Becoming a Monster

Noah watched the first crack spread across the egg without any surprise.

He could already tell that Arachne’s ability wasn’t responsible for making it hatch. The creature inside had been close to emerging before she ever used it.

The energy entering the egg had merely accelerated the process, pushing its development through what little remained before it was ready to emerge.

What interested Noah far more was the connection Arachne had created in the process.

Arachne had always possessed a connection with her brood, but the one forming with the creature inside the egg went considerably deeper. Noah could see a portion of its existence becoming anchored within Arachne, permanently tying the two together in a way that went far beyond the relationship she shared with her normal offspring.

That was one of the abilities she gained from Eve’s genes.

Sovereign Lifebound Guardians.

At its current stage, Arachne could only possess two of them.

Normally, Noah wouldn’t have considered that much of a limitation. Two permanent Guardians that received a quarter of Arachne’s attributes without weakening her in return was already ridiculous, especially when that additional strength would continue increasing alongside her own.

The permanence of her choice was what made those two positions considerably more important.

Once Arachne chose a member of her brood, there was no changing her mind later. Even if that Guardian died, its place would remain occupied for as long as Arachne lived.

And she had already decided to give the first one to the creature inside the egg.

Noah couldn’t say he disagreed with her choice.

Arachne had given this egg more nutrients than even Atlas received during his development. She had gone even further afterward by consuming a large amount of Noah’s blood and using it to imprint his essence onto the creature developing inside.

If any of her offspring deserved one of the two positions before it was even born, this one had the potential to justify it.

Especially when death wouldn’t necessarily be the end of it.

The portion of its existence now anchored within Arachne would remain even if its body was destroyed. Through that connection, she could eventually birth the same Guardian again, allowing it to return with all the memories it accumulated throughout its previous life.

Arachne wouldn’t even have to recreate the same body.

If she possessed stronger bloodlines by then, or simply wanted to take the Guardian’s evolution in another direction, its next egg could be created with an entirely different foundation.

But Noah quickly realized that didn’t make the Guardians immortal.

Bringing one back came at a considerable cost.

Without anything remaining from the Guardian, Arachne would have to replace what was lost using her own soul and life force. The stronger the Guardian became, the greater that sacrifice would be, and both would remain weakened afterward while recovering from the rebirth.

Recovering its core would reduce that burden considerably.

Recovering the body along with it would reduce it even further.

That alone gave Arachne plenty of reason to keep her Guardians alive rather than treating their ability to return as something she could abuse.

And there was another reason.

Their existences were anchored within Arachne, not the other way around. Losing a Guardian wouldn’t directly harm her, but if Arachne died, both of the Guardians she chose would die alongside her.

Noah found that part strangely fitting.

Arachne was creating two members of her brood that could remain beside her for the rest of her life. Their bodies could change. Their species could change. They could even die and eventually be born again.

But the individuals she chose would never change.

Another crack spread across the egg while Noah was still considering the implications of the ability.

The green seams across its exterior pulsed before several fractures branched outward, and this time the movement came from within.

Noah’s attention immediately returned to it.

Whatever Arachne had created using his blood was finally coming out.

The cracks continued spreading until a portion of the egg finally broke apart.

One of its legs emerged first, planting itself against the ground before another followed from the opposite side.

The rest gradually came after.

Three spider-like legs unfolded from either side of its body, surrounding a more humanoid pair beneath it. Two arms extended from its narrow upper body as the creature slowly pulled itself free from what remained of the egg.

Its backside took longer to emerge.

A long abdomen gradually slipped free from the shell, hanging behind and below the rest of its body. Unlike the rounded abdomen Noah was accustomed to seeing from Arachne’s other offspring, this one was considerably narrower, tapering toward a point near the bottom.

Four thin tendrils trailed from the back of its head, two falling along either side. Even at its current size, they were long enough to nearly reach the ground.

Once the newborn finally managed to stand, it barely reached four feet tall.

That was when Noah noticed the eyes.

The four glowing violet eyes across its face were obvious, but they weren’t the only ones. Smaller violet spots were scattered across its torso and abdomen, and after focusing on them for a moment, Noah realized several were actually additional eyes.

Some were so small that he initially mistook them for the same violet markings running between portions of its black exoskeleton.

Its face was just as unusual.

Unlike Arachne or Atlas, there was almost nothing human about it. The black exoskeleton covered its entire head, leaving no exposed skin or nose beneath its glowing eyes.

It did have a mouth, although it was almost too easy to overlook at first.

A thin seam blended almost perfectly with the surrounding exoskeleton, making the mouth difficult to notice while it remained closed. The small pair of mandibles resting on either side were practically the only indication that one was there.

Only when its mouth opened did the seam separate, revealing what had been hidden beneath the exoskeleton.

For several seconds, the newborn remained where it stood. All of its eyes stared blankly towards nowhere.

Only moments later did those eyes begin to process its surroundings, and within that time it suddenly paused as it felt the presence it was searching for.

It turned in that direction, immediately kneeling in Arachne’s presence.

It was difficult to depict the spider’s strength when compared to someone like Atlas, especially when her presence was so thin.

However, both Noah and Arachne could sense how strong this spider truly was.

No... It wasn’t her strength that they were feeling, but her potential that was being sensed.

As a newborn, the spider still needed time to fully grow. Its strength was perhaps half as strong as it would be by the time it fully reached maturity.

Despite that, Arachne stood proud as she stood before it.

The connection created by her guardian ability alone gave Arachne a stronger sense of affection for the creature compared to her other soldiers. But someone else understood far more about where that affection stemmed from.

For someone who had always supported Arachne, treating her as her sister, even willing to share her man with them, this was where Ailetta had drawn the line.

When Ailetta looked at the creature, she didn’t see just a spider, nor did she see a loyal soldier.

She saw a daughter, a child created with Noah’s very genes.

That was no different than Arachne and Noah having a child together.

Was she angry? Certainly so. She was supposed to be Noah’s first.

But that frustration wasn’t towards Arachne; it was towards herself. Arachne finally took initiative in her own way. She played the game better than she did.

She made Noah do something she’d been trying to do for days, and she did it without Noah even realizing it.

Ailetta couldn’t even be upset with her for that. If anything, she was more annoyed with herself for not thinking of something sooner.

Her gaze returned to the newborn standing before Arachne.

There was still one fact that made the situation easier for Ailetta to accept. No matter how she looked at it, this wasn’t quite the same as Arachne giving birth to Noah’s child.

The creature had been created using his blood, and there was no denying that his genes had become an important part of what it was. Ailetta considered the newborn their child because of that, but Noah’s genes had been introduced only after Arachne had already created the egg.

It could only be considered to be his, indirectly.

And that distinction was enough for Ailetta to decide that Arachne hadn’t beaten her yet. There was still an opportunity for her to be first, and after watching Arachne take the initiative in her own way, Ailetta had no intention of waiting for Noah to figure out the appropriate time.

Unfortunately, there was still something standing in her way.

The humans.

Ailetta’s expression darkened slightly at the thought of the army making its way toward their territory. They had already interfered with enough, and now they were delaying something she had become increasingly determined to accomplish.

Once they dealt with them-

No.

Once they destroyed them, Ailetta was going to make sure there was nothing left preventing her from taking the next step with Noah.

She didn’t particularly care how stubborn he decided to be about it either. She had already spent days making her intentions increasingly obvious.

That patience was quickly reaching its end.

Arachne had found her own way to have a child carrying Noah’s genes, and Ailetta had to admit she had played the game better this time. She could even let Arachne enjoy that victory without letting her jealousy ruin something that clearly made her sister happy.

But there was one thing Ailetta refused to concede.

When it came to giving Noah his first true child, that position was still hers.

And strangely enough, settling that within her mind was enough to curb most of the frustration she felt while looking at the newborn.

Arachne had taken the lead.

Ailetta would just have to make sure she didn’t keep it.