Chapter 239
Theo, who continued to keep his back turned toward Quil-Hasa, could not see any expression or reaction from the entity.
He could only feel the growing weight of silent pressure, an uncertainty about what was being processed behind that form radiating authority.
His reluctance to turn around was no longer merely a matter of posture, but a form of self-protection, an effort to avoid confronting the possibility of judgment or mercy that might emanate from Quil-Hasa.
Within the stretched silence, Quil-Hasa finally spoke.
His voice did not change, remaining calm and authoritative, yet this time it carried a tone that was both gentle and firm in its reminder.
The entity did not respond directly to the strange bond between Theo and Ilux.
Instead, it guided the conversation back to a more fundamental foundation: the agreement they had both accepted.
Quil-Hasa reminded Theo, word by word, of one of the crucial points within their shared understanding.
That point read roughly as follows.
If one party encounters difficulty, the other will voluntarily provide assistance.
The sentence was spoken not as a threat or a demand, but as an affirmation, a reminder of the reciprocal commitment that formed the foundation of their cooperation.
"What will your next move be, Your Exalted Inspirator?
Now that you realize the bond cannot simply be ignored."
"I will look for a way to injure him, at least enough to stop him."
'Ilux intended to commit something unforgivable—before ultimately severing Aldraya's head—and I will not allow him to go that far.
But the method must be precise.
He must retreat without forcing me to bear the same wounds.'
Soooohh!
'So what should I do?'
"That concern no longer needs to be carried by You alone."
"Huh?"
Tsiiiing!!
Here, Quil-Hasa's intent became clear.
His meaningful silence and reminder of the agreement served as a preamble to tangible action.
The Creator intended to help Theo, to release him, or at least to protect him, from the irritating shackle of the asymmetric bond with Ilux.
That goodwill was not conveyed through grand proclamation, but through the symbolic act that followed.
After reaffirming the foundation of their cooperation, Quil-Hasa then posed a more practical, forward-looking question.
He asked what Theo planned to do next, seeking a concrete step in addressing the crisis within the cave.
Theo, still facing away, answered plainly.
He stated his intention to find a way to injure Ilux, the former disciple with depraved intent, before he could kill Aldraya.
However, Theo added a complicated condition.
He had to find a method that would force Ilux to retreat without simultaneously injuring himself as a consequence of the parasitic bond tying their fates together.
It was a near-impossible riddle, an acrobatic balancing act between the desire to punish and the need to survive.
Hearing this, Quil-Hasa replied immediately.
His voice carried a calming certainty.
"There is no need to worry."
The sentence was not mere empty reassurance.
It was a promise followed by manifestation.
As those words were spoken, an object materialized in the air behind Theo.
Its shape resembled a fan, but with five perfectly formed blades rather than three or four.
Its color was a pristine youthful blue, so clear and pure that it emitted a gentle glow like ice crystals illuminated by the morning sun.
The fan was not an inanimate object.
It possessed its own presence, floating and hovering calmly behind Theo.
"If someday there is something you wish to discuss with me, Quil-Hasa, come to me directly.
There is no need to send transmissions through Rearomh.
As much as possible, I will listen, as long as You yourself take the step."
Hassssh!
"Consider this a small return from me."
'Everything I offer is not generosity, but repayment.
I have not forgotten who stood firm in honoring the promise when that bond first tightened.
The agreement of mutual aid was never just words.
And today, it has been fulfilled as it should be.'
A broad smile bloomed across Theo's face, a rare expression that lasted precisely four seconds before fading like mist.
It was not a sign of simple joy, but an acknowledgment of understanding reached, a deep gratitude, and perhaps a trace of relief.
Yet he still did not turn around.
His posture, with his back toward Quil-Hasa, remained unchanged, as if preserving a certain boundary of courtesy or maintaining the original stance of an equal agreement.
Without looking back, Theo's voice rang out, clear and resolute.
He spoke a farewell, yet his parting words were wrapped in both a reminder and an affirmation.
He reminded Quil-Hasa that if, in the future, there was something that needed to be discussed, the Creator need not bother sending transmissions or messages through intermediaries such as Rearomh.
Simply come in person.
The statement sounded simple, yet it carried deep meaning.
It was an invitation that was also an honor, a door opened wide by Theo as a sign of full trust.
Behind those words lay a strong and reassuring sign.
The pact of mutual assistance they had forged together did not exist merely on paper or in hollow oaths.
It was truly enacted, alive, and pulsing as intended.
'Even the combination of Resolve, Will, Intent, and Ambition—or TKNA, as I shorten it—cannot deny it.
If Ilux is wounded, my body and soul receive the echo.
If he collapses, I fracture alongside him.'
'Conversely, whatever happens to me ends with me alone. It never flows back.'
Fssssh!!
'A one-way relationship.
Unfair. Unbalanced. And far too precise to be coincidence.'
Huuuuh!
'This fan does not deny that law; it merely silences its harmful effects.
Several minutes—around seven.
A narrow window, but sufficient.
Just enough time for me to wound him without being struck in return.'
Returning to the present, within the silent cave after the blasts and screams had faded, Theo still stood motionless beside Aldraya's helpless body.
He chose to remain outwardly silent, continuing his inner murmurs as the only dialogue within a space filled with the remnants of violence and trauma.
Within his mind, an explanation of the fan's function, bestowed by Quil-Hasa, began to take shape with cold, logical clarity.
Its function, at its core, was quite simple.
It was designed as a specific countermeasure, a shield targeting the most troubling weakness in Theo's recent life.
That weakness was the asymmetric bond that forced him to feel every blow and wound suffered by Ilux, the protagonist.
An unjust law in which Theo always bore the weight of suffering, while Ilux never felt the echo of Theo's own actions.
That bond was a shackle limiting every movement, turning every plan of retaliation or intervention into a high-risk gamble against himself.
The problem was compounded by the fact that the bond could not be denied or neutralized by Theo's TKNA at all.
This was what puzzled him, and perhaps even frustrated him slightly.
The Luminous Fan Technique residing within his consciousness, with all its creative authority and narrative power, proved powerless against this absurd bond.
As if the bond were written into a layer of reality's code inaccessible to ordinary understanding.
Perhaps that was why Quil-Hasa intervened.
The Creator, who understood the game world down to its very foundations, had granted that youthful blue artifact as a precisely targeted solution.
To be continued…