Mana Anomalies are a phenomenon that first appeared after the Second Cataclysm. Even now scientists don't fully understand how or why they form. One thing is certain: an anomaly can be either a blessing or a curse. They are the direct consequence of the world's fundamental structure being rewritten when mana flooded into our reality and began warping space and time itself.
Most commonly, anomalies create dungeons — rifts into other worlds teeming with monsters or hiding ancient artifacts. Exploring them can yield rare resources, lost knowledge, even entirely new branches of magic.
Far less frequently, anomalies rip terrifying beings straight out of other dimensions and dump them into ours. Such invasions almost always end in catastrophe unless they're stopped quickly. There have even been documented cases where the things that stepped through weren't only monsters… but humans. Or at least things that had once been human.
The rarest and most mysterious anomalies don't summon creatures at all. They rewrite reality itself. Entire new geographical features appear overnight: the Blazing Isles that rose from the ocean after the Second Cataclysm, or the Whispering Forest where the trees speak in forgotten tongues. Some of these places become priceless research sites. Others turn into forbidden exclusion zones that even high-rank awakened avoid like the plague.
Back in school they drilled it into us: no one knows the true cause of anomalies, but on average they bring about as much harm as they do benefit. While scientists keep arguing whether anomalies are random chaos or part of some unfathomable design, ordinary people — and even the awakened — simply learn to survive in a world where they happen.
"Аглянур интес?"
What language is that? Is he asking me something? flashed through my mind.
The answer left my mouth before my brain could catch up:
"Huh?"
The crushing pressure that had paralyzed me vanished instantly, as if it had never existed.
I barely had time to suck in a shaky breath before I heard metal clink — the shackles around the stranger's wrists knocking together. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and a slow, sinister smile spread across his face.
The sirens screamed again, louder this time:
"ATTENTION! ANOMALY DETECTED. RETURN HOME IMMEDIATELY!"
You bastards! Why the hell do you warn us so late?! I very nearly shouted it out loud.
The stranger pointed one finger lazily toward the sky.
"Hey, kid. This is Earth, right?"
The question jolted me out of my freeze. I looked at him again and nodded quickly.
"Y-yes, sir! This is Earth!"
His grin stretched wider. The silver in his eyes flared brighter.
"Excellent… Haha… Hahahaha!" He threw his head back and laughed, slowly turning in place, taking in the street. "Simply perfect. No doubt about it. This is definitely Earth."
Then his gaze snapped back to me.
"So… good. What year is it now? And which number was the last Cataclysm?"
I tried to keep my voice as polite and steady as possible. His mere presence screamed that he could end me in an instant if he felt like it.
"Year 2218, sir! The Third Cataclysm was forty years ago!"
"I see…" He nodded thoughtfully. "Then tell me, how many people do you know of at the momen—"
A sharp, authoritative voice cut him off from the other side of the street:
"I, Krion Itlas, Gold-rank Hero, declare a state of extreme emergency! Everyone, clear the streets immediately!"
Golden enchanted patches glowed brightly on his uniform — the unmistakable mark of a Gold-rank Hero. He wasn't just awakened. He was a Gold-rank Hero. Which almost certainly meant his core had reached the Enlightened stage.
Salvation! my heart lurched with sudden hope.
He started walking toward us, one hand raised in a calming gesture.
"An anomaly has been detected in this district. Please return to your homes at once!"
Yes! Hero! Please, help me! Stop this monster!
But in that exact moment something unthinkable happened.
The man from the portal lowered his hand from his chin. Casually, almost lazily, he lifted it again… and snapped his fingers.
"I don't like being interrupted," he said, voice suddenly cold as winter steel.
A sharp whistle.
Shhhhk—
A deafening thunderclap ripped through the air straight toward the hero.
An air projectile — the size of a basketball — tore forward like a cannon shell. Everything in its path simply ceased to exist. The upper half of Krion Itlas's body exploded in a wet, crimson burst. Guts, shattered bone fragments, and pieces of enchanted armor splattered across the pavement in a grotesque arc. His legs remained upright for one stupid, impossible second… then collapsed.
He… with one snap… killed an Enlightened…
My whole body started shaking uncontrollably. Goosebumps raced across my skin like icy needles. The taste in my mouth turned bitter — pure terror.
There are five known stages of mana core development. That's why, over time, the awakened community started dividing people into clear ranks:
— Awakened — Enlightened — Advanced — Transcendent — Archon
Almost nothing is known about Archons. There are none among humans — at least none that anyone's ever confirmed. But among the other races? They definitely exist.
Killing an Enlightened with a single snap of the fingers… Until that moment I hadn't even considered it possible.
What the hell just happened? Why did he kill him? What for? Am I next?
He turned to face me again.
"Where were we? Ah, right… Archons. Do you know of even one human at Archon rank?"
I barely held back the sob clawing up my throat. There was only one way to survive this: obey every single word he said.
Fuck… I'm completely screwed. He's at least Transcendent. Maybe worse.
"N-none, sir!" I forced out, voice cracking.
He raised an eyebrow, rubbed his chin again, looking genuinely surprised.
"Hm. Interesting…" He nodded slowly, then his silver gaze dropped to my hand. "And what's that you're holding?"
I looked down. The ice cream. Still there. Melting all over my fingers.
"Th-this… it's ice cream, sir. It's… really good!"
"Hand it over. I've never tried anything like it."
"Of course, sir!"
I extended it toward him with both hands, polite as I could manage, then took two careful steps back.
He took a slow, deliberate bite. A faint silver shimmer passed through his eyes.
"Mmm… This is definitely the best thing I've eaten in a very long time."
Then, without another word, he turned and started walking down the empty street. The chains on his body clinked rhythmically with every step.
I stayed rooted to the spot. Didn't dare move a millimeter.
He's… leaving?
Suddenly he stopped. The chains went silent.
"What are you standing there for?" He glanced back over his shoulder. "You're coming with me."
"Y-yes, sir!"
We walked in silence down the deserted street, nothing but distant sirens and the soft metallic jingle of his shackles filling the air. A couple of minutes later, a child's wail cut through the quiet.
"Waaah! Mommyyy!"
"Shh, sweetheart, I'm right here. It's okay. Don't cry, we're going home now, alright?"
Ahead of us, right in our path, stood a woman kneeling on the pavement. A little girl was sobbing in her arms. They must have gotten separated in the panic of the alert and only just found each other.
For a split second, relief washed over me. They'll just go home now, right? They'll be fine…
But fate had other plans.
He stopped in front of them. I froze behind him.
The woman noticed us immediately. She shot to her feet, clutching her daughter tightly to her chest, and spoke with the strained, nervous politeness of someone trying not to provoke a wild animal.
"I-I'm so sorry! You must be awakened… We didn't manage to get home in time, but we're heading there right now, I swear!"
"Mommy, I'm scared…"
"It's okay, baby," she whispered, then lifted pleading eyes to the man. "We'll leave immediately. Please… forgive us."
"Who gave you permission to leave?" he asked, calm, almost conversational.
"Wh-what…?" All the color drained from her face.
She understood. In that instant she understood exactly who — or what — she was facing. Someone beyond reason. Someone who decided who lived and who died. And right now he was looking at them the way you look at a coin you're about to flip: heads they live, tails they don't.
"Alright," he drawled, scratching his chin again. "I'll spare one of you. You… or your daughter. Choose."
Time stopped. Even the sirens seemed to fade into the background.
"W-what…?" she breathed, barely audible.
I stood there paralyzed. I wanted to scream that this was insane, that he couldn't do this, that it wasn't right… But I was terrified. Completely, gut-wrenchingly terrified.
He released a brief pulse of pressure. My legs buckled; I dropped to one knee. The woman and the girl collapsed onto the asphalt.
"Argh… Please…" Her voice shook so badly she could hardly form words. "Take me. Spare my daughter. Please."
I saw it in her eyes. Not just panic — resolve. The kind of resolve you only see in people who've already made peace with dying. Who are willing to die. For something bigger.
She pulled the girl close, stroked her cheek, kissed her forehead, and whispered:
"I love you. Daddy will come soon, he'll take you home, okay…?"
Then she stood. Shaky, unsteady, but she stood.
Snap.
I don't know what exactly happened. It was over in a fraction of a second. Space above her simply… compressed. I heard the sickening crunch of bone, a wet burst — and then nothing.
I squeezed my eyes shut. I didn't want to see it. But I still saw it. The moment she said goodbye to her daughter burned itself into my mind forever. I would give anything to forget it. I never will.
If I survive this… I'll tell someone. I'll find her husband. I'll tell him what she did. It's the least I can do…
But when I finally opened my eyes — the girl was gone.
Only a small child's jacket remained. Bloodstains. And fine white ash drifting slowly down onto the pavement.
"…"
"Oops!" he said with a strange, almost playful lilt. "I'm not used to the mana density on this planet yet. Ah well, no matter. Let's go."
I swallowed hard, throat too tight to speak.
"Y-yes, sir…"
We kept walking. I followed him like a shadow. Despair was the only thing left inside me.
Every time my shoe touched the remains of two human beings, all I could do was silently curse the people who were supposed to protect us.
Where the hell are you, heroes? Why hasn't a single one of you shown up? What the fuck?! You call yourselves heroes? You're just clowns in fancy costumes. I… I'm going to hate you until the day I get answers. And even after that…
"What possible excuse could you have? I don't get it. I don't want to get it. Just come. Come and stop him…"
The chains clinked in the sudden silence.
He stopped. Turned to face me. I stopped too. He was still finishing the ice cream.
I realized we'd already walked far enough. The traces of that nightmare were almost out of sight. Almost.
"Don't twitch."
He placed his hand on top of my head.
Whoosh.
…and the world vanished.
Everything around me simply dissolved. The air yanked me forward, my guts twisted into a hard knot, ears popped and rang. I lost all sense of up or down. The ground disappeared from under my feet and I was hurled forward — into nothing.
When solid surface slammed back into existence beneath me, my legs gave out instantly. I dropped hard onto my knees.
My insides flipped. It felt like someone had taken me apart piece by piece and slapped me back together wrong. My heart was hammering so violently I thought it would crack ribs. My skull buzzed like a struck bell.
I clawed at the concrete with both hands and sucked in deep, ragged breaths, fighting the urge to vomit everything I'd ever eaten.
"Don't worry," his voice came from above, calm as ever. "Just a little side effect of teleportation."
I lifted my head.
We were on the roof of one of the tallest buildings in the city. The entire skyline stretched out below us like a toy model someone had left under moonlight. Buildings, streets, tiny warm lights in the windows. In that eerie, dead stillness, it was somehow more terrifying than the blood-soaked street we'd left behind.
He stood right beside me, casually finishing the last bite of ice cream, wearing that same horrifying, almost kindly smile.
"Hey, kid. What's your name?"
Still breathing hard, I forced myself upright. My legs shook like they belonged to someone else, but I managed to stay on my feet.
"Lycarontes, sir."
"Interesting…" he murmured, almost to himself. "Maybe fate has a sense of humor after all."
He fell quiet for a moment, as though turning something over in his mind. Then he spoke again:
"What do you think of me?"
The question hit like a slap. I didn't have time to think. The answer just fell out of my mouth.
"You're a fucking lunatic, sir!"
For a fraction of a second I regretted not lying. But he only laughed — loud, genuine, delighted.
"Hahaha… Good. Very good. I like that you answered honestly. You've got balls, Lycarontes."
He narrowed his eyes for a heartbeat.
"But tell me… why exactly do you think I'm insane?"
Shit. He can probably smell lies…
"You killed two people and a child for no reason, sir!"
"Hm." He tilted his head. "I'm not sure I follow your reasoning."
Is he completely fucking deranged…?
"Why would I need a reason to kill someone?" He gave a small, almost gentle shrug. "If anything, it's the other way around. I need a reason to let someone live."
He shook his head lightly and flashed that wide — almost cheerful — smile again.
"Don't think about it too hard. Truth is, they would've died soon anyway. Most likely…"
What the hell is he even talking about…?