Chapter 85
Without taking a breath, without turning his head, he released a question that sounded like a gentle reprimand, asking what Theo meant by approaching only to remain silent like that.
His words emerged without emotion, yet clear enough to show that he sensed something strange in Theo's behavior, who merely observed him without offering any explanation.
'I couldn't even stop myself from giving a faint smile.
Whether she is gripped by the Administrator's seed or not, Aldraya is still Aldraya.
Flat.
Silent.
Never giving a gap for emotion.
Just like every time I met her before.
Truly consistent down to the bone.'
"We have to work together.
You and I.
There is no other way."
'She honestly doesn't have many choices.
Only I can match the ninth Administrator's Sa.
If I fall, let alone die, then the next target is obvious.
Aldraya.
So consider this bait.
A small test to see how she reacts to my offer.'
Theo raised his right hand slowly and pinched his own forehead, a small gesture born from disbelief and a hint of subtle relief.
In his heart he admitted that Aldraya, now serving as the vessel of the Administrator's seed, turned out to be no different from the Aldraya he had always met before.
There was no change in the way the girl stood.
There was no change in the way her gaze pierced the horizon as if the world before her was the only thing worth paying attention to.
That similarity brought a thin warmth, but also an awareness that he still needed to stay cautious.
After making sure that Aldraya did not turn even slightly and continued focusing all her attention forward, Theo gathered the remaining firmness within himself.
He opened his mouth, choosing the words he felt most fitting to break through the distance forming between them.
He conveyed that the situation entangling them demanded a single absolute decision: that he and Aldraya must unite as one defensive line against the nine Administrators who were now entering the Second Paradigm.
The thought was not born merely from tactical analysis, but from instinct—knowing that time was running thin and the threat was closing in.
Behind the firmness of his statement, Theo hid a murmur that echoed only within his mind.
He interpreted the situation through a farther lens, understanding that Aldraya had little choice but to accept the offer.
Only he could counterbalance the fundamental nature of each Administrator's Sa.
If he failed, if he lost his life while facing them, then Aldraya would become the next target without any chance to escape.
Because of that, the offer he presented was essentially a fishing line cast toward Aldraya, a way to see how the girl would respond to a situation pressing tightly upon her.
"I agree to work with you to face them.
But before that, answer one thing.
Why did you approach me if your Resolve, Will, Intent, and Ambition can flow into your sword techniques—techniques that can exist without needing the support of another person?"
'I understand now.
If she can ask that, it means the Administrator's seed within her has opened a door that should have remained shut.
She knows that every sword technique I have stands upon RWIA.
She knows the foundation, knows the flow, even knows when I intend to ascend to the Second Productivity.
If she knows, it is likely the other Administrators know as well.
They are connected.
They maintain the game code built from my own inspiration.
And that means whatever I do, whatever I design, every layer of my resolve as a writer and samurai has been under their surveillance from the start.'
Amid the fractures of reality still trembling with the remnants of the Second Paradigm, a small yet sharp change occurred within Aldraya.
Without shifting her head, only through a subtle movement of her eyes, she redirected her gaze toward Theo, who stood loyally at her left side.
The movement was barely visible, yet enough to mark that the distance between them had begun to shift.
In a fragile silence, she accepted a conclusion that was almost unavoidable.
She agreed with Theo, accepting the offer to work together in facing the nine Administrators who had now become a lethal threat.
But before that decision was bound into reality, Aldraya raised a question born from an understanding far deeper than what any normal human should possess.
She questioned Theo's reason for approaching her directly, questioning the urgency of his presence beside her if Theo's Resolve, Will, Intent, and Ambition could be fully channeled into his sword techniques without him needing to stand close to her.
That question was not mere curiosity, but a confirmation of knowledge that had seeped into her through the Administrator's seed dwelling inside her body, knowledge that allowed Aldraya to read Theo's murmurs as clearly as reading waves of formless data.
Behind the gaze that still faced forward, a new awareness emerged within Aldraya's mind.
An awareness that she was now connected to a wider network, a network binding all Administrators to the central control of Flo Viva Mythology's game code.
Because of that, whatever Theo thought, whatever Theo planned—even his attempt to develop the Second Productivity—might already be monitored by them.
This was highly possible considering that the game was inspired by Last Prayer, Theo's own work, making the sparks of creativity within him resonate into the system's core where the Administrators held power.
Resolve, shadows, ambition—all influenced a structure far wider than Theo realized.
"Fuuuuh—"
Fiiiiiaah!
"At the moment, the RWIA I possess is still not enough to open the Second Productivity.
I am still stuck in the First Productivity, and that means my swordsmanship has not yet reached its proper form.
Meanwhile, the nine Administrators have already entered the Second Paradigm.
It would be extremely foolish of me to think I could endure, let alone fight them, with only the basic phase that hasn't even stabilized."
In a silence filled with the shadows of fractured reality, Theo drew a short breath.
The faint sound that escaped his lips echoed like a sigh attempting to calm the storm within him.
He felt how fragile the foundation of his power was compared to the waves of the Second Paradigm enveloping the Administrators.
Then from within his heart, pulsing with remnants of wounds and tension, arose an admission he could not hide.
He realized that the Resolve, Will, Intent, and Ambition he prided himself on as a writer were still not enough to open the Second Productivity.
There remained a gaping distance—one separating him from the level of strength capable of matching the nine guardians of reality's laws in the Second Paradigm.
As that awareness sank deeper, Theo felt himself gripped by the bitter truth that he was still bound to the First Productivity.
Each pulse of the Administrators' Sa booming from afar felt like a gong strike reminding him of how vastly unbalanced their positions were.
The Second Paradigm was not merely an evolution of strength, but a rebirth into a far higher form of existence.
The radiant Son of Quorin, the serenely glowing Daughter of Valthura, and the seven planetary Administrators who now woven their powers together in their peak combat mode—all stood as fortresses far too tall for a mere human, even for a writer who created the purest horrors in his stories.
In that comparison, Theo did not just feel small; he felt nearly insignificant.
Even so, the admission of his weakness did not erode his desire to endure.
Instead, amid the impossibility, his mind returned to the simplest point of his existence.
To be continued…