I got one more achievement for having killed the twelve wolves, bringing me up to level three.

Status

Gargoyle Prince (Level 2 class)

Level 1/30 -> 3/30

Vitality: 50/50

Strength: 50/50 -> 54/54

Endurance: 100/100

Dexterity: 11/11

Mana: 50/50 -> 45/52

Abilities:

Absolute order (S rank)

Flight [A rank]

Silent Breath [B rank]

Extensive gargoyle detection (B rank)

Control delegation (C Rank)

Night Vision [C rank]

Harden [C rank]

Screech [D rank]

Gargoyle Speech [Racial trait]

Additional information:

Gargoyles: All

Titles: [The Grey Prince], [Monarch]

Although seeing and trying out my new strength was great, this high couldn’t last forever.

Cleaning my hands of blood in the creek, I tried my best to ignore the wolf corpses floating in the water, but it was near impossible as I watched the fish disappear under the red cover.

Shaking the water off my hands, I flew off not too far, just far enough to forget the scene before me.

Finding a boulder atop a hill, I laid down and let my body melt into it. I was now a rock. A quiet rock. One without thoughts or concerns. Without expectations nor duties.

…

“My prince, we must get going.”

“I was about to fall asleep.” Why did she have to interrupt it.

“Gargoyles do not sleep.”

“What!” Getting up, I stared into her eyes, they did not look deceptive. Was she really telling the truth? But I was certainly just about to fall asleep.

Isa shook her head. “Why do you look so concerned? Sleep is one of the many things that differentiates us from lesser beings.”

“Lesser beings?” Was this disdain for humans always present in gargoyles. It didn’t make sense, or… I don’t know, maybe… again, I can’t imagine how those statues who stand guard unmoving for centuries could have a consciousness—

“God does not sleep.”

God does not sleep. Said in that cold, rocky voice of hers, those words resonated in my heart. I couldn’t accept what she was implying with them, but they wouldn’t leave my head.

“Is it clearer now?” She asked. It was as if she could read my mind.

But if she really could, she’d have answered the question which had begun to creep up. What does it mean to be a gargoyle? “How can you live so long doing so little?”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“The rock on which you sit has been here since the beginning of time and it looks perfectly content with its existence.”

…I couldn’t help but get off the rock.

“If you wish for it, you could make that rock into one of us. Would that gargoyle have been born today, or would it have always existed?”

I didn’t have anything to add.

“When I sit there atop castle or churches I do not think. There is nothing to be thought over after all.” She smiled, but I didn’t find this smile very reassuring. “If tomorrow I was to be shattered into ten pieces and stopped being able to be a gargoyle, would that mean that I stopped existing?”

“No…” I gave her the answer she wanted, but I couldn’t agree with it.

“Exactly, I would simply have transformed into another form, one that doesn’t need to think, but one that is not any less real than the last one. My prince,” she rested her hand on my shoulder. “This is the wisdom of gargoyles; this is our blessing.”

“But when my mother died, she was no longer there for me.” I don’t know why I had to add this. The conversation could have ended there.

“And when your father left, neither was he. Now he is dead. Has anything changed? Death to humans is what silence is to God. Your mother is still there. Whether that be in your heart, your actions, your blood, her bones, or the past. When you die, you will meet her once again, no? In such a scenario, will you say you have died or will you say you have been born again?”

“This doesn’t make sense.” Pushing her hand aside I flew off, but I could still hear her.

“Gregoire, my prince, you are still human at heart, but time cures all wounds. You will understand the meaning of life as you see it pass.”

I flew up higher and higher into the sky, into stronger and stronger winds, but her voice was as loud as ever.

“I can sense your respect for this so-called lord, but trust me, now that you see things from where God lies, you will soon no longer be able to see him breathe without finding ten faults in his actions and person.”

#

Landing on a cliff near the duke’s camp, I looked over my shoulder. Isa and Bale hadn’t followed me.

I didn’t know what to make of it. I had wanted some space, but at the same time shouldn’t they, as my servants have followed me.

Argh. This was all meaningless.

For now, I just needed to report back to the duke, but…

I was now a gargoyle. Would I be able to simply saunter into the camp without being questioned or attacked? It would at least be prudent of me not to fly straight into the camp.

Making my way down the cliff, I walked for an hour before running across three young scouts making their rounds.

“A monster!” One screamed and drew his weapon before I could say anything.

“I’m not a monster.” As I spoke up, another was already running back to the camp for reinforcements. Quickly, I flapped my wings and flew after him. He didn’t make it far before I caught up to him and knocked him down, holding his arm behind his back.

I wasn’t putting much for in my hand, yet he was screaming in pain. Lessening my force, I spoke up once again. “I’m not a monster, listen to me a bit. I’m Gregoire de Gargoyle, I’ve come under a curse which has transformed me into a gargoyle. I want you to bring me to the camp without attacking me.”

“De Gargoyle?”

“I think I heard that there was a class holder with that name,” another said.

“But we can’t just let him in! He’s still a beast.”

“Wait!” It was the one I had pinned to the ground. “If you let me go, I’ll return to the camp and bring back Damien, he’ll be able to decide.”

“…Damien should also be able fight him.”

I found it odd how they were speaking as I couldn’t fully understand what was being said or their implications. But whatever, I let the man go. Crawling away, before getting back up, he nursed his arm, making sure it was still functional before running away.

But now that he was gone, the two others realized they were now stuck with me. “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.” This is when I realized how small they looked, not to mention that my eye line seemed to match with the lowest branch of the nearest tree, an old oak.

They didn’t say anything. And like that, we stayed silent but in the next instant I heard a voice tickle my ear. Looking around, I found that one of the scouts was talking.

“What is it?” I asked.

He jumped back, I guess I surprised him, but he got a hold of himself. “How do you stand so still?”

“What do you mean?” I was honestly not sure what he was getting at.

“Um…” he started to think over why he had spoken up, but he’d already started talking. It was too late. “It’s been half an hour and I don’t think I’ve seen you even twitch.”

“Half an hour…” Did that much time really just pass. It couldn’t have been more than a few seconds.

“So, if you’re really the class holder, how did this happen?”

“How come you’re all of a sudden asking questions? Weren’t you scared?”

“I suppose.” He fell to the ground, resigning himself to his fate. “But you don’t seem like a beast. I suppose I believe you.”

“Well, I know Damien so we should be able to clear things up.”

“—”

I suppose he didn’t have anything to add. But now I was somewhat afraid, or just concerned to zone out again. “I guess me zoning out had something to do with the curse,” I answered. If I stayed still without thinking of anything, could I fall asleep for all eternity? What was the difference between that and death?

And did that mean that all the gargoyles, even those who have been standing guard for half-a-millennia don’t even know that time is passing. They are all asleep. Unaware of anything.

“I don’t…” the scout added. “Isn’t that kind of good?”

“Good?” How so?

“I’m sorry.”

Did I scare him just like that? “I’m not going to do anything to you, I don’t know what I look like, but I am a human, just go off what I say. Don’t look at me if it helps.”

“Ok… Um, so yea, I don’t think it’s so bad.”

“How so?”

“Well, I know that at least for me, I get pretty bored standing guard all day. I wouldn’t mind being able to zone out until something happened.”

That was a fair point. “But what if nothing ever happens?”

“Ah—” I guess he hadn’t thought of it. “I suppose that’s not too good.”

“No.”

After that exchange we once again stayed in silence and I did my best to not fall into that odd daze by counting the leaves in the nearby tree and identifying the passing birds.

Eventually, I spotted two horses galloping towards us.

Atop one was Damien and the other… The duke? What was he doing here?

“It’s the duke,” I warned the scout. Quickly, we took a knee.