Chapter 179
'His Form shifted too quickly for me to catch.'
The green space that had been silent at first began to undergo a subtle distortion, as if every physical law holding it together was gradually loosened by an unstoppable will.
After that majestic voice delivered its apology, something more concrete began to emerge from nothingness.
Across the place where Theo Vkytor stood, a presence slowly began to take shape.
Not a full apparition, nor a divine manifestation in all its grandeur, but only a partial one—about fifty percent of Quil-Hasa's entire existence.
And this time, the Creator intentionally did not bring His divine throne, choosing instead to appear in a simpler form, perhaps as a gesture to lessen the immeasurable hierarchical gap.
However, that so-called simplicity turned out to be nothing but an illusion, for this partial manifestation produced phenomena far deeper and more intricate than mere physical presence.
The space around them began to tremble softly, yet it was not a tremor that shattered or broke; it was a harmonious vibration of reality itself adjusting its frequency to the presence of something not fully bound by its laws.
Light did not emanate from any particular source, but burst spontaneously from the disorder of spacetime itself, as if the rendering code of this world failed to correctly interpret Quil-Hasa's presence, producing visual artifacts in the form of scattered bursts of illumination.
The physical form appearing before Theo was far from stable.
It shifted with a speed that confounded the eye, alternating between a faint humanoid silhouette, a shimmering cloud of energy, and pure geometric structures resembling crystals or patterns of light far too complex to follow.
Each form lasted only a fraction of a second before dissolving and changing, creating the illusion of an entity standing at the intersection of countless possibilities.
The impact of this partial presence rippled across the confined space.
Shadows cast by trees and bushes around the green field suddenly appeared scraped, like thin fabric torn vertically, as if the dimension of shadow itself had been disturbed.
The bushes and grass bowed on their own.
Not because of wind, but due to the subtle yet undeniable existential pressure radiating from the point of presence.
And the most striking effect was on the perception of distance.
Though visually there was space between Theo and the shifting silhouette, the feeling within the soul rejected that notion.
The space between them felt bent, compressed, making them seem as if they were standing incredibly close—face-to-face without a gap—even though physically they remained several steps apart.
This was a high-level distortion of reality, where the concepts of "distance" and "closeness" became relative and subject to the will of the entity.
"Therefore, allow Me to ask you this, Great Author."
'Though the reason is unclear, hearing His voice like this makes me nauseous for some reason.'
"If you truly comprehend the gap that the Administrators themselves cannot grasp, then perhaps you can also understand the distance that stretches between Me and Aldraya."
Fu—fumu!
"What should I do to restore that bond?
How does a True Creator atone for His mistake toward a creation whose heart He unintentionally wounded?"
Hsssh!
"I am not asking for a miraculous answer.
Only guidance.
Something that can show Me the path so that I may no longer hurt Aldraya through My own inadequacy."
The voice echoed again, not through the air but resonating directly within Theo's consciousness.
Even though Quil-Hasa had manifested only part of Himself in an unstable, geometrically distorted form, His voice remained clear and weighty, brushing aside the visual anomalies occurring around them.
The question sounded simple on the surface, yet it held immeasurable complexity.
Quil-Hasa, the Creator who had just admitted His failure in managing His bond with His own creation, was now openly seeking advice.
Not from another god or an eternal counselor, but from Theo Vkytor—a human who was also His source of inspiration.
It was an extraordinary request, a confession of vulnerability and a shifting of moral authority into the hands of someone who should have been no more than an observer or player within this world.
Theo remained silent, his steel-gray eyes fixed on the ever-changing silhouette, as though piercing through the flickers of light and unstable geometric forms to see the consciousness behind them.
He ignored his surroundings entirely.
The torn shadows, the bowing shrubs, the folded space between them—these were all surface symptoms, side effects of a presence too immense for local reality to contain.
His focus rested solely on the fundamental question laid before him.
In his mind, the wheels of analysis spun at tremendous speed.
He was not merely considering the relationship between Quil-Hasa and Aldraya, but mapping the larger narrative structure, the Creator's psychological patterns based on His own works, and the consequences of every possible word he might speak.
"Do not worry about Aldraya Kansh Que's fate.
I assure you, no matter what happens later, she will be fine—and she will not fall too deep."
'I am fully committed to preventing Aldraya's death.
But at the same time, I will not interfere with the fight between Ilux Rediona and the Ugly One—a transformation Aldraya undergoes into something far more terrifying after her innocent loyalty is belittled by Quil-Hasa.'
The silence hanging between them felt heavier than the curved space surrounding it.
Theo Vkytor looked at the shifting figure of light, and behind its divine authority and unstable appearance, he sensed something profoundly human.
Fragility.
The half of Quil-Hasa standing before him felt like delicate, transparent glass, holding back immense pressure from within without showing cracks on its surface.
Her authority as a Goddess did not crumble.
She still radiated a quiet, flat command—without any unnecessary embellishment of emotion.
Yet this absence of emotion was, to Theo, the clearest sign of a deep unease and regret.
A guilt so vast it needed to be buried beneath perfect calm, for acknowledging it openly might shatter the entity's own equilibrium.
Theo understood this with the instinct of an observer who had delved into far too many characters and conflicts.
Behind Quil-Hasa's cruelty toward Aldraya lay a paradoxical, tormenting love.
The love of a Creator for Her creation—profound yet distorted by time, expectation, and perhaps fear of a bond too intimate.
Hurting Quil-Hasa's fragile heart was not his intention.
Instead, he felt the need to soothe that hidden unrest, offering clarity without undermining the dignity She still held.
With a calm, clear voice chosen with painstaking care, Theo finally delivered his advice and his promise.
'Do not worry too much about Aldraya Kansh Que's fate.'
His statement was not empty consolation, but a factual declaration filled with conviction.
He continued by explaining his framework of thought, revealing his deep understanding of this world's narrative structure at its core.
Theo acknowledged that he would not allow Aldraya to be killed by Ilux Rediona in the first arc of the upcoming mid-ninth episode.
However, he also firmly stated that he would not interfere with Ilux's development.
Aldraya's transformation into the Ugly One was an essential narrative destiny.
To be continued…