Chapter 108

he disappears again.

Aventurine doesn't care,

and continues to chase after Kakavasha's figure.

[Wow, it's so high here—higher than the highest stone in the desert—]

[And so many flowers—Sister, this purple one is for you—]

Aventurine walks into the maze garden,

and vaguely hears Kakavasha's voice.

[Dead end?]

[Did I take a wrong turn?]

[Hmm? This is...]

In a dead end,

Aventurine discovers a pair of shackles.

[Remembered something?]

The Harmony-Aventurine appears again.

[It has nothing to do with you.]

Aventurine's head hurts a bit,

and he is in no mood to talk to the Harmony-Aventurine.

[Need a hint?]

[This is a pair of shackles, worn by you.]

[The first job that man gave you, the first pot of gold you earned...]

[I remember it clearly.]

[You wrapped this bundle of iron chains around your fist; that was the only tool you could find.]

[Then, in that maze, you...]

The Harmony-Aventurine reveals a playful smile.

[...Shut up!]

Aventurine scolds him.

[Oh... you don't want to face that past?]

[Don't want to admit that your life is only worth sixty Ta'anba?]

[In my opinion, neither is the correct answer...]

(Requesting flowers)

[You refuse to face it only because it proves your weakness.]

The Harmony-Aventurine begins to continue his psychological attack.

[How could a weak person take such risks?]

Aventurine refutes.

[True, you like to take risks...]

[Yet you stubbornly refuse to let go of certain superfluous things.]

[Even in this sweet dream, you only dare to attempt "death" on yourself.]

[Those accompanying personnel could have become the ghost cards in your hand, playing a greater role.]

[There are as many stains on the Family as you want; just make some small sacrifices... if it were Opal, it would have been solved easily.]

[It's a pity you are not him.]

[If you had done it, you wouldn't have ended up like this...]

[Why not do it?]

[It shouldn't be out of any professional ethics, right?]

The Harmony-Aventurine tries to break Aventurine's psychological defense.

[The techniques you speak of are highly efficient, but it's not that I can't use them, it's that I disdain to use them, understand?]

[If the match isn't fair, what fun is there to speak of?]

Aventurine asks back calmly.

[Fairness... heh, it's as if your opponent is being fair to you.]

[The situation is clearly disadvantageous to you; why can you still be so at ease?]

[What exactly did that Masked Fool's words awaken in you?]

The Harmony-Aventurine asks.

[She gave me an answer sufficient to overturn everything.]

Aventurine answers.

[Hmph, overturn everything?]

[You mean—letting everything on the gambling table disappear?]

The Harmony-Aventurine disappears again.

[...]

[This is cheating...]

Lumine: "Uh... here it comes."

Lumine: "Aventurine's persona of valuing loyalty has been proven."

Lumine: "As a merchant who seems to use any means necessary, Aventurine actually still retains a bottom line."

Lumine: "And retains a kind heart."

Lumine: "From this, it can be seen that Aventurine is essentially a good person."

Kamisato Ayaka: "This point isn't actually too surprising."

Kamisato Ayaka: "Because from Kakavasha, one can see that in Aventurine's heart, he has always retained kindness toward the world."

Kamisato Ayaka: "Even if this world, to him, might not be fair..."

Hu Tao: "Seeing it now, I can only say, Aventurine is truly too miserable..."

Hu Tao: "If it weren't for those childhood experiences being too tragic."

Hu Tao: "Aventurine couldn't have added such a layer of strong disguise to his exterior."

Hu Tao: "The current Aventurine, from the outside, is a unique successful person, a dragon among men!"

Hu Tao: "But his inner self has always been lonely."

Nahida: "No one understands him, and no one truly knows him."

Nahida: "The one who knows him best... is even this current Harmony-Aventurine who is fighting him for ownership of his body."

Nahida: "I have to say, this is truly a kind of irony."

Dr. Ratio: "As a gambler, he still retains a bottom line."

Dr. Ratio: "I have to say, you are somewhat of a failure as a gambler."

Dr. Ratio: "But, what cannot be denied is that this also makes you much more pleasing to the eye."

Aventurine: "Heh, Professor, to hear you say I'm pleasing to the eye, this is truly my good fortune."

Dr. Ratio: "Heh, don't be happy too early, it's only a little bit!"

Miss Qingque: "Hey, this cold tone really fits Dr. Ratio's persona."

Robin: "Mr. Aventurine is also an upright person; if possible, I really don't want to become your enemy."

Aventurine: "Enemy?"

Aventurine: "Ha, it doesn't really count as an enemy."

Aventurine: "At most, just an opponent!"

Sunday: "It's just a pity, Mr. Aventurine, I have never regarded you as an opponent."

Hu Tao: "Good guy, is Mr. Sunday insulting Aventurine so openly?"

Sunday: "Not at all, what I mean is."

Sunday: "I have never regarded anyone as an opponent, including Mr. Aventurine."

Sunday: "Everything I do is just to practice the ideals in my heart."

Sunday: "It is not to scheme against anyone."

Aventurine: "That sounds nice, then how do you explain your actions in the video?"

Sunday: "It is a pity, Mr. Aventurine, what you have done stands in the way of me practicing my ideals!"

Sunday: "Therefore, I had to use some small means to invite you away."

Aventurine: "You call this small means?"

Aventurine: "Laozi is almost losing his life!"

Sunday: "Hehe, you will not die!"

Sunday: "On this point, I think Mr. Aventurine has already understood it, right?"

Aventurine: "..."

Aventurine: "To be honest, I am truly curious, what exactly do you want to do?"

Sunday: "I said... just to realize that one and only ideal in my heart!"

Aventurine: "...I suddenly feel that perhaps you are the real madman."

Aventurine: "Fine, then let me see what your ideal really is."

The video continues.

[If I take these leaves back—will new little flowers bloom—]

Kakavasha's voice comes again.

[...]

After walking in the maze for a while,

Aventurine finds an amulet shining with golden light on the ground.

[Your current expression is really hard to describe.]

[This amulet Mom left you is made of pure gold; why have you never considered selling it?]

[Clearly, that way you could have lived a normal life with Sister for a while.]

[Looking back, that would have been the better choice.]

The Harmony-Aventurine appears again to ruthlessly cut at Aventurine.

[Mom only left us two pieces of jewelry; a necklace and an amulet.]

[There won't be a third.]

Aventurine shakes his head.

[You have always said that—but actually, you regret it, right?]

[Not selling them?]

The Harmony-Aventurine loves to play devil's advocate.

[Don't talk just for the sake of talking.]

Aventurine says coldly.

[Ha... I know.]

[You must remember what Sister said at the time: You are a child blessed by the Mother Goddess; you can lead the clan to happiness. So always remember to protect yourself, and never resent pain and poverty.]

[The words are still in your ears, right?]

[You are a good child; you will never forget.]

[So you also must not forget how miserable the last moment of her life was, and how piercing the screams behind you were...]

[You just ran away without looking back, and did as she said.]

[Tsk tsk... regretting it for the rest of your life.]

The Harmony-Aventurine says another old story that breaks Aventurine's defenses.

[That's enough...]

[Don't you have any other topics to talk about?]

Aventurine really doesn't want to hear the Harmony-Aventurine's words anymore.

[This is the second time you've interrupted me.]

[You are really easy to understand.]

[I can finally understand your thoughts... hmph, it's truly crazy.]

[In the end, I will overturn this sweet dream and create the grandest death—this is indeed your proposition, carried through to the end, never changing.]

[From that Stellaron, to Robin's loss of voice, the two murder cases, the negotiation with Sunday, and then the hint from the Masked Fool, only these two unchanging words can pique your interest.]

[And now, you have indeed grasped it in your hand...]

[...but whose death is it exactly?]

The Harmony-Aventurine's expression is inexplicable.

[We will know once the dice fall.]

Aventurine says faintly.

[Alright, then save a seat for me in the audience; I want to see how capable you are.]

[However, I am still very curious...]

[If everything could start over...]

[Would you still want to be a child blessed by the Mother Goddess?]

Furina: "Ahhh, why is this Harmony-Aventurine so vicious!!"

Furina: "When will he finally disappear?!"

Furina: "I really don't want to hear him talk anymore!"

Stelle: "Agreed."

Stelle: "Aventurine, you can really endure it; can't you just go up and give him a hard slap, letting him know who the daddy is?"

Stelle: "Just a newly born consciousness, yet acting all high and mighty!"

March 7th: "Aventurine's expression is about to break; how could he think of hitting the Harmony-Aventurine..."

Nahida: "If everything could start over... would you still want to be a child blessed by the Mother Goddess?"

Nahida: "This sentence seems a bit like some of the things Ms. Acheron said at the beginning."

Acheron: "If at the beginning of the journey, you already knew the destination of this trip..."

Acheron: "Then would you still embark on this journey?"

Hu Tao: "Yes, yes, yes, that's the sentence!"

Hu Tao: "Now, combined with Aventurine's experience..."

Hu Tao: "I think many people would waver on their original answers, right?"

Paimon: "No! Paimon doesn't want to!"

Paimon: "If the future the ending leads to is so miserable, then Paimon absolutely cannot accept it!"

Paimon: "This kind of journey, I won't take!"

Lumine: "Uh... to be honest, I don't have the courage to embark on this kind of journey again either."

Black Swan: "But without embarking on the journey, you would completely lose some memories that are very precious to you along the way."

Black Swan: "Even so, are you willing?"

Paimon: "If discarding these memories could correct the originally miserable future..."

Paimon: "Then... then it might not be impossible..."

Lumine: "Paimon, is that what you think...?"

Paimon: "Lumine, what do you think?"

Lumine: "Hmm... to be honest, I don't know."

Lumine: "I crave the memories worth cherishing along the journey, but I am also afraid of eventually facing a cruel future."

Venti: "Hehe, don't be confused."

Venti: "This sentence clearly has a premise, which is: if at the beginning of the journey, you already knew the destination of this trip, then would you still embark on this journey?"

Venti: "The point is this: at the beginning of the journey, you already knew the destination!"

Venti: "And your current journey, you don't know where the destination leads!"

Venti: "So, don't substitute yourself into it."

Venti: "After all, this question is truly a very difficult one to answer."