The Anomaly's Path

The gates leading into the upper sanctuary shook violently under the weight of the pushing crowd. Their heavy frames trembled against the force of the storm.

Cordelia stood near the edge of the defense line, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath.

Her long hair was coming loose from its pins, strands sticking to her sweaty forehead. She held her rapier tightly in her right hand, its thin blade dripping with dark blood. Her Wind affinity flickered weakly around her boots.

Beside her, Julia was kneeling on the cracked ground, her hands shaking as she put healing on a civilian’s shoulder. Caster was nearby, shouting at the remaining guards to strengthen the defenses before the next attack hit.

Cordelia stared toward the direction where they had escaped from.

Marius...

The memory of leaving him behind burned in her chest like swallowed ash. He had stepped into that narrow passage without a second of hesitation, taking his stance to hold off a horde of monsters so she could lead the scared civilians to safety.

She had wanted to stay. Every part of her pride, every knightly value she held, screamed at her to turn back and fight beside him.

But she was a royal. She had a duty to the people terrified and bleeding behind her.

I’m still so weak, Cordelia thought, her fingers gripping her sword until her knuckles turned white. I thought I was strong. I thought coming to Aegis Academy would prove to everyone, to my father, to my brother, to the whole empire, that I’m not just a useless royal sitting around doing nothing.

Before coming here, she had believed her Wind affinity and years of strict training made her a strong fighter.

But this academy was full of real monsters — monsters like Leo, Roan, and Elisabeth, who fought on a different level. Against a disaster like this high-rank Gate, she felt painfully small. To the world, she was still just "Princess Cordelia," protected by her title while others bled on the front lines.

When will they see me for who I am? Not as the Emperor’s daughter. Not as the Prince’s little sister. But as Cordelia, the knight.

What was she actually lacking compared to each of them? Was her resolve not enough? Did she still lack the relentless training? What did they have that she didn’t?

A goal? Didn’t she have a goal, too?

Her desire to become a knight wasn’t born out of some childish fairy tale, nor was it driven by naive goodwill.

She wanted to become a knight simply because that was what she chose for herself. She wanted to fight. She wanted to forge her own sense of justice, to find a path that brought genuine peace to her soul.

Maybe proving herself to everyone was just a part of it, but deep down, she had grown tired of the sight of nobles and courtly snakes constantly wearing plastic smiles. At a very young age, she had distanced herself from that fake, performative world.

She couldn’t care about court rules, political games, or empty titles. She wanted real, honest strength.

...And then there was that fool, Marius.

He was even weaker than her. He knew the gap between them, knew his own limits, and was probably terrified out of his mind. Yet, when the time came, he pushed her aside, took his stand, and smiled like an idiot.

He was even weaker than me, she thought, her teeth grinding together. So why did he act so much braver? Why did he get to make the sacrifice while I was forced to run?

She bit her lip so hard she tasted blood, forcing the burning frustration deep into her gut. She wiped a streak of dirt from her cheek and stood tall, her eyes blazing with quiet resolve.

"Damn it..." she whispered. "Hold on, Marius. Don’t you dare die out there. I’m coming back for you soon."

Turning back toward the defense line, Cordelia raised her voice, letting it carry with authority over the chaos. "Keep moving to the shelter! Barrier squad, double the power now!"

_

Meanwhile, in the outer edge of the Academy...

The rift had scattered the Academy forces across different areas. Many areas were choked with thick, shifting fog, forcing students and teachers into small groups just to survive the sudden wave of corrupted beasts.

Arthur moved alone through the streets. He had refused to let Amelia or Nyra follow him. They had argued, wanting to stay by his side, but Arthur had held his ground and made them join Seris’s team instead.

He knew why he did it. Deep down, he knew it was selfish. Amelia and Nyra were strong, but compared to the horrors coming out of this high-rank Gate, they were still weak. He couldn’t stand the thought of watching them get hurt.

He had already lost his entire family in the Oakhaven massacre. He had watched his home burn, watched everyone he loved turn to ash while he stood there helpless and weak. He was terrified of feeling that crushing helplessness again.

If he was going to fight near the center of the rift, he needed to move alone without the constant fear of losing the people behind him.

Arthur swung his broadsword in a clean, heavy arc. The blade blazed with bright golden light, cutting through three beasts at once. The creatures turned to black ash, but Arthur didn’t slow down, his boots crunching over the ground.

He lowered his blade, his breathing heavy as he looked down at the blade. The light reflected in his golden eyes, but there was no satisfaction in his expression.

It’s still not enough, he thought, his hand tightening on the hilt.

Why did he still feel so painfully weak?

He still remembered when Leo was weaker than him, back when Leo was acting like a drunk fool. Yet in just a few short months, Leo had changed completely. He hadn’t just caught up, he had shot so far ahead that the gap felt impossible to cross.

Arthur knew he wasn’t anywhere close to Leo.

Leo was crazy strong, standing miles ahead of everyone else. Arthur still remembered their past fight — a fight that was never fair from the start, where Leo had faced top-ranked students all at once and still crushed them without breaking a sweat.

What had changed Leo so much over these past two months? Was it the people around him? Was it the academy itself?

Arthur didn’t know.

They were complete opposites in every way. Leo was always trying to hide in the shadows, constantly running away from the spotlight, yet no matter what he did, he was always the one who shone the brightest.

Whether through fights, strange bonds, or quiet respect, Leo ended up connected to everyone in some way.

...And then there’s me, Arthur thought bitterly. I have the Light affinity, yet I’m the one drowning deeper and deeper into my own shadow.

He hadn’t had a proper conversation with Leo in a long time. Leo barely even looked at him anymore. But as Arthur stood alone in the middle of the street, surrounded by drifting purple haze, a realization settled deep within his chest.

Leo moved on...

Leo didn’t dwell on what was behind him. He carried whatever heavy burdens he had, accepted his flaws, accepted his path, and kept moving forward without looking back. That was why Leo felt like an unbreakable wall. He didn’t let self-doubt trap him in the past.

Meanwhile, Arthur had spent so long running from the horror of Oakhaven, terrified of feeling that same crushing helplessness again. He had built a prison out of his grief, telling himself that true strength meant being a perfect shield — a hero who never lost anyone.

What’s the point of being called the Chosen One if I can’t even carry my own past? he asked himself, his grip tightening until his knuckles turned white. What is strength, anyway? Is it just being stronger than the person standing next to you? No.

If he had to carry the weight of Oakhaven, he would carry it. He couldn’t undo the massacre, nor could he erase the ash from his memories, but he couldn’t let it stop him forever either. A true knight couldn’t fight while hiding behind his own ghosts.

He had to accept the grief, accept the risk, and keep moving forward anyway.

Cutting down another group of beasts, Arthur turned toward the darker, denser zone closer to the Gate, his mana flaring with a new, quiet clarity against the purple mist.

_

Farther along the outer edge of the academy grounds...

Elisabeth flicked her wrist, sending a clean arc of blood magic to cut through a beast’s throat. Her deep violet eyes scanned the broken sky. The Fallen had launched a big attack in her past life, but it hadn’t happened during a Grade 8 Gate like this. The timeline was changing.

What went wrong? Elisabeth thought, her jaw clenching.

Even more troubling was what she had seen on Leo’s face right when Helene announced that a rift had torn open. He had hidden it almost instantly, putting his blank mask back, but she had caught that quick flash of real panic on his face.

He panicked, she thought, her pulse quickening. Leo doesn’t panic unless something has gone wrong. He knows something. He isn’t a regressor like me... but he knows the future.

She was sure of it now. He possessed knowledge he shouldn’t have.

She had considered this possibility many times before, but seeing his reaction confirmed it. Still, deep down, she knew it was still just a guess on her part — a correct guess, most likely, but a guess nonetheless.

It wasn’t as if she had concrete proof, and even if she did, she couldn’t just walk up to him and say, "Hey, you know about the future, right? Nice to meet you, I’m a regressor."

That would be absurd. Besides, even if Leo knew what was coming, it didn’t change her main goal. He wasn’t the only one with future knowledge anyway, the Oracle had visions too, even if they were unclear.

More importantly, Elisabeth had already realized that Leo had no interest in hurting her people unless they attacked him first. Her only real goal was getting ready for the Abyss King and making herself strong enough to survive.

She didn’t believe for a second that Leo would single-handedly solve everything for her. She was still lost in her thoughts when a dark shadow fell over her from above.

A huge monster dropped from a broken archway, crashing onto the ground with a loud thud right beside her. Before Elisabeth could even draw her sword, a silver spear shot through the air like lightning, stabbing the beast straight through the head.

The creature collapsed, black blood spraying everywhere.

A few drops hit Elisabeth’s cheek.

Roan Sol-Valis landed lightly on his feet beside the body, pulling his spear free with a flashy spin. He turned to her with a big grin. "Hey, did you see that? I was cool—"

He stopped the moment he saw her face. The blood was dripping slowly down her pale skin.

"Well... ah... oops? Sorry?" Roan offered, taking a slow step back.