Chapter 247 - Legacy
Though Scarlett couldn’t be sure, she felt like Thainnith cocked an inquisitive eyebrow in response to her question. After a brief pause, his mostly featureless visage raised a hand, and an image shimmered into existence above his palm — a vast, cloud-streaked sky. Within its expansive vista, glimpses of a tremendously long, serpentine creature periodically emerged, slithering through the clouds like one colossal leviathan.
The sight made the hairs on the back of Scarlett’s neck prickle with discomfort.
“There is much about the Anomalous One that even I still do not comprehend,” Thainnith began in his resonant voice. The skyscape flickered and reformed into the image of a vast, shapeless grey mass rising from the ocean depths, its very form seeming to strain the eyes. “As its name implies, it is an irregularity — an entity that does not belong in our world, forced into existence here despite that. A caged beast, operating outside the laws and moral boundaries we understand. It poses an existential threat to all that dwell here, whether divine or mortal.”
The vision shifted once more to a smaller scene. At its center was a solitary, indistinct humanoid silhouette set in a stark, barren wasteland. Scarlett wasn’t sure she was truly comprehending the full extent of these sights, but even just what she could perceive was more than enough to convey an overwhelming sense of wrongness and apprehension.
She tore her gaze back to Thainnith. Despite the vague, ethereal nature of his form, he projected an undeniable commanding presence, entirely unperturbed by the disturbing nature of what he was showing her.
Perhaps that was only to be expected. Though he might just be a remnant left behind by the original, Thainnith had basically been a demigod, overshadowed only by literal gods. Or, considering that Thainnith had sealed the Anomalous One—which even gods were apparently afraid of—he might well have surpassed even them in some respects.
She considered his words for a moment. “When you refer to it as a ‘caged beast’, what precisely do you mean by that?”
Thainnith clenched his fist, dismissing the projections. The nagging sense of wrongness immediately faded. “Although we may view the Anomalous One as a threat and an adversary, it is no invader. Nor is its presence here driven by its own intent. It desires nothing more than to escape — a return to wherever its existence originated, just as fervently as we wish for its departure. However…” His silvery eyes glinted with some indecipherable emotion. “Its means of escape would irreparably shatter the very foundations upholding all the realms.”
A crease formed on Scarlett’s brow. “What force could possibly confine such a powerful being against its will?”
That detail had never been mentioned in the game, at least not in these specific terms.
“I do not know the original circumstances by which it became trapped here,” Thainnith admitted. “Only the consequences should it break free. The Anomalous One cannot simply leave, for it remains shackled by the very laws and system of fate that it wages war against.”
Scarlett’s thoughts pulled to a halt, and her focus zeroed in on what he’d just said. “…Do you know what the system is?”