Fantastic chapter!! Finally learning of the inner workings of the rogue pack, or rather Malak's pack, was satisfying and interesting and horrifying.
I agree with guest Annonomouse that Malak's name sounds suitably sinister. I think it's because of the Latin root word, 'mal' (evil: malicious, malevolent...). And the harsh 'K' sound that the name ends with. Great pick, author!
Assuming that pups present as their secondary gender later in life rather than being born into it, learning that Alpha is actually Malak's son was pretty horrifying. Not just from the thought of him never having had the chance to experience dignity and respect, but rather that the moment he didn't present as omega, a switch flipped, and he lost everything (including his original name). I find it likely that with Malak's high expectations of conceiving an omega heir, Alpha would have received preferential treatment as a pup destined to succeed the pack's founding Aeon. Alpha would have been taught to view alphas as inferiors to be treated like tools and he would've witnessed the alphas in conditioned servitude. And then Alpha would have perfectly understood how nightmarish his life would be from the moment it became clear he was an alpha. He would've been raised with the promise of a life of power and luxury, and then suddenly plummeted down the bottom of the hierarchy, just short of becoming utterly disposable, thanks to the convenience of his inherited blessing: and now he lives to keep alphas like himself in line. Just horrifying.
What had Malak gone through in his past for him to develop such a cruel, twisted view of alphas? Does he come from an oppressive, alpha-led pack? He insists that Izuku's succession is inevitable--Malak wholeheartedly believes in his ideology and the inhumane methods he applies to achieve it. Coming across Katsuki's pack, then, would've been shocking and perhaps destabilizing. Malak had found an omega-led pack, same as his. Katsuki's pack practiced Malak's ideal without any of the violence and conditioning he believed necessary to his mission: omegas held power, most exemplified by the pack omega. Yet in Malak's eyes, it fundamentally failed for not ranking omegas above all, and alphas beneath all. The power shared between alphas, betas, and omegas was unacceptable. A powerful challenge to his worldview, posed by a pack leader that shares omega status with Malak, the very status that ought to unite them, rather than oppose him. For daring to present a solution outside of his inhumane terms, Malak lashed out. My question is, why would Malak spare an alpha rather than an omega from the plains pack? It's possible that Katsuki's survival was pure chance. If not, then my little theory is that Katsuki's survival, or rather an alpha's survival, is an additional way (following the massacre) for Malak to reassert his ideology. It's a statement: the plains pack, and its leader, were anything but strong--in fact, they were weak, irredeemable, and disposable, same as the sole alpha carrying their dying memory. The statement concludes that the most worthwile aspect to preserve from such a pack...is still its least worthy member, the alpha. In line with Malak's anti-alpha beliefs, sparing Katsuki is his method of spitting on the legacy of the omega-led plains pack. Turning Katsuki into a mindless servant/soldier contradicts the pack omega's way of organizing the pack, and that constitutes Malak's last laugh.
As for Malak's blessing...damn. Perfect to condition a new identity. All the pack members don't recall anything better in life other than the one that had started the moment Malak retracted his hands from their faces, memories taken. All that knowledge, conviction, history, attachment--all gone for assimilation. It's a terrifying trap: they forget they are in a cage at all. They know nothing but the cage.
I wonder what happens to the memories that he steals. Are they 'shredded', lost forever? Stored, with potential to be returned if he allows it? If Malak dies, do the stolen memories die with him? Next, Malak had claimed that Izuku's true potential is limited by the alphas in his pack: "You will not have to rely on your father’s name and title, nor on the benevolence of the alphas surrounding you." My guess is that Malak started by erasing the most influential alpha figure in Izuku's life. I think Izuku forgot Toshinori...unless whatever he forgot is less obvious and will insidiously undermine Izuku's ability to oppose Malak later down the line. I'll have to wait and see!
I wonder why Izuku and Katsuki's escape had been so easy. Maybe the worship runs so deep, nobody dares lay a hand on their future aeon? But Alpha went out of his way, likely against Malak's direct orders, to help them. I can't tell if it's Alpha's way of defying his father, or strangely, it's a demonstration to Izuku that he is loyal to the succeeding, and not the current, aeon.
I wonder what's up with the spider lily. Did it transform in reaction to Malak's blessing--like a 'cure', maybe what it takes for people to independently remember pieces of themselves is to obtain an item of past emotional value? Or was it a special property of the spider lily itself? Regardless, I absolutely love how Katsuki finally recalled Izuku's name. I enjoy your previous setup of the flower and sun metaphor for Katsuki's perception of Izuku, this presence that he is drawn to because it makes him feel at home, secure. The heliotropic love has bloomed once more! The moment of Katsuki responsively taking in the literal sun, only to turn to his personal sun...aah! I agree with guest Annonomouse's observation of Katsuki's character being "plant adjacent". I didn't notice all the little details about Katsuki's time in Izuku's pack that could be associated to plants. It's so interesting!
Great chapter, thanks for uploading, author! Can't wait to read how Malak will give them hell and how Izuku's village and the outlying packs will prepare to defend their home. :)
I don't think I go into it in this story, but you're correct to assume that most children present a little later in life (usually around five years old, give or take. You can usually start guessing as the pup's scent changes, which happens around a year old). So you can make all the horrifying assumptions of what that meant for Alpha growing up because of that.
Ooooh some interesting thoughts on Malak's connection to the fate of Katsuki's pack. I can't say anything right now, but I will say that we have not seen the last of what happened to Katsuki's pack!
And yes, the plant association with Katsuki is very deliberate! There is a lot of significance of Katsuki giving Izuku a fully bloomed flower earlier in the story, and I hope as we go on that becomes more apparent!
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Screenlit (Screenlight) on Chapter 45 Sat 29 Mar 2025 06:39PM UTC
Last Edited Sat 29 Mar 2025 06:40PM UTC
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PerpetuallyPerturbed on Chapter 45 Fri 11 Apr 2025 03:23PM UTC
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