Anomaly of Fate
Chapter 53: Final Phase

Chapter 53: Final Phase

As usual, awkward silence lingered between them.

The sea breeze whistled. The waves crashed gently against the shore.

Neither spoke.

Until, finally, Eterna answered:

"A World Not Mine."

Then, without another word, she casually walked past him and approached the beacon’s control panel.

Velren blinked.

’Wow...’

Props to her for actually answering that.

Shaking his head, he let out a slow breath before forcing himself to stand. His legs protested and his whole body were screaming in exhaustion. But with the help of his katana, he managed to push himself upright.

Step by step, he trudged toward the girl, watching as she retrieved their class sigil from the panel. And after a moment of silence, he finally spoke.

"So... what’s our next move, boss?"

Eterna didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she set her sharp gaze on the island before them.

Now that they were on the beach, spotting the beacons was noticeably easier. No towering trees, no thick canopies, and no obstructing cliffs were in their line of sight.

Just an open, unobstructed view of the battlefield ahead.

For a few moments, she assessed their options.

Then, finally—she raised a hand and pointed.

"There."

Velren followed her line of sight, spotting a white beacon flickering in the distance.

"Right then..."

Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly felt her gaze shift back to him, causing him to flinched a little.

"Wha—what is it?" he asked, suddenly on edge.

Eterna didn’t reply right away as she simply just stared at him.

Her silver eyes, cold and unreadable, inspected every inch of him—as if scanning for weaknesses.

Then, finally—she spoke.

"Don’t slow me down."

And with that, she turned and walked off.

Velren stood there, dumbfounded.

A second passed. Then another.

Finally, in a dry mutter, he sighed—

"...Yes, I’m fine, thank you for asking."

***

The jungle sounds slowly returned.

The rhythmic crash of the waves faded behind them as the dense foliage swallowed their figures once more.

The salty scent of the ocean was gradually replaced by the earthy dampness of the island’s interior.

Their footsteps—one was light and precise, while the other was a little sluggish from exhaustion—moved in sync as they pressed forward, heading toward their final objective.

Velren cast a glance at Eterna.

A moment of silence stretched between them before he finally muttered—

"...Say. Took you long enough back there."

Eterna, with her eyes that were still locked forward, answered plainly.

"Those two really gave me a hard time."

Velren nearly stumbled.

’Hard time?’

His eyes swept over her clean, unscathed figure—not a speck of dirt, not a single rip on her uniform. Meanwhile, he himself was soaked, covered in sand, and had more than a few grazes from that hellish fight.

...Yeah. Hard to believe that.

Eterna, completely unaware of his thoughts, added—

"Good job back there."

Velren blinked in surprise by the sudden praise.

She continued:

"I noticed that the beacon you were on never changed color during the previous phase."

It was still glowing red back then—the trademark color of their class.

"I also saw another one of our teams managed to hold onto their beacon till the end."

Velren’s thoughts flickered back to the red beacon he had spotted earlier, before he was forced into that ridiculous beach battle.

So that meant—

Wait.

Did she just—

Hand out a... compliment?

Velren stole a side glance at her.

This girl, who wasn’t exactly known for being expressive during his short period of time of knowing her. Who was usually apathetic, blunt, and detached.

And yet, here she was. Acknowledging his efforts.

’...That’s kind of surprising to hear.’

Mid-run, Eterna suddenly spoke again.

"You’re thinking of something rude again, aren’t you?"

Velren immediately stiffened at her words.

"No, no. Of course not!" He said hastily.

"Let’s just focus on our objective ahead."

She stared at him for a second before leaving it at that.

Unseen by her, the boy exhaled quietly.

’Best not to think about unnecessary thoughts, Velren...’

***

The island’s humid air wrapped around them as their footsteps pressed forward.

Fortunately, unlike before, no ambushes, no sudden obstacles, and no interruptions came their way.

It was... oddly smooth.

Velren, ever the skeptic, frowned slightly. It could also meant that fewer teams were remained in this final phase.

’Had most of them been eliminated already?’

Either way, he wasn’t about to complain. The less resistance, the better.

***

When they finally arrived, Velren slow his steps as his gaze took in the sight before him.

This... was different.

Unlike the rest of the island’s wild, overgrown terrain, this place stood out—a perfect contrast to the untamed nature surrounding it.

A circular platform of metallic ground stretched across the clearing.

Intricate patterns and sigils—glowing faintly with an ethereal light—were etched into its surface, weaving together in symmetrical elegance.

The metallic sheen of the platform reflected the sunlight, creating a stark contrast against the dirt, roots, and grass just beyond its edges.

Velren set foot on it, feeling the cool, smooth surface beneath his boots.

"...Huh."

He turned to Eterna, raising a brow.

"First ones here. Lucky us."

But honestly? He didn’t know whether to feel relieved or concerned about that.

His lips curled into a smirk as he glanced at the girl once more.

"So, how much you wanna bet another team’s gonna show up soon?"

And as if the world had heard his joke—

A sudden presence.

The faint crunch of leaves and snapping of twigs. Velren’s body tensed instinctively as figures began emerging into view.

Other teams.

And the moment he saw them...

His smirk quickly faltered as he recognized some of them.

One of them was a familiar, snobby noble—Mikhail.

Velren’s gaze narrowed slightly. It was the bastard who had caused a ruckus with the beastmen in the cafeteria before. Also the same one that Velren had managed to pull a little prank on.

But even Mikhail wasn’t the most concerning presence here.

Because standing among the other group—

A girl with her golden hair. A presence that was far heavier than anyone else here.

’The princess herself, huh?’