The Anomaly's Path

[Arthur’s POV]

The Nightshade estate was silent under the moonlight.

In the training hall behind us, the remnants of destruction lay scattered across the floor—sparks still flickering from the broken dummy, deep marks carved into the walls from wild swings, blood staining the stone in dark patches that would take hours to clean.

But none of that mattered now.

Outside, on a small wooden bench near the hall’s entrance, two figures sat under the vast night sky.

I leaned back against the bench, my shirt torn and bloodied, fresh bandages wrapped around my arms and chest where Amelia had tended to the worst wounds.

My breathing was still uneven, my body aching in ways I’d long learned to ignore. But right now, the physical pain wasn’t what occupied my mind.

Amelia knelt before me.

She hadn’t said a word since she’d finished bandaging my ribs. Her focus was entirely on my arm now, her fingers moving with practiced precision as she wound the white cloth around a deep gash. Her face was calm, controlled—a perfect mask that revealed nothing of what she was thinking or feeling.

I watched her, my throat tight.

I wanted to say something. Needed to say something. I opened my mouth—then closed it. What could I possibly say? Sorry didn’t cover it. Nothing covered it.

I tried again. The words stuck in my throat like stones.

Amelia didn’t look up. Just kept working, her touch gentle but her silence deafening.

The tension between us was thick enough to cut.

I shifted on the bench, wincing as pain flared through my ribs. Amelia’s hands paused for just a fraction of a second—then continued, her expression unchanged.

Say something, you idiot. Anything.

”I... uh...”

Fuck. What am I even doing?

She still didn’t look up.

I cleared my throat. ”The bandages. They’re... good. You’re good at that.”

Kill me now.

Amelia’s hands stopped. For a moment, she just sat there, perfectly still. Then, slowly, she raised her head and gave me a sharp look that made me want to disappear into the bench.

I kept my head down and said nothing.

Amelia finished bandaging my arm and finally sat back on her heels. For a moment, she just looked at me—those silver-violet eyes searching my face like she was trying to find something she’d lost. Then, without a word, she rose and sat down on the bench beside me.

Not close. But not far either.

The silence stretched between us, heavy and uncomfortable.

I stared at my hands—at the bandages wrapped around my knuckles, at the dried blood still under my nails. I could feel her presence next to me, warm and real, and it made my chest ache in a way that had nothing to do with my injuries.

Neither of us spoke.

Above us, the moon hung full and bright, casting silver light over the Nightshade estate. It was beautiful. Peaceful. Everything that tonight hadn’t been.

I stared at it, not knowing what else to do.

Then, softly, Amelia’s voice broke the silence.

”...I was afraid.”

Her head was low. She wasn’t looking at me.

I turned to her. ”...What?”

”...I was really afraid.” Her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. ”I thought I might lose you too.”

The words hit me like a physical blow.

”Amelia—”

”I watched you in there.” She still wasn’t looking at me. Her hands were clenched in her lap, trembling slightly. ”I watched you fight that thing—bleeding, screaming at nothing, swinging at enemies that weren’t there.” Her voice cracked. ”You didn’t even see me, Arthur. I was standing right there, and you didn’t see me.”

”I’m sorry—”

”Sorry doesn’t bring back the people we lose.” She finally looked up, and her eyes were wet. ”Sorry doesn’t undo what I saw tonight. Sorry doesn’t—”

She stopped, her jaw tightening as she fought to control herself.

I sat there, completely blank, no idea what to say.

Amelia’s composure crumbled.

”...Why?” Her voice rose, raw with emotion. ”Why do you all do this? Why do you all try to carry everything alone? Why do you push and push and push until there’s nothing left?”

”Amelia—”

”Him.” The word came out broken, a sob caught in her throat. ”He did the same thing. He just fell apart, piece by piece, and I watched it happen. I watched my best friend turn into someone I didn’t recognize, and I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t save him.”

Tears streamed down her face now, unchecked and unstoppable.

”And now you.” She turned to face me fully, her silver-violet eyes blazing with pain and frustration. ”You’re doing the same thing. Training until you collapse, fighting nightmares alone, pushing everyone away.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. ”What about me, Arthur? What about what I feel? What about what I want?”

I stared at her, frozen.

She was crying. Really crying. Tears running down her cheeks, her breath coming in ragged gasps, her whole body shaking with the force of everything she’d held inside for so long.

”I already lost him.” Her voice broke on the words. ”I can’t lose you too.”

Something inside me shattered.

I reached for her—but before I could speak, before I could say anything, her fist connected with my chest.

Thump.

Not hard. Not meant to hurt. Just a release.

I blinked, more surprised than pained. ”Ow?”

She hit me again. Softer this time. Then again and again, her fists beating against my chest weakly, desperately, like she was trying to punch through the wall I’d built around myself.

”You idiot.” Her voice was thick with tears. ”You stupid, reckless, impossible idiot. Why do you have to be like this? Why can’t you just stay? Why can’t you just let someone be there for you?”

I caught her wrists gently and held them still.

”I’m sorry,” I said softly. ”I’m so sorry, Amelia.”

She looked up at me. Her face was a mess—tears and anguish and years of fear all spilling out at once—but she was still the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

”I’m not him.” I held her gaze, willing her to believe me. ”I’m not going to disappear. I’m not going to push you away.”

I squeezed her hands.

”I can’t promise I won’t have nightmares. I can’t promise I won’t lose control again. But I can promise—I swear—that I’ll let you be there. That I won’t shut you out.”

She stared at me, her breath hitching.

”...You mean it?”

”I mean it.”

For a long moment, neither of us moved. The moonlight painted us in silver, the night air cool against our skin. I could feel her pulse under my fingers, rapid and alive.

Then, slowly, she leaned forward.

And kissed me.

It was soft at first. Tentative. A question more than an answer—her lips brushing against mine like she was afraid I might shatter, like she was testing whether this was real or just another dream.

My eyes widened.

I kissed her back. Gentle. Careful. Pouring everything I couldn’t say into that single moment—the years of wanting, the fear of losing her, the desperate hope that maybe, just maybe, I deserved something good.

When we pulled apart, both of us were breathing hard. My cheeks burned. Hers were flushed too, her tears still wet on her face but a small, shy smile tugging at her lips.

”That was...” I started.

”Don’t.” She pressed a finger to my lips. ”Don’t ruin it.”

I laughed. A real laugh, light and surprised.

She pulled me closer, resting her head against my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her like she was the only thing keeping me grounded.

”...I love you,” I whispered into her hair. ”I think I’ve loved you since we were kids.”

She was quiet for a moment. Then, softly:

”I know.”

I snorted. ”That’s all I get?”

She tilted her head up to look at me, a hint of that familiar teasing smile breaking through. ”What else do you want?”

”Maybe a ’love you too’?”

”Mmm.” She pretended to think about it. ”I’ll consider it.”

I grinned and kissed her forehead.

Above us, the moon continued its slow arc across the sky, indifferent to the lives changing below.

_

[Leo’s POV]

I stopped mid-swing, my wooden sword frozen in the air.

A strange feeling washed over me—sudden, unexpected, like someone had just walked over my grave. A chill ran down my spine, and for a second, I felt... I don’t know. Something. Like I’d missed something important. Like somewhere, somehow, the universe had shifted and I hadn’t been paying attention.

I looked around the empty training hall.

Nothing.

Just me, the mana-lamps humming softly on the walls, and the shadows lurking in the corners like they were waiting for something.

The feeling lingered. Heavy. Wrong.

[You’re being delusional again, Host.] Nova’s voice cut through my thoughts, dry and unimpressed. [Focus on the present. Your trial is in a few hours.]

I shook my head, trying to clear it. He was right. I didn’t have time for... whatever this was.

”I know,” I muttered. ”Just felt weird for a second.”

[Define ’weird’.]

”Like... I don’t know. Like something happened somewhere and I should know about it but I don’t.”

Nova was silent for a moment.

[That’s the least helpful description you’ve ever given me.]

”Sorry my existential dread isn’t meeting your standards.”

[Existential dread?]

”Figure of speech.”

[You’re stressed, exhausted, and still recovering from nearly frying your brain with Flash Instinct. Your neurons are firing random signals and your brain is interpreting them as... whatever that was.]

”Tch!”

The strange feeling hadn’t completely gone away, but Nova’s familiar sarcasm helped ground me.

I raised my sword and started another set. Forward step, diagonal, sidestep, pivot. The rhythm was coming easier now, my feet finding the patterns without me having to think about every movement.

But that feeling—that strange, unsettling feeling—lingered at the edges of my mind.

Like I’d missed something important. As if somewhere, someone was thinking of... me.

I shook my head and kept swinging. Nova was right. I was tired. Stressed. Probably still recovering from being an idiot.

The trial was in a few hours. I didn’t have time for mysteries.