The Anomaly Beyond The System

Chapter 99: Something’s wrong with Lia(2)

(Author’s Note: Read the last few lines of the previous chapter. I have added more lines to make up with the word count. And support your author by flooding my novel with more powerstones, and add it to your library.)

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The way Lia was eating, her 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.

Both Lucian’s and Seraphina’s eyes met for a moment.

Lucian’s expression changed faintly as he mouthed her silently.

‘Do you know what happened to her?’

Seraphina shook her head slowly, helplessly.

She didn’t.

She had no idea.

Silence lingered in the room, broken only by the repetitive sound of Lia swallowing, forcing the food down, drinking water in between to settle down the taste, not even wanting to experience it.

Silently, they both sighed as Lia struggled to finish her food in her haste.

“I’ll go to the washroom.”

Lia said suddenly, before she abruptly got up and ran towards the bathroom, the one in the basement.𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

As soon as she entered, she looked at the closed door, making sure it was locked from the inside.

Her face twisted instantly, her hand rising in haste, pressing it hard over her lips, as a wave surged up from her stomach.

She crouched over the toilet seat as bile rushed from her throat.

A harsh gurgling sound erupted as she vomited, forcing all the food she’d just eaten out, accompanied by a wet, choking sound that echoed faintly in the enclosed space.

Her hands gripped the seat as her head spun in dizziness.

Her body trembled, her vision blurring faintly with the intensity, making it hard to focus on anything at all.

‘What… is happening.. to me…?’

For a moment, she even felt like her entire life would drain from her mouth.

Her chest heaved as she gasped for air, her breathing uneven and strained.

Her throat hurt as her entire stomach emptied itself, every last bit of it expelled, as if her body was trying to purge something it refused to accept.

Like it was rejecting the food she’d eaten.

But along with it, despite the bitter, revulsing taste of the food lingering in her mouth while she threw up—

Her stomach growled again, this time with hunger.

The contradiction was unnatural.

Her eyes flickered, the light brown fading, replaced by a blood-red hue that glowed faintly.

Her fingers tightened against the seat instinctively.

Within seconds, the change disappeared—or more as it subsided, sinking back into her mind, as if waiting for some trigger.

Her breathing gradually slowed. As soon as she finished throwing up, her throat felt parched.

‘Again…?’

She frowned faintly, confusion mixing with frustration as she swallowed reflexively, feeling the dryness in her throat once again.

Lucian, meanwhile, stood outside with his hands crossed, standing near the bathroom door, leaning over a wall.

He stood there silently, and his posture appeared calm, though only on the outside.

His fingers clenched tightly over his arms, gripping hard enough that it pulled at his injuries, sending a sharp pain through the muscle.

But he didn’t care about that right now. His grip didn’t loosen.

He closed his eyes briefly as a quiet sigh escaped his lips.

“What happened?” Seraphina asked gently, feeling uneasy for some reason.

“As expected, she’s throwing up,” Lucian answered through gritted teeth, his voice absolutely not calm, not even close.

Seraphina stilled at his words.

Then, she nodded quietly.

She, too, had expected that, as soon as she saw how Lia had run into the toilet after barely eating—or should she say, forcing herself to eat the food.

The way she hurriedly stuffed it in, without even bothering to chew properly, it was easy to guess that she was just forcing herself.

Her current condition deeply unsettled both of them, Lucian more so than his mother.

He had never seen his sister like this, and things were very different with Lia compared to his previous life

First, her behaviour—growing bolder and more aggressive than she used to be, her body becoming more mature, developed noticeably—and now this.

The strange, unexplainable reaction.

‘It’s almost like something is changing from within her…’ he thought, closing his eyes, running through possibilities, trying to search for anything that could explain it.

It felt like something different was happening with her in this specific timeline, and he didn’t know what it was, nor the reason why it was happening.

He even wondered if he had done that, which had caused such a change, but no matter how much he thought, nothing came to mind.

Aside from breaking her so-called, fleeting relationship with that Elijah, he hadn’t done anything different—at least he thought so.

Seraphina, standing beside him, glanced at his face, seeing the tension in his expression.

Her fingers twitched faintly as a strange thought occurred to her.

“Son…” she called softly, hesitantly, shifting his attention from the bathroom door, pulling toward her.

“What is it? Do you know something?” he asked directly, with a subtle edge to it, a quiet urgency beneath the surface.

Seraphina’s lips parted, then pressed together again.

For a moment, she didn’t speak.

Just the thought that occurred inside her seemed absurd, something she shouldn’t even be considering, but… she still decided to ask herself.

“Both of you… both of you didn’t do anything, right?”

Despite her efforts, there was a faint tremor as she said that.

Her eyes remained on him, carrying a complex expression she didn’t quite know how to express.

But—

Lucian didn’t understand anything.

“What…?” he muttered, tilting his head as his brows furrowed faintly in confusion.

Seraphina hesitated again.

“Did both of you… do something intimate?” she asked, the words coming out more quickly, as though quickly letting her thoughts out.

“Something that might’ve caused her to behave like this?”

The moment the words left her, she felt heat creep up her neck.

Still, she ignored the embarrassment for now.

Because…

There was no other reason she could find for Lia’s symptoms: the nausea, vomiting, and mood swings.

She nervously waited for his answer, her eyes unmoving… but his confusion only deepened, making her sigh.

“Mom… what are you even talking about?” he asked, his voice lower.

Lucian didn’t understand a single word that came from her mouth.

His frown deepened even further.

Seraphina studied his expression, and there was nothing there, only pure, unfiltered confusion.

“Nothing,” she said quietly, cutting it off before it could go any further.

She didn’t press more.

Because she didn’t know how to.

Didn’t know how to ask anything beyond that without making it worse.

She just decided to shake the thought off.

If Lia and Lucian had done anything like that, then she would have noticed something, which she hadn’t.

And her son wasn’t stupid enough to act in the heat of the moment—especially not while keeping her in the dark.

Slowly, she sighed.

Lucian narrowed his eyes faintly, still confused, but before he could ask any further—

The flushing sound of the toilet came from inside the bathroom.

Lucian straightened and, without a word, silently stepped away from the door.

Seraphina followed a second later, still somewhat flustered.

‘What was I even thinking to ask such an absurd question like that?’ she cursed herself inwardly, trying to remove the lingering thoughts.

Both of them said nothing, each in their own thoughts.

After a few minutes, Lia came out, her face damp, droplets of water clinging to her skin—evidence she had washed it.

Her brown eyes were slightly puffy, and her face looked drained, paler than usual.

Lucian didn’t wait a second before asking her if everything was right.

If she was alright.

Lia wanted to say something, but after a few seconds, she simply nodded.

“I’m fine,” she said, forcing a small smile onto her face, which made both of them even more uneasy.

Lucian watched her for another moment, making her nervous.

But… he didn’t ask more, seeing as she wasn’t saying anything.

He decided to give her some space, as she had already been frustrated with her progress in her powers for some time now.

Seraphina just gave her a glass of water, which Lia drank hastily, almost as if she had been thirsty for days.

Neither of them offered her more food, since that might only make things worse.

So they let it be.

The rest of the day passed slowly, quietly.

Lia returned to her meditation, her eyes tightly shut as she tried to focus more on her affinity as well as sense the mana that was present inside her body.

According to Seraphina, she’d already sensed the mana in her body, and that might have been the reason she was able to use her affinity.

So Lia decided to try that path too—despite having an instinctive feeling that it might be futile.

All while ignoring the constant, nagging hunger—or thirst, she didn’t know. She couldn’t tell the difference anymore.

At night, she didn’t eat again.

Now, just the smell alone was enough to make her stomach twist violently, which almost made her puke—even though there was nothing in her stomach to be rejected again.

Still, she tried to eat it forcefully again.

Because her body was still hungry.

So she picked up the spoon, but just as she brought it near her mouth, before she could take another bite—

“You don’t need to.”

Lucian abruptly cut through after the long silence that had settled in the basement.

He hadn’t talked much after their lunch—well, none of them had.

Lia’s hand stilled mid-air. She looked at him.

“I can eat it—”

“Don’t,” Lucian interrupted again, taking the plate from her hands.

“Lia…” Seraphina muttered, making her turn towards her.

“Just tell us… what is happening?”

Lia went silent.

“If you won’t tell us, we won’t know anything. We might be able to help you if you talk.”

Lia opened her mouth for a moment, but no words came out.

What could she say when she herself didn’t know anything?

Lucian watched her intently, waiting for an answer.

But she didn’t.

Her lips closed again.

“It’s nothing,” she said finally.

Lucian and Seraphina sighed.

Lucian’s fingers tightened around the plate he was holding, enough to make a strained, cracking sound.

Lia didn’t try to take her plate from him, because she herself knew she wouldn’t be able to eat it.

There was no point.

She turned around and moved away quietly, sitting down in a chair, as she opened her mobile and looked at her blank wallpaper screen—at the picture of her brother.

Her eyes were distant, unfocused.

Because even as she sat there, trying to distract herself, her stomach twisted again.

Yo, power stones, give meeee~~~ And increase my raaank~~