I posted this Wheel of Time theory already on Bluesky, but thought I would post it again using whtwnd.com, partially just as a test of this service. This is one of those shower thoughts that I just haven't been able to shake ever since. I'm certain that I'm not the originator of this theory, but I don't recall seeing it posed elsewhere. Some version of this might also apply to the desolations in the Stormlight Archive as well.

What if the Wheel is man-made?

At the end of the seventh Age, some epic conflict is resolved through the creation of the Wheel. The Wheel puts in place this constant cycle in reality, changing little things each time until some unknown goal is met. The Creator and the Dark One are the opposing sides in that seventh age conflict, and they have been attached to the wheel in some fashion and are pulling the strings to effect things in the way they wish. Destroying the Wheel would not end all of creation, but would instead set it free to move forward again beyond this huge Groundhog Day situation. Ishamael is actually entirely right.