurine gritted his teeth, clutched his head, and replied, "It's none of your business."
"Need a hint? These are shackles that were once on you." The shadow looked at the rusted shackles on the ground with a look of disdain. "The first 'job' that man gave you, the first pot of gold you earned… I remember it quite clearly."
"You wrapped these chains around your fists; that was the only tool you could find. And then, in that labyrinth, you…"
"Shut up." Aventurine interrupted the shadow listlessly, though the words the shadow left unsaid were self-evident.
The shadow didn't get angry at being interrupted; instead, it wore an amused smile and drawled, "Oh~ you don't want to face that past? You don't want to admit that your life was only worth sixty Tanbas?"
"In my view, neither is the correct answer… You refuse to face it simply because it proves your weakness."
"How could a weak person take such risks?" Aventurine retorted.
"True, you do like to take risks… yet you refuse to let go of certain unnecessary things. Even in this dream, you only dare to experiment with death on yourself."
"Those accompanying personnel could have been wild cards in your hand, serving a greater purpose. The Family has stains in abundance; it would only take a small sacrifice." The shadow extended its hand, leaving only a tiny gap between its thumb and forefinger. "Heh, if this were Opal, it would have been resolved long ago." 』
『 ....』
〘IPC Staff A〙: Wuwu, Mr. Aventurine, you're too kind!
〘IPC Staff B〙: Is it too late to transfer under Mr. Aventurine now?
....
『 Having said that, the shadow couldn't help but shake its head, sighing with regret, "What a pity. You are not as good as he is. If you had just done it, you wouldn't have ended up like this… Why not do it? Surely it's not out of some so-called professional ethics, is it?"
"The techniques you speak of are highly efficient, but it's not that I can't do them, it's that I disdain using them, understand?" Aventurine replied, arms crossed. "If the game isn't fair, what fun is there in it?"
"'Fairness'?" The shadow let out a cold laugh. "Haha, fairness? As if your opponents are so fair to you. The situation is clearly unfavorable to you, yet why are you still so composed?" 』
『 ....』
〘Aha〙: It should have been calm and collected, with ease~
〘Sampo〙: Now it's rushing around, scrambling and crawling~
〘Stelle〙: Why do I feel like there's a man with messy hair flailing in front of me?
....
『 "What exactly did that Masked Fool's words awaken in you?" The shadow looked at Aventurine with curiosity.
Aventurine answered calmly, "She gave me an answer sufficient to overturn everything."
"Hmph, overturn everything?" The shadow laughed. "You mean—making everything on the card table disappear?"
After saying this, without waiting for Aventurine's response, the shadow vanished.
Aventurine looked at the empty corridor before him and let out a long sigh. "That's cheating."
After saying that, Aventurine couldn't help but shake his head. "In the Professor's eyes, I must seem even crazier now, haha." 』
『 ....』
〘Dr. Ratio〙: Perhaps two negatives make a positive?
〘Aventurine〙: Haha, Professor, you can tell dad jokes now, too.
....
『 "If I take these leaves back—will new little flowers bloom later—" The child's innocent voice came from the depths again, and the familiar hypnotic sound resonated once more.
Your future never existed
You█ future never existed
You█ future ne█er existed
You█ fut███ ne█er existed
You█ fut███ ne█er ████ted
You█ fut███ █e█er ████ted
Yo██ ██████ █e█er ████ted 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: The meaning of the last sentence changed completely.
〘·HSR· Welt Yang〙: Perhaps this means Aventurine's will has overcome the Harmony.
....
『 The brainwashing hypnotic sound filled Aventurine's ears again, causing his pace to slow gradually, but he persisted in walking towards the direction from which the child's voice came. Text appeared before his eyes once more.
(Were there water, we should stop and drink)
(Amongst the rock, one cannot stop or think)
Aventurine trudged forward step by step along the intricate, maze-like path. Suddenly, he was blinded by a flash from a small object on the ground. He stopped, looking at the golden circular badge, and fell silent, revealing an indescribable, complex expression.
"Your expression right now is truly hard to describe. This amulet your mother left you is made of pure gold; why have you never considered selling it?"
The shadow appeared again; its voice rang in Aventurine's ears like a snake tempting Eve to eat the apple.
"If you had, you and your sister could have lived a normal life for a while. Looking back, that would have been the better choice."
Aventurine's lips moved slightly, and he replied in a low voice, "Mother only left us two pieces of jewelry: a necklace and an amulet. There will never be a third."
The shadow sneered, shrugged, and said, "Heh, that's what you've always said—but in reality, you regret it, don't you? Not selling them?"
"Don't try to make conversation." Aventurine's gaze darkened; he seemed very dissatisfied with the shadow's statement.
"Ha… I know." The shadow revealed an expression of sudden realization. "You must remember what your sister said at the time: You are a child blessed by the Mother Goddess, and you can lead the clan to happiness. So always remember to protect yourself, and never resent pain or poverty."
"Her words still ring in your ears, right? You are a good child; you would never forget."
"So you must also not forget how miserable her final moments were, and how piercing the screams behind you were… You just ran away without looking back, doing exactly as she said." 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: I can see it now…
....
『 Every word the shadow spoke was like a knife stabbing deep into Aventurine's heart, making his already pale complexion turn even paler.
After speaking, the shadow showed a trace of regret on its face, couldn't help but shake its head, and sighed, "Tsk tsk… A lifetime of regret."
Hearing this, Aventurine could no longer suppress the anger in his heart and roared furiously, "That's enough… don't you have any other topics to talk about?"
Facing Aventurine's questioning and anger, the shadow's mouth curled slightly, and it said indifferently, "This is the second time you've interrupted me. You are really easy to understand."
"I can finally understand your thoughts… Hmph, how truly insane."
"In the end, I will overturn this dream and create the grandest death—that is indeed your agenda, carried through from beginning to end, never changing."
"Think about it. There's a Stellaron in play, the fabulous Robin loses her voice, two unsolved murders, cryptic messages from a Masked Fool, and a chance to go head-to-head with Sunday himself... and the only thing to pique your interest is one word — the last word, a word that's right there at your fingertips..."
"…But whose death is it exactly?"
"We'll know when the dice falls." 』
『 ....』
〘Qingque〙: I finally understand! He wants to use his own death to pressure Penacony, while betting that there is no true death in Penacony; he wants to fake his death!
〘Sunday〙: Using your own death as a bargaining chip… I think you should go see a psychiatrist.
〘Stelle〙: Is there a group discount for psychiatrists? Because I think you both need an appointment.
....