NOVEL NEXT Chapter 33: Time Of Resolution
"Everyone out for dinner!!!"
The dark, commanding voice of General Lemon thundered through the room, shaking the air with authority. It was less of an invitation and more of an order, a reminder that even in moments of exhaustion or pain, the demands of the camp could not be ignored.
Sera arched an eyebrow, clearly unfazed by the general's voice. Myia, on the other hand, shifted uneasily. She looked at Zakar, torn between wanting to stay and obeying the command.
But before either of them could move, Zakar spoke. His voice was low, almost hoarse, but it carried a weight that made both girls pause.
"Go. Leave me."
Sera tilted her head, her lips curling slightly as though she had expected this answer all along. Myia blinked, surprised.
"What? But… you're hurt. You need—"
"I said go," Zakar repeated, sharper this time. His eyes, normally calm and quiet, now glimmered with an intensity that made Myia's protests falter. "Both of you. I'll manage. Just… give me time alone."
The silence that followed was heavy. Sera stared at him for a long moment, her crimson gaze cutting deep, as if she were searching for cracks in his mask. Then, with a light shrug, she stood.
"Fine. Your secrets are your own. Don't bleed out before dessert." Her tone was laced with mockery, but her eyes lingered on him, almost suspicious.
Myia hesitated. Her lips parted, ready to argue, but when she caught the tired yet firm expression on Zakar's face, she relented. "Okay… but promise me you'll call if the pain becomes too much." Her voice trembled, soft and genuine, but she slowly stepped back toward the door.
Within moments, the room emptied. The door closed behind them with a dull thud, leaving Zakar in silence.
*********
The silence was deafening. For the first time since he carried the woman in, the air felt still, heavy with the scent of blood and sweat.
Zakar leaned back against the wall, his chest rising and falling in uneven breaths. His body ached,his wound screaming for relief, yet his mind hurt more than his flesh.
He pressed his hands to his face, fingers dragging across his skin as though he could wipe away the memories.
But they came back, vivid and merciless. The screams of the men, the way his claws tore through flesh, the taste of warm blood forced down his throat by the system's control.
'Why… why will I keep becoming this?' His thoughts spiraled.
'I thought I could control it. I thought I could bury it. But it keeps surfacing, dragging me into the pit I swore never to fall into again.'
He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, drawing fresh beads of blood. The pain grounded him, but it also reminded him of the truth he was hiding.
If they knew… His mind flickered back to Myia's worried face, to the way she had looked at him with concern, almost affection.
'If she knew what I really am, would her eyes still hold that softness? Or would they fill with fear? Disgust? Hatred?'
Sera's voice echoed next in his head, mocking and cold.
'She would expose me in a heartbeat. She doesn't believe me already. She's watching me. Doesn't seem like a good thing to hear about.'
And then, worse of all, the thought of Justin. Zakar's breath caught, his pulse quickening. The idea that Justin might have followed him, might have seen what happened… it gnawed at him.
If Justin had witnessed the massacre, if he knew Zakar had fed on three men like a beast, then everything was already over. The lie he told would crumble. The fragile trust he'd built would collapse.
"Damn it…" Zakar whispered, slamming a fist against the wall. The impact jarred his wounds, sending waves of pain through his body, but he welcomed it. Pain meant he was still human, still capable of choosing. At least that's what he told himself.
He looked toward the unconscious woman on his bed. Her chest rose and fell faintly, each breath steadier than the last thanks to Myia's healing. For a brief moment, he felt a flicker of relief.
"She doesn't even know me," he muttered, his voice a rasp.
"And yet I risked everything to save her. Why? What am I even doing anymore? Am I protecting her… or trying to prove to myself I'm not just a monster? Or am I a flirt?"
The system's voice echoed faintly in his head, cold and mechanical, a whisper he despised.
[Survival requires sacrifice. You did what was necessary.]
Zakar gritted his teeth, refusing to respond.He had no strength to argue with the parasite inside him. But he knew one thing. If this continued, he would lose himself completely.
He exhaled shakily, forcing himself to think. Justin's absence gnawed at him like a thorn.
'If he knows, if he saw… I'll have to confront him. I can't let suspicion linger. Not now. Not when everything is hanging by a thread.'
But another thought followed, darker and colder: And if he truly knows, then I'll have no choice but to silence him.
Zakar shuddered at his own reasoning, horrified by how naturally the thought came. Maybe he was truly bonded to the Death System because of his nature. He dragged both his hands to cover his face in exhaustion and anxiety.
"I'm losing myself," he admitted to the empty room, his voice breaking. "Piece by piece."
The woman stirred faintly, her hand twitching against the sheets. Zakar's eyes softened despite the chaos within him. For her sake, for Myia's sake, for the sake of whatever shred of humanity he had left, he needed to endure this. He needed to keep lying at least until he was able to understand his system.
The mask had to stay. The truth had to remain buried.
Because if it surfaced, it wouldn't just destroy him. It would destroy him and expose him. If he had gotten a different system then a new question lingered in his mind— Was he supposed to be here?