Anomaly

While I watched some of the organization’s members — specifically the ones I interacted with the most — walk through the door of my room, a single thought echoed in my mind: (Even though I knew the calm wouldn’t last long... wasn’t this a little too fast?)
And as I took in their expressions as a whole, I clearly noticed that most — if not all — of them looked strangely tense, as if they were under some kind of invisible pressure.
I stayed quiet, still sitting on the edge of the bed, simply analyzing each face. My sisters, however, seemed completely indifferent to that sudden visit.
Judging by how natural their behavior was, I concluded that all of them had sensed their presence long before I did. Even so, only Althea, Chronas, and Nyara showed at least some hint of interest in the reason behind their arrival.
Actually, I already had a suspicion about why they were all here. If the sensations I’ve been experiencing lately aren’t just in my head... and they probably aren’t, since as far as I know, anomalies don’t hallucinate — and neither do I, definitely not a normal anomaly — then this could only mean they came to talk about those strange perceptions that have been trailing me.
Arthur was the first to speak. He took a step forward, his expression indifferent and thoughtful, as if carefully choosing his words: “It’s been a while. I guess I should start by asking how you’ve been...” he said, glancing around my room. His eyes swept over every detail, briefly passing over each of my sisters, gathered there as if it were some solemn occasion: “But from the looks of it, you’re doing fine. Almost your whole family’s here”
I kept watching Arthur, trying to figure out what exactly he was trying to convey with those words. From my perspective, I turned my eyes to each of my sisters.
There wasn’t any specific thought about them, but before I realized it, I found myself thinking about how adorable they were — even though they weren’t doing anything particularly special at that moment.
I let out a soft sigh and shifted my gaze back to Arthur. After a moment of silence, I responded with a simple shrug, loaded with indifference: I guess so. So... what do you want? I doubt you came all the way here just to chat.
Arthur blinked for a moment before curving his lips into a faintly ironic smile — the kind of smile that tried to look offended but only made things feel stranger. For a moment, he actually looked hurt by my words, which didn’t suit him at all. “What? You think I can’t drop by unless I need your help with something?” Arthur asked.
I just stared at him. My face was already naturally expressionless, but right then it felt even more rigid than usual. Arthur noticed — of course he noticed. He scratched the back of his neck in an embarrassed gesture, looking away for a second. Then he let out a light, almost rehearsed cough before finally speaking: “Setting aside all those situations we usually get ourselves into... it’s true that talking to you is fun. Your way of seeing the world is... pretty interesting”
I simply shrugged at Arthur’s words. Victor, who was standing a few steps behind him with his arms crossed, just rolled his eyes and shook his head, clearly impatient.
At the same time, I turned my gaze toward Emily. Noticing I was looking at her, she stepped forward with firm steps and a neutral expression — still, it was impossible to ignore the exhaustion marked by the dark circles shadowing her eyes.
“From what we can tell, there’s something in the Pacific... possibly one of your sisters” Emily explained, crossing her arms firmly. Her eyes, intense and unshakable, stayed locked on mine.
I absorbed the meaning of Emily’s words. Ironically enough, I had already suspected something like that. The strange sensations I’ve been feeling lately lined up a little too well with what she was saying.
I could never pinpoint a specific direction — it was like they came from everywhere at once. But maybe that wasn’t it. Maybe they weren’t coming from multiple places, but instead the sensation itself was splitting in different directions before reaching me.
While I stayed silent, sinking into my own thoughts, Victor and Rupert stepped forward. Victor spoke first, his voice firm but cautious: “Rupert and I will be sent to monitor the situation. We don’t plan to take action right away; our job is just to observe and figure out exactly what’s going on there” He paused briefly, crossing his arms with an indifferent expression before continuing: “Our proposal is pretty simple. Since this involves one of your sisters, I figured you’d want to come with us”
I had no reason to reject Victor’s offer, so I just nodded in confirmation. He didn’t show any additional reaction; he remained calm, almost indifferent. In a way, he already seemed to know what my answer would be — and he probably did, considering how well he knows me... or at least how well he understands my line of thinking.
In the brief silence that followed my agreement with Victor’s words, it was Eryanis who finally broke it. Still seated, she brought the cup to her lips with her usual elegance; the tea’s gentle aroma — blending with her own aura of indifference — drifted through the room’s heavier, more serious atmosphere.
Her expression remained unmoved, almost bored, and her next words came out with a sharp, effortless calm: “I’ve had the feeling that things have been a bit out of order lately. And while it does irritate me somewhat... well, I suppose there isn’t much I can do about it. Tenebrya’s authority has always been particularly troublesome to deal with”
All of us — except for my sisters — blinked in confusion when Eryanis spoke the name. Even though it was supposedly my first time hearing it, it didn’t sound entirely unfamiliar.
There was something about the name that tugged at a distant memory, as if I had repeated it countless times in some unreachable past. Of course, I have no actual memory of that... but for some reason, that’s exactly how it feels.
“That’s a name I wouldn’t forget... if I had heard it even once” Rupert muttered from the back, his voice so low and drawn-out it nearly blended with the silence around us.
Eryanis, wearing a subtly ironic and amused smile, continued — it was impossible to tell if she had truly heard Rupert’s words or if she simply pieced together our thoughts from the confused expressions around her.
“Tenebrya is the one who holds authority over fear...” She paused for a moment, tilting her head in a gentle motion as if an unsettling thought had just surfaced.
“Well, I suppose it’s different from the kind of fear you humans know. But I doubt you’d understand... so let’s just leave it at that” Eryanis finished with a light shrug, her gaze drifting back to the tea, whose steam rose in slow, lazy spirals in front of her face.
Then, still with that soft smile on her lips, Eryanis leaned back in a light stretch. Even performing a gesture that, to anyone else, might have seemed slightly improper, in her it became something almost hypnotic — a blend of airy and ethereal grace that made it impossible to look away. In short, it was simply beautiful to watch.
“Well” she began, her voice as calm as her movements: “compared to the rest of us, Tenebrya is definitely the one who has the least control over her own powers. Or rather... her authority is quite complicated, so to speak. Even so, I highly doubt she’s causing all this chaos consciously. Everything happening now is just a natural consequence of her formation”
(Formation?) I questioned silently, unsure why she had chosen that particular term.
“Hmm... that’s true. For a moment, I actually forgot you still don’t have your memories” Eryanis remarked, bringing a hand to her chin as she struck a thoughtful pose, as if contemplating something important. There was a brief glimmer of curiosity in her eyes, but before she could continue, Althea appeared at my side — her body floating with graceful lightness.
While floating, Althea stopped right beside me. Her eyes — a shade of gold so intense they looked like fragments carved from the sun itself — settled on me with a playful smile. Her expression, carrying a faint mischievous gleam, said it all: “Fufu... Tenebrya is a peculiar existence, even among us. Normally, she stays withdrawn in the deepest, most forgotten corner of the Cradle of Creation — a place that is, in itself, almost an amalgamation of fear in its most primal form. She was probably dormant until now, since there was never enough “fear” to complete her formation. But from the looks of it, the ideal point has finally been reached. It was only a matter of time before this happened... after all, humans simply don’t know how to live without fear”
Everyone stayed quiet for a few moments, letting the words settle in the room. Laura was the first to break the tension, slightly furrowing her brow as she looked at Althea: “Fear? A breaking point?” she repeated, her tone carrying a mix of confusion and skepticism: “Is that supposed to be some kind of metaphorical code or something?... Because honestly, I don’t remember anything recent that could’ve triggered a mass reaction. Not like that. Not in that way”
Althea didn’t answer right away. The relaxed posture she had held moments before — stretched out in that deliberate display of disinterest — dissolved as she straightened up, crossing her legs with a feline sort of grace. Her arms folded over her chest, and a playful, faintly sharp smile curved her lips.
“Are you sure about that?” she teased, tilting her head as she clearly savored Laura’s doubt: “An event as monumental as revealing to the world what you humans call anomalies... that would be impactful enough to generate the necessary fear. Deep fear. Primordial. The exact kind needed to awaken Tenebrya”
No one attempted to refute Althea’s words. Technically speaking, from that angle, what she said made sense — and, in a way, she was probably right.
Of course, that didn’t mean anyone was necessarily at fault; it’s not like we could see the future and know that a single decision would end up triggering all the chaos we’re dealing with now. Besides, it wasn’t as if there had been any other viable option at the time.
“So...” Laura began, her voice slightly shaky as her fingers interlaced: “does that mean we’re the ones to blame for this?”
When Emily heard the desperation in Laura’s voice, she let out a tired sigh. Her eyes, once hesitant, grew firm as she fixed a piercing stare on Althea.
“Even if we’d had a crystal ball to see the future” she began, her voice low but tense: “there’s no way we could have predicted that revealing the anomalies back then would lead to all of this. And besides... it’s not like we had another choice”
Emily shook her head, bitterly: “How much longer could we have kept that lie going anyway?”
Emily didn’t back down. With her arms crossed, she kept her sharp, unwavering gaze on Althea — who, in turn, maintained that mischievous, almost taunting smile.
“You knew this was going to happen... didn’t you?” Emily asked, not looking away.
Althea let out a low, feline laugh as a sly smile curled on her lips: “Who knows? Maybe I did... maybe I didn’t” she said, playing with the mystery in her voice: “Either way, even if I had told you, there wouldn’t have been much you could do. Fate can be ironic sometimes, you know? It enjoys poking fun at our confidence”