Becoming a Monster

Chapter 542 - 541: Black Communion

The spiritual pressure surrounding Dobby had started becoming unstable. Subtle enough that nobody else present noticed it.

But Noah did.

Every second Dobby remained active, the negativity accumulated within him continued to affect his body.

And unlike before, Dobby no longer merely carried those emotions.

The skills Noah was able to see didn’t fully disclose what had changed about Dobby’s body.

But from what he could sense, the Black Communion had fundamentally changed the nature of Dobby’s existence itself.

Negative emotions no longer behaved like foreign energy within him.

They had become nourishment. Dobby probably wouldn’t be able to exist unless he had a stable source of negative energy available.

And eventually, if left unchecked for too long, that same energy would become poison instead.

—

Noah understood what Dobby required. And Dobby understood that Noah already knew.

The surrounding cats and dogs watched without fully understanding what was happening.

Only Alexandria seemed to vaguely sense that something was wrong with Dobby that he wasn’t telling them.

Then slowly, Dobby lowered himself onto one knee.

The motion immediately caused several of the others to murmur amongst themselves.

Even Alexandria’s eyes widened slightly.

But nobody interrupted.

The atmosphere surrounding the two had become far too heavy for anyone to interfere casually anymore.

"To carry these burdens has always been my choice alone..."

Dobby’s silver-clouded eyes lifted toward Noah.

"You are already aware that I am no longer capable of that." Without having to say it, Alexandria finally understood what Dobby was hiding from them.

"Do you hate me for it?"

Although he could now perceive Dobby’s emotions through their connection, his understanding wasn’t absolute. The negativity constantly flowing through Dobby’s soul distorted too much of what he felt for Noah to completely trust his own perception.

For several moments, Dobby simply stared at him. Then slowly, a faint smile appeared on his face again.

"To hate what I’ve become would mean to hate myself."

"We came to you seeking a future... wishing for power to make our own paths."

His voice remained soft and unhurried.

"You gave me what I sought... But I wish to ask one more selfish request."

"There’s no reason to ask."

Noah didn’t allow Dobby to continue.

"I’m not irresponsible, nor do I plan to pretend to be ignorant of what I’ve done to you."

"I commit to every decision that I make."

Noah slowly stepped closer until he stood directly in front of him.

"The same way I make you all bear the risk, I too must carry the consequences. So there’s no need to continue this, we both understand what’s at stake here."

Dobby’s expression visibly shifted. A quiet relief that slowly eased the tension hidden beneath his calm expression.

The glowing markings across his body brightened stronger than before as the surrounding mana began gathering toward the two of them.

"In that case... I entrust my burdens, my soul, and the remainder of my path to you."

The moment those words left him, the tattoos released a mass of mist-like energy that converged into Noah’s body.

And at the same time, Noah felt the energy making changes to his body; he also felt their connection changing.

The connection deepened far beyond the normal link shared between tamer and creature or even that of his other Fallen.

Dobby’s soul had opened itself to him completely. There was literally nothing that Dobby could hide from him anymore.

But at the same time, Noah sensed a mark being placed on his own soul.

His vigilance heightened slightly. That part hadn’t appeared when he analyzed the ability earlier.

The sensation resembled a brand gently pressing itself against his soul before gradually fading into his existence entirely.

Noah immediately understood its purpose afterward.

No matter where Noah traveled, Dobby would always be capable of sensing the direction of his existence through the oath itself.

A faint pulse traveled through the connection between them. Then Noah realized something else.

The mark wasn’t merely allowing Dobby to locate him. It was allowing Dobby to follow him.

The oath was more invasive than Noah realized.

And yet Noah found himself wishing that all his bonds were just like this one.

—

Outside of his soul, their communion was finally finishing.

The fading of faint black-silver markings briefly surfaced across Noah’s body was the last thing to go before it was over.

Besides being able to sense everything about Dobby, nothing else felt different about himself.

Dobby, on the other hand, never felt better. The light of his markings was visibly softer than before, while any hint of erosion of his skin was healing.

And for the first time since his transformation, his soul felt stabilized.

—

A lot of time has passed since then.

The tension surrounding Dobby’s transformation gradually faded over the hours.

Noah didn’t immediately seek to help the others grow from his blood.

Despite wanting to, he also had to be mindful of the state they were in after everything that had happened.

There was an underlying fear within most of them that what they did with Dobby could also happen to them. Not to mention how they were the cause of all of this in the first place.

They believed that if they had never lost control of themselves, Noah would have never resorted to what he did.

Some of the cats and dogs had already gone to rest, while others stayed awake speaking quietly amongst themselves.

And somehow, despite everything that happened earlier, the atmosphere no longer felt nearly as oppressive as before.

Noah didn’t take any of it to heart. But he also didn’t remain idle either.

He left the cats and dogs to their own devices as he made his way to the back of his home.

There was someone that he nearly forgot about. And Pandora made sure he was aware that he did.

The moment the cats and dogs began scattering, Pandora suddenly appeared directly in front of Noah.

"Ophis.."

Noah barely had time to register the faint dissatisfaction hidden beneath her unexpressive voice before roots suddenly burst from the ground beneath him.

They wrapped around his wrist almost immediately.

Noah’s eyes widened slightly.

Before he could even ask what was wrong, Pandora began dragging him away through the forest.

The movement itself wasn’t rough. If anything, Pandora was strangely careful with how the roots held him.

But the urgency behind it was undeniable. That alone caught Noah completely off guard.

Pandora rarely initiated anything herself unless directly related to protecting the forest or responding to Noah’s commands.

Yet now she wasn’t even giving him the opportunity to speak.

For several moments, Noah was so surprised by the behavior itself that he didn’t even resist, simply allowing himself to be pulled along through the forest.

Then, while being dragged away, Noah caught sight of Gwen standing nearby.

The girl wore a somewhat smug expression while simultaneously looking oddly proud of herself.

Noah immediately understood the cause behind her change. Behind his contemplative gaze was a sense of appreciation.

He hadn’t expected Gwen’s influence on Pandora to produce visible changes this quickly.

At this rate, Pandora’s emotional growth would likely progress far faster than Noah originally envisioned.

He was eventually led deeper into parts of their territory where the forest was thickest.

Noah’s gaze slowly shifted forward afterward.

Ahead of him was a section of the forest almost completely swallowed by shadows.

Behind him, both Arachne, Ailetta, and Gwen followed.

"Ophis?" Noah called out to the shadows. He could easily perceive the giant snake despite her advanced camouflage.

A few seconds passed without the serpent moving. Ophis barely had any will left to even care.

The hardest part about standing amongst monsters was realizing afterward that you no longer possessed what made you worthy of standing there in the first place.

Before meeting Noah, Ophis understood her limits.

She was powerful compared to most creatures, but even then, she never truly believed herself capable of reaching the heights she secretly desired.

Then Noah appeared.

And for the first time in her life, Ophis began seeing a future where those impossible heights no longer felt unreachable.

Noah possessed creatures stronger than she was.

Far stronger.

Bolas alone stood so far above her that comparing the two felt meaningless.

Yet instead of discouraging her, it only made Ophis realize something else.

She was also incomparably stronger than the creature she used to be before meeting them.

And more importantly...

She knew she would continue growing stronger.

That belief alone was enough for her.

Then she lost her eyes. And with them, the future she envisioned for herself disappeared alongside them.

Even as Noah called her, Ophis wasn’t willing to move. There wasn’t a point. They would only verify what she wanted to avoid them seeing, and then it would be truly over for her.

"Do you want to be healed or not?" Ophis’ body jerked before she fully registered what he said.

Without her eyes, she only became noticeable when she moved out into the light.

The others were only aware that Ophis was injured, but when they saw the state she was in, their silence said more than what words could.