Lastly. Lastly, we have the Anomalies.
Once more, it is embarrassing to place myself on the list, so I shall name Anomaly 131, otherwise known as Praetor Spiro, as our leader in this realm.
Beholden to no specific group, these individuals are the absolute rarest species. They possess abilities with near-unlimited potential, whether it is a Stigmata, a Tide, or an impossible physique. Most have unfortunately fallen in combat, lost themselves to their own gifts, or been executed for madness. Currently, fifteen remain. Just three are Praetors.
Anomalies are not the strongest. We are not the wisest. We are not the oldest. We are, however, those with the highest chance at greatness.
Let us give praise to:
Anomaly 131, for his Necto. Liquid hydrogen is a mighty Tide to control. Colder than ice, more flammable than the air, and deadlier than all others.
Anomaly 666, for his Duplication. Even legendary items such as Oswen’s Oathsever can be copied for a time. The limits are near-endless.
Anomaly 354, for her unique race. Born within a star, the Irfret has a body like none other. Even without the Lightsea, our dear Praetor Aurora has slain Anathema.
* Yarnen, Anomaly 0, Year 3986, in her Century Report.
Miles away from Dante’s crew, Thanaris glared at her opponent, hands cresting with bloodied stakes. A low growl came from her throat as the other Anacrux nearby escaped from the battle, spreading out for their mission.
The woman shifted from the icy Caesar that her two subordinates knew to an irrevocable monster. Thanaris’ lips twisted upward, and her eyes narrowed, tilting down as the Domain Collapse around her vanished, leaving only thousands of ghosts created from the haze.
“You... dare risk shattering the entrance!?” Thanaris roared as she twisted, evading a lashing phantom before evaporating it with a swipe of her talons.
Geist laughed, stepping along the now-devoured grasses. The greenery below transformed into a gray slush, eaten by his mists. He earned great joy from the energy all the life delivered to him.
The translucent man raised his arms, and the army he had conjured shivered, “Whatever do you mean? It can handle a split-second Domain Collapse. You... just have to be good enough to close it fast, like me.” the hazy figures flew closer to Thanaris, the most apparent threat she’d ever seen. “And.. so what if I can’t open it again? The second I had was plenty for my Tide to bloom.”
Thanaris’ face fell. She sensed that the man spoke true. Her Domain wasn’t like his. Not at all. There were several types of Domains, and those like Geist’s, the Golden Domains, were traditionally labeled one of the weakest, simply enhancing one’s Tide to enormous levels.
But for such a short activation period, in order to not damage the entrance to the Inferose...
It gave him a tremendous advantage to possess a Golden Domain. Her’s, a Reactive Domain, required it to be open continually to provide any effect such as empowered defense and regeneration.
Thanaris’ mind swept through the possibilities, and she found only one that would counter Geist’s Domain on this planet. Astraeus. He had a Mystique Domain. The rarest.
Unconventional and bizarre effects were the name of his Domain and those akin to him.
Yet she had sent him away. Thanaris would not have his help in this battle. Nor did she want it. Her ‘Simmer’ was too weak to join these conflicts yet.
A stray attack from a Caesar might not kill him, but it could be near-fatal. That was not something she would allow. She couldn’t bear the thought of him dying. His presence was the one thing that kept her mind tall against the darkness.
So, her legs bent, and her body lowered as the blood surrounding her body flared. A crimson flower, blooming with a thousand spikes, erupted from her body, stabbing countless ghosts, but she wasn’t fast enough.
Mist had crept through, siphoning away her energy and vitality. It wasn’t a life-threatening amount, but Geist wasn’t a pushover. Despite Thanaris’ unique Tide, her opponent could keep up with the help of his Domain’s after-effects.
The best move for Thanaris would be to run and wait for the Praetor to fall from the sky. She had already noticed pods dropping to the earth in the distance.
It was only a matter of time.
“You win. For now,” Thanaris swept up the crimson from her flower and leaped, landing upon its airborne river. The liquid washed away her feet while gaseous, bloody smoke swamped her body, guarding against the devouring Arido. Swiftly, faster than any ancient bullet, she fled the scene.
In response, Geist simply guffawed, relishing in the sight of his rival running away. The man’s hands tightened as the damned around him flew closer, forming a tight-knit horde.
While eyeing them all, he laughed maniacally, “Yes... This should be all mine. With Hana’s help and my Domain... the others shouldn’t be able to compare. Not even that spiteful Praetor,” his hands spread out as his senses fell into the specters. “Go, my children. Find the door. And kill any who oppose you. Soon, I will be one step closer to Evolution. Who does He think he is? Ordering me around...”
To his aspirational rambling, the figures created by his Tide’s empowered and precise machinations flowed outward. The thousands of hazy silhouettes entered the forest, devouring more life while investigating the world itself.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Geist felt assured he’d be the first to find the entrance, and with Hana, he’d be the only one to claim it. He would just have to worry about the Praetor and Thanaris afterward.
----------------------------------------
Dante’s legs kicked the earth beneath him with a fury unseen before. His heart pounded alongside Astraeus, and the two ran together like they had a thousand times before.
Far behind them, in the distance, Saerer did her best to catch up, but she was simply too slow. Between Dante’s usage of Surewinter to further strengthen his already formidable frame and the unorthodox use of bursts of water to boost his steps, he could barely match Astraeus’ inhuman physique.
This was a race against time. And no matter how much Saerer may provide, she wasn’t worth missing the entrance. No one knew much about these things besides the power they could bestow.
Would the door remain open after one enters? Is it even a door? How do we open it? What if it’s in the middle of the sky? Or deep in the earth?
Questions flickered through Dante’s mind nearly as fast as his feet hit the roots and grass beneath him. Nonetheless, his mind honed in on the distant beacon of power, of calling.
Thanaris had landed upon the square with all the other Caesars, unable to seek out the Inferose any more strictly than that. He had no clue how they even knew it was here.
Did someone else find it previously? If so… why didn’t they take it? How did the information leak? Was… was it a Seer?
Dante didn’t know. There were too many uncertainties.
All he did was swing his arms, slam his legs, and spawn water to cushion and enhance his footsteps.
That was until he heard a burst of gunfire toward where they were running.
The human peeked at Astraeus, and the Dirge nodded, already forming gloves of spiky snow. The technique was something both had come up with together, as Astraeus hadn’t had a creative or violent way to use his Frigo. Now he did.
They slowed down as they approached the steady beat of bullets until the two were at the pace of a creep, peering between the trees. A group was fighting off nearly a hundred see-through ghosts of haze all at once. Dante’s eyes widened as he recognized two of the figures.
A teleporting young man, bearing an ice-clad briefcase he beat against a ghost, was one, and the other was the armored figure with water swirling into the shape of slicing blades.
The three accompanying them were vaguely familiar, but Dante didn’t know their names. He whispered to Astraeus, who stared at the two of them with visceral hate, “Don’t. While I wouldn’t stop you... we can’t spare the time. Neither is it worth it.”
Dante didn’t want to fight the Judge who had saved his life, but he would if forced to. For now, he set aside his surprise and suspicion for the man being here. Instead of entertaining such thoughts, he patted Astraeus on the back.
The two retreated before taking a winding path, leaving Claudius and Eight behind. They plunged into a dead sprint once more while those ghosts emerged more and more. While they ran, Astraeus spoke, explaining it to Dante, “This is part of Geist’s Domain Collapse! With its boost to his Tide, he can form these ghosts that can fight independently instead of having to control them! I don’t know why he dared to use it this close to the entrance, though!”
Dante nodded to his words before shouting, “It only lasted a second! So, there shouldn’t be all that many of them! I—”
Once more, the sound of firearms interrupted the man’s race. This time, however, his head whipped to the right, and he almost toppled over. Astraeus stopped, turning back to look at his partner.
“What are you doing?” he shouted, waving the human to follow.
Dante, however, twisted his neck, and his mind receded to the hundreds of memories that the specific crackle reminded him of. He had heard that gun before.
It was his.
And he gave it to Sonna.
The realization wracked his mind. Somehow, they had found out where he was headed. And... more incredibly, they had managed to get here. Perhaps he had underestimated them.
Dante spoke plainly, unable to move, “My crew’s here.”
Astraeus groaned and smacked his hands together, “C’mon! They’ll just slow us down! I remember fighting you all! The only ones worth their weight were Claudius and Eight. We need to go!”
The human clenched his eyes closed, biting down painfully as he contemplated what to do. In the end, however, he knew his partner was right.
His mission here was more important than meeting up with them. For if they failed, everyone here would probably die, anyway. So, he shook his head, apologizing to the thin air.
“I’m sorry, guys. But... I need to go. You’ll have to catch up,” with the goodbye without a hello, Dante nodded to Astraeus. The two swiftly restarted their sprint, racing across the planet’s surface.
It’ll be fine. Sonna is talented with Tides. Surely, she can sense the call, too. We’ll just have to meet up at the gateway or inside. It’ll be fine.
Dante calmed himself with unmade promises and guarantees, but they did little to ease his nerves. His mind even roamed for a moment, desiring a lick of Nullify, but he quickly became disgusted with himself.
He would live without it. This time, for sure. He didn’t need it anymore.
Just as the man’s heart settled in line to its rampant drum, he felt the flicker of something in his peripheral. His eyes twisted to the right just in the nick of time to see a bullet speed in his face.
Dante contorted his flesh and bone with all the momentum he’d ever had. Bones crunched, and the augments within squeaked as the man’s head shifted narrowly enough to spare his life.
A line of carved-out muscle lingered on his face as Dante staggered, nearly falling to the ground. Astraeus had already turned, birthing snow from the ground to act as a protective shield for the human.
“You alright!?” Astraeus hollered over rustling leaves, lowering his stance and preparing to cut space. His eyes darted all across the line of trees where the bullet came from.
But as he did so, he realized that a trail of water followed the bullet’s path.
“Yeah,” Dante replied as he stepped out from behind the frosty defense. The two glanced at each other, already knowing who was upon them. It was early. Far too early to fight her like this.
As such, the human shouted into the trees, “Hana! We don’t have to fight right now! Others will take advantage! Just go the other way! Save this for later!”
To his words, a head with shifting, watering skin and a splendid smile peeked out from behind the cover. Two liquid guns floated behind her, denoting her words with a threat as she revealed herself fully, “And why would I do that when I can kill you both nice and easily? Weaklings like you shouldn’t have the honor of seeing the door, let alone the inside.”
Dante cursed under his breath, blood still flowing down his cheek. He had been too passive. It was almost always beneficial to be underestimated. Even now, it still was.
There was a chance they could win this fight here with the cards they had up their sleeves. But...
They didn’t have time. There were too many unknowns about the Inferose. Simply put, the possibility that the first to enter would gain control of it was reason enough to rush without regard for anything else.
Astraeus glanced at Dante while Hana approached them with a swagger. He spoke without opening his lips. The question for the duo was whether to go all-out.
The Anathema believed they could win, and so did Dante. They both had grown substantially since their first battle against each other. Plans had been altered to fit Hana, but...
Sometimes, they had to be adapted.
“Fine then. However, it won’t be as quick as you gauged. Stay close so I can heal you, Astraeus,” Dante proclaimed as he sank his senses into the Lightsea. In return, its energy washed through his body, and his state was reversed.
The damage to the man’s face vanished, and so did the physical exertion. Sure, he felt exhausted from using his Stigmata, but since his earliest use of it, he’s learned better. He’s adapted.
Now, it only slightly fatigues his body while placing most of that strain on his mind.
Hana’s eyes narrowed, seeing his condition. Dante and Astraeus could see the calculating gaze behind her oceanic pupils. The Frigo held no mote of surprise to Dante’s command, as it had already been a possible bait they discussed.
A moment passed, then two, and finally, Hana gauged them both to her utmost. She rolled her eyes before turning around, leaving with only three more rounds from her guns.
Two roared for Dante, yet he slid behind the snowy wall for protection. Still, the water pierced the defense, leaving welts on his flesh as they impacted him with diminished power. The final one went for Astraeus, and he concentrated snow in the air to slow the water, allowing him to evade without injury.
While gasping in pain, the human held his stomach where both hits sat, and Astraeus glanced over in confusion. He raised a finger toward the injury that cut through Dante’s clothes, “Why did she do that? Is she dumb?”
Dante shook his head, his gaze hardening, “No. She’s clever. Very much so. She hit me to figure out what kind of healing I could dispense. If I still have the wounds later... then it’s not something casually used. Furthermore, if she hit you, she’d learn how effective my healing was on others.”
Astraeus’ eyes widened, his head shifting back and forth between the departed Dirge and the human. Then, he sighed, running a hand down his face, “Shit. You two are scary. That’s way too much thinking.”
A laugh rang out from Dante while he wiped his flesh with mud from the ground. The heat stung, but he bore with it to cover the injury with debris. Then he looked at the call that reverberated toward them.
It wasn’t exact, only a general direction, but his gaze rested on it while he spoke, “It’s not too much. That’s the kind of preparedness that keeps you alive. There is a reason she’s so powerful. The clever, the lucky, and the absurdly talented make it rich, not the reckless.”
The Anathema nodded, understanding what Dante meant. He added a little more, “Right. And the more you have, the better your chances.”
The two shared a look before they settled on their destination. Dante pointed in a different curve from the one Hana took, “We’ll go this way. A teensy bit off course, but that’s better than being stopped again.”
A moment later, both were off once more, hurtling across the landscape.
However, unbeknownst to them, a minute after they had left, a woman kneeled at the splotch of blood that Dante had left on the grass. Sweat dripped off her face and pores in heaps, falling to the ground and melting the lingering tufts of snow.
A grin sprawled across her cheeks while her fingers brought up the crimson liquid and tasted the iron within, “Hmm... Let’s see... Oh. A human. How rare. Dante Penance. How... interesting. I think I’ll follow this one.”