Anomaly

Chapter 394 – Worship of the true gods [40]

(POV – Protagonist)

Knowing I was stuck with a literal ticking time bomb didn’t help at all, if anything, it made everything worse. It wasn’t just the danger itself, but the uncertainty. I had no idea when that bomb would go off, or how the explosion would even manifest.

Would it be instant? Slow? Something physical... or something that warped everything around me? With no answers, I had no way to prepare, let alone figure out how to contain the disaster, assuming that was even possible. Let’s be honest: I might have a few merits for having stopped the end of the world before, several times, actually.

And sometimes, it wasn’t just the world... it was reality itself on the verge of collapse. But, thinking about it, that’s not really the point here. The point is, looking back, in all those situations... I mostly survived out of sheer luck rather than any extraordinary competence.

I mean, most of the time, the calamities had a very specific origin: my sisters. And honestly, when they wanted to be terrifying, they were truly terrifying. The rest of the time, the anomalies that showed up were simply weaker than me, which made everything... manageable, more or less.

But this? This was different. This priest... he was a complete unknown. Most of my “solutions” tend to follow the same pattern: dismemberment, death by shadows, or complete incineration. I’ll admit, none of those come anywhere close to what you’d call peaceful.

Still, from my perspective, they’re perfectly valid methods when dealing with things that are actively trying to kill me. Morality loses some of its shine when the other side has already decided to turn you into ash. Even so, right now, my focus wasn’t on myself, it was on him.

I found myself coldly assessing how much time he had left before he was completely consumed by the concepts he had forced into himself. It wasn’t a matter of if, but when. And when that moment came... not even I could predict what would take his place.

Something worse, maybe. Something unrecognizable. Maybe nothing that could still be called human: “You’re sick. This is killing you” I tried to warn him. My voice came out low and indifferent. I’m not sure how it sounded to him, but I doubt it carried even the slightest hint of empathy or calm.

To be honest, I wouldn’t trust myself either in this situation, not after he’d hurled entire cars at me like they were disposable toys: “That power... wasn’t meant for humans” I stepped forward, feeling the air around me vibrate ever so slightly: “Concepts weren’t meant to be contained... much less controlled by mortal hands”

Something was wrong, deeply wrong. I could feel it. This wasn’t just energy in the conventional sense. It was rawer, older... more fundamental: “They’re rebelling inside you” My expression hardened, my eyes locked onto him, tracking every micro-movement: “And every time you use that power... they push back”

The priest narrowed his eyes in direct response to my words. His irises, now bloodshot with a sickly red hue, were laced with bulging veins that seemed to pulse as they fixed on me.

His jaw clenched so tightly that a thin trickle of dark liquid, blood, no doubt, slipped through his teeth, slowly running down and staining his already torn lips.

There was no telling whether this was a consequence of excessive, uncontrolled use of his powers... or if he was tearing himself apart from the inside, unable to withstand his own condition. Maybe both. At that moment, though, it hardly mattered.

The only certainty was that when he spoke again, any trace of decorum or serene faith had been completely abandoned: “You’re lying, scientist!” he snarled, his voice thick with animalistic fury.

His eyes burned with such an intense red that they looked ready to bleed outright, as if his body itself was on the verge of collapse: “Your distractions and empty words won’t steer me away from my goal... they won’t influence me!” he continued, stepping forward, his body trembling between conviction and instability: “I will fulfill the mission granted to me by the divinities, no matter the cost! I will ascend alongside them... and finally leave behind this disgusting shell of flesh... this human prison!”

I was honestly starting to run out of options. No matter what I said, nothing seemed capable of making him listen, his convictions were too rigid, practically unshakable.

From his perspective, both I and my Alter Ego were nothing more than reflections of Emily and Laura... and as such, he would hardly listen to anything he deemed “inferior” The problem is, just as I was the one who put myself in this situation, I’m also the one who has no idea how to get out of it. And come to think of it... would that even help? Wasn’t it the truth I told that made him lose control in the first place?

Even without any kind of clairvoyance, I could see the signs clearly, like dark clouds gathering on the horizon, announcing an inevitable storm. More headaches were coming.

Of that, I had no doubt. Alright… let’s recap. First, I need to find a way to take this priest down. After that... well, then I’ll figure out what can still be salvaged from this mess.

“Do you think I’m lying?” I slowly shook my head, calm and patient. I tried to soften my tone, making my voice as understanding as possible. There was no rush in my words, but I made sure he grasped just how serious his situation was.

Still, the slight narrowing of the priest’s eyes, paired with the subtle clenching of his jaw, told a different story, my attempt to calm him hadn’t worked.

I took a small step forward, just enough to show I wasn’t backing down: “Look at yourself...” I continued, firmer this time, though without raising my voice: “Your body is bleeding”

A dark drop slid down his arm at that exact moment: “The concepts don’t want you” I went on, tilting my head slightly as I studied him: “They don’t recognize you... because you’re not one of them” There was a brief pause, not long enough to be comfortable, but enough for every word to sink in: “If you keep this up, you’re going to die” My voice lowered slightly, taking on a heavier, inevitable tone: “And I’m sure you already know that”

I raised one hand, vaguely gesturing at the space around us, unstable, subtly warped, as if it rejected his presence with every passing second: “Look around... and then look within yourself” My eyes locked onto his without hesitation: “You, more than anyone... should be able to see it”

As usual, my luck remained as reliable as ever, meaning, not at all. The sharp sound of teeth grinding cut through the air, followed by the visible pulsing of veins across his forehead. The tension in his face wasn’t just anger, it was something deeper, more primal.

And then came the words that killed any chance of a conversation: “A mere human...! How does a worthless human dare...?!”

His bloodshot eyes locked onto me like a predator that had finally found prey worth tearing apart. At the same time, the air around the priest began to ripple subtly, like heat distorting the horizon on a scorching day. The conversation had ended before it even began. Now, it was my turn to act.

I didn’t wait even a second before putting my plan into motion. The moment I decided, I let my body give in, sinking into the ground. In an instant, I slipped back into that shadowy world, a dense, silent void where everything felt heavier, more distant. I moved through it quickly, as if swimming through dark, viscous water, guided only by the priest’s silhouette above me.

I approached from below, calculating every movement, until I reached his back. Then, without hesitation, I emerged behind him. The plan was simple: one strike, right at the right spot, and he’d pass out. Powers or not, he was still human, and humans are fragile. But knowing my luck, I should’ve expected something to go wrong.

Just before my hands reached his neck, I felt it. It wasn’t a sound. Not a visible movement. It was a presence. An invisible force rushing in at high speed, pressing against the air around me, setting every instinct in my body screaming. I tried to pinpoint its origin, its nature, anything that might give me a chance to react... But there was no time.

It appeared the exact moment I tried to touch the priest, as if my approach had triggered something. Dodging was impossible. The last thing I remember was the impact, dry, brutal, followed by a blur of motion.

The world spun violently as my body was launched away, twisting through the air with absurd force, as if I weighed nothing. The ground, the walls, the light, everything blended into indistinguishable chaos as I was hurled farther and farther, completely out of control.

I just kept tumbling, once, twice, countless times, my body slamming into everything in its path. The impacts didn’t stop. Cars were tossed aside like toys, trucks crumpling under the force, storefronts shattering into clouds of glass and concrete.

I tore through walls, floors, even entire levels of buildings, as if nothing had enough structure to stop me. Everything I touched was destroyed without resistance, as if my body had become an unstoppable force.

With every collision, I felt parts of myself deforming in seconds, my skin giving way, my limbs compressing into impossible shapes, only to rearrange themselves in grotesque ways just enough for me to keep moving forward.

It was an absurd cycle of impact and distortion, repeating without pause. Until suddenly, something different happened. My body slammed into something that didn’t fully give. The impact was solid, heavy, and for the first time since it all started, I stopped.

For a moment, there was only silence. Still dazed, I realized that whatever I’d hit had also been deformed by the collision. It hadn’t come out unscathed... but it had been enough to stop me. That, however, wasn’t what truly caught my attention. With effort, I lifted my gaze.

And then I saw it. A trail of destruction stretched out behind me, a grotesque scar carved into the landscape. Overturned and crushed cars, buildings split apart, debris scattered as if a storm had torn through the city... No. Worse. That didn’t look like the aftermath of a natural disaster.

It looked like my doing. I had simply ripped everything out of my way with my own body. I stayed silent for a few seconds, staring at the absurd chaos, trying to process what I was seeing... Yeah. This was absolutely a complete mess.