Chapter 12: Fighting fire with fire
In a square room lit by nothing but sterile light, there was a mahogany table with two chairs on either side. A piece of parchment sat quietly atop the table, as if it had nothing to do with anything.
Two figures stood sentinel at the entrance of the room, daring not to make any moves. Both their eyes clung to the parchment on the table. A silent pressure oozed from that direction, yet it wasn’t overbearing; in fact, it was inviting.
Anomaly 1-07
Sang Hun Lee quickly turned his eyes from the parchment, barely able to resist the seductive energy calling out to him. He looked at the teenage girl before him.
Bright eyes, a full face, ready to carry out missions as normal—but was she?
His mind played out the scenario from yesterday when once upon reality swallowed everything whole but now...
"I understand your wariness," the girl suddenly spoke, "but I haven’t had my will eroded. I only got to speak with Anomaly 0-01. As I said before, they only gave me a warning to prepare for the Purple Moon Descent."
Purple Moon Descent.
Sang Hun Lee shuddered at the mention of that slice of time. Sure, it was shorter than the Red Moon, signifying the eerie descent, or the Blue Moon, signifying eerie hibernation, but...
Day and night were equal during it.
It was when anomalies roamed the world both day and night.
Sang Hun Lee was about to say something to Choi Ae Ran, but the words died in his throat. After all, how could he ask a junior why she had suddenly risen a whole stage in one night when she was an Awakened too?
He only watched as she walked toward the table where the parchment sat.
She immediately pricked her index finger, red blood glistening on it as she let a crimson drop fall onto the surface.
Immediately, words began to appear in blood-red ink.
Truth or Deal
When Sang Hun Lee saw this, he knew he wouldn’t be able to do anything throughout the conversation except remain a spectator. He could only wonder why Bureau Head would approve the use of such a powerful anomaly.
Okay, maybe he understood the gravity of the situation—but why them specifically?
A girl who was barely Stage Two Foundation, and him, an Exarch. If things went sideways...
He looked toward the table and watched as the girl chose Deal.
Deal? She picked Deal?
Wasn’t their mission today to find out more about the Faith anomaly—the possible second Archetype in Korea? Or perhaps learn more about the grand plan Once Upon Reality kept talking about? About how the anomalies were planning to force a descent, even through the Blue Moon?
Sang Hun Lee wanted to turn to Choi Ae Ran and reprimand her for going off course with the mission. But already knowing the mechanics of the Clause—otherwise known as Truth or Deal—he knew they were about to enter the negotiation session.
If Choi Ae Ran had chosen Truth, it would have been a simple situation. She would ask a question, and the answer would be given to her. In return, the anomaly would ask its own question regarding her life—often deeply personal ones. If she answered with falsehoods, she would be punished. If not, then hurray.
That was his only purpose here: to serve as the spectator.
But now that she had chosen Deal...
A deal happened only between two people.
If only I could see the deal, he thought.
"Of course you can," Choi Ae Ran said simply.
Before he could react, he felt something shift in his eyes.
Suddenly, at the other end of the table, a woman clad in the professional attire of a law firm appeared as the piece of parchment morphed into a tablet. The bright lights illuminating the room grew dim, while the mahogany surroundings took on a far more artistic edge.
"Let us begin. What do you desire?"
Choi Ae Ran fell silent for a moment before she spoke.
"I have many desires that I wish fulfilled. Are you able to?"
"Of course. Anything you wish, as long as you offer a suitable price."
"Is there a limit to deals?"
"That depends."
"Depends on what?"
"On your ability, of course."
Sang Hun Lee watched it all unfold, left in awe as the two women went through the motions of the negotiation. They talked and revised terms while the woman constantly tapped away at her tablet, occasionally showing something to Cadet Choi.
He felt like he should do something, yet he was trapped in a situation where he could only see, not speak.
He was a spectator.
If only I could make them talk, he thought.
Religious people and all their nonsense, he mused to himself. The absurd lengths they would go to in pursuit of their faith...
His gaze drifted back to Choi Ae Ran, who was still negotiating.
He remembered seeing children mixed in with that group of people. The burns and cuts on their bodies were enough to tell a story.
They were the ones who had summoned the entity.
The thing he wanted to know was why.
But whenever they tried to ask questions, all they received was fanatical praise from every member of the group. Even using anomalous means—whether through mind, truth, control, or memories—they couldn’t uncover anything useful.
That was one of the reasons they were in this room.
Yet the candidate chosen because she shared the same origin as Truth or Deal had gone off the rails.
Then, that’s when he heard it.
"I want to make a contract."
The words left him stunned.
A contract?
Did they even have permission for something like that? And what exactly did she mean by contract?
Making contracts with anomalies wasn’t impossible, but it was highly dangerous and incredibly volatile. If one didn’t know what they were doing, they could easily end up losing their life over something stupid.
Sang Hun Lee wanted to stop the foolish girl in front of him. She clearly didn’t understand the gravity of what she was doing.
Yet he couldn’t do anything.
The deal was sealed.
The tablet and the woman dissolved, returning back into paper.
The room became sterile once again.
"What did you do?" Sang Hun Lee asked, his voice a mix of dread and anger.
"I know what we’re dealing with. The 23 Enigma."
"What?"
"That is the nature of the new Archetype. It is the 23 Enigma."
Sang Hun Lee remembered the cultists speaking of the descent of twenty-three forgotten gods.
"Twenty-three..." he muttered under his breath.
"Wait. Did you say Archetype?" Sang Hun Lee asked.
"Yes. It is indeed an Archetype."
It was now confirmed.
Korea was dealing with a second Archetype.
Sang Hun Lee turned to leave the room. He had to brief the Bureau Head about everything that had happened.