Anomaly
Chapter 172 – When logic escapes [13]

The moment that followed was marked by a terrifying silence. The only thing you could hear was the cold wind cutting through the air, hitting our faces like tiny invisible blades.

Nyara hovered just a few inches from me, motionless, wrapped in a silent, oppressive aura. Her long hair drifted gently around her, as if obeying some slow, ethereal dance.

She kept her face tilted downward, making it hard to see her expression—but it wasn’t difficult to imagine it: disbelief mixed with a silent fury ready to explode. Suddenly, an old saying popped into my mind — “Don’t poke the bear with a short stick” I don’t know why I thought of that then, but... it seemed to perfectly describe the situation I’d gotten myself into.

Though my face remained expressionless, an ironic smile quietly formed in my mind. Yeah, I thought, as those thoughts played out inside me, Nyara spoke again, her voice heavy with resentment: “...I hate you” she began, slowly lifting her face. Her eyes, full of contained rage, locked onto mine: “You did this to me... my memories, who I was, why I am the way I am... you took it all away” Her voice wavered for a moment, barely noticeable: “Still... then... why do I feel so guilty?”

Even though Nyara’s words sounded like a question aimed at me, it really seemed like she was talking to herself. And no matter how much she tried, I knew she would never remember—because I was the one who made it this way.

“I don’t know...” Nyara murmured, her eyes slowly dropping to her own trembling hands: “It’s useless... thinking is useless... When I finish with you... I’ll know who I am. I’m sure of it”

In the next instant, the space around us began to ripple strangely, as if reality itself was being distorted. Behind me, Arthur watched everything with an expression of total disbelief, his eyes wide, taking in every detail around us. In contrast, the others seemed to face the situation with an unsettling calm.

It wasn’t arrogance — there was something in their stance, the way they looked at each other, that suggested they already knew, at least partly, how this would end. Either way, I couldn’t afford to pay attention to them. There was something more urgent demanding my focus.

I calmly observed the surroundings, my eyes subtly catching the invisible happenings around us. The environment seemed to slowly shatter, like fragile glass cracking silently.

The icy air that had dominated the place suddenly stopped, as if an invisible force was holding it back. The skies, distorted and misshapen, looked unreal—like a poorly made imitation of the real world. And at the center of this entire rupture stood Nyara.

No matter the angle you looked from, the situation was desperate, like the prelude to something irreversible. Yet, amid the growing chaos, my face remained unreadable. My golden eyes, intense and serene, fixed on Nyara—the silent core of an impending collapse.

Moreover, little by little, I began to feel a force around me. It wasn’t visible or tangible, but it was as real as the air humans breathe. And this force—silent and oppressive—pressed down on me constantly.

However, it wasn’t the kind of pressure you feel when physically crushed. It was something much worse. That invisible energy didn’t compress my body, but something deeper, more essential... it was crushing the very essence of my existence.

Nyara’s gaze stayed locked on me, intense and unwavering. The energy around us, once subtle, was growing denser—almost tangible—as if it were about to crush the very concept of “existing” It was like standing before something beyond logic and form.

But there was a secret behind it all. A detail only I knew. A silent trick, carefully planned by me—a tether designed to contain Nyara and the power overflowing from her. A power so vast and unmeasurable that even she, with all her gentleness and calm, couldn’t fully control it.

In the next moment, I closed my eyes briefly. Then, when I opened them again, I noticed they were shining with a multitude of colors—vibrant, shifting hues that seemed to shape the world around me, like each color revealed a hidden layer of reality. Still, the energy trying to erase me remained invisible.

I couldn’t see it, but this time I understood why. It was simple: I wasn’t really trying to see it. I narrowed my eyes, focusing harder. And then, once more, something changed. A new transformation took place in my gaze—subtle but powerful, as if my eyes were adapting to the truth.

My eyes transformed, forming a vertical pupil in the center. The exact moment this happened, my world seemed to expand even further. With this new vision, I could “see” something that had been invisible before—subtle lines rippling through the environment like streams of living energy. When I looked down, I saw these lines around me, wrapping my body like silent snakes.

There were many... dozens of them, sliding slowly, almost with their own intent. And as more appeared, a growing pressure started building inside me—as if the very air was becoming thicker, heavier, as that invisible presence intensified.

Now that I could see them, solving the situation became easy and almost instinctive. All I did was reach out and touch one of the lines surrounding me. Like a domino effect triggered by that single gesture, all the others began to retreat in sequence, like puppies scolded by their mother after mischief.

In short, this was “Chaos” in its purest form—or at least, the clearest manifestation my still incomplete eyes could perceive. It wasn’t absolute chaos, but a limited version, adapted to my current ability to see the world. Although my memories were still fragmented, I knew one thing for sure: I should be able to see much more than this.

While I got lost in my own thoughts, Nyara quickly glanced away from me, her eyes shining with genuine surprise. Her lips parted, moving delicately as she whispered, almost in disbelief: “How?”

I slowly turned my gaze back to Nyara. She kept staring at me, her deep and relentless eyes as if trying to uncover something hidden inside me. We stayed stuck in that silence, locked in a gaze for long seconds that seemed to stretch time itself, as if the air around us had grown heavier.

Nyara still seemed to be weighing the situation in her mind, searching every possibility, every move. I knew that, despite the impression she was at an advantage, the reality was quite different. In fact, I was in a much more fragile position than I wanted to admit.

The real power in that situation wasn’t with me — it was in the “Chaos” that lived inside Nyara. I couldn’t control that force; all I did was plant a suggestion in it — a seed in the unstable ground of the chaos consuming her.

The reason Chaos acted was simple and clear: to protect its mistress, its mother, its creator, Nyara. As long as I didn’t present a real threat to it, Chaos would back down — at least for now. Of course, with a direct order from Nyara, the game could change in an instant.

But I had no intention of letting things get that far. Still, that didn’t mean I would let what she did to me go unpunished. There were limits, and I was ready to make it clear that, though silent, the resentment burned quietly inside me.

I moved my feet slowly, starting a smooth, controlled walk. Nyara kept staring at me, her expression caught between surprise and doubt, as if trying to decipher something impossible. Suddenly, dark shadows began to form around my feet, releasing a dense, steady mist that spread through the air.

The mist wrapped around my feet, and I felt my body lift off the ground, floating gently until I reached Nyara’s height. My eyes shone intensely, reflecting a dance of vibrant colors, while my vertical pupils — like a cat’s — locked onto hers.

She stared at me, her gaze growing more and more confused, full of conflict and doubt. Her hands trembled slightly, moving hesitantly and pulling back, but they didn’t stay still. Slowly, Nyara raised her hand toward me, as if wanting to touch my cheek. But before her fingers could reach my skin, I raised my hand too, pointing a finger to her forehead.

In the next moment, I gently touched her forehead with my finger. Nyara blinked, clearly confused by my gesture, her wide eyes trying to figure out what it meant. Then, without warning, in a quick and unexpected move, she lunged toward a nearby tree, almost as if pushed by some invisible force.

Her back hit the tree with a sharp impact, cracking the trunk and sending pieces of bark to the ground. Nyara, however, showed no sign of pain or injury — her skin remained untouched, immune to any damage. Honestly, even if I fought with all the strength I have now, it would be nearly impossible to wear her down.

Besides, not even the “Chaos” showed itself; it knew I had no intention of hurting Nyara, that my action was just a warning, a contained reprimand. Nyara, lying on the ground, looked up and stared at me with surprise, her eyes slightly wide, reflecting a mix of astonishment and recognition.

***

(POV – Emily Parker)

Emily’s mind was racing, working tirelessly to connect the pieces of this complex puzzle. Every bit of information seemed to slip through her fingers, but she didn’t give up. Suddenly, a series of natural disasters started happening at the same time, as if a dark, unknown force had unleashed a synchronized chaos across the world.

The wind roared, the waters churned, and the ground trembled beneath her feet — everything seemed to conspire against the planet’s stability. Emily tried to find some meaning behind this phenomenon. She looked for a reason, a plausible cause, someone to blame.

Actually, one name came to mind, a solid hypothesis that might explain the calamity — but she couldn’t be sure yet. Doubt was a cruel enemy — without certainty, any attempt to create an effective countermeasure became an almost impossible battle.

“Boss, this is bad! What are we going to do?” Laura said, furrowing her brow as she stared at the graphs on the screen. Her eyes were wide, showing a mix of surprise and worry, as if the information was hard to believe.

“Is there really anything we can do about all this? Honestly, only a god could get us out of this mess” Victor said, his voice serious, tinged with barely hidden desperation.

Emily listened carefully to both, and honestly, she couldn’t disagree with Victor. Deep down, she knew that, at this stage, little or nothing could be done.

Even when disasters involved anomalies, the reality was harsh: unless there were effective ways for humans to contain them, these forces were beyond control.

The best they could do was issue early warnings, signaling imminent risk in the affected area, hoping to minimize casualties and save as many lives as possible.

But while Emily was lost in her thoughts, two voices suddenly broke the silence, immediately capturing her attention. One sounded low and melancholic, heavy with a dark, tired tone, while the other was cheerful and proud, almost defiant.

“Oh! Looks like the side effects of Nyara’s presence are already starting to show in this dimension” the proud voice began, vibrant and full of irony, as if enjoying the situation.

“If her sister doesn’t do something soon, this dimension probably won’t last long” added the lower voice, its melancholy as heavy as a shadow threatening to swallow everything around.

Just as Emily turned around, her eyes met the two anomalies. Each had a distinct appearance, as strange as unsettling. Despite the confusion of seeing them there, Emily couldn’t bring herself to care — or maybe it was more accurate to say she simply didn’t have the strength to care.

After all, something much worse was happening in the world. First came the thick, suffocating fog, accompanied by colossal monsters that looked like nightmares. And now, it seemed the planet itself had turned against the human race. If anyone had told Emily this was the end of the world, she wouldn’t just believe it — she would feel that certainty carved deep in her chest like an inescapable truth.