Anomalous (Yanderes x reader)

[26] Naive

With that final line, the screen disappeared.

A gust of wind prompted you to shield your eyes momentarily and you felt the world around you distort. When you lifted your arm down, you were struck with awe to find yourself in a city. The infrastructures were entirely made out of mist and the space felt dream-like. Sounds were muffled, touching something would cause your hand to be engulfed in fog, and no new scents reached your senses.

Your mind wandered back to––you'd just refer to the holographic screen as 'the system'––what the system said. Of course, you were still confused on their goal, but for now your main priority was to find Amias.

The streets of this city were filled with white silhouettes of people. And whenever you bumped into someone, they'd disappear like a puff of clouds. It left an icy feeling to linger on your body as if frost had thinly coated your skin. From a distance, everyone in the crowd blended together like mist. This made a certain individual on the road stand out immensely. More specifically, a child on the ground.

An incoming car was rapidly approaching him and he still hadn't gotten up yet. Panic screamed at you to rush towards him, however you were too late. A crash resonated through the air and you instinctively turned away for a brief moment. You expected gasps of horror, panicked chatter to fill the air, people rushing to check up on the child.

But nothing happened.

To your horror, the city carried on as usual.

You ran over to check on the child, silently cursing yourself for not doing so immediately. The moment you saw his features closely, your eyes widened in shock.

"... Amias?"

The moment that name left your lips, the world warped and the city became a distorted mess. You had to close your eyes for a moment to not risk getting motion sickness. When you opened them again, the city had disappeared and you were back in the vast space with nothing but mist clouding your vision.

... What just happened?

Amias's younger self... Was that his past?

"Was the death some form of manifestation of a fear?" you mumbled.

There were too many questions and too many possibilities to come to any conclusion. But one thing you were certain of was that the protagonist you thought you knew so well, the protagonist who's past you didn't think much of, was much more complicated than you thought.

"... (Y/n)?"

A familiar voice captured your attention.

You turned around.

Amias!

The male took a hesitant step forward, however his eyebrows creased together in worry when you didn't respond to him.

"Oh..." A bittersweet smile was on his face. "Another illusion?"

Another illusion?

"Wait, Amias, it's me!" you exclaimed, panic seeping into your voice. "Sorry for not responding, I just didn't expect to see you so soon!"

A flicker of hope kindled in his golden eyes and he took a more confident step forward. After that, another pause; it as if he was too afraid to proceed. Then after a soft exhale, Amias rushed up to you and grabbed the sides of your arms. Unsure on how to handle his abrupt actions, you tensed and blinked in surprise.

"You're real, right?" Amias asked, voice slightly cracking towards the end. Contrary to him suddenly grabbing the sides of your arms, his hold on you was delicate to not hurt you. Amias then lowered his head and his voice dropped to a whisper. His gaze was pleading as he waited for a response. "I'm not just imagining it?"