(POV – Protagonist)

As the man spoke, I noticed his gaze fall on me. His eyebrow lifted slightly as he glanced at me sideways, as if he had just realized I was paying attention to his words as well.

Still, I highly doubt he truly believed I could understand what was being said. Anyway, by the end of his explanation, my confusion had only grown, far surpassing what I felt at the beginning.

From my perspective, he had just dumped an avalanche of new information and concepts out of nowhere. As I've mentioned, I consider myself of average intelligence—in other words, I'm a completely ordinary person.

However, unlike me, Laura seemed to understand everything he was saying perfectly. Thankfully, I'm not the thinker of the team, because if I were, we’d be completely lost.

In the end, he just left us with more questions than answers. Although he gave us a substantial amount of information, there was no real clarification, since he himself seemed to know very little about these anomalies. That being said, what the hell did [Conceptual Virtues] even mean? Did he make up that name? For some reason, it sounded so cheesy that it inexplicably made me feel immense embarrassment.

Putting my worries aside, what undoubtedly unsettled Laura and Victor the most was the revelation that there were, in total, seven other beings similar to the one we had encountered earlier.

I mean, that being literally appeared out of nowhere, swapped the moon for a black hole just minutes after emerging from a highly suspicious portal. Honestly, it's impossible to even imagine what the others could be capable of.

On top of that, there was the worrying fact that we had no idea where that being could be right now. Given its apparent ability to teleport, it could literally be anywhere in the world at this very moment.

While Laura, Victor, and the man discussed seemingly important matters—likely related to the new anomaly, considering the situation—I, on the other hand, began to feel bored. I mean, they were completely ignoring me, probably thinking I wouldn’t contribute anything even if they tried to involve me. Okay, I’m mute, but not deaf. You know that, right?.

Anyway, since they weren’t paying attention to me, I decided to focus on the village. Maybe I could find a clue pointing to where that being might have gone. For a brief moment, my golden, shining eyes fixed on the sky, more specifically on the black hole now filling it. It was hard to believe, but the moon had really disappeared. Did the black hole absorb it or something?.

I thought about what exactly that black hole in the sky could mean. I knew that being was responsible for making it appear, but beyond that, my mind couldn't get very far—thinking was never my strong suit, after all. As I stared intently at the glowing purple black hole, something peculiar caught my attention, thanks to the unique way I see things.

Normally, when I focus my vision on something in front of me, the surroundings also become strangely sharp, which makes it nearly impossible for me to be caught off guard. Curiously, though, when I look directly at something, my vision functions completely normally. Yeah, I know, it's weird, but that's just how it works.

Following what I noticed, I turned my gaze toward the forest and walked slowly toward the spot I had noticed. It was near the houses located on the edge of the dry forest. However, when I got there, a question popped into my mind, and, confused, I tilted my head slightly to the side.

(These trees... For some reason, I feel like they weren't this withered before. Did they always look like this, or is it just my impression?)

When I first arrived at this village, I noticed the trees around had a dry, leafless appearance, which, in a way, seemed to be a characteristic trait of the vegetation in this region, considering the cold climate here. However, as I observed them now, something felt different. The trees were becoming progressively more dead.

Their trunks seemed rotten, as if they hadn't received water or sunlight in a long time. At first, I thought it was just a natural feature of the place, but as I examined them more closely, the feeling that they were decaying grew stronger.

Confused, I quickly looked around. The vegetation, although sparse, was still present, but even it seemed to be wilting and withering away. Though I hadn't paid much attention to the environment when I first arrived, I'm sure the plants were more alive at that time compared to what I see now.

I blinked, puzzled by the situation. I crouched slowly and looked at the vegetation beneath my feet. Reaching down, I pulled up some weeds from the ground. However, as soon as I held them, the weeds withered completely in my hand and died shortly after. This made me realize that this was definitely not something normal.

What the hell was going on? I didn’t remember having any anomalous abilities that could cause this reaction in the vegetation. And even if I did, there would be no reason to use it—after all, why would I kill the plants around me?.

As I watched the grass wither in my hand, the man from earlier entered my field of view, approaching slowly from behind. There was something about his presence that made me feel like he was analyzing me. Well, that didn’t bother me.

Living at the base of the organization, stares like that were common in my daily life. However, maybe he knew something about what was happening to the vegetation. With that thought in mind, I slowly turned around, showing him the withered and dead grass I was holding.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

The man looked confused by my gesture, but still, his gaze fixed on my hand. I noticed his eyebrows furrow slightly, a clear sign of perplexity. With a careful movement, he took the withered and dead grass from me, and though there was some hesitation in his actions, I couldn’t blame him for that, even if I wanted to. When the weeds were in his hands, he observed them for a few seconds, studying them carefully.

As I waited for his next move, the man’s eyes suddenly widened. With a swift motion, he turned his gaze toward the slowly withering forest behind me before turning his face toward the sky.

Honestly, besides the scattered stars, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly interesting up there, except for the dark purple-black hole glowing brightly, standing out in the vast sky. So I assumed that was what the man was looking at.

As I tried to imagine what he could be thinking, the man suddenly flashed a half-smile and placed his hand on his chin, adopting a pose that resembled a detective. While I got lost in my own thoughts, he finally spoke: "I understand... so that’s it. I never considered that possibility before. Since the [Conceptual Virtues] cannot act outside the concept they govern, they don’t have the power to directly interfere. However, their very presence has the ability to alter reality. Even without taking any action, they cause changes simply by existing"

Sure, I couldn’t understand a thing he was saying. From my point of view, he just mumbled something while staring at the black hole in the sky, and somehow, it seemed like he had come to some kind of conclusion, almost as if it were something miraculous. Honestly, I had no idea what kind of conclusion he could have reached by staring at some wilting grass, but honestly, I didn’t really care.

Completely ignoring me, he began walking toward Laura and Victor. I followed discreetly, keeping an eye on the surroundings. There was something unsettling about this village; it didn’t give off any sense of safety.

Also, where did all those dressed figures from the cave go? They were the first to leave, but it felt strange not seeing them around. Where could they have gone?.

As we approached Laura and Victor, the man spoke: “I think I’ve finally figured out what [Conceptual Virtue] it was that we encountered earlier”

Anyway, I figured it was best to put aside thoughts of the figures I’d encountered in the cave, where that being seemed trapped within the symbol. Earlier, the man had looked at the wilted grass I gave him and then directed his gaze toward the black hole in the sky. Given those two factors, it seemed clear there was some connection between them.

Although I usually couldn’t care less about most things, I couldn’t deny that this time, my curiosity was piqued. I mean, if the whole world had the same fate as the wilted grass I handed him, wouldn’t that be a complete disaster? The planet could just be destroyed.

Though I have some physical resistance, I can’t imagine it’d be pleasant to live in such a scenario. And, moreover, I doubt I’d manage to keep my life peaceful if the world really did end. In short, no video games, no snacks, none of that.

As I lost myself in thought again, Laura’s voice echoed: “Did you figure it out? How?” I realized she seemed suspicious, maybe even curious. Anyway, her reaction wasn’t all that surprising. The man, on the other hand, seemed to be thinking the same as I was, as he remained calm, almost expressionless.

Arthur, without saying a word, extended his hand to Laura, as if he wanted to give her something. Confused, Laura reached out in response, and in the next moment, he dropped a twig of wilted grass into her palm.

Still stunned, she stared at it, trying to understand what it meant, while Arthur began speaking: “You see this, don’t you? The grass is wilting. And if you look around, you notice the same thing happening with the trees? As I said, I don’t know much about [Conceptual Virtues] — in fact, I know so little I’m almost embarrassed to call myself an expert. But if there’s one thing I know... or at least theorize... it’s some of the characteristics of their powers”

Both Laura and Victor looked equally confused, and honestly, so was I. In the end, the only thing we could do was keep listening carefully to the man’s explanation. Noticing that we were all focused on him, he continued: “Well, as far as I know, there’s only one of the [Conceptual Virtues] that matches the description of the current characteristics, and even without doing anything, it could cause the death of the vegetation around us”

I’m not exactly sure why, but as soon as he mentioned the death of the vegetation, the word “death” strangely stuck in my mind. It didn’t take long for me to understand why.

The plants and trees around us were slowly wilting and weakening, almost as if they were gradually withering away, heading toward death. It was at that moment that I finally realized which [Conceptual Virtue] we were dealing with. And to confirm my theory, the man’s voice echoed again, while Victor and Laura listened intently.

“That anomaly we found in the cave, I’m sure it was the personification of death. It seems like we ran into a complicated problem right from the start” the man said, his voice full of confidence. To be honest, it was hard to believe he was wrong.

I slowly turned my gaze toward Victor and Laura. Both had wide eyes, an expression of shock and apprehension evident. Well, I can’t say I didn’t understand their reaction. Usually, when you talk about death, it rarely involves anything good. Of course, there are exceptions, but overall, it’s never a positive thing.

"Speaking of which, where are the figures we saw in the cave earlier? I hadn’t noticed with everything going on, but didn’t they leave before us? Why does the village feel so empty?" Victor’s comment drew Laura’s and the man’s attention, and they finally seemed to notice the strangeness of the situation.

The next moment, following Victor's words, Laura and the man began to scan their surroundings, finally noticing something strange: the village was completely deserted. There was no sign of the figures or the villagers. Of course, this was something I had already noticed minutes earlier.

My field of vision is considerably wider than that of a human, so I doubt I missed any details. Even so, the situation left me puzzled as well. While trying to figure out where everyone could have gone, an unexpected thought crossed my mind.

(Wait! Although I’m not sure about the distance, if I activate my eyes, I’ll be able to scan the surroundings much more efficiently. If something is hidden, its weak points will give it away)

Following my reasoning, I activated my anomalous power, and in the next instant, my eyes began to glow with the colors of the rainbow. As I analyzed my surroundings, I quickly identified the distinctive glows that indicated weak points. Strangely, they were all concentrated inside the cave, near the exit.

Since that exit was blocked due to the earlier collapse, it’s likely that everyone got trapped while trying to escape. To be honest, I was surprised they had survived. I thought they wouldn’t make it out alive, imagining they’d be buried or crushed by the rocks in the process.