Becoming a Monster

Chapter 383: Chapter 383: Are We Saved?

Anubis Servant Pov

"Amara! The monsters are hunting us down one by one. How much farther? If we continue like this, there will be no one left."

I didn’t turn to face the person talking to me. I could understand their fear. I could hear his breath hitch; the word ’how’ almost sounded like a desperate plea. My mind quickly and unemotionally deciphered their intentions.

I knew they didn’t really care about the others tragically dying behind us. They only feared the thought of their own death. That with fewer people, the likelihood of surviving was nearly impossible.

Despite understanding this, I still sought to protect him, just as I moved to protect the others.

I had always tried to be fair. I couldn’t judge him for selfishness when it wasn’t wrong to be selfish. I too am doing what I could, not out of my kindness, but because doing so validates my existence.

Everyone had chosen to believe in me, to believe in my decision that was based entirely on something they could not see. And now that belief was wavering.

I knew I should say something to motivate the others to keep going. But this time even I didn’t have the answer. For the first time... I was losing faith in my own abilities.

Another scream... This one was younger, too young. And following that cry was a cry of a mother. My chest tightened, but again, I didn’t look back, not because I didn’t care, but because those who were dying couldn’t be saved.

My throat burned. I wasn’t a heartless monster. I heard every cry, every plea, every ragged breath of those stumbling behind us. I could still vividly recall the faces of those I had been unable to protect.

But if I broke, if I faltered, even those I could save would no longer have their chance to escape death. I had to keep telling myself again and again that those who fell were never mine to save.

And yet, how could I tell them that they were destined to die? How could I tell the others? How could I tell them that I wasn’t willing to save a child, a baby... simply all because I couldn’t see a thread in their heart?

Emotions were fickle, and the heart was dishonest. Although they didn’t raise a hand to protect them, my words would be used as a target to paint me in the most vilest of ways. They wouldn’t see me choosing the best path to save everyone; they would only see the faces I chose to leave behind and hear the cries of the young whose flesh was being torn apart.

Just the thought of everything I did for them, everything I was still doing for them, all of it could be torn apart by a single misstep, by a choice I made that meant the survival of the rest. If it was before, the weight of this fear might’ve crushed me.

But my faith in my powers had never lied to me, not even now.

Those... monsters... then there was no other way to describe them. Josiah spoke of them before; he’ mentioned goblins. I still remember the skepticism in his tone, a doubt that was overwhelmed by fear. I didn’t need to understand what it meant. These goblins weren’t like what he envisioned. In fact, they were worse.

Each of those monsters was able to fight my hounds, servants as strong as an average awakener.

And then, there were the others... When was the last time I had witnessed one of my warriors being completely destroyed?

Did my strength amount to only this? No... I still could have used it, the one power that was granted to me by Anubis. The power that could defy death’s destiny. But... even as I considered standing my ground to protect the children and the elderly, their threads never appeared.

Even worse, I could no longer see my own thread.

It was only after I made the decision to push forward did I understand that I should never doubt my gift. From both sides, monsters appeared. On one side there were giants, monstrous creatures that shook the ground with each step, whose bodies would destroy trees just from bumping into them. How I wished we were back in the world I’d give anything to return to.

And from the other side came bipedal lizards. Although they weren’t as large as the giants; whose names I didn’t know; nor as numerous as the ’goblins’, they were just as threatening as all the rest.

Even our strongest could barely contend with the creatures’ strength. For a moment, I couldn’t imagine how we were supposed to live through this. How could diving head on into the middle of the forest, surrounded by all sides, give us the best chance of survival?

But it did. Destiny worked in ways that seemed miraculous. It turned out that the creatures were all enemies. They attacked each other the moment we pushed forward.

That miracle allowed me to keep moving despite the screams, despite the doubts, and despite my own fear.

I continued to listen to the last cries of those who had put their faith in me. I wasn’t responsible for their deaths, but I would forever carry the weight of their final moments of hope.

But as I planted their screams and gut-wrenching tears in my heart, all the noise became muffled. My senses picked up a gaze that swept over me, the surrounding noise faded into a muffled background.

I kept running. My eyes snapped in every direction, searching for the source, but there was nothing. That gaze didn’t come from one place. It felt like it was everywhere, pressing down on us from every side.

However, while searching for that gaze, I felt the gaze looking at the people around me.

Their threads... They were... gold!

My heart nearly dropped; my chest tightened until I thought it would break, and tears welled in my eyes. I had never believed in a god as much as I had at that moment. I had only ever used the gift of Anubis as a tool to survive, as a way to justify the choices I made. But seeing those threads change before my eyes... For the first time, I felt like more than a survivor. I felt like I could truly be his servant.

I didn’t know what it meant or why it was happening. But one thing was certain: whatever gaze that was on us was from something powerful, and it would protect us.

My tears continued to fall. I continued to run. This time, I noticed that the sound behind me was different. I could hear the anguished cries, the heaving breaths of the fearful, and the heavy stomps of those who followed me.

However I didn’t hear the cries of anyone dying.

"They... they stopped chasing us!"

This time, I finally looked back. I could see the creatures stopping at a particular spot, their posture hesitant as they roared and grunted, torn between anger and caution. Their heads looked around the forest before eventually snapping toward us.

That sight confirmed my earlier thought. The owner behind that gaze had to be truly powerful.

"Amara, are we safe?"

I looked over to my side. A loving, yet regretful gaze stared at me. My father, the only one who had absolute faith in me, but at the same time he still worried for me.

"... For now, we are. But I can’t say for certain, destiny is never set in stone."

Silence again. My father didn’t question me, but I could tell that he was ready to do what he could to support me.

"Something’s up ahead!"

We all saw it at the same time, someone shouted. It was a clearing. An open field that took up enough space to easily hold all of us and allow us to rest while being able to watch our surroundings.

But as we drew closer, we saw the back of a giant hill no smaller than a two-story building. Farther to the left stood a shelter made of dirt, with glowing vines draped around it, practically merged into it.

It was only after getting closer that we saw something we weren’t prepared to see. A being that didn’t belong in the forest. A creature of darkness. Even alone, it set my instincts flaring louder than any army of monsters.

The creature was looking at us.

We stopped so suddenly the line nearly piled into itself. Men swallowed noises; a child’s whimper died in their throat. The hounds drew back, their backs low and teeth bared.

Instinctively, I summoned my warriors again. My head turned to the others, not out of concern for their safety, but because of their threads.

Their threads were still golden, but I noticed that some were flickering between colors. Then I looked to my side. Andrew, the man who questioned "How much farther?" I noticed his thread had completely vanished.

I looked again. No one else had an invisible thread.

Just... What did this mean?

Before I could process, it was then that my heart nearly failed again. A giant head emerged from the mouth of the hill. The creature’s scaly face was all I needed to see before a single word formed.

"Dr-Dragon!"

That word was enough to twist the people around me into panic. But even with a dragon looming before me, it was that shadowed being, the creature of darkness, that inspired a fear even greater?