The Anomaly's Path

My boots slid a few more inches across the hard, frozen stone as the dark spots in my vision slowly started to clear. The heavy, dead silence of this big yard pressed down on my ears, replacing the loud ringing of the balcony we had just escaped.

I threw my head back against the jagged rock wall we had slid against, huffing violently as the first proper breath of air filled into my lungs. My chest burned like I was swallowing hot glass.

The mental strain from that blind space jump felt like a needle driving through my skull, making my vision dance with a dull, throbbing pain.

I blinked through the haze and turned my head to look beside me.

”Malva,” I said, my voice rough and cracking. ”...You okay?”

She was leaning hard against the frozen stone next to me, her breathing just as ragged and shallow. Her uniform was torn, smudged with dirt and frost. Being only Elite Low, she looked completely spent after hours of burning through her small mana pool.

”I’m... okay,” she managed to say, her knuckles whitening as her shaking grip tightened on the hilt of her sword to steady herself.

I forced my trembling legs to lock, pushing myself up from the freezing floor. My joints popped in protest, but I reached out, offering her a hand. ”Can... you get up?”

She stared at my hand for a second before taking it, letting me pull her up. She huffed, wiping a fresh streak of dirt from her pale cheek, her chest still heaving from the effort of our escape.

Once she was steady, I finally turned my head to look around, properly taking in the big, old, wide-open courtyard square we had dropped ourselves into.

The space was huge, frozen solid and wrapped in a heavy silence that made the hairs on my neck stand up.

All around the edges stood giant blue ice pillars, so tall they seemed to hold up the dark ceiling above. It was beautiful in a cold, empty way — the ancient blue shapes catching the dim light of the Gate and spreading it across the frost like quiet monuments.

”...Well, at least we got away from the crowd,” I said, starting to walk forward. My boots crunched softly against the ice.

Yet, even through the thick stone walls separating this yard from the rest of the ruins, my Instinct caught the faint, distant sounds of clashing steel and muffled explosions from the upper halls. The top students were still out there fighting each other.

”Soon they will realize we are gone,” I said, not breaking my stride as I kept my eyes on the blue pillars. ”They are going to clear that wave and follow us down here. We have to beat the boss and take the core before they get here.”

Malva did not answer, her silent, tired footsteps falling perfectly in line behind me.

Suddenly, a slight shift in the cold made me freeze. I snapped my head to the side, my hand instantly flying to the hilt of Tempest.

”Who’s there?” I called out, my voice cutting through the heavy silence.

For a moment, nothing moved. Then, a familiar figure stepped out from the shadow of a huge blue pillar. Standing there casually, completely unfazed by the freezing cold, was Seris. Her eyes locked onto mine, her face giving nothing away.

I blinked. ”...Seris? What the hell are you doing here?”

”...I am your observer,” she said, her voice entirely flat and quiet. ”I followed you.”

I stared at her for a moment, my mind racing. When did she even start following me? Back at the cathedral? Through the portal? Everything had been moving so fast that I hadn’t sensed her at all. It hit me right then — the other teams’ observers were probably not at their spots either.

They were all hiding in the shadows, watching everything play out. I let out a rough sigh, slowly lowering my hand from my sword. ”Right. Just don’t get in the way.”

She gave a tiny, unreadable nod.

But before we could say anything more, a heavy, suffocating pressure dropped over the entire courtyard.

Step.

Step.

The sound of slow, heavy footsteps came from the far end of the square.

The air changed at once. The mana in the room turned thick and heavy, pressing down on us like a physical weight. In an instant, Seris vanished back into the shadows, leaving only Malva and me standing in the open.

My eyes locked onto the far end of the blue pillars as a tall figure slowly came through the freezing fog.

It was nearly ten feet tall, sculpted entirely out of ancient, midnight-black glacial stone that completely absorbed the light around it. On its head sat a jagged crown of blue ice that never melted, and its face was a hollow, dark visor where nothing could be seen except two glowing, slit-like crimson eyes full of malice.

A big cape of freezing mist and fog trailed from its shoulders, freezing the stone floor wherever it stepped. In its big hands, it held a two-handed ice blade, its sharp edge cracking the air around it.

The monster stopped, its red slit-eyes locking onto us. It let out a low sound like grinding ice that made my teeth rattle.

The weight of its power hit me like a hammer. A sharp pain flared behind my eyes as the pressure slammed into my already tired senses, turning my headache into pure pain.

Master High? No... fucking hell.

Helene had warned us the boss would be Master rank. But she didn’t say it would be Master High. This thing was the boss of a Grade 4 Gate, but its strength was equivalent to a Master High rank. For a normal student, this would be a death sentence.

We were running on empty, and this walking disaster was giving off enough energy to suffocate us where we stood. I knew right then, with absolute certainty, that I couldn’t defeat this thing alone unless I bet my entire life, my bloodline, and my fucking fate on the line.

I turned my head slightly to look at Malva. She was completely exhausted, her body slightly trembling. She didn’t show much emotion on the outside — keeping her blank face, but my Soul Perception could feel it.

Deep down, her soul was scared. Not a weak fear of dying, but a heavy dread. Regret. She had things left to do.

”Are... you not scared?” Malva asked suddenly, her eyes fixed on the tall Frost-Monarch, though her words were directed at me. ”Are you not scared that we are going to die here?”

A low chuckle escaped my throat. I couldn’t help it.

”Afraid of death? Me?” I turned my gaze back to the giant black stone emperor. ”I’ve died two times already, Malva. And believe me, each time was worse than the last. When you die twice, you don’t fear it anymore. You embrace it.”

Malva snapped her head toward me, giving me a hard glare. Her look shouted that she thought I had completely lost my damn mind.

My lips twitched into a faint, bitter smirk. It was true, though. I had died back on Earth. And I would have died in that trial too, if Mia hadn’t saved me.

I let out a cough, clearing my throat. ”What about you? Aren’t you afraid we’ll die?”

”No,” she said right away, her voice dropping to a whisper. ”I am not scared of death itself. But... I cannot die here. I still have things left to do.”

I raised an eyebrow. Something left to do? What could it be? I didn’t pry. It wasn’t my business, and right now, we had a much larger problem staring us down.

I gripped my sword, sending a faint, crackling current of black lightning along the dark steel. ”Well, Malva, since neither of us has any intention of dying today... why don’t we just kill him instead?”

A tiny, almost hidden smile tugged at the corner of Malva’s lips. It was gone as fast as it came, her face returning to its cold stone mask. ”You really have lost your mind. But I will follow you.”

”Hold on, did you just smile?” I said, trying to break the heavy tension. ”Damn, here I thought you would shatter if you smiled. Now I am actually scared.”

She frowned, shooting me another sharp look. ”Shut up. You are imagining things.”

I let out a short laugh, easing the heavy mood between us, but inside, my mind was racing. I knew Malva was scared, even if she would not show it. Her body was straining under the pressure. I had dragged her into this mess, and I had no plan to let her die here.

”Let’s go!” I roared.

In a flash of lightning, I moved, turning into a dark blur as I ran across the frozen floor. Malva moved with me, her blade flashing with dark light as she used her Void power to erase the freezing mist around the Monarch’s feet.

We both jumped at the monster at the same time, our blades striking together.

Clang!

The Frost-Monarch did not even move. With a casual, hard swing of its ice blade, it blocked both of our strikes at once.

The force threw us back, the shake rattling the bones in my arms. I slid across the ice, my boots carving deep lines into the frost, managing to dodge a wave of sharp ice spikes that burst from the ground.

Malva recovered fast. Despite her low mana, she lunged forward, her blade cutting an arc through the air. She aimed for the creature’s knee, but the Monarch swung its blade down to meet her steel.

Clash! Clash!

She traded two fast strikes, her small body moving left and right, but the weight behind the monster’s blocks sent shakes through her arms. Seeing her opening close, I rushed back in, pushing my limits.

First Form — Fractured Eclipse!

Using Space and Lightning together, I folded my presence across the courtyard. To the Monarch, it looked like I was existing in multiple places at once, striking from the left, the top, and the back at the same time.

My copies closed in, blades hitting the black stone of its body, leaving small white marks. But the monster was too strong. It did not panic. Its freezing mist exploded outward, a wave of dark power breaking my copies and ending my space loop before I could react.

I felt the heavy end of its blade smash into my shoulder.

Crack!

”Argh!” I gasped, blood spraying from my lips as the force sent me flying across the yard. I crashed hard against the frozen floor, sliding over fifteen feet before spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Through my blurry vision, I looked up just in time to see the Monarch turn toward Malva.

With me down, the creature lunged fast, thrusting its blade at her chest. Malva moved on instinct — she threw her blade up to block, but the force broke her stance. She was pushed back three steps, her boots slipping on the frost.

She surged forward anyway, trying to use her Void power to erase the next strike, but her empty mana pool failed her. The dark light on her blade flickered and died. The Monarch easily got past her guard, its heavy boot snapping out in a hard kick that hit her leg.

Snap!

Malva let out a sharp cry of pain as she was thrown to the floor. Before she could even get away, the big stone hand of the Monarch reached down, grabbing her by the collar. With scary, mechanical strength, the monster slammed her hard against the frozen floor.

Boom!

Blood sprayed from her lips.

The Monarch picked her up again, slamming her down a second time, then a third, treating her like a ragdoll until the ice under her cracked and turned dark red. With a final, careless toss, the monster threw her body hard against the stone wall.

She hit the wall and fell down, her eyes rolling back as she lost consciousness, her sword slipping from her fingers.

I pushed myself up on one shaking arm, my breath coming in rough, bloody gasps. My ribs were broken, my shoulder was screaming in pain, and my mana channels were burning.

Fuck me, I thought, a bitter, dark smile creeping onto my blood-stained lips. I completely underestimated this thing. I thought... I thought maybe I could handle it like this. But this monster isn’t something I can defeat without breaking myself. I was wrong.

The Frost-Monarch slowly turned its tall, midnight-black body back toward me, its red slit-eyes locked onto my shaking form as it raised its blade for the final, killing blow.