"Ryn, have you ever thought that everything in this world is false, that everything in the world is actually meaningless? The starry sky is so cold and hateful, the stars operate as coldly as machines, born, destroyed, born, destroyed... over and over again, eternally unchanging."
"What, did staring at the stars for too long finally break your brain?" Ryn tapped Aha's mask, wanting to fix its brain through physical means.
"No, I'm serious. Ryn, you should understand, we stand on the branches of the Tree, and we can observe thousands of worlds through its leaves.
So... is it possible that we are also just among those being observed? The universe is eternal, cyclical, like a fixed program.
We might just be characters in the writings of a higher existence, being raised in captivity without our knowledge, just like the creatures in those leaves."
"Yeah, thinking about it that way is really creepy..." Ryn held his chin and pondered for a while, but couldn't come to any conclusion.
Because anything is possible, isn't it?
Aha wanted to continue expounding on its views, but Ryn cut it off with a slap.
"What's the point of discussing this? It's meaningless. Even if there really is a higher existence raising and observing us, even if we are really just the product of someone's writing... what does it matter?"
Ryn brought Aha to a leaf that they could observe, and they watched the world inside the leaf together.
"Look, even if someone is observing them, watching them, what does it matter? They are still alive, living their own lives. They think, they desire, they laugh, they cry. Aren't they all living in a real and tangible way?"
"...But what if everything is fake? What if everything is just woven, pre-arranged? To think that it's all one's own subjective initiative, when in reality, they are just pitiful creatures being manipulated like puppets..."
Ryn was at a loss for words, not knowing how to answer Aha, and could only change the subject.
"We've been together for thousands of years, how come I never noticed you were such a pessimist..."
"Well, my brain hasn't been quite right lately. But since my brain isn't normal to begin with, maybe I'm in a normal state now, so it's only natural that I think a bit more."
"Smile more, be more optimistic. The universe is already cold and silent enough. If you become depressed too, I'll probably be driven mad."
Aha stretched out its hands, pulling the corners of its mouth into a strange arc, revealing a terrifying smile.
"Like this?"
"You might as well just go and die."
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After numerous fruitless debates with Ryn, Aha often found itself lying next to various leaves, re-observing the worlds within.
The more it watched, the more engrossed Aha became. It used to be uninterested in these worlds, having grown tired of them. But when viewed with a new mindset, a fresh perspective, Aha was like a child who had discovered a new toy, unable to put it down.
Whenever it saw something interesting or fun, it would pull Ryn over to share it.
Gradually, gradually... Aha felt as if it had understood something...
The tear marks on Aha's mask slowly faded until they disappeared. Aha was born in tears, but the smile of life accompanied its growth.
——————————————
One day, Aha suddenly said goodbye to Ryn.
"Ryn, I have to leave."
"...? Have you found the meaning you were searching for?"
"Yes. I am a fool, a clown... I observed all living beings from the perspective of a god, self-righteously thinking I knew what they should do, how they should act.
But that was all wrong. The conclusions I spent countless eons to reach were all wrong.
Life should not be defined, should not be dictated by others. Life has its own dignity; they are all unique existences, and nothing can regulate or limit their development.
Have you ever seen a baby, Ryn? Babies are the purest creatures in the world. They have not been tainted by the things of the world; they possess only the most essential desires, the desires of life!
Babies are the greatest. Even if they open their eyes at birth to a cold world, they can still confront the world's heartlessness with laughter and cries.
Just as the laws of the universe are magnificent, they are ultimately just cold, dead things. But life, as fragile as a reed, can still confront the injustice and cruelty of the entire world with laughter.
I must go. I have found my path, the meaning of my existence."
Aha split off a piece of its mask and handed it to Ryn, bidding him a solemn farewell.
"Wait." Ryn grabbed Aha directly, speaking to it seriously, "You should know what you're about to do, right...? Do you know what the consequences will be?"
"I know... but so what?" Aha smiled faintly, just like the first time Ryn had met it, a smile so unrestrained, so pure.
"Even if I can never come out again, never be as detached as I am now, I don't want to be a spectator anymore.
I want to be like that person, to bring smiles to those who are suffering. I want to be like how the Tree respected my life, saving me from destruction.
I want to become a part of the living again, to personally accompany them and pass on joy.
Life struggles in this cold and indifferent world. They need salvation... I will bring smiles to them, giving them the courage to face everything."
Aha manifested a human-shaped illusion and gave Ryn a hug.
"Take care." Ryn patted Aha's back. Since Aha had made up its mind, Ryn naturally wouldn't say any more.
In a daze, Aha walked away step by step, illusory leaves dancing around it as if seeing it off.
Seeing these leaves, Aha couldn't help but laugh out loud. The clear laughter tore through the silent universe, spreading through the leaves to all the myriad worlds, letting the people of the worlds begin to welcome the descent of 'Him'.
Aha ascended to godhood. Amidst the Tree's farewell, it shed its mortal form step by step, and the hole that Ryn had gouged in its forehead was now filled with a mysterious and unfathomable energy.
Aha came from the worlds within the leaves, and now it returns to the worlds within the leaves.
Ryn silently watched all of this, then sighed.
"Even Aha has made its decision. What am I still hesitating for?"
Since Tianqi appeared, Stigmata Kiana had vanished. God Kiana had also long since cut off her connection with Stigmata Kiana because of the Will Coordinator.
Ryn was afraid of death, because he couldn't feel the blessings left on him by the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta. If he died, he would be truly dead.
So Ryn chose to sit still in the starry river for ten thousand years, waiting for time to flow to his own timeline. But... even when the time comes, would he be able to find the world with Kiana, Mei, and Kika?
Ryn didn't know, but he chose to take a gamble.
What was he betting on?
He was betting on whether the title 'Child of the Tree and Sea' was useful at all.