The melody stretched, growing stronger and stronger like the scent of fermented wine. The two versions of Soren spun an elegant dance. Harmonies converging and resonating within them and the world with every twist and twirl they performed.

For a moment, they both felt as if they had turned into tuning forks, vibrantly spreading the melody with their flesh and bones as the medium to the surrounding flora and fauna.

Twist after twist carried on as they both glanced eagerly at the forming Pseudo Concepts, waiting for them to crystalize. Soren's limbs ached from the dramatic movements, but his mind whirled with images of the inevitable.

I probably only have three or so minutes, he remarked. Despite the surrounding beauty, there was nothing to mask the shadows forming on his face. His predicament was only getting more and more desperate.

During these brief moments in between the rhythms, Soren could feel his life slipping away. Every step taken in the crescendo felt heavier and heavier, and yet his body which encompassed the world's tunes couldn't stop its ethereal dance.

Compared to him, Figment was far more lively. His wide, cheesy grin said it all. Just looking at him pissed Soren off.

In that moment, a very inconvenient realization clicked.

So this is why every chess club I joined hated me…

He'd always blamed the pranks, the endless trash-talk, or his occasional bouts of laziness.

Who would have thought it was simply due to his face being very punchable?

A soft chuckle slipped out, threatening to ruin his rhythm slightly. Soren glanced up at the projections of the Beyond and grimaced. He had once again fallen behind.

By now, he was certain only a minute or two was left. The strange rhythmic pattern forming the body of Figment's Pseudo Concept had rapidly solidified according to the tunes.

These tunes… all of them encompassed the meaning behind that world. Yarian was unfolding with every sound and vibration, distant yet close. Although it was fairly hard to understand the true meaning, he was still able to glimpse briefly upon the hints the tunes echoed.

He was certain Figment was able to grasp more clues than he had. But the overall interpretation was still the same.

As the dance quickened, the Emberbloom Shroom caps began to glow brighter, as if to foreshadow the climax of the melody. Cracks began to appear on their surfaces as they bounced atop the rigid Dragonstone Mushrooms.

His estimates were now certain. Only a minute remained…

Should I even try to beat him? The thought echoed a second before Soren brushed it off. His smile grew wider.

My contradictions are far too numerous…

And yet, in that moment, he couldn't help but admire this flaw's persistence. Certainly, a person such as him who valued reason and logic over most things despised it above all else. It was responsible for his recklessness—his limitless drive for thrills and adventures. And most annoying of all, it made him prone to seeking companionship, despite his inherent distrust of others.

In these past few months, Soren had experienced wave after wave of new emotions. Emotions he had never thought to possess. As someone with an extremely selfish mindset, finding his heart wavering when it came to decisions affecting those around him was truly an alien experience. One that filled him with disgust, confusion but also joy and wonder… He could no longer fully understand who he was, or what he had become.

This was likely why he left Myrin behind... Soren was uncertain of his contradictions—of what choices he would make under his presence.

A bundle of chaos wrapped tightly within a single body. Soren danced wildly as the seconds ticked by. If that is the case, then would the same apply to Figment?

There was only one way to find out.

With a slight smile, Soren drew air into his lungs and blew the strange feather again, letting the wind ripple the world's melody. Then, he began to twist his strange dance slightly.

The anima in the air reflected the change, as if aware of his evolving will. It was subtle enough to not affect the worldsong, but still impactful. The patterns formed in the Philosopher's Soil had slightly changed, creating a new formation.

Over on the other side of the ritual, Figment noticed the change. Indeed, to the average person, the shift in the melody was far too unnoticeable. But to him, the alteration was jarring and alien… and also familiar.

Why did he do that? It thought, watching Soren intently, like a predator trying to understand its prey. Figment couldn't figure out his reasoning. The worldsong had already formed—its creation marked by the spiritual winds of the Feylith Forest. Since they were simulating Yarian's Fantasia, it had to be static and unchanging—reflecting its currently frozen fate.

This was the interpretation they agreed upon…

And yet, despite both him and Soren understanding this truth, Soren still willed a shift in the melody anyway. Both of them were simply listeners—witnesses to the worldsong, but the tunes that played were still a reflection of their current interpretation.

If the interpretation of the worldsong shifts, then the tunes will change with it. This was why the both of them took so long to fully create the Pseudo Concept. They needed to first grasp the melody and its purpose—only by forming a steady understanding would the worldsong stabilize, allowing them to imprint the patterns formed by the Philosopher's Soil into the Beyond, forming the Pseudo Concept.

With their current interpretation of the worldsong, Figment was able to form ninety percent of his Pseudo Concept. If given another minute, he would have likely already succeeded…

Of course, now that there was a shift in the melody, his progress had been reset alongside Soren's. Both of them needed to reinterpret the worldsong.

Did he do it on purpose to buy time? What a bastard… Although it said the words, its emotions didn't exactly match them. Figment stared into Soren's eyes for a bit, trying to glean for any kind of hint.

When the young magi noticed, he flashed a similar grin to the one he gave before.

Alarm bells began to sound within The Records. It knew that Soren was plotting something, but it wasn't sure what. As it focused its attention on the ritual, a part of its mind was reserved to figuring out clues—anything that could give away his next set of actions.

Fortunately or unfortunately, it soon found out in the most inconvenient way.

The worldsong shifted once again…

Soren had reinterpreted his understanding a third time. This time, the changes were slightly more noticeable.

Is he a fool? Figment's confusion only grew. This ritual can only maintain itself for a short time, his actions are only delaying the inevitable.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Does he plan to fail us both?..

But even if that was the case, the ritual can easily be reset using [Fictionalization]. Figment was confident that if that did happen, he would likely forge the Pseudo Concept even faster than his first attempt due to the knowledge he has acquired.

Not willing to waste time, The Records once again danced to the new melody, achieving the desired harmony. Just as its Pseudo Concept was beginning to reform, Soren changed the interpretation for a fourth time.

The Figment of his Imagination was baffled. However, not wanting to relent to his pranks, it continued to adjust its dance according to the new interpretation.

However, something different occurred this time. A strange anomaly…

What is this… Why… Why can't I interpret the worldsong?!

His eyes widened in horror as it stared directly at Soren, who was easily dancing along.

Figment tried to mimic the dance again, but failed. Without the proper interpretation, following the movements was useless. He could no longer embody the worldsong…

Suddenly, Soren's voice reached it through [Record].

"What's wrong? I thought you were the better version of me? Why aren't you continuing?"

The Records froze. It was not expecting this at all.

"What did you do?!" It asked, this time in anger. Then it flashed back to its usual state, "Why can I not interpret the song?.."

"Because of your flaw," Soren answered telepathically as he continued to dance.

"Flaw?..."

For a brief moment, the colossal bookshelves levitating above the Faerie Court shook violently. It was as if the assortment of documents had been instantly scanned and analyzed.

But despite this, Figment couldn't discover a clue. It watched Soren dance gracefully before the ritual circle, hoping to obtain even a crumb of a hint…

He's lying… It must be a lie. Figment decided to refocus its efforts. It attempted the dance again, this time with a different perspective.

Failure.

It changed its perspective once more.

Failure again.

It redoubled its efforts, switching to a third perspective.

The same result…

No matter what it tried, the attempts all ended the same way. Its mind couldn't even begin to understand why this was happening.

But then it obtained an answer…

"It makes sense why you can't recognize your flaw." Soren's answer was rather punctual. "It's because you had never seen it as a flaw to begin with."

The cloned apparition grimaced, changing its perspective again. "What do you mean…"

"Haven't you realized? It's the very thing you take pride in that is now holding you back."

"Stop speaking in riddles!"

Soren smiled, "For the longest time, I've wondered about something. Why does this paradoxical entity always claim to be better than me? What gives it such confidence? It had to be an advantage I did not possess."

The Records answered the question logically, "Because unlike you, I am untethered from my own inner chaos."

"Bingo." Soren's smile widened. "Indeed, that is the difference between you and me. Although we are both bundles of chaos, possessing exactly the same contradictions, how we deal with them is different.

"I wear my contradictions publically—whether it is grief caused by my own selfish actions, or excitement born from committing something I once condemned as foolish… Even when I say or think things differently from what I initially believed, I still know that all of these emotions and actions are my own. My hypocrisy and foolishness is what makes me Soren Andersen. And there is no way for me to change that."

As he said this, the crescendo once again changed and his movements followed through. Figment was still trying to mimic the dance, but continued failing to interpret the song.

Soren continued, "You on the other hand… While you do technically understand this principle, your identity as a paradox frames you differently.

"Unlike me, you are not tied to all these contradictions. You can remove them from yourself, like a man picking through clothes. The emotions and personality traits that make me who I am are nothing more than puzzle pieces to you. Pieces that you can play around with as you see fit."

The Records stood there silently—unsure of how to respond. This was something Soren expected. After all, The Records relies heavily on its own chronicled knowledge, and what he was currently describing went against its own logic.

Ever since their first meeting, Soren had been analyzing every aspect of Figment's existence. Whether it be its strange methods of documenting the knowledge he gains, its speech patterns, or even its momentary bursts of emotion… No stone was left unturned. After many months of doing this, he was finally able to come up with this hypothesis.

He had been saving this plan exactly for this confrontation.

Despite Figment knowing about his attempts, it never made any effort to understand them since from its perspective, it believed itself to be flawless. Because of this, it found no reason to hide its quirks from Soren.

The Records once again mirrored this sentiment by saying, "I don't understand. Your analysis is correct—me being untethered from the inner chaos allows me to strategically control my emotions and actions. If I want to feel sadness, I will pull the relevant information to construct that identity as myself, and the same goes for any emotion or perspective.

"My perspectives are numerous. The personas that clash within you are all under my control, allowing me birth order from chaos. That makes me an objectively better version of you.

"How could that ever be a flaw? And why is it even relevant to my current dilemma?"

As the final fragments of Soren's Pseudo Concept began to form, he smiled and turned to The Records:

"Because your ability to not be flawed is in itself a flaw. Why else do you think embodying this worldsong is so difficult for you?"

It paused for a moment, letting its numerous personas to think of the answer separately. It didn't take long for the Figment of his Imagination to realize why.

Its eyes widened.

"Incrompehnsible…"

"Oh, but it's true!~" Soren teased. "Just as you guessed, the current interpretation of the worldsong that I've imagined is 'the world is flawed and chaotic.'

"Indeed, Yarian is full of contradictions, is it not? The Elves worship beauty and grace, and yet many of them have the ugliest of hearts. The humans are fervent in prayer, but only when it brings them benefits. Even the regions themselves are full of pain and misery, but also life, vibrancy and beauty… No matter where you go across the continent, you'll find many of these contradictions baked into nature itself.

"Is this not the perfect worldsong for me to embody?"

Despair coated Figment's face, which then morphed into sadness, then anger, then back to despair. The perspectives were constantly being cycled through. Even his clothes continued to change through [Fictionalization]. The elegant suit and glasses were now gone—replaced by his magi robe, which then changed into his chess club uniform, casual street clothes, and finally a college winter fit. It was as if he was witnessing a broken computer that kept switching its screen to static.

"Give up." Soren said rather bluntly. "Nothing you do will ever allow you to embody this worldsong. It is fundamentally against everything you stand for. And since your commitment to our bet forces you to 'help' me, you cannot fight against the interpretation I have come up with. Doing so would go against the rules you agreed to."

The Figment of his Imagination continued its struggle up until the end. Perhaps this was due to Soren's own stubbornness. Certainly, that too was a perspective The Records had chronicled.

But inevitably, nothing it could do will ever allow it to understand the tunes playing around it. Every subtle change Soren had created felt strange. Long gone was its grace and elegance—the entire melody had been warped beyond recognition.

Yarian… It was indeed a chaotic world. The same goes for Earth, and possibly every world they would travel to. How could he—a being with no flaws—hope to understand and embody the worlds he'll wander through? Worlds that will all be mired with flaws and contradictions?..

Although it disliked this outcome, it couldn't help but agree with Soren's logic. Figment had every advantage—the entire setup of this contest favored it as the winner. And yet, the one thing it believed made it superior turned out to be its biggest flaw…

As it gazed up at Soren's crystalized Pseudo Concept, a faint glimmer of new knowledge emerged. With its final moments coming into play, The Records decided to perform its duty one last time:

New Entry Recorded: [Figment's Defeat]

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