Becoming a Monster

Chapter 655: Chapter 654: A Choice Against Fate

Paul’s voice tore through the room, immediately silencing everyone.

There was no mistaking what Paul was feeling. However, when he raised his voice, it didn’t elicit the lash back one might expect.

This was Paul, the silent giant, the one who would sacrifice himself without hesitation to save one of them… who had sacrificed himself to save them.

To yell was perhaps more surprising to them than coming to this world.

“Who can stand here and say that they haven’t noticed the way Bailey changed? Since the time we lost Blake… she has never been the same. When she lost Ailetta, she stopped smiling…”

As Paul continued, the anger around the room gradually disappeared.

There wasn’t a single person who had been with them since the beginning who could pretend they didn’t know what he was talking about. Their expressions became distant as memories they had tried their best to bury were brought back to the surface, forcing them to remember not only what Bailey had gone through, but everything they had lost alongside her.

Paul wasn’t speaking about changes they had somehow failed to notice.

They had watched them happen.

“And after I-“

Paul caught himself, his expression tightening before he continued.

“After what happened to me, she became obsessed with him.”

No one who was familiar with Noah needed to know who he was referring to.

By then, even those who had been prepared to argue with Paul were finding it considerably harder to do so. Everything he mentioned was something they already knew, and judging by the expressions around the room, many of them were beginning to understand where he was going with it.

“We all saw the signs, but… we still didn’t do anything. Even now… we still haven’t done anything.”

It was at that moment he picked up his weapon.

“I won’t live my life blaming someone else for my own mistakes. I will bring her back…”

“And if fate can not be changed… I will not stand here and let her die without showing her that she was never alone.”

Paul didn’t wait to let anyone respond; his long, heavy strides did the talking for him as he left the room.

Those who were left didn’t know what to say. There was too much to process and too little time to decide. But all it takes is for one domino to fall for the rest to follow suit.

Every head snapped to the movement of someone else rushing out behind Paul. To their surprise, the person to support their own friend was Amara, the very person they accused.

Amara was shocked beyond words to meet a person like Paul.

It took longer than she thought it would take to catch up to someone whose image was a contradiction of speed. But in the midst of a heavy crowd rushing through the streets, she saw his tall silhouette.

When she finally caught up to him, the first thing she did was thank him for standing up for her.

Paul didn’t stop.

He continued moving through the crowded streets at the same brisk pace, forcing Amara to put considerably more effort into keeping up with him than she expected. One of Paul’s strides easily covered the distance of several of her own, leaving her constantly shifting between walking quickly and nearly jogging whenever she fell too far behind.

The crowd wasn’t making things any easier.

People filled much of the street, forcing Amara to weave around those who didn’t notice her approaching while trying not to lose sight of Paul in the process. Paul had no such problem. His size alone made him difficult to miss, and most of the people ahead of him began moving out of his path several meters before he reached them.

Some glanced toward him before quickly looking elsewhere, while others avoided looking at him altogether.

Paul didn’t seem to notice.

Or perhaps he simply didn’t care enough to acknowledge it.

“I…” His voice reached Amara even as he continued walking. “I didn’t do that for you.”

Amara nearly walked into someone after turning too much of her attention toward him. She quickly moved around them before hurrying forward again.

Paul remained several steps ahead.

“If it wasn’t you… it would’ve been someone else.”

His grip tightened slightly around his weapon.

“Maybe it would’ve been me.”

He was quiet for another few strides, his pace never slowing.

“Or maybe it would’ve been him again…”

Paul continued before Amara had a chance to respond.

“We can’t keep doing nothing… then complain that everyone else isn’t doing enough.”

Amara’s expression gradually changed as she listened. She had initially followed Paul because she wanted to thank him, believing that he had spoken up because everyone had begun blaming her.

Now she was beginning to understand that his anger extended far beyond what happened to her in that room.

“You… have it hard.” The sudden remark almost caused Amara to freeze in place. She wasn’t expecting this conversation to become about her.

“There’s… no right time to tell someone they’re going to die.”

“And yet… you still had the courage to tell us.”

“Don’t thank me… when I should be thanking you.”

Amara didn’t know how to respond.

For the first time since Anubis gave her this cursed blessing, someone had acknowledged what it had been like for her to carry that knowledge.

She had prepared herself for anger once the others found out, and even before entering the room, she had already accepted that some of them might never forgive her for keeping it to herself.

She hadn’t prepared herself to be thanked.

Amara opened her mouth more than once as they continued through the crowded streets, but each time, she found herself unable to think of anything that felt appropriate to say.

Eventually, she stopped trying.

The two continued toward the gates in silence, although they weren’t alone for long.

Amara’s father was the first to catch up to them.

He didn’t announce himself or ask where they were going. By the time Amara noticed him, the old man had already fallen into step a short distance behind her.

One look at his expression told her that he had no intention of trying to change her mind.

There wasn’t much the old man wanted for himself anymore. Whatever years he had left, he had long since decided he would spend them supporting his daughter. Amara possessed a gift that placed burdens on her that he could do little to help carry, but following her when she chose to move forward was something he could still do.

Amara looked at him for a moment before turning back toward the road.

Nothing needed to be said.

By the time the three of them reached the gates, the crowd had thinned considerably.

Outside the walls, there would be little reason for Paul to continue restricting his pace. The expedition already had a considerable head start on them, and if Bailey was somewhere among those people, every moment they spent walking only allowed her to travel farther away.

Paul was already preparing to pick up his pace the moment they passed through the gates when a familiar voice called out from behind them.

“Paul!”

His steps finally stopped.

Amara turned around with him, initially expecting to see Ishii running after them alone.

He wasn’t.

Ishii was at the front, but the others weren’t far behind him.

Alicia, Jasmine, Raven, and the rest of their group were making their way through the street toward them. Some were still fastening pieces of equipment as they walked, while others already had their weapons in hand.

Whatever anger and disagreement had filled the room only minutes earlier hadn’t completely disappeared. Judging from some of their expressions, there were still things that needed to be said and feelings that wouldn’t simply vanish because Paul had walked away.

But none of that had stopped them from coming.

Paul chose not to say anything as the others finally caught up, although the way his eyes moved across everyone showed his appreciation well enough.

That appreciation only lasted until he noticed someone was missing.

His gaze passed over the group again, slower this time, before a slight glint appeared in his eyes.

Levi.

Paul couldn’t say he was surprised. Out of everyone, Levi had always been the least concerned with maintaining the bonds that kept the rest of them together. Still, after everything that had just happened, Paul had hoped there was enough under that selfish exterior for him to come with them when one of their own was in danger.

“Levi stayed behind.”

Ishii had apparently noticed what Paul was looking for.

“He said there’s no way all of us can leave without the guards telling Ms. Elowen once we pass through the gates.” Ishii glanced back in the direction they had come from. “Someone needed to stay behind and explain what’s going on, so he said he’d keep her busy while we left.”

Paul’s expression changed slightly.

“He also said it’d be better if at least one of us was there to tell her the truth,” Ishii continued. “That way, when we come back, she might be a little more understanding about why we left.”

That sounded considerably more like Levi.

Whether he had volunteered because he genuinely wanted to make things easier for them or simply decided that chasing after Bailey wasn’t worth the trouble, Paul couldn’t say. For once, he chose not to question it.

He turned toward the open gates.

They had already wasted enough time.