Laura, Victor, the man whose na I still didn’t know, and the leader of the eccentric cult also noticed the anomaly’s presence. At the mont, we were in the center of the village, and the anomaly, perched on the roof of one of the houses, was watching us closely.
I heard the sounds of breathing from Laura, Victor, and the man stop abruptly, as if the air had frozen in their lungs. Honestly, if I were in their place, I’d probably react the sa way.
Maybe it was because of the events that had happened earlier, but no matter how I analyzed this new anomaly, it exuded a unique unpredictability. Unlike the others, who often acted purely on instinct, this anomaly seed fully aware of its actions.
In a way, she resembled : an anomaly that knew exactly what it was doing. That made everything even more unsettling, as it made it impossible to predict her next moves.
I an, I don’t exactly consider myself a genius. And it’s not like I have any anomaly power that allows to read minds. In short, I’m only able to solve puzzles that anyone could figure out. For so reason, admitting that doesn’t bring any relief. In fact, it feels like I’m calling myself an idiot.
Anyway, I decided that, since the anomaly was staring at , I wouldn’t look away. I rembered a docuntary I watched once, where they said that, among animals, whoever looks away first ends up becoming the prey. Of course, that doesn’t an our situation was exactly the sa, but given the mont, the analogy seed fitting.
Seconds passed as we stared at each other. The people behind seed to be holding their breath, or at least that’s what I noticed out of the corner of my eye. However, our eye contact didn’t last long. At one point, the cult leader, that crazy woman, just ran toward the anomaly. She stopped beneath the house where it was and kneeled.
That detail shifted my focus from the anomaly to the woman, as my thoughts turned toward her. I still didn’t know who she was or what her intentions were in releasing this anomaly into the world. I an, from what I could tell, Laura didn’t seem to have any information about the anomaly either. In short, she was just as disoriented as I was in this situation.
"Oh, my grand lady! What imnse joy to see you awaken from your long slumber and now walk among us, re mortals!" exclaid the woman, kneeling once more before the anomaly.
Once again, the woman started mumbling strange things. At least this confird sothing: in the end, she was truly insane. For so reason, she seed to worship the newly erged anomaly as if it were a deity. Thinking from a human perspective, maybe so anomalies could actually fit this kind of pattern... I suppose.
As I wondered what would happen next, my gaze shifted to the anomaly. It was staring at the sky with a calm expression. Instinctively, I followed its line of sight, and to my surprise, my eyes widened when I saw what it was looking at. In the place where the moon should have been, a glowing circle appeared, radiating a deep and unsettling purple hue. Sohow, it resembled a black hole.
Probably confused by the fact that both the anomaly and I were staring at the sky, the others followed our movents and looked up as well. It didn’t take long for everyone to notice the anomaly hovering above us, and their expressions changed one by one.
Laura, Victor, and Arthur clearly showed fear and terror on their faces. Honestly, I couldn’t understand the exact reason. I admit that the fact that the moon was replaced by that sight was disturbing, but could it really be that terrifying?.
(White... strange... it seems... recognize... no...? You...?)
As I got lost in my thoughts, suddenly, a peculiar sensation crossed my mind... or rather, I felt like another thought, besides my own, had invaded my consciousness. I blinked in confusion, trying to understand what was happening.
I looked around, confused, trying to locate the source of the voice, but besides , only Laura, Victor, Arthur, and the crazy woman had their eyes fixed on the sky. That wasn’t a thought of mine, and the voice was clearly different from my own, broken, as if the source was struggling to express itself. Even so, I was sure the voice had co directly from my mind.
At that mont, a thought popped into my head. I found it ridiculous, but still, my body turned toward what I imagined had caused the voice that echoed in my head. My golden eyes, glowing intensely, locked onto the anomaly.
The sa thing was happening with her golden eyes, now with deep purple pupils, which t mine for a brief mont. The amused smile still lingered on the anomaly’s face.
I kept staring at her, wondering if maybe I was hearing things... which was hard to believe, considering I didn’t even seem to have a brain to begin with. Even so, the idea that the anomaly had communicated with ntally seed absurd. Since when do anomalies talk?
(White... confusion... recognition... no... understanding... complicated...)
... Okay, although I was reluctant to admit it, I couldn’t deny that the anomaly was, in so way, speaking directly to my head. But, putting aside the impressive fact that she could communicate this way, another thought erged in my mind at that mont.
(What the hell is she trying to say, anyway?)
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t understand what the anomaly was saying. Her words sounded confusing, jumbled, almost like fragnts of a disconnected thought. Also, I was still struggling to accept that it was really her who was speaking. Not that there were many other options around that could communicate directly in soone’s mind, but still, it was hard to believe.
Almost without realizing it, I tilted my head to the side and blinked. This simple gesture seed enough for the anomaly to understand that I couldn’t comprehend her. Reflecting my action, she also tilted her head, and her voice echoed in my mind again. Although the tone remained fragnted and strange, this ti the words sounded more organized, as if they were starting to make so sense.
(Hmm... difficult... language... to learn... I need... more... ti...)
Once again, the voice sounded strange, almost incomprehensible, but this ti I managed to grasp part of what the anomaly was trying to say... or at least trying to express. Alright, this doesn’t change the fact that she seems to be trying to learn the human language. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if the others were hearing the sa thing as I was. Probably not, since everyone was still staring at the moon hovering in the sky, oblivious to what was happening in my mind.
Anyway, it was undeniable that the anomaly was trying to communicate. I thought maybe I should try to respond, but to be honest, I wasn’t sure if she’d be able to hear . Did this work like a phone, where both sides can talk, or was it exclusive to her? In the end, I decided it was worth a try. However, before I could speak, her voice echoed in my mind again.
(Ti... needed... white... see... you... again...)
Upon hearing these words, my eyes instinctively turned toward the anomaly. As before, an amused smile played on her face. The next instant, her cloak enveloped her again and, just like last ti, she disappeared as if she were altering the very space around her.
I blinked, staring at the empty space where she had been monts ago, before looking up at the sky, focusing on the place where the moon should have been. However, all that remained was a deep purple glow emanating from what should have been the moon. As I blinked again and brought a finger to my lips, a thought occurred to .
(... Are you just going to leave and leave things like this?)
***
(POV - Laura Cavendish)
Laura simply couldn’t believe what her eyes were witnessing — or rather, she was refusing to believe what she saw in the sky. At so point, which she hadn’t even noticed, the light that had once illuminated the surroundings was replaced by a deep purple hue. Her senses seed to be in a panic, each one trembling as she fixed her gaze on that sight.
Although Laura had nad the anomaly Nihilum, wasn't that a bit excessive? Even with anomalies considered impossible to contain, she had never witnessed anything like this. It didn’t seem like the moon had simply been replaced; it was as if it had always been that way. This thought settled in Laura's mind, and one conclusion surfaced: a reality alteration.
There had never been an anomaly with such power before. If one truly existed, would there be any way to contain it? The only thought that kept Laura grounded at that mont was what Arthur had told her earlier: anomalies like that couldn’t defy the concept that governed them.
Although they still didn’t know what the anomaly’s concept was, Laura clung to the hope that it wasn’t sothing like the concept of chaos, because, if it were, the situation would be even more terrifying than it seed at that mont.
"Ohhh! Your greatness, lighting up the sky! It's as if I'm bathed in your grace, even in your absence!"
Laura listened to the woman's appeals with a skeptical look. It wasn’t the first ti she had witnessed fanatics who saw anomalies, or even a specific one, as gods. However, sothing about this woman made Laura feel that she was different. Although she didn’t know exactly what it was, there was sothing in her posture that evoked that impression.
Laura continued lost in thought when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed movent. Sothing was approaching the woman—more precisely, Victor, who was advancing with his weapon drawn, pointing it directly at her. A chill ran through Laura as she observed Victor's face, expressionless and completely devoid of emotion. Although it wasn’t an uncommon sight, she still found it strange to see him in his serious work mode.
“You... if you don’t want to end up like a sieve, you’d better start telling everything you know—about the anomaly you invoked and about that weird thing floating in the sky. And you’d better know how we can make everything go back to normal”
Laura watched the woman’s reaction, but instead of showing fear, she seed indifferent, not caring about either Victor or the gun pointed at her forehead. Although Laura was tempted to believe the woman was simply out of her mind, she knew that couldn’t be the case.
(Who the hell is this woman, anyway?)
Lost in her thoughts, Laura flinched slightly when a short, strange laugh echoed through the environnt: "Hehehe... even though you're as ignorant as you are, you're still touched by her grace. My lady doesn’t discriminate against those who don’t believe in her or those who do; to her, we are all the sa... yet, I cannot forgive you for daring to profane her na, calling her “thing” Ahhh! My lady, forgive them, please, they don’t know what they’re doing. As punishnt, I promise to tear out their mouths as a symbol of your forgiveness"
For so reason, Laura noticed almost imdiately that the atmosphere around the woman had shifted. Instinctively, she took a step back but stumbled and fell.
Her gaze t the woman’s again, and what she saw was utter fanaticism. Laura didn’t know who this woman was or what her objective was, but one thing beca clear: she was completely out of her mind.
Victor also noticed the change; his face hardened, and he stepped back, keeping his gun pointed at the woman, but she seed oblivious to the threat. Slowly, the woman’s footsteps echoed through the cave, drawing nearer with each step.
Laura’s breathing, already heavy, beca even more labored as the woman approached, as if the air around her was getting thicker with each of her movents.
Just a few steps from the woman, her steps suddenly stopped. Laura slowly raised her gaze and found the [Angel of Death] before her, head tilted to the side and eyes blinking as she observed the woman... or rather, it seed like she was observing sothing in the woman, instead of simply staring at her.
"Hmm... I wonder if our guide knows these people? Well, if that's the case, I guess I can't just tear out their mouths... My goodness, what do I do now?"
Laura tried to anticipate the woman’s reaction, but to her surprise, the tone in which she addressed the [Angel of Death] was surprisingly respectful. Laura tried to comprehend the scene she was witnessing, but she simply couldn’t. However, what happened next definitely took her by surprise.
"Ah! In that case, I’ll make sure your sins are forgiven through my own sacrifice" said the woman, a genuine smile of happiness on her face.
As she spoke those words, Laura watched as the woman pulled a knife from her robes. In the next instant, her eyes widened in shock as the woman unexpectedly began cutting her own face. The scene unfolding was so grotesque that Laura felt her stomach churn. Unable to bear it, she couldn’t help but vomit as the woman continued her macabre spectacle of self-mutilation.
At that mont, besides the sound of the wind, which had inexplicably returned, the only sound filling the environnt was the sound of flesh being cut and torn, echoing for so ti, breaking the silence in a haunting way.
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