Chapter 12 - Questions and Coffee

The next day, I was a storm.

Not in the literal sense—there were no lightning bolts, no destruction in my wake. But in the quiet way a storm gathers, thick with questions, heavy with unspoken demands.

Elren thought we could just move on? Oh no. Not this time. Not after yesterday.

He greeted me as usual at the training grounds, perfectly unreadable, but I wasn't going to let him control the pace today.

"No drills today," I said, folding my arms.

"Training is essential."

"Answers are essential."

"You survived."

"Barely."

"Survival is enough."

"Not for me."

"Focus."

"No."

His brow twitched—just slightly—as if I had single-handedly ruined his carefully structured morning plan.

"What happened yesterday? That Grave was supposed to be controlled, but it came straight for me. You said I wasn't supposed to attract them unless I provoked them."

"This one was abnormal."

"And what does that mean?"

"It had a resonance pattern we've not encountered before."

"It hesitated. It recognized me. You saw it."

"Graves are mindless."

"Not that one."

"It was an anomaly within an anomaly."

"Oh, so now we're stacking anomalies?"

"Correct."

"Stop dodging."

"You're still alive. That's the priority."

"I'm not asking to be coddled, Elren. I'm asking because I deserve to know why a monster broke protocol to chase me through a death maze and then paused like it remembered me from a past life."

His silence wasn't stonewalling. It was calculation. He was weighing what to say. That meant he knew something.

"There have been... reports," he finally admitted. "Other outworlders encountered Graves with similar behavior."

"But?"

"They didn't survive long enough to provide useful data."

"So you're saying I'm the first anomaly to survive this long?"

"Possibly."

"Stop saying possibly like it's a comforting answer."

"Possibly."

"Elren!"

His lips twitched. Barely. But I saw it.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"It wasn't relevant until now."

"You love deciding what's relevant for me, huh?"

"Correct."

"It's not endearing."

"Not meant to be."

"Ugh!"

I stormed toward Gloria the coffee machine, aggressively brewing two cups. Elren followed, leaning casually against the doorframe as if this was just another routine morning.

"There's more you're not telling me."

"The system is tracking you. They expected you to destabilize."

"Destabilize? You mean, like, explode?"

"Not physically. Psychologically."

"Oh, you mean they thought I'd have a mental breakdown?"

"Correct."

"Rude."

"Statistically expected."

"Wow, I feel so loved."

"You're still here. That surprises them."

"Why? Because I talk too much?"

"Because you adapt too quickly."

That made me pause.

"Adapt?"

"Most anomalies reject this world. They lose coherence. They fracture."

"But I haven't."

"No."

"Why not?"

"That's what they're trying to figure out."

I sipped my coffee, letting that sink in.

"So I'm some kind of curiosity to them?"

"You're a statistical outlier."

"Oh, I love that for me."

"They will send someone soon."

"To do what?"

"To test you."

"Test me how? Blood samples? Memory scans? Battle simulations? Coffee preference quizzes?"

"All of the above."

"What if I refuse?"

"They won't give you that option."

"Great. Government-sanctioned kidnapping. I love this plotline."

"I will ensure your safety."

"Wow, that almost sounded like a genuine promise."

"It is."

His tone was steady, but there was something new in his eyes. A flicker of... insistence? Determination?

Oh. He means it.

"Why? Why do you care?"

"Because you're still alive."

"That's it?"

"For now."

For now, huh? I'll take it.

The rest of the day, I trained half-heartedly, my mind spinning.

Why am I adapting so well? Why didn't I fracture? What makes me different?

And more than that—why did that Grave hesitate?

There's something bigger at play. There always is. And I need to find out what.

Elren watched me, correcting my stances, timing my footwork, but he didn't push as hard today. Maybe he knew I needed the mental space. Maybe he was giving me a rare silent mercy.

Unlikely. But maybe.

At the end of the session, I sat on the floor, sipping water, while he packed away the training gear.

"Elren."

"Hm?"

"When the system comes for me, will you fight them?"

"If necessary."

"Would you fight all of them?"

"If necessary."

"Would you fight the entire world?"

"Possibly."

"You keep saying possibly."

"It's efficient."

"I swear I'll make you pick a side one day."

"We'll see."

His lips twitched again, and I knew I wasn't losing this war yet.

Victory. For now.