Chapter 65 - Human or Monster

Currently, the group was gathered in Sara's room, kindly loaned by Prime. The space still lacked the personal touches that usually characterized a feminine space. When Prime asked Sara about her preferences for decorating the room, she simply replied that he could keep it as it was or choose for her.

Prime understood that Sara didn't seem very interested in decoration details, but he found it important to allow her to participate in decisions related to the room, such as choosing the furniture and other details. Additionally, considering Sara showed appreciation for the city view and sunsets, Prime accommodated her in a room with this privileged view, thinking about her well-being and comfort.

While Sara enjoyed the company of her friends in her room, Prime remained in the living room with his notebook. He was immersed in analyzing his recent actions, something that, even with his previous knowledge as Ryan, still surprised him. Observing the graphs on his notebook was almost like predicting financial future: Prime could accurately anticipate how his actions would rise and fall in the coming months, something that impressed him with his own ability.

Prime had never really pondered the matter, but he noticed a striking transformation in his intelligence. Indeed, labeling it just as "intelligence" would be minimizing its true magnitude. Now, Prime could consider himself, without exaggeration, a genius. However, he was aware that this ability was not entirely his own, but inherent to his species. Although he couldn't explain exactly how he knew this, this truth seemed to be engraved in his being.

His species had an extraordinary ability to assimilate and process information, being able to create new knowledge from the old in a matter of minutes, if not seconds. In short, the Symbionts learned incredibly fast. This characteristic was closely linked to Prime's plans to establish a family of Symbionts, although he hoped that this peculiarity of his species would not become a disadvantage in the future.

(Anyway, let's leave this subject for later. Besides, it's not like thinking about it now will change anything. I just need to prepare myself for whatever comes) thought Prime, redirecting his attention back to the screen of his Notebook.

Inside her room, Sara was entertained with Peter, Gwen, and Ned. As they entered, the first thing everyone noticed was the stunning view outside. Despite not seeming so, the apartment where Sara lived with Prime was surprisingly high enough to give the feeling of being in the clouds. Peter, however, seemed restless, and the tension on his face did not go unnoticed by Sara, who noticed his hesitation when contemplating the height.

"Do you happen to be afraid of heights? Even though you're Spider-Man?" whispered Sara, just enough for Peter to hear.

"It's not that I'm afraid, it's just that I've never been in a place this high before... You know, the idea of falling from this height and not surviving, it makes me a bit nervous" Peter replied, taking a deep breath to try to calm himself, which impressed Sara.

Listening to Peter's words, Sara chose to leave the subject aside. Besides, although she found his reaction somewhat funny, she wasn't particularly interested in this subject.

"By the way" Peter began, catching Sara's attention and making her look at him. "That man who greeted us earlier..." he said, pausing briefly as he watched Gwen and Ned still focused on the view out the window. "He's that thing inside you, isn't he?" Peter asked, making Sara slightly widen her eyes.

"That's impressive. I didn't think you'd notice. From the outside, he seems perfectly human. Well, I guess that's due to his reflexes. I suppose uncommon people like you would be able to perceive that Prime isn't just an ordinary human" Sara said as she shrugged, accepting the situation.

"So I was right" Peter said as he sighed. "But are you sure everything's okay? I mean, he's not going to want to devour us out of nowhere, right?" Peter asked with a relatively serious expression.

"Pff..." Sara laughed, but quickly stopped when she noticed Peter's look. "Sorry, it's just from my point of view, you said something funny. But you don't need to worry. If you want to know, Prime considers himself more human than a monster. Besides, he also considers you guys friends. You can relax around him. In all the conversations we had at school, Prime was also present. If you want to talk to him in the kitchen, feel free" Sara said, with a confident smile on her face.

Saying those words, Sara joined Gwen and Ned, meanwhile, Peter watched them from afar before making his decision. For the safety of his friends and also for the well-being of others, Peter had decided to talk to Prime. Moreover, if Prime was really as Sara said, Peter would try to establish a good relationship with him, considering that they both had powers. With this thought in mind, Peter left Sara's room and began walking towards the living room. As soon as he got there, he found Prime sitting on the couch, focused on something on his notebook.

"Peter, need something? Heard from Sara that you wanted to talk to me" Prime said, still not looking away from the notebook.

From Peter's point of view, Prime seemed to be a very understanding and good-natured person, or at least that was the impression he had of him in the short time he had known him. At this moment, even though his senses were inactive, Peter interpreted that nothing dangerous would happen for now.

"Please, have a seat. Let's chat a bit" Prime invited, pointing to the couch in front of him.

Peter, following Prime's instructions, sat down facing him but still didn't let his guard down. He couldn't just believe that Prime wouldn't do anything. However, Sara's words echoed in his mind, which was enough to start the conversation between them.

"Mr. Prime, Sara told me that you consider yourself human, even though you're not, and therefore have no hatred towards humans or desire to enslave them... what does that mean? Sorry if I'm being too quick in the conversation, but I'm curious" Peter asked, his expression strangely serious from Prime's point of view, as if he was forcing this seriousness.

Listening to Peter's words, Prime couldn't help but be surprised. Sure, he had heard the conversation between Sara and Peter, but still didn't imagine that this would be Peter's first question. Normally, in situations like this, questions would be something like "Do you plan to take over the Earth?" or "Do you desire to enslave and devour humans?" Those were the conversations Prime expected to have.

"Firstly, you can relax. I can easily tell that you're normally more laid-back and carefree. Besides, did you forget that I'm inside Sara? I know how you act at school" Prime said, while displaying a smug smile on his face.

Seeing that his attempt to maintain a mature posture was undone by Prime, Peter just hung his head in embarrassment. To be honest, he had completely forgotten the fact that Prime lived inside Sara. From his point of view, it would be even stranger to remember that for so long.

"Well, getting back to your question" Prime began. "What Sara said is true. Even though on the outside I might seem like a monster, in reality, I have more human thoughts and tendencies than it may seem. Maybe it's because I lived a good while inside Sara... or maybe it's because I was once human" Prime concluded, the last part sounding so low that not even Peter could hear it.

"Sorry, couldn't catch the last part" Peter asked, curious. For some reason, he felt that what Prime whispered last was the most important part of the conversation they were having.

But Prime just shook his head, displaying a reassuring smile.

"It's nothing. Anyway, you're a good kid, Peter. I'm sure one day everyone will recognize your worth. And even if others don't recognize it, I know how hardworking and dedicated you are. It's not so easy to get grades as high as yours, you know?" Prime said, with a reassuring smile.

For some reason, Peter felt surprisingly at ease with Prime. They talked about various subjects, with Prime mainly explaining his work, which left Peter extremely happy with the opportunity to learn from someone who had succeeded in his field.