Tighnari: "I must admit, Mr. Aventurine's methods are undeniably sophisticated."
Tighnari: "Hiding his own Aventurine stone in an inconspicuous location, while executing a sleight of hand with Miss Topaz's stone."
Tighnari: "He gambled precisely on Mr. Sunday making a single careless move."
Tighnari: "It truly fits Mr. Aventurine's character perfectly."
Diluc Ragnvindr: "Likewise, this also highlights Mr. Sunday's prudence."
Diluc Ragnvindr: "Aventurine's maneuver did not escape him; on the contrary, it was preempted."
Amber: "Both of them are so sharp!"
Amber: "It feels like neither is willing to lose!"
March 7th: "Those two are practically made of ulterior motives! It's like 4D chess in there!"
Hu Tao: "Aventurine's plan had a chance of succeeding."
Hu Tao: "It's just a pity he was ruthlessly backstabbed by Dr. Ratio!"
Raiden Ei: "Is there a possibility… that this is merely a performance?"
Yae Miko: "Hehe, since when does Ei use her brain?"
Raiden Ei: "Miko, what is that supposed to mean?"
Yae Miko: "Nothing at all. I merely meant to say that I concur with your assessment."
Yae Miko: "The scene we are witnessing… might very well be a case of beating someone at their own game!"
Kamisato Ayato: "Precisely. That is the truly brilliant part of it all."
Lumine: "As expected, does it take someone with equally complex machinations to perceive the deeper intent?"
Paimon: "Lumine, did you figure it out?"
Lumine: "I didn't. I just guessed that such a possibility might exist."
Stelle: "I can't figure it out. The Cornerstone is such a critical item; why would Topaz lend it to Aventurine?"
Topaz: "I didn't want to lend it to him! But to repay a debt… I had no choice."
Stelle: "Hehe, Topaz, let's make a deal. Could you lend me your Cornerstone to play with for a couple of days?"
March 7th: "Good lord, now you're plotting after her Cornerstone?"
March 7th: "If that thing ended up in your hands for two days, you'd probably rub the poor thing smooth until it developed a patina!"
Stelle: "How could I? I would cherish it!"
Topaz: "Ugh… absolutely not!"
Topaz: "The Cornerstone cannot fall into the hands of anyone outside the IPC. That is company regulation!"
Topaz: "Furthermore, even if I did lend it to you, you wouldn't be able to use it."
Topaz: "This object recognizes its owner."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "The Ten Stonehearts must chisel the Cornerstone with their own will, causing it to bloom with a unique brilliance."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "I believe I explained this clearly enough in the video."
Stelle: "Ah, this… so one must join the IPC?"
Stelle: "Then how about you ask your boss, Diamond, if he can expand the Ten Stonehearts to eleven, and let me squeeze in as number 0."
Stelle: "That way, could I possess my own 'Stellar Stone(Stellar Jade)'?"
Aventurine: "Friend, stop dreaming."
Aventurine: "Do you really think becoming one of the Ten Stonehearts is that easy?"
Stelle: "Tch, boring."
Stelle: "By not letting me join, you guys have lost an incomparably excellent super-employee!"
March 7th: "Give it a rest. Just be a Nameless on the Express in peace."
March 7th: "The IPC really doesn't suit you."
Silver Wolf: "You think she's craving a position at the company?"
Silver Wolf: "She's just craving that Cornerstone."
Stelle: "Ahem, why are you blurting out the honest truth?"
Topaz: "....."
....
『 The scene returns to the negotiation between Sunday and Aventurine.
[ Thanks to a friend of yours with a keen eye, I am able to add a thorough failure to your career record. ]
Sunday looks at Aventurine, a victorious expression surfacing on his face.
[ Ratio, you bastard.... ]
Aventurine looks at Dr. Ratio, fury sky-high, cursing through gritted teeth.
However, Dr. Ratio pays him no heed.
[ Heh, showing your true colors now. ]
[ Incidentally, your life 'temporarily' has only seventeen system hours remaining. ]
[ Cherish this time. Savor the lingering aftertaste of defeat. ]
Sunday looks at Aventurine with a playful expression.
[ ....You might as well speak plainly. ]
Sunday's words, cause Aventurine to frown involuntarily.
[ What I administered to you just now was the consecration of the Harmony. ]
[ You should have demonstrated loyalty under His illumination, yet you acted willfully, spouting lies, turning the baptism into a judgment. ]
[ I truly have no reason to absolve you of it. ]
Sunday explains indifferently.
[ Hehe…. ]
[ This is the so-called Harmony? ]
[ ….Built upon confinement and coercion? ]
Aventurine cannot help but mock.
[ You misunderstand, Mr. Aventurine. ]
[ Punishment is prepared for the profane, but I saw your indomitable heart, and thus I wish to grant you the possibility of rebirth. ]
[ Within these seventeen system hours, you cannot leave the Dreamscape, nor can you interact with any companions. ]
[ You have only two paths before you. This depends on whether you can complete my trial within the agreed time limit. ]
[ If you succeed, you may merge into the harmonic tune, existing alongside thousands of family members….. ]
[ If you fail, you shall face the infinite wrath of the Eternal Praetor, and fall into the abyss of eternal damnation. ]
[ That is why I specifically emphasized the word "temporarily". ]
Sunday's eyes are like a pitch-black abyss.
Aventurine gazes at Sunday, feeling a strange sensation in his own consciousness.
[ ….. ]
[ Damn it. Sounds like my outcome is the same either way. ]
Aventurine's face is ashen.
[ I do indeed require a servant to help me identify the 'evil' lurking within the Family from the outside. ]
[ And I shall purge from the inside out, bringing the true culprit to justice within seventeen system hours. ]
[ When the time comes, verify your findings with me. ]
[ If our judgments align, or if you can bring me something more... ]
[ Then He shall be able to truly bestow benevolence and honesty upon you. ]
Sunday looks at Aventurine, a smile appearing on his face.
[ ….. ]
[ Shameless hypocrite. You confiscated everything I have, yet you want me to give you the truth? ]
[ This is unfair. In this amusement park reeking of copper coins, one cannot accomplish anything without money. ]
Aventurine is extremely annoyed at this moment.
[ This should be your personal act of righteousness; it requires no aid from the Family. ]
[ Your luggage bag is over there. Please, help yourself. I trust you can trade that bag of cheap jewelry for everything you need. ]
[ That is what a gambler is best at, is it not? ]
[ Depart, Mr. Aventurine. You are 'free'. ]
[ I will wait here for your good news. ]
Sunday begins to dismiss his guest.
[ So, this meeting was not an interrogation, nor was it any sort of negotiation.... ]
[ ...But a thorough and complete lynching, correct? ]
Aventurine turns to leave, but just as he is about to step out the door, he cannot resist asking a questioning retort.
[ How could that be, Mr. Aventurine? I simply wished to know what 'discoveries' a 'passerby' who 'coincidentally' appeared at the scene of her murder might have. That is all. ]
Sunday replies with a flat expression.
[ ... ]
Aventurine falls silent.
[ By the way, before you leave, I have a rather personal question. ]
Sunday suddenly calls out to halt Aventurine.
[ What is it now? ]
Aventurine turns back impatiently.
[ Do you.... ]
[ …..Truly wish to destroy this world with your own hands? ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Topaz: "Aventurine, is this your performance?"
Topaz: "You're about to be reduced to someone's servant!"
Furina de Fontaine: "Mr. Sunday's methods are actually so… uh… eerily terrifying?"
Furina de Fontaine: "One tells a lie, and suddenly one's life is forfeit?"
Jean Gunnhildr: "As expected of someone from a major faction, their methods are truly more formidable than the last."
Hu Tao: "So… Aventurine got caught in the crossfire of Mr. Sunday's rage over losing his sister?"
Xiangling: "He really is an unlucky guy…"
Nilou: "Mr. Sunday must still suspect that Miss Robin's death is related to Aventurine."
Nilou: "After all, before Miss Robin died, Aventurine happened to have an appointment with her."
March 7th: "That's right. We know from the video that Miss Robin wasn't killed by Aventurine, but Mr. Sunday doesn't know that!"
Stelle: "Aventurine, my friend, stay strong! You'll just have to carry this scapegoat pot on your back for a while!"
Collei: "So after seventeen system hours, will Mr. Aventurine really… die?"
Silver Wolf: "Not necessarily. Maybe he completes the task Sunday demanded, and then becomes a member of the Family?"
Qingque: "Forcing someone from the IPC to forcibly become a member of the Family…"
Qingque: "Why does that feel a bit like banditry?"
Qingque: "Ahem, I'm just making an analogy, I have no intention of smearing the Family!"
Stelle: "General Qing, you're done for. Wait to become a member of the Family! (WaitToDie.jpg)"
Nahida: "Mr. Sunday asking that final sentence…"
Nahida: "What is the reason behind it?"
Alhaitham: "It seems somewhat like an intentional… suggestion?"
Zhongli: "During the negotiation between Mr. Sunday and Aventurine, a bird resembling a purple raven appeared repeatedly in the scene…"
Zhongli: "This seems like… a form of surveillance?"
Welt Yang: "I noticed it as well."
Welt Yang: "Where does this surveillance come from? Is it Mr. Sunday's own spy?"
Himeko: "I'm afraid….. it is not."
Fu Xuan: "Then the implication of that final sentence… becomes quite thought-provoking."
Sampo Koski: "So many riddles."
Sampo Koski: "Are these people really not Riddlers in disguise?"
Sampo Koski: "Old Sampo is getting dizzy just listening."
Paimon: "Listening to riddles is so tiring! Paimon's brain is going to stop working!"
Lumine: "But I feel like I've gained a lot of insight."
Lumine: "Perhaps I can use this when thinking about problems in the future."
....
『 The scene shifts, arriving at a different setting.
[ Kakavasha, where did you go….. ]
[ You're hurt?! ]
A young girl looks at her younger brother, who is covered in bruises and scars, her eyes filled with panic and heartache.
[ I took it back, sister. ]
The younger brother opens his clenched fist, inside lies an old necklace.
[ You went to find them….? ]
[ It's too dangerous! ]
[ This is just a necklace. It cannot be eaten, nor is it water. We can survive without it. ]
[ But I cannot be without you, brother... ]
[ Promise me not to look for those Katicans again, okay? ]
Seeing the necklace in her brother's hand, the girl feels only terror and lingering fear.
[ Sister, don't be afraid. ]
[ The Katicans are stupid, but I am smart. Playing games with them, the winner will definitely be me. ]
The brother comforts his sister.
[ Win? What exactly happened? ]
[ Tell me! ]
The girl holds her brother's hand, her expression somewhat agitated.
[ I made a bet with them. We gambled on two little birds in the desert, and me. Which one would die first. ]
[ I won. ]
[ They suspected I cheated, but I didn't... ]
[ I won fair and square. ]
The brother looks at his sister, his tone steady and pure.
[ I knew you could win….. ]
[ You have always been a lucky child. Your luck is a gift from the Earth Mother.... ]
[ But this is not a reason for you to go head-to-head with the Katicans. They are bloodthirsty, cruel, and insatiable... ]
[ Don't forget Mom and Dad... ]
[ This is just a necklace….. But Kakavasha, you are my last family member. ]
The girl gently strokes her brother's cheek, hoping he can understand her intent.
[ .... ]
[ Sister, I'm sorry….. ]
[ I thought you would be happy. ]
[ Because this is the necklace Mom left for you... ]
[ …..There won't be another one in the future. ]
The brother nods obediently, though his expression is somewhat dejected.
[ It is important, but what is more important is you, my dearest brother... ]
[ I won't blame you, but you must remember what Mom said.... ]
[ Pain and poverty are the trials of Gaiathra Triclops. SHE has also granted us a chance, and that's your good luck, Kakavasha. Your good luck is the most precious wealth we — all Avgin have. ]
[ You are a child blessed by the Mother Goddess. You can lead the clan toward happiness. ]
[ So, always remember to protect yourself, and never resent pain and poverty… okay? ]
The girl uses a sincere tone, speaking reason to her brother.
[ ..... ]
The brother lowers his head, falling somewhat silent.
[ Be good. Swear to the Mother Goddess. ]
The sister says gently.
[ ….Okay. ]
[ I swear to the Mother Goddess, I will protect this wealth forever.... ]
[ ….. ]
[ But, sister… if Gaiathra Triclops is truly watching over us.... ]
[ Then when Dad was swept away by the quicksand, why didn't the Mother Goddess protect him... ]
[ Even though Dad went to where the Katicans were only to prepare offerings for Her... ]
[ When Mom slowly grew cold in our arms, where was the Mother Goddess then….. ]
[ Until the moment she closed her eyes, Mom was still begging for Her forgiveness.... ]
[ Sister, everyone says I am smart, but I don't understand….. ]
[ If every rain is the Mother Goddess's forgiveness and grace.... ]
[ Then how many mistakes have we made….. ]
[ To be born into this world for the sake of death...? ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Furina de Fontaine: "Then how many mistakes have we made… to be born into this world for the sake of death…"
Furina de Fontaine: "Hearing that sentence… suddenly… my heart hurts so much…"
Stelle: " Damn it! Are those damn Katicans still around?"
Stelle: "Tell me where they are. I'm going to avenge my friend Aventurine!!"
Robin: "Whenever I see such scenes, I cannot help but feel sorrow."
Robin: "Why are tragedies always playing out in this world?"
Sunday: "Because of disorder. Because of injustice. Because the powerful are constantly exploiting the weak!"
Sunday: "The Katicans relied on their superior strength to wantonly treat the Avgin people as playthings for their amusement."
Sunday: "Their conduct is heinous; their actions deserve death a thousand times over."
Sunday: "But… in a disordered world, no one will come to judge them."
Sunday: "And this is condoning the occurrence of injustice!"
....