Let’s be honest: it’s human nature to punch something that glows, right? It’s like when you go to an amusement park, hop into a bounce house, and just can’t resist the urge to jump. Similarly, I couldn’t help but punch the glowing pillar in front of me.

Of course, there was the fact that it was probably my way out of this place, but I can’t deny that I really wanted to hit the pillar. My first punch made the pillar shake slightly, but it wasn’t just it that trembled; I also felt the world around me vibrate.

Though I didn’t know exactly what this meant, I decided to take it as a sign that something was going right. So, hitting the pillar again became inevitable, and this time I did it with much more force. The pillar shook intensely, and small cracks began to form on its surface.

I kept hitting the pillar, and with each impact, the world around me trembled, while the cracks in the pillar widened. After a few seconds of relentless punching, I felt a distortion in the environment, and once again, I had no idea what was happening, but I decided to persist. Interestingly, my arm that had been swallowed by the shadow wasn’t regenerating, but suddenly began to recover instantly as soon as I entered this place.

Regardless, I continued to hit the pillar with all my might. At one point, my arm went right through the pillar; a distortion suddenly appeared, engulfing it completely. However, the distortion was thin enough to allow only my arm to pass through. Surprised I had managed this, I retracted my arm and then grabbed the distortion.

I decided not to complain and instead used my strength to expand the distortion, at least enough to get through it. To my surprise, opening it was easier than I imagined. Although I exerted quite a bit of force, I still hadn’t come anywhere near my limit. However, one thought crossed my mind now that the distortion was open.

(Is it really safe to go through this? I won’t get stuck or lost, right?)

But in the end, did I really have another choice? Gathering a bit of courage, I slowly brought my head closer to the distortion and passed through it. On the other side, the first thing I saw was Laura’s face. She didn’t look well; her hair was messy, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. However, as she looked at me, I noticed a new sparkle in her eyes. I stared at her, tilting my head slightly.

Then, I looked around. No matter how I observed it, it seemed that this was the same place where I had seen the floating dome. Besides, even Emily was there. At least, this confirmed that I was in a location I recognized. With that in mind, there was no reason to hesitate in crossing over.

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With that thought, I expanded the distortion and crossed to the other side. As soon as I fully emerged, I looked around and then turned my gaze back. The shadow that had once swallowed me was now shaking incessantly, slowly breaking apart as it sank into the ground.

In a few seconds, it was just me, Emily, and Laura left in the room; the shadow had completely disappeared, sinking into the ground. I stood there for a moment reflecting on what had just happened. Did I really defeat the shadow? And if so, how did I manage that? All I did was punch a colorful pillar in a strange place, but it was the shadow that took the damage. It was complicated to understand how this anomaly thing worked.

“Ms. Anomaly! You’re alive! You’ve come back to save us!”

As soon as she saw me, Laura hugged me, and this time, I let her do so because she was trembling, and tears were still streaming from her eyes. However, my attention was completely focused on the floating dome in the center of the room.

“Laura, now is not the time to celebrate. Though I don’t know exactly what happened, I don’t think [Shadow] is dead or anything like that; it was probably just a temporary escape. We need to move to the generator room to activate the energy while we still have time”

“I know... but Ms. Anomaly...”

While Laura and Emily talked, I approached the floating dome in the center of the room. When I was a few meters away from it, I circled around it for a moment, tilting my head in curiosity.

(Do I just need to touch it? At least, that’s what I did last time in the forest)

I was almost 100% sure that this dome was the weak point of that shadow. If it was anything like what happened in the forest, I would probably gain a new power. Though I had no basis for this, what happened in the forest was still fresh in my mind: after absorbing the colors from the weak point of that anomaly resembling a dog, I started to regenerate my body.

Just like last time, I grabbed the floating dome and looked at it for a few seconds. To be sure, I checked if the dome was indeed glowing in rainbow colors, and it was confirmed. As I pondered what to do next, suddenly I felt something hovering above my head: it was a golden sphere gently spinning.

Automatically, the colors from the dome began to flow toward the sphere above my head, being absorbed slowly. In a matter of seconds, the dome turned completely dark, with no color remaining. I released the dome, expecting it to float again, but to my shock, it fell to the ground, showing no sign of moving or floating again.

Honestly, I didn’t care if the dome moved again or not. But thinking back, had I gained some power? I wished I had some visual or physical indication when acquiring new abilities. For example, I discovered my regeneration ability by accident since at that moment I was without my arm. Moreover, this ability is more passive than something I use consciously.

I sighed, aware that I would need to figure out how to use this new ability. The moment I thought this and took a step forward, I suddenly fell—literally fell into the ground. Just like the shadow anomaly that could infiltrate the darkness, it seemed that I could now do the same.