Anomaly

Chapter 411 – Worship of the true gods [57]

“I definitely don’t remember agreeing to this!” Rupert shouted in pure desperation, his voice nearly swallowed by the violent whistle of the wind lashing against our faces and clothes as we cut through the sky. And he wasn’t the only one on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Victor kept his jaw locked tight, stiff as a statue, clearly making a monumental effort not to look down. Laura was gripping the tentacles so hard her knuckles had already turned white, her eyes fixed on some distant point as if ignoring reality could somehow make it less terrifying.

Emily, on the other hand, was completely silent, her lips pressed into a thin line while the wind threw her hair into complete chaos. Her expression said everything words probably couldn’t in that moment.

Personally, I couldn’t blame them. After all, when you’re flying dozens of feet above the ground, held up by nothing more than a few relatively thin tentacles, which, let’s be honest, don’t exactly inspire confidence, standing between you and what would be a very unpleasant death against highway asphalt, it’s only natural to start reflecting on your existence.

On your life choices. On exactly where everything started going wrong. Those were Rupert’s words, by the way, not mine... though I had to admit he had a pretty solid point. Apparently, this kind of experience brings out a surprisingly philosophical side in people. Especially the first time.

Anyway, it didn’t take long before we reached an intersection near downtown. That was when we got an even clearer look at it. The dome loomed in the distance like some expanding cosmic monstrosity, its surface reflecting strange glimmers beneath the daylight as it advanced slowly, yet relentlessly. Its expansion looked like it was swallowing everything in its path.

My movements stopped abruptly midair, as if someone had cut every string controlling my body. The wings made of dark mist spread open behind me, wide and unstable, rippling like living smoke as they flapped in short, sharp motions, generating gusts strong enough to keep me suspended above the intersection.

Without saying a word, I remained still for a few seconds, hovering over the silent highway. Then my smoky wings beat one last time, releasing a short but powerful burst of air that guided my body into a smooth descent toward the ground.

The moment my feet touched the cracked asphalt of the intersection, I felt the light impact travel through my legs. The wings on my back began to fall apart almost instantly, dissolving into strands of black smoke that curled around my body before being reabsorbed back into me.

Only then did I let go of the passengers I’d been carrying. Rupert and Victor looked relatively fine, at least compared to Emily and Laura, who had clearly gone through something much worse. Rupert, meanwhile, wore a closed-off and visibly irritated expression, his shoulders tense and brow furrowed in obvious annoyance.

To be fair, he’d already been like that ever since finding out Victor had completely played him. As for Emily and Laura, they looked a little more... nauseous. The recent turbulence during the flight definitely hadn’t helped. In my defense, though, it wasn’t entirely my fault.

Everything happened so suddenly: the sky, which until recently had been relatively stable, darkened almost all at once. Thick, heavy clouds gathered above us while a light drizzle began to fall, the soft sound of droplets hitting our bodies mid-flight serving as a pretty clear warning that a storm was rolling in.

I’m not sure why, but from the exact moment the drizzle started, it felt like something inside me woke up. Some kind of internal clock, one I didn’t even know I had, seemed to activate out of nowhere.

It was a strange feeling, hard to explain, like every passing second had suddenly become more valuable than it should’ve been. My chest tightened uncomfortably, and an irrational sense of urgency grew inside me, almost like an instinct screaming that time was running shorter and shorter.

Long story short, I just felt like I needed to hurry. Besides, let’s be honest, they were the ones who insisted on coming with me from the start. Sure, I could feel a little guilty seeing them holding their stomachs and looking absolutely miserable... but only a little. If they decided to sign up for this, then they’d have to deal with the consequences too.

“Couldn’t you have been a little less...” Emily cut herself off for a second, as if searching for the right word through the obvious discomfort she was dealing with. Her face was alarmingly pale, almost completely drained of color, and her legs were trembling so noticeably it was honestly a miracle she was still standing. Even so, Emily stayed stubborn as always: “...turbulent?” she finally finished, forcing the word out with some difficulty.

Her voice sounded sick, weak and sluggish, like every syllable took more effort than it should. She discreetly placed one hand over her abdomen, taking a deep breath before continuing: “Humans usually don’t handle this kind of speed very well”

The last part came out almost as a murmur, quiet enough to seem like it was meant only for herself. Even so, I caught every word perfectly, and judging by the expressions on my sisters’ faces, I figured they’d heard it too. Speaking of them... somehow, my sisters had ended up with us too.

What, honestly, only raised even more questions. Why? If there’s a specific reason for it, I still have no clue. But the moment I figure it out, I’ll be more than happy to share.

I shifted my gaze away from Emily and toward the rest of the group, frowning slightly before finally asking: “By the way, why exactly are all of you here?” I made a vague gesture with my hand, pointing at each of them: “I thought I was the only one who needed to reveal myself, or... I don’t know, whatever you guys call this”

“Hehe, dear sister, you really can’t blame us for that” Althea replied, a mischievous smile playing at the corners of her lips. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, intense enough to send shivers through my gelatinous body: “We wouldn’t miss your reveal for anything. It’s been so long since I last saw it, so you can imagine how excited I am”

As she spoke, Althea floated gently in the air, as though gravity itself wouldn’t dare impose limits on her, clapping her hands together in quick little bursts, almost like a child unable to contain her excitement.

Eryanis, on the other hand, let out a long sigh filled with resignation as she watched her sister’s exaggerated display of enthusiasm. By now, this really shouldn’t have been surprising, and yet, for some reason, it still managed to be absurdly irritating to Eryanis, perhaps even more so because of what Eryanis represented in the grand scheme of things.

The two of them were, in essence, almost incompatible. Which only made it even more ironic, considering Nyara was the one who truly embodied chaos, and yet Eryanis somehow got along surprisingly well with her.

With a tired look, Eryanis rubbed her temple before answering, her voice carrying patience that was already wearing dangerously thin: “You’re still just as unstoppable as ever, sister. Sometimes I wonder how many more millions of years will have to pass before you stop acting like someone who was born yesterday”

Althea didn’t react, or at least not to the teasing. Instead, she simply wore a small, innocent smile, as if the conversation had nothing to do with her. Then she floated forward casually, her movements in the air resembling small, light hops that somehow looked adorably carefree.

Nekra let out an exhausted sigh at Althea’s almost irritatingly indifferent attitude, shaking her head before moving forward with firm, purposeful steps, each stride reflecting her usual practical demeanor.

Chronas, who in the end seemed to have only come along to keep an eye on Victor, didn’t make any comments. He remained silent, standing apart from the group beside Victor, watching everything from a distance with rigid posture and a sharp, attentive gaze.

Tenebrya, as always, seemed genuinely curious about the topic being discussed. Unable to hide what she felt, she let it show directly through her emotions, which practically hung in the air in a way that was almost tangible, making any verbal question completely unnecessary.

Lastly, Nyara stayed close to me, partially clinging to the hem of my oversized shirt, her fingers gripping the fabric subtly. Her face, however, completely contrasted with the childish gesture: her expression was serious, almost cold, while her eyes silently scanned the surroundings. As if she were seeing something, something only she, and she alone, was capable of seeing.

Ignoring the entire surreal situation, I followed my sisters while Victor, Rupert, Laura, and Emily trailed close behind. Our pace gradually slowed until we came to a stop just a few meters away from the dome’s constantly expanding radius. Up close, its presence was even more oppressive.

The air around it seemed slightly distorted, as though reality itself were being compressed and stretched at the same time. A subtle pressure weighed on my shoulders, not enough to force me to the ground, but enough to remind my body that whatever stood before us was anything but natural.

Emily, Laura, Victor, and Rupert all wore slightly tense expressions as they stared at the dome. Their eyes remained fixed on the barrier, and for one of the rare times since I first met them, even they seemed genuinely cautious. It made sense, seeing the dome from afar was definitely not the same as facing it from only a few meters away. Still, a much more urgent question weighed on my mind.

What exactly was I supposed to do now? More importantly... what the hell did “reveal yourself” even mean? According to my dear little sisters, I was supposed to be accessing my true form or something along those lines.

The problem was pretty simple: how exactly was I supposed to do that when I didn’t even know what my true form looked like? I mean, until just a few months ago, I was absolutely convinced I was human.

Then, out of nowhere, I find out I’m inhabiting the body of an anomaly. Before I can even fully process that information, now I’m being told that this anomalous body isn’t even really “me” but just some kind of shell, vessel, or incomplete form.

Honestly, I was starting to feel like the world had gone insane. Or maybe it was just my life specifically that had decided to hit maximum speed on the highway to madness.