Emily let out a relieved sigh as she noticed the whitish fog that had completely blanketed the canyon’s surroundings finally beginning to thin out. The opaque veil unraveled into faint, drifting strands as the [Angel of Death], accompanied by the anomaly response team, advanced through the narrow rocky passage, their silhouettes at last becoming fully visible.
In the end, that was all Emily could do for them from where she stood, watch, wait, and hope it would be enough. Even so, her mind refused to settle. Emily was curious... intensely curious about the recent incident involving Victor and the [Angel of Death].
She wasn’t complaining about Victor having been saved, on the contrary, she felt genuine relief knowing he was still alive. That didn’t change the fact, however, that the method used to bring him back bordered on the incomprehensible. It was so illogical, so far removed from anything Emily had ever seen, that it could only be described as, at the very least... bizarre.
Victor should have died, no, more than that: Victor did die. Emily, Laura, and everyone else in the room had witnessed the same scene, the exact same instant in which Victor’s body was crushed with no chance of survival. The dull, brutal sound of impact, the violence of it, the silence that followed, none of it left room for doubt.
And yet, it was as if that moment had never existed. The [Angel of Death] appeared before Victor at the very last second, defying logic and the very concept of an ending, wrenching him from death’s grasp. The impossible had unfolded right before their eyes.
Emily tried to come up with countless theories. Many of them could explain something as bizarre as that event, each one more absurd than the last, yet still plausible within that warped world of anomalies they lived in.
Still, no matter how much she thought, something felt off. There was a missing piece, an invisible yet essential detail, something that simply didn’t fit.
That being said, the angelic-looking anomaly present in the room, possibly the only one who fully understood what had happened, remained, as always, utterly useless. Whenever Emily tried to wring any explanation out of her, all she got in return were disjointed murmurs and nonsensical phrases, words that seemed to lead nowhere.
The anomaly, in turn, merely smiled in amusement, as if she found the entire situation hilariously entertaining. Emily felt her fingers itch with anger; she truly wanted to strangle her if she could... assuming, of course, that doing so wouldn’t carry the risk of wiping all of humanity out of existence.
Emily drummed her fingers against the table, the steady rhythm betraying the tension she struggled to contain. On the screen in front of her, the [Angel of Death] and the response team continued pushing through the narrow canyon, the rocky walls closing in around them like jaws. After long moments of cautious progress, an opening finally appeared ahead.
The [Angel of Death] was the first to step out, and the instant her feet crossed the threshold, Emily’s eyes widened in shock. Almost simultaneously, restrained gasps and startled exclamations rippled through the room, shattering the heavy silence as everyone tried to process what they were seeing.
Laura, who had been watching in silence until then, just as absorbed as Emily, let out a sudden exclamation, as if voicing the thought everyone else was likely sharing. Her eyes widened, and with a voice filled with awe and wonder, she whispered in stunned amazement: “Wow... that’s beautiful”
Emily said nothing, merely nodding in agreement, still dazed. The silence around her was absolute, almost reverent. The place stretched out before them, vast and expansive, resembling an enormous, meticulously preserved garden.
The grass, perfectly trimmed, looked soft just from sight alone, and even without touching it, Emily felt strangely certain it would be wonderful to walk across it barefoot, feeling its cool freshness against her skin.
Flowers spread in every direction, countless, lush, each more breathtaking than the last. Their colors were intense, almost unreal, reflecting the light with a peculiar gleam, like precious gemstones. For a moment, Emily thought she might be exaggerating... but she wasn’t.
The longer she looked, the more certain she became: those flowers didn’t just resemble jewels, they were jewels. Rubies, diamonds, sapphires, and countless other gemstones bloomed before her eyes, turning the garden into an unforgettable spectacle.
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Still, the most astonishing sight by far was the colossal tree rising at the garden’s center. Its massive trunk looked as ancient as the world itself, and its leaves shimmered with a rich golden hue, casting a soft light that bathed the entire area.
Among its thick branches, countless offshoots bore fruits of many colors, crimson, blue, emerald, and amber, each one emitting a gentle glow, as beautiful and mesmerizing as the precious gems embedded throughout the garden.
Soft gasps and stunned expressions filled the room as the [Angel of Death] slowly advanced toward the tree. With every step she took, the beauty of the place became even more apparent, the delicate light filtering through the branches, the near-reverent silence, the sense of something ancient and powerful watching them all.
Emily found the place beautiful in a way that words could hardly describe. It was a beauty that reached deep into her soul, awakening admiration and a strange sense of comfort. And yet, as beautiful as it was, it also carried an unsettling aura.
Emily suspected that such perfection came with some kind of hidden danger. All it took was remembering where they were for that feeling to intensify. She simply couldn’t believe that this place, and everything within it, could possibly be normal.
The [Angel of Death] slowed her steps as she approached a gentle hill leading up to the colossal tree, whose ethereal glow illuminated the entire garden around it.
For a brief moment, she raised her hand in a silent gesture, casting a meaningful glance at Victor, Rupert, Arthur, and the rest of the exploration team, as if warning them not to move forward.
The next instant, Emily noticed something shifting behind the massive trunk: a hand slowly emerged from behind the tree, pale and completely still.
She watched the scene with restrained curiosity, trying to make sense of what she was seeing, until a piercing scream echoed behind her, making her body jolt. Startled, Emily spun around at once and spotted one of the scientists staring at the monitors.
Sweat poured down his face in thick drops, his eyes were stretched impossibly wide, and his body trembled uncontrollably, as if he had just come face to face with a ghost, or worse, the manifestation of his deepest nightmare.
Within seconds, similar reactions began spreading throughout the room in a disturbing domino effect. Emily watched it all in silence, her heart racing, overwhelmed by growing confusion, unable to grasp what exactly was unfolding before her eyes.
***
(POV – Protagonist)
I kept sensing my little sister’s presence as I drew closer to the tree; the feeling grew sharper with every step, like a persistent chill crawling up the back of my neck. Everything pointed to her being behind the trunk.
I silently raised my hand, making a firm gesture for Victor, Arthur, Rupert, and the others to stop. Somehow, I knew that if they tried to climb the hill right now... well, it was better not to finish that thought. Let’s just say the outcome wouldn’t be pleasant, for the eyes, or the stomach, of anyone watching.
That said, they all froze at my signal and went on alert. Their gazes swept over the natural beauty of the place, the gemstone-formed flowers reflecting light in iridescent hues, the fresh vegetation exuding an almost comforting sensation, but none of it eased the tension.
There was constant vigilance in their posture, muscles subtly tensed, as if each of them were ready to react the instant something dangerous appeared out of nowhere, trying to kill us.
With that, I turned my attention back to the giant tree. My little sister’s presence still lingered behind it, faint, yet unmistakable, and I was certain she had sensed mine as well. Even so, for some reason, she didn’t come out to meet me.
Personally, I didn’t have many memories tied to Tenebrya yet. My mind failed whenever it tried to reconstruct her image: her face, her expression, even the sound of her voice were nothing more than vague shadows.
Likewise, I had no idea what our relationship used to be like, whether we were close or distant, whether there was genuine affection or merely bonds imposed by blood. All I had were scattered fragments and a strange sense of familiarity.
(Tenebrya? It’s me, your big brother. It’s okay... come here) As I wandered through my thoughts, projecting them toward my little sister, I realized something was wrong. She remained still, her body rigid, her eyes alert.
The group around me seemed to unsettle her. Their presence made her strangely tense, more than that, frightened. The realization caught me off guard.
It didn’t make much sense, at least not to me, considering the virtue from which she had been shaped, born from fear itself. Still, my memories of her were far too scarce for me to be certain of anything.
(It’s okay... they’re friends) I insisted gently, softening my thoughts: (My friends. Our friends. They won’t hurt us. I promise)
There were no words, no voice at all. Even so, as if an invisible sensation passed straight through me, I felt that Tenebrya had accepted my reassurance, that she had chosen to believe me.
First, hands emerged from behind the tree, hands black as pitch, as dark as my Alter Ego, absorbing what little light surrounded them. Then, part of her body revealed itself, equally wrapped in that deep darkness.
I could make out, only to a certain extent, a feminine humanoid shape. Her hair fell to shoulder length, with a few loose strands spilling forward over her face, nearly blending into the shadows. Two small white eyes, like points of light lost in the void, stood out against the absolute darkness, staring back at me with silent curiosity.
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