Anomaly Chapter 98 – Storm [14]

(POV – Protagonist)

(... Nekra? What are you doing here?) I asked ntally, tilting my head slightly in confusion.

My thoughts seed to reach Nekra, who slowly turned toward , tilting her head slightly as if confused by sothing. Then, her voice echoed in my mind: (I felt... the White in danger... so I ca... to help...) Although it still sounded fragnted, her voice had a surprisingly eloquent tone, and unexpectedly, even cute.

Seeing Nekra suddenly was quite a surprise. I an, she just appeared out of nowhere right in front of , so of course, I was taken aback. But what bothered the most was not understanding why she was here. I didn't rember making any kind of telepathic call to bring her... besides, even if I tried, I doubted I'd be able to.

Anyway, by this point, the response team was already a considerable distance away from where Nekra and I were. However, as I ntioned earlier, if the giant fish really wanted to, it could reach them in seconds.

Despite dragging itself along the ground, its massive body slid in an unsettlingly fast way, as if it ignored the resistance of the terrain. Its movents were strange and clumsy, oscillating between jerky impulses and irregular slides, but sohow, that didn’t make it any less threatening.

But leaving that aside, how exactly did Nekra plan to help ? I an, it doesn’t seem like I need emotional support right now. Also, wasn’t I the one who sealed her powers before, or sothing like that? Because, according to Nekra, most of her abilities were transferred and stored in ... Which is also strange. If her powers are with , shouldn’t it be possible to use them sohow? At least, that was the logic I was following up until now.

For a mont, I got lost in my thoughts and didn’t realize when Nekra, who had been walking a few steps ahead of , started moving calmly toward the giant fish. Her steps were slow, almost hesitant, while her eyes remained fixed on the imposing creature.

(This is the first ti... I’ve seen... one of them that is so... unnatural...) Nekra murmured, her voice carrying a mix of fascination and unease.

Unfortunately, I had no idea what Nekra was trying to say. There was no context to help understand, and to be honest, about 98% of our conversations followed this sa pattern. It was as if Nekra just threw words into the air, words that undoubtedly were revealing and full of deep aning.

The problem was that I couldn’t comprehend them, as if they were in a different language, out of my reach. One of those conversations, in fact, was still fresh in my mind, like a vague and confusing mory that kept haunting .

Nekra simply stated that she and I were the sa, and I, without thinking too much, replied yes, since we shared the sa appearance — which, to this day, I still find quite strange. However, when I observed her expression, I realized she wasn’t referring to that.

In fact, I had no idea what she ant, but before I could ask or try to understand better, Nekra, as if losing interest suddenly, pulled away from the conversation, abruptly ending it. I stood there, not really knowing what had just happened, but there was no more opportunity to continue.

Anyway, at that mont, I was completely imrsed in a whirlwind of thoughts, questioning whether or not I should help Nekra. I didn’t know if she’d be able to fight without her powers, and that made anxious. I clearly rember Arthur ntioning that Nekra was, in fact, the personification of the concept that governed death.

That made think: if death dies, wouldn’t that be catastrophic for all of us? Well, there was the possibility that if Nekra succumbed, no one would be able to die anymore... but at the sa ti, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had grown attached to her in an unexpected way. It was like she was a little sister, innocent and curious, exploring the world around her with a purity that made my heart ache in a strange way.

That’s why I watched every movent attentively, my eyes fixed on the situation. When the giant fish opened its monstrous mouth, revealing an endless row of sharp teeth, my fist clenched tightly. I prepared myself, ready to jump in front of Nekra if needed.

The upside of not feeling pain, I thought, is that fear also becos a distant sensation. After all, fear arises from our aversion to pain, and without that sensation, it loses its control over us.

Anyway, I couldn’t hide my surprise at what happened next. Contrary to all my expectations, the fish simply opened its enormous mouth, only to slowly close it afterward. Its wide, fixed eyes seed to be staring at sothing in front of it... or maybe not.

In the next instant, the giant fish slowly laid down on the ground, its gills opening and closing frantically, as if trying to capture any trace of air. However, its massive mouth seed to already be sealed, and its eyes, initially wide, began to close slowly over ti.

But before its eyes closed completely, sothing caught my attention: a small purple glow, fleeting and transient, flashed before . It was only for an instant, but still, it seed like sothing extrely strange.

The next mont, with no trace of any glow in its eyes, the enormous fish slowly closed them, as if disconnecting from the world around it. I blinked quickly, trying to process what had just happened, still not fully understanding.

What the hell was that? Nekra approached the giant mutant fish, and as if it were the most natural thing in the world, it simply decided to fall asleep? Even for , who had already witnessed inexplicable scenes, that seed absurd.

However, the strangeness didn’t stop there. The next instant, the giant fish’s body was engulfed by a thick, viscous black mist that seed to devour even the light around it. As if it were a manifestation of pure darkness, an entirely black orb soon erged from that mist.

The darkness emanating from it was absolute, endless, like an infinite abyss. And no matter how you looked at it, the presence of that orb was deeply repulsive, a visceral discomfort that cut through the senses.

From within that darkness, an eerie and unusual glow began to pulse, emitting a strangely sinister light as it slowly advanced toward Nekra.

I didn’t know why, but my body moved without my full awareness. My feet, as if acting on their own, guided slowly toward where Nekra was, fixated on the orb. Each step I took seed to echo, drawing its attention.

When she finally turned toward , her gaze was the sa as always — indifferent, almost distant — but compared to our previous etings, there was sothing more. It was a subtle change, a slight crack in her expression that I couldn't quite place, but it was there, undeniable.

I didn't exactly know what was happening, but sothing told she was sad. An inexplicable weight hung in the air, and, without fully understanding why, I gently placed my hand on Nekra's head. It was an impulsive gesture, sothing I felt I needed to do, even though I couldn't pinpoint where this urge ca from.

Tilting my head to the side, confused by my own actions, I silently watched as the orb slowly drifted toward Nekra. It moved with an unsettling calmness, as though it were returning to its place of origin, the space that always belonged to it.

While I was distracted by the orb's approach, sothing unexpected happened. Nekra moved toward and wrapped in a silent hug. Her face buried into my body, as if trying to hide her head, to escape sothing that was deeply bothering her.

She didn't say a word, but the absence of sound only made the tension in the air more palpable. I could feel, without needing words, that what was about to happen was sothing Nekra absolutely didn’t want, sothing she seed to despise with every fiber of her being. It was like she completely loathed the situation.

I couldn’t understand exactly what was going on, nor why Nekra seed to hate it so much. In the end, all I could do was gently stroke her head, trying to offer so kind of comfort, even though I didn’t know if she’d even feel it.

In the next mont, Nekra's cloak moved strangely, as if it had a life of its own. It suddenly opened, swallowing the dark orb with terrifying speed. At the sa ti, Nekra’s body trembled violently.

She shook uncontrollably, as though she were freezing, or as if fear, anguish, and every other intense emotion had overtaken her all at once. The tremor lasted only a brief mont before she cald down again, but what lingered was the sense that sothing deep had occurred, sothing she would’ve preferred never to face.

I couldn’t make sense of any of it. Why the hell had Nekra’s cloak absorbed the black orb, but it seed like she was the one feeling the reaction? Was the cloak an extension of her, maybe? Sothing like that? The thought nagged at , but it didn’t quite add up.

A part of , though, had the strange feeling that, while unusual, this explanation made so kind of sense... while also seeming completely improbable.

(... You... okay?) I asked, my voice sounding in my mind, full of concern. Nekra simply nodded, but her gesture was so quiet and restrained that sothing in her response left with an odd feeling, like she was trying to hide sothing from .

(I’m... used to it...) Nekra replied, but her words ca in a strange way, like a ntal whisper, tinged with a silent lancholy that I couldn’t ignore.

Despite Nekra insisting she was used to it, the process still felt deeply uncomfortable to . It was as though she was dealing with sothing far worse than just pain, sothing I couldn’t identify. Of course, I didn’t know everything about Nekra, much less what the hell that orb really was or why she had to absorb it.

And, to be honest, I didn’t even know she had the ability to do sothing like that, especially with her powers apparently sealed. The confusion and curiosity consud , and even though I knew I wouldn’t have all the answers, I couldn’t help it. So, with an almost instinctive impulse, I asked Nekra.

(What did you feel when you absorbed the orb? It seed like sothing really painful...)

Nekra, still with her head lowered, pressed against my body as she hugged , answered in a soft, trembling voice: (... I felt... an imnse cold... like my bones were freezing... I felt my bones... breaking, cracking... one by one... it was unbearable pain... And besides that... a ravenous hunger... an intense rage...)

When Nekra's voice echoed in my mind, a wave of deep sadness washed over , sothing so intense that it almost paralyzed . Considering I rarely felt emotions so clearly, that alone was strange.

But as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t help Nekra. I didn’t know how to help her, and that was a hard truth to accept. It was a burden she, unfortunately, had to carry alone.

All I could do was be there for her, stroking and hugging her, offering whatever comfort I could, not knowing if it would be enough, but staying by her side as long as she needed.

(White... so warm... and cozy... I love the white) Nekra said, her words resonating in my mind, soft and full of deep feeling. As she spoke, her arms tightened around even more, and I could feel the intensity of her embrace as her head nestled closer to my hand, seeking comfort, as if the simple gesture was all she needed to feel safe at that mont.

Though still imrsed in confusion, I let Nekra follow what she needed, as though it was sothing I had no right to interrupt. Sohow, I felt compelled to give in to it, even though... honestly, I didn’t really know why.

Even so, with another question forming in my mind, I couldn’t help but ask it silently to Nekra, as always: (Every ti those orbs appear, do you have to absorb them? And why do you do it, even though you hate it?)

Honestly, I expected a series of reactions from Nekra, maybe sothing that would reflect the complexity of everything she had been through.

However, her next words were completely unexpected, sothing so far from what I could imagine that it left speechless: (No... like?... what does that... an?... Nekra was created... for this... by her... that’s why... Nekra does it) The way she spoke, as if she were trying to understand the words as she said them, made it clear that the concept was completely foreign to her.

For so reason, I had the feeling that Nekra had just dropped a bombshell on , without warning or any preparation. And, speaking of which, who the hell was "She" that Nekra was referring to? I had no idea, and yet, it seed like Nekra was so caught up in the mont, holding tightly, that she didn’t give a chance to question anything.