They now had a deeper understanding of Nihility, of Acheron.
And they completely grasped her unique state.
Perhaps some of it was due to memory loss, but a part of it was also because, to someone with Acheron's power, most things simply held no meaning.
At this moment, the exhilarated audience panted, unable to recover from the shock. Some even felt a sense of emptiness.
After all, Aventurine had gambled everything—his very life—on this final bet.
Was it all destined to vanish with a single slash?
------------------------------
On the screen, which had already fallen into darkness.
What happened to Aventurine?
Could he still somehow be alive under that slash?
So this is the power of the The Nihility's Emanator.
One thought after another emerged in their minds.
But no one sent any comment.
Countless viewers stared at the pitch-black screen, where only their own dazed faces were reflected.
At this moment, the dense darkness began to twist and transformed into a pitch-black great sun!
No.
Not a sun! But a black hole!
A black hole representing the Nihility!
It just lay there, surrounded by a halo, silent and still.
And in front of it was a pitch-black ocean, looking somewhat similar to the water surface when Acheron drew her blade.
The camera shifted.
Aventurine's stunned face appeared on the screen.
The audience, who had been struck with a void debuff from that slash, shuddered at this moment, and their pupils regained clarity.
"A massive black hole... and an ocean." Aventurine stared blankly at everything before him, murmuring, "Did I... succeed?"
Succeed in what?
The viewers, whose eyes had just regained their sparkle, widened them again as their minds started running.
Could it be... That slash just now was also part of Aventurine's plan?
Before they could think further.
Aventurine shook his head, stepping forward into the darkness.
One voice after another, voices that had appeared before, echoed in The Nihility.
"Welcome to this sorrowful world, Kakavasha."
"Your luck is our fortune, as well as the wealth of all Avgin people."
"Two days—come out alive and prove your skills are real."
"Wealth, status, and the fate of the Anti-Interest Association..."
"And we shall reunite under the next aurora."
Voices of his sister, mother, and even the IPC.
They rang out in sequence.
Many small figures of Aventurine, each in different postures, appeared in the distance along with these words.
Some waved, some smiled.
Aventurine was not afraid. Instead, he quickened his pace, following the guidance of his childhood self, heading toward the black hole.
Until he saw a familiar shade of red.
"It's unfortunate. This is not the place you expected." At some unknown moment, Acheron had appeared behind Aventurine.
Clusters of true crimson bloomed on her body.
Clearly, she looked like a noble and mature woman, yet at this moment, in the eyes of the audience, her image was terrifying beyond measure.
The audience finally snapped back to reality.
...
: What is this place... Could it be that Acheron's slash turned Penacony into this?
: Where's the Express crew?
: What's Aventurine's current state? Could he really be dead?
: What was his final plan?
...
Too many questions flooded the viewers' minds.
They stared at the screen.
Because of Acheron's appearance.
At last, in this black-and-white world, a touch of color had emerged.
"The Nihility... is it?" Aventurine turned his head and spoke as if unsurprised.
"Perhaps in your eyes, I am a hidden emanator, but—"
"The Sleeper Without Form never gazes upon anyone. It has no face, no shape, and no will to speak of..."
"The Nihility blankets everyone equally."
"It's just that some walk further in its shadow, stained with more 'nothingness' than others."
Acheron calmly explained to Aventurine.
After all, this fate was too mysterious, even for someone like Aventurine, a high-ranking executive of the IPC.
But hearing such a calm tone and explanation,
Aventurine chuckled in self-mockery, "That's all... Friend, you really leave me speechless."
This response was exactly what the audience felt at that moment.
...
: What a way to comment... I can't hold it in anymore.
: What do you mean 'that's all,' Acheron?! Do you know that slash almost broke my brain?!
: Aventurine must be barely holding it together. He got one-shot, and all she says is 'that's all.'
: Aventurine: what can I say!
: But Acheron's words carry a lot of informatio... Her power as an emanator seems different from the others?
: Hiss... I don't know. My brain is about to explode. Let's wait for the experts to analyze it. Anyway, I just want to know Aventurine's true situation now.
...
The comments flooded the screen.
Meanwhile, Aventurine asked the question he most wanted to know, "So... is this my end? The land of the dead?"
"No, this is just a fleeting dream, one of IX's countless manifestations." Acheron shook her head and said flatly, "Under the witness of The Nihility, we pause here briefly, then continue our respective journeys."
At this point, Acheron paused for a moment, then gazed deeply at Aventurine with her blood-red eyes and said, "Besides, your goal has already been achieved. I think you can be more honest now."
"What do you mean?" Aventurine still feigned ignorance.
Acheron did not hesitate and continued, "Ever since you entered Paradise, you've been bluffing... A simple yet effective trick, deceiving almost everyone."
"No one would have thought that you went to such great lengths, even wagering your own life, just to reconfirm a fact that seemed to have been denied long ago."
"In Penacony's dreamscape, true 'death' does not exist."
Faced with Acheron's revelation, Aventurine countered with a question, "What reason would I have to do this?"
"Because only by doing so could you reach that place beyond the limits of this game."
"Only by dying in the dream could you travel there—to the promised land that people seek in this grand event."
"The Watchmaker's legacy. The true 'Penacony.'"
Acheron's words left the audience completely dumbfounded.
The amount of information was overwhelming.
It nearly overturned everything they had previously believed.
....
: Is there no real death in dreams? Is this current Penacony not the real Penacony? Damn, damn, this completely overturns the entire interpretation of the story!
: If that's the case, then Firefly and Robin were the first two to enter the real Penacony?
: Whoa! Who would have thought of this? The deaths in Penacony were actually fake!
: Then what do the monsters count as? Where did the people who died earlier go? This doesn't make sense at all.
: So this is Aventurine's real plan?! Using Acheron's hand to confirm this? That's why he said his final bargaining chip was himself.
: This plot, this twist, this plan—it's insane!
: MiHoYo is incredible!! What a god-tier plot twist!
....
The audience was left speechless.
Through the conversation between Acheron and Aventurine, more truths and plans were uncovered.
Many foreshadowed details from the first episode and earlier parts of the story started to make sense.
The seemingly bright and shiny Penacony was, in reality, an isolated island in the sea of memories.
The Family built high walls here not only to prevent people from drowning in their dreamlike confinement but also to stop them from going beyond the walls and discovering the truth of Penacony.
Unless someone could pass through this barrier of "death" and return safely.
At this moment, the hint that Sparkle gave to Aventurine became particularly important.
"I received a hint a long time ago: If the mute does not refer to 'someone who cannot make a sound,' then it can only mean 'someone who is not allowed to speak.'"
"The one who survived from the deep sea, the one who was finally able to speak again after resurfacing…"
"I'm glad to know that she is still in Penacony and safe."
As Aventurine spoke, the corners of his mouth curled into a smile again.
He was one of the few who could untangle the threads from this mist and uncover the truth early on.
In his own words,
"This time, I won the gamble again."
"I don't even need evidence to support this idea—I am simply betting on it."
"I'm not just betting that there is no real death; I'm also betting that 'someone can break the barrier.'"
"I am indeed lucky that you have a sharp blade… sharp enough to cut down the veil of dreams and sever the mark of 'harmony' imprinted on me."
As Aventurine's words fell, the full truth of the plan was finally laid bare before the audience.
The madness and scheming it contained were beyond their imagination—how could such a person exist? How could such a character be created?
....
: This is insane, yet so rational—how does such a contradictory character work so well with Aventurine?!
: His plan is almost unbeatable—if he wins the gamble, he reaches the real Penacony; if he loses, his life becomes the wager, giving the IPC an excuse to interfere with Penacony!
: Besides Aventurine, no one else could have come up with this plan, right?!
: So, could it be that… true survival means returning to the real world…?
: This man is a true, reckless, and fearless gambler. Maybe others misjudged him, but one thing was right: this guy has a severe self-destructive tendency!
: Damn, now I feel even more for Aventurine. What do I do? His personality and experiences are inseparable…
: In just one episode, MiHoYo perfectly nailed both the plot and the character development! Absolutely incredible.
....
Now that the audience had fully grasped the entirety of Aventurine's story, they were left speechless.
Flashes of Aventurine's past memories flickered through their minds.
When they first watched episode two, they didn't quite understand the significance of those flashbacks. Only now did they finally get it.
"Some people spend their entire lives healing from their childhood." Aventurine's madness, his gambling nature, and his past experiences were all deeply connected.
In fact, the foreshadowing had been laid all the way back in the Future Market when Aventurine first appeared.
Like a hidden thread running through the story, spanning thousands of miles.
....
"This is beyond insane…"
"From the moment we entered the episode of Future Market, MiHoYo has been leading us, making us see Aventurine only at a surface level."
"Flippant, extravagant, elite, hypocritical, profit-driven—these labels weren't just our misconceptions; they were the very façade that Aventurine crafted for himself as an adult."
"And after arriving in Penacony, where he never spoke a single honest word, he seemed like a total fraud. Yet, his every choice revealed his true gambler's nature."
"But no matter what, these were all just external traits."
"It wasn't until his childhood memories surfaced that we, through self-analysis, finally unraveled Aventurine."
"And then, we truly understood everything about him—his motives, his reasons. We didn't even need an explanation anymore; as viewers, we just knew."
"I have nothing more to say… MiHoYo's character writing is absolutely terrifying."
"And Penacony still has more characters like him—Acheron… the Watchmaker… the Three Nameless still left."
"I have a feeling that even more twists are coming."
A lengthy comment perfectly encapsulated the feelings of the audience.
But even after going through the emotional rollercoaster of Aventurine's storyline, the audience were still underestimating what was about to unfold next…