"P-Papa?" Kyle froze when he heard the adorable, child-like voice coming from Aquilla.

{Yes! Papa is Papa!}

Another cheerful response followed, making it painfully obvious that he wasn’t imagining things.

He...could actually hear Aquilla’s voice right now.

[That’s the Will of Steel, host. Your resonance with your armaments is growing stronger, allowing you to uncover their full potential and evolve together.]

Kyle scratched his head. "I understand that...but why is Aquilla calling me her father?"

{Papa doesn’t want me..?}

Kyle had to be imagining things, yet he could swear Aquilla’s glow dimmed a little.

{But Mama said Papa would love me...}

Kyle immediately grew worried at how sad she sounded, so he hurriedly replied, "No, no, I don’t dislike you. I’m just surprised."

He took a slow breath before asking more calmly, "Can you tell me who your mother is?"

A certain thought had already formed in his mind...

{Of course! Mama is Mama!}

[It’s your viewer, host. Ethara.]

...and he was right.

Kyle’s shoulders slumped slightly.

So Aquilla had always possessed a will of her own, and all this time, she had been trying to connect with him.

He genuinely needed a moment to process that.

Just then, another small voice echoed in his mind.

{Papa...is Papa not happy?}

"That’s not it," Kyle answered softly. "I’m happy to hear your voice...umm, what should I call you?"

Calling her Aquilla suddenly felt oddly stiff.

{Papa decides!}

Kyle hummed while scratching his chin. "Aella? How does that sound?"

{Aella! Aella! Aella! I love the name!}

Kyle couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

She sounded genuinely overjoyed, and her glow brightened instantly, reflecting her emotions.

Slowly rising from the bed, Kyle asked, "So tell me, Aella...is there anything you dislike about me?"

He relied on Aquilla a lot.

She always supported him during the worst situations, and without her, he would have been completely helpless against Ava.

While he absolutely loved having this armament by his side, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was truly using it correctly.

{Papa is really good at aiming! I love that!}

Kyle smiled faintly at the praise, but then Aella continued,

{Though...Papa, why are you so hesitant to let go of control? Papa has the resources, but Papa keeps holding back.}

Kyle hummed thoughtfully. "What do you mean? If anything, I feel like I already go overboard whenever I rely on Aella’s help."

{No, Papa! Don’t let anyone tell you that! Aella thinks Papa should go all out! Big explosions! Boom boom!}

Kyle crossed his left arm over his chest and nodded slowly. "I also think I need to let go of control sometimes if I want to understand you better. I need to push myself to my limits to truly discover my potential."

[That’s a very dangero—]

{Yaaay! That’s exactly what Aella is talking about!}

Kyle nodded.

He agreed with that plan.

Just then, his phone buzzed.

Picking it up from the bedside table, he read the message Veronica had sent him.

Veronica: {You can go meet her.}

....

Layena lay quietly on the bed.

It had been a day since she woke up, and now she could at least move the upper half of her body properly.

Her Aether Circuits hadn’t been damaged, so Genesis was healing her far faster than any normal human.

Though she could already walk a little, the doctor had strictly ordered her to remain hospitalized for at least another seven days.

Layena had wanted to protest, but the doctor had been cunning enough to bring in the one person she couldn’t argue against.

The Commander.

In the end, she had no choice but to stay.

Knock

A soft knock echoed through the room before the door slowly creaked open.

At first, she assumed it was Ethan again. He had only reluctantly left that morning after getting reprimanded by the Commander.

But the person who entered wasn’t Ethan.

It was someone unexpected.

A man carrying a box in his hands.

"You...are you already well enough to walk around?" she called out.

Her voice sounded fairly normal, yet a faint sting still lingered somewhere in her throat.

"Yeah, I’m fine. Well, definitely better than you," Kyle replied jokingly as he pulled the stool beside the bed and placed the box on the table. "I bought you some caramel popcorn. Eat it if you feel like it."

Layena couldn’t stop herself from smiling. "Don’t people usually bring flowers to hospitals?"

Kyle scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I actually bought this for myself, but...I’m cutting calories right now, so I figured I might as well give it to you instead."

This time, she barely managed to hold back a chuckle.

So unfiltered...yet she appreciated the honesty.

Kyle then crossed his arms and asked, "So...did you hear the news? My secret’s out."

Layena slowly nodded. "The Commander told me, though she asked me to keep it confidential for now."

Kyle had already informed Veronica that Layena knew about his identity, so that was probably why the Commander had spoken to her directly.

"Kudos to your sister. I couldn’t stay hidden in the shadows for very long," he said before giving her a long look. "And it seems I wasn’t the only one she paid a visit to."

Layena stiffened slightly at those words and quietly turned her gaze away.

Kyle continued softly, "I know you lied about not seeing the ambusher. But you can trust me with it, Layena."

The raven-haired girl remained still, her eyes swirling with emotions she could no longer hide.

Kyle sighed softly. "It’s not like I’m an investigator or someone whose words would be taken seriously if I reported this to the authorities. So why not tell me, Layena? Maybe we can share the grief together."

"You won’t understand..." she muttered while shaking her head. "...how it feels to have your very existence rejected. The people...the man who’s supposed to be the pillar supporting every child...you won’t understand what it feels like when he turns his eyes away from you and ignores your suffering."

Kyle smiled faintly. "Well...that actually hits pretty close to home. In my case, my older sibling wasn’t the source of my suffering..."

Layena turned toward him, confusion filling her eyes.

Kyle lowered his gaze, yet the faint smile never left his face as he continued, "The source of my agony and trauma was the same protective pillar you just mentioned."

Layena’s lips parted in shock.

That couldn’t possibly be true...could it?

Kyle slowly raised his hand and gently rested it on her head.

In a low, gentle voice, he told her, "It’s okay, Layena. You can trust me. I won’t betray you, I promise."

Layena stared silently into his eyes for a few long moments.

Ever since waking up, countless people had asked who attacked her, including the Commander herself.

But Layena never wanted the situation to escalate, so she stayed silent.

Yet for the first time, that restraint finally began to crack.

Her eyes slowly grew moist as she lowered her head.

And what followed was the first time Kyle ever heard Layena cry.

Oddly enough, relief washed over him.

Because he had finally managed to break through the shell surrounding her heart.