Super Spark of Duper Pride [OB] - Act I: Motivation

3-S: Dragons' Choices (Wyrm 11 & Apex 3)

Wyrm 11:

It's been a while.

I have stopped crying.

I am just laying on my bed, drained of energy.

"Gah!"

Skanda-sama's aura of Fear is back!

I jolted up out of fear of 'sparring' again.

I sat and waited for it to come.

...

But he is not coming into my room to drag me out?

I am scared, but also worried.

I muster up the courage to get out of bed and towards the door.

I hesitated, before forcing myself to open the door.

Then I found Skanda-sama just sitting there, looking at the corpses of the Humans, with his front scythes and part of his lower body missing entirely.

<What happened to you!?>

I asked out of concern, only to immediately feel afraid as I realise I have drawn his attention to me.

Skanda-sama: <Hm?...I will survive, if that's what you are worried about.>

But his tone is a lot calmer now, with a hint of sombreness to it.

Is he finally back to normal?

No, his normal is confident and upright, not sad and defeated.

Hopeful yet cautious, I slowly make my way to him.

He doesn't respond.

I sit down next to him, noticing that two of his eyes are gone.

Just what kind of hellish battle did he get himself into while he was away?

Skanda-sama: <Y'know? These guys were probably just on an expedition.>

He said, pointing at the Humans corpses with one of his now broken scythe legs.

Skanda-sama: <Most likely have families waiting for them back home.>

His tone is rather casual, but his real feelings can be inferred from his choice of words.

We both sit there for a while, just staring at the Humans.

It's...unfortunate, to say the least.

I wonder if I would have killed them in self-defence?

I may have been a Monster for a good while now, but I still haven't killed anything yet.

And considering our ultimate goal is to become Humans again, I would like to avoid acting like a Monster.

I am sure Skanda-sama feels the same, which is why he is so...I don't know, disappointed with himself maybe?

Probably, definitely.

He cares a lot about moral standards, which is also the reason learning the truth pissed him off so much.

He expects better, both from himself and others.

Skanda-sama: <It sucks. Spontaneously regrowing a moral compass and having a 'My gosh! What have I done?!' crisis. Heh...>

He said jokingly as he turned away from me.

Is he too ashamed to face me?

Skanda-sama: <Look at me, wasting my time on things I am not proud of, that won't make me happy. All for what? To satisfy my self-righteousness? Just pathetic. Heh heh heh...>