Anomaly Chapter 114 – Something called Life [10]

I watched the guard in front of the building closely, my curiosity piqued by the transformation overtaking him. His gaze was empty, unfocused, as if consciousness had already abandoned him.

Moreover, his body kept glowing, the light pulsating with increasing intensity—almost like a signal that sothing was about to happen.

Victor, standing beside , also seed unsure of what to expect, but for so reason, an unsettling feeling told this would end in an explosion. I didn’t know how or when, but I was certain it was only a matter of ti.

With every passing mont, as that thing’s body glowed brighter, the stronger my sense of impending disaster beca. Aside from Arthur by my side, everyone else there seed dood—especially the guards positioned in front of the vehicles.

That certainty beca undeniable when the transford guard in front of the building began emitting a light so intense that staring at it for too long would be enough to blind soone.

Without hesitation, I activated my portals beneath their feet—including Victor’s—before it was too late.

Their bodies were abruptly pulled downward, swallowed into my shadow world in the blink of an eye. Seconds later, they were expelled back into reality, collapsing in a disorganized circle around .

Their eyes were filled with shock and confusion, clearly trying to grasp what the hell had just happened.

Arthur, who remained motionless beside , observed the scene with a curious expression, his eyes analyzing every detail of what I had done.

For a brief mont, he stared at intently, as if considering sothing, before shifting his gaze forward, refocusing on the guard ahead of us.

I mirrored his movent without hesitation. As soon as I confird that all the guards—including Victor—were now around , I turned my attention back to the guard standing before the building.

His body, which had previously pulsed with brief flashes, now emanated a constant light, spilling through the cracks that had ford in his structure.

The brightness intensified rapidly, growing stronger and more blinding by the second.

Arthur, Victor, and the other guards instinctively averted their eyes or shut them against the searing light. But for , the radiance had no effect at all.

For so reason, unease crept over , as if sothing about this situation wasn’t right. Why did I feel that whatever the guard was trying to do was dangerous? There was no concrete evidence, no obvious threat.

Yet, a persistent sense that I was overlooking sothing important gnawed at .

With that thought, sothing in shifted. My eyes, once a natural hue, began to glow with a whirlwind of vibrant colors, reflecting countless realities at once.

The world unfolded before , my perception expanding, revealing layers of truth that had previously been hidden. And then, with these newly transford eyes, I turned my gaze to the guard.

The instant I looked, I couldn’t suppress a brief blink of surprise. At first glance, he seed to be glowing with a soft golden hue, but I soon realized the true source of that light.

His body was engulfed by an absurd number of floating specks—so many that, from my perspective, he was barely distinguishable amidst the swirling radiance. And then, before I could react, he simply exploded.

The specks scattered in all directions, their ethereal lights dancing through the air, completely engulfing the surroundings in a srizing glow.

I cautiously reached out, closely observing the particles drifting toward . They twirled in the air, moving in an almost hypnotic pattern, yet, just like before, they veered away before touching , dispersing around as if my very presence repelled them.

It was a strange sensation, as if I were surrounded by an invisible barrier that pushed them away. I furrowed my brow slightly and glanced to the sides. It didn’t take long to notice that the sa was happening to Victor, Arthur, and the other guards—the specks avoided them just the sa.

In the end, I turned my gaze back to the top of the building. While most of the glowing specks had fallen around , so seed to be drawn toward sothing above, being pulled toward whatever lay waiting at the top.

I watched for a few seconds, trying to imagine what could be up there. My mind wandered through possibilities, but in the end, the only way to find out was to go up and see for myself.

I walked forward slowly, my feet guiding toward the building’s entrance. Behind , Arthur and Victor observed the scene, their eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and disbelief.

I knew that, from their perspective, things must have looked entirely different. Considering I was the only one who could see those luminous specks, in their eyes, the cracked guard had probably just flared up for a few seconds before collapsing unconscious onto the ground.

They couldn’t perceive the anomalies I saw. In other words, they had no idea how close they had co to sharing that poor soldier’s fate. Regardless, I distanced myself from them, my eyes scanning the top of the building in the distance.

Unfortunately, I’d have to rely on a manual thod to climb up. My Alter Ego wasn’t around, so I couldn’t do anything particularly impressive or out of the ordinary. Besides, while it was undeniable that my physical strength far exceeded that of any human, I couldn’t find a compelling reason to use it in this situation.

And honestly, why would I? When I could just take the elevator? Of course, that’s assuming the elevator is still working. After all, technically speaking, the city’s power hasn’t been completely shut off... at least not yet.

Arthur was following , his eyes lingering for a mont on the fallen guard’s body. Now, he looked even more damaged, with deep cracks spreading across his surface. But what caught my attention the most was the complete absence of any glow or fluid leaking from his form—

As if all of his energy had been drained, leaving him almost unrecognizable. It was as if, sohow, he had completely vanished. I was also staring at the body, but unlike Arthur, my thoughts were heading in a very different direction.

The flakes coming off the guard’s body—most of them, at least from my perspective—seed to be getting pulled toward the top of the building, as if sothing up there was drawing them in with an irresistible force.

And what if whatever’s up there is getting more of these flakes using similar thods? I an, how many thousands of people all over the city are emitting these flakes right now? The re thought of trying to understand it is far too unsettling. Honestly, I’d rather not think about it.

While I was lost in thought, my eyes fixed on the fallen guard, trying to process what had just happened, Victor’s voice yanked back to reality.

I blinked slowly, still dazed, and looked at him as he approached, frustration mixed with a hint of unease on his face: "Seriously, what the hell is even happening here?" He paused, seeming to consider his words before continuing: "It’s like sothing’s infecting everyone..."

Well, technically, Victor wasn’t entirely wrong, though I honestly wasn’t sure if "infection" was the right word to describe what was going on.

Either way, considering he had his hand to his ear just monts ago, it was pretty likely he had been in contact with Emily. And given the fact that I was still here, I highly doubted Emily had ordered Victor to return to base.

Victor noticed my stare and, without looking away, locked eyes with . We stood there in silence for a few seconds, the tension stretching between us, until he finally looked away, his posture stiffening slightly.

He scratched his neck, like he was trying to shake off so discomfort, and with a forced smile, said: "I’d appreciate it if you’d stop staring at like that... Honestly, it’s starting to feel kinda... creepy"

I won’t lie—his words were pretty rude. I an, visually speaking, I look extrely cute—though it’s a little embarrassing to admit that.

No matter how you look at it, I just seem like a delicate, fairy-tale-like girl. How the hell could he think I look creepy? The idea was absurd.

In the end, all I could do was puff out my cheeks—a nearly instinctive reaction—and start walking toward the building entrance, with Arthur and Victor following close behind.

"Seems like you pissed her off" Arthur comnted, his voice laced with curiosity but also a hint of amusent.

"Well, what can I do? I’m just being honest" Victor replied, shrugging with an expression that was a mix of indifference and discomfort: "She really gives the chills every ti she looks at "

I decided to just ignore both of them and kept walking without looking back. As I stepped into the building, I was t with an almost complete silence—the place was completely empty.

On the ground, a few guards lay motionless, their bodies partially cracked—a grotesque and unsettling sight. Still, it was far from the destruction we had encountered outside.

Sothing about the bodies seed strange, like they weren’t fully "matured," so to speak, or maybe it was sothing else I couldn’t quite define. At least, that was the impression I got.

I scanned my surroundings and finally spotted the elevator at the end of the hallway. Picking up my pace, I hurried toward it, eager to get there, but when I reached out to press the buttons, I hit my first obstacle... I just couldn’t reach them.

I know it might sound silly, but I’m really short. My height is probably around that of a 10-year-old kid, though sotis, I feel like I might be even shorter than that.

Damn it, even Nekra is a little taller than . For so reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that, in a way, I had already lost to her—even though we’d never actually fought.

Sure, I could easily jump and reach the buttons, but with Arthur and Victor watching , that was the last thing I wanted to do. The thought of hopping up just to press the buttons felt, at the very least, embarrassing. Besides, I didn’t have my Alter Ego around to help .

In the end, I simply pointed at the elevator buttons, indicating the highest one, which led to the top floor of the building. Arthur and Victor stared at , confused, as if trying to decipher my gesture — until they finally followed my gaze to the highlighted button.

"Hmmm... so you wanted to co here because you felt sothing on top of the building?" Arthur asked curiously as he approached the elevator.

He pressed the button quickly, his fingers tapping the number that would take us to the top of the building. I simply nodded silently at Arthur’s words while, at the sa ti, communicating ntally with both him and Victor.

The ssage I sent was clear and direct: (Colored flakes at the top, lots of them)

Honestly, talking ntally with more than one person at a ti was still exhausting. But compared to the beginning, when just connecting to a single person made my head feel like it was going to explode at any mont, I had definitely improved.

Either way, as soon as I sent my ssage, I saw Victor and Arthur’s eyebrows raise slightly, doubt evident on their faces. After all, there were no visible snowflakes, yet I was saying that’s exactly what was at the top of the building.

"Your voice... is pretty subtle" Victor remarked, letting out a short sigh, as if reflecting on it: "Gotta admit, that’s not sothing I’d expect from an anomaly. Not that I know what your voices are usually like—since, most of the ti, anomalies don’t say a single word"

I blinked at him, trying to figure out what the hell he ant by that. The confusion was clear in my gaze, but Victor just shrugged, like he had no intention of explaining anything. I turned my attention back to the front as the elevator doors finally slid open, revealing its empty interior, waiting for us. This would be our ride to the top floor.

I stepped inside with firm strides, followed by Arthur and Victor, as a simple yet persistent thought crossed my mind: (I really hope there’s sothing up there that can help us fix this chaotic ss)