{Then let us see the results of your last gamble.}
{Now playing: "A Walk Among the Tombstones"}
〘Sunday〙: This time, there should finally be news of my sister's whereabouts. And Mr. Gallagher, you had better give me an explanation—one where you are just a fictional fabrication.
〘Gallagher〙: Not bad. You found out so quickly.
〘March 7th〙: So that invitation letter really was written by you after all?
〘Stelle〙: The miraculous Miss March works her magic once again.
〘Belle〙: Miss March's mouth is like it's been blessed.
....
『 In a void of nothingness, Aventurine slowly opened his eyes, looking around at his surroundings in a daze.
"What is this… place?"
Before him was a massive black hole, its edges surrounded by a white ring, while beneath his feet lay a vast, boundless sea. He was currently standing on the water's surface, yet he did not sink.
"A gigantic black hole, and... sea..."
Aventurine muttered to himself, "Have... Have I succeeded?"
"It's a pity this is not the place you were expecting."
Aventurine whipped his head around. The speaker was none other than Acheron, who had stood behind him at some unknown point.
Acheron no longer looked like her usual purple-haired beauty. She still retained her form from after she drew her blade, resembling a white-haired Asura.
Looking at Acheron in this form, and then at the black hole behind her, Aventurine let out an understanding smile.
"Nihility... is it?"
"Perhaps to you, I am just an Emanator who's hiding her identity, but..." Acheron explained in a calm tone.
"The sleeping and shapeless IX never glance at anyone. THEY have no face, no form, and even less of a will to speak... The Nihility envelops everyone equally."
"Only some who have gone under THEIR shadow can go farther, tainting themselves with more Nihility... That's all." 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Just casually unleashing a slash that tears the sky apart…That's all.
〘March 7th〙: Just casually making a prediction that comes true… That's all.
〘Hanabi〙: Plugging formulas into questions sure makes solving them fast.
....
『 Hearing this, Aventurine let out a bitter smile and shook his head helplessly. "That's all... My friend, you really leave me at a loss for words."
"So... Is this my final destination, the land of the dead?"
Acheron gently shook her head. "This is all but a fleeting dream, one of the thousands of manifestations of IX... Under the watchful eye of Nihility, we momentarily linger here, before moving on to our own paths."
Aventurine replied calmly, "It seems that my death has already been determined."
Acheron shook her head once more. "Even if you wish for it... I can't promise you anything."
"Since your goal has already been achieved, I think you can be more candid."
Staring into Acheron's blood-red eyes, Aventurine asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
In her usual calm tone, Acheron explained unhurriedly, "Your performance in the theme park was spectacular. Blustering… a simple but practical trick that fooled almost everyone."
"No one would have thought that you would go to such great lengths, even wagering your own life, just to reconfirm a fact that seemingly had long been disproven…"
"'Real death' does not exist in Penacony's Dreamscape."
Aventurine smiled and asked back, "What reason would I have to do that?"
"Because only by doing so can you reach that secret, one even more unspeakable than the serial murders…"
"Only by using Death in the Dream can you go there—to that promised land that people constantly seek in this grand festival…"
"…The Watchmaker's legacy, the real Penacony." 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Hmm… So that's where Robin and Hotaru went after they died.
〘Silver Wolf〙: It's a stage you can only enter through a special method.
〘·HSR· Welt Yang〙: Under the Family's protection, a normal death would only wake you up. That's why they need a Death that can truly kill someone—which is the 'Something Unto Death' that Misha talked about.
〘March 7th〙: So 'Something Unto Death' functions as a public bus?
〘Gallagher〙: Spot on.
....
『 Listening to Acheron's accurate deduction, Aventurine narrowed his eyes slightly, then sighed as if admitting defeat. "How did you find out?"
"I also did not expect that a certain piece of information I accidentally learned would become the key to connecting everything," Acheron explained.
"It's that person's identity, right?" The corners of Aventurine's mouth curled up slightly. It seemed he had figured it out as well.
"It seems you are also aware." A flash of surprise crossed Acheron's eyes.
"I wasn't sure, but I was willing to bet on that possibility."
"...The murder isn't nearly enough to disrupt business as usual. Even if there were one or two murders on Penacony, most people wouldn't be personally affected — and that won't create any waves."
"This Memory Zone of theirs isn't a boundless sea; it's a lonely island. The Family used the Harmony to build a high wall and isolate them from the vast and treacherous ocean of the outside world."
"That barrier they built 'keeps death out,' but it also keeps the secrets that are lost in that watery abyss from floating to the surface. In a beautiful dream, free of suffering, who would want to go fishing for those secrets? No one. Unless..."
"Unless someone goes to the other side of the barrier… and manages to return alive," Acheron took over Aventurine's words.
"Someone has already done it." 』
『 ....』
〘Hanabi〙: Who could that person be? It's so hard to guess~
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: Who is it?
〘Herrscher of the Void〙: Are you actually stupid or just pretending? Isn't it obvious they're talking about that Hotaru girl?
〘Stelle〙: You're really amazing.
〘Hotaru〙: ⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄, No, not at all.
〘Hanabi〙: Wait, Hotaru was stabbed not long before Sam appeared in the lobby. Doesn't that mean she ran all the way back immediately after being stabbed, while having to deal with so many Memory Zone Memes along the way…?
〘March 7th〙: I feel like those Memes were just run over and crushed by a high-speed Sam.
〘Black Swan〙: Poor little things.
....
『 Aventurine said confidently, "I received a hint very early on: If a mute isn't 'someone who cannot make a sound,' then it has to be 'someone who cannot speak.'…"
"The one who has already survived and returned from the deep sea, yet can no longer step forward to speak—I am glad to know she is still in Penacony, and safe and sound."
"A hint… not evidence?" Acheron was somewhat puzzled by this.
Aventurine shook his head. "Regrettably, I have no evidence. The only thing supporting these conjectures was the Family's candor when facing Death. They were too generous to outsiders, which instead made it seem like they were trying to cover something up."
"But suspecting something doesn't require evidence; only uncovering the truth does. For me, the former was enough. I didn't need to find that Memory Zone Meme either. I just needed someone who could kill me just like it did."
"In my view, you didn't actually have absolute certainty." Acheron looked at Aventurine before her. "Broadcasting to the entire city, attempting to drag more people into the game… was also because you were betting on the possibility of 'someone being able to break the barrier'."
"You are indeed lucky. Destiny brought our paths together, and I happen to possess a sharp blade—sharp enough to slash down the curtains of this beautiful dream, while severing the brand of 'The Harmony' on you with a single strike…"
"You are also very cunning, deliberately designing things so we stood on opposite sides, repeatedly bringing up the mention of an Emanator in front of others, leaving me with no retreat but to draw my blade against you." 』
『 ....』
〘Silver Wolf〙: He achieved his goal and cleared the debuff on himself along the way. That's a massive profit.
〘March 7th〙: So amazing. It's only been a few system hours since Sunday put that curse on him, and he already came up with this plan.
〘Qingque〙: Although I'm not a gambler, in tiles, you also have to adapt to changes. After all, you never know what the next tile you draw will be.
〘Topaz〙: Not just that, you also need the audacity to wager your life as a bet.
〘Aventurine〙: The one thing I don't lack is exactly that, isn't it?
....
(Aventurine golden moment is at its PEAK!)