The Decayer's face went white in an instant, and even its voice carried a tremor. "Sir, do you mean... that my unauthorized intrusion this time will make the world's will revoke my qualification to enter the Deep Dream?"
Angel fell silent for a moment, then gently shook his head.
"No, you misunderstood what I meant."
"Although I personified the world's will just now, in truth, it has no subjective consciousness of its own. All its 'actions' are based on some inscrutable tendency of rules."
"So it will not, like an intelligent lifeform, punish you for 'making a mistake,' much less take the initiative to revoke your qualification to enter."
"The reason I said I can no longer give you an answer now is that, before this, I could roughly infer the conditions under which you entered the Deep Dream."
"But now, your and Liriel's unauthorized intrusion has thrown the known conditions into disarray."
"I don't know how long it will take for you to leave this place, nor do I know how you should leave. Even whether the original conditions for entry can be restored after you leave is an unknown."
"So..."
Angel sighed softly and looked at the Decayer. "These unknowns make it impossible for me to give a clear judgment."
When the Decayer learned that its "qualification would not be revoked," the heart it had been holding aloft settled slightly.
Yet Angel's mention of "confused conditions and an unknown road ahead" still left the Decayer with a faint sense of helplessness.
"Thank you for clearing up my doubts, sir..." The Decayer's voice became hoarser, carrying a trace of relief, yet unable to conceal its bewilderment toward the future. "As long as the qualification remains, there will always be a turning point."
It sounded as though it were speaking