Becoming a Monster

Chapter 312: Chapter 312: The Trap has Finally been Sprung

Having witnessed what happened to Collin. Seeing Noah creating another sphere of equal proportions caused the others to stir. Then, quietly, a whisper came from the crowd.

”We’re going to die...”

No one knew who said it, no one cared to point them out either, because in their hearts they felt the same way.

Morale was declining. There was only so much loyalty to expect from those who were bought with material means, and Vincent understood that. Witnessing true despair for the first time subjected him to do everything he could think of to stay alive. Now he had to do something to salvage this.

He didn’t focus on Burke’s strange actions, fumbling with his breast pocket all this time, finally retrieving it, clutching it within the palm of both of his hands as if it was his ticket to salvation.

No, Vincent’s focus was on something else entirely. All this time, the menacing stare Noah held had never been directed at the crowd, the soldiers, or even Collin.

It had been aimed at the very two people behind him.

Vincent stiffened, a realization settling over him as if he just unraveled the truth of the universe. Abruptly he snapped towards the two heathens who were trying to sneak their way up the steps just like the rest of them.

”Ashbournes’! Don’t forget what you promised!”

The cryptic reminder went unnoticed by almost everyone who was too consumed with Noah’s second wave of foreshadowed death. Their attention diverted to witness the couple who were scared out of their wits to face their son, that no one noticed the somewhat odd nuances in their body as they both froze at the exact same time. The two turned, when looking into their eyes, a glazed emptiness had replaced their fear.

That emptiness flickered for a second before clarity washed back in their vision. The fear they once felt came back at full force, bodies trembling, lips quivering, while tears spilled freely.

However, the two mysteriously gave up on running. Instead, they began descending the stairs as if their lives depended on it.

”No-Noah!”

”Son, please, please! Listen to us!”

Burke watched the two running down the stairs as if something took hold of them. From what he heard earlier, these two despised their son even before this. He couldn’t see the two parents risking their lives to calm down the monster in front of them, but he didn’t look confused about it at all; he was acutely aware of what was happening.

Vincent himself wasn’t notably strong, but in this new world, bodily strength wasn’t the only variable to measure power. Burke had to always be wary when speaking to the man whose words were hidden traps themselves.

There was no one who was able to unearth Vincent’s abilities, and even when asked directly, Vincent never disclosed his, the same way Burke kept his own ability hidden.

But he didn’t need vocal confirmation to ascertain his theory. Whatever ability Vincent had, it was one that binds individuals into a verbal contract of sorts. Burke was just unable to decipher how the contract was formed.

Every interaction he saw, the condition seemed to be different. Sometimes it was made from a simple handshake, other times the person never even touched Vincent. They just responded to a question, answered a plea, or, in the Ashbournes’ case, agreed to a plea out of desperation.

And every deal Vincent made, Burke noticed that unless a deal Vincent made included a time frame, those who were on the receiving end weren’t inclined to act on it. However,there was a trigger that would force the person to act on that contract, and it was simply reminding them of their promise.

Burke had watched too many fall under that invisible binding. It was because of this that Vincent was able to retain his power despite Burke’s own, and it was Vincent that kept himself hiding his own unique ability, in fear that Vincent could easily use it against him.

Watching the couple run down the stairs, Burke glanced towards Vincent, and to his surprise, Vincent was looking right back at him, not trying to hide what he did at all.

”I’ve done my point...But when are you going to do yours?”

Burke didn’t initially respond, he was surprised, skeptical even, but more than anything, he was anxious, anxious to know what exactly was Vincent referring to. He immediately began to suspect that Vincent was aware of his hidden ability all along.

Meanwhile, Vincent read every expression etched in Burke’s face. His face hardened when he assumed Burke was going to continue to play dumb.

”I’ve just lost one of my best men. You have just as much to lose as I do. Don’t insult both of our intelligence, whatever you’ve been vying in your pockets, use it now! Or I’ll be damned if I have to give all of this up and have to start over.”

Even now, Vincent didn’t believe he was in significant danger. Noah was strong, he would acknowledge that now. He was a firm believer in living to see another day. He was unwilling, but ready to leave what he built if that meant staying alive, but if he was going to lose it all just because Burke didn’t want to reveal his hidden cards, then he would make sure that Burke wasn’t making it out of this.

Burke’s jaw tensed at being called out. But then there was relief. He thought Vincent knew more. And from what he gathered, Vincent was clueless about the item he held.

”I wasn’t hiding anything, Vincent...” He muttered, staring intently towards his now opened hands that revealed a small scroll of parchment. It was a parchment made out of a hide instead of actual paper, a hide that looked so ancient it belonged in a museum.

The parchment was shining with an aura of red and white layers of energy. Slowly it levitated in the air on its own as it unfurled itself.

Its contents revealed hieroglyphs of creatures unheard of before, and some that were only believed to be fairy tales. Instead of the usual runic markings people had grown accustomed to. These glyphs began rearranging themselves into a spiral pattern around an empty space of the parchment while in the center an image of Noah began to form.

Burke’s gaze grew crazed seeing the progress in action. And when he watched Noah’s image turning into a spectral image and the air, he let out a sinister laughter that wasn’t like him at all.

He was going to tame Noah, the monster that would pave his future forever, and this parchment was the key to guarantee his success.

____________________

”Noah, this isn’t like you. Don’t you remember us? We were the ones who raised you. We gave you everything. We raised you to be the best, remember? We only ever wanted what was best for you. Don’t forget we are still your parents.”

”Th-that’s right baby. Everything we did was to prepare you for greatness. You were special and I saw it in you from the start. I’ve always loved you. Stop this and come back to us, we can be a proper family. I know you don’t want to hurt me.”

Noah’s father and mother were trying their hardest to convince Noah to stop his attack. Noah’s body twitched at their voices, but the spiraling vortex continued to condense, spurring his parents to grow even more frantic. But as they were trying to play on his emotions, the father caught onto the fact that his wife was slowly excluding him in her persuasions. He couldn’t say if she was doing it on purpose, but emotions didn’t need reasoning, he was triggered to do the same.

”No-Son! Whatever happened in the past can be fixed. I made bad decisions in my life and not loving you is my biggest regret. I couldn’t keep up with your mothers lifestyle, I put that burden on you. But I was prepared to make up for it. I had big plans for you. You were going to take over the business, carry our Legacy! Please forgive me.”

The fathers voice cracked, but he briefly glanced at his wife, bitterness flickering in his eyes.

”I couldn’t keep up with your mothers expectations. I let her raise you how she wanted, and you paid the price. I’ll do better this time, I’ll make sure she does better.”

”Don’t you dare pin this on me. He was your son too! I didn’t want to have a child, let alone a son. All that money we spent on him and look where it got us!”

”Oh, wonderful, now you.....”

The two were so caught up in their argument that they didn’t realize the rage bubbling deep inside Noah. He should’ve been incoherent to their words, yet his subconscious was beyond enraged. That deep seeded anger wasn’t just empowering him, but the creature sleeping within his soul suddenly stirred.

Noah’s soul was feeding the creature with his rage, tempting the creature to wake up, consenting to it, to allow it to take over.

That creature, the physical embodiment of Noah’s will, and his consciousness that was devoid of morality, and self-control. This creature was the form of everything he had been suppressing.

Now, it was finally going to be let free. And the entity inside of him was eagerly watching it all. Its first seed had finally taken root.