Chapter 37
In the silence that should have been calming, something slipped behind him.
So subtle.
So quick.
Even Theo did not have the chance to recognize its presence until it was already too late.
A breath, cold as the shadow of night, brushed against the back of his neck.
In a panic reflex, Theo turned too quickly, and his head struck the hard trunk behind him—the short thud echoed, followed by a sting spreading up to his jaw.
He stepped back twice, rubbing his now-reddening chin, and through the pulse of pain, his eyes caught a figure that should not have been there at all.
Aldraya stood before him, almost soundless, without a trace of footsteps, as if the world itself had halted its rotation to make way for her arrival.
Her hair swayed gently in the wind, her eyes glimmering dimly like embers drifting within a veil of mist.
Her presence ignited emotions inside Theo's chest.
Not anger entirely, but a fusion of surprise, fatigue, and curiosity.
He straightened himself, though the throbbing in his head had yet to fade.
He wanted to know why Aldraya left Ilux and Erietta behind, why she came here alone, why she appeared so swiftly without any trace of teleportation or magical echo that usually preceded the steps of a goddess like her.
But before he could shape a complete sentence, the air between them froze.
Aldraya moved without sound, and in an instant, her cold fingertip pressed against Theo's lips.
The touch felt like a shard of ice piercing skin.
Time seemed to halt at that point.
The wind stopped blowing, shadows along the wall no longer shifted, and only Theo's heartbeat echoed clearly in his ears.
Aldraya's gaze was sharp, yet not entirely piercing.
There was something behind it, a kind of will both deep and difficult to translate.
She did not speak much—only a soft hiss escaped, breaking the silence and hanging in the air, enough to demand absolute stillness.
"Quite a clever move, Theo.
Playing the puppeteer who directs events so that Ilux becomes the mediator between the two of us.
A cunning act that almost resembles wisdom.
But you forgot one important thing.
Creating peace between two entities destined from the beginning to destroy one another is not merely foolish—it is impossible.
Especially when the one attempting it is the lecherous man standing before me, Eshura Birtash, the samurai who chases women's purity."
Fsssshhh!
"Erietta and I are not two sides you can bring together through goodwill alone.
She is not worthy to stand near me.
Not deserving to be placed as an equal, nor to be compared, even if doing so is an act of cruelty in itself.
A woman who entered Star Academy through cheating, staining the sacred path with deception, holds no right to mercy or sympathy.
I live by truth and harmony, and anyone who sides with her deserves only to be removed by Wi, the sacred blade that witnesses every step I take."
The silence that ensnared them tightened, making every particle of air feel frozen.
Aldraya stood before Theo Vkytor—or, in this world, Eshura Birtash—with unmatched presence.
Her silver gown reflected the moonlight spilling through the tall glass above, forming an aura that resembled a divine manifestation more than a mortal figure.
Her gaze was sharp.
Not because of anger, but because of curiosity layered beneath ancient arrogance.
In that gaze, Theo saw his own reflection—tired, human, and far from the perfection this world considered sacred.
Aldraya's lips moved slowly, but the words that escaped cut through the air like a thin blade of light.
She offered praise, though the mockery within her tone was unmistakable.
To her, Theo's act—maneuvering Ilux into becoming the peacekeeper between herself and Erietta—was too clever for a perverted man standing before her.
The words struck gently, without needing to be loud.
An insult wrapped in elegance, spoken with the confidence of a goddess accustomed to judging the beings beneath her.
Theo did not retaliate.
He simply stood still, letting the words echo within him, trying to balance anger with understanding.
He knew that beneath the sharp remark, Aldraya was testing something.
Not just his intelligence, but his place within the world he helped create.
Aldraya stepped closer.
The soft click of her heels accompanied each phrase rolling from her lips, now carrying the cold scent of mist.
She spoke of Erietta—of how the girl entered Star Academy through a method filled with flaws, a path riddled with irregularities that should have been impossible to slip past the most rigorous selection system.
Her tone was no longer merely explaining.
It sentenced, stripping bare the injustice that stood before the balance she worshipped.
To Aldraya, this world was a grand scale that could only stand upright when both sides carried identical weight in truth.
And anyone who strayed from that path, especially through deceit as she believed Erietta had done, deserved to be cut down.
Not out of hate, but because that was justice in the eyes of a goddess.
The blade Wi in her hand quivered faintly, releasing a golden radiance that stung the eyes.
The Lu Core within its steel rumbled like a living spirit demanding absolute law.
Theo stared at the light, fully aware of the magnitude of power contained within.
He remembered all the data, the statistics, the gameplay notes that now manifested in reality before him.
Aldraya never spoke without reason.
If her blade glowed, it meant the world was weighing something—and he, knowingly or not, might also be part of that judgment.
'Wait, this… this isn't logical at all.
The one Aldraya should be telling this to is Ilux, not me.
And I remember clearly—in the first arc, between episodes seven and eight—Aldraya delivered this exact revelation to Ilux, twice even.
But now? Why am I the one hearing it?'
Wussssh!
'Is this another trick by the Administrator? Or… could it truly be Aldraya's own will?
If the latter is true—if she can act beyond the boundaries of the scenario—then the character development in this game has already surpassed its limits.
No longer just narrative simulation, but something that has actually… evolved.'
Offffh!
'Whatever the reason, I must be more cautious from now on.'
For a moment, Theo Vkytor froze in place.
His heartbeat spiked.
Not from fear, but from shock that pierced through the logic he had clung to all this time.
Aldraya's words still echoed in his mind, a resonance refusing to fade within the empty chamber of his awareness.
He knew every arc, every episode, every narrative transition in Flo Viva Mythology—every moment that should have occurred, every event engraved in his memory like scripture.
And in that script, Ilux was the one meant to receive Aldraya's revelation regarding Erietta's entrance into Star Academy, not him.
First arc, episode seven through eight—two repeated moments forming a clear narrative pattern that was not meant to shift.
Yet here, that pattern fractured before his eyes.
To Theo, this was not a small anomaly.
It was a structural violation of the narrative, a deviation possible only if something—or someone—had altered the flow from behind the curtain.
He tried to process it, his eyes fixed on Aldraya.
Was this the work of the Administrator?
A being beyond the control of any player, who occasionally rewrote events for a balance unfathomable to human logic?
Or could it be that Aldraya, as an entity with awareness beyond a mere character, had begun acting of her own free will, stepping beyond the script that once bound her?
To be continued…