Anomaly

Chapter 367 – Worship of the true gods [13]

(POV – Protagonist)

The slightly humid city air wrapped around my body like a subtle veil, brushing against the fabric of the stylish women’s coat I was wearing. The material, soft and warm, shielded me just enough from the mild chill of the late afternoon.

Nearby, the scent of bread mixed with the smell of reheated coffee drifted out from some bakery, slipping into my nostrils and bringing with it a strange sense of simplicity.

A thin drizzle, almost imperceptible, fell from the gray sky, leaving scattered dark spots across the asphalt and making the storefront lights reflect softly along the wet streets. In the distance, the outlines of the buildings were gently blurred by a light mist gathering in the cold evening air.

The beanie I wore was pulled down almost to my eyebrows, hiding most of my white, translucent hair that, when exposed to light, seemed to almost glow.

A few stubborn strands escaped along the sides, swaying slightly whenever the breeze passed by. Beneath the coat, I wore a white pleated skirt with the faintest hint of pink, the folded fabric swaying softly with every step I took.

On my feet, fluffy white flats kept my steps quiet against the damp sidewalk, while equally white long socks climbed up close to my ankles, keeping my legs warm... That said, I’d honestly rather not comment too much on my current outfit. Much less explain why I’m wearing a skirt.

I raised the hand covered by a completely white glove and, with a calm motion, briefly pulled aside the mask of the same color that hid my mouth and nose. The evening air was slightly cold, and when I slowly exhaled, a small cloud of vapor formed in front of my face before dissolving into the chilly wind.

My other hand remained buried inside the pocket of my heavy winter coat, fingers relaxed, while my eyes followed the steady flow of cars crossing the city’s illuminated avenues. Headlights streaked across the wet asphalt like small moving stars, and the distant hum of engines blended with the muffled murmur of urban life.

I narrowed my eyes slightly, irises glimmering with a faint golden glow that would be nearly impossible to notice from afar, as I silently observed everything. The city seemed strangely calm. People walked along the sidewalks, shops still had their window displays lit, and traffic followed its usual rhythm.

It was hard to believe that not long ago, an anomalous attack had nearly destroyed all of this. Even so, humans are remarkably resilient creatures. Adaptable. Maybe that was all it was. Maybe after so many unexplained incidents, they had simply learned how to keep living in the middle of all this chaos.

My mind drifted into deeper thoughts about it all, wandering aimlessly, when an excited voice suddenly came from behind me, cutting through the silence of my thoughts: “Sis! Sis! Look! This would look so pretty on you!” The lively, enthusiastic voice naturally belonged to Althea.

When I turned around, I found her practically glued to a store window. Her eyes sparkled as she stared, with childlike excitement, at a dress displayed on the mannequin. It was a pure white dress made of light fabric, with delicate golden embroidery scattered across the skirt and waist.

Althea brought her hands to her face, clearly enchanted: “Ahhhh! So pretty! Everything would look so beautiful on you, dear sister!” she declared, sighing dramatically: “Humans truly captured the essence when they created masterpieces like this. They must have been thinking about you while designing it, dear sister!”

Althea’s overly excited tone was, at the very least, bizarre for anyone passing by. A few people slowed their pace, casting curious, or confused, glances in our direction. Like me, Althea was wearing loose feminine clothes that hid much of her unusual appearance.

Naturally, however, there was one small detail that was difficult to completely conceal: her wings. They stretched out from beneath the clothes, folded with noticeable effort to make them appear smaller than they really were.

Whenever someone stared, we already had an explanation ready. We’d say Althea had just come from a costume party and simply refused to take the wings off because she was “still in the mood” Surprisingly enough... most people accepted that explanation without questioning it much.

By the way, my sisters, along with Emily and Laura, were also present on this beautiful late afternoon. The sky had already begun to tint itself with shades of orange and pink, while streetlights flicked on one by one, slowly illuminating the city streets.

In the end, I simply let out a tired sigh at the small chaos my sisters were causing. Besides their usual commotion, they were drawing far too much attention to us.

Emily, on the other hand, had most of her attention focused on Tenebrya, who was observing everything around her with a childlike mixture of curiosity and fascination. Her eyes wandered across storefronts, glowing signs, passing cars, and even mundane things like a bicycle leaning against the sidewalk.

Honestly, I had already lost count of how many times something caught her attention and, without any warning, Tenebrya would simply start walking toward it as if the rest of the world had ceased to exist.

On one of those occasions, a traffic accident almost happened. A car had to slam on the brakes when she suddenly tried to cross the street without looking, drawn by something on the other side.

Since then, Emily had been holding Tenebrya’s hand tightly, clearly afraid something similar might happen again.

Naturally, Emily looked visibly uncomfortable about it. Most of the time, she simply ignored Tenebrya while keeping their hands firmly intertwined.

Even so, whenever something about Tenebrya’s presence demanded her attention, a subtle movement, a slight tilt of the head, or even just the feeling of being watched, Emily would inevitably glance back at her.

In those moments, her expression became strange. Her brows would knit slightly, and her lips seemed to hesitate between opening to say something... or remaining closed in silence. She was clearly uncomfortable, no matter how you looked at it.

Actually, speaking of Tenebrya, after I absorbed her powers, the effect she usually had on anyone who looked at her had become considerably less noticeable.

Of course, that didn’t completely solve the problem. Even now, people passing by were still casting strange glances at Tenebrya.

They weren’t openly hostile looks. Most of the time they were just quick, furtive, almost involuntary glances, but they carried that same confused expression you get when you look at something and simply can’t make sense of what you’re seeing.

Still, thanks to the clothes that covered her almost completely, I figured many of them probably assumed she was just a child with some very unusual trait.

Maybe a rare deformity. Maybe some kind of illness... something strange, no doubt, but still within the limits of what the human mind can accept without panicking.

The clothing helped soften the impact, hiding enough that people’s imaginations filled in the gaps with explanations that were a bit more... comfortable.

The bad news was that this only worked for people seeing Tenebrya for the first time. Those who had seen her before the absorption simply couldn’t look at her normally anymore. One brief glimpse was enough for their faces to stiffen or for them to quickly look away, as if their brains refused to process that image again.

Emily’s theory was that the sight was so disturbing it became impossible to forget. No matter how much time passed, the memory stayed permanently engraved, like a scar on the mind.

And at this point, I have to admit I’m seriously wondering what exactly those scientists and guards saw when they looked at Tenebrya. Because honestly? To traumatize them like that... whatever they saw must have been far worse than anything I can imagine.

I sighed inwardly at the thought and decided to drop the subject for now. There was no point dwelling on it at the moment. My gaze then naturally shifted to the structure rising slightly higher than the surrounding buildings.

Among the uneven rooftops and aged stone walls, it stood out with a certain imposing presence. At the top, a large stained-glass window caught the light and reflected it back in soft shimmering colors across the façade, an unmistakable detail that immediately revealed its nature.

It was a church. More specifically, the church we were heading to, the place where we would meet the priest who worshiped anomalies. As I studied the building, letting my gaze drift along the tower, a voice spoke beside me.

I recognized the owner of the voice almost immediately, it was Eryanis. Her tone sounded casual, but there was a faint contemplative edge to it: “Humans definitely have an impressive ability to build things” she remarked, her soft voice carried along by the breeze.

There was a brief pause. I imagined her eyes drifting across the horizon, taking in every detail of the city. Then she added, with quiet interest: “The view from up here isn’t bad either”

When I glanced to the side, my eyes settled on Eryanis for a moment. She was dressed in a cute and delicate outfit, yet it didn’t diminish the natural elegance that seemed to emanate from her as something completely instinctive.

Faced with that, I had to silently admit she was right. This area really was quite beautiful. Since nightfall was already approaching, the city was gradually beginning to change its atmosphere. Several billboards scattered across buildings and streets slowly began lighting up one after another.

Lights in vibrant shades, blue, pink, gold, and violet, gradually appeared, coloring the surroundings and reflecting off nearby windows and storefronts.

Another breath of cold air slowly escaped from my nose and lips, dissipating into the air like a faint cloud. Curiously, I wasn’t actually cold, even though my body kept reproducing the phenomenon automatically.

I tilted my head slightly, staying quiet for a brief moment as I looked out at the scenery in front of us. The breeze drifted past us softly.

(Yeah... it really is beautiful) I finally replied to Eryanis. My tone came out a little indifferent, distracted, as if the comment had slipped out without much thought.

I gave a small shrug right after, a casual, lazy gesture. My eyes still wandered across a few parts of the city before I added: (Shiny things are usually pretty)

I ignored the matter for the moment and turned my attention back to the traffic light ahead. We were on a main avenue, and the flow of cars sped past at high speed, the constant sound of engines and the whistle of wind cutting between the vehicles filling the air.

Headlights streaked across the road in rapid lines while some drivers honked impatiently in the distance. Then the red light finally turned green. Almost immediately, the cars began braking and stopping one after another, forming an orderly line before the crosswalk.

Emily noticed the change at the exact same moment I did. Her eyes narrowed for a second as she scanned both sides of the street, and then she said casually: “Alright. We can cross now”

Even so, just before we took our first step, Emily’s gaze shifted abruptly, almost automatically moving between Althea and Tenebrya: “You two, no running” Her tone was firm, the kind that didn’t leave much room for argument.

Tenebrya tilted her head slightly, clearly not fully understanding the reason for the lecture. Still, she nodded in agreement. It was a small, slightly awkward gesture... but strangely cute.

Althea nodded right after, though in a much more exaggerated way. She straightened her posture and raised a hand to her forehead as if answering a commander, almost like a soldier giving an overly dramatic salute.

Finally, before we actually crossed, Emily looked over once more, this time toward Chronas: “And you, Chronas... no stopping time. I don’t want to deal with paperwork and those cranky higher-ups the moment we get back to base” With all those little warnings handed out, it seemed like we were finally ready to cross.

As strange as it may sound, we were actually waiting for the signal like any other pedestrian. Earlier, Chronas had offered to simply stop time for us. He suggested the idea with the same casual tone someone might use to suggest checking the weather forecast. Needless to say, Emily rejected the proposal immediately.

According to her, it would be better if we kept things as normal as possible while we were outside the base facilities. The less attention we drew, the better. After all, the High Council didn’t even know we were out here. And we definitely wanted to keep it that way.

That said, we crossed the street without any trouble and continued along the sidewalk toward the church. The soft sound of our footsteps echoed faintly through the quiet street as we approached the building.

Minutes later, my golden eyes narrowed slightly as I looked at the entrance. A few stone steps, worn down by time, led up to the massive white doors that opened directly into the church.