Anomaly Chapter 157 – Inside the mist [22]

For a few seconds, I stood still in front of the black hole, staring at that dark sphere slowly spinning in the void. Every second my eyes stayed fixed on it, I felt a strange sensation growing inside —as if, at any mont, sothing was about to awaken in my mory. It was like that silent abyss had the power to pull forgotten mories up from the depths of my mind... or at least, that’s how I felt at that mont.

Even though I was distracted, srized by the hypnotic presence of the black hole, I still had so awareness of what was happening around —call it a sixth sense if you want. That’s how I noticed Arthur acting strangely.

He seed restless, casting watchful glances around while pacing cautiously around the black hole. His expression carried a tension hard to ignore. Of course, I had no idea what he was looking for or why he was acting like that, but sothing about his posture told there was more going on than I could understand at that ti.

For a mont, I looked away from the black hole and focused on Arthur. I watched him silently as he walked around the edge, his steps slow and deliberate, reflecting the tension in the air. My eyes followed him closely until suddenly he seed to notice my steady gaze. Arthur paused for a mont and stared back at .

We exchanged a brief, silent look, loaded with sothing I couldn’t quite place—worry, maybe. Then he ca closer. Without saying a word, he crouched down in front of and, with the back of his hand, tapped twice lightly on the cara mounted on my chest, as if trying to confirm sothing.

“Still not working...” Arthur muttered, frowning as he examined the cara: “Probably because of that” he added, nodding toward the black hole hanging in the sky like a wound in space: “It’s likely interfering with the signal... Not that I know exactly how this is supposed to work, anyway”

Arthur’s theory made sense—or rather, it probably made way more sense than just assuming Victor and Rupert, still inside the room watching the cara, simply didn’t want to say anything. Still, it wasn’t like I could do much about it. I let out a quiet sigh and shrugged, to which Arthur responded with a short, almost mocking laugh, as if he’d been expecting exactly that reaction.

After that, Arthur and I both kept our eyes locked on the black hole. The darkness pulsed silently, motionless, as if it was watching us back. Yet, nothing happened. As much as staring into that abyss stirred certain feelings inside —vague mories, a familiar chill—it didn’t miraculously an I knew what to do.

In the end, I found myself out of ideas. An uncomfortable emptiness took over my mind, as if even thoughts were afraid to co too close. I took a deep breath and, after hesitating for a mont, made a simple decision: I was going to touch the black hole.

It was an impulsive gesture, maybe even foolish, but I had to try sothing. Either way, even if so reaction happened, I didn’t believe I’d feel pain. And if there was no pain, then there was no reason to be afraid.

With that thought in mind, I started walking toward the black hole. With each step, gravity seed to distort around , and an unsettling feeling took hold. The closer I got, the more my mind seed to churn—as if invisible hands were rummaging through my brain, digging up buried mories, trying to uncover sothing I barely knew existed.

Soon, I found myself completely in front of that vast, dark, pulsating mass. Just a few more steps and I’d be swallowed by it. The air around trembled, as if space itself resisted my presence there. It was at that exact mont a voice appeared in my mind—clear, deep, and with a strange echo, as if the person was standing right beside , whispering directly into my ear.

(Zentharys)

I blinked, surprised to hear that na—my na. I knew it was mine, of course, but it still sounded weird hearing it from soone else. There was sothing off about it. I instinctively looked around, but saw no one but Arthur and . The place was completely deserted, silent, with no sign of any other living being.

The most unsettling thing was the voice. I couldn’t say for sure whether it was a man or a woman. The tone was soft, slightly high-pitched, which led to assu it was a woman. Yeah, it definitely sounded like a woman.

But there was sothing about it—sothing that didn’t quite fit. It was like the voice had a strange texture, almost artificial, or like there was another voice hidden behind it, trying to imitate that one. I just couldn’t put into words exactly what bothered .

Even when I looked at Arthur, he seed perfectly normal—calm, almost too calm. In other words, I was the only one who’d heard that voice... although, to be honest, I wasn’t even sure anymore if I’d really heard anything or if it was all just a creation of my mind.

Had it just been an echo of poorly processed thoughts? An illusion caused by stress? But then an unsettling question ca up: can anomalies hallucinate? Maybe I should ask Nekra or Althea. They both have way more experience with this kind of stuff than I do. Maybe they could help figure out if this was just paranoia.

Anyway, I didn’t dwell on that thought any longer. I simply reached out my hand toward the black hole. Arthur remained completely absorbed, his eyes fixed on the void, unaware of what I was doing. However, before my hand could actually touch the phenonon, sothing strange happened.

A subtle distortion appeared before —as if space itself was wavering, trembling silently. It was like looking through rippling glass, and for a mont, I felt like sothing was watching from the other side.

Arthur, beside , finally took a step back, as if he had only just noticed the distortion in the air. Before I could form any coherent thought, I felt my body being pulled by an invisible force.

It wasn’t as abrupt as I’d imagined being dragged by a black hole, but it wasn’t subtle either—the sensation was intense, like space around suddenly bent.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Arthur was being pulled along with . Curiously, he seed more surprised than terrified, which unsettled given how serious the situation was.

And then, it happened. One mont we were standing before the black hole; the next, I found myself in a dark, silent space with no points of reference — as if ti itself had dissolved around us.

But the feeling was strange — like all the darkness around had the thick, sticky consistency of mud. There was sothing viscous in the air, almost tangible, like the night itself was breathing slowly. Oddly, it gave a nostalgic feeling, though I couldn’t explain why.

It was like reliving an old, forgotten dream. I looked around for sothing familiar, but there was nothing but complete darkness. Not even Arthur, who should have been sucked in with , was nearby. It was as if I’d been left alone in an endless void.

It was at that exact mont that I noticed sothing — or maybe “felt” would be a better word. It was like a beat, rhythmic and muffled, almost imperceptible, yet still there. Though faint, I could feel it subtly vibrating through my body, as if the space around was pulsing. Instinctively, I turned my face in a specific direction.

Everything there was plunged into total darkness. There were no shapes, no shadows, nothing my eyes could make out. And yet, there was sothing. A silent call, an invisible presence that stirred my deepest instincts. A shiver ran through , but curiosity won out. I started swimming, guided only by that strange sensation, following the direction where sothing — or soone — was waiting for .

I swam without stopping. I don’t know how long I stayed like that, imrsed in that liquid void, just following the call of that feeling that kept leading forward. Even though I knew the destination was ahead, the distance seed impossible to cross — like being trapped in a dream where running gets you nowhere.

Then, sothing changed. I heard a beat — but this ti, it wasn’t coming from outside. It was coming from inside . My heart. My face slowly changed, and I realized I was surprised. Truly surprised. For the first ti in a long while, sothing had managed to awaken a genuine reaction in .

Slowly, I moved my hand toward my chest. And then, a beat — soft, almost imperceptible. But I heard it. The sound was low, muffled, but unmistakable: the beating of a heart. Only it didn’t seem to co exactly from ... it was as if it was passing through , traveling across my body like a distant echo.

I closed my eyes, driven by an instinctive impulse, as if sothing inside was telling that’s what I should do. A brief silence. Then, I opened them again. It was at that mont that I saw — right in front of :

A heart. Before floated a living, pulsating structure wrapped in dozens of translucent tubes. Each tube branched off in different directions, like artificial veins searching for sothing, connected to invisible systems hidden in the shadows.

As I watched the tubes, distracted by their complexity, the heart pulsed. A deep, strong beat. I clearly realized: the pulse was coming from there. But what was most unsettling was feeling the vibration hit my own body — sothing inside also pulsed, as if echoing that beat.

That’s when I understood. There wasn’t a beating heart inside . I wasn’t feeling my own pulse... I was resonating with that entity in front of . Like an echo, a frequency finding shelter in my body. Why? I had no idea.

The next mont, I dove toward the heart and approached it cautiously. I floated in front of it, watching carefully, unsure of what to do. The heart pulsed slowly, radiating a strange, faint light that illuminated the surrounding waters. That’s when I noticed sothing curious: there was a shape inside the heart. Though undefined, its presence was undeniable.

I couldn’t make out what it was, but I was sure sothing was inside — sothing watching back. I reached out hesitantly, intending to touch it. However, before my fingers could touch its translucent surface, the heart simply vanished before my eyes, as if it had never been there.

It wasn’t like it just disappeared — it was like it had never existed there to begin with. That left genuinely confused. My heart raced for a mont, unable to understand what was happening. But the next instant, when I blinked briefly, everything changed.

Now, I was facing a vast blue sky, clear and serene, like it had been hand-painted. And there, right beside that sky, Arthur’s face appeared — calm, lit by soft light, silently watching .

Noticing my fixed gaze on him, Arthur let out a deep sigh of relief: “Thank God you woke up” he said, his voice a mix of relief and concern: “I thought being sucked into that black hole did sothing to you since you weren’t showing any signs of life”

In the next mont, Arthur averted his eyes and began carefully surveying the surroundings. anwhile, I slowly got up. The first thing I did was follow his example and take in the environnt around us. We seed to be in so kind of forest — several trees stood around, but they all looked dead, with dry, leafless branches casting a shadowy silhouette against the gray sky.

A chilly sensation ran through my hand, and looking down, I noticed I was sitting on a thin layer of cold, white snow. The lightness of the flakes falling gently from the sky confird it really was snowing. The air was heavy with silence, broken only by the soft whisper of the wind through the dry branches.

That thought made reflect deeply. Sohow, I felt like I knew this place — sure, I could be completely wrong, but there was a strange sense of familiarity, like I had been here before. Also, a subtle and unsettling energy seed to emanate from a specific point in the forest, drawing my attention.

For a mont, I stayed silent, trying to organize my thoughts. Not that I was much of a talker, but in that mont, the sound of my own ideas was what mattered. In the end, I ca to a single conclusion.

(This forest... isn’t it near Base 17?)