All Chapters of THE ANOMALY: RISE OF A BILLIONAIRE: Chapter 91
- Chapter 100
105 chapters
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Night settled over the Sanctuary like a slow, cautious breath, dimming the fractured glow of roots and pools into soft, wavering shadows. The district had never truly known darkness, but now even its light seemed to be holding back, as if the world itself were listening for something moving beneath the silence.Jake led Cael through a narrow passage between fallen pillars, away from the main plaza and toward the old maintenance tunnels that only a handful of wardens still remembered. Elen walked close beside them, her glow muted to a gentle shimmer that barely lit the stone ahead.Cael clutched Jake’s sleeve tightly, eyes wide as he looked around at the dim corridor.“Jake… is this what night is supposed to feel like?” he whispered.“It’s quiet… but my heart feels loud.”Jake slowed his steps, kneeling slightly so Cael could see his face.“Night makes everything inside you sound bigger,” Jake said gently.“That’s why people tell stories when it gets dark.”Cael tilted his head curious
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Cold water splashed up around Jake’s boots as he ran, the ancient canal trembling beneath every desperate step they took. The cavern stretched endlessly ahead, jagged stone walls reflecting the pale shimmer of moss like dying stars caught in black rock.Cael struggled to keep pace, his breaths short and uneven as panic threatened to pull his new body apart from the inside.“Jake… I can’t… my legs… they feel like they’re breaking,” he gasped.Jake slowed instantly, scooping Cael into his arms without hesitation.“I’ve got you,” Jake said firmly.“Just hold on to me.”Cael clung tightly, burying his face against Jake’s shoulder.“I don’t want them to take me,” he whispered.“I don’t want to disappear again.”Elen ran close beside them, her glow flickering brighter with every pulse of fear she felt radiating from Cael.“They won’t,” she said fiercely.“I will not allow that.”Behind them, the pale light surged closer, reflecting off rushing water like shards of moonlight chasing their sh
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The world returned to Jake in fragments—sound before sight, pain before breath, the cold rush of water before the burning ache in his lungs. He coughed violently, rolling onto his side as icy water spilled from his mouth and nose, every muscle screaming as if it had been torn apart and stitched together with fire.He lay on slick stone at the edge of a narrow ravine, the roar of the canal echoing far below where darkness swallowed the fall. Pale light flickered weakly around him, not from the avatar, but from scattered resonance still dissolving into mist.Jake groaned, pressing his palm against the ground, forcing himself to stay conscious.“Not… done yet,” he rasped.His side burned where the spear had torn through him, blood seeping between his fingers as he clutched the wound. Every breath felt like dragging air through shattered glass, but he was breathing.He was alive.Somehow, impossibly, alive.Jake p
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The path beyond the ravine was narrow and uneven, carved by wind and time into jagged stone that cut through fields of pale grass shimmering under the rising sun. Each step Jake took sent a sharp reminder through his side, but he refused to slow, leaning heavily on Mira’s shoulder as they moved forward together.Cael walked close beside him, never letting go of his hand, his blue eyes wide as he took in the open sky for the first time without walls or roots closing in around him.“Jake… the world is so big,” Cael whispered.“It feels like it might swallow me if I look too long.”Jake smiled faintly despite the pain.“It feels like that to everyone at first,” he said.“But after a while, you learn how to stand in it.”Elen followed just behind them, her glow blending with the sunlight until it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. Her expression held quiet determina
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By the time the sun reached its highest arc, the ridge had fallen far behind them, replaced by rolling stone paths and narrow valleys that funneled the wind toward a distant glow on the horizon. Even from miles away, the city announced itself with towers of light and columns of drifting steam that clawed at the sky like restless giants.Cael stared at the glow with open wonder, his steps slowing as if his body were unsure whether to approach or retreat.“Jake… is that where people live?” he whispered.“It looks like the stars fell down and built a home.”Jake followed his gaze, heart tightening at the sight of the sprawl ahead.“Yes,” he said quietly.“That’s one of the outer cities. And it never really sleeps.”Elen walked beside them, her glow dimmed to a faint shimmer that blended with sunlight.“I can feel so many emotions from there,” she murmured.“Fear, ambition, hope, desperation… all tangled together.”Rhea snorted softly.“That’s a city for you. Where there are people, there
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By the time the sun reached its highest arc, the ridge had fallen far behind them, replaced by rolling stone paths and narrow valleys that funneled the wind toward a distant glow on the horizon. Even from miles away, the city announced itself with towers of light and columns of drifting steam that clawed at the sky like restless giants.Cael stared at the glow with open wonder, his steps slowing as if his body were unsure whether to approach or retreat.“Jake… is that where people live?” he whispered.“It looks like the stars fell down and built a home.”Jake followed his gaze, heart tightening at the sight of the sprawl ahead.“Yes,” he said quietly.“That’s one of the outer cities. And it never really sleeps.”Elen walked beside them, her glow dimmed to a faint shimmer that blended with sunlight.“I can feel so many emotions from there,” she murmured.“Fear, ambition, hope, desperation… all tangled together.”Rhea snorted softly.“That’s a city for you. Where there are people, there
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The city did not sleep. It only changed rhythm.When night fell, the towers burned brighter, and the narrow streets filled with voices layered over humming machines and flickering neon signs that cast shifting colors across every passing face. Steam drifted from vents in the stone like restless spirits searching for shape.Jake lay on the narrow cot, staring at the low ceiling as pain pulsed through his side in slow, heavy waves. Every breath reminded him of the spear that had nearly ended everything, but he welcomed the pain because it meant he was still here.Cael sat cross-legged on the floor beside him, watching Jake’s chest rise and fall with intense focus.“Jake… your breathing sounds different when you sleep,” Cael whispered.“It gets quieter, like you’re trying not to disappear.”Jake smiled faintly without opening his eyes.“That’s just how people rest. We pretend we’re not heavy for a while.”Cael nodded slowly, as if storing the thought away for later.Across the small room
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Morning in the city arrived without sunlight. Instead, the towers brightened, neon signs dimmed into softer hues, and streams of workers flooded the streets below like rivers of moving shadows. The world did not wake; it simply shifted gears.Jake stood near the narrow window of their rented room, watching the endless movement below while Mira finished reinforcing the stabilizer on his wound. The hum of the city vibrated through the walls, carrying voices, machines, and distant sirens into their small refuge.“You’re lucky,” Mira muttered, tightening the resonance field.“The spear missed anything vital. But don’t get heroic again today.”Jake smirked faintly.“I’ll try to limit myself to walking.”Cael sat beside Elen on the cot, staring at the view with wide, curious eyes.“Jake… why do they all walk so fast?” he asked softly.“It feels like they’re chasing something they can’t see.”Jake glanced back at him.“Most people are,” Jake said quietly.“Money. Power. Safety. Or just a rea
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The narrow streets folded around Jake, Elen, and Cael as they moved away from the plaza, the noise of argument and broadcast fading into a distant hum. The city seemed to tighten here, buildings leaning inward like conspirators, neon strips flickering in tired pulses along rusted frames. Steam hissed from vents beneath their feet, carrying the smell of oil and damp metal into the air.Jake kept his pace steady, though each step tugged at the wound beneath his jacket. He refused to let it show. In a place like this, weakness invited attention.Cael walked close to his side, fingers curled into the fabric of Jake’s sleeve, while Elen stayed half a step behind, her presence a quiet anchor at his back. Her glow remained muted, a faint shimmer barely visible beneath the layers of shadow.“…They’re really talking about locking people like me away,” Cael said softly, breaking the silence. His voice trembled despite his effort to sound bra
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The elevated walkways thinned as Jake led them deeper into the upper lattice of the city, where traffic noise softened into a constant metallic whisper and the lights grew colder, more utilitarian. Here, the towers were closer together, their surfaces layered with cables, vents, and humming conduits that pulsed like exposed veins. The air tasted sharper, tinged with ozone and old rain.Jake kept one hand near Cael, not quite holding him, but close enough to feel his presence. Every few steps, he glanced over his shoulder, scanning reflections in the mirrored panels that lined the rails.“We can’t go back to the room,” Jake said quietly. “Not after that.”Elen nodded, her glow barely more than a breath of light under her skin. “They will mark it as a probable shelter,” she replied. “If they have not already.”Cael hugged his arms around himself, eyes darting at every distant footstep. “Are they st