Anomaly

Before any results had even come in, what I told Emily and Laura seemed to send them spiraling into an endless chain of unanswered questions. About two days after I explained, albeit only partially, why I believed Charlotte had sensed that her domain was becoming... strange, the two of them practically kicked off a whole new round of tests and experiments.

Thankfully, none of it even came close to what former Director Graham put me through during my first few days at the facility. Compared to that man, Emily and Laura were incredibly careful. They asked questions, wrote down every little detail, and took measurements here and there, always trying to understand the phenomenon before jumping to any conclusions.

Graham, on the other hand, simply decided to push every possible extreme. Honestly, trying to roast me alive or freeze me to the bone was unbelievably rude on his part. More importantly, it was completely irresponsible.

Back then, none of them had the slightest idea what my intentions were or what I was truly capable of. Sometimes I caught myself wondering what would have happened if, instead of cooperating, I had chosen to turn against the facility.

It probably wouldn't have ended well for anyone. In the end, though, none of that really mattered. Ironically, despite all the tests, containment protocols, and security measures, Graham ended up meeting a fate he never could have predicted. I kind of devoured him.

Anyway, putting aside my technically traumatic past with the organization, the tests involving Charlotte are far more inquisitive than invasive or physical. Thankfully, no one seems interested in treating her like a lab rat. The goal is to understand her nature, not push her beyond her limits.

At this point, the focus of the research is no longer figuring out why Charlotte has a human form despite being a Virtue. By now, that question has lost much of its importance. After all, nothing suggests that her powers are being restricted simply because her current form is, theoretically, "inferior" to what we truly are as Virtues.

If anything, the exact opposite is happening. Charlotte's power continues to grow steadily, practically day after day, without showing even the slightest sign of slowing down. And even though we all know our true forms don't seem to have any visible limit to what they're capable of, we all share the feeling that the same probably isn't true for her.

Charlotte is still bound to a physical body, and that inevitably means there has to be some kind of limit... even if we still haven't figured out what it is. On top of that, there's something else that's been bothering me ever since she brought it up.

Charlotte said, with surprising seriousness, that her domain felt... strange. She couldn't explain exactly why she felt that way. She only insisted that something was wrong, something she simply couldn't put into words. And honestly, coming from her, that's more than enough to make me worry.

My wandering thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a soft, melodic sound drifted through the room, gently breaking the silence in an oddly comforting way. I blinked a few times, snapping back to reality, and my eyes eventually settled on Charlotte.

She was standing near the window. The morning sun, or at least whatever passed for it, streamed through the glass, bathing her face in a gentle glow that gave the entire scene an almost ethereal quality.

A faint smile rested on the corner of her lips as her fingers moved effortlessly across the guitar strings, drawing out a slow, peaceful melody that was strangely soothing. Every note flowed seamlessly into the next, filling the room with a sense of tranquility that was difficult to describe.

Surprisingly... or maybe not. Charlotte seems to have an exceptional ear for music. In fact, she appears to have mastered several instruments, piano, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar, with almost unbelievable ease.

Even so, despite being perfectly capable of playing energetic, high-intensity pieces, she clearly favors instruments and melodies that convey serenity, gentleness, and a quiet, contemplative calm, as though the music itself reflected a part of her personality.

Anyway, I've been visiting Charlotte pretty often. More often than I'd care to admit, if I'm being honest. Deep down, I guess I'm just trying to make up for the time we lost together... or something like that. Not that I actually remember us ever sharing that "time" in the first place, but whatever.

Charlotte certainly doesn't seem to mind. Quite the opposite, actually. Whenever it's just the two of us, she becomes surprisingly talkative. She'll chat about whatever happens to cross her mind, ask random questions, tell me about little things she noticed throughout the day, and sometimes she'll even bring up such completely off-the-wall topics that I end up forgetting why I came to visit her in the first place.

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Even during the sessions where they evaluate Charlotte to see whether her powers are still growing or have stabilized, I usually make a point of staying with her. I don't actually take part in the examinations, I just watch quietly from the corner of the room, but I'd still rather be there. Somehow, it puts my mind at ease.

Emily and Laura have never seemed bothered by my presence, either. If anything, I'm almost convinced they're planning to use me as a human shield the first chance they get if things ever spiral out of control... Not that they're doing anything extreme enough for that to actually happen. The tests are conducted very carefully, and Charlotte usually cooperates without causing any trouble.

I kept my eyes on Charlotte, who continued absentmindedly strumming as she gently swayed in her chair, completely absorbed in the melody she was creating. This time, her long hair was loose, cascading over her shoulders and flowing softly with each of her movements. The calm expression on her face made it seem as though the world around her simply didn't exist.

Everything was... peaceful. Or, at least, as peaceful as it could be. The only exception was upper management, who seemed to have developed a genuine obsession with... well, containing Charlotte at any cost. And when I say any cost, I'm not exaggerating in the slightest.

There had been several blatant attempts to transfer her to another facility. The reason? Nobody had the slightest idea. We never received a convincing explanation, only vague orders and bureaucratic justifications that seemed to change with every new attempt. Thankfully, Emily and Laura didn't make things easy for them.

With the two of them helping me, and a little bit of very simple persuasion... technically a threat on my part, but that's an irrelevant detail, we managed to convince them to drop the idea, at least for the time being.

In the end, Charlotte stayed with us, exactly where we wanted her. Since then, there haven't been any new attempts, and so far, our plans have remained unchanged. Even so, we still have absolutely no idea what upper management is actually planning.

I tried to get any information I could out of my other little sisters. Anything, no matter how small, that might give us a clue about what was coming. But every single time the conversation started drifting toward that subject, Charlotte... or rather, Selyra, would always appear.

Charlotte's eyes would begin to glow with an unmistakably supernatural light, radiating an overwhelming sense of serenity, almost as if another presence had taken control of her body for a brief moment. Right afterward, my little sisters would simply ignore all of my pleas. According to them, they had made a promise long ago, and no matter how much they wanted to help me, they couldn't break it.

The other side of Charlotte, the one who truly seems to understand everything that's happening, Selyra, only spoke to me about it once. Her answer was as brief as it was cryptic. What was about to happen had to happen... because it was exactly what I had foreseen. She also told me that this was the very reason Charlotte existed. She had been born because she needed to be.

But needed... for what? Honestly, I don't have the faintest idea. In the end, all I can do is trust that my little sisters know exactly what they're doing. Because as far as I'm concerned, I'm stumbling through complete darkness, unable to understand even a fraction of the true purpose behind all of this.

That said, it's still frustrating not being able to remember something that, deep down, I feel like I should remember. It sucks. If my expression weren't permanently stuck in its usual emotionless state, I'd probably be wearing one hell of a grimace right now. After all, that's exactly how I felt on the inside: irritated, restless... completely lost in my own thoughts.

I was so absorbed in those thoughts that I didn't even notice when Charlotte finished playing whatever piece she'd been working on. I only realized it when the melody gave way to silence, and I felt her gaze settle on me: "You make a really weird face when you're thinking, you know that?"

I looked up. Charlotte was watching me with an amused half-smile, the guitar still resting across her lap while her fingers absentmindedly brushed over the strings, drawing out the occasional soft note.

"I keep wondering what could possibly have the great anomaly so worried" she said lightly, letting out a quiet giggle: "The others won't stop talking about how amazing you are. Honestly? So far, all I've seen is you stuffing yourself with ice cream nonstop"

Tilting her head, she pretended to examine me from head to toe: "Seriously... where does it all go?" she asked, subtly pointing at my stomach: "Do you have a black hole in there or some secret skill that turns ice cream into hunger?"

An amused smile spread across her face before I even had the chance to respond: "Hmm... then again, considering who you are, neither of those would really surprise me"

Without waiting for an answer, Charlotte simply shrugged, that small smile still lingering at the corner of her lips. Then she turned her attention back to the guitar, adjusted her fingers on the strings, and began softly picking out another calm sequence of notes.

Charlotte's question genuinely left me speechless. I mean... I didn't even have a stomach to experience that familiar knot in your gut. But if I did, it would probably be tied in knots right about now.

I stayed quiet for a few moments, trying to organize my thoughts while searching for an answer that actually made sense. I thought it over once, then again... and the more I reflected on it, the more I realized I was just going around in circles. In the end, I simply shrugged.

Whatever was destined to happen was apparently going to happen regardless of what I did. If even my little sisters couldn't tell me what they knew because of that mysterious promise, then insisting wasn't going to change a thing.

(Yeah... I guess there's no point racking my brain over it right now...) I muttered to myself, letting out a quiet sigh.

In the end, I'd just deal with each problem as it came. That was how I'd managed to survive up to this point: one obstacle at a time. Maybe it wasn't the smartest strategy in the world, but it was the only one that was actually within my reach. And honestly... it didn't seem like I had any other choice.