While momentarily lost in thought, Emily was abruptly pulled out of her brief distraction by a firm, irritated male voice echoing through the room: “Since you came all this way, even after failing...” The intentional pause seemed to carry more weight than the words themselves.

“I imagine you have something to tell us, Director of Management... Emily Parker”

Hearing her name, Emily took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the tension pressing on her shoulders. She wasn’t sure if her plan would actually work, but she had spent countless nights analyzing every variable, reviewing possibilities and risks in her mind.

In the end, it was precisely the chaos caused by the anomaly — the one that was supposed to erase memories but now seemed to act unpredictably — that gave her an unexpected advantage.

Emily believed that in this disorderly scenario, her demands had a good chance of being accepted. After all, those in power were just as disoriented as anyone else, and at the moment, there wasn’t much they could do to stop her.

At that point, Emily imagined they were desperate for a solution that could save their own skins. She believed this firmly. As she mentally organized the topics she wanted to highlight, she took a deep breath, aiming to project confidence.

Her lips moved calmly and precisely as she finally began to lay out the plans she had devised, each word carefully chosen to hold her listeners’ attention and reinforce their trust in the strategy.

After finishing everything she had to say, Emily remained silent. Her tightly pressed lips betrayed the contained tension, but at no moment did she avert her gaze. She kept her eyes steady, calm, and determined, staring at each of the shadowy figures before her with almost defiant confidence. The air felt heavier in that dimly lit room, as if everyone was holding their breath, waiting for the first reaction.

After several seconds of cutting silence, one of the figures finally broke the atmosphere. The voice echoed distorted, clearly altered by some modulator: “Do you really have that much confidence this plan will work?” There was a brief pause, as if the person chose their words carefully.

“Because if it doesn’t... well... I don’t think I need to say how completely irreversible the chaos that will unfold will be”

At the man’s words, a subtle smile appeared on Emily’s lips. Her eyes sparkled for a moment, revealing contained satisfaction as a single thought passed through her mind like a triumphant whisper: (Got you...)

The next moment, returning to her usual indifferent expression — though there was still an almost tangible confidence in her gaze — Emily answered the question with the same controlled calm as always: “The odds are extremely high. Even if, at first glance, the situation seems desperate... actually, it’s quite the opposite: this is our best chance. I have full confidence it will work. Humans are incredibly adaptable creatures... They mold themselves to chaos with impressive ease. I don’t expect immediate results, of course... Maybe in a month the effects will still be subtle... But in a year? I’m sure they’ll be completely accustomed to the anomalies... Like it’s just another part of their daily routine”

Emily fell silent after her words, her eyes fixed on some random point as if searching for an answer she knew would not come. In the end, it wasn’t as if they had another choice. Even if they resorted to another anomaly with similar abilities, who could guarantee the result wouldn’t be even more catastrophic? Maybe worse than now.

A large-scale failure was the kind of thing those shadowy figures — always hidden behind protocols and impersonal orders — would never accept to take responsibility for. They gave the orders, but when something went out of control... the blame was always on those on the front lines.

The dark environment seemed to absorb every sound, making the tension almost tangible. Silence dragged on for endless seconds as watchful eyes searched for any movement in the shadows. Then, a metallic and distorted voice cut through the thick air, heavy with authority: “Very well. We will do as you command. Don’t disappoint us, Director of Management, Emily Parker”

After all those words, the screens went dark simultaneously, plunging the room into momentary darkness. Emily finally let out a deep sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing after the accumulated tension. Although fully confident that her plan would work, she couldn’t help but feel a nervous flutter — the anxiety kept creeping in.

After all, even being the best possible strategy for the situation, she knew humans could be surprisingly irrational at crucial moments, acting on impulse and emotion, without logic.

***

(POV – Protagonist)

A long, boring month had passed since Nyara last met with me. During that time, my only outings were occasional, when boredom overwhelmed me, and even then, I hadn’t done anything really significant. However, when exploring the facility in the few times I left my room, I began to notice something strange.

There was a disturbing pattern among the anomalies around me: some were deliberately pushed to the deepest, most inaccessible regions of the structure, while others were curiously moved closer to the surface. From what I could tell, in general, the anomalies sent to the deepest layers weren’t necessarily dangerous at first glance.

However, these were precisely the ones presenting the greatest instability — meaning the anomalous phenomena or objects that often caused complications, whether dangerous or just problematic. These instabilities made their handling delicate, requiring extra care to avoid unwanted consequences.

On the other hand, the anomalies being transported to the surface tended to be those that, even when they got out of control, could be easily contained or didn’t pose a significant risk to the environment or people.

In other words, these superficial anomalies pose much less of a danger, which justifies moving them to shallower levels where monitoring and containment become more manageable.

However, beyond these surface observations, I could hardly gather any concrete information. Honestly, I had no idea why they were putting in so much effort. From my perspective, it seemed like the area near the facility’s surface was being turned into something like a museum—or even a zoo. Though the idea sounded absurd, for some inexplicable reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was actually pretty close to the truth.

By the way, in the past month, neither Emily nor Laura came to look for me even once. Sure, on my few outings I ran into them a couple of times, but I was so wrapped up in my own dark world that I went unnoticed—like an invisible ghost. From their point of view, then, it’s been exactly a month since we last saw each other.

As my thoughts unfolded in my mind, I stayed seated on the bed, motionless. My big, golden eyes remained fixed on the ceiling, as if searching for answers in the shadows dancing there. The quiet in the room was almost tangible—until a soft, yet distinct sound caught my attention: the door creaking open slowly.

In the blink of an eye, I shifted my gaze down toward the entrance. As soon as the door opened, Emily appeared. Her face carried the weight of exhaustion, and the deep dark circles under her eyes revealed sleepless nights. There was a certain fragility in her posture, like every step took extra effort, but still, she kept a determined expression.

But the moment Emily saw me, a broad smile lit up her face. With arms outstretched toward me, she moved forward without hesitation. Just seconds before, I was staring at the ceiling, distracted, lost in thought.

Suddenly, I was pulled back to reality as she wrapped me in a tight hug, as if she wanted to make sure I was really there. While holding me firmly, she started saying strange things in a muffled voice against my shoulder, mixing relief and desperation in every word.

“I missed this so much! I missed your cozy scent... even though, deep down, you don’t have a scent at all!” Laura said, her smile trembling with emotion. Her eyes shone with a mix of relief and ecstasy, as if just being close was enough to fill an old emptiness inside her: “I feel like those sleepless nights—the ones where I barely closed my eyes—are finally... slowly healing”

I remained still, just watching as Laura wrapped me in an unexpected embrace. Behind me, Althea, Nekra, and Nyara watched the scene, all with equally puzzled expressions. It was like the very air around us carried that silent confusion hanging in the room. Their faces mirrored the same doubt that filled my mind at that moment.

Feeling the warmth of Laura’s hug, my thoughts jumbled between the shock of that sudden closeness and growing unease at how exhausted she looked... her arms trembled slightly, and her breathing was heavy, as if simply standing required a huge effort.

However, before I could react or even ask a question, something rose behind her. A hand. A hand that suddenly appeared, slicing through the air with a firm, decisive motion, then came down hard on Laura’s head with a blow loud enough to make me flinch.

“Ouch! Why’d you do that, Boss?” Laura complained, bringing her hand to the spot she’d been hit while turning to face him with an almost tearful expression—eyes watery and bottom lip trembling in a failed attempt to hold back tears.

Behind Laura, Emily appeared silently, arms crossed in front of her body, wearing a tired expression mixed with a hint of irritation. Her eyes stayed fixed on Laura for a few seconds before finally breaking the silence with a slightly sharp tone: “Why are you being so dramatic?” she asked, letting out a heavy sigh: “We’ve all had sleepless nights... You’re not the only one suffering here, so stop acting like the world’s falling apart just for you”

I blinked briefly, surprised by the peculiar interaction between the two. The next moment, I blinked again, this time staring at Emily attentively. Noticing my fixed gaze, she looked at me for a few seconds before sighing tiredly.

“[Angel of Death]...” she started, letting the words hang in the air as if carefully choosing what to say next. For a moment, she seemed to hesitate, her gaze lost in thought. Then she continued, in a calmer, more careful tone: “We’re going to have a lot of visitors soon... I need you” she paused briefly, extending her gaze to Nekra, Althea, and Nyara: “and them too, to keep it together. All these people are just curious... ordinary folks. They won’t try to hurt any of you” Her voice dropped a little, as if gently reinforcing the idea: “You understand that, right?”

For some reason, Emily was treating me like I was a helpless child. Her voice was too soft, almost condescending, and it was starting to annoy me a little. Besides, although I wasn’t quite sure what she meant by “visitors,” one thing was clear: it definitely had something to do with the anomalies being moved around inside the facility.

I paused for a moment, reflecting on her words. There was something unspoken, like she was trying to prepare me for something... or maybe spare me from more disturbing information.

Anyway, I let out a subtle sigh and, with a nod, answered simply but firmly: (I understand)

I blinked a few times after giving my answer, keeping my gaze steady on Emily, who also stared silently back at me. Our eyes locked for a few seconds, the air between us thick with almost palpable tension—until she finally sighed, noticeably calmer, as if the weight of some doubt had, at least for now, lifted.

The next moment, my gaze shifted, finding my sisters watching me with their heads slightly tilted, expressions curious and expectant—as if, without words, they were asking what exactly was going on.

But honestly, I was just as lost as they were. My thoughts wandered aimlessly, confused and restless. Considering everything I’d witnessed in recent days—the strange events, the unexplained signs—the only thing I could imagine was something so absurd it seemed straight out of a nightmare: a zoo specialized in anomalies, about to open its doors.

The very thought stirred an annoying doubt in my mind, a nearly inaudible whisper growing louder: (That’s impossible... isn’t it?)