(POV – Protagonist)

As the dome unraveled, a flood of thoughts overwhelmed my mind. However, none of them even considered the possibility of an unknown anomaly emerging from that purple structure. For some reason, ever since I became an anomaly, encounters with others seemed to have become almost routine.

It's a strange feeling, to be honest. I can't tell if it's luck or bad luck. I mean, if it's this easy to find anomalies, how the hell has the world not discovered them yet? Honestly, the only explanation that makes sense is that the organization Laura and Emily work for is doing its job way more efficiently than I could have ever imagined.

Anyway, my thoughts lasted only a few seconds—just enough time for the dome to completely vanish. In its place, a purple figure appeared, its nature entirely unknown to me. The tip of this purple shape seemed to be on fire, but it didn’t resemble conventional flames. It was as if it was continuously falling apart and reconstructing itself in an endless cycle. A strange sight, to say the least.

I didn't know what to do next, so I just stood there, lost in my thoughts. At the same time, I wondered what exactly that purple figure was that had suddenly emerged from the dome. I won’t lie, I was curious, that much was true, but honestly, my curiosity wasn’t strong enough to make me forget that this unknown being came from a purple dome, through a portal, from which a fanatical cult seemed to worship it like a god or something like that.

Anyway, besides its blazing purple form, I couldn’t make out anything else. It didn’t even seem to have a face. With these thoughts in mind, I started to approach slowly, stopping just a few inches from the figure. I stayed there, staring at it for a few seconds, wondering whether or not I should take action.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, the purple shape suddenly trembled. The movement reminded me of the crackling of embers in a campfire. Then, it turned abruptly. I say "turned" because the movement was oddly similar to someone turning around directly toward you from behind.

When the figure finished turning toward me, I couldn’t hide my surprise as a face, surprisingly similar to mine, suddenly appeared in the middle of the purple structure. My eyes widened in confusion, and my head tilted slightly to the side.

The being, which resembled me, did not show any sign of surprise — or if it did, it made no effort to show it. However, its eyes blinking briefly as it gazed at me did not go unnoticed. The next moment, it began looking around, as if evaluating the environment it was in.

While the being focused on observing its surroundings, I took the opportunity to do a quick analysis of its appearance. In terms of height, it was quite similar to me, maybe a bit shorter. Additionally, unlike my translucent white tone, the being had a purple hue, also translucent, but with subtle white streaks. Still, the purple was clearly predominant.

But that wasn’t all. The being had other striking details that made it seem completely different from me. Even though we had nearly identical faces, the feeling was strange — almost as if I were looking into a mirror.

But seriously, I never realized I looked this "cute" Normally, it would be weird to think of myself that way, but since there was someone in front of me who looked like me, maybe it wasn’t that strange, right?.

From the being's head, two spiral goat horns protruded backward. In a way, its horns were quite similar to those of goats, but that definitely wasn’t the most striking feature. What really stood out were its eyes.

Like mine, they were golden, but its pupils had a dark, deep purple hue. There was something in its eyes that conveyed a sense of familiarity, which honestly made no sense, considering this was the first time I had seen that being.

While I wondered what to do next, the being finished observing the surroundings and then looked down, raising one of its hands. With a movement, it opened and closed its fingers, as if testing something.

I had no idea what it was doing — maybe testing its body or something? The anatomy of anomalies tends to be strange. Take me, for example: even though I have no lungs, I can breathe... or at least, theoretically. And even without a heart, I’m still alive.

After analyzing the surroundings and its own body, the being finally turned its gaze back to me. Our eyes met, and I realized that its look had something oddly melancholic, or perhaps expressionless.

Sure, I don’t think I have much room to talk since I’m pretty expressionless myself, but his seemed different from mine. While my lack of expression is due to the difficulty in moving the muscles in my face, his seemed natural, like it was just part of his essence: expressionless and melancholic.

At least, that’s the impression I got. I can’t say he has one of the friendliest faces. Deep down, what they say about the first interaction being the most memorable is, in a way, true.

***

(POV – Laura Cavendish)

Laura had been working with anomalies for years. You could say she had seen it all, from the most peaceful to the most dangerous, with simple reminders being enough to cause nightmares. Fear, cuteness, confusion, among other emotions, were part of her daily life. However, because of this experience, Laura didn’t know what was happening to her in that moment.

When the dome dissipated and something purple emerged, Laura focused her vision, trying to understand what the newly appeared being was. However, as soon as the being turned, she was at a loss for what to think. Her body froze instantly, and her thoughts started to disconnect. Just looking at it was creating in Laura a mix of anxiety, panic, and extreme fear, but it wasn’t the same kind of feelings she was used to.

All kinds of intense and conflicting feelings mixed inside Laura, like an invisible hand hovering over her heart, about to crush it at any moment. It was this feeling that consumed her. On top of that, her breathing was visibly heavy and irregular, making even the simple act of breathing an increasingly difficult task.

Despite everything that was happening, there was one thought in Laura’s mind that was able to silence all those sensations for a moment, leaving only pure curiosity in its place.

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(Why does it look so much like our [Angel of Death]?)

This was, without a doubt, what confused Laura the most. From the moment the being appeared and she noticed its resemblance to another anomaly, countless reasons ran through her mind as she tried to explain the connection. However, no matter how much she thought about it, none of the explanations seemed to make sense—or they were too absurd to be true.

Victor, who had been paying close attention, noticed Laura's expression and managed to grasp what she was likely thinking. After all, he had the same question in mind. However, he couldn’t see how staying there could bring any advantage. They were already taking too many risks by trusting Arthur—someone who, like it or not, remained shrouded in mystery.

To make matters worse, the emergence of the new anomaly made the situation even more dangerous. They had no information about it, and its anomalous power could be absolutely anything.

"I don’t mean to be a buzzkill, since you two seem to have fallen into some kind of trance ever since the new anomaly emerged from the dome, but I think it’d be best if we got out of here now" Victor remarked in a serious tone: "The longer we stay, the higher the chances we’ll be discovered. Plus, we need to figure out where the villagers are... I’ve got a bad feeling about this. We haven’t seen any of them since we got here"

Victor looked at Arthur and Laura, waiting for their responses. Arthur, with a thoughtful expression as he observed the interaction between the two anomalies, finally broke the silence. In a serious tone, he said: "... I don’t think this will make a difference. Look... it seems like he can see us"

Victor, confused, slowly turned his gaze toward the new anomaly that had emerged from the purple dome moments earlier. The moment his eyes met the creature's, it turned its gaze toward him as well. In that instant, Victor was absolutely certain: it was looking directly at him. And if that was the case, it was likely that it had already done the same with Laura and Arthur.

Instinctively, Victor's body reacted. Within seconds, his hands drew the weapon, and his aim was directly on the anomaly that had emerged from the purple dome. However, before he could fire, Arthur intervened, lowering Victor's gun. Confused, Victor stared at him with a look full of doubt.

Without taking his eyes off the anomaly, Arthur placed his hand on Victor's weapon and gently lowered it. With a relatively calm expression, he finally spoke: "I think we're fine... It’s not going to attack us... probably"

Victor was torn about whether or not to trust Arthur. From his point of view, based on countless past experiences with anomalies, all of them, without exception, had tried to kill him as soon as they got the chance. However, these thoughts made him remember a particular encounter, the first he had with a specific anomaly: the [Angel of Death].

Unlike all the others, she had remained completely passive, even after being hit by an accidental shot from one of the guards. Of course, Victor knew he couldn't expect something like that to happen again by pure luck or chance. That had certainly been a rare and unique situation, something he would probably never witness again.

Victor’s gaze shifted back to the anomaly. It was still watching them, its eyes completely expressionless. It was impossible to tell what it was thinking. Although Victor wanted to trust Arthur, he couldn’t just do so without solid evidence. Not when a single mistake could cost all three of them their lives.

“Do you have any proof?” Victor asked, pushing Arthur’s hand away from his weapon: “You know, if we mess up just once, we’re all dead, right?”

Arthur pondered Victor’s question, as if organizing his thoughts before answering. Finally, he said: “Remember when I told you I call these beings [Conceptual Virtues]? That name wasn’t something I just made up on a whim. Each of these beings has power over a certain concept. While that might sound abstract, their powers are very real, to the point of exceeding anything we can imagine. However, there’s a limitation: they’re bound to those concepts. They can’t act in a way that contradicts the essence of the concept they represent”

Victor listened carefully to Arthur’s words, his mind full of questions, but before he could speak up, Laura cut in, asking directly: “So, to sum it up, these beings can’t go against their own nature? But what if this one, right here in front of us, is related to destruction?”

Victor gave a wry smile as he observed the scene unfolding just a few steps away. Only then did he respond to Laura’s question: “Well, if that were the case, this place would’ve been completely destroyed the moment the portal opened”

Laura turned her gaze to Arthur. Even though he didn’t have the typical scientist look, she could tell he had deep knowledge of these anomalies, known as [Conceptual Virtues].

With that thought in mind, Laura broke the silence, speaking while watching Victor’s reaction carefully: “You know, you’d be incredibly valuable to the organization. I have no idea how you managed to gather all this information, considering the organization doesn’t even have it. But that alone shows just how competent you are. How about working with us?”

When she extended the offer, Laura didn’t really expect Arthur to accept. In fact, he didn’t seem like the type to work well in a group. And, just as she had expected, his response was more or less what she anticipated. Still, Arthur’s words managed to surprise her.

"I’m flattered to hear that from you, Researcher Laura Cavendish. However, the truth is that I’ve already been collaborating with the organization, though in an unofficial capacity. I’m a freelance investigator, always been fascinated by anomalies, and I study them on my own. That’s how I discovered the [Conceptual Virtues]. It was by chance, but I became so captivated by them that I decided to dedicate my life to understanding them... though, technically, this is the first time I’ve encountered one of them in person"

The more she listened, the more Laura began to see Arthur as a very peculiar person. Though fascinated by anomalies, he didn’t seem obsessed with them like most scientists, which made him even more intriguing.

Laura, though reluctant to admit it, knew that the organization’s scientists—including herself—would do anything to obtain more data on anomalies, even if it meant sacrificing lives. Of course, most of the time those lives belonged to prisoners condemned to death, but despite finding him strange, Laura didn’t necessarily view him negatively.

However, after thinking about it a bit more, Laura noticed something in the way Arthur spoke that she hadn’t noticed before — or maybe she just hadn’t paid enough attention.

(Didn't he say “beings” instead of “being”? How many beings like that are we talking about, exactly?)

***

(POV – Protagonist)

My current situation, to be honest, was strange and uncomfortable. Strange because I had no idea how I should act now that the being on the other side of the symbol was gone. Uncomfortable because, although it didn’t seem particularly dangerous, there was something about its presence that made me anxious, and the fact that I didn’t know exactly what it was made everything even more unsettling.

As far as I could see, he was practically a reflection of me. Our faces were almost identical, although, in person, I found mine more inviting compared to his. Other than that, his clothes were somewhat peculiar; somehow, he gave off a vibe of a lord of the dead, with his cloak and hood lowered. His eyes, on the other hand, were almost empty of any emotion.

Moreover, the creature looked surprisingly cute and innocent, which, let's be honest, was a bit strange to say, considering we technically had almost the same face. It was like saying I was cute... Well, personally, I don’t think that’s entirely a lie. Okay, thinking I’m cute is definitely weird, but Laura’s partly to blame for that. For some reason, I feel like I'm trying to dodge the situation since I have no idea what to do.

Besides, it's not like my Alter Ego is trying to help, since it was him who brought me here. Damn, if you're going to take me to a village in the middle of nowhere, full of crazy cultists, at least show me what I should be doing here. If I could cry, I'd definitely be doing it right now.