Anomaly

Author: Rowen

Chapter 250 – Timeless State [7]

Previous Chapter
How long had it been since I sat down next to Victor? Honestly, I didn’t know. I hadn’t counted the minutes or the seconds; we were just there, side by side, in near-complete silence. Neither of us spoke, but strangely, with Victor, that silence wasn’t uncomfortable. It was... different. Odd, maybe, but in a curious and almost familiar way.
At some point, as my eyes wandered across his profile—the firm line of his jaw, the gentle curve of his nose—my lips moved almost without me realizing it, forming words my mind hesitated to voice. And then, as suddenly as it was silent, Victor heard in his thoughts: (Do you... hate me?)
When my words echoed, Victor’s shoulders shifted slightly, as if responding out of obligation, but no other gesture followed. His eyes remained fixed on his sister in bed, and his hand continued gripping hers with silent firmness, loaded with tension and care.
For a moment, I thought about insisting, but I turned my gaze from Victor to her, sensing the almost sacred stillness of the moment. I didn’t mind his silence; in a way, I had expected it. It was an answer, albeit a silent one, that spoke louder than any words ever could.
But in the next moment, when Victor’s voice broke through the quiet, I couldn’t help but shoot him a sideways glance. Internally, I was surprised; I hadn’t really expected him to respond: “I can’t say I feel good about you” Victor said, his voice calm but cold, without even looking at my face: “Even if you’re not directly responsible for Sara’s condition, I can’t get it out of my head that you’re part of it too... that you’re one of the things that made her like this. I just... can’t deal with it”
I watched Victor in silence, following each word from his lips without uttering a sound. Honestly, I didn’t know if anything I said in that moment would make any difference. My true opinion? Probably not.
After all, if something like this happened to one of my sisters, I’d probably be exactly where Victor was now... No, actually, I’d be even more extreme, more intense, consumed by a rage I might not even be able to imagine.
Anyway, pushing those thoughts aside, I refocused on Victor’s sister, still unconscious on the bed. Her body seemed completely inert, unresponsive to anything; not even her breathing gave signs of life, as if she were trapped in some suspended state.
I observed every detail carefully, trying to spot any irregularity, but noticed absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Strangely, though she seemed entirely lifeless, there was an aura of silent perfection about her, a sort of undefined balance that seemed to defy logic.
Of course, I wouldn’t give up just because of that. Even if my ordinary eyes couldn’t see anything, what if I tried with my other “Eyes?” Maybe I could detect something hidden, some clue escaping normal vision. It was just a possibility, fragile and uncertain, but I couldn’t ignore it. After all, what mattered was trying everything within my reach—every resource, every skill, every fragment of perception.
With that in mind, my eyes, in the next instant, began to shift colors, sliding from one hue to another as if reflecting invisible emotions. Through these new “eyes” I turned back to Victor’s sister lying on the bed.
For a brief moment, a flicker of doubt struck me—was I really seeing this? Around her body was something resembling a “force field” an almost imperceptible aura, so thin and delicate it seemed to merge with her skin, like a natural extension of her body.
The field emitted a faint, ethereal glow, oscillating through a palette of soft, shifting tones, as if it were breathing. Each color change seemed to follow an invisible rhythm—slow, measured, almost hypnotic. It wasn’t something you saw every day; in fact, there was something deeply unnatural about the scene.
It felt as if the very air around her were suspended, trapped inside that shell. And she, at the center of it all, seemed to float between two states—alive, yet strangely distant, as if the energy around her held her in a fragile truce between motion and stillness.
Victor noticed my expression and furrowed his brow, a shadow of concern crossing his face: “What is it?” he asked, voice low but attentive, finally shifting his gaze from his sister to me.
I hesitated for a moment, struggling with doubt. Should I tell Victor? After thinking it over, I decided yes—hiding something like this made no sense. With that decision made, I projected my thoughts into his mind: (There’s something around her) I whispered mentally, keeping my eyes on the strange membrane—or whatever it was. I added in a graver tone: (It seems... like a barrier. Maybe a cocoon)
I wasn’t sure how much Victor had actually picked up from my words—or even if he understood what I was trying to convey. He probably only sensed that something strange surrounded his younger sister.
But from my perspective, it was much more complex than a simple “something” For starters, could there really be an anomaly capable of causing this level of effect? It was hard to believe. Whatever was happening seemed far beyond what any ordinary anomaly could achieve.
And no matter how much I tried to find another explanation, my mind kept converging on the same conclusion, almost as if the answer were being whispered directly into the back of my consciousness: Conceptual Virtues. The name came naturally.
In the end, as my thoughts wandered aimlessly, a growing curiosity consumed me about the strange membrane surrounding Victor’s sister. Before I knew it, my hands moved on their own, reaching toward her.
Victor noticed instantly. The look he gave me was a mix of discomfort and suspicion, as if trying to decide whether to stop me or just watch. Curiously, despite the obvious tension, he didn’t intervene.
In the next moment, my fingers finally touched the membrane surrounding Victor’s sister, and a strange sensation ran through my body, as if something subtle and unknown stirred at the contact. It felt oddly sensitive to touch, almost alive, with a texture like liquid, calm like the surface of a lake under moonlight.
For a moment, a daring thought crossed my mind: what if I broke that membrane? Would Victor’s sister return to normal? The idea seemed tempting, almost like an instant solution to everything—but a nagging doubt lingered in my chest.
What if, instead of helping, it made her condition even worse? What if that thin veil was the only thing keeping her alive? Even if, somehow, breaking that strange membrane could bring her back to normal, I simply couldn’t risk it—not without any concrete proof.
The possibility of killing her, of destroying any chance of saving her, was a risk I wasn’t willing to take. So, after hesitating for a few seconds, I limited myself to lightly touching her and decided to do nothing more. After all, I didn’t even fully understand what that state meant, nor whether she was still conscious on some level.
Victor, noticing my decision, turned his gaze back to his sister. His eyes, which had once held a fragile spark of hope, became dull, almost lifeless. It was as if the small flame keeping him standing had been snuffed out right before him, leaving only a silent void. My eyes returned to Victor once more, lingering on his rigid, silent profile.
I wanted to say something—anything—to comfort him, but I knew it would be pointless. First, because no words seemed sufficient to lighten the burden he carried; second, because being comforted by someone like me, an anomaly, something that in a way resembled what had left his sister in that state, would probably be the last thing Victor wanted at that moment.
In the end, after reflecting for a few minutes, I came to a single conclusion: I needed to see everything with my own eyes. I had to follow exactly the same steps she did, reliving that path step by step. If I could find the anomaly responsible for all of this—and destroy it—maybe, just maybe, Victor’s sister would have a chance to return to normal.
Although a part of me considered asking my sisters for help, I decided I would do that only as a last resort. I didn’t want to involve them unless absolutely necessary. At the same time, another strange sensation crept into my mind—something I couldn’t ignore. The membrane around Victor’s sister gave me a peculiar discomfort; there was something familiar about it.
It was as if I had seen it before, at some distant point in my past, but I couldn’t recall when or where. This sense of déjà vu only heightened my unease, but beyond that premonition, I couldn’t think of anything that could really help free her from this state.
In the end, there wasn’t much more I could do besides that, not if I truly wanted to help her. If I intended to find the anomaly responsible for leaving Victor’s sister in that state, I needed to understand exactly what had happened—every detail, every second.
I took a deep breath, forcing my mind to calm, and then projected the question directly into Victor’s mind. My mental voice sounded firm: (What exactly happened to her? How did she end up like this?)
When my words echoed, Victor took a moment to respond. The silence that followed seemed to stretch longer than it should, and for a moment I wondered if he would simply ignore my question. I could see on his face that he was thinking, perhaps reliving something he would have preferred to leave buried.
Finally, his voice cut through the air, low and weighted with an old exhaustion: “I’m not really sure what happened. Even now, when I try to remember, it’s all just as confusing as the day it happened... It was all... so sudden”
He paused long, as if searching for the right words, then continued: “We were both at the park. I was distracted, messing with my phone, when suddenly I felt something... different. First, I noticed that all the sounds had stopped—no conversations, no birds, not even the wind through the leaves. It was like someone had turned off the world”
His eyes narrowed, as if trying to rewind his memory and relive every instant precisely: “When I looked at Sara... she was already like that” His voice faltered, and the hand holding hers trembled visibly: “It was as if time had stopped for her. She looked completely frozen—no breathing, no blinking, no movement. Not eating, not doing anything at all...” He swallowed hard, the sound almost audible in the heavy silence of the room: “And yet, somehow... she seemed alive”
Victor took a deep breath, his jaw rigid as stone, while his words came out in a heavy whisper: “The last thing I remember was looking up at the sky. I don’t even know why I did it... my head felt strange back then, like something was constantly buzzing in the back of my mind. But when I looked up, I saw something”
He paused, his fingers slowly curling as if trying to grasp the memory: “It looked... humanoid” he continued, voice lower still: “but the face... the face was impossible to comprehend. It was like someone had blurred the features with mosaics, distorting everything, like it wasn’t meant to be seen by human eyes”
For a moment, as I listened to Victor’s words, something strange happened—the scene simply appeared in my mind. It wasn’t like the times when you try to imagine something; the feeling was different, much more vivid, as if I were actually there, as if I had been part of that moment.
And then, when Victor uttered the word “mosaics” another memory cut through me like a blade: my other self, the one I had seen in that world where Victor, Rupert, Laura, and Emily... died.
Wasn’t his face covered in mosaics? The memory hit me like a punch to the gut. I felt a strange weight in my chest, a discomfort that made me swallow hard: (It’s not possible... right?)
Previous Chapter

Chapter List

Chapter 1 – First Contact [1]
Chapter 2 – First Contact [2]
Chapter 3 – First Contact [3]
Announcement!
Chapter 4 – First Contact [4]
Chapter 5 – First Contact [5]
Chapter 6 – First Contact [6]
Chapter 7 – Outbreak [1]
Chapter 8 – Outbreak [2]
Chapter 9 – Outbreak [3]
Chapter 10 – Outbreak [4]
Chapter 11 – Outbreak [5]
Chapter 12 – Outbreak [6]
Chapter 13 – Adaptation period [1]
Chapter 14 – Adaptation period [2]
Chapter 15 – Adaptation period [3]
Chapter 16 – Adaptation period [4]
Chapter 17 – Adaptation period [5]
Chapter 18 – Threat from the shadows [1]
Chapter 19 – Threat from the shadows [2]
Chapter 20 – Threat from the shadows [3]
Chapter 21 – Threat from the shadows [4]
Chapter 22 – Threat from the shadows [5]
Chapter 23 – Threat from the shadows [6]
Chapter 24 – Threat from the shadows [7]
Chapter 25 – The director’s visit [1]
Chapter 26 – The director’s visit [2]
Chapter 27 – The director’s visit [3]
Chapter 28 – The director’s visit [4]
Chapter 29 – The director’s visit [5]
Chapter 30 – The director’s visit [6]
Chapter 31 – Conducting experiments [1]
Chapter 32 – Conducting experiments [2]
Chapter 33 – Conducting experiments [3]
Chapter 34 – Conducting experiments [4]
Chapter 35 – Conducting experiments [5]
Story recommendation: the new chapter of Anomaly will normally be released at 7pm.
Chapter 36 – Conducting experiments [6]
Chapter 37 – Conducting experiments [7]
Story recommendation: I’m reposting because, last time, the author’s story hadn’t been approved yet.
Chapter 38 – Conducting experiments [8]
Chapter 39 – Conducting experiments [9]
Chapter 40 – Conducting experiments [10]
Chapter 41 – Black Lake [1]
Chapter 42 – Black Lake [2]
Chapter 43 – Black Lake [3]
Chapter 44 – Black Lake [4]
Chapter 45 – Black Lake [5]
Chapter 46 – Black Lake [6]
Chapter 47 – Black Lake [7]
Chapter 48 – Black Lake [8]
Chapter 49 – Black Lake [9]
Chapter 50 – Black Lake [10]
Chapter 51 – Black Lake [11]
Creation of the Discord server
Chapter 52 – Black Lake [12]
Chapter 53 – Black Lake [13]
Chapter 54 – Black Lake [14]
Chapter 55 – Black Lake [15]
Chapter 56 – Black Lake [16]
Chapter 57 – Black Lake [17]
Chapter 58 – Black Lake [18]
Chapter 59 – The call [1]
Chapter 60 – The call [2]
Chapter 61 – The call [3]
Chapter 62 – The call [4]
Chapter 63 – The call [5]
Chapter 64 – The call [6]
Chapter 65 – The call [7]
Chapter 66 – The call [8]
Chapter 67 – The call [9]
Chapter 68 – The call [10]
Chapter 69 – The call [11]
Chapter 70 – The call [12]
Quick update
Chapter 71 – The call [13]
Chapter 72 – The call [14]
Chapter 73 – The call [15]
Chapter 74 – The call [16]
Chapter 75 – The call [17]
Chapter 76 – The call [18]
Chapter 77 – The call [19]
Chapter 78 – The call [20]
Chapter 79 – The call [21]
Chapter 80 – The call [22]
Chapter 81 – The call [23]
Chapter 82 – The call [24]
Chapter 83 – The call [25]
Chapter 84 – The call [26]
Chapter 85 – Storm [1]
Chapter 86 – Storm [2]
Chapter 87 – Storm [3]
Chapter 88 – Storm [4]
Chapter 89 – Storm [5]
Chapter 90 – Storm [6]
Chapter 91 – Storm [7]
Chapter 92 – Storm [8]
Chapter 93 – Storm [9]
Chapter 94 – Storm [10]
Chapter 95 – Storm [11]
Chapter 96 – Storm [12]
Chapter 97 – Storm [13]
Chapter 98 – Storm [14]
Chapter 99 – Storm [15]
Chapter 100 – Storm [16]
Chapter 101 – Storm [17]
Chapter 102 – Storm [18]
Chapter 103 – Storm [19]
Chapter 104 – Interludio – A little chat
Chapter 105 – Something called Life [1]
Chapter 106 – Something called Life [2]
Chapter 107 – Something called Life [3]
Chapter 108 – Something called Life [4]
Chapter 109 – Something called Life [5]
Chapter 110 – Something called Life [6]
Chapter 111 – Something called Life [7]
Chapter 112 – Something called Life [8]
Chapter 113 – Something called Life [9]
Chapter 114 – Something called Life [10]
Chapter 115 – Something called Life [11]
Chapter 116 – Something called Life [12]
Chapter 117 – Something called Life [13]
Chapter 118 – Something called Life [14]
Anomaly
Chapter 119 – Something called Life [15]
Chapter 120 – Something called Life [16]
Chapter 121 – Something called Life [17]
Chapter 122 – Something called Life [18]
Chapter 123 – Something called Life [19]
Chapter 124 – Something called Life [20]
Chapter 125 – Something called Life [21]
Chapter 126 – Something called Life [22]
Chapter 127 – Something called Life [23]
Chapter 128 – Something called Life [24]
Chapter 129 – Something called Life [25]
Chapter 130 – Something called Life [26]
Chapter 131 – Something called Life [27]
Chapter 132 – Something called Life [28]
Chapter 133 – Something called Life [29]
Chapter 134 – Something called Life [30]
Chapter 135 – interlude – Hidden intentions
Chapter 136 – Inside the mist [1]
Chapter 137 – Inside the mist [2]
Chapter 138 – Inside the mist [3]
Chapter 139 – Inside the mist [4]
Chapter 140 – Inside the mist [5]
Chapter 141 – Inside the mist [6]
Chapter 142 – Inside the mist [7]
Chapter 143 – Inside the mist [8]
Chapter 144 – Inside the mist [9]
Chapter 145 – Inside the mist [10]
Chapter 146 – Inside the mist [11]
Chapter 147 – Inside the mist [12]
Chapter 148 – Inside the mist [13]
SPECIAL PROMOTION ON PATREON!
Chapter 149 – Inside the mist [14]
Chapter 150 – Inside the mist [15]
Chapter 151 – Inside the mist [16]
Chapter 152 – Inside the mist [17]
Chapter 153 – Inside the mist [18]
Chapter 154 – Inside the mist [19]
Chapter 155 – Inside the mist [20]
Chapter 156 – Inside the mist [21]
Chapter 157 – Inside the mist [22]
Chapter 158 – Inside the mist [23]
Chapter 159 – Inside the mist [24]
Chapter 160 – When logic escapes [1]
Chapter 161 – When logic escapes [2]
Chapter 162 – When logic escapes [3]
Chapter 163 – When logic escapes [4]
Chapter 164 – When logic escapes [5]
Chapter 165 – When logic escapes [6]
Chapter 166 – When logic escapes [7]
Chapter 167 – When logic escapes [8]
Chapter 168 – When logic escapes [9]
Chapter 169 – When logic escapes [10]
Chapter 170 – When logic escapes [11]
Chapter 171 – When logic escapes [12]
Chapter 172 – When logic escapes [13]
Chapter 173 – When logic escapes [14]
Chapter 174 – When logic escapes [15]
Chapter 175 – When logic escapes [16]
Chapter 176 – When logic escapes [17]
Chapter 177 – When logic escapes [18]
Chapter 178 – When logic escapes [19]
Chapter 179 – When logic escapes [20]
Chapter 180 – When logic escapes [21]
Chapter 181 – The Burden of Remembering [1]
Chapter 182 – The Burden of Remembering [2]
Chapter 183 – The Burden of Remembering [3]
Chapter 184 – The Burden of Remembering [4]
Chapter 185 – The Burden of Remembering [5]
Chapter 186 – The Burden of Remembering [6]
Chapter 187 – The Burden of Remembering [7]
Chapter 188 – The Burden of Remembering [8]
Chapter 189 – The Burden of Remembering [9]
Chapter 190 – The Burden of Remembering [10]
Chapter 191 – The Burden of Remembering [11]
Chapter 192 – The Burden of Remembering [12]
Chapter 193 – The Burden of Remembering [13]
Chapter 194 – The Burden of Remembering [14]
Chapter 195 – The Burden of Remembering [15]
Chapter 196 – The Burden of Remembering [16]
Chapter 197 – The Burden of Remembering [17]
Chapter 198 – The Burden of Remembering [18]
Chapter 199 – The Burden of Remembering [19]
Chapter 200 – The Burden of Remembering [20]
Chapter 201 – The Burden of Remembering [21]
Chapter 202 – The Burden of Remembering [22]
Chapter 203 – The Burden of Remembering [23]
Chapter 204 – The Burden of Remembering [24]
Chapter 205 – The Burden of Remembering [25]
Chapter 206 – The Burden of Remembering [26]
Chapter 207 – The Burden of Remembering [27]
Chapter 208 – The Burden of Remembering [28]
Chapter 209 – The Burden of Remembering [29]
Chapter 210 – The Burden of Remembering [30]
Chapter 211 – The Burden of Remembering [31]
Chapter 212 – The Burden of Remembering [32]
Chapter 213 – The Burden of Remembering [33]
Chapter 214 – The Burden of Remembering [34]
Chapter 215 – The Burden of Remembering [35]
Chapter 216 – The Burden of Remembering [36]
Chapter 217 – The Burden of Remembering [37]
Chapter 218 – The Burden of Remembering [38]
Chapter 219 – The entity of pride [1]
Chapter 220 – The entity of pride [2]
Chapter 221 – The entity of pride [3]
Chapter 222 – The entity of pride [4]
Chapter 223 – The entity of pride [5]
Chapter 224 – The entity of pride [6]
Chapter 225 – The entity of pride [7]
Chapter 226 – The entity of pride [8]
Chapter 227 – The entity of pride [9]
Chapter 228 – The entity of pride [10]
Chapter 229 – The entity of pride [11]
Chapter 230 – The entity of pride [12]
Chapter 231 – The entity of pride [13]
Chapter 232 – The entity of pride [14]
Chapter 233 – The entity of pride [15]
Chapter 234 – The entity of pride [16]
Chapter 235 – The entity of pride [17]
Chapter 236 – The entity of pride [18]
Chapter 237 – The entity of pride [19]
Chapter 238 – The entity of pride [20]
Chapter 239 – The entity of pride [21]
Chapter 240 – The entity of pride [22]
Chapter 241 – The entity of pride [23]
Chapter 242 – The entity of pride [24]
Chapter 243 – The entity of pride [25]
Chapter 244 – Timeless State [1]
Chapter 245 – Timeless State [2]
Chapter 246 – Timeless State [3]
Chapter 247 – Timeless State [4]
Chapter 248 – Timeless State [5]
Chapter 249 – Timeless State [6]
Chapter 250 – Timeless State [7]
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