Chapter 21
21. Layers of Humanity
As we beheld the shattered skull of the diminutive being before us, disbelief claimed us both.
"Did…did you kill him?" Noel queried, his voice laden with fear. It intrigued me, the chasm of perception between us. It was not his existence as a ghoul that startled me, but rather, the grotesque distortions that led him to resemble a human in such a twisted manner.
Conversely, I found a twisted comfort in the fact that the creature was lifeless. In this moment, I could not discern which of us was on the path of rational judgement. But one thing was clear, one of us was deviating from the bounds of humanity.
"Perhaps. If this is indeed a person."
"But… it's not a ghoul."
"Yes."
I had never laid eyes upon a ghoul, but from what I knew of such creatures, this being did not fit the mold. The main feature of a ghoul, we were often told, was a dog-like head—a grotesque beastly cranium, consuming a human head whole.
And yet, despite his monstrous disfigurements, he was nothing more than a human to my eyes. I examined the creature more closely, turning its form to see every angle.