[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-anomaly-s-path":3,"chapter-the-anomaly-s-path-the-anomaly-s-path-chapter-158":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Anomaly's Path",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1213090,1582,"Chapter 158: The Space Between Enemies and Brothers","the-anomaly-s-path-chapter-158",158,"\u003Cp>The plaza was a nightmare made of stone and shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air didn’t just feel cold; it felt thick, wet, and heavy, like breathing through a cloth soaked in old blood. Every breath scraped the inside of my throat. The black liquid bubbling up from the stone tiles had risen past our ankles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t water or oil. It was a nasty slime that clung to my boots like tar and hissed whenever it touched my skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just a few minutes ago, the place had been a dead tomb. But as the towering Mind-Concept Guardian broke through its millennia-old stasis, the ceiling had cracked, weeping dust and ancient debris over the hundreds of panicked students trapped below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Down in the center of the ruins, the situation was a total mess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over three hundred candidates — elves, dwarves, and humans, were huddled together like terrified livestock. The group Arthur had gathered over the past few days was completely falling apart. A dwarf with a bloody axe was screaming at his own cousin, his eyes glowing with a creepy purple light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An elf girl had dropped her bow and was clawing at her own face, trying to rip out bad memories. A human boy knelt in the mud, rocking back and forth, praying to a god that wasn’t listening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur stood at the front of them, his golden light flickering like a candle in a hurricane. His sword was raised, and his jaw was clenched so tight the muscles bulged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside Arthur stood Nyra.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her wild amber eyes were darting from the rising sludge to the awakening statue, her claws extended and dripping with dark, corrupted blood. She was growling, her fangs bared as she tried to shake off the heavy pressure slamming into her skull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hold the line!\" Arthur’s shout echoed through the stone pillars, though it lacked its usual perfect clarity. His voice cracked, weighed down by the invisible mental hammers pounding against his mind. \"Form a defensive wall! Don’t let the shadow seep into your cores! If we break formation, the hex will take everyone!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His light flared for a second, pushing back the purple fog. A few candidates tried to straighten up, a shield went up, an arrow was nocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I could see the truth beneath the bravado.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their hands were shaking. Their eyes were wide. And every few seconds, one of them would stumble, or cry out, or turn to look at the person beside them with sudden, terrible suspicion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’re already cracking, I thought, my grip tightening on Tempest.Five minutes. Maybe ten. Then they start killing each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind me, the rest of my group was already moving into position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lyssaria had taken cover behind a broken pillar, her jade-green eyes locked on the fallen candidates, her hands already glowing with pale healing light as she pulled a wounded elf girl out of the black sludge. Caster had his hammer and shield raised, standing guard over her, his stocky frame surprisingly steady despite his earlier panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Riven was crouched on a low stone ledge, his daggers out, his steel-red eyes tracking the purple-eyed puppets that were trying to flank the injured. Cordelia was directing a small cluster of terrified students toward a safer corner, her rapier still in her hand, her royal composure somehow holding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Leo, what’s the plan?\" Amelia asked, sweat dripping down her forehead as she held up her water barrier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Plan?\" Alice snorted from behind us, resting her massive greatsword on her shoulder. \"Since when does Leo have a plan? We’ve been running and fighting for hours. I thought the plan was just ’don’t die’.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The plan...,\" I said, staring at the massive stone figure rising in the center of the plaza, \"is to kill that giant thing before it kills us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Guardian was fully awake now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It stood at least twenty feet tall, a towering figure of black stone carved into the shape of a weeping knight. Its armor was ancient and cracked, covered in moss and vines that hung from its shoulders like a tattered funeral shroud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its helmet had no face, just a smooth, curved surface of black stone that would have been featureless if not for the dark void where a face should have been.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From that void, black tears dripped down its chest in slow, endless streams, thick and viscous, like oil or blood or something in between.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...And its eyes, two points of sickening violet light, were fixed on us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a dry, short breath that was half a laugh and half a sigh and started walking down the stone incline, my boots clicking rhythmically against the stone, a sound that somehow sliced right through the collective screaming of three hundred people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are you completely out of your mind, or did the purple fog finally rot your brain?\" I called out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur snapped his head around. His eyes, usually a bright, flawless gold, were bloodshot and straining. When he saw me walking out of the fog, a chaotic mix of intense relief and immediate, rigid defensiveness crossed his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Leo,\" Arthur breathed, his chest heaving. The golden light radiating from his chest plate was flickering like a wet candle in a gale. \"We need to defend the students. If we don’t set up a perimeter right now—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you set up a perimeter, you’re building a very nice, very organized graveyard. Look at them, the students are breaking, Arthur,\" I called out. \"If you keep them here, they’re going to turn. Pull them back!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur’s jaw tightened so hard a small muscle jumped in his cheek. The familiar, deep-seated irritation flared through his exhaustion. \"I’m not leaving them! I spent days dragging these people out of the forest. I can protect them!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My lips curling into a small, cold sneer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With what?\" I gestured at his flickering light. \"That weak little glow you’re calling mana? You’re running on empty, hero. You want to play the savior? Fine. But use your head, not your pride. We don’t fight a mind-type boss with tired troops.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he could argue, the Guardian raised its massive arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound echoed through the ruins like a thunderclap, shaking the stones beneath our feet and sending cracks spiderwebbing across the plaza floor. The black liquid at our ankles surged, rising to our knees, and from the bubbling surface, dozens of jagged spears made of shadow and solidified grief rose into the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>SKREEEEEECH!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then came the scream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An agonizing, high-pitched wail tore through the air. It wasn’t a sound for the ears; it slammed directly into the soul cores of everyone present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My knees buckled. Blood trickled from my nose. The terrible whispers in my head suddenly grew incredibly loud, showing me horrible visions of my family dying in the dark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roran’s head rolling across the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mia’s hand slipping from my cheek.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The children crying in the dark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Leo!\" Amelia’s voice cut through the fog. Her hand grabbed my arm, her water barrier pulsing, pushing back the whispers. \"Snap out of it!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind Arthur, dozens of students dropped instantly to their knees, clutching their heads, bright red blood leaking from their noses as the mental assault shattered their defensive barriers. Even Arthur staggered, his vision blurring as the shadows around the Guardian began to twist into the shapes of screaming, faceless corpses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shook my head hard to clear the fog. \"We don’t have time for this,\" I muttered. I turned to my group. \"Alice, Nyra, Riven — you’re with the princess. Get those students out of the plaza. Form a perimeter around the arches. Don’t let the small fry breach the rear.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nyra’s wolf ears twitched. She was standing closer to Arthur’s group than mine, she had been fighting beside him for days, not with me. She nodded once, her amber eyes hard, and moved to Arthur’s side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alice, don’t do anything stupid,\" I added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alice grinned, hefting her massive greatsword onto her shoulder. \"Boss, I’m offended. When have I ever done anything stupid?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Every day since I met you and stop calling me boss! I’m getting goose bumps.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Okay, okay. I’ll do nothing stupid... boss.\" she said with a sarcasm just to annoy me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Caster, keep scanning. Tell us if anything else wakes up. And keep that shield up, we’ll need you on the front line if things get worse. \"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Caster nodded frantically, his fingers already flying across his holographic display. \"I... I will try, but the mana density is—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know. Just do your best.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked back at Arthur. His light was still flickering, but his jaw was set, and his sword was raised. His people were falling apart behind him, but he hadn’t moved. He was waiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For what?I thought.For me to save him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Arthur,\" I said, my voice flat. \"You take the left flank. I’ll take the right. We hit it at the same time, from both sides. Don’t try to be a hero. Just keep it busy until I can get close enough to cut its core.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur’s golden eyes narrowed. \"And how do you know where its core is?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because I actually read books, Arthur. Family records, old history.\" That was a lie, but he didn’t need to know that. \"I actually prepare before walking into a death trap.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue. He just nodded, a sharp, curt motion, and turned to his people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Everyone who can still fight, form up on me!\" he shouted, his voice carrying across the plaza. \"We’re going to hit the Guardian from the left. Stay behind my light. Do not let the shadows touch you. If you feel the whispers getting louder, scream. Scream as loud as you can. It helps.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few of the candidates laughed, nervous, shaky sounds, but they moved. They formed a loose formation behind Arthur, their weapons raised, their eyes fixed on the towering stone figure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"GO!\" I shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I launched myself forward, my boots splashing through the black slime, my mana surging. The Guardian brought a massive stone fist down toward Arthur’s group. Arthur moved fast. His golden light exploded, burning bright and hot as he caught the giant stone fist directly on his blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The impact sent a shockwave rippling across the plaza. Arthur’s boots skidded back, leaving grooves in the stone, but he held. His arms were shaking, his face was pale, but he held.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"NOW!\" he roared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was already underneath it. Tempest cut through the air, black lightning crackling along the blade, and I drove it straight into the Guardian’s knee. The stone cracked and black blood, or something like blood, sprayed across my face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Guardian stumbled, its weight shifting, and Arthur used the opening to push its fist aside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A shadow spear flew toward my back, but before it could touch me, Riven’s dagger knocked it off course. He was already moving to my flank, his steel-red eyes blazing. \"Focus on the big one. I’ll cover you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearby, Caster slammed his hammer into a crawling shadow creature, his shield deflecting a spray of black liquid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lyssaria was pulling a bleeding candidate behind a stone pillar, her healing magic already knitting the wound in his shoulder. Cordelia was slashing through a puppet’s weapon with her rapier, shouting orders to the surviving students to fall back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fight was chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur and I moved around the Guardian like two wolves circling a bear, striking at its legs, its arms, its cracked stone armor. His light burned away the shadows that tried to cling to us. My lightning cracked the stone where his sword could not reach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Guardian was not falling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every crack we made, every chunk of stone we carved from its body, seemed to heal within seconds. The black liquid seeping from the ground rose higher, wrapping around its legs, filling the gaps in its armor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s regenerating!\" Arthur shouted, parrying a swing of the Guardian’s massive fist. \"We need to hit it harder!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s not regenerating!\" I yelled back, dodging a spray of shadow spears. \"It’s drawing power from the statue! The deeper we go, the stronger it gets! We need to end this fast!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then how?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t have an answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two of us stood shoulder-to-shoulder. Our breathing was heavy, and the unique auras clashing — one a radiant, stubborn gold, the other a chaotic storm of black, purple, and pale lightning. We didn’t trust each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We didn’t even like each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as the Guardian raised both its giant stone fists to crush the entire plaza, we both knew there was only one way to survive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Fine,\" Arthur hissed, lowering his center of gravity as his sword channeled a concentrated, piercing beam of pure light. \"I’ll clear the path. You cut the core.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t miss,\" I muttered, my fingers shifting into a high-speed draw-stance, the air around Tempest beginning to scream under the pressure of my compressed mana.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We were just about to sprint forward when a completely different sound tore through the cavern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t come from the Guardian. It came from the far eastern wall of the ruins — the exact direction leading to the deeper mountain passes. The stone wall literally exploded outward in a shower of boulders and dust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...And through the smoke, a booming, wild laugh echoed over the sounds of the battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"HAHAHA! Did we miss the party?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Out of the collapsing wall leaped Roan, his spear slung over his shoulder, his clothes torn and covered in dark, thick fluids.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right beside him, leaping through the debris with an expression of absolute disgust and fury, was Elisabeth von Noctis. Her silver-white hair was wild, and her deep violet eyes were flashing with blood mana.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They weren’t alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tearing through the wall behind them was a massive, terrifying creature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a Grade 5 monster — the exact same giant, multi-eyed spider monster that had been hunting Alice, Julia and the princess earlier in the forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was massive, easily the size of a carriage, its body covered in chitinous armor that gleamed wetly in the purple light. Its legs were long and spindly, jointed in ways that made my skin crawl, and its eyes, too many eyes, were glowing with that same sickening violet light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My face instantly dropped into an expression of pure, unbridled irritation. I stared at the new monster, then at Roan, and then at Elisabeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are you fucking kidding me?!\" I muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elisabeth landed on a raised stone platform, her sword cutting a wide arc through the air to shake off the spider’s webbing. She looked up, her eyes immediately landing on my annoyed face. Her own expression twisted into identical irritation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You... You fucking bastard! It’s all because of you!\" Elisabeth shouted across the plaza, her voice completely losing its usual noble composure. \"Why is it that every time I find a path, you are already at the end of it causing problems?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My fault?!\" I pointed at the two giant monsters. \"How is this my fault?! You brought that giant ass monster to us!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t know yet! But it definitely is!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huh? What are you even talking about? You’re completely crazy!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Can we please focus?!\" Arthur shouted, his light flaring as he struggled against the Guardian. \"There are two of them now!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The giant spider skittered forward, stopping right beside the Guardian. The two massive monsters stood side-by-side, their combined pressure dropping the temperature in the room by another ten degrees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roan let out a rough laugh, wiping a streak of black blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, though his shoulders were visibly trembling from exhaustion. \"...Well, look at this. The whole gang is here. What a beautiful family reunion.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shut up, Roan,\" Elisabeth snapped, though she quickly moved to stand near Arthur and me, her blood mana pulsing weakly around her blade. She was running dangerously low on reserves, her breath shallow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a split second, the four of us stood in a loose line facing the two massive threats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tension between me and Arthur was thick, and the sheer exhaustion rolling off Roan and Elisabeth was obvious. There were a hundred questions, a thousand things that needed to be said after years of separation and broken promises.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as both monsters roared in unison, the sound waves rattling the loose teeth in their mouths, everyone knew there was no time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked at Arthur and he looked back. We didn’t say a single word. We just gave each other a brief, solid nod — the kind of nod shared only by people who knew exactly how the other moved in a ditch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Hey, Roan,\" I called out, my eyes never leaving the monsters. \"You must know who I am by now. We’ll talk about the details later. Can you and the princess handle that oversized spider? Arthur and I will take care of the guardian.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roan grinned, his grip tightening on his spear. \"Handle it? I’ve been running from this ugly bastard for hours. I’m dying to chop its legs off.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good. Don’t die,\" I said with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the next instant, the place erupted into a coordinated storm of violence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the sides and rear, Alice, Nyra, and the remaining healthy vanguards from Arthur’s group moved like a wall of steel, cutting down the small-fry corrupted candidates who were trying to swarm the panicked students.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nyra was a blur of black fur and bloody claws, tearing through the mind-controlled attackers while Alice used her spatial flashes to systematically disarm them without killing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amelia fought beside them, her water spirit swirling around her like a living shield. A whip of clear, rushing water lashed from her staff, knocking three puppets off their feet and sending them crashing into a broken pillar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wasn’t just healing anymore, she was fighting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Riven and Caster held the eastern flank together. Caster’s hammer smashed through a puppet’s shield while Riven’s daggers took out their legs from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lyssaria was running between the wounded, her healing magic barely keeping up, but she didn’t stop. Cordelia was still directing the retreat, her rapier never still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Julia stood behind them, her eyes squeezed shut, her Spatial Pressure stretched thin as a wire. She wasn’t fighting, but she was feeling – every puppet that tried to flank them, every shadow that crept too close. Her whispers guided Riven’s daggers and Caster’s hammer before the enemy even moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the real chaos was happening in the center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roan and Elisabeth moved in perfect, brutal synchronization against the Grade 5 spider.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roan was the shield — he threw his heavy body forward, his spear crashing against the spider’s obsidian armor with a deafening sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every time the spider tried to impale Roan with its razor-sharp legs, Elisabeth appeared like a crimson phantom, her blood-infused steel slicing through the joints, severing two legs within the first thirty seconds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Arthur and I pushed the Guardian to its limits. But its stone skin kept repairing itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our dynamic was terrifyingly efficient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur was pure, unyielding light. He sprinted forward, his sword blazing with golden brilliance that blinded the Guardian’s multiple eyes, disrupting its mental channeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every time the stone statue tried to swing its giant fists to crush him, Arthur met the blow head-on, his golden aura absorbing the impact while creating a perfect, safe path right through the purple sludge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...And right behind that path of gold was me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t waste a single ounce of movement. Using my lightning affinity to accelerate my body to the absolute limit, I moved like a streak of pale black light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every time a stone spike tried to intercept me, a small ripple in space would appear, and I would simply phase right through it, appearing a few feet closer to the target.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’re not doing enough damage!\" Arthur shouted, his breathing ragged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The core, I realized.The same as the Weeping Knight. If I can reach it...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Arthur!\" I shouted. \"I need an opening!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur’s golden eyes met mine. He understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his sword high above his head, and his light exploded outward — not the gentle, warm glow he had been using to protect his people, but something sharper, something hotter. A beam of concentrated gold that slammed into the Guardian’s chest, cracking the stone, exposing the violet light beneath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"NOW!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I threw myself forward. Tempest flashed through the air, black lightning screaming along the blade, and I drove the katana straight into the exposed light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stone core shattered and the violet light flickered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hungry soul flame inside my own body leaped out from the blade and into the wound. The Guardian let out a horrific, agonized scream — but it didn’t sound like a monster. It sounded like a real human.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m sorry, a faint voice whispered inside my head.I couldn’t save them. I couldn’t save anyone...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the light died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Guardian crumbled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its stone body collapsed inward, falling apart piece by piece, until nothing was left but a pile of rubble and dust and the fading echo of a grief that had lasted centuries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost at the exact same time, a massive thud shook the other side of the plaza. Roan’s spear had split the giant spider’s head clean down the middle, sending green fluids splashing across the stone tiles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The battle was over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thick, heavy purple fog began to slowly dissipate, revealing the pale, shivering forms of the three hundred students who had survived the ordeal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence fell over the ancient plaza. The only sound was the heavy, ragged breathing of the four fighters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stood amidst the rubble, Tempest lowered, my chest heaving as the black lightning faded. The whispers in my head finally stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few paces away, Arthur stood, his sword lowered, his face pale and covered in dirt. We stood on opposite sides of the ruins, just staring at each other. The silence between us was incredibly heavy, filled with years of broken friendship, unspoken words and unhealed wounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked at Arthur’s exhausted face, and a flurry of thoughts crossed my mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, I had expected my reunion with Arthur to be a bit more... cinematic? Okay, maybe a bit different. Like, I had expected us to immediately draw swords and try to slaughter each other. We hadn’t spoken in years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ever since the original Leo had turned into a piece of trash, our relationship had been completely shattered. I had always thought I would use Arthur as a stepping stone, the perfect ’hero’ archetype for me to overcome to ensure my own survival in this doomed world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But who would have imagined this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead of fighting each other, we were standing shoulder-to-shoulder, fighting off a horde of monsters together like nothing had changed since we were kids.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had wanted to prove that I was stronger, that I was better, that I was not the failure everyone said I was. I had brought Amelia into my party because I knew she would tell him where I was. I had wanted him to come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had wanted him to see what I had become.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, standing in the rubble of a dead guardian, surrounded by the bodies of unconscious candidates and the lingering stench of black blood, I realized how stupid that was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We weren’t enemies. We never had been.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We were just... broken. Both of us in our own different ways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Leo...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur’s voice was hoarse. He took a step toward me, then stopped, as if he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to come closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the corner of my eye, I saw Amelia standing near Cordelia, her staff lowered, her silver-violet eyes fixed on Arthur. She didn’t move toward him. She just watched, her expression unreadable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before either of us could say a single word to break the tension, a loud, rough laugh shattered the silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roan came walking over, his boots splashing through the green spider fluids. His clothes were a complete disaster, and there was a long, shallow cut dripping blood down his left arm, but his grin was as wide as ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah... that wasn’t easy at all,\" Roan muttered, wiping his brow and leaning heavily on his spear. He looked back at the split corpse of the spider. \"But I told you I’d kill it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glanced at Roan, noting the way the guy’s legs were slightly vibrating from sheer exhaustion. Despite his monstrous strength, Roan had clearly pushed his physical limits to the absolute brink to drag Elisabeth out of that tunnel alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Elf bastard really is a monster in his own right, I thought, my face remaining entirely neutral.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elisabeth walked right past him, her eyes locked on me. \"You. We need to talk.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huh? What talk? And can it wait?\" I asked, completely wiped out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well, it’s going to have to.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elisabeth gnashed her teeth but didn’t push it. Roan looked at the pile of dust, then at me, then at Arthur. \"So,\" he joked, \"are you two going to hug now, or should I start playing some sad violin music?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shut up, Roan,\" Elisabeth said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m just saying—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shut up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roan raised his hands in defeat, still grinning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked back at Arthur and gave him a short, simple nod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded back. It wasn’t a fix to our friendship, but it was an agreement. We had bigger problems to worry about, like the corruption and the thousands of trapped students. We could deal with our past later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A movement from the edge of the plaza caught our attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Emerging from the side corridors were Amelia, Cordelia, and Julia. Their clothes were torn and covered in soot, but they were alive. Julia was leaning on Cordelia for support, her face pale but her eyes clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She gave me a small, tired nod – a silent thank you for still being alive, and a promise that she was still fighting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind them, Lyssaria was supporting a wounded candidate, her healing light still faintly glowing around her fingers. Riven was wiping his daggers clean, his expression unreadable. Caster was checking his radar, his hammer hanging at his side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Arthur saw Amelia, his stoic, rigid posture completely broke. \"Amelia!\" he called out, his voice full of genuine, raw emotion. He dropped his sword into the dirt and rushed forward, throwing his arms around her in a tight, protective hug.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank God. I thought... I thought the fog got to you too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amelia let Arthur hug her, but her body was slightly hesitant. Her eyes, wide and filled with a complex, unreadable emotion, drifted right over Arthur’s shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked directly at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stood there under the dimming lights of the ruins. My face was a perfect, unreadable poker face — totally cold, neutral, and detached, as if the sight of my former fiancée hugging his childhood rival didn’t matter to me in the slightest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t say a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I simply turned my gaze away from them, looking past the weeping pillars toward the massive, dark archway at the very back of the plaza — the path leading directly to the heart of the inner ruins where the true secrets of the exam were hidden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The small fry are taken care of,\" I said, my voice cold and flat as I sheathed Tempest back into its scabbard with a sharp click.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...But we aren’t done yet. The real problem is just through those doors.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",4593,"2026-06-03T14:22:41.050Z",1,"novelbin.me","cc1037676c19c98ca513f6e0fb9fa450e526e2d0217480111bc4c38cd2ffcccd","the-anomaly-s-path-chapter-159","the-anomaly-s-path-chapter-157",174,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-anomaly-s-path-cover.jpg"]