Anomaly

(POV – Arthur Hensley)

As Arthur moved through the thick fog, he couldn’t help but let his eyes drift toward the figure walking silently beside him. Her skin was so pale it seemed almost translucent under the faint ambient light.

But what captivated him most were her eyes — a deep golden hue, like melted amber — that seemed to glow on their own, subtly illuminating the path ahead, even in the dimness. Despite the ethereal aura, outwardly, she appeared to be a simple ten-year-old girl, with delicate features and a mysterious air that contrasted with her supposed innocence.

Despite her childlike, enchanting appearance, Arthur knew better than anyone that something deeply dangerous lurked behind that innocent facade. She wasn’t just an unusual creature — she was an anomaly that transcended human understanding, something that simple human minds weren’t made to grasp.

As he watched his companion, a dark thought emerged in his mind, like a whisper from the depths: “When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you” That phrase, etched in his memory like an ancient warning, perfectly described the presence by his side.

Lost in thought, Arthur was suddenly snapped back to reality by Emily’s voice, which echoed from the small speaker attached to the anomaly’s chest. Though it sounded slightly distorted — as if passing through a metal or muffled filter — he immediately recognized Emily’s distinctive tone: “By the way, do you have any idea what’s causing all this?” she asked, a hint of unease in her voice: “It doesn’t seem like something a regular anomaly could do”

Hearing Emily’s question, Arthur fell silent for a brief moment, thinking seriously. To be honest, it was a question that had been tormenting him ever since all this chaos had started. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find a clear cause — nothing seemed to fit definitively.

In his initial analysis, the most plausible hypothesis, in his opinion, was that it might be a [Conceptual Virtue]. However, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that none of the known Virtues quite matched the situation. There was always something off, a detail that didn’t fit.

But then, reconsidering, Arthur realized he might have been too fixated on his own parameters — rules and standards he’d set based on previous studies. Perhaps, he thought, he was trying to force an explanation into a mold that simply no longer applied.

Of course, Arthur wasn’t suggesting that [Conceptual Virtues] defied the logical standards governing the concepts they were based on — that would directly contradict the principles that justified their creation. But that didn’t mean their concepts were limited to their original definition.

There were more subtle, complex layers beneath each of them. Take the Virtue of Life, for example. At first, Arthur thought that, as the name suggested, its power would be limited to creating and manipulating life to some extent — generating organisms, healing wounds, maybe restoring vitality.

But soon it became clear that there was something deeper at play — something that went beyond mere biology. The Virtue seemed to involve the very impulse to exist, the continuity of things, the quiet glow that prevents the end.

However, what Arthur witnessed was rampant evolution, giving rise to creatures with completely unknown forms, seemingly unnatural. Still, he hesitated to classify them that way.

After all, under extreme conditions, life always finds a way to adapt — and sometimes, that path results in forms so bizarre that they defy human comprehension. For Arthur, that wasn’t so much a deviation from nature as it was a radical manifestation of its transformative ability.

Thinking about it, Arthur sighed quietly, feeling the weight of exhaustion building up. He rubbed his nose, trying to concentrate before responding with a slightly sarcastic tone: “I’m still working on it... It’s not exactly easy to think when, every few seconds, something pops up trying to kill me, you know?”

The place sank into near silence. For a few seconds, there was no response from Emily. Arthur looked around, alert. The thick fog in front of him seemed to pulse with strange life, hiding everything — except for the intense white light shining ahead.

He stared at it cautiously, trying in vain to discern its origin or purpose. That brightness seemed alive, even threatening. Arthur had no idea what it was, but in the end, it wasn’t like he had thought of a better plan either.

As he lost himself in thought, the silence of the environment was softly interrupted by Emily’s calm voice, which echoed with contained firmness: “I’ll try to see things from my perspective... maybe I can find an answer with what we have here”

Arthur heard the response and immediately assumed Emily would try to talk to the other two [Conceptual Virtues] still inside the facility. However, deep down, he didn’t hold out much hope. To be frank, those entities rarely showed any interest in what was happening around them — as if they were always immersed in a state of apathy or complete detachment.

It was almost a spectral presence, indifferent to the urgencies of the real world. And, perhaps, Arthur thought with slight discomfort, that detachment wasn’t just an impression... maybe they really were distant from reality — by nature or by choice.

***

(POV - Oliver Bennett)

Oliver watched attentively at the lake before him, its surface reflecting an impenetrable darkness. It was completely black, as if absorbing all the surrounding light, and a whitish mist emanated from it constantly. Yet, something wasn’t right.

The mist didn’t move like a gentle breeze, but erratically and almost incomprehensibly, as if pulled by an invisible force. Above the lake, the air seemed distorted, and something slowly spun at its center.

It was an unusual shape, a sphere of pure darkness, so dense and deep that it seemed to swallow the very light around it. Surrounding it, a bright disk orbited, creating an aura that seemed to pulse with an unknown energy. The vision, surreal and unsettling, was like a floating black hole in the sky, absorbing everything around it.

The mist was constantly rising from the lake, slowly being drawn toward the black hole. Oliver, even though he was witnessing this for the first time, couldn't suppress a snap of surprise. It was impossible not to marvel at the sight: the black hole seemed to defy all known laws, something beyond human logic.

The strangest thing was that it didn’t seem to pull anything but the mist, as if it had its own consciousness about what to choose. Its mysterious force appeared to be selective. And the most unsettling part: the black hole had no effect on the surrounding area, remaining isolated, as though it were in a different layer, in a parallel plane, completely oblivious to the world around it.

While distracted, a female voice sounded behind Oliver, cutting through the silence like a blade. He turned quickly, finding Sophie watching him with her usual impassive gaze, as if nothing in her expression could reveal what was going on in her mind. Her presence seemed to absorb the light around her, giving her an even more enigmatic air.

“How’s it going?” she asked, her voice as calm as her gaze, without a hint of emotion.

Oliver heard the question, his eyes fixating once more on the lake: “Everything’s going according to plan” With a quiet gesture, he began walking toward the water.

Once close enough, he crouched slowly, feeling the dampness of the air wrap around his body. He extended his hand cautiously toward the surface of the lake, hesitating for a moment before touching it.

The water, thick and dark as pitch, seemed to drag beneath his touch, sending a viscous feeling, almost as if it were trying to swallow him. When his hand made contact with the surface, a deep sound, like a thud, reverberated through the water, echoing in his ears.

He closed his eyes and focused, his mind searching for answers in the waves of sound. Then, once more, the sound repeated. Another thud. It was like the pulse of a heart, slow yet firm, resonating with an increasing intensity, as if the lake itself were alive and had its own rhythm.

“Looks like it’s going well” Oliver commented, slowly opening his eyes. For a moment, he stayed silent, watching the serene surface of the lake before him. His gaze narrowed slightly, as though searching for something beyond the water's reflection: “It seems ready to wake up... but it also feels like it’s waiting for something”

Upon hearing Oliver’s words, Sophie, standing right behind him, raised an eyebrow in clear doubt. Her expression remained serious as she kept her gaze fixed on the lake’s surface, where small waves spread lazily. After a few seconds of silence, her voice sounded low but firm: “What now? What do we do?”

Hearing Sophie’s question, Oliver raised an eyebrow and let a half-smile slip, filled with restrained humor. In an enigmatic tone, he responded: “We wait”

Sophie closely observed Oliver’s face. He wore that subtle smile and the mischievous gleam in his eyes — the same expression that appeared whenever something fun, and possibly chaotic, was about to happen. As usual, Sophie had no idea what was going on in his mind, but curiously, that never bothered her.

If Oliver was the one making the plan, she knew, almost instinctively, that everything would eventually fall into place. It had always been that way. And no matter how unpredictable the moment seemed, Sophie saw no reason to believe that this time would be any different.

***

(POV - Emily Parker)

Emily remained silent for a few minutes, her eyes fixed on the screen in front of her. All she could see was mist — thick, shapeless, stretching like a wall made of endless layers. There was nothing but that opaque, motionless, suffocating veil.

With an impatient tap, she drummed her index finger on the surface of the desk, the dry sound of her nail echoing softly in the silent room. After a brief moment, she let out an almost imperceptible sigh, pushed the chair back, and stood up. With calm steps, she began walking toward the exit of the room, as though she had finally made a decision.

Just before leaving, Victor’s voice echoed, grabbing Emily’s attention: “Where are you going?”

Emily didn’t turn around. She remained still, her eyes fixed on some distant point, while her voice rang out: “I’m going to try talking to the only beings who might be able to give us a clue about what’s happening. Laura, I want you to come with me”

Saying those words, Emily left the room with firm steps, closely followed by Laura. The two of them walked down the silent hallway, where the sound of their shoes echoed softly against the metal walls.

Although there were other scientists around, they all seemed completely absorbed in their tasks, focused on the containment cells. No one exchanged words — the atmosphere was tense. It was impossible to predict when something might go wrong, so each of them remained on constant alert.

As they walked side by side through the silent hallway, Laura’s voice broke the silence beside Emily — low, but carrying firmness and concern: “Chief, are you sure this is going to work?” she asked, casting a skeptical glance toward the room ahead: “To be honest, they don’t seem the least bit interested in helping us”

Emily immediately knew who Laura was talking about — but she herself had no idea what was going on in the minds of those anomalies. After all, how could she understand what anomalies were thinking? It’s not like she had the luxury of reading minds. In the end, all she could do was play with the cards she had and hope that one of them would bite.

Still, Emily deeply doubted that those entities would fall for such a foolish bait as the one she had prepared. That’s why, when she reached the containment cell where the anomalies were and launched her carefully planned provocation, she was genuinely surprised by the response.

“Hm... if it’s a request from the sister, I don’t have much of a choice, do I? Besides, maybe she’ll give me a scratch behind the ears if she finds out I helped, hehe...” said the anomaly, with an angelic appearance that contrasted with the strange expression on its face. Its mouth, slightly open, allowed a viscous drool to leak out, while its eyes shone.

“There’s nothing more to be done... If it’s a request... from the sister...” said the other anomaly, its voice carrying a dark tone, as though the very darkness around it had come to life.

Emily, ahead of the anomaly, was speechless upon hearing what had transpired. These entities, usually so reticent and relentless, had adamantly refused to help. However, upon mentioning that the request came from [Angel of Death], their behavior shifted almost unrecognizably, becoming more cooperative and, in a way, submissive.

For a moment, Emily felt a wave of self-criticism, as if she had been foolish not to realize how simple it was to manipulate these forces earlier, as if her ignorance had been a shield against the obvious clues surrounding her. She then realized there was still much to learn about the world of anomalies.