The Anomaly Beyond The System

Chapter 98: Something’s wrong with Lia(1)

Time slowly dragged on, each minute crawling with a slowness that made it feel as though hours had been passed when, in truth, barely any time had moved at all.

The basement remained the same. Still and quiet.

There was no entertainment, no distraction—nothing exciting to do, nothing that would occupy their minds and pull them away from the dull, dragging monotony.

Which made time itself look like it was moving at a snail’s pace.

Seraphina tried to manifest her ice affinity once again, focusing inward, trying to reach the same sensation as before.

But this time, it was much more difficult than before.

It felt as though something had been drained from her body, something that was needed to use her powers.

Lucian knew the reason was her mana depletion, so he advised her to take her time and wait until the mana inside her body replenished.

Seraphina hesitated for a brief moment before exhaling softly and nodding her head.

There was a small part of her that still wanted to try again, but she stopped herself.

The more she tried to manifest ice in her depleted state, the more dizzy she felt.

Shaking it off, she looked at Lucian, seeing him sitting with his back leaning against the wall, his eyes fixed on Lia.

Seraphina turned her head as well.

Lia remained a small distance away, unmoving, with her eyes tightly shut in deep concentration, sitting cross-legged as she tried.

Trying to feel something—anything—within herself that resembled what Seraphina had just described.

But unlike Seraphina, there was no visible sign of success.

She tried to feel her powers multiple times, even though it felt almost impossible.

Her lips pressed together, and her fingers twitched against her knees.

Lucian, seeing her like this, felt genuinely concerned.

But there was nothing he could do.

This wasn’t something he could guide her through.

This wasn’t a battle he could step into and fight for her.

It was her path, her struggle, and he had no way to help her with that.

“How are your wounds?” Seraphina asked abruptly, as she went forward and sat beside him, leaning over the wall.

Lucian snapped out of his thoughts and turned to her, seeing her sitting right beside him.

She was fiddling with a colourless monster core between her fingers, as if trying to see something unseen through it—though she was merely doing it absentmindedly.

He paused for a moment before answering.

“It’s manageable, though it hinders my movements,” he said, clenching his fists, feeling the resistance as he did so, before turning his attention to Lia once again.

Seraphina turned to him, lowering her gaze, lingering on the bandages over his knuckles.

The ones on his arm and leg were hidden under his clothes.

Seeing him so focused on Lia, his eyes fixed on her with a quiet concern, Seraphina sighed.

“You looking at her for hours wouldn’t change her progress,” she said.

“I know.”

Despite his words, his eyes still didn’t move away from her.

Seraphina, too, didn’t say anything more, playing with the small crystal while her mind wandered elsewhere—trying to find any better way to explain her powers to Lia.

Soon, it was lunchtime.

The routine that had settled during these monotone days repeated.

Again, the same canned food.

Seraphina and Lucian began eating, their movements unhurried, taking each bite slowly, the faint click of utensils and soft chewing filling the otherwise silent space.

They spoke occasionally, exchanging a few words in between.

Seraphina asked a few questions about mana, since she felt like Lucian knew more about it—which he did, as he could see much more than what she could.

But Lia—

She didn’t eat immediately.

She just sat there idly, staring at the food for a long while, her expression neutral, unreadable.

Then, after a few seconds, she finally took a bite.

The reaction was immediate.

The moment the food touched her tongue, her face tightened as a small grimace formed, her expression twisting with each chew, showing the visible discomfort she was barely able to suppress.

“What happened?” Lucian asked, noticing the change in her expression.

Seraphina’s eyes narrowed.

Both of them had been glancing at her from time to time for a while, watching her idly tap the spoon against the food.

Lucian’s frown deepened.

His gaze dropped briefly to the plate—on the food in her hand before returning to her face, his expression subtly darkening.

“Is it the food?”

Lia paused.

Then—

“No… “

She shook her head quickly, forcing the food down her throat, swallowing without even properly chewing the rest.

“It’s nothing,” she said, as she tried to smile assuringly.

But Lucian’s expression didn’t relax in the slightest.

He didn’t believe her, not even a little.

“Lia, do you want something else?”

He shifted slightly, ignoring the discomfort that came with the movement.

“I can bring something from the fridge if you want,” he said, his voice firm and gentle.

This wasn’t the first time.

He had noticed it yesterday too. The way she had been looking at her food. The hesitation, the subtle aversion, as if it were something disgusting.

For a moment, he had thought that maybe it wasn’t to her taste, as the canned food wasn’t exactly appealing.

But it couldn’t be just that.

Before all of this—

Before their conditions had improved, he and Lia had eaten way worse, since they couldn’t afford much.

He knew one time when she had eaten plain bread for days, despite giving him proper food instead, and at that time, he couldn’t even complain about it because of his paralyzed state.

They had struggled for normal food.

So… this wasn’t about taste, at least he thought so.

“I can bring it too,” Seraphina said suddenly, narrowing her eyes at Lucian, clearly not wanting him to strain himself any further by moving unnecessarily.

She had noticed Lia’s strange behaviour as well, and she too felt concerned.

She even wondered if Lia wasn’t feeling well, but from what she could see, there were no clear signs, no visible symptoms.

So that couldn’t have been the case.

“Mom—”

Lucian was about to retort to her suggestion, but before he could—

“No.”

Lia suddenly cut in.

Both of them paused.

“It’s nothing like that.”

She didn’t want any of them to go upstairs right now, especially not when Lucian was injured.

“Then…?” Lucian pressed further, his expression tightening even more.

Lia’s lips pressed into a thin line.

She didn’t answer immediately,

Instead, she silently shook her head.

“I’m just not very hungry. Both of you won’t need to worry about it,” she said dismissively, scooping up another spoonful, lifting it and forcing herself to take another bite.

But the moment its smell reached her, her face tightened, and her nose wrinkled instinctively.

Her lips twisted into a clear look of disgust, something that even she didn’t fully understand.

This just felt wrong, and she didn’t even know why.

This had been happening for a while now.

Since yesterday, she had been feeling this way every single time she looked at something edible, something that should’ve been normal.

It hadn’t been this bad since yesterday.

At first, the food just tasted… bland.

Tasteless.

Like chewing on something that had no flavour, nothing that made it worth eating.

The food tasted like rubber at first.

She had thought it was because these canned, preserved foods weren’t something she had eaten in a long while.

After her brother had won the lottery and begun earning money through stocks, their life had changed for the better.

Almost every day, they ate proper, delicious meals, the food they had eaten during their childhood, so she thought her standards might have been raised too much.

But that didn’t seem to be the case, since the food, which was bland before—

Right now, it tasted unbearable.

Not just unpleasant, but disgusting, like eating rotten eggs or an expired meal that had gone bad long ago.

She had even asked her brother before if the meals were fine, if they weren’t expired.

Lucian had frowned at the question back then, confused, before reassuring her as he explained that canned foods were meant to last long.

They could be stored for years without them spoiling unless left open.

But just in case, seeing her expression filled with doubt despite his words, he had eaten a bit of her portion.

But there had been nothing wrong with it.

Her portion didn’t taste much different from his.

Even Seraphina tried it afterwards, but the result remained the same.

Neither of them found anything weird about it, almost making Lia wonder if her tongue was even working properly.

So right now, the situation has become concerning.

Lucian’s gaze remained fixed on her as she continued eating, forcing one spoonful after another, gulping it down her throat, almost desperately, as if she hadn’t eaten for days.

His portion barely moved; most of his focus was on her.

Lia’s behaviour made it look like she was starving.

But her expression told a completely different story.

Every chew carried a discomfort she could barely suppress.

Give meee more power stoness~~~~

Tomorrow is the last exam for my current semester, so wish me luck(Of course, if any of you read this message, that I know most of you won’t.)