Chapter 20 Eileen’s Information and Advice

The doll-like girl in the painting greeted Adrian Wells with happiness and surprise. Her voice carried a hint of curiosity but showed no trace of shock or fear at the sight of a man returning alive after having seemingly died.

Adrian couldn't help but feel that this wasn't because Eileen had an unusually strong heart.

Sure enough, the issue lay with him. Considering how many times he had already died and returned in such a short period, it wasn't surprising that something stranger was at play.

"Well, call it a stroke of luck—I made it back," Adrian replied casually. He turned to shut the door behind him and instinctively checked himself over. His body had fully healed, and even his clothes were restored to their original, pristine state.

Adrian frowned slightly, his mind connecting the dots between Eileen's nonchalant reaction and his own situation. It seemed more accurate to say the "event" of his death had been erased entirely rather than him being resurrected.

As he stood by the door, lost in thought, Eileen tilted her head in the painting, her expression curious.

"Adrian? Are you okay? You look a bit dazed. By the way, tell me how you managed to get back! I've been losing connection with you off and on, and there were always these weird noises. What exactly did you run into in that anomaly? Oh, wait—what's that in your hand?"

Her question jolted Adrian back to reality, and he looked down. In his hand, he still held a grotesque, scaly severed tail covered in black scales.

His mouth twitched. "Oh, right. I almost forgot about this… thing."

The tail still writhed weakly, its movements sluggish compared to earlier. Though it retained traces of vitality, its severed state clearly doomed it to a slow death.

A strange feeling settled over Adrian, and for a moment, he wasn't sure how to explain its origins to Eileen. After some hesitation, he lifted the severed tail and began heading toward the kitchen.

"A little… souvenir," he muttered over his shoulder.

Eileen blinked, visibly puzzled. "...What?"

Adrian had already tossed the tail into the sink by the time she processed his words. Ensuring the writhing appendage couldn't crawl out, he stabbed it a few times with a kitchen knife, just to be safe. Then he placed a heavy pot lid over it, reasoning that at least he'd hear if the lid fell to the floor.

Finally satisfied, Adrian returned to the dining room and sank heavily into a chair. His body felt leaden with fatigue, his mind swirling with too many unanswered questions. Yet he forced himself to stay alert; it wasn't time to rest yet.

Eileen watched him cautiously from within the painting. "Adrian, you should tell me about your experience in that anomaly. And how you—"

"I was just about to get to that," Adrian interrupted, sitting up straighter and fixing her with a serious look. "I've got a ton of questions, but let me start with what I encountered there. I met someone—a girl—who's also trapped in an anomaly. She's been there for… well, a very long time."

Adrian didn't hold back, recounting everything he had experienced in the Valley of Nightfall, including the information Focus had shared and his terrifying encounter with the grotesque amalgamated creature.

He left out one detail: his repeated "deaths" and resurrections. That, he hadn't yet figured out how to explain.

Though Adrian and Eileen weren't particularly close, and he couldn't fully trust her, he had no better options. She was the only "abnormal entity" in Boundary City he could communicate with and the only one who seemed to understand the world beyond common knowledge. If there was anyone he could discuss anomalies with, it had to be her.

Eileen listened intently. As soon as Adrian mentioned the blood-and-flesh monstrosity, her expression turned solemn. Several times, it seemed like she wanted to interrupt but restrained herself, waiting until he finished.

When Adrian finally wrapped up his story, Eileen adjusted her posture, sitting upright in her red-velvet-draped chair with a seriousness that matched her tone.

"First of all, let me remind you: I don't remember much. This painting has erased a lot of my memories, so my help is limited."

Adrian nodded. "I know."

"Good," Eileen said, her expression softening slightly before becoming thoughtful. "Let me fill in what I can about anomalies. You probably already know that anomalies are areas that defy order and common sense. But did you know that anomalies often generate entities?"

"Entities?" Adrian echoed, puzzled.

"Put simply, they're the 'inhabitants' or 'creations' of anomalies. An entity can take many forms: a humanoid figure, a beast, a monster, a flicker of fire, a gust of wind, or even a stone that moves. Anything created within an anomaly with active properties and capable of interacting with intruders is considered an entity."

Adrian nodded slowly, digesting the information.

"Entities come in countless forms," Eileen continued, "but they almost always exhibit strange and dangerous characteristics. Most entities lack reason or thought—at least none that humans can comprehend. However, a rare few might possess intelligence… though I can't recall much about those."

Adrian listened intently as Eileen added, "About 90% of entities are dangerous. Some are weak and might only cause mild irritation, like making your nose itch. But others can be so deadly that just seeing them could kill you. Many theorize that entities are a kind of defense mechanism, like a 'virus-scanning program' created by anomalies to eliminate intruders. According to this theory, investigators and wanderers are the true monsters from the anomaly's perspective."

Adrian blinked, his mind racing. "So… that creature I encountered—it's an entity created by the valley?"

"Most likely," Eileen confirmed with a nod.

"Can entities be killed?" Adrian pressed.

"They can be destroyed, but not permanently," Eileen replied gravely. "Because entities are essentially 'projections,' killing one will only lead to another copy being generated within the anomaly. Entities reflect the anomaly's rules. As long as the anomaly exists, entities will continue to form. However, it's said there are ways to delay or suppress an anomaly's functions, though I don't remember the specifics."

"Destroyed but not eradicated," Adrian murmured, repeating the phrase. He suddenly felt like this was going to be even harder than he'd imagined.

"I'm not afraid of dying," he muttered, half to himself. "But that creature… it seems to fear death even less."

Unknowingly, Adrian had already accepted the idea of returning to the valley and facing the entity again. He couldn't explain why, but the thought felt like an inevitability rather than a choice—a deep-seated intuition.

"Well, if it can at least be temporarily destroyed, that's something," Adrian said, exhaling slowly. He looked back at Eileen. "Do you know anything else about entities? Like their weaknesses?"

"There's no universal weakness," Eileen replied, shaking her head. "Sometimes an entity's weakness isn't in itself but tied to the anomaly or its rules. Some entities even change their weaknesses over time. That's why exploring anomalies and confronting entities is a highly specialized and dangerous field. Honestly, you'd be better off finding a professional—someone who isn't stuck in a painting."

Adrian rolled his eyes. "Easier said than done. Where am I supposed to find 'professionals'? They don't exactly advertise on street poles."

"They do, actually," Eileen said, her tone matter-of-fact.

"...What?"

"There are ways to contact them. Maybe not literal street ads," Eileen clarified, smirking at Adrian's stunned expression. "But considering how widespread anomalies are and how dangerous they can be to ordinary people, of course, there are professionals who deal with them. Every city, especially one as big as Boundary City, has groups maintaining order—both officially and unofficially. I don't remember much about the details, but these people are definitely out there."

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "So, if anomalies have already appeared around me, does that mean these 'professionals' will come find me?"

"...Probably?" Eileen's confidence suddenly wavered.

Adrian frowned. "Then why haven't they shown up yet?"

"I don't know. They should've been here by now."