Chapter 253
"I know that domination nearly tore apart your very nature.
It almost erased your existence from my own consciousness.
And that is not something I should ever do to my creations."
Usssshhh!
"You did not block me out of defiance.
You did it to protect me, to ensure that I would not wound myself through decisions taken too far."
Fhiiiih!
"I understand. And I have no intention of throwing myself into real danger.
But listen to my reasoning—if only within this inner depth."
Hooooohh!
"I am not saving Aldraya merely because of code.
Not only for the stability of Flo Viva Mythology, not only because of the seed of the Administrator.
I do it because I wish to give meaning to Meaning itself."
"…"
"Whether it is the Meaning of becoming Aldraya, the Meaning of becoming Silvia, the Meaning of becoming a fallen Supreme Angel who still chooses to stand, the Meaning of becoming the Mother of Angels.
And finally, the Meaning of becoming the Matriarch."
Uuuuuhhhh!
"Not to dominate, not to be worshipped, but to understand.
To understand what it feels like to continue loving existence when the Self itself rejects you."
Sssshhh!
"I do not need to name that Meaning now. It is enough that I alone bear it.
And Aldraya…"
Hoooooohh!
"Is one of the many ways by which I reach it."
The tense silence finally broke with a long exhalation from Theo.
The sound of that breath was like a wind tearing down the final curtain, marking the end of contemplation and the beginning of explanation.
The rigidity in his face softened for a moment, replaced by an expression heavier and more human.
Then he spoke, his voice low and melodious, filling the vast space of consciousness with a resonance of confession.
He began with an apology.
A clear, firm apology, directed straight at the four silent pillars.
He apologized for deliberately, four times in succession, dominating them and exerting pressure that had nearly destroyed their nature and existence.
His words did not seek justification.
They merely acknowledged the act and its impact.
After that apology settled, he nodded slowly, a nod carrying a grim sense of satisfaction.
He admitted that he understood the reason behind RWIA's obstruction.
They had acted to save him himself.
In a calm tone, he continued, assuring them that he neither intended, nor would allow himself, to fall into genuine danger.
After ensuring that Resolve, Will, Intent, and Ambition were listening closely, and seeing that none of his creative constructs dared to interrupt or object, Theo continued.
His voice deepened, as if drawing truth from the abyss of his own soul.
He explained his true reason, one more intimate than merely preserving the balance of the world's code.
His goal in saving Aldraya by merging her core essence into even the smallest part of RWIA was not solely narrative stability.
His goal was so that he himself—Theo Vkytor, the Author—could give meaning to Meaning.
To give meaning to being the Supreme Angel Aldraya, to being Silvia, to being the Mother of Angels, to being the Matriarch.
He wished to understand the true essence of every layer of identity bound to the dying figure before him.
Not as hollow concepts, but as living truths he could feel and carry within himself.
Yet, from the deepest recesses of his heart, Theo hesitated—even refused—to elaborate further on what that "Meaning" truly was.
It was a secret hidden behind every layer of explanation, a motivation too personal, too entwined with his own desire as a creator stranded within his creation.
"We were not wrong to be created by the boundless creativity that resides within your mind, O Most Exalted Theo Vkytor.
Not only is Your explanation logical, it is profoundly aligned with the reason for our existence."
Huuuuuh!
"Indeed, we find no remaining grounds for objection.
Not because we are forced, but because Your purpose is now perfectly clear to us."
'Perhaps a little intimidation is not entirely bad, after all?'
"We are ready.
The boundaries we once guarded so tightly have now been loosened.
No longer restraining, no longer forbidding."
Fssshhhh!
"Please proceed, Most Noble Author.
For all time, we shall accompany Your decisions."
Several moments passed in a silence filled with anticipation.
Theo stood upright, his sharp eyes carefully observing every fluctuation of light, every subtle vibration emanating from the four pillars before him.
He waited for a reaction—a sign of understanding or perhaps lingering resistance—after the profound explanation he had just delivered.
No sound came from RWIA, only a silence charged with weight.
Yet that silence no longer felt tense or fearful.
Instead, it felt like digestion, the absorption of new truth into their essential structure.
Then the response arrived.
Not with thunder or dramatic declaration, but with a clear, harmonious voice, colored by sincere praise rather than manufactured reverence.
They stated, simply yet with conviction, that they were not wrongly created.
They were the fruits of boundless creativity dwelling within the mind of an author named Theo Vkytor.
This acknowledgment was the highest form of acceptance of their nature and purpose.
After that statement, the four pillars nodded in unison, a gesture heavy with meaning.
It was the final sign of surrender.
There was no longer any reason to object, no logic left to justify resistance.
Theo's explanation—blending cosmic responsibility with an intimate search for meaning—made sense to them.
More than that, it provided the missing context long absent from their rigid function.
Witnessing that acceptance, a thin smile finally appeared on Theo's lips.
It was not a smile of victory, but one of relief and a rare warmth.
Somehow, RWIA felt that warmth directly.
As if energy from the Author radiated acceptance and satisfaction, igniting a renewed fervor within them.
The urge to praise, to revere, to serve burned brighter than ever before.
They felt strengthened—not physically, but essentially—by this accord.
With this newly found resolve, RWIA continued.
Their voices sounded firmer, without hesitation.
They informed Theo that they were now ready.
Ready to merge, to open every layer and smallest fragment of their essence, to welcome Aldraya's core essence.
This declaration was a complete reversal of their previous absolute prohibition.
They formally relaxed the rigid decree they had once upheld.
The conceptual gates once tightly guarded now stood wide open, inviting the fragile light of Aldraya's existence to enter and merge, to find new support within a system that had once rejected it.
All of this they did because they finally understood, and because the will of the Author was the supreme law they acknowledged without condition.
"Are you done with your business?
Don't tell me I still have to sit here longer just because you're busy arguing with something that won't even show its form."
"Relax. They've agreed."
The struggle in the depths of consciousness finally came to an end.
Theo withdrew from his inner space, where he had confronted and negotiated with the essential pillars of himself.
His fragmented awareness fused back together, and the real outer world—with all its gravity and cold—absorbed him once more.
His gaze immediately fixed on the figure before him.
Aldraya remained where she was, seated with her body trembling uncontrollably.
Every tremor in her shoulders and hands was tangible proof of the tremendous wager underway, a heroic struggle against existential disintegration simply to remain in a coherent form.
To be continued…