Anomaly

I’m not going to lie and say Selyra’s proposal didn’t catch me off guard. In fact, Victor, Rupert, and Arthur could certainly attest to that. The three of them looked just as surprised as I was. After all, none of them had ever seen Charlotte act like this before. Actually, simply calling it “different” didn’t do justice to the change in Charlotte.

It wasn’t just the way she spoke or behaved that had changed. The very impression she gave off as a person was completely different. It was as if Charlotte had suddenly stopped being Charlotte, and someone else had taken her place. And, considering the circumstances, that comparison wasn’t too far from the truth.

The silence that settled over us after Selyra’s sudden appearance lingered for several moments. No one seemed to know exactly what to say, so Arthur was finally the one to break it: “I see...” he murmured.

The words seemed to be directed more toward his own thoughts than toward any of us. Arthur then raised a hand and discreetly adjusted the monocle he usually wore, pushing it slightly higher as he studied Charlotte, or, in this case, Selyra, with even greater attention.

The movement was subtle, but not subtle enough to go unnoticed. Not with my hearing, at least. Apparently, Selyra had noticed it too, because her eyes shifted toward Arthur.

After observing her in silence for several seconds, Arthur finally spoke: “So... you must be Charlotte’s counterpart that the [Angel of Death] mentioned” He paused briefly, as if organizing the information in his head: “The virtue of hope”

The room suddenly fell silent. The looks of surprise on Victor and Rupert’s faces, however, were impossible to miss. Rupert blinked once. Then again. His eyes remained fixed on Charlotte as his gaze slowly narrowed, as though he were trying to see through her.

Or rather... through Selyra: “Wait...” Rupert began, only to stop himself for a moment. He turned toward Charlotte and subtly pointed a finger at her, still seemingly unable to process what he had just discovered: “You’re telling me she’s...?” The sentence died before he could finish it.

At the same moment, Charlotte turned her face toward Rupert. The change was subtle, but enough to make the atmosphere feel even heavier. Her expression, which normally carried at least some trace of emotion, was completely impassive. Her eyes remained wide open, yet there was something different about them.

They were the same eyes Charlotte had always had, but they seemed to be observing the world through completely different lenses, older ones, deeper ones. Rupert swallowed hard. The small movement of his throat was almost audible in the silence. He said nothing else.

He didn’t even seem to know what he could possibly say. Charlotte’s lips, which until then had shown absolutely no emotion, no smile, no sadness, no irritation, curved upward just enough to suggest one. It was so subtle that, at first glance, it could easily have gone unnoticed.

“Impressive... for a human” Charlotte slowly turned toward Arthur. Her expression remained almost exactly the same as before, calm and difficult to read, but there was something different in her eyes now. A faint hint of curiosity.

“That’s quite a special piece of equipment you have there” Charlotte’s eyes narrowed slightly as they settled on the monocle Arthur still wore over one eye. She seemed to be examining it with genuine interest.

Arthur, on the other hand, showed no sign of discomfort. The mention of his anomalous equipment didn’t seem to rattle him in the slightest. He continued observing Charlotte with the same calm demeanor as before, as though he had already expected a comment like that.

Selyra then spoke again, her voice carrying a natural, almost casual tone: “You’re right. I’m not Charlotte... at least, not completely” She paused briefly, as though searching for the best way to explain herself: “I suppose you humans would call this a “split personality” or something like that” A faint smile appeared at the corner of Selyra’s lips, though it vanished almost immediately: “But it isn’t that simple. In any case, that doesn’t matter right now. I’m here to help”

Selyra’s gaze shifted once more toward the enormous mushroom that dominated the landscape. The moment her eyes fell upon it, her expression changed completely. What had previously been simple curiosity was replaced by profound disgust. Her nose wrinkled and her eyes narrowed as she stared at the mushroom as though its very existence were a personal affront.

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“I can’t just stand by while something so repulsive invades the territory of other beings” Her voice grew colder: “And, to be honest, even with my sister by your side, you wouldn’t stand the slightest chance”

Arthur’s expression finally changed, if only slightly. His eyes narrowed at her words: “Are you saying it’s really that powerful?” Selyra remained silent for several seconds, still staring at the mushroom: “Powerful?”

She let out a brief, humorless laugh: “No. That word isn’t enough” She turned her face toward Arthur: “That thing is one of the existences that existed outside of creation before creation itself even came into being” The carefree tone had completely disappeared: “They shouldn’t be here. They don’t belong in this world, nor do they belong to the rules that govern everything you know”

Selyra paused briefly before continuing: “That’s why they’re practically invincible” Her eyes returned to the enormous mushroom, now filled with open hostility: “Practically...” A small smile appeared on her face: “Because we sisters are the exception” She raised her chin slightly: “We are their natural enemies. That is what we exist for” The smile disappeared, replaced by a cold, determined expression: “So, as long as I’m here, that thing isn’t going to do whatever it wants”

Well... that was new. It was the first time one of my sisters had ever said, with such conviction, that there was something I wouldn’t be able to do. To be honest, they tended to exaggerate quite a bit in that regard, acting as though I could simply accomplish anything I wanted as long as I decided to give it a try.

In a way, someone like Selyra was actually rather comforting. It was nice to hear someone remind me, every now and then, that I still had limits. Maybe that was why her words caught me a little off guard.

However, as if she had finally realized what she had just said, and, of course, having no idea what was going through my mind, Selyra’s eyes widened slightly as she quickly tried to take it back: “Ah! Naturally, I’m not saying you’re weak or anything like that, sister!” she hurriedly explained, waving her hands in front of herself: “Quite the opposite! You’re actually the most beautiful and most feared of us all. Exactly as you should be!”

Honestly, I didn’t care much about that. Personally, I agreed with several of the points Selyra had brought up, so I simply shrugged and decided not to drag the discussion out: “You don’t need to worry so much about that, Selyra. I really don’t mind”

I made a simple gesture with my hand, as if I wanted to put the matter behind us once and for all. There wasn’t much point in dwelling on it when there was something far more important right in front of us.

With that, I turned my gaze back toward the enormous mushroom that occupied nearly my entire field of vision: “That said...” I began, tilting my head slightly as I examined the gigantic mushroom: “How exactly are we supposed to take care of this?”

Selyra, however, didn’t seem the least bit troubled by my question. Quite the opposite. A small smile appeared on her lips, and her eyes took on a renewed confidence.

“You don’t need to worry about that, sister” Selyra said, her usual impassive expression returning to her face. Her voice, however, was filled with calm reassurance: “As I said before, I’m practically a deadly poison to this thing simply by existing. If I had to put it more simply...” She paused briefly, choosing her words carefully: “He and I simply cannot exist in the same space”

Selyra then looked away for a moment, as if mentally examining the mushroom: “Naturally, my power is greater than his. So, under normal circumstances, simply touching him should be enough to put an end to this. But...” She cut herself off.

Her two eyes slowly shifted toward her own hands, studying them for several seconds before she curled her fingers into fists: “In this form, I don’t have enough power to fight. I’m practically an ordinary mortal” For a moment, silence settled over the surroundings.

Then Selyra raised her gaze again, fixing her eyes on me. Her expression remained calm, but there was unmistakable clarity in her voice: “That’s why I’ll need your help” She tilted her head slightly: “I just need you to help me get close to him. After that... leave the rest to me”

Naturally, I couldn’t see any reason to refuse Selyra’s request. Truth be told, without my backup plan, I had absolutely no idea how I was supposed to deal with this giant mushroom. Maybe I could just cut it into pieces? The idea seemed fairly reasonable at first, but would it really be that simple?

Selyra herself had just confirmed that this mushroom, regardless of its appearance, was as ancient and powerful as we Virtues were. I still wasn’t entirely sure what exactly that was supposed to mean, but there was at least one thing I could understand perfectly clearly: this thing was absurdly powerful. At least, that was the most logical conclusion I could come to at the moment.

That said, if Selyra really could deal with the mushroom as easily as she claimed, then, in the end, everything was already settled. There wasn’t much else for me to worry about. With that in mind, I simply nodded toward her: “No problem. You can count on me”

A subtle, confident smile appeared on Selyra’s lips at my response. For a brief moment, she seemed genuinely pleased before finally turning toward the enormous mushroom. That was when her expression changed completely.

Her smile disappeared. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and a frightening aura began to surround her. There was something subtly sinister about her expression, as though she were about to face an enemy that needed to be utterly subdued... I couldn’t help it. She looked pretty damn cool with that expression. Terrifyingly cool.

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