CHAPTER 102 – The Root Protagonist's True Purpose
A soft, stabilizing white glow suddenly intensified, cutting a line of absolute purity between Xiao Xi and the vast, swirling darkness of the First Root.
The Root Protagonist stepped forward, moving with the quiet authority of a universal law.
He was calm, composed, and deadly serious.
The practiced, almost mocking smile was gone.
There was no warmth, no trace of his previous enigmatic politeness.
Just pure, unwavering steel.
"I will not allow you to touch her, ancient one."
Xiao Xi stared at his rigid back, confusion and shock warring within her.
"…You're protecting me? Why?"
He answered without turning, his voice low and firm, focused entirely on the terrifying entity before them.
"I was created to stabilize the world, yes.
To impose order on the chaos.
That was my directive."
He paused, and his next words resonated with the weight of untold responsibility.
"But I was also created… to guard the Root. To maintain the narrative structure until the true Root—the chosen Root—was strong enough to take command."
Her breath caught, a shaky gasp.
The missing piece of the puzzle slammed into place.
"You… you were made for me? A bodyguard? A caretaker?"
The Root Protagonist nodded once, a minimal, respectful movement.
"I was not made to replace you.
I was made to protect you and the world while you awakened and completed your journey.
You needed the stress of the 'conflict' to fully integrate the Core."
A shaking gasp escaped her lips.
Everything made sickening, horrible sense now,
Why he was so effortlessly perfect.
Why he appeared the moment her rewrite destabilized the world.
Why he always knew too much about her power.
Why he had insisted Xiao Xi was an anomaly and needed to be contained,
He wasn't trying to erase her; he was guarding her from the truth too early, preventing her from confronting this ancient foe before she was ready.
He had been playing the villain to forge the hero.
He stepped forward, confronting the First Root directly, his white light pushing back the suffocating shadow.
"You failed your purpose millennia ago.
You corrupted the Core.
You tried to devour the worlds you were designed to maintain.
You are an aberration."
The First Root's voice warped into a high-pitched, furious shriek of betrayal.
"YOU CAST ME OUT! YOU REPLACED ME WITH THIS SOFT, HUMAN THING!"
"No," the Root Protagonist answered softly, yet with absolute finality.
"You cast yourself out when you chose to devour every narrative and erase the possibility of freedom.
We do not fear Chaos, but we will not abide pure entropy."
Xiao Xi whispered, the revelation echoing in her heart:
"…So he's not the enemy after all?"
The Root Protagonist finally turned his head, his silver eyes meeting hers.
They were unexpectedly gentle, filled not with the coldness of logic, but with the quiet relief of a duty almost done.
"I was never your enemy, Xiao Xi.
I was simply your failsafe."