Endless Debt

"Free... will?"

Bologue looked at Aimou curiously.

This scenario, at this moment, an alchemy puppet is discussing free will with him, Bologue found it odd, yet somehow reasonable.

This is an absurd and bizarre world, everyone should get used to it, whether it's Aimou or Bologue.

Bologue's body relaxed, like the warmth after a bonfire party, everyone gathered around the dying fire, as darkness gradually swallowed everything, casually chatting in peacefulness.

"You ask me what kind of impact replacing the Philosopher's Stone will have on me, regarding this, specifically what will happen, I truly don't know, I haven't yet experienced a replacement."

The Constant Motion Core runs smoothly, behind heavy metal, the brilliant and pure Philosopher's Stone remains still inside, emitting a gentle glow, stirring the residual ether.

Aimou continued, "But I can vaguely guess."

"Guess what happens afterward?"

"Yes," Aimou paused for a moment, then asked, "Bologue, do you think my personality is innate, or influenced by someone?"

Bologue didn't respond immediately, regarding this matter, Bologue knows more than Aimou herself, some time ago, Bologue discussed all of this with Teda.

Aimou's personality is not innate, she is influenced by someone, a new life constantly emerging from the shadow of her death.

Due to this influence, Teda's understanding of Aimou is also gradually distorted, making it difficult to distinguish between the two.

"Is it Alice?" Bologue said coldly.

The halo in Aimou's eyes trembled for a moment, soon stabilizing again, she knew such matters couldn't be concealed from Bologue and quietly affirmed.

"Yes."

"I've never seen Alice, the teacher never talked about her, but I always felt I knew her well, whether it's her thoughts, personality, or way of doing things..."

Aimou's voice started to become intermittent, she couldn't clearly describe the relationship between herself and Alice.

"I am like... a shadow, Alice's shadow."

"You feel like you don't possess a complete self, it's more like being influenced by Alice, giving birth to this, right?"

Bologue used a questioning tone but he knew very well that this is indeed the case, Aimou is influenced by Mind Projection, her behavior continuously leans towards Alice, but no matter what, she is not Alice, and cannot become Alice.

"Yes."

"Do you find it awful?" Bologue asked again, "Do you feel like you're becoming someone you don't want to be?"

The atmosphere fell silent, Aimou didn't respond immediately, the glow of the ether slowly wandered beneath the body, Aimou regained control of her body, the rigid alchemy puppet made slight movements.

"No, I think it's good," Aimou murmured, "Alice is a good person, I like her, I like this version of myself."

"But if you replace the Philosopher's Stone... you might become another person, right?" Bologue asked.

"I think so, I will be influenced by another Philosopher's Stone, transforming into the likeness of that person in life, it feels like dying."

"Dying?" Bologue couldn't understand.

"Alice's Aimou is gone, replaced by other Aimou, like different models of a machine, that indeed is me, yet also not me," Aimou kept shaking her head, "I don't want to become like that."

Bologue let out a long sigh, he muttered to himself.

"The shell remains, but the soul is replaced."

Bologue deeply gazed at Aimou, she was shimmering with faint light, making some weak movements.

Aimou's words were cold, but Bologue could always sense a hint of sadness beneath this icy shell.

Aimou possessed human will and cognition but was bound by an iron shell, and now even her inner soul and will are merely projections of others, as if everything about Aimou was pieced together by others, forming a twisted and awkward form composed of countless desires.

"Don't think about those things, Aimou," Bologue comforted, "Free will is too illusory."

"Do you think I have free will?"

Bologue countered, before Aimou could answer, he went on, "When thirsty, you'll want to drink water, when tired, go to sleep, when hungry, eat something."

"Sometimes you feel my self is leading all of this, sometimes under this self-leadership, actually, some other things are influencing, my suggestion is not to think too much about it, life is not easy, it's unnecessary to trouble yourself."

Aimou looked at Bologue with suspicion, "Are you avoiding the problem?"

"I'm optimizing my life, do you think I'm an idle person? I have to go out every day to chop demons, sometimes it's chopping condensers, I'm always chopping people, or being chopped, from morning till night, from Monday to Friday, and when it's finally the weekend, I might still run into some trouble.

I don't particularly hate chopping people or being chopped, but sometimes I want to do something else, like learning the guitar, systematically understanding how to make a film or something.

I feel my life shouldn't just be about hacking and slashing, that's too dull, but I don't have time to do these things, naturally, I don't have time to think about these messy troubles."

Bologue rambled on a lot, finally concluding.

"Aimou, you're just too idle. When people become idle, they start overthinking and doubting their own existence. You need to do something to enhance your self-identity and make your existence feel more tangible."

The aura slightly expanded, resembling the diffused pupil of a human. Aimou found it difficult to accept Bologue's long-winded speech all at once; she needed some time to process it.

But halfway through processing, she thought of Bologue's philosophical ideas derived from the act of killing, and felt a wave of absurdity. She realized that even taking this seriously was a problem in itself.

The atmosphere became stagnant; Aimou nodded as if she understood, not fully grasping it, and Bologue added further.

"Of course, my suggestion is to do something you enjoy. There's no need to feel you have to go out killing like I do to find meaning."

After pondering for a while, Bologue realized he might have set Aimou off on a wrong path and tried to remedy it.

"That is to say, you should cultivate some stress-relieving... hobbies?"

Aimou thought for a moment and asked, "Is your hobby killing people?"

"No, it's my job. Work and hobbies don't conflict," Bologue said nonsensically.

Aimou giggled, and after a while, she spoke again.

"Bologue, sometimes I see her."

"See what?"

"Alice."

Bologue was stunned for a second, as though he hadn't understood Aimou's words, intently watching Aimou's pupils.

"You say... you can see Alice?"

"That's right, like a hallucination. She appears now and then, talking to me," Aimou said, "but I think it's just a hallucination because Alice is already dead."

"A hallucination?"

"Yes, just a hallucination. People always see all sorts of hallucinations, right?" Aimou replied with a smile.

"Yes, hallucinations, endless hallucinations."

Bologue recalled the things he saw beneath the ashes, a pain twisting through his mind again.

"Aimou, there's something wrong with you." Bologue rubbed his head, blurting out.

"What's wrong?"

"Just an intuition, intuition tells me something's off about you. You're like a child; children don't worry about these things unless they've encountered some trouble."

Bologue looked at Aimou, probing further, "Aimou, have you encountered any trouble?"

"No, we just happened to talk about it. I'm just really curious about all this."

Bologue drew closer to Aimou, examining her pupils carefully. This was Aimou's only channel of communication with the outside world. Unfortunately, Bologue couldn't see through the layers of steel and couldn't reach the Philosopher's Stone hidden beneath her chest.

"Forget it, take a good rest, Aimou. We still have a long way to go."

Bologue retreated, slumped in a corner, continuing to endure hunger and pain.

Aimou's eyeballs shifted, staring at Bologue for a moment before another voice echoed with a trace of anger.

"Are you going to betray us!"

Fair hands grasped Aimou's neck, the other party exerting all their strength, attempting to strangle Aimou, but she was ultimately just a phantom, unable to affect reality.

Aimou looked at the figure in front of her. In this dire situation, Alice appeared angelic, dressed in a white gown, emitting a faint glow. Yet, this angel was incredibly angry at the moment.

This was a secret between her and Aimou, but Aimou had just shared it with Bologue. Even though Aimou didn't reveal any key information, it still stirred unease within Alice.

Aimou remained motionless, like a corpse, not because she didn't want to respond to Alice, but because Bologue was right nearby. He was like a sleeping tiger, seemingly relaxed but alert to any disturbance.

Unable to get feedback from Aimou, Alice turned to look at Bologue. She circled him like a true phantom, without causing any disturbance.

The anger in her eyes gradually faded as if she realized something. She spoke with a cheerful smile.

"Is this what you intend, Aimou?"

She came to Aimou's side, cupping Aimou's face in her hands.

"Oh, look at you in this pathetic state. Is this how you managed to fool everyone?"

Alice laughed even louder.

"Naive Aimou? That's ridiculous. You're the one full of schemes."

Aimou didn't respond, but Alice didn't mind. She stubbornly embraced Aimou, whispering softly into her ear.

"Don't forget your wish. If you waver easily for this, it proves your wish is worthless."