I knocked on the door of my apartment, and like clockwork, Elf’s avatar flickered to life on the digital lock screen.

  “Master, welcome back!” she chirped with her usual sparkle.

  I smiled. “Yeah, I’m back.”

  With a soft click, the door unlocked and slid open. I stepped inside, the familiar scent and faint ambient lighting welcoming me home. Elf, after all, is the key to this apartment—literally. No one can enter without my permission… or hers.

  “Had a wonderful day, Master?” Elf’s voice followed me in. “Did the Shark Girl make your heart race today~?”

  I froze mid-step. My cheeks heated up immediately.

  “You checked the car cameras, didn’t you?” I muttered, even though I already knew the answer.

  “Of course I did! Seeing your silent panic made my entire day, fufufu~” she said gleefully, her avatar now lounging on the living room dispy like a smug gremlin.

  “You’re making things up! We’re just friends. Just friends!” I shot back, flustered beyond belief.

  “Did I ever say you weren’t?” Elf tilted her virtual head, a string of question marks popping above her digital crown like comic bubbles.

  “You—! Ugh… never mind.”

  I gave up. She knew exactly how to mess with me.

  “Anyway,” I sighed, tugging off my coat and tossing it onto the hanger. “Since I already ate, I think I’ll take a steamy bath and call it a day.”

  “Already preheated it for you~,” Elf said cheerily. “Jacuzzi’s at your favorite temperature.”

  “Thanks, Elf,” I smiled as I kicked off my boots. No matter what kind of day I’ve had, I always say thanks to her. It’s just… our thing.

  By the time I reached the bathroom, I had already stripped down and tossed everything in the undry chute. I stepped into the steaming jacuzzi, letting the water rise to my shoulders.

  But of course—I barely felt the heat.

  Most people would start sweating or turning red. Me? This was just… warm.

  See, my Anomaly Threshold for Fire is way higher than average. I'm practically fireproof at this point.

  Now, you’re probably wondering—What’s an Anomaly Threshold? Good question.

  Ever since Hollows started invading our world, Ether began warping reality. Elements like Fire, Ice, Electric, Physical, and pure Ether started acting weird—forming what we now call Anomalies.

  Everything—people, materials, environments—has an Anomaly Threshold for each element. It’s the point at which they start reacting to prolonged exposure. Say, a regur piece of paper might have a 1-point threshold for Fire. One spark? Gone. But that same paper might have a 100-point threshold for Electric, meaning it could withstand a mild shock without combusting.

  Now if you exceed the threshold—Boom. That’s when Anomaly Effects kick in: Burn, Shock, Bleed, Shatter, and other exotic types. And if you’re crafty, you can manipute those effects even further.

  Take my bde Nubia, for instance. It doesn’t just burn things. It overheats them.

  That’s my unique Anomaly trait—Overheat.

  Instead of setting something on fire right away, I can stack heat beyond the threshold. It’s like cranking the oven past its max, slowly roasting the target without alerting them—until I detonate it.

  Boom.

  All that built-up energy explodes in one devastating strike.

  If a paper has a threshold of 1, and I build up 10 points of heat without triggering the burn… once I detonate, it doesn’t just burn—it vaporizes.

  That’s Overheat.

  And that’s just the start.

  Some people can burn or freeze without hitting the target’s threshold. Others can trigger an Anomaly even when the conditions don’t make sense.

  That’s just how this world works—full of exceptions to its own rules.

  Ether changed everything. And now, logic has to wrestle with the impossible.

  As I sank deeper into the warm water, my thoughts were interrupted by Elf’s voice, her avatar materializing in the corner of the mirror screen—a smart surface I mostly use to scan for muscle loss or weight changes.

  “Master, a message has arrived. It’s from HAND. Or more precisely…” her avatar twirled a digital envelope in one hand before tossing it over her shoulder, “...they’re calling for Red.”

  I froze.

  “...But Nubia,” I murmured, staring at the surface of the water. My weapon. My partner. Without it, I’m nothing but a glorified meatshield with a snarky AI.

  “She’s still in repairs,” Elf replied, casually inspecting her virtual nails. “But you could always bring out Rubia~”

  I groaned and rubbed my face. “Rubia” —or as I secretly call it, Nubia’s mom—wasn’t just overkill. It was overkill wearing high heels and dancing on a battlefield.

  Sure, it was powerful. But I hated using it. The thing’s made from the core of a Notorious Fme Ethereal—not just any, but one from the First Hollow. It literally leaks fmes when it’s idle. Put it near me too long and even I overheat, despite my fme resistance being off the charts.

  “Rejected,” I muttered, already imagining the repair bills if I accidentally turned a metro block into charcoal. “I’m not getting vaporized by my own bde again.”

  “The good news is,” Elf chimed in like a customer service rep, “Rubia can’t overheat itself. Unlike Nubia.”

  “Because Nubia thinks,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Rubia just burns.”

  Elf gave a mock shrug and manifested herself as a chibi lounging in a mini inferno. “Then maybe go for the twin bdes you forgot in the car?”

  “Crap.” I facepalmed. “They’re still in my bag…”

  Honestly, I wasn’t equipped for this mission. Not without my gear. Not without my flow.

  “I can’t take on a Notorious Ethereal without my main weapon,” I grumbled, slumping in the water. “I can’t even properly inflict Anomaly right now…”

  “In summary,” Elf said with mock formality, adjusting a pair of non-existent gsses. “You’re undergeared, underarmed, and borderline useless.”

  “Thanks for the confidence boost.”

  “Just use Heat then,” she offered, her avatar zily spinning a holographic sniper rifle.

  “Sure,” I replied dryly. “Let me sit a kilometer away, plinking at it until it maybe catches fire. That’ll only take a few hours. I might even get to sleep by sunrise.”

  She grinned. “Sleep is overrated.”

  “Not when you’re me,” I said, dragging a wet hand down my face. “Fine. Accept the job. Let’s earn some money, at least.”

  Elf’s eyes twinkled. “Should I prepare a Burn Amplifier Bangboo for you?”

  “Yeah. Give me the angry one.”

  “Oh, the one that says 'Roast them, Queen!' every time you nd a hit?”

  I snorted. “Exactly. That little guy hypes me up.”

  “Order confirmed,” Elf replied with a satisfied smirk.

  The water rippled around me as I sat up in the tub, dread already cwing at the back of my head. A mission without Nubia. A Notorious target. An Anomaly I can’t easily trigger.

  But... at least I have a pn.

  Kind of.

  “What a pain,” I muttered, sinking deeper into the warm water for just a few more minutes. Ten, tops. Then I got up, rinsed off, and wrapped myself in a towel, letting my body cool naturally—something most people couldn’t do without getting cooked by residual anomaly heat.

  After drying off, I headed to the wardrobe and picked out my combat attire. Not fshy, not delicate—just sleek and durable, built to withstand ether surges and bloodstains. I caught my reflection in the mirror and snorted.

  “Great. I look like I just transferred into Obol Squad.”

  Obol Squad—the top-tier elite unit of the city’s defense force. Only the strongest make it in. I happen to know one of them personally. Not that I’m jealous or anything...

  “Oh my, is that Soldier 69 I see?” Elf teased, her avatar floating above the dresser with an exaggerated wink.

  I stared at her bnkly. “You should really update your database. The ‘69’ meme is fossilized. Extinct. Ancient history.”

  Elf’s pout was immediate, followed by her whipping out a miniature holographic tablet and typing frantically. “Researching... updated memes... please hold.”

  Rolling my eyes, I turned to the digital lock by the door. “Elf, notify Orca to prep my gear.”

  “Roger that, Master,” she said, her avatar dramatically pulling out a scroll, scribbling on it, and then stuffing it into a cartoonish mailbox that popped up from the floor. The mailbox vanished with a pop, and I smirked despite myself.

  Once dressed, I stepped out into the hallway. Elf appeared on the keypad one st time to seal the door with her usual security override. Even the best hackers in New Eridu wouldn’t crack it without her approval. Not unless they wanted a direct neural backsh.

  Then, in a soft shimmer of light, she transferred herself into my phone.

  “Transfer complete. Shall we?”

  “Yeah,” I nodded, sliding my phone into my inner jacket pocket as we made our way toward the back exit of the complex.

  Most people took the main entrance, where the NEPS station was closer. But I wasn’t in the mood to run into fans, randos, or drama-hungry bystanders. I took the long route. The quiet one.

  Okay—maybe I was avoiding people.

  But hey, sometimes silence was more precious than ether.