Chapter 491 – An unwelcome visit

(POV - Victor Hale)

Victor, Rupert, and Arthur simply had no idea what they were looking at. None of the three could find the right words to describe what was happening before their eyes. After so many minutes, which, given how completely absorbed they were in the situation, could easily have turned into hours without any of them noticing, they had finally managed to triumph over the giant mushroom, an anomaly apparently capable of exerting some kind of control or influence over the mind.

It was a victory. A long, grueling one, filled with countless moments when everything could have gone horribly wrong, but a victory nonetheless. For a few brief moments, the three of them actually believed this might be the end of their problems for the day. They had done it. The city was safe.

Maybe even the world... Although Victor, personally, wasn't exactly the kind of person who liked thinking in such grandiose terms. And, judging by what he knew of Rupert and Arthur, he was almost certain they shared the same perspective.

After all, when he looked at everything a little more objectively, the conclusion was fairly simple. They hadn't been responsible for most of the victory. The one who had truly done the heavy lifting was the anomaly known as [Angel of Death]... And Charlotte. Or, to be more precise, whoever had been taking control of Charlotte's body at the time.

In the end, all Victor knew was that he was going to spend some time staying far away from anything involving anomalies. And, honestly, that didn't sound like a bad idea at all. Over the past few weeks, it felt as though problems had been appearing one after another, barely giving him enough time to breathe.

One anomaly would show up, then another, and just when things finally seemed to be settling down, some new problem would emerge to demand his attention. It was starting to get irritating, especially because it meant less time to spend with his little sister.

On top of that, everything that had happened recently with his sister had left Victor with an impression he couldn't simply ignore. He could feel that the connection he shared with her, the sense of familiarity that had once existed between them, was no longer the same as it had been before.

There were still some memories. Some feelings. Fragments of moments that remained deeply rooted in his mind. But it wasn't the same. Chronas, as Victor had discovered her true name to be, was still his little sister. He could recognize that even beneath all the changes. Yet she seemed a little more distant now, less talkative and, in a way, harder to reach.

Even so, she was still her. Perhaps this was simply another version of his sister. Maybe it was even the real one, compared to the girl Victor had spent several years of his life with before entering the world of anomalies. But Victor didn't care. To him, it didn't matter which version was the "real" one. Chronas was still his little sister.

If this more distant personality was simply one of the countless facets she could possess, then so be it. She might change again in the future, reveal other parts of herself, or even become someone completely different. In the end, Victor would probably continue seeing all of them the same way.

As his little sister. And to him, that was something no anomaly, lost memory, or change in personality could ever alter. Anyway, why exactly was Victor thinking about all of this so suddenly? It was a question even Victor didn't have a precise answer to. The thoughts had simply started appearing in his mind, one after another, flashing before his eyes like disconnected scenes from a movie.

It all began the moment that thing, whatever it really was, appeared in the air. At first, it was nothing more than a bad feeling. His senses were somehow trying to warn him about the presence of something dangerous. The sensation itself wasn't unusual for Victor. His exceptionally sharp senses often warned him whenever there was some kind of threat nearby, long before his eyes or ears could detect it.

But this time, something was different. Victor couldn't identify a direction, a presence, or even a tangible threat. All he could feel was a powerful buzzing. A high-pitched, incredibly irritating buzz that seemed to vibrate directly inside his skull, as though something were trying to force its way into his mind. He subtly furrowed his brow.

The harder he tried to ignore it, the more pronounced the sound seemed to become. It was as though the buzzing were growing stronger with every second, with every passing moment. What had initially been a faint, almost imperceptible sound quickly transformed into a deafening pressure that seemed to pierce through his ears and vibrate directly inside his skull.

Before Victor could even understand what was happening, both of his hands were already pressed against his head, gripping his temples with all the strength he could muster. It wasn't working. The pain only intensified. Rupert and Arthur were in an even worse state.

Out of the corner of his eye, Victor caught the exact moment when the two of them simply lost their strength. Their bodies collapsed onto the ground, completely limp, as though every muscle in their bodies had been switched off at once.

Victor clenched his teeth: "Ngh...!" The pain was unbearable.

He tried to resist. He tried to understand what was happening. He even tried to think of some way to stop it, but his mind felt as though it were being crushed from the inside. Every new pulse of the buzzing made his consciousness waver even more. Then, without warning, Victor felt something that should never have been possible.

It was as though his own brain were beginning to soften. His thoughts started coming apart, one after another, while his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. The strength drained from his arms, and his hands slowly slipped away from his head.

No... not yet... It was the last coherent thought he managed to form. The edges of his vision began to darken, but just before he lost consciousness completely, Victor managed to see something in front of him. A tear. Not in space.

It was as if someone, or something, had simply grabbed the air itself with its hands and violently pulled it apart, brutally ripping open reality. Victor didn't even have time to comprehend what he was witnessing. The next instant, all the strength suddenly left his body, and he collapsed heavily forward.

THUD.

And then, everything went dark.

***

(POV – Protagonist)

I never thought there would come a day when I'd have to stop and seriously think about why I was so agitated over a giant eye that had suddenly appeared after a rift opened in the middle of the air. Come to think of it, I imagine most humans have never genuinely had to worry about something like this. It's not exactly the kind of situation that comes up in everyday conversation.

That said, considering the absurd number of anomalous incidents I'd already witnessed, I had a fairly extensive mental list of bizarre things I thought might one day happen to me. As unbelievable as it might sound... a giant eye emerging from a rift in space definitely wasn't anywhere near the bottom of that list.

Actually, I don't think it was even on the list. But anyway, putting aside all my thoughts and feelings about this thing, there was something that genuinely worried me. Victor, Rupert, and Arthur. The three of them had simply collapsed onto the ground.

My gaze swept over their fallen bodies for several moments, trying to make sense of what the hell had just happened: (What happened...?) I wondered, my expression gradually becoming more serious.

Had this thing done something to them? I hadn't noticed any attack, nor had it made any particularly strange movement. Just moments ago, all three of them had been standing perfectly fine. So why had they suddenly collapsed?

The uncomfortable feeling in my chest intensified slightly as I stared at the enormous eye suspended before us. There was something deeply wrong about its presence, although I couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was. I was probably letting my thoughts show more clearly than I'd realized, because Selyra seemed to notice my discomfort.

Her eyes briefly shifted toward me, as if she'd noticed the change in my expression: "Don't worry, sister. They're fine... for now" Selyra's words reassured me. At least for a few seconds.

Because there was one tiny part of that sentence that simply wouldn't leave my head. "For now?" What the hell was she supposed to mean by that? Was she actually trying to reassure me, or did she simply have no idea what those two words would do to someone who was already worried?

Before I could ask, Selyra continued speaking as though she hadn't noticed anything strange about her own statement: "I didn't think he would be able to reach this side so soon... I was careless" Her voice had changed. It was no longer the calm tone she'd used before. There was an unmistakable coldness in her words, and the gentle smile she'd been wearing until then had completely disappeared, replaced by an utterly serious expression.

Selyra raised her eyes toward the enormous eye before us. Her expression was definitely not friendly. In fact, her gaze was openly hostile. And apparently, the feeling was mutual. The enormous eye seemed to focus on her for several moments before its pupil visibly narrowed. This thing's attention was almost entirely fixed on Selyra.

I had absolutely no idea what was going on between the two of them. I didn't know what lay behind those exchanged looks, much less why this thing seemed so interested in her. But for some reason... It irritated me. A lot.

It was a strangely specific feeling, similar to discovering that some idiot had become obsessed with your cute and innocent little sister. Yeah. Definitely not a pleasant feeling. My expression hardened instantly, and I clenched my teeth as I stared at the filthy, disgusting thing watching my little sister.

There was something deeply unpleasant about its gaze. It wasn't merely the presence of that gigantic eye emerging from the rift. It was the way it seemed to ignore everything else around it, keeping almost all of its attention focused on Selyra.

My body tensed slightly. Perhaps sensing my stare, the gigantic eye finally moved. Its iris slowly shifted until it met my gaze. For a brief moment, we simply stared at each other. Then the eye narrowed. So much that, for a moment, I had the distinct impression that this thing was going to force its way through the rift and come after me.

My instincts screamed at me to jump into the rift and teach that stupid eye a lesson. Fortunately, nothing happened. The creature remained perfectly still, merely watching me in silence. Time seemed to drag on as its gaze remained fixed on me, filled with an intent I simply couldn't understand.

Until, finally... The eye closed. The next instant, it vanished completely. The rift itself began to contract, its edges slowly drawing closer together until they sealed shut completely, as though it had never existed in the first place. I stared at the empty space for several seconds.

I had absolutely no idea what that thing was, much less why it had appeared so suddenly. However, if there was one thing I was certain of... The last look that stupid eye had given me definitely wasn't the look of someone who was giving up.