You show up in a strange place with glowing, golden flowers and a purple sky. Some gold butterflies hang out around you.

"Well, where am I now? The Golden Land?"

I'll walk around, admiring the pretty flowers, and see what happens.

"That's right. Maria mentions this place often. 'The Golden Land', a place where all your dreams come true and everyone is happy."

You turn around. You see a beautiful woman that you recognize from so many fragments before this.

"Kinjo Goldbar. I hoped that I would be able to meet you, at least this once."

>>17221
"Same to you, Beatrice. I don't think I've been the detective in a game with you in it yet. But why am I here?"

"I wanted to thank you. When I wrote my tale, I was only a sad little girl who could only dream of becoming a real witch. You helped to keep my tale alive and create meaning out of it. You put hard work into creating stories that people wanted to read and you helped others create a community from it. If I had known that my story had the power to bring people together, who knows?

With that said, let me formally introduce myself! I am the thousand year old Endless Witch, the one who haunts the forest of Rokkenjima, Beatrice! I hereby grant you the title of Kinjo Goldbar, the Infinite Sorcerer. My husband and I might be Endless, sure, but your powers might stretch even further beyond.

I can't help you in what comes next, but I have no doubt that you'll be able to handle it."

>>17223
"Thank you. It was fun."

The bright colors of the Golden Land wash away and in a second and you're hit once again by a large, brutish man that smells like he hasn't bathed in a month. You're strapped to a chair in the middle of a dimly lit room and Kasumi looks on, smiling brightly.

"Are you ready to tell me what I want to know, Mr. Goldbar?"

Last edited at 15/01/18(Sun)01:52:55

>>17225
"You'll have to take it from my cold, dead body!"

"Takashi, please work harder to convince our friend to open up."

The man slowly hooks one of your fingers up to a small device. When he slams the button, your fingernail tears from your skin, leaving an oozing, jagged patch of flayed skin and blood where it once was. The cool air of the basement strings the exposed flesh.

"How about now, Mr. Goldbar? What happened on Rokkenjima?"

Last edited at 15/01/18(Sun)02:10:37

>>17227
"Cl, clever... But your plan has one glaring flaw in it. What happens when all of my fingernails are ripped off, huh? You didn't think that through, did you? Your torture techniques are as short-sighted as your conscience!"

"Takashi, I changed my mind. I'm tired of his voice."

The main grabs your jaw and forces a tube down your throat. Your gag reflex kicks in, but vomit can't escape around the tube and it sticks in your throat. To make matters worse, the man turns on a faucet and water enters directly down through the tube. Your body tries to cough and convulse, but you can't move at all.

This goes on for minutes that feel like hours, with the man giving you a chance to breathe every once in a while but never removing the tube. Finally, he takes it from your throat and you vomit on your lap.

"Well?"

Last edited at 15/01/18(Sun)02:20:44

>>17229
"<OH, GOD!> I'll talk, I'll talk! You want to know what happened on Rokkenjima? The family was attacked, killed one by one...! We never figured out who did it!"

"Very good!"

Barnkastel appears in front of her. It seems like only you can see her. "Yes, <Very good!> Here are the rules for this portion of the game: Kasumi is going to ask you details of what happened on Rokkenjima. If you get them wrong, or if your answer doesn't satisfy Kasumi in some way, you'll be 'punished'. If you die...well, then I win, don't I? Let's see if /seacats/ can survive without you around."

"Remember not to lie to me. Takashi can tell when people are lying. Now, let's begin with an easy one, shall we? What was the status of Kinzo Ushiromiya on that day?"

Last edited at 15/01/18(Sun)02:30:38

>>17231
"Y, you sure you can call it a game at this point...? Anyway, it's obvious that Kinzo Ushiromiya had died before the start of the game. He was already dead when I arrived."

"That's correct. As confirmed, Kinzo died before you ever arrived."

"Fair enough. His medical records demonstrate as much. What about the servant Kanon, the boy with no birth certificate?"

>>17233
"I'm fairly certain Kanon did not actually exist. Kanon was portrayed by Shannon when convenient. The two were never seen at the same time. But the primary hint is her relationship with Jessica. In order to keep it hidden from Krauss and Natsuhi, Shannon probably disguised herself as a boy servant and put up a male persona, known as Kanon."

"Kanon didn't exist. He was portrayed by Shannon for the sake of Jessica."

"Interesting, she did that to cover up her abomination of a lifestyle. On a different note, the deaths of the family are usually presented as a series of 'twilights' in the popular stories written about them. If this is accurate, how did those of the first twilight die?"

>>17235
"The guns were set up outside the windows of the dining room and the servant room. The culprit remotely activated them the moment Gohda revealed Kinzo's severed head."

Last edited at 15/01/19(Mon)19:45:26

"The culprit did not remotely activate the traps."

"Is that so? What special technology does someone have to use to remotely shoot a gun?"

>>17237
"Actually, scratch that. The culprit attacked the servant room first. Then they activated each trap by going outside."

"The culprit was not outside while the traps went off."

"Was anyone unaccounted for during that period of time apart from the deceased?"

>>17239
"Shannon would have been able to pull it off."

"What do you think you're accomplishing? I won't answer that blue."

"The maid? You'd push your sin onto that girl in order to avoid culpability for your actions? Actually, don't answer that. I want to see you bitterly admit what you've done at the end before I kill you. I'll move on for now, though. Next question: how did the victims of the second twilight die?"

>>17241
"They didn't. Rudolf lied to me and said they were dead, but they survived in secret. That's why Eva acted as though Hideyoshi and George might be alive!"

"...Hideyoshi and George died while you were knocked out."

"What? Why in the world would they plan something like that?"

Last edited at 15/01/19(Mon)20:24:36

>>17243
"They must have suspected that the culprit was among the survivors, and they wanted to get away without alerting anyone. So they pretended to have been killed by the culprit, and Rudolf made up the story about the chain-locked closed room."

Last edited at 15/01/19(Mon)20:29:41

"What do you think you're doing? You really think I'll let you get away with such flimsy theories? Rudolf did not make up the story about the locked room. He was honest while telling the story."

"I see. How delightful. And what of the third and fourth twilights?"

Last edited at 15/01/19(Mon)20:38:10

>>17245
"The letter could have been placed by anyone in the room. And Gohda was killed because he activated a trap on the kitchen's back door."

Bernkastel says nothing. It seems you've got these right.

"And the fifth twilight?"

Last edited at 15/01/19(Mon)20:46:51

>>17247
"Just as he told me. Ozaki was exploring the inside of the chapel, when suddenly he triggered a blade trap. It cut him, and he died from blood loss in the gold room. Of course, we never encountered this trap because it wasn't necessary to go inside the chapel to find the gold, but Ozaki didn't know this."

Again, Bernkastel doesn't say anything.

"So, your friend was on the island on that day. How deeply troubling for you. Tell me something, Mr. Goldbar. Did my sister survive until the end? What happened next?"

>>17249
"The mansion was set on fire. As we all were escaping, Battler somehow got lost. Rudolf and Kyrie went back inside to find him, but all three were killed by the flames."

"The deceased were killed by smoke and flames."

"I see. And let me make sure I understand you. Who are you proposing killed everyone? And why would they do such a thing?"

Last edited at 15/01/19(Mon)21:19:20

>>17251
"Shannon murdered everyone. She had a relationship with Jessica, who was named the heiress in the letter. Shannon planned to live happily ever after with Jessica and the Ushiromiya fortune, and she would do so by killing the rest of the family."

".........................."

"...I see. Is that all?"

>>17253
"Well to be honest, I'm a bit of a masochist. This torture session has been pretty exciting."

"I'm glad that I could entertain."

Takashi slams his fist into your gut and knocks all of the air out. You struggle to breath for a few good moments, but your body doesn't function.

"At a few points during your explanations, even you didn't believe what you were saying. Takashi here noticed every physical and verbal cue you gave. And to top it all off, you give me that bullshit sounding story! Cut me a break. I know that you're the one that killed my sister! I'll drag that truth from you."

Bernkastel grins. "Shannon is not the culprit of this tale."

Takashi raises his leg and gives your chest a few hard kicks.

"Kinjo Goldbar, we're going to try this again. This time, I won't be as saintly. What happened on the first twilight?"

Last edited at 15/01/19(Mon)21:41:06

>>17255
"The guns were attached to some sort of timed-trap! After a time limit had passed, the guns went off!"

"The guns were attached to a timed trap. After the time limit had passed, the guns went off."

"That wasn't so hard, was it? Honesty is one of the highest virtues. Go on, then. What happened during the second twilight?"

>>17257
"The culprit left the room through the broken window. So the window was already broken when Rudolf threw the rock at it, although he didn't realize it. He had assumed the rock he threw broke it."

"...The window was not broken before Rudolf threw the rock at it."

"Why wouldn't Rudolf notice that the window was broken?"

>>17259
"I mean, it was really dark outside, right? Whatever. I wouldn't be surprised if Hideyoshi and George were both killed by a trap that was in the room."

"Hideyoshi and George were not killed or otherwise disabled by traps. They were killed by another person that was in the room with them. This person killed them from a close distance."

"You 'wouldn't be surprised'? I tire of this, Mr. Goldbar. I want the truth."

Takashi shocks you with a taser, making your body flop around as much as it can within your restraints.

>>17261
"The culprit killed the two, hid somewhere in the room, and then died! Rudolf either never found the body or did and kept it secret!"

"When Rudolf entered, the only other people in the room were Hideyoshi and George. Of course, at this time, they were dead."

"Do you take me for a fool, Kinjo Goldbar?"

>>17263
"When Rudolf looked through the door, he only saw Hideyoshi and George playing dead. So when Rudolf threw the rock through the window, it bounced off their heads, and it killed them both! Naturally, they had only died by the time he entered the room, and this was still at a relatively close distance, so the previous reds hold true!"

Last edited at 15/01/21(Wed)18:46:18

"...When Rudolf looked through the door, Hideyoshi and George were dead."

Kasumi lunges at you and digs her nails into your cheeks. "Stop it! I want the truth!"

Blood trickles from her nails.

>>17265
"The culprit used a hidden passage to escape! Or they set the chain lock from outside the door! Maybe the window can be locked from outside! Or George and Hideyoshi, they killed each other simultaneously!!"

Last edited at 15/01/21(Wed)18:57:39

Your vision blurs. Your sense of reality fades further and further away. You're on Rokkenjima island, locked in the guest house bedroom. The chain lock in melted into the wall and the window has strong, iron bars over it.

You hear a voice from overhead.

"There are no hidden passages. The chain lock can not be set from outside the door. The window can not be locked from the outside. George and Hideyoshi did not kill each other."

The voice laughs. Every red takes you further from reality and more deeply into this room. That's right, haven't you always been here? Isn't this where you really belong? No more riddles, no more torture, just tucked deeply in a corner of another reality forever...

>>17267
"The culprit... the..."

I walk over to the door, chain set, and open it as far as it can go.

"...Even though the chain was set, ...it was possible for the culprit to escape through the door."

I test my theory.

No matter how hard you try, you can't fit yourself through the crack in the door. You doubt it would even be possible for a person of Maria's size. It seems likely that nobody can enter or exist through the door while the chain is set.

The door abruptly slams in your face and you can't manage to force it back open. Even that illusory freedom is being denied to you.

You struggle to even remember a reality outside of the room. You don't have much longer...

Last edited at 15/01/21(Wed)19:17:31

>>17268
"Rudolf said there was a lot of broken glass... the culprit must have taken apart the window and smashed it onto their heads... And the culprit left via the window frame, and replaced the window from the outside."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NadRS5ed0CE

"That's wrong. All of it. You've lost this game. Goodbye, Kinjo Goldbar."

The voice disappears forever. For the first time in a while, you're left with your own thoughts. The room offers a comforting, familiar glow. Why did you ever want to escape it? It offered you what nobody else ever could: absolute peace. Maybe you've deserved a break.

Rest well, Kinjo Goldbar.

You're not sure how long you spend in that room. A few weeks? A year? More? None of it really matters to you anymore. You spend most of your time sleeping or staring into the purple and black haze. A piece without a purpose has no hopes or dreams. It just is.

Then, one day, one random hour, something odd happens. Something that makes you care again...

"Uu. Kinjo? What are you doing here?"

>>17273
"......Maria? I'm sorry. I got stuck. I couldn't figure it out. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how much I thought about it over and over, I couldn't think of a solution....."

"It's okay, Maria forgives you! Besides, you made a huge difference. The Maria of that world survived and grew up to live a long, healthy life. If you hadn't gone back, that never would have happened."

She offers out her hand to you. "Do you want Maria to show you the truth?"

>>17275
"Yeah. Let's see the truth."

"Come, try and remember, what form did you have?"

The purple fog fades around the room. The area returns the the time that you were passed out.

"You two, stay here. If I'm right, the culprit still has to be in the room. Don't let them out."

"D-dad..."

"I'll be right back."

"Make sure to end this."

Maria looks at you. "Don't think about closed rooms. Imagine that you're the witch, but there are too many humans near the room for you to use your magic. If you hide, they'll catch you. What do you do?"

>>17277
"Lure them away from the room somehow, so I can use my magic again?"

"Good idea! But Uncle Rudolf is coming around and you want to be outside before he gets there, so you don't have time! The only thing you can do is open the window and climb out of it. But when Uncle Rudolf comes back..."

The glass shatters. Rudolf never bothered to make sure the window was still locked.

The room returns to its purple haze.

"You see?"

>>17279
"...Wow, I really suck."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFyzTtKNzYI

"Kinjo doesn't suck. Even if we don't know who the culprit is, you tried your best to save everyone and solve the mysteries. When you disappeared on the game board, Battler was really worried. He'll be glad to know you're okay."

The room fades away...

"We'll go to the Golden Land. There, everyone is happy and nothing bad ever happens. Even Ozaki is there! We'll play games with Beato and Battler and nobody will ever hurt you again."

Maria pauses.

"Thank you, Kinjo."

THE END

The answer can be found here, in the first 5 minutes of the prologue to the now canceled Denouement of the Golden Witch.
Click Here

>>17281
Maria End.