Reborn As An Evolving Monster



Due, perhaps, to the darkness surrounding them and their tiredness, they hadn't noticed it seep from the ground. Although it was often referred to as something that seeps from the ground, this wasn't a known fact, but a theory. It might have been brought by the wind,  produced by the air around them, or have descended from the clouds above.

In any case, it was starting to take effect.

And the first one to feel its effects, was Krista, The Moonlit Feline.

The white-furred cat had suddenly stopped walking.

Its hair stood on end.

A slight feeling of discomfort.

Shake it off, shake it off.

The discomfort remained.

Krista's gaze moved towards Mark and Elisa who had continued walking.

The Moonlit Feline meowed. The two stopped and turned around.

Krista skipped towards them.

As if all tiredness and sleepiness had left her, she jumped and climbed up Mark's body before affectionately licking his face.

He patted her head gently.

That wasn't it.

Krista turned around and jumped into Elisa's arms.

The Moonlit Feline licked Elisa's chin and cheek while the latter held its body tenderly.

Krista stopped, and Elisa's sleepy eyes stared, both amused and puzzled.

That wasn't it either.

The Moonlit hopped off and walked beyond them.

It stared at the darkness surrounding them in the dead of night.

Krista arched her back, stretching every muscle fiber in her body.

A tingle.

Purrrr-

The Moonlit Feline walked forward, leading the group.

Both Mark and Elisa looked at one another before shrugging and following Krista.

...

The three walked.

In the quiet night, all that could be heard was Mark's mumbling, Elisa's nodding, and Krista's purring.

"So that's... That's it went with the... With the..."

"The Guardian...?"

"Yeah... Yeah... The Sixth Floor's Guardian... And then... There was the Seventh-"

"The Fifth! We already... Talked about the previous... Ones..."

"Oh... Right... The Fifth... Was special... Had no..."

On the other hand, the Moonlit Feline leading the group seemed more energetic than usual.

It would leap forward while staring at the darkness beyond, and sometimes turn its head from right to left as if looking for something.

What was it looking for?

All Mark and Elisa could do was shrug.

"Oh. I think... It's fine now."

"Let's keep going... Till sunrise." 

"Easy... For you to say."

"Why is that?"

"You used to not even sleep."

"Mm." The white-scaled nodded before letting out a long yawn. "I like sleeping now."

"Let's at least take a break." Elisa muttered as she collapsed on the ground.

Mark did the same.

The Moonlit Feline turned back, seemingly annoyed by the forced stop.

Still, it walked closer to them and climbed onto Elisa's thighs.

"Well, aren't you energetic?"

"This might be easier than Sloth." Mark commented as he lay on his back, staring at the cloudy sky above. "Nothing standing in our way for now." He clicked his tongue. "Though I have a feeling fewer enemies only means stronger ones."

"This isn't a Dungeon. If there are no Monsters, then there are no Monsters." Elisa, seated on folded knees, stroked the Moonlit Feline's fur. "I do hate this place still."

"Why?" He yawned. "It's peaceful. For now, at least."

"Mm..." Elisa placed a hand on the ground. It was dry and dusty. "There's no Nature here."

"So? There isn't much of that in deserts either."

"The land is dead. Empty... Almost like things aren't supposed to survive here."

"No chances for anything to grow or survive, huh?"

"Yes. Maybe that's why the Monsters in the Border want to stop us that much. We disturbed the peace of this place. A place where the living is-"

Yawn-

"Did you just yawn while I was-"

"A place where the living isn't welcome. Is there anything peaceful about that?"

"It's quiet and still."

"I would have expected that from Sloth, not Lust."

Elisa agreed. Unable to find an explanation for it, she shrugged.

Krista's tail swayed.

"Think it has something to do with the clouds?"

"The clouds?"

"Mm." Mark nodded. "Maybe the sun doesn't reach?"

"The ground is dry. It's not cold either, so I don't think that's it."

Mark stared at the cloudy sky before closing his eyes.

'Since when do I care about what the ground looks like?' His eyebrow twitched.

Elisa seemed to care though.

Maybe one caring about something was enough for the two.

"Do you think it could change?"

"The ground?" 

"Yes. Do you think it could... Get better?"

"Why do you care?"

"Don't know..." Elisa wiped the dry ground to the side with a hand. "It's sad, isn't it? Seeing it like this."

"I don't think so."

"Of course it is! It's all... Sad and dead! When it could be beautiful and full of life! Of course, it's sad."

Mark shrugged without answering.

"And we've been walking and running for a while now. Aaaall this land. Wasted."

"Well," He chuckled. "It is a wasteland."

"But it could be so much more!"

It could be so much more-

Mark nodded silently, before slowly crawling closer to Elisa.

Without saying a word, he lay the back of his head on her thigh. Kritsa begrudgingly moved a bit to leave him enough space.

Elisa was looking straight ahead.

Mark turned to lay on his side, his left cheek on her left thigh.

"It's a nice thought." He finally said as he stared at the darkness in front of them.

"Right? Haha!" Elisa brought a hand closer to his face before stopping. With her index finger, she gently poked his cheek repeatedly. "It's true too. I mean, there's so much land. It has everything to bear life, but it doesn't. Mmm. It's pretty sad."

"It is sad... I guess."

"You guess, huh?"

Elisa liked having him so close.

She thought it was the first time he had approached her this way, which also felt quite nice.

"Oh. Now that I think about it..." Elisa lay her hand on his head. Mark flinched at her words. He turned his head further, as if to bury his face in her thigh, or perhaps hide it. "It's like that story you told me about, isn't it?"

"What story?" Mark asked. He would have rathered her not make the link but, she had.

"Well, the land has everything it needs to... Do its thing. It's sad. Like the story about that boy told me. The boy who loved running, but couldn't."