Chapter 94
'This Aldraya is truly different.
From the way she looks at me alone, something already feels off, as if there is another layer tightly sealed beneath.
I cannot treat this as something ordinary.
Not after seeing how she moved when Sa Valthura and Quorin were still active, how she summoned the Thirteenth Authority of the Highest Angel without hesitation, without showing even the slightest sign of wavering.'
Huuuuh!
'The one who stood before me back then was indeed Aldraya who understood the world from the stage of the Administrators.
But the one looking at me now is different, more like someone who has just awakened from a long slumber, unaware of the overwhelming power she had just released.'
Hhhh!
'If there truly are two sides within her, two personalities taking turns to surface, then whatever is happening inside her body is not something I can overlook.'
In the stillness and quiet, Aldraya's gaze fixed on Theo became a kind of mirror, forcing him to examine the dynamics unfolding before him on his own.
He realized that although the girl seemed static and flat, there was a layer of complexity he could not ignore.
Every subtle movement, every blink, every slight tilt of her head became its own code, pointing to the difference between the Aldraya who once faced the nine Administrators and the Aldraya who now stared at him without expression.
This awareness made Theo hold his breath in his thoughts, understanding that what appeared simple on the surface actually demanded extra attention.
His contemplation forced Theo to place his own perspective carefully.
Aldraya, who could move while the Sa of Valthura and Quorin were still active, who could summon the Thirteenth Authority of the Highest Angel, had shown extraordinary control, decisiveness, and courage.
Conversely, the Aldraya who now complained of a headache, who stared at him blankly and questioned the meaning of his words, displayed vulnerability and an unpreparedness to face physical strain or the energy permeating around her.
Those two figures, though physically identical, clearly exhibited different traits, characters, and limits, making Theo feel it necessary to pay attention to those differences as a manifestation of two "personalities" emerging under different situations.
He reflected deeper, understanding that these two versions of Aldraya were not merely reflections of context, but entities with their own ways of responding to the world.
The nine Administrators and the Thirteenth Angelic Authority who once became Aldraya's trial were not the same experience as the moment of headache she had now.
Different experiences, abilities, and states of energy formed different manifestations of character.
Theo realized that his interaction at this moment had to take these complex layers into account, not merely react to a headache or an emotionless stare.
That awareness placed Theo in a more cautious position.
'How could you ask as if nothing remains in your memory?
If that were truly the case, then the Aldraya I encountered all this time would only now be able to stand before me.
You defeated the nine Administrators with the Thirteenth Authority of the Highest Angel, and I witnessed it directly.
At the very least, you must have realized something from the trace of that power.'
Ooooh!
'Yet you look at me as if I am merely an anomaly that caught your attention, not someone you analyzed so deeply just minutes ago.
And what confuses me is the similarity.
Both the you who was possessed by the Administrator seed and the you now interpret my movements without emotion, speak flatly, and see me as something different.
But if observed closely, your understandings of me are not identical.
As if there is a fine line separating two consciousnesses, yet both still look at me with the same curiosity.
So who were you, the one who stood and fought beside me before?'
Within the recesses of his mind, Theo felt a strange disharmony that was difficult to describe.
The chaos arose from the contrast he observed between the two versions of Aldraya.
If the Aldraya now standing before him, asking the meaning of his words, truly remembered nothing about the event where she faced the nine Administrators with the Highest Angelic Authority, then there should be a gaping divide between her memories and her demeanor.
But what appeared instead was a paradox.
This Aldraya, despite lacking those memories, still interpreted Theo's actions with the same flat calmness as the version who fought before, and still regarded Theo as someone unique and different from others.
Theo stared at her, trying to examine each movement, every blink, every line of expression that remained unchanged.
His logic spun, wondering whether this was merely the result of Administrator seed interference or if there were psychological and cosmic layers shaping the identical attitudes.
He realized that although their memories differed in context, these two Aldrayas still expressed similar responses toward the world around them, a pattern that confused and made Theo wary.
Amid this confusion, Theo began to feel a subtle tension creeping into his perception.
There was a difference that could not be easily explained, yet also a visible thread connecting them, as if Aldraya's identity transcended specific memories and experiences.
The fact that both interpreted Theo's actions and words without emotion, placing him in a unique position in their eyes, raised larger questions about Aldraya's nature and the possibility of an identity fragmentation far more complex than mere Administrator seed influence.
The confusion clung to Theo, faint but pressing.
'The more I think about it, the clearer it feels that something is tightly concealed here.
Not a mere small oddity, but a pattern woven too neatly to be considered coincidence.'
Usssh!
'All this time I thought you had two sides, two colors contradicting one another, two personalities appearing alternately under the shadow of the Administrator seed.
But the more evidence I observe, the more reasonable it seems that my assumption is wrong.
Perhaps there were never two of you.
Perhaps there is only one Aldraya, one and the same consciousness, one person who was never divided from the beginning.'
Hssssh!
'If that is true, then the you who faced the nine Administrators and the you standing before me now are the same person.
One who holds full control, one who makes decisions knowing exactly what she is doing.
Not differing reflections.
Not layered entities.
Not overlapping versions.
Only you, whole, without any fragments.'
Naaaaum!
'But if that truly is the reality, then why do you claim to have a headache?
Is it truly honest pain, or is there another surprise you are hiding?
Perhaps the shock of realizing you can use Sa like an Administrator.
Perhaps the confusion as the boundary between what should be impossible and what you can accomplish begins to collapse.
Or perhaps there is something deeper still, something you have not yet dared to admit even to yourself?'
In his mind, Theo felt a confusion he could not ignore.
There was a sense that something was being hidden carefully, something arranged so logically that it was difficult for reason to deny.
He considered the possibility that all assumptions about two personalities within Aldraya might have been wrong.
The thought kept spinning, demanding analysis, for if the Aldraya who faced the nine Administrators and the Aldraya now before him were truly the same, then all conclusions about fragmented identity became meaningless.
One entity, one character, yet giving different impressions because of the circumstances and pressures surrounding her.
Theo examined every movement, every reaction Aldraya displayed.
To be continued…