“Hmmm... I have no idea how this happened, but you’re incredibly cute” Laura commented with a playful smile, hugging me warmly. She gently rubbed her face against mine, as if she wanted to savor the moment, the soft touch conveying a spontaneous and sincere affection.
Personally, I had gotten used to this kind of thing a long time ago, so to be honest, I wasn’t bothered much by it. Anyway, Laura was referring to two small wings that had started growing on my waist, one on each side—right and left.
They were identical to the ones Althea had, delicate but clearly anomalous. My appearance had been slightly altered once again. In addition to the horns that appeared when I absorbed most of Nekra’s powers, it now seemed like I had also inherited something from Althea.
Honestly, I didn’t have much of a choice. If I hadn’t made that decision, it would’ve been impossible for Nekra to stay by my side. She would’ve continued absorbing the “life” of humans and any other beings around her, and this process wouldn’t just intensify—it would expand exponentially.
What’s scarier is that there’s no limit to it—whatever she can consume would just keep spreading further and further, without ever stopping, like a wave that never hits the shore.
Anyway, absorbing Althea’s powers wasn’t hard. She agreed right away when I explained that, if things kept going the way they were, she would probably end up eradicating the human race.
During the process—similar to what happened with Nekra—it was enough to hold her hand for the transfer to occur. Meanwhile, my Alter Ego just observed from a distance, with his usual impassive expression. The absorption resulted in a curious change to my body: two small wings began to grow around my waist.
Just like the horns I inherited from Nekra, which weigh a little on my head, these new wings also cause me some discomfort—but in a different way, more subtle, like a constant, annoying presence on my back, as if constantly reminding me that I now carry a fragment of Althea’s power.
At first, I can feel them—a constant, unsettling presence. Whenever they move, some strange and uncomfortable sensation rises in my body. But the worst part, without a doubt, is that the wings move on their own, as if they have a life of their own. Althea told me that, over time, I’d learn to control them. But honestly, I have no idea where to even begin with that process.
As these thoughts crossed my mind, Laura shifted her gaze from my face to my most recent additions: my wings. Her face moved closer to them, her soft skin brushing against the feathers, as her breathing grew heavier.
She let out a quiet sigh, visibly enchanted: “Haaa... they’re so soft and cute...”
... She’s okay, right? Lately, Laura has been acting really strange. Every time she sees me, drool starts dripping from her mouth, and I notice she’s breathing heavily when she’s near me.
Sometimes, she acts even more oddly, like a dog, sniffing around the places I pass. Is she sick, or something? I really hope it’s nothing serious... I really hope it’s not.
(POV – Oliver Bennett)
Firm footsteps echoed steadily in the dimly lit alley, the sound of honking horns cutting through the muffled night from outside, reverberating off the narrow walls. Inside the alley, Oliver advanced with long, confident strides, his lean figure almost blending with the shadow that surrounded him.
His dark hair, tousled by the wind, and his eyes as black as night revealed no emotion, as usual. He walked for a few seconds, absorbing the stillness around him, until he finally stopped in front of a rusted door. The only sound that remained was the whisper of his calm, steady breathing.
The next moment, Oliver’s hand rested on the door’s handle, and with a quick, precise motion, he turned it, opening the door effortlessly. As he passed through the entrance, his gaze was immediately drawn to a large counter ahead, where a man behind it was cleaning a glass with meticulous movements.
Oliver raised an eyebrow with a touch of curiosity but quickly dismissed the scene, diverting his attention to the tables in the back of the establishment. His footsteps echoed lightly on the wooden floor as he calmly made his way to one of the available seats.
As Oliver approached, two people who had been sitting at the table before him became visible. Upon noticing his arrival, both raised their hands in a greeting gesture. Oliver, with a slight nod, returned the greeting and sat down in the chair in front of them.
He calmly removed his coat, folding it neatly before placing it over the table’s armrest. His eyes, briefly fixed, shifted from the man to the woman in front of him, silently appraising them.
“I imagine things are going according to plan, sir” the woman asked, her voice soft and calm, as she locked eyes with Oliver, her expression serene, as though awaiting a silent confirmation.
Oliver nodded, confirming the situation. The next moment, with a swift gesture, he threw two folders onto the table. The man and the woman exchanged a curious glance, each seemingly pondering which folder to pick. After a brief moment, both chose a different folder.
As they opened them, they began to examine the contents, but soon realized they were just photographs. Slowly, they started analyzing them with renewed attention. As the seconds dragged on, both their expressions became progressively more intrigued, reflecting a growing mix of curiosity and apprehension.
Seizing the silence and believing it was the right moment to speak, Oliver decided to share his observations, without taking his eyes off the expressions of his two companions, Edward Thorne and Sophie Harrison.
With a serious tone, he began: “These are just a few of the many cases where our target had direct involvement. In all, with few exceptions, we can see that her power grew at a frighteningly accelerated rate. Since her discovery, just under eight months ago, she’s already become one of the most dangerous anomalies we’ve ever cataloged”
Both Edward and Sophie showed surprise on their faces upon receiving the information. If those revelations were true—and, judging by the evidence, they were—the situation was, at the very least, impressive. Initially, it had been expected that the target of observation would appear without any anomalous powers, which would place them in a vulnerable state.
However, to both of their surprise, in just eight months, she had already amassed so much power. The magnitude of this progress left them speechless, and while the surprise was great, it was undeniably a pleasant one.
Edward continued to examine the photos with meticulous attention, as though searching for something he hadn’t noticed yet. Beside him, Sophie slowly lifted her gaze, as if the weight of a doubt was beginning to take shape.
She directed her eyes toward Oliver, a thoughtful expression on her face, and, with a barely audible voice, asked: "By the way, did that woman agree to help us?"
Oliver didn’t need much time to understand exactly who Sophie was referring to. They had already exchanged a few words on the subject earlier, so he knew exactly who the target of her words was. With a slight nod, confirming his understanding, a suspicious smile spread across Oliver’s face.
"Honestly, it was much easier than I imagined at first. That woman... seems to care about nothing except pleasing her mistress. When I mentioned we could bring her other sisters into this world, she agreed without hesitation, as if it were the most natural thing in the world... But" Oliver commented, his expression becoming cautious as though he already foresaw complications ahead.
Noticing the situation, Sophie raised an eyebrow, a slight hint of doubt forming on her face: "Any issues with her, sir?"
"Hmm... not exactly. Just that she’s mentally much more unstable than I initially calculated. Also, somehow, her body seems to be immortal" Oliver commented, his demeanor pensive and distant.
"When you say “mentally unstable” what exactly do you mean?" Sophie asked, furrowing her brow and looking at him with a questioning expression, as if trying to understand what Oliver truly meant.
Hearing Sophie’s question, Arthur let out a quiet sigh, his eyes drifting for a moment into his own memories. What had happened at that moment still seemed hard to believe.
Honestly, even he hadn’t expected that, out of nowhere, the woman would pull out a pocketknife and start stabbing herself, the blades cutting through her skin with an unsettling calmness.
The strangest part was that, after a few seconds, she simply got up, as if nothing had happened, and resumed the conversation, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. In Oliver’s mind, the only conclusion he could come to was that this woman was completely out of her mind.
Inside a dimly lit room, where a huge screen covered an entire wall, various figures with obscured faces appeared and disappeared, precisely projected on the screen. Emily, standing before this massive projection, glanced once more at the report in her hands, as if making sure nothing had been overlooked.
With a barely perceptible sigh, she lifted her gaze and fixed her eyes on the screen in front of her, where the expressionless faces continued to dance in the shadows. Essentially, Emily was there only to report the latest events, sharing the most critical information with the organization’s superiors.
"With that, I conclude my report" Emily said, maintaining a calm, almost impassive expression as her fingers lightly touched the tip of the pen on the table, as if still pondering the words she had just spoken.
After a few seconds of silence, a voice resonated, emerging from the shadows in the upper right corner. Its tone was deep, filled with an unsettling authority: "In other words" the voice said: "a new anomaly with unknown abilities, and potentially from the Nihilum class, has emerged again"
The room fell into a brief silence after the man’s words. Emily, finally, couldn’t contest them. Or rather, according to the report prepared by Victor, with Arthur’s help, she had a good understanding of what the anomaly was capable of doing. Of course, that was also detailed in the report.
However, as the man with the obscured face had mentioned, its abilities, in general, remained a mystery. Even those that Victor had witnessed, he couldn’t assert with 100% certainty what they truly did.
Sighing inwardly, Emily pushed the thought from her mind, preferring to focus again on the figures in front of her on the screen. With a serious tone, she continued: "I’ve scheduled a consultation for this afternoon. Unlike the [Angel of Death], who has difficulty communicating coherently, or the other anomaly found in the village near the mountains, which seems indifferent to our presence, the new anomaly has proven to be very promising. Additionally, it has an impressive ability to speak, which makes it even more interesting for our studies"
As soon as Emily said those words, she noticed the stir among the shadowy faces that appeared on the screens. The change in their expressions, though imperceptible at first glance, betrayed a sudden interest—something she had anticipated.
That was exactly why she had thrown that bait at that moment. And, as expected, the voice that emerged from the middle, coming from one of the covered faces, said exactly what she wanted to hear.
"Hmm... since that’s the case, you can hold the meeting in this room. We will be closely monitoring all the findings we can make when interacting with this new discovered anomaly" the voice said, with a solemn tone. However, Emily noticed a faint spark of contained excitement in the words, something that betrayed the speaker’s belonging to the military group. The veiled tension in the voice, though disguised, was unmistakable.
Hearing those words, Emily simply nodded, although inwardly, it was the opposite. That was exactly what she was aiming for. The vast majority of the organization’s high ranks were composed of military personnel from world powers and wealthy individuals with their own interests, all with more than enough reasons to fear that anomalies could destroy the world.
However, in the end, this divided them into two very clear categories: those who wanted the eradication of anomalies and those who sought to control them. Emily, of course, considered the latter idea utterly absurd. But, as always, the special classifications were there to reinforce this view, showing just how reckless it was to try to manipulate what couldn’t be controlled.