Becoming a Monster

Chapter 587: Chapter 586: Everyone Has Work To Do

Gwen found herself in a terrible state of mind. The same thoughts continued circling through her mind no matter how many times she tried to push them away.

What was her purpose anymore?

A gentle pressure suddenly brushed against the back of her hand.

The unexpected touch startled her enough to instinctively pull away before she looked down.

Only after seeing the root wrapped loosely around her fingers did she realize it wasn’t trying to restrain her.

It was comforting her.

The concern quietly flowing from Pandora reached Gwen through the root, making it impossible for her to mistake the dryad’s intentions.

She hadn’t spoken a single word. Yet somehow, Pandora still noticed.

A small smile slowly appeared across her face. The heaviness weighing upon her heart gradually became a little easier to bear.

"...Thank you."

She quietly watched it disappear beneath the soil, the concern Pandora had shown lingering within her heart.

Only then did Gwen realize how deeply she had allowed herself to fall into despair.

Just because she misunderstood the prophecy didn’t mean everything she had done until now had been meaningless.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that her dream had never truly been about fulfilling a prophecy.

The prophecy had only given her a reason to begin. What she truly wanted had always remained the same.

She wanted to see nature flourish once again.

She wanted to restore forests that had long since been destroyed by countless nations.

She wanted to leave behind a world that was healthier than the one she inherited.

None of those desires had disappeared simply because her understanding of an ancient prophecy had been wrong.

If anything...

Living within Noah’s territory only made that dream feel closer than it ever had before.

She has already bore witness to the world-altering miracles both Noah and Pandora had shown already.

She had watched Pandora quietly reshape an entire ecosystem. Although the trees touched by her roots resembled corrupted life much like Pandora herself, they possessed more vitality than any tree Gwen had seen within this forest.

Even now, the forest surrounding them continues changing with every passing day.

And now she could become part of that change.

She could help Pandora nurture the life of various plants, helping the forest thrive into a place where nature closely resembled what it was like in the ancient past.

The thought alone made the emptiness within her heart feel just a little lighter. Even so, she couldn’t help looking back toward the others.

The possibility she had just spoken aloud should have shaken everyone.

If her understanding of the prophecy was correct, then today’s events were leading to the world tree, to one day awaken.

How many more worlds existed for the world to finally become one?

Not to mention the clouds themselves. If the prophecy and the strange sky truly were connected, then what exactly were they witnessing?

As Gwen’s eyes slowly drifted across the group, she found herself growing more and more confused.

No one appeared nearly as unsettled as she expected.

The only exception was Bolas.

The drake’s expression had grown noticeably heavier, his eyes never once leaving the endless clouds overhead.

For reasons she couldn’t quite explain, seeing someone else share her uneasiness brought Gwen an unexpected sense of comfort.

At least she wasn’t the only one struggling to accept what she had just realized.

What Gwen didn’t know was that Bolas wasn’t disturbed for the same reasons she was.

The prophecy meant little to him.

Another world... That was what truly unsettled him.

Noah himself had come from another world. The appearance of one outsider had already transformed his perspective of reality beyond recognition.

If another world truly merged with this one...

What would follow? Would the forest change once again?

Would creatures get even more abnormal and stronger than the little demon begin appearing?

His gaze slowly lifted toward the endless clouds once more.

If the changing of the world itself had given birth to the sky above them, then what would happen when those clouds finally reached their limit?

A change capable of covering the sky like this could never end with something insignificant.

Bolas found himself hoping someone else had an answer.

His gaze slowly shifted toward Noah.

Unfortunately, Noah merely stood beside Ailetta, quietly discussing everything they currently knew.

There wasn’t the slightest trace of urgency upon his face. Bolas could feel his patience wearing dangerously thin.

"...Little demon!"

His voice was unusually heavy. Noah was quick to look over, thinking that something had changed that he needed to be alerted to. Instead, he was met with Bolas’ impatient glare.

"Aren’t you taking this a little too lightly?"

Noah stood there for a moment, genuine confusion settling across his face.

He didn’t feel as if he was taking the situation lightly. If anything, that was exactly the reason why he was discussing everything with Ailetta.

But after thinking it over, he could see where the disconnect was. Bolas was old and had witnessed a lot of things.

Yet... Everything Bolas had experienced had happened within the same world.

Noah’s experience was different.

"I am taking this seriously," Noah finally replied. "But I don’t think we’re surprised by the same things."

He looked back toward the endless clouds hanging above them.

"My entire life was spent in another world. If my world exists, and your world exists, why wouldn’t there be others?"

Bolas found himself unable to refute the little demon’s reasoning.

If another world already existed beyond this one, then another appearing wasn’t nearly as impossible as it first sounded.

That much he could accept.

Yet... What about the potential dangers it could bring? The creatures it could summon? The forest, their home, could be changed beyond their recognition.

When he was about to voice these thoughts next, he suddenly stopped.

How was any of that different from now?

Within only a few days, they would already be forced to defend the territory from an army of humans.

The little demon had been living with uncertainty ever since arriving in this world.

Another unknown wouldn’t surprise him.

"...Perhaps I’m exaggerating this."

The thought quietly crossed Bolas’ mind. Yet before he could accept this too, he dismissed it again.

Perhaps it was because he couldn’t stand Noah’s nonchalant attitude when he was sitting there agonizing over everything that he couldn’t move on until he made Noah take at least one thing seriously about this.

There was still one thing the little demon hadn’t answered.

His eyes slowly returned to the endless clouds overhead.

If those clouds truly had formed because the world itself was changing...

Then they couldn’t afford to treat them as though they were nothing more than another storm.

If his suspicions were even partially correct, then whatever followed couldn’t possibly be measured against an ordinary storm.

It would be a storm capable of changing the world just as surely as the event that created it.

Bolas slowly shook his head.

"...No."

"There is still something you’re overlooking."

Noah’s expression became more attentive. If there was anything he had overlooked, he would gladly hear it.

"You’ve already accepted that more worlds may exist."

"I can accept that too."

"But that isn’t what concerns me the most right now."

He slowly raised a claw toward the endless clouds.

"If those clouds truly formed because the world itself is changing...then answer me this."

"If that much mana is gathering... just imagine how much mana will be accumulated by the time it’s finally ready."

"And when that happens, what do you think will come crashing down upon this world?"

Bolas’ gaze never left the sky.

"If this truly is a storm created from the world’s merging."

"...then it won’t resemble any storm we’ve ever known. It’ll be a storm worthy of changing the world itself."

This time surely, after everything he just said, Bolas finally felt as though the little demon would understand what had been bothering him all along.

Off to the side, Gwen found herself quietly nodding in agreement.

She had been thinking the same thing.

If the prophecy and the clouds truly were connected, then whatever was about to happen couldn’t possibly be ordinary.

Only...

Neither of them received the reaction they expected.

Instead, Noah simply stared back at Bolas with a strangely puzzled expression.

It was the kind of look someone wore when they couldn’t understand why the other person was stating something so obvious.

Bolas felt his patience wearing thin once again.

"...What?"

Noah blinked slowly, painfully slowly.

"Who says I wasn’t worried about the storm?"

Both Bolas and Gwen froze.

"That was exactly what Le and I were discussing."

Noah glanced over to Ailetta as if asking her was she hearing this? Of course, he was worried about the storm. They could feel the pressure accumulating from the clouds absorbing mana.

But he could literally see it!

The amount being drawn was already staggering. That’s why he first believed there was some sort of deity-like creature behind it.

He ignored Bolas’ dazed expression. If he had known the drake was going to try to lecture him, he would’ve had all of them part of the conversation to begin with.

"Everyone, listen up." Noah’s sudden shout caused any small murmurings around them to abruptly halt.

"Just like Bolas had pointed out, we need to treat this as though the storm is our greatest threat."

His eyes swept across everyone gathered before him.

"Whatever plans you thought you had for today... Forget them."

"Everyone has work to do."