The Anomaly's Path

Chapter 312: The Dead Goddess

"Do not look back, Leo."

The words didn’t come through the air. They poured straight into the back of my skull, freezing the blood in my veins.

A sudden, unnatural drop in temperature hit my skin like ice water. The soft, steady hum of the mana lines running through the academy walls vanished, cut off in a single instant. In the hallway ahead, the amber flickering of the wall torches went still, frozen like glass.

My heart slammed against my ribs like a wild animal trying to break its own bones. A thick wave of goosebumps rose down my arms, the tiny hairs on the back of my neck standing straight up in a rush of panic.

Sweat broke out across my forehead. Then came the quiet chuckle from right behind my shoulder. It was a smooth, low sound, utterly devoid of malice, yet carrying a weight that made my knees tremble.

"Your instincts were telling you the exact same thing, weren’t they?" the voice continued, soft and terrifyingly calm. "Do not look back... or you will die."

The footsteps slowed, coming to a dead halt directly behind me.

My feet felt stuck to the floor. Every muscle in my body locked up so tight that my jaw burned from gritting my teeth. I forced myself to clear my head, pushing down the dark, chaotic surge of panic threatening to cloud my mind.

Stay calm. Keep control. If whoever is behind me senses even a tiny bit of hesitation, I lose whatever small advantage I have.

My right hand twitched, reaching instinctively for the void pocket. I didn’t break posture, but every muscle in my back coiled tight. In one fluid, desperate motion, my fingers snapped open the spatial tear. Mana flared through my legs, and I executed a short-range spatial leap, instantly reappearing ten meters down the hallway.

I spun around, drawing Tempest in a clean, sharp arc, the dark blade catching the frozen light of the corridor. I raised the sword, my breath coming in shallow, icy gasps. I raised my gaze—and froze. Standing near the frozen torches was a girl.

She wore an elegant, midnight-black dress that fell softly past her ankles, woven with faint silver threads that shimmered like distant stars in the dark.

Long, straight black hair spilled over her shoulders like a curtain of ink, catching a faint, ghostly blue shine against the dark cloth. Her skin was pale and glowing, like snow under a winter moon, making her deep, crimson eyes seem even more disturbing, and impossible to read as they stared straight back at me.

"Seris...?"

The name slipped past my lips before I could stop it. Her thin, pale lips curled slightly upward, a small, unnatural smile breaking her blank face. The sight sent a wave of sickness through my stomach. My pulse spiked, then dropped into a cold, hard anger.

No. Fuck no. Not again.

It wasn’t her. It was never her.

A memory flared — the Shadow Market, deep beneath the city, where the Archivist had pulled the exact same trick. The leader of the Hollow Syndicate had worn her face like a stolen cloak, using her appearance to get a reaction, to search for weaknesses.

I knew this thing standing in front of me wasn’t the Archivist. The Archivist’s presence was always wrapped in layers of secrecy. Whatever was standing here was something completely different, something far older and endlessly bigger.

My eyes narrowed, the cold weight of Tempest steadying in my grip.

I didn’t dare look directly inside with Soul Perception. My instincts screamed at me that peering straight into her soul would draw me into a void I couldn’t climb out of, so I kept my focus surface-level, trying to read whatever faint aura radiated off her.

Usually, reading a soul reveals everything: the texture, the color, the quiet shifts of emotion. Seris’s soul was something I knew by heart, a quiet, luminous, bone-deep cold that felt like moonlight on fresh snow.

But when I reached out toward the figure, there was nothing. No aura. No pulse. No empty void like the Archivist’s puppets. It was a complete, maddening blank.

"You really are far too cautious, Leo," the voice said. It sounded like her, soft, low, carrying that subtle flatness. But the smile on her face remained wrong. It was too wide, too expressive for someone who usually kept her lips pressed into a flat, distant line.

"I’m not here to hurt you," the figure continued softly, taking a slow, unhurried step forward. "Not that I could, in this state. So put the blade away. It looks terribly heavy."

I let out a short, dry, humorless laugh, my grip tightening on the hilt.

"Yeah, right. Like hell I’m going to believe that," I spat, my tone laced with venom. "You expect me to drop my guard when you just popped out of nowhere, scared the living shit out of me, and strolled in wearing my friend’s face? Who the hell are you?"

A heavy silence settled between us, stretching across the frozen corridor.

The girl let out a quiet sigh, her expression softening into a look of faint, weary pity.

"...If you were to look directly at my true face, your mind would shatter before you could even comprehend it," she murmured softly, her tone entirely earnest. "I chose an appearance familiar to you simply to make this meeting possible. I am the Moon Goddess, the deity who blesses the lunar lineage, and the guardian of the one whose face I wear."

Moon Goddess...?

My breath hitched. My mind raced, trying to process the sheer weight of her words. The girl tilted her head, her deep crimson eyes locking onto mine with an unreadable, ancient clarity that made my skin crawl.

"...So, you can trust me a bit, Leo," she murmured softly. The unnatural smile faded, replaced by a look of quiet, distant curiosity. "Or should I say... Noel?"

The hallway went dead silent.

My eyes widened in shock. It felt as though the earth beneath my feet had suddenly caved in, dropping me into a bottomless abyss.

Cold sweat broke out across my back. My mind went entirely blank, frozen by the sound of a name that had been buried under the weight of an entire world, a name that belonged to a past life no one in Aetheris was ever supposed to know.

"Wha... what...?" I stammered, my voice barely a whisper against the dead quiet.

_

Gulp.

Clink.

The soft, wet sound of swallowed broth echoed through the quiet room, followed right after by the gentle scrape of a spoon resting against a porcelain bowl. I sat completely frozen, my hand resting on the arm of a chair, staring across the small table.

My mind was still spinning from the sheer shock of what had just happened. One second, I was pinned down in a dead, frozen corridor by a force that made my soul shiver, my mind stuck on a name I hadn’t heard in years.

Then, with a simple, lazy snap of her fingers, reality itself had buckled.

The walls of the academy hallway didn’t just fade, they tore apart like wet paper, melting into a shining mist of silver mana before rebuilding themselves into something completely new. The heavy, bone-chilling cold vanished in an instant. In its place was a cozy, beautifully decorated private dining room.

Warm golden light glowed from silver wall lamps, soft velvet curtains hung over tall arched windows, and a small fireplace crackled in the corner, filling the air with the comforting smell of burning pine. On the polished table between us sat a rich spread of roasted meat, steaming spiced broth, and a bottle of deep crimson wine.

And sitting right across from me, happily chewing on a piece of meat, was the Moon Goddess, wearing Seris’s exact face.

Mmm.

She let out a faint, happy sigh, dabbing the corner of her lips with a cloth napkin before reaching for her cup.

I squeezed the bridge of my nose, letting out a long, slow, utterly exhausted breath.

How the hell had my night turned into this? Just an hour ago, I was lying on the floor of the training hall, sweating out years of bitter resentment with Arthur. I had been on my way to get a quick, quiet meal before my stomach ate itself, only to get ambushed by a literal goddess wearing my friend’s face.

Noel...

The name still rang in my head like a muffled bell. How long has it been since I last heard that name?

It was my past name.

The name that belonged to Earth. A life buried under layers of transmigration, blood, and the brutal reality of Aetheris. It was a name that shouldn’t exist in this world. For a brief, agonizing second, phantom voices echoed in the back of my mind, so clear it felt like standing in the hallway of my old home.

"Noel! Wash your hands, dinner’s getting cold!" my mother’s soft, familiar voice called out over the clinking of dishes.

"Hey, kiddo, hand me the sports section before your mom catches us slacking," my father’s deep laugh joined in, along with the rustle of a morning newspaper and the distant, dull hum of city traffic outside the window.

Faded memories of a mundane, peaceful life I had long since left behind. A quiet, bittersweet ache flared in my chest, threatening to pull me under. I quickly shook my head, snapping my jaw shut to push the memories away.

I didn’t have time for nostalgia. Not now.

I raised my eyes and locked them on the girl across from me.

Seeing her like this was nothing short of bizarre. Seris was quiet, emotionally flat, and spoke in a low, measured tone that rarely carried any energy. She moved with a slow, deliberate caution, like a stray cat that didn’t trust the floor beneath its paws.

The entity sitting in front of me was the exact opposite.

She smiled freely. Her expressions were lively, almost theatrical. She chewed her food with obvious delight, her crimson eyes sparkling with a cheerful warmth that felt entirely alien on Seris’s pale, sculpted face.

It was unnatural, deeply jarring, and made my skin crawl every time she grinned.

"Aren’t you going to drink?" she asked softly, gesturing toward the steaming cup placed in front of me. "It’s spiced pear tea. It’s quite good."

The smell rising from the cup was sweet and warm, carrying a soft, calming spice. But I didn’t touch it. I sat still, my hands resting on my knees. A memory flashed in my mind without warning. a clear, terrifying piece from the Path Trial, back when I had met the Forgotten One.

I remembered the crushing pressure. My body cracking under a god’s weight, blood pouring from my eyes and nose as my core screamed in pain. I remembered the cool, soothing touch of a hand on my forehead, and the low, echoing advice that had stayed locked in my mind ever since:

"Do not trust anyone. Not the gods, not the game you used to know... not even me."

I took a slow, steadying breath, pushing down the memory.

"Are we actually going to talk about what’s going on?" I asked, my voice dry and flat. "Or did you drag me into an illusion just to watch you eat? How do you know my past name? What do you want from me?"

The Moon Goddess paused, setting her cup back down with a soft click. She rested her chin in her hand, her crimson eyes locking onto mine with a faint, amused tilt of her head.

"So many questions," she murmured, her tone cheerful. "...And here I thought you’d be pleased to have a nice meal after pushing your body to its limits with that boy. Besides, don’t you find this food good? You’re missing out by just staring at me. Or do you simply enjoy watching me eat that much?"

A broad, mischievous grin spread across Seris’s face as she tilted her head teasingly.

This bitch.

I gritted my teeth, a vein pulsing near my temple. Seeing Seris’s face pulled into such a playful, overly expressive smirk felt like a total crime against nature.

"I don’t like playing mind games," I replied coldly, keeping my voice clipped. "So why don’t you drop the show and start answering?"

She let out a quiet, light chuckle, a sound too musical, too bright for Seris’s.

"Fair enough," she said, leaning back into her chair. "As for your past name... I know it because I am a goddess, Leo. Or rather, because the threads of fate that brought you to this world were woven by forces far larger than you realize. I cannot tell you everything. I made a deal, a pact with "They," and my actions are strictly bound."

My eyes narrowed sharply. They? Who the hell is "They"? Could she be talking about the Forgotten One? The nameless existence I had met in the trial, the entity whose power almost tore my body apart, immediately flashed in my mind.

"...You mean the Forgotten One? The oldest watcher?" I asked, testing the waters, watching her face for any reaction.

The playful smile on her face flickered, a subtle, sharp stillness passing over her eyes before her cheerful demeanor returned.

"You shouldn’t say that name so carelessly," she warned softly, her tone carrying a rare, serious weight that chilled the air between us. "They work on rules that mortal minds can’t understand. I don’t know what they truly want from you, Leo. Honestly, I had no wish to meet you at all. But circumstances... required it."

"Circumstances?" I echoed, my brow furrowing as I leaned forward slightly. "What circumstances?"

"I needed to see the person who walks beside my child," she said simply, her smile turning softer, carrying a genuine, quiet warmth. "And to deliver a warning."

I stared at her, my pulse steadying into a wary rhythm. "Seris isn’t my follower, nor is she my pawn. She makes her own choices."

Her words hit a nerve, heavy and impossible to ignore.

She’s right...

Seris wasn’t someone who followed orders blindly, but she let me into her space. She shared her silence with me. In a world where every alliance had a price, that quiet, unasked trust pulled her right into the center of whatever storm was chasing me.

I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth and shifted in my seat, forcing my focus back onto the entity across from me. Something about her presence, despite the immense pressure she had flexed earlier, felt oddly thin.

My perception couldn’t read her soul, but the longer I sat across from her, the more I noticed a strange, subtle instability in the air surrounding her form. The shimmering threads of silver woven into her dark dress flickered ever so slightly, like a lantern flickering out of oil.

"...You said earlier that you couldn’t hurt me in your current state," I said slowly, testing my theory. "Why? If you’re a deity capable of bending space and rewriting reality with a snap of your fingers, why drag me into a fake room? Why use a projection instead of descending properly?"

The Moon Goddess looked at me for a long moment, the playful smirk finally sliding off her face. Then, she let out a soft, tired sigh. The lively energy in her posture slowly faded, replaced by a quiet, ancient weariness that seemed to age Seris’s face by a thousand years.

"Because what you are looking at is not a goddess," she said softly. "It is merely a fragment. A lingering remnant of power left behind in the seal I placed upon Seris."

She picked up her wine glass, swirling the dark liquid inside before taking a small, quiet sip. She set the glass back down, her fingers lingering against the crystal stem as if gathering the strength to speak.

"I cannot harm you, Leo," she continued, her voice dropping into a quiet, undeniable truth that cut deeper than any blade.

"Because I am already dead..."