At that moment, theoretically, I had two options at my disposal. The first was to try to resolve the situation peacefully. I had no idea whether this new anomaly was hostile or not. I mean, up until now, every anomaly I encountered had been hostile, but there's always an exception to the rule, right? At least, I like to think that I’m that exception.

The only problem with going down that path was the fact that I couldn’t speak. Believe me, I’ve tried making sounds before, but not even the sound of a breath comes out. Of course, the fact that I have no organs probably plays a part in that. But honestly, what can I do about it? This is just how I am, ever since I came into being.

Anyway, even if the first option wasn’t feasible, there was still the second: just eliminate the anomaly. I won’t lie, that alternative made me uncomfortable for some reason. Maybe it was because this time, my opponent had practically the same face as mine. I think that detail, in particular, made the idea even more unsettling.

However, before deciding whether or not to eliminate the anomaly, it seemed wiser to start with an analysis process. After all, without knowing the creature’s weak point, it’d be hard to defeat it. Also, for some reason, I had the feeling that simply attacking it directly wouldn’t have much effect.

With those thoughts in mind, I decided to act. After giving the creature a brief glance, which was staring right back at me, I activated my anomalous power. In the next instant, my eyes began to shine with the colors of the rainbow, and my perception of the environment completely changed. Everything around me transformed: the figures gained vibrant rainbow hues spread across their bodies, clearly highlighting the spots where their weaknesses lay.

I noticed that behind a pillar, three colors were shining in a spot where clearly, no one was standing. That intrigued me, but I decided to leave that question for later—there was something more urgent to deal with at the moment. With that focus, I turned my gaze back to the creature. However, the moment our eyes met, I instinctively reacted and abruptly closed my eyes.

I felt a pain I had never experienced since becoming an anomaly. To be honest, pain was a sensation I had completely forgotten about. But this pain was different, incomparably more intense than anything I could remember—nothing like stubbing my toe on a door or pricking my finger with something sharp. It was something far beyond that, something that felt like it was consuming me from the inside out.

The pain I was feeling was different from anything I had ever experienced. Although, in theory, it was my eyes that were hurting, the sensation went far beyond that. It felt like something inside me—perhaps my very soul—was shattering.

It was such an intense pain that it made my body tremble, forcing me to step back while pressing one of my hands against the eye that hurt the most. With the other, which hurt a little less, I stared at the new anomaly that had emerged from the dome.

I couldn’t contain my surprise. This was undoubtedly one of the rare times my usually expressionless face revealed any emotion. The reason? The anomaly was smiling as it stared at me. There was something disturbing about its smile, something that made me uneasy. It was like it was mocking my futile attempt, transmitting a sense of amusement that felt almost tangible.

However, even though it seemed to be looking down on me from an external point of view, something told me, from my perspective, that it was simply enjoying the situation. Of course, I had no idea why I thought that or why I imagined it might be having fun. After all, do anomalies have fun? As far as I know, I’m the only anomaly known to play video games.

As I got lost in my thoughts, the woman who seemed to lead the cult stood up and, with slow, steady steps, began to approach the anomaly in front of me. I looked at her, confused, briefly blinking my only good eye. It’s not that the other eye wasn’t good—the pain had already faded. However, the sensation had been so strange and the pain so intense that, even without feeling it anymore, I could still sense its presence.

Anyway, after getting just a few centimeters from the purple anomaly, which was still staring at me with an amused smile on its face, the woman threw herself to the ground and knelt. For some reason, I had the feeling she might start crying right then and there... and sure enough, she was crying. Although this surprised me at first, I soon accepted it more easily. After all, she was crazy, and I expected anything from her.

“Ahhh! My lady! The reason for my life, before me once again! I’ve waited so long for this moment, so many years... Since that day, I’ve never been able to forget you!”

Honestly, I had no idea what this woman was saying. By the way, the other anomaly didn’t seem too interested in her words. In fact, its gaze remained fixed on me, and beyond me, nothing else seemed to catch its attention. This intense focus on me, for some reason, made me strangely uncomfortable.

Something about what the woman said made me uneasy. The way she spoke clearly indicated that this wasn’t the first time this anomaly had appeared. Yet, throughout all my time exploring the facility, I never saw or heard any mention of it.

Honestly, the mere fact that there was no record or information about this anomaly was strange enough. No matter how you look at it, this anomaly is clearly different from the others—everything around it radiates danger. Even so, there was nothing I could do about it at the moment.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The next moment, the woman lowered her hood, finally revealing her face. Her blonde hair, with some purple streaks, fell gently over her shoulders. Her face was beautiful, but what stood out most were her eyes. Not because they were attractive, but because they seemed lifeless, as deep as an abyss.

Although they were blue, the tone was completely faded, leaving only a small glimmer as she stared at the anomaly. A thought crossed my mind: this woman seemed to be on a path with no return. But who was I to judge her?.

As that thought passed through my mind, suddenly, I felt my body start to tremble. I briefly glanced at the ground and noticed the small stones beneath my feet moving from side to side. The trembling grew stronger, and before I knew it, the whole place started shaking. Small stones fell from all sides, and I could see tiny cracks forming in the walls and floor.

Everything happened so fast and suddenly that I could barely understand what was going on. Still, it wasn’t hard to see the obvious: the place was clearly about to collapse. The figures around us seemed to have noticed the severity of the situation too. To be honest, I kind of expected them to remain devoted, even with thousands of rocks about to crash down on their heads at any moment.

Contrary to all my expectations, the figures began to murmur among themselves as they observed the surroundings. The next moment, they all bolted for the exit, as if they were overcome with panic, running in a disorganized frenzy, pushing each other. I watched the chaotic scene for a moment before turning my gaze back to the being in front of me.

This definitely had to be his doing. I mean, he shows up, and the place starts collapsing right afterward? The only plausible explanation is that something in the cave changed with his arrival. Of course, I had no idea what exactly could have caused it.

For a brief moment, as I lost myself in thought, the being glanced around, but its gaze was one of complete indifference. Then, it cast a final glance in my direction before allowing its cloak to envelop it entirely.

Its gaze never wavered from mine. My last sight was of the being swallowed by its cloak before disappearing completely from my field of vision. Then, the cloak opened, but the being was no longer there.

I blinked, confused, as I watched the cloak slowly evaporate, as if its existence depended on the presence of its master. Of course, this was assuming the cloak was, in some way, a living entity.

In the end, the only ones remaining at the location were me and the hooded woman, still kneeling in the spot where the being had been moments before. Honestly, I had no reason to help her. After all, she dragged me into this cave and forced me to open a portal that brought that strange creature into existence. From a logical perspective, there was no reason for me to harbor any positive thoughts about her.

Lost in my thoughts, I decided to activate my power once again. I figured that, if that being was truly responsible for the collapse of the cave, perhaps defeating whatever was causing the cave-in could resolve the situation. However, to my surprise, when I activated my eyes, the three points near the pillar were still there, unchanged.

At first, I ignored those points, thinking it was just a trick of my eyes. But as I looked more closely, I realized there seemed to be other people present besides the figures. Of course, I had no idea who they could be, so I directed my gaze to the exact location where they were.

Maybe they noticed my attention, because soon after, the hidden individuals decided to reveal themselves. When I finally saw them, I couldn’t help but be surprised. I blinked a few times and tilted my head, trying to process what was before me.

Although I didn’t know the exact reason Laura and Victor were there, I assumed it had something to do with the emergence of this anomaly. However, I had no idea how they managed to locate it before me. What truly caught my attention, though, was the man accompanying them — more specifically, the fact that he was in possession of anomalies.

***

(POV - Laura Cavendish)

Laura watched intently the exchange of glances between the [Angel of Death] and the new anomaly that had suddenly appeared. Honestly, she didn’t know what to expect. The [Angel of Death] almost always displayed hostility toward other anomalies, and Laura feared a confrontation would be inevitable. The worst part was not knowing the true extent of the danger this new anomaly might represent.

Or rather, Laura instinctively felt that this anomaly was unlike anything she had encountered before. Not even the Nihilum-class anomalies seemed to reach the true potential that this one could possess. Confused, Laura realized that, for the first time, she was facing something completely beyond her understanding.

The exchange of glances lasted only briefly before the [Angel of Death] activated her power, causing her eyes to glow with the colors of the rainbow. No matter how many times Laura saw that scene; it was always fascinating, but at the same time terrifying. Her fears and thoughts seemed exposed in that gaze, as if nothing could be hidden.

There was little information about the [Angel of Death]'s eyes, but what Laura knew was that she always used them before launching an attack on another anomaly. Although this gaze had been directed at humans in the past, nothing significant had occurred. That’s why the real reason behind its use remained a mystery.

Although Laura was expecting a fight, something completely unexpected happened — or rather, something she had never witnessed before. Suddenly, the [Angel of Death] tilted her head down and placed her hand over one of her eyes. Laura was confused; it was the first time she had seen this reaction from the anomaly when using her eyes.

The strangest part, however, was that the [Angel of Death] herself seemed confused. Her normally stoic and expressionless face displayed one of its rare expressions: confusion, accompanied by disbelief. As Laura witnessed this unusual moment, her mind was overwhelmed with a series of thoughts, trying to understand what was happening.

(Did she fail? How? Why? This was the first time, right? I don’t remember ever seeing this reaction before, but why did it fail? Is there a condition? If so, which criterion was not met?)

Various thoughts filled Laura’s mind, and she distractedly didn’t notice the commotion around her. When she finally snapped back to reality, she realized the place was completely empty, leaving only her, the strange woman who worshiped the new anomaly, and Victor and Arthur, who were watching the situation ahead with complicated expressions.

Following their gaze, Laura also focused on what they were observing: the [Angel of Death] was staring at them. Although, according to Arthur, no one should be able to see them, Laura had many questions, but with the entire place shaking, she decided that, above all, everyone needed to get out of there.