Chapter 54: Not This Kind of Thing!
According to his memories, Kaede's existence would vanish this winter, around November.
At that time, the original Kaede Azusagawa (referred to as Kana Kaede) would return.
However, this wouldn't be a fusion.
Just as Kaede has no recollection of Kana Kaede's memories, once Kana Kaede returns, she wouldn't retain Kaede's memories either.
Whether Kaede and Kana Kaede are the same person is a matter of perspective, but for Shunsuke, the one he initially knew was Kaede.
Sagiri's only friend of the same age was Kaede.
Their bond was with Kaede, not Kana Kaede. Even if Kana Kaede looks identical, even if she is the original, she feels like a stranger to him.
For Sakuta, however, it is a difficult choice. Kaede is the little sister who deeply loves and looks up to him, but Kana Kaede is the sister who grew up with him for over a decade.
Faced with such a dilemma, he can't make a decision.
He can only wait anxiously, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, for the inevitable day to come.
If the goal was simply to preserve Kaede's existence, Heaven's Door could likely do the job.
By using its power to suppress Kana Kaede's memories and consciousness, she would never be able to return, ensuring Kaede remains forever.
However, erasing Kana Kaede in this way felt too much like the actions of a villain.
If Sakuta found out, he'd surely fight Shunsuke with everything he had, ending their friendship as well.
Despite lacking the Golden Spirit of true heroes, Shunsukei, as a Stand User with Star Platinum, couldn't bring himself to commit such an evil act.
Thus, the only solution he could think of was to somehow separate Kaede and Kana Kaede into two distinct individuals.
Fortunately, this was achievable with a Stand's power.
[Silver Chariot Requiem], the evolved form of Polnareff's Stand [Silver Chariot], was a super Stand obtained after its evolution.
While its specific stats and abilities were unclear—since Polnareff at the time was too drained physically and mentally to control it—its one known ability was the power to swap not just people, but their souls.
Given the unique situation of Kaede and Kana Kaede, which wasn't a simple case of split personality, Shunsuke hypothesized that [Silver Chariot Requiem] might be effective.
However, after successfully separating their souls, there would still be the issue of a physical body—there was only one body for the two souls.
While it would be easy for [Silver Chariot Requiem] to possess another person's body, as mentioned earlier, Shunsuke wasn't a villain. He couldn't justify taking over an innocent person's life without cause.
Thus, he would need the assistance of [Gold Experience]. Using [Gold Experience], he could create a completely identical human body, imbue it with life, and then transfer Kaede's soul into this new vessel. Only then would the process be complete.
Shunsuke wasn't sure of the cost of [Silver Chariot Requiem], but considering its immense power, it certainly wouldn't be cheap.
Coupled with the 1,000-point price of [Gold Experience], the combined total would likely be as expensive as Heaven's Door.
After redeeming Heaven's Door, Shunsuke wasn't confident he'd be able to gather enough points to redeem both [Gold Experience] and [Silver Chariot Requiem] in the time left.
On the other hand, if he redeemed [Gold Experience] and [Silver Chariot Requiem] first, then tried for Heaven's Door afterward, he probably wouldn't have enough points to ever reach the ultimate Star Platinum Over Heaven.
Because of this dilemma, even as his points steadily increased, Shunsuke remained indecisive—until he finally arrived at the Azusagawa household and saw Kaede in person.
Seeing Kaede's reluctant expression, Shunsuke finally made up his mind in that moment.
[First, let's redeem Silver Chariot.]
Shunsuke spent 150 points to obtain [Silver Chariot] and immediately checked the price for its evolved form.
[Silver Chariot Requiem: 3,000 points]
His heart sank as the number confirmed his worst fear, shattering any hope he had that it might be cheaper.
[System, is there any chance I could evolve Silver Chariot into Silver Chariot Requiem on my own?]
[There is a possibility, but it is extremely slim.]
[Is there a way to increase this possibility?]
After a brief pause, perhaps calculating, the system responded: [If the host severs all four limbs, the possibility will increase significantly to 1%.]
What kind of ridiculous suggestion is that?!
Shunsuke felt a surge of frustration. He wanted to yank out this cursed system and pummel it senseless. Seriously? What kind of garbage advice is this?
[Without the Arrow, this is the highest probability method.]
Ignoring the system, Shunsuke muttered in annoyance. What a trashy system! You can't even materialize an Arrow for me? And it can't be redeemed either? Garbage.
The system fell silent.
"Hu—"
In front of Sakuta and Kaede, Shunsuke suddenly exhaled deeply, his gaze hardening with resolve.
To cut off his hesitation and leave himself no retreat, he decisively chose to redeem [Gold Experience].
[Current Points: 350]
Now with only a fraction of his points left, Shunsuke chose to back himself into a corner. He vowed to gather the 3,000 points needed within the remaining time.
"Shunsuke-onii, are you okay?" Kaede asked.
"You don't want to keep playing with Kaede, do you?" Sakuta asked, half-jokingly.
Both siblings, in their own ways, expressed their concern.
"It's nothing. I just remembered something suddenly," Shunsuke replied, forcing a casual smile. He gave Kaede a final pat on the head before Sakuta slapped his hand away.
"Stop doting on my sister, you siscon."
"I'm heading out," Shunsuke grinned, waving goodbye.
As for his potential plan to resolve the situation with Kaede and Kana Kaede, Shunsuke decided not to tell Sakuta for now.
After all, he wasn't certain he'd be able to gather the 3,000 points in time. It would be too cruel to give someone hope only to take it away later—it could break them entirely.
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