26 A "gift", Brother Darkness

While the cabal of light Gods had been going on, so too had the Dark. Surprisingly, they were the less aggressive of the two. Though in truth, their motives were the same. Kimblee had just left Raven and felt the presence of Divinity. Knowing who it was, he chuckled and disappeared before reappearing miles away in a forest, seeing a familiar face with a cheeky smile.

"Hoo.. Long time, Lilith. Messing with a Dark God? It's been a while since you did that" He seemed to joke.

"Hee..?~ Has it? I simply had to remind them not to directly involve themselves. I suspect they'll still try something with your 'entertainment' though" Lilith replied casually.

Kimblee and the Female Kitsune Goddess spent the next several minutes talking amongst themselves in a jovial atmosphere. It hadn't lasted too long but by the end, Kimblee's eyes widened at a particular offer she made.

"I recently tore the divinity out of an Elder God. He came down with a crippling case of mortality I'm afraid~ Did you want him? The fun I can have with him is a bit limited and I wanted to see what you'd do~" Lilith offered, seeing Kimblee's eyes widen slowly.

"You made him mortal? ....Perfect. You know he'd attempt to climb back into 'Godhood' by any means.." Kimblee slowly paced around an increasingly amused Goddess.

"The 'God' with the strongest ties here on that side is that 'Brother God of Darkness'. Being the best option for him, he would try to use the Fallen 'God' to sway Raven or..." Kimblee explained, seeing the Goddess' grin deepen.

"And all that'd need to be done after that? Hm..? I didn't tell you Raven's deal, did I? This 'devouring' is part of an Authority. She's older than she seems, though her memories and soul say otherwise. You noticed the seal, yes? You may have encountered this in the past but it's called 'Original Sin'" Kimblee heard the Goddess hum in interest as he finished explaining.

"What an interesting one you found..- No.. you knew them, didn't you?" Her question was met with a soft smile as Kimblee fixed his hat.

"Hmhm~" Lilith softly chuckled to herself.

"You can have him. I look forward to seeing what your Raven does. Expect her to meet Artoria sometime in the near future as well" She offhandedly remarked before leaving Kimblee in the forest.

"Haah.. She's one of the only beings I'd truly consider a Goddess for a reason. Looks like we're leaping far ahead of schedule, it seems.." Kimblee then felt the presence of the Fallen God turned mortal appear in Remnant and shook his head.

"I almost pity him... almost" Kimblee laughed upon feeling a connection from the Dark Brother God reaching out to the new mortal.

"A 'gift', Brother Darkness. Enjoy it for the little time you have left" Kimblee declared as he made his way out of the forest, laughing to himself.

-Vacuo-

The now Mortal man picked himself up, face full of blistering sand. The Goddess he disregarded had casually gave him the harshest of punishments. Though he was alive, he was stripped of his Authorities and Divinity. He was convinced she would torture him for years, just to pass the time. Yet here he was, alive. By the looks of the desert he was in, he wouldn't be so for long.

Rolling over on his back, he was content to just die there, yet..

"I hadn't realized you were so eager to just lay there and die. As one who dared mock 'her' I thought you'd be cursing her out and plotting vengeance" A voice spoke to him, the Dark Brother.

"I would if I could.. It's impossible to go against her. The climb back to Godhood is too.." He defeatedly sighed.

"My world is rife with Darkness. With my help, we could return you to Godhood after a few thousand years, perhaps?" The Dark God tempted the Fallen.

"Really..? Why? We aren't that weakened with just one of us absent.. What do you want?" Seeing through the offer, the Fallen asked.

"The one we talked about? 'Her' entertainment? We cannot recruit her. But the other ripple? That ominous star we felt was from my world. Which is where you ended up. Likely she threw you there to see what this new ripple would do. We should recruit them. Though as you are.. You will need to train. I'm establishing a connection between us. I will use your body for this task. Thankfully, this shouldn't take too long to eclipse this new Player's strength. Do you accept or do you want to rot and die in a desert?" The Brother asked, hearing a resigned sigh in response before the Fallen answered.

"Very well.. Recruit or destroy was it? Fine.. Not like I have anything to lose" Were the last words the Fallen spoke before the link was established and the Brother God of Darkness took control.

Though at the same time, it seemed both Brothers thought alike.

-Ozpin's tower, Beacon-

Overworked and feeling tired from all the interrogating, Ozpin set his mug down and closed his eyes briefly. Immediately, he felt a familiar peace wash over him. Opening his eyes once again, he was met by the Brother God of Light. He made to bow but the God stopped him.

"Ozma, I have dire news. Originally, my brother and I were content to let this world prop itself up.. But some new, disturbing developments have occured" The Brother informed him with a calming voice.

"You.. mean Raven? I admit, it is hard to believe but you had reincarnated me yourself so I was more open minded" Ozpin answered, subtly shocking the God.

"I.. see. Please, explain to me. This 'Raven' is dangerous. More dangerous than Salem" This made Ozpin's eyes widen.

The next several minutes went by as Ozpin explained exactly what Raven had told him earlier. The God was silent for several seconds even after he finished, thinking to himself.

~What God is she with..? It has to be a Dark God's but why would she..~ He paused and looked back at Ozpin.

"Ozpin. You have earned your rest. I am so very sorry for putting you in this position. I will take care of it from here" The Brother God of Light touched Ozpin's head as his eyes widened.

"Wait-" His words cut off as his soul was ejected and sent elsewhere.

A link was then established between the Brother God of Light and Ozpin's body. A shimmer of silver light settling in his eyes as he picked his mug up and taking a sip. Humming in contentment, he sat back in his chair.

"I see why you like this beverage, Ozma. I won't jump the gun for now.. No, I'd like to see what this new player does" The God mused to himself, enjoying the cup of coffee before him.

-Evernight Castle-

As soon as Raven finished her talk with Kimblee, she made a portal to Salem. What she failed to realize was that she was bathing at the moment. Staring at the pale and curvaceous body of her lover, she gulped. Salem smiled at her, trying to hide her growing instability as best as she could.

"Ah what a nice time to visit.. Care to join me?" Salem offered with a wink.

~Tempting as this is.. I can feel it now. Something is terribly wrong with her..~ Raven frowned.

"Salem.. I'm sorry I didn't see this before.." Raven lowered her head and apologized as Salem quickly stood up, eyes widened as she cupped her face.

"Raven.. I.. I don't know how you figured it out.. I just didn't want to concern you. Thought I could hold it together.." Salem seemed to trail off as Raven shook her head.

"You never needed to hide a thing. I'll help you, okay? I can figure out a way to reverse this.." Raven looked into her eyes, declaring resolutely.

Salem stared at the resolute face of the one she loved and softly smiled as she embraced her.

~I don't have the heart to tell you.. I think it's too late..~ Salem thought, pushing back millions of malicious thoughts that emerged in her head.

"I know you will, beloved. Hm.. No Grimm horn? I grew quite used to it. Though.. by the Bastard Gods, your skin feels incredible.." Salem smirked and rubbed Raven's face.

"Mrnh..? Thank you..?" Raven heard her chortle in response.

"Now about that bath.." Salem smirked seeing the look of desire on Raven's face.

"Right.. It has been a long day.." Raven nodded and began to strip off all her clothes, submerging her in a more pleasant bath than the one she had earlier.

Her thoughts drawn to that one woman once again as Salem washed her back.

~I feel a sort of resonance with that woman. She has the water too. A superior version with no Angra Mainyu. My own will change after I devour the rest.. Let's save this train of thought for later and enjoy Salem's magic hands~ Letting that train of thoughts stop, she exhaled in pleasure and enjoyed her intimate bath with Salem, who really insisted on washing her breasts, which had, apparently gotten better.

Not that Raven herself noticed, not one to check herself out. Something that was beginning to change slightly.

And so, from there on, time would pass. Five years quickly passed by on Remant and in Fuyuki. Most notable changes were that the White Fang had become far more recognized and legitimized by several companies who had numerous faunus workers. Of course, this wasn't solely due to Raven's actions but her protection of the White Fang peaceful rallies emboldened many Faunus and more continued to speak out.

Salem's plans continued, though thanks to Raven's insistence, they proceeded slower and with fewer casualties. Cinder had taken Raven as a role model and began to emulate her in clothing choices, something which flustered the older woman.

Esdeath had been searching for the Branwen tribe throughout Mistral but they were ghosts. She did occasionally stop by Patch every few months. The first time she did, she was taken back by Raven's appearance and aura and was tempted to jump her right then and there if the promise of death if she corrupted Yang and Ruby with the sight of it wasn't present.

Akame had enrolled in Beacon. Though the Brother God of Light recognized her existence was that from another world, he played along with what Ozpin would have done. Kurome has undergone a three year long detoxification treatment due to the enhancement drug's serious effects. Though after she was finished, she spent several months recuperating before enrolling at Beacon with Akame. Both had wanted to follow in Raven's footsteps.

Yang had entered Signal Academy. Due to wanting to emulate her Mother, she was trained very thoroughly every day until she collapsed. She learned Iaijutsu and other swordsmanship skills from her Mother while her Father taught her hand-to-hand combat. Ruby was still waiting to enroll but thankfully, all of team STRQ was there to teach her and her sister.

On the other side, in Fuyuki, Raven often stopped by Kiritsugu's house to see Shirou. Over the years she came to learn about Kiritsugu and his magecraft. He refused to teach Shirou but after months of insistence from Shirou and Raven, he relented. It turned out Shirou was basically inept at almost every form of magecraft but a few. But in those few, he excelled. In time, she eventually came to accept Shirou as her own kid.

Given his new position in her heart, she opted to teach him what she knew best. Swordsmanship. She did not try to give him aura, as something told her he could not use it like she could.

Another thing that changed was her power and soul. It stopped growing. She would need to wait for the Grail to appear once more to finish its growth. The seal on her chest had changed into a snake pattern, wrapped around the symbol of a clawed hand.

[A/N: I LIED!! Ha.. ha. This is the true last year's chap! Though I guess for many of you, it's already New Years? Ah well.. I live in EST. Lemme know if I missed something! Happy New Years!!]