The Anomaly's Path

”...Did you kill your sister?”

My eyes nearly popped out of my skull. ”Huh?! What?! Why would I—now wait, why is that the first thing you think of?! Why would I kill my own sister?!”

Instead of replying, Seris simply shifted her crimson gaze back down to Sylvia. I followed her line of sight and looked down.

Because I was dragging her by the arm, Sylvia’s head was hanging backward, her long hair sweeping the floor, looking exactly like a fresh corpse being dragged out of a crime scene to be dumped in a river.

My lips twisted in frustration. I let out a weak, tired sigh and looked back at the strange second-year.

”No, I didn’t kill her,” I groaned. ”She just drank too much wine while complaining about you, by the way. Now I’m trying to take her back to her room.”

”Anyway... what are you even doing here, Lady Seris?” I asked, glancing around the empty corridor. ”It’s the middle of the night.”

Without saying a word, Seris pointed toward the heavy door at the far end of the hallway.

”...I live here,” she said flatly.

I froze for a split second as we walked. My mind went blank, then a sudden realization hit me. Oh, right!

The top Primus students of all three years shared this same floor. Seris was the Rank 1 student of the second-year class, so her room was on this floor too. How could I forget that? With all the running around and carrying a deadweight sister, my brain was clearly not working right.

Seris stared at me for another three seconds, then stepped forward without a word. She reached out, took Sylvia’s other arm, and casually hoisted half of her weight onto her own shoulder, helping me balance her.

”I will help,” Seris said simply.

”...Thanks,” I muttered, genuinely relieved.

As we began walking toward the elevators, a quiet silence settled between us, broken only by the steady, rhythmic sound of our boots clicking against the floor.

After a while, Seris spoke quietly, her flat voice echoing faintly in the small space as the elevator doors opened for us. ”You didn’t know she was a bad drinker? After drinking, she just keeps saying the same thing over and over.”

I looked down at the floor numbers as the elevator began its descent. ”...No, I didn’t know about that. In fact, today I realized there are a lot of things I don’t know about her.”

A weak, tired smile touched my lips.

”After my core... I started pushing everyone away. The distance between us grew so big that we basically became strangers living under the same name. But... I’m glad we’re working on the things that were broken. We aren’t exactly close or affectionate, but hey, at least we both are staying alive in our own ways.”

Seris did not say anything for a long moment. Her eyes stayed fixed on the sliding doors before she gave a tiny, almost hidden nod.

”...I see.”

_

We reached the floor just below mine — where Sylvia’s room was located.

The hallway looked remarkably similar to the upper floor, but the air felt a bit more lived-in. Seris walked straight to a heavy door with a silver nameplate, not missing a single step. She reached into Sylvia’s uniform pocket, pulled out her crystal card, and swiped it against the lock.

The door clicked open, revealing a large, clean room filled with white furniture, neat rows of books, and the soft scent of flowers. It was perfectly organized, exactly what you would expect from the Celestial family’s golden daughter.

Together, we pulled her inside and carefully dropped her onto the big bed in the middle of the room. Sylvia groaned a little, rolling over and burying her face in the soft pillows, dead to the world.

I stood by the edge of the bed, rubbing my sore shoulder and letting out a long breath.

Man... she really needs to eat less, I thought, staring at my sister’s passed-out body. I am not even joking. Maybe I should tell Lyra to stop giving her so many sweets and put her on a diet. That Master-tier body weight is a real danger to anyone trying to carry her.

Thinking about sweets made my mind drift somewhere else. My eyes moved away from Sylvia and landed on Seris. The strange second-year was leaning over the bed, pulling the comforter up to Sylvia’s shoulders to tuck her in.

Watching her, a random thought came to me. Wait... doesn’t Seris also eat a lot of sweets? Especially cakes and...

Before I could even finish the thought, a flat, quiet voice cut cleanly through the silence, shattering my thoughts.

”I am not that fat,” Seris said without looking up.

I froze. My breath hitched in my throat. Can this girl literally read minds?!

After smoothing out the blanket with care, Seris finally stood up straight. She turned her head slowly and looked at me with cold, judgmental eyes that made me feel like a criminal.

”And you shouldn’t say anything about a woman’s weight or age,” she added, her voice dropping a little lower. ”That is rude.”

A hot wave of embarrassment hit my face. I coughed loudly into my fist, stepping back a pace. ”Uh, well, I... I didn’t mean it like—”

Grumbleeee.

Before I could desperately dig myself out of the hole, a loud, deep growl erupted from my stomach, echoing through the quiet room like a small clap of thunder.

The embarrassment got worse. I cursed my luck, my life, and my stomach. Fuck, just kill me now. Why does this always happen to me? Then I remembered — I had not eaten a single thing.

I knew how to cook, but right now, I was too lazy, too tired, and too drained to even think about turning on a stove. I could have called Lyra, but I did not want to bother her this late into the night.

Seris stared at my stomach for a solid five seconds. Then, her hand went smoothly into her pocket. She pulled out a small, single square of dark chocolate wrapped in silver foil.

It was the last piece.

I recognized that wrapper instantly. It was the exact same chocolate she had squeezed out of me on orientation day. She had made me hand it over like I was paying protection money just to get my tie fixed. And now she was holding it out to me like some kind of saint?

She extended her hand, offering the small square to me. ”...You can eat this,” she said in her flat voice.

But as I reached out to take it, I noticed something. Her crimson eyes were completely glued to the chocolate. Her fingers were holding the edge of the foil just a little too tightly, her gaze tracking my hand like a hawk watching its prey.

I took the square from her hand. I could feel the quiet, painful wave of regret coming off her whole body. She did not really want to give this to me. Maybe she did it out of some weird good will, or maybe I just looked so pathetic and hungry that she felt she had to.

But did she really expect me to refuse or give it back out of politeness?

Hell no!

This was originally my chocolate anyway. There was absolutely no way I was going to miss a chance to get back at her for eating Sylvia’s cake and running away. I tore the foil off, popped the chocolate into my mouth, and chewed deliberately.

Seris’s face did not change, but her red eyes went a tiny bit wider as she stared blankly at the empty silver wrapper in my hand. A faint, almost hidden wave of pure despair briefly flickered across her face.

”Thanks. I love chocolate,” I said, giving her a small, victorious grin.

With my stomach finally satisfied, the overwhelming tiredness from the past two days hit me all at once. I turned away from the bed and brushed off my hands. ”Alright, I’m heading back up. I need to sleep before my eyes close on their own.”

Seris didn’t say anything, but she walked with me toward the door of Sylvia’s room. We stepped out into the hallway, and the heavy door clicked shut behind us.

Once we were outside, Seris stopped right in front of the doorway, standing between Sylvia’s room and her own.

”I will stay here with her,” Seris said, her voice flat like always. ”In case she wakes up and tries to fight the furniture.”

I nodded and walked toward the elevator. ”Yeah. Good plan. See you around, Lady Seris.”

She gave a small, stiff nod and closed her door, leaving me alone in the hall.

_

I turned around, stretched my arms, and got ready to go back up to my room for a long, good sleep. But as I neared the corner of the corridor, I stopped dead in my tracks.

Standing right there, I saw a face I really, truly did not want to see at this late hour. I blinked, feeling a wave of annoyance hit me as a very frustrating fact came back to my tired brain. Of course... that bastard was also on this floor.

Leaning against the stone wall under the lamps, his arms crossed over his chest, was that same annoying bastard.

Roan.

The elf stood there with a massive, ear-to-ear grin plastered across his face. His eyes were shining with pure, mischief — a smug look that made me instantly want to wipe that stupid smile right off his face.

We stared at each other for three long seconds. A quick, silent conversation happened just through our eyes.

Do not, Roan. I swear to God, do not open your mouth.

No, Leo, I am sorry... but I have to say this. The world needs it.

Roan, I dare you to open your mouth. I will kill you right here.

Sorry, bro... but someone has to say it. It is the perfect moment.

I shook my head violently, taking a step back. ”Roan, do not—”

Roan, of course, chose death.

The elf slowly put his hands together like he was praying, looking up at the ceiling as if he had just witnessed a miracle.

”Oh, thank the heavens... I never thought I would see this day. Our Primus, the great Leo, finally having a secret affair with the second-year prodigy primus? I truly feel like a proud father. Our little virgin boy has finally found a girlfr—”

”Roan, you motherfucker!” I shouted.

Before the word could fully leave his mouth, I lunged forward.

But Roan was already moving — he spun and ran down the hall with a burst of speed, laughing like a crazy person. He lived on this exact floor, and he reached his door in half a second, slamming his card against the lock and diving inside just as I threw a punch at the empty air.

The door clicked shut, locking from the inside.

”Come back out, you bastard Elf!” I yelled, slamming my fist against his door. ”Today I am definitely going to kill you!”

From inside the room, I could hear his muffled, breathless laughter. ”Not today, bro! Try again tomorrow when you’re not getting carried away by love!”

I glared at the door, my veins throbbing. Then, a sudden realization hit me. I blinked, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across my face.

Wait. I have a space affinity. How could I completely forget that?

I focused my mind on the space right behind his closed door. My mana surged, and with a sharp pop, the space folded.

A second later, I was standing inside Roan’s big lounge.

Roan was still leaning back against his door, holding his stomach and chuckling to himself, completely unaware that I was there. I crossed my arms and cleared my throat loudly.

The elf froze. He slowly turned his head, his eyes going completely wide as he saw me standing in the middle of his room.

”Hey—hey! That’s cheating!” he yelled, throwing his hands up in terror. ”You cannot just use space power to break into a room! That is a violation of privacy, Leo!”

”In my dear friend’s words... anything is fair,” I mocked, taking a slow step toward him.

Roan let out a dramatic groan, sliding down the door until he sat flat on the floor, waving a white handkerchief from his pocket. ”Ugh, fine, fine! I surrender! Spare my life, great Primus!”

Seeing his ridiculous act, the anger suddenly drained right out of me. The heavy tiredness of the past two days finally hit my brain all at once. My eyes felt like lead, and my knees felt weak. I let out a big, tired sigh and fell face-first onto his long, soft couch.

”Ugh... I am too tired,” I mumbled into the cushions, my voice completely muffled. ”I do not even want to walk back to the elevator. I am sleeping here. Give up your bed, your couch, or your floor. I do not care.”

Roan blinked, looking at me from the door, then let out a lazy laugh. He stood up, walking over to the big armchair next to me and throwing his legs casually over the side. ”Oh? You are sleeping here? Bold move, Celestial. Where exactly are you going to sleep? Because this couch happens to be mine.”

”I am already asleep,” I groaned, pulling a throw pillow over my head to block out the light. ”If you try to move me, I will teleport your bed into the courtyard.”

”A truly terrifying threat,” Roan laughed, leaning back and resting his head against the cushion. ”Fine, fine. Sleep well, romance king.”

”Shut up, Elf,” I muttered.

Within minutes, the banter completely stopped, replaced by the quiet, steady breathing of two exhausted students.

Lying on the unfamiliar couch, the loud, chaotic thoughts of Sovereigns, black flames, and the heavy weight of the future finally drifted away, leaving only the simple, comforting silence of a friend’s room as sleep claimed me entirely.