Becoming a Monster

Noah tried to focus on what Arachne intended to prepare next, but his attention kept returning to the newborn.

There was something about it that he recognized.

The spider’s physical characteristics alone weren’t enough for Noah to remember where he had seen something similar before. However, as he focused more on its thin presence and dark silhouette, almost as though its entire existence was centered around being an assassin, he finally remembered where he had seen those traits.

It was one of the traits associated with Vaulting Shadow, the evolution Arachne had passed over when she first received the opportunity to evolve.

That was what Noah couldn’t understand.

Nothing about Arachne’s current bloodline should’ve allowed one of her offspring to suddenly develop a trait from an evolution she had never chosen. Noah’s genes could explain why something dormant within her might’ve changed or become stronger, but they couldn’t explain how something that shouldn’t exist within her in the first place had suddenly appeared.

Unless it did exist within her.

The thought immediately changed how Noah looked at the newborn.

Perhaps choosing an evolution didn’t completely erase the paths that weren’t taken.

Arachne had chosen to awaken one possibility over another, but the potential for Vaulting Shadow might’ve remained buried somewhere within her genes all this time. It never manifested in Arachne herself, but that didn’t necessarily mean she couldn’t pass that dormant potential on to her offspring.

And that’s where Noah’s blood appeared to make the difference.

Noah became increasingly interested the longer he considered the possibility. If an evolutionary path could remain dormant after being passed over, then would the same thing happen if Fenrir were to have a child?

What about himself? Could he still find a way to awaken his last class awakening?

His thoughts began to spiral, burying him down a rabbit hole that had no end.

Yet, before he could, something entirely different pulled his attention away.

His head snapped in Ailetta’s direction. Her desires and frustrations were practically flooding through their connection.

He stared at her for a moment before glancing toward the newborn again, and only then did Noah begin to understand what had been running through her mind.

Apparently, Ailetta considered him a father now.

The realization caught Noah completely off guard.

He had given his blood to his creatures more times than he could count. His genes existed within many of them. For his Fallen, he could be considered the progenitor of them all, similar to their creator if vaguely described as such.

However, Noah never once looked at any of them and considered himself their parent.

He hadn’t looked at Arachne’s new soldier any differently.

As far as Noah was concerned, his blood was simply used to influence the soldier’s growth.

That was it.

Or at least, that was how he had viewed it.

Now that Ailetta had forced him to look at the situation differently, Noah could understand why she didn’t see it the same way.

The newborn had come from Arachne, but a portion of what it had become came directly from him.

Cold logic made it easy for Noah to separate that from actually having a child with her. Especially when there wasn’t any physical intercourse involved.

Looking beyond that logic made the implications harder to brush off.

And judging from what continued pouring through his connection with Ailetta, she had absolutely no intention of allowing Noah to dismiss her thoughts as delusional in any way.

Ailetta eventually noticed his gaze, meeting his stare with narrowed eyes before turning her attention back toward Arachne. Through their connection, she relayed only a single sentence.

’We’ll speak about this later.’

That worked in Noah’s favor since he still needed time to process everything.

But when he returned his attention to the newborn, he found himself looking at her a little differently than before.

Should he consider the creature his daughter?

’I guess after talking to Le, Arachne and I will need to discuss this too.’ Noah sighed internally.

Thankfully, Arachne remained unaware of everything going on between them. She had just finished using her ability on Atlas, permanently claiming her first Royal Dreadguard as her second Lifebound Guardian.

Now that she was finished, she finally moved on to what Noah had been waiting to see.

Arachne’s ability to create her own Fallen.

With steady steps, she approached one of the two eggs resting a short distance away from the newborn.

Her eyes glistened for barely a second as she acknowledged the creature developing within. Then, without any hesitation, Arachne lowered her head and sank her fangs into the egg.

Seconds passed as she remained there.

The change to the egg was gradual at first. Its exterior began losing its luster, while the faint traces of energy within disappeared along with the life Noah had sensed developing inside.

By the time Arachne withdrew her fangs, the egg was completely hollow.

Its shell remained standing for only a few moments longer. Arachne had barely taken several steps away before cracks spread across its brittle exterior, causing the entire thing to crumble in on itself.

What little remained broke apart as it struck the ground, leaving behind a small pile of fine dust.

Everyone there watched as it happened.

Between Ailetta, Eve, and Atlas, their gaze only traced the egg for a second before focusing on Arachne. All they could do was wait, anticipating what Arachne would do next.

Noah silently pitied the life that had been developing within the egg.

Apparently, no one else cared that one of Arachne’s offspring had just disappeared before it ever had the chance to be born.

Noah, however, didn’t have to wonder about what she was going to do next.

His attention had already moved toward Arachne’s abdomen.

The green seams running across it pulsed much stronger than before; in the moment of silence, they could all hear each pulse. The sound continued at a steady rhythm as Arachne approached Atlas, who was still kneeling from the time he had been promoted.

She stopped in front of him before turning around.

"Drink."

Atlas didn’t question her orders as he tilted his head back and opened his mouth.

A small amount of liquid began gathering at the end of Arachne’s abdomen. It was vibrant green, much brighter than the energy running through her seams, with a faint glow that made the single drop increasingly suspicious as it grew.

Eventually, the drop fell.

Atlas swallowed it with unwavering loyalty, never questioning what the drop could do to him.

The reaction was triggered the moment he consumed it.

Green light suddenly appeared under his exoskeleton and exposed skin as the veins throughout his body became visible. The glow spread rapidly until the entirety of Atlas’s veins could be seen beneath his exterior.

His body tensed; a mist of energy began forming around his legs, then gradually climbed higher. It wrapped around his kneeling form, with layer after layer continuing to build until most of Atlas had disappeared.

The cocoon taking shape around him was nearly identical to the one Arachne had undergone during her own transformation. It continued growing until Atlas’s body disappeared completely, leaving nothing but the cocoon behind.

Arachne remained still in front of the cocoon, staring at it as though she could somehow see what was happening inside.

Almost subconsciously, one of her hands raised toward its exterior. She could feel the transformation taking place through their connection, and with it came a faint sense of joy from knowing she was the one responsible for giving someone else this opportunity to grow stronger.

A small smile gradually formed on her lips.

She couldn’t help thinking that she was becoming more like Noah.

Strengthening those under him was something Noah had been doing for as long as she could remember. As their King, he was constantly finding new ways to help them improve, and now Arachne was beginning to experience what it felt like to do something similar for those who followed her.

If Noah could do this as their King, then perhaps doing the same was another indication that she was becoming closer to the Queen she wanted to be.

That thought stayed with Arachne as she turned away from Atlas and approached the final egg.

She repeated the same process as before, sinking her fangs into its exterior and draining everything developing inside.

This time, Arachne approached the newborn, leaving fine dust behind her.

The seriousness she had shown when standing before Atlas was noticeably absent. Her expression softened slightly as she stopped in front of the spider, and even when she turned around to present the end of her abdomen, the command that followed didn’t carry quite the same coldness.

"Drink."

It was probably better that Atlas wasn’t aware of what was happening.

If he had been watching, the devoted soldier would’ve clearly noticed the difference in treatment.

Another vibrant drop began gathering at the end of Arachne’s abdomen, its green glow reflecting across several of the newborn’s eyes. She watched it curiously until it separated and landed inside her waiting mouth.

Moments after swallowing it, the same green light that had spread through Atlas began appearing throughout her veins.

Unlike Atlas, the newborn seemed confused by the sudden change. Several of her eyes shifted across her body, following the glow until the familiar material began forming around her.

She barely had time to understand what was happening before it continued spreading, eventually enclosing her smaller body within a cocoon of her own.

With that, Arachne had created her first two Fallen.