Anomaly

(POV - ???)

In a silent forest, surrounded by withered trees and dead vegetation, the being stood motionless, its golden eyes with purple pupils fixed on something below. A faint purplish glow passed through its pupils, as if reflecting a deep connection to what it was observing.

Nothing else in the world seemed to matter at that moment. Slowly, the being raised its slender arms, bringing them toward its own face but never diverting its gaze, which remained unwaveringly fixed on the object of its watchfulness.

The being slowly brought its finger closer, gently touching its face. In the next instant, with a light touch, it felt its own skin beneath the fingertip. The movement made its eyes widen in surprise, while at the same time, it tilted its head slightly to the side, overcome by confusion.

Of course, the being wasn't just surprised by touching its own face. The surprise came from the fact that, beneath it, it found another being with the same appearance, making the same gesture. In short, the being had discovered a small stream with crystal-clear water, reflecting its image.

This was something completely new to the being, something it had never witnessed. Where it came from, it was impossible to see even a few inches ahead; all that could be seen was a thick, impenetrable mist of darkness, with no apparent end. So, the idea of encountering something like its own reflection was unthinkable – though, to begin with, the being didn't even know what that meant.

"This is... fun..." the being murmured to itself, as a subtle smile curved the corner of its lips.

This was the first time the being had witnessed something like this. It found the situation extremely intriguing. And for the being, anything that was interesting was also fun. That’s why the being wanted to play with the white, because the white, in its essence, was fun.

Thoughts like these might seem simplistic, maybe even childish, it's true. However, for the person, the small things, like the gentle brush of the wind on their face or the softness of the grass beneath their feet, held a special charm. Simply the fact that there was no endless darkness ahead brought them a genuine, sincere joy, capable of turning every moment into pure fun.

With its eyes still fixed on its reflection in the water, the being suddenly blinked, its attention drawn to something in another direction. Slowly, it turned its gaze behind itself, tilting its head in a gesture that conveyed confusion.

Its eyes briefly settled on a nearby tree but quickly lost interest. Moments later, the being focused its attention on some bushes and trees ahead, where steady and relatively heavy footsteps echoed rhythmically, breaking the silence that had dominated the surroundings just moments before.

With a confused expression, the being blinked softly, its golden eyes shining intensely as the purple pupils emitted a faint, almost imperceptible glow. Its gaze remained fixed on the spot ahead, alert and vigilant, as whatever was there drew closer and closer: (?...)

Between the trees and bushes, something began to move. The being watched closely as an unknown creature appeared in front of it. It was unquestionably much larger than the being, probably three times its size.

Despite something so imposing in front of it, the being felt no fear. In fact, it didn’t even understand what that feeling was. Fear was an experience it had never known, something entirely foreign to its existence. For the being, there was no reason to worry or even acknowledge the relevance of something so abstract.

As the being watched the creature closely, it suddenly rose, lifting itself onto two legs, whereas it had previously been supported on four. This movement caught the being’s attention, as it had never seen something like this.

It was the first time it had encountered such a... peculiar creature, and surprisingly, pleasant to the eyes, unlike many others that always attacked once their gazes met.

The creature began to move its head slowly, as if searching for something. From the being’s perspective, it seemed to hesitate, looking for something around it, until, for a moment, their eyes met.

The being blinked briefly, an automatic gesture, but at the same time, curious. For some reason, the creature seemed to tense up, becoming more cautious in the presence of the being, something the being could clearly perceive.

In the next moment, the being felt a sensation, weak and fleeting, quickly vanishing. However, it was enough for the being to notice that the creature had shown signs of hostile intent.

Despite this, its expression remained unchanged, completely indifferent to the threat. With slow steps, the creature began to approach, its eyes alert to the surroundings as it cautiously moved toward the being.

The being blinked and continued to observe the creature, which was approaching slowly. A few seconds later, they were face to face. The creature, again, stood on two legs, making its immense size appear even larger.

In the next moment, it raised one of its arms. The being blinked briefly and tilted its head slightly to the side in a gesture of curiosity.

With a swift motion, the creature swung its arm toward the being but stopped abruptly just inches away from reaching it. For a moment, the air seemed frozen in time. Then, the creature raised its arm again, but instead of striking as before, it simply lay down on the ground.

Its eyes remained open, fixed on the being in front of it. The being, in turn, stayed alert, gazing directly into the creature's eyes. With a slight gesture of curiosity, it gently tilted its head to the side and let out a small yet kind, fleeting smile.

As if waiting for just that final, simple gesture, the creature gently closed its eyes. A subtle purple gleam crossed its pupils before disappearing completely, leaving them enveloped in deep darkness. The being, unperturbed, simply observed the scene, its face remaining expressionless, showing no emotion.

In the next moment, a glowing orb emerged from the creature, lighting up the surroundings with an intense light. The being’s eyes widened, surprised by what it saw. It was dazzling, a color so vivid it had never seen before, completely different from anything it knew.

Up until now, all the orbs that had been extracted were dark, dense, as if carrying the shadows of malicious intentions. But this glowing orb, with its radiant light, seemed to indicate purity, the absence of malice. For the being, this was confusing, unsettling.

How could something with the intention of killing another being be considered pure? Even so, the situation sparked an unexpected curiosity in it. It was something new, a stimulus it had never witnessed, a completely different orb from all the previous ones.

With a subtle smile at the corner of its lips, the entity's cloak moved with an unsettling fluidity, like a shadow stretching toward the orb. Suddenly, the cloak parted, revealing a deep and dark mouth, an abyss that seemed to absorb all the light around it.

In a quick and precise motion, the mouth devoured the shining orb, making it vanish into the infinite darkness, as if swallowed by an emptiness that left no trace.

In the following moments, the creature slowly succumbed to eternal sleep. Its breath grew weaker and more measured until it ceased completely. The entity, with its cold and indifferent gaze, approached without haste.

Its golden eyes, adorned with faintly glowing purple pupils, fixed on the creature, which now lay still, as though it were merely sleeping.

Slowly, the entity raised its hand, extending it toward the creature. With gentle motions, it began to caress it, almost as if showing compassion. The instant the creature's soul was absorbed, a torrent of memories and emotions flooded the entity.

It could experience every moment of the creature's existence: its birth, the challenges it faced, and the final confrontation between them. And for a brief moment, it felt the deepest emotions the creature carried at its final moment. That was when the entity understood.

Why, even though it tried to attack, was the creature's soul so pure and radiant? So innocent? No, even before that, the entity had witnessed all the deaths caused by the creature.

However, by experiencing what it felt, the entity understood something profound: there was no malice in its actions. More than that, the creature didn’t even understand the concept of malice.@@novelbin@@

The creature didn’t kill for pleasure, but out of necessity. It eliminated other beings because it was necessary for survival, fed on them because there was no other choice.

For the entity, this was deeply contradictory. Never before had it encountered such a paradoxical creature, and it could not even fathom that something like this could exist.

How could something that needed to kill be considered pure? Did that make any sense? This contradiction was both puzzling and intriguing. The entity had not anticipated such an event, which only increased its interest.

Could it be that all beings in this dimension were like that? Free of malice, despite their actions? The entity wanted answers. Maybe the White one knew. After all, the White had been in this dimension much longer than it.

"Language... necessary... speak... converse... with the White..." the entity murmured, its voice distant, as it continued to gently caress the creature.

As the entity stroked the creature, light footsteps echoed through the forest, breaking the silence. However, its indifferent expression remained unchanged, and it did not bother to turn its face.

It already knew there was another presence nearby, besides the recently deceased creature. This was because the entity had the ability to sense any form of life in the vicinity. Of course, at that moment, it focused its perception only on the closest living beings.

The creature slowly approached the spot where the being remained motionless. Finally, the being shifted its gaze toward it, revealing golden eyes that gleamed intensely, with a subtle purple shimmer crossing its pupils. Watching closely, the being noticed the creature's smile, which seemed strangely radiant.

Then, with a reverent gesture, the creature bowed slightly and spoke in a ceremonious tone: "Humbly, I present myself before your presence! She who guides lost souls to their final rest and embodies the very essence of death: Miss Nekra! It is a tremendous honor to finally meet you again, my lady"

Nekra... Yes, that was her name, a name "She" had given her long ago. However, upon hearing her name mentioned, Nekra showed no specific reaction. In fact, it had been so long since anyone had called her that, she could barely remember the last time it happened. The word sounded like a distant echo, carrying with it a strange, almost forgotten feeling that stirred something subtle and dormant within her consciousness.

(You... know my name? How... do you know?) Nekra asked, transmitting her thoughts directly into the creature's mind.

Her words, full of reverence and dedication, seemed to resonate with a sincerity that filled the air. Nekra simply couldn't keep up with the conversation. Why did the creature seem so happy saying those words? Moreover, for some reason, Nekra could feel an intense sense of reverence emanating from the creature in front of her.

Immersed momentarily in his thoughts, Nekra was interrupted by the creature before him. With a wide smile, she responded enthusiastically: "Please, my lady, just call me Eve! I am the apostle of the virtue of death, which means I am your apostle, my lady! Knowing your name is the least I can do, since I follow and revere you"

There was a brief pause before Eve continued, her voice filled with kindness: "Oh, and by the way, I noticed you haven’t fully mastered human speech yet. I hope this conversation helps you better understand our language"

Her words, full of reverence and dedication, seemed to resonate with a sincerity that filled the air. Nekra simply couldn't keep up with the conversation. Why did the creature seem so happy saying those words? Moreover, for some reason, Nekra could feel an intense sense of reverence emanating from the creature in front of her.

Yet, that only seemed to annoy her. Nekra didn’t care about that; all she wanted was to play with the White, as if it was the only thing that really mattered to her.

As Nekra stared at the creature in front of her, she suddenly spoke, as if she had just remembered something important: "Ah! My lady! Allow me to give a quick explanation. You’re probably a bit confused about a few things. First, my race... the people who look like me, in a way, are called humans. You could say we’re the dominant species, ruling over all others in our dimension... well, at least for now"

The creature... human paused briefly before pointing to the other creature lying on the ground, which seemed like it was just taking a nap: "This thing in front of you, we call it a bear" Eve explained: "It’s one of the thousands of species that exist in our dimension" She paused for a moment, searching for the right words before continuing: "But it falls into a category called carnivorous animals. They need to feed on the flesh of other living beings to survive. However, their actions aren’t guided by logical thoughts. They act purely out of necessity"

Nekra blinked briefly, absorbing the explanation. She couldn’t understand why humans felt the need to categorize all creatures. In the end, weren’t they all just creatures? To Nekra, what truly mattered was the essence of the inner soul. And to her, there were only two types: the dark ones and the bright ones.

The dark souls belonged to beings of infinite malice, created to destroy and kill. The bright ones, which Nekra had witnessed moments earlier, were something entirely different—something she was still trying to understand. What, exactly, caused the bright souls to form? Nekra didn't know the answer, but she was determined to find out. The reason for her curiosity was simple, almost instinctual.

The bright, warm, and gentle souls were something Nekra had never experienced before. The light that radiated from them was so intense that, for the first time, she felt what it meant to be "cozy" just as "She" had told her earlier.

Normally, the dark souls were cold and repulsive, as if trapped in an eternal abyss where only coldness existed, a cold that seeped into the bones. If Nekra had to choose between the two, she would undoubtedly choose the warm ones, with their comforting softness and reassuring warmth.