HISSS-
Mark immediately moved back.
Or at least, tried to, at the sight of the wide open mouth of the long snake tightly wrapped around his arm.
The woman raised a hand off the ground and lay on Mark's stomach, as if to get his attention back. And she did.
"I am your head, Mark. I remember eeeeverything, get it?" Her hands slowly moved down his face. "I remember it all, Mark. I am you." She said, as she caressed his neck. "A more complete you."
Grab-
She firmly grasped his neck, strangling him. It took no time for Mark to start gasping for air.
"A more complete you, hear me, Mark?"
The golden and green pupils stared at him.
A diabolical smile.
The next second, cracks started appearing under the side of her face on which the green pupil resided.
"I am you, Mark…"
The cracks fell. And, behind that side of her face, was revealed…
"A better you."
His own monstrous face.
Mark hurriedly closed his eyes.
He was paralyzed. Has been for a while.
Not awake, but not asleep either. Somewhere between the two.
Mark had closed his eyes.
The only way to move past it, was to fall asleep.
He knew that, as it was something he had dealt with a lot in the past.
Albeit, a long-forgotten one.
Cold winds blew over the snow-covered land that seemed limitless.
Dead branches broke under the pressure, which only seemed to fuel Mark's restless slumber.
A slumber plagued by nightmares.
After a while, Mark jerked himself awake.
His breathing was heavy and ragged.
'Wha-'
For a couple of seconds, he seemed in a daze.
His gaze slowly moved towards his right side.
Zzz-
Elisa's finger scratched her cheek, probably due to an unruly strand of hair tickling her, then her reddened nose.
She tightened her arms, wrapped around Mark's right arm once more.
Her head lay against his shoulder.
Still in a daze, he stared at her for a bit as she slept.
He moved his gaze.
His breathing was unstable, and so, his stomach moved up and down as he breathed in and out.
Which caused the Moonlit Feline, curled up on his stomach, to be moved up and down too.
Mark focused on his breathing.
On slowing it down.
On stabilizing it.
He didn't want to disturb them.
Not when they were sleeping so peacefully.
Mark closed his eyes for a bit.
...
A couple of minutes later, Elisa yawned.
"Atchoom... So cold..." She whispered before rubbing her half-opened eyes.
'Huh... Is this the tree I slept below?'
She looked around for a bit, though she couldn't see much.
Elisa was still half asleep.
She moved her hand and,
"Ah! Cold..." It came into contact with the freezing snow.
Through her half-open eyes, she was barely able to locate the Moonlit Feline in the snow, inches away from her.
"Krista... Hey, Krista..." She whispered before tapping the slumbering Moonlit Feline's body.
The white-furred cat hissed instinctively, it hated being disturbed when asleep.
"Think you can get a bit... Bigger? Please...?" Elisa was nodding off while asking the question.
Krista yawned, and,
"Ugh... Can't you do this... More quietly?" Elisa complained, blinded by the sudden outburst of light.
Light had been emitted, but no sound.
'Guess he couldn't... Sleep after all...' Elisa thought to herself.
She moved her body closer to Krista's, before using the Moonlit Feline as a body pillow.
Judging by the expression on her face, it seemed like an incredibly comfortable position to be in.
Judging by the expression Krista showed, the Lioness didn't mind either.
Zzz-
About twenty meters away, Mark was standing.
He watched them for a bit, before walking away.
How long he had slept, he did not know. Had he even slept? He wasn't sure. And it didn't matter to him.
Mark walked through the blizzard in a straight line.
He passed countless dead trees, and kept walking further and further.
The blizzard, snow, and dead trees.
Nothing else.
The sound of the wind.
Nothing else.
'Mm.'
Mark kept walking.
'I get it now.'
Perhaps sleeping had helped somehow.
'That uneasiness I've been feeling...'
Perhaps it was his encounter with her.
'The reason I protected you that day...'
It all seemed to make sense now.
'After beating the Lich, after killing the Arachne, and that child-like Monster... Yeah. That feeling. The way I was becoming, that's the way the rest of the Candidates must have become. Heartless, ruthless, and monstrous. Truly selfish and egotistical. But I... That child-like Boss Monster. Right now, I can see it. That was the most important battle. Had I continued the way I was going, I wouldn't have Revived Levi, I wouldn't have done a lot... I wouldn't be the way I am now. The only reason I am this way, is because you were. At the turning point, I found you.'
A good distance away, the slumbering Lioness yawned.
'That Boss Monster... That was the first time there was a Monster that I didn't want to... That I didn't want to kill. Its child-like appearance, its innocent face, its smile...'
Mark sighed.
'I even felt somber once it had lost its smile. In a way, I didn't want it to lose that smile. But I still killed it. No matter how I, deep down, didn't want to. Because the two of us... Were Monsters. Even though it was beautiful, I tore its body apart, and swallowed it. Because the two of us... Were Monsters. Both of us refused to back down. So one of us had to die. In a way, you were just like it. I was prepared to kill you, but... You backed down.'
He stopped, placed his hands on his hips, and raised his gaze.
'The first and only time... A Monster did not choose Death... Over joining me.'
Mark stared at the misty sky above for a bit, contemplating.
'And I protected you. Because I didn't want to lose... The part of me that was being discarded. The part of me...'
For no real reason, he quatted down.
'That didn't want to kill that child-like... The part of me that found the two of you beautiful. The part of me that didn't only want to destroy. The one that pushed me... To Devour Kira.'
His eyes were fixated on the white snow below.
'The part of me that believed... That some things needed to be protected. That killing wasn't the only...'
Mark smiled, and he stood up.
'In the ugliness and darkness that ruled that Dungeon, you were the light I found. And I'm so glad that I did. But now, I realize. More than ever, that I am...'
He took a step forward.
'Fine with that darkness. No. More precisely... I'm, now, fine with that darkness, because I found you then.'
The first Monster to have preferred him over Death.
'And then it happened again, with Elisa. But it's obvious. So obvious that I can't understand how I didn't get it sooner. Because the Dungeon was filled with them and only them, I assumed you were too but... That's not the case.'
He walked and walked.
'The two of you... Aren't Monsters. And I've grown accustomed to being with you. With others, that aren't Monsters. It's obvious when I think about it.'
Through the blizzard, Mark could see the outline of a certain... Something, in the distance.
'The way you tense up during battle, the way your hair stands on end... You never enjoyed fighting. You only did so because you needed to. Because I brought you into it. That fact... Has never been easier to notice than now.'
The shape became a bit clearer.
'And you... It's the same for you too. Your smile when you fight, is way too different from the one you show when you're with Krista, or when you're laughing wholeheartedly.'
Through the thick mist, yellow pupils were glowing.
'The two of you aren't Monsters. And now that I've grown accustomed... And comfortable. The part of me that I'm scared of losing is...'
Mark approached the silhouette closer.
Closer and closer, until it could be seen completely.
A Monster that stood at four to five meters tall, towering above Mark.
It had four limbs, and stood on two, just like him.
Its musculature was well-developed, something that could be noted despite the thick layer of coarse gray hair over its muscles.
[Growing Yeti, [D+] Ranked Monster:
Yetis are creatures found in the South Regions of the Rift...]
'I can't drag... Or rather, force the two of you to live a Monster's life further. Just like I can't let the two of you drag me into a life that isn't a Monster's.'
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" looks at you with sparkling eyes.]
[Your Title "Devourer" complains that it took you too long!]
'Yeah. It did...'
A dozen meters away, the large Monster's clenched fist banged on its chest.
'This kind of life isn't for the two of you. The two of you...'
The Growing Yeti roared powerfully enough for Mark to feel vibrations go through his body.
Mark smiled at the approaching Beast.
'Are too beautiful to live like Monsters. Which is why...!'
The Devourer roared back.
Meanwhile, a good distance away, Krista's pelt was hugged tightly by a half-asleep Elisa.
"Ugh. Kristaaaa...!" The Lioness groaned. "Why is... Your pelt... As cold as the snow?"
