6 Chapter 6: Year 3

I don't own RWBY, Roosterteeth owns it

I only own my OCs

Wait—Crimson, don't wave that sword aroAAAAAH—

A few days later

I'm sensing a pattern here, I thought as I woke up to a bright light.

It was the familiar ceiling from a year ago, I thought dryly. Now I'm sure that I'm in Beacon. Qrow seems to keep bringing me here whenever I pass out, though the why he does it is still unknown. I dismissed the completed quest prompt, taking note of the rewards and stocking it for later.

I sit up and look around. No one's in my room again, though that's bound to change. I can sense Qrow with a few aura signatures coming my way, so I expect some company that would probably want to talk to me.

I test out my voice. "Ha… F..f.." Damn, my throat hurts and is scratchy. I need a glass of water. I've probably been unconscious for a few days.

I rub a sore spot on my back. A few days maximum, since I still feel the sore parts from my fight with the living meme. I glanced around, none of my gear is in here either, as expected. So I'm unarmed and thirsty. Great.

The door opens, and Qrow walks in with a silver haired man who had a mug of hot steaming coffee… or I assume it's coffee. I can't really tell—I'm not omniscient.

Qrow smirks and pats my shoulder. "Morning, kiddo."

The silver haired man—Ozpin, I recognize from the scroll calls with Qrow during or before missions—smiles with a glint on his eyes. "Good morning, young man."

I nodded at them both and grunt as I sit up. Both men find a seat, Qrow dragging one from the side and Ozpin opting to remain standing as he observed me.

Dude looks weird as hell, kind of like a pedophile, but what can I do?

Qrow makes a move to introduce us both. "Yeah, so this is Crimson, Oz," he tells him casually. Indicating a lot of trust. More than a boss? "And this is Ozpin, Crimson."

Kind of figures that out. I grunt in acknowledgement. "N… Need, water."

Qrow pulls out a bottle of water and passes it to me. I drink it greedily, some spilling out of my mouth and dropping to my robes. When I finish drinking the bottle, I crumpled the plastic bottle and place it on a desk. "Ah…" My throat feels less scratchy now. "That… is an improvement."

Ozpin shook his head and finally took a seat beside me. "So, Mister Crimson, how do you feel?"

"I'm not dead, so I feel pretty—" I coughed. Damn my scratchy throat. "—sorry, I feel pretty fine all things considered."

"It would seem that way," the silver haired man mused. "Fighting a behemoth does that to a person, I presume?"

"Half the fight was me on the defensive until I found out—" Cough. "—that he had no aura. The rest was me trying to get a solid hit on him."

Ozpin made a sound of acknowledgment. "I see."

We were silent for awhile, Qrow opting to stay out of the conversation and stare out of the nearest window in silence.

"I will cut to the chase then," Ozpin interrupts the peace and puts both of his hands under his chin. "What did you see before the man became… a soulless behemoth?"

"He ate an apple," I said plainly. No need to mince words here. "He also conned several Huntsmen and Huntresses into protecting his warehouse, though I'm not sure about the ones I left in the underground complex."

The old man nodded, a look of amusement crossing his face for a second. "Ah yes, the inseparable trio. They are huntsmen, but they aren't very strong, don't you think?"

"No," I agreed. "They were fodder at best. Why did he trick several huntsmen into fighting for his warehouse?"

Ozpin just shrugged. "We aren't sure. The crates contained nothing but typical goods, and the perpetrator himself is dead, so we cannot question him."

I level my thoughts. It was a kill or be killed situation. Besides that, he was already soulless. It was a mercy killing at worst. "There weren't any other apples?"

Ozpin made a 'hum' sound. "Not that we were aware of."

I thought on the problem for a bit. So there were no backup apples, and he had no real goons himself… that means he's working for someone or that he has really bad insight. "Is there any other instance where Robert did something stupid?"

A thoughtful expression covered the old huntsman's face. "I'm afraid not. He was always meticulous in his tracks, hiding his activity and setting numerous false trails to mislead our police. He was the most wanted man in Vale for a reason. He was very good at his job."

I nodded. "So he—" Cough. "—sorry, should have been working for someone. Someone had to provide the apple since he was based in Vale, and last I checked, there were no Aura draining apples around Vale unless I was horribly misinformed."

The headmaster raised a brow, but I can tell that his attention was all on me. "Aura draining?"

I glance at him. "You didn't know?" Immediately after I asked, I found myself stupid. Of course he didn't know—not unless he could sense someone's Aura from miles away. You can't sense Aura from the dead, after all.

"I'm afraid I don't understand in what you meant by Aura draining," Ozpin admitted. "We only know that he grew several times larger when he ate the apple. We assumed that it was a muscle enhancing drug, not something Aura related."

I coughed again. "It was something Aura related, alright. The moment he ate the apple, the wind around him was sucked in—now I just realized, he was taking in Aura from around him and inside him—he was turning his own Aura into muscle mass. He sold his soul to be strong."

If Ozpin was surprised, he didn't show it. "I see."

I stayed silent for awhile, waiting for Ozpin to ask another question. He looked deep in thought, idly staring at his coffee mug. He had a concentrating look on his face, which broke once he realized I was staring.

"Ah, I apologize, mister Crimson. I suppose I will take my leave now," He inclined his head towards me and left the clinic, leaving me alone with Qrow.

I was silent again, stewing in my thoughts. Qrow was still there, staring out the window, after which he looked at me. "Kiddo, I know this isn't your first kill, but…" He took a deep breath. "I was kinda worrying that you were already desensitized to death, but," He smiled at me. A genuine smile. "I'm happy you still have a heart inside that stone cold chest of yours."

I snorted. "Of course I do," I sighed. "It's just that—you know? He's still a person in the end. He sold his soul to be strong—to be number one and all that. I don't know why I'm feeling this now. Empathy."

"Empathy isn't necessarily a bad thing," Qrow said quietly. "It reminds you that you're still human, after all."

Yeah, it really does, doesn't it?

I'm not a robot, I'm not an RPG character no matter what my ability or what I do. I'm still human; I'm not playing a game. I'm a person just like everyone else.

I smiled ruefully. "I would pay for a passive perk that kills all negative status effects right now."

Qrow snorted. "And have you act more like a robot? Kiddo, your dad will kill me if you became more of a statue," He took a swig from his canister—a steel-colored thing that I didn't see him carry inside—and put it behind him once he finished.

I pointed it out to him. "Already? In the morning?" I mean, I'm sure it's morning. Is it? I can't tell.

"It's noon, actually," Qrow helpfully supplied, reclining back on his chair.

"Noon?" I don't know how to tell the time of day by looking at the sun—sue me. "Damn."

He shrugged. "It was a good try," he stretches at the seat and yawns. "Mind if I take a powernap over here? I have to go back to Signal tomorrow—your sisters are pretty good students. Better than you, anyway."

I sniffed. "Please, Qrow. You didn't have to teach me anything."

"Yes, and that turned out well, didn't it?" I got a feeling that it would have been a snide remark if it wasn't true.

I made a sound of agreement and stayed silent as Qrow drifted off into dreamland. I pondered my status right now.

Why did I want to be a huntsman?

With my ability, I could have been anything from a thief to a hacker, but instead, I chose to be a huntsman. Why?

Was there really any sense to my decision? Was it just influenced because of my stats?

Am I even myself anymore?

A thought pervades my thoughts. Yang. Ruby. Taiyang.

Well, multiple thoughts, but you get the idea.

Yeah, I really did become a huntsman for those three, didn't I?

Ever since that day at the abandoned building, I never wanted to become helpless anymore. I didn't want to be weak and be unable to handle the weakest individual Grimm in Remnant—I didn't want to be incompetent enough to harm my own family.

I wanted to be strong to protect my own family.

It might be selfish of me—but I don't really have any connections to Vale itself. I could wander around Remnant, fighting for myself. I could just kill every Grimm I come across and ignore everyone else unless they needed help.

But if my family needed help, I'd tear down every enemy I come across, just so I can make sure that they'll be safe.

Both of my sisters are training to be huntresses—and my dad is no slouch either if Qrow's skill and praises were to be believed. But I didn't want to put them in a position where they can't win.

With my ability… well.

I am far stronger than anyone else at my age group right now. Age and level boosts the SPECIAL stats effectiveness to the point that someone at their 30s with 10 agility would be a blur to me. If I become that strong and experienced, nothing would stop me from protecting my family.

I take a deep breath.

I didn't want to lose them—my previous life ended because I was too weak to fight back. I was too weak to try to at least disarm the criminal. Like hell I'm going to feel that weak here.

I closed my eyes and began to plot my next few stat raises.

10 to Unarmed in the next level up… points needed in blunt melee…

A year later, 16 years old

I look over the forest from Beacon. It was lush, green. Looked like a perfect example of a healthy forest if it wasn't for the fact that it was filled with Grimm. Lesser species of Grimm—but still Grimm, nonetheless.

I casually twirl Dust beside me as I observe the forest, trying to discern where my new quest objective was. My perception still hasn't raised a single bit, so trying to look for it with my eyes would be a terrible idea, but it still helps to look for it.

Quest Added: Soul Artifact

Locate the Ancient Temple

I hummed as I glance over a set of pillars covered with overgrowth. It certainly looked like an ancient temple, but I don't think that it would be where the Quest Area is. Though, with my luck, it would be, so it would be in my best interests to head over anyway.

But before that, I observe my status.

Crimson Branwen (LV. 18)

Health: 440

Aura: 330

Semblance: Aerokinesis

Experience: 11500/43000

S – 8 + 2

P – 3

E – 5 + 2

C – 2

I – 7

A – 10

L – 5

Skills

Speech (Charisma): 59

Barter (Charisma): 33

Bladed Melee (Agility): 100

Blunt Melee (Strength): 75

Unarmed (Endurance): 100

Small Guns (Agility): 25

Big Guns (Strength): 20

Lockpick (Perception): 14

Repair (Intelligence): 18

Smith (Intelligence): 18

Computers (Intelligence): 18

Sneak (Agility): 68

Medicine (Intelligence): 18

Aura Manipulation (Intelligence): 100

Available Points: 0

Traits []

I had leveled up twice since the fiasco with Robert Rotten. 40 points in total—10 went into unarmed, 26 to blunt melee so I can use Dust when it's sheathed in Chamber—or it's Dust Chamber, actually—and 4 into Lockpick, which to my chagrin, still hasn't leveled up no matter how many times I picked locks. Speech leveled up a few times, though notably slower than before, and Sneak is still growing at the relatively same rate as before.

I also gained a new trait for leveling up to 18—it's called Paralyzing Palm. I have a 30% chance of paralyzing an enemy when I use an unarmed attack. It's really helpful—especially when I hit faster than most people can hit me to begin with. 30% is a really big chance when you can land 7 different hits to your enemy faster than they can react—though which are unarmed and which are from my sword is different.

Thankfully, I have maxed both Unarmed and Bladed Melee—and my Blunt Melee is on a decently high level as well. That way, I can use all the forms of my weapon effectively. Sheathed, Unsheathed, or Dual Wielding.

I can also do unarmed combat—makes it easier for me to pick up martial arts from either watching or reading about it. It's not as good as I want it to be though, since my Endurance being 5 limits my skill on Unarmed combat to simply a normal huntsman's level.

I mean, it's nothing to scoff at, but it's not at the level of my swordplay… or at the level of any bladed weapon that I use, anyway. I idly sheath Dust into Chamber as I set my eyes on the overgrown temple. I could go there, just to see if it would trigger a quest update. I could also leave the quest alone and leave it to dry since there weren't any penalties for not complying, but the sexy digits beckon.

I jump off the cliff, using my Aerokinesis to cushion my fall. I run towards the general direction of my destination, casually taking in the scenery around me.

This would be a nice place to have a picnic in, I thought off handedly as I come across a clearing. Provided, of course, the Grimm were exterminated. Wonder why Ozpin hasn't murdered the Grimm in the area yet? I get no answer, of course, and keep running.

Grruuaaah!

Poor Ursa.

I don't even unsheathe my weapon for this. I take off Dust Chamber from my side and swipe at the chest of the Ursa, making it stumble back. I ducked under a strong swipe and hit it on its side, making it roar again. I thrust my sheathed sword to its belly, making it wobble on its legs. I jumped up and brought my sword over its head, making it crumple to the ground.

I bring my sword down on its head.

The thing about Dust Chamber is that it counts as a blunt melee weapon since the edges of Chamber aren't necessarily sharp. It severely limits my sword's capabilities since I can't access Dust's revolving dust chambers—no pun intended—therefore not allowing me to put dust effects on the weapon. So it was, essentially, a metal bat.

A really tough metal bat.

When I hit the Ursa's head, my blunt sword sunk into its head. And I mean that literally—there was no cut, no blood. Dust Chamber sunk on its head through pure force, stopping its cry of pain and allowing it to dissolve into black matter.

I twirl my sword and attach it to my side again, then setting out to run again.

It was mostly uneventful. The intimidation factor that comes with the Ursa Mask sets off most low level Grimm. Frankly, it's a lot of help. I don't really want to keep dealing with a lone Beowolf or Ursa (the above Ursa was probably too slow to get out of the way, so the Intimidation factor worked—but didn't work quite as well as I hoped it would). Groups of low tier Grimm will still try to hunt me though. The intimidation factor, unfortunately, gets curbed when there's an Alpha wolf keeping the pack in line.

On the topic of packs, there were none in my immediate vicinity. I stopped upon seeing the overgrown temple—let me just call it the Forest Temple, overgrown temple sounds stupid—and observed the surrounding area.

It was mostly ambience. Trees, rocks, boulders, some potholes and other stuff. I can see some faint scratches on the ground and some bullet holes, so people might have been here recently.

There were a few pedestals inside the Forest Temple. I don't spare it a second thought as I immediately scanned the area for any other tips.

"An ancient temple," I murmured, eyes narrowed. If I were a game designer, I would put a dungeon underneath this one, a doorway either activated by a number of people or through a secret doorway. I run my hand across a pillar, trying to judge for any secret levers.

There were none. Though that's to be expected. I can't sense anything without an Aura, after all. Besides, the secret doorway might not even run on Dust but on a overly complicated pulley system that would lift a rock and then drop it after a few seconds.

As overly complicated as my imagination and paranoia, anyway.

I pace back and forth at the Forest Temple, trying to find a way to any sort of Ancient Temple in the area. Clues, remnants, anything. There's nothing, and I'm honestly getting a bit frustrated and tempted to just leave the quest alone.

I was going to just go back to the cliffs to call it a day, but stopped when I felt a familiar presence abruptly appear within my sensing range. I look to the left and see a red portal closing and a familiar raven haired woman.

I inclined my head towards her. "Mother."

She glances at me. "Crimson," Her tone was smooth, revealing nothing of her intentions. "I wasn't aware you attended Beacon."

"I'm still Qrow's apprentice," I informed her curtly. While I didn't hold a grudge against my mother, I didn't exactly respect her per se. I might be a little bitter about her leaving us behind while she does whatever it is she did. Might. "I haven't changed occupations yet."

Raven hummed. "I see," Her hands were at her side, not going for her blade at all. I almost relax, but being in her presence still fills me with a sense of danger and paranoia.

"I didn't know that a wanted criminal could come close to Beacon Academy," I casually dropped the sentence. "What brings you here?"

She smiles wryly at me. "What brings you here? Who knows, we may be looking for the same thing."

I hesitate. Should I tell her that I'm looking an Ancient Temple? While it may lead her to join me in exploring the crap out of that thing, it could also lead her to just kill me when I pass out after. When. When, not if. It'd be a dream come true if I could stay awake for the whole mission.

I might have been obvious, since Raven points it out. "You might be over thinking my intentions here, Crimson," She walks over to me, standing at eye level. I'm about her height now, if not a little taller.

"There's no such thing as over thinking, mom," I said, my hand resting on Dust Chamber, ready to separate them to two. "How do I know you won't just stab me in the back?"

It was only a split second, but it looked like as if she was peeved at my suggestion. "Why would I kill my own son?" Her expression changed from amused to flat in a second.

I crossed my arms. "The same reason that you would leave your children behind?"

"Completely different things," She waved it off. "Besides, it turned out well, didn't it?"

Wow, that phrase is being used quite a bit in the past year. "If by 'well' you mean encounter my mother and fight her because she tried to stab me, then yes. It turned out quite well."

She just does a sardonic smile. "My tribe does far worse than what I do. Remember, Crimson, the weak die and the strong survive. And you have done much more than survive. Not many could have kept up with me at a normal fight."

"Our fight was anything but normal," I pointed out to her. "We weren't even fighting with our dust."

Raven concedes to the point. "True, but in a sword fight, people would be normally overwhelmed by my speed and precision. You had parried and deflected a lot of my attacks, and even scored a few hits."

I sighed. "Just get to the point, mom. I don't want to argue about my skill or what I want to do with my life," that sentence makes her smirk a bit. "If you want to fight me again, well there's going to be a problem with that because I don't really want to fight right now." And I really don't. If I find my quest area after I fight her, then I'd be low on Aura and HP. I doubt I could dungeon crawl with minimum values.

She tries to placate me by raising her hands up mockingly. "Relax, I don't want a fight," I don't relax. I narrow my eyes at her as I try to understand why she was here, making her raise a brow and sigh. "Honestly, you should trust me more."

"Uh huh," I voiced out my thoughts on the situation, unimpressed.

"Fine, I'm going to an Ancient Temple around the forest. It was around here somewhere, and there's something inside that's apparently really important. I need it for my tribe," Raven finally states her reason, looking only a little annoyed. "I suppose that's why you're here, too?"

I grunted. "Close enough," I begrudgingly let go of Dust Chamber and settle into a relaxed but ready stance. "Do you know where it is?"

Raven nodded. "Follow me," and with those words, she dashed to the north, with me behind her.

Just like my dash towards the Forest Temple, this one was relatively uneventful. The Grimm around the Emerald Forest were weak, with only a few being marked as old and strong. Those few, however, still haven't reached the age of the numerous other Grimm that I found and killed outside the walls of Vale, so I doubt that even they would be a problem.

While we were dashing, Raven tried to make conversation with me.

"I find it difficult to believe that Qrow left you alone here," Keyword is tried. She's probably digging information—on what, though, I don't know.

I duck under a branch and replied seamlessly. "He's teaching my sisters in Signal," I hissed as a branch scratched my cheek, my Aura quickly healing the small flesh wound. "It's not really that difficult to believe. He sends videos sometimes."

"Oh?" Raven's amused by something, and for the love of me, I don't know what. "And what do you think of their skill?"

I grimaced. So this is what she was after. "They're… improving," I said carefully. "They're not at my level yet, though I doubt anyone my age could be at my level." That wasn't my ego talking—the gamer ability scales my skills with my levels and age. Basically, if I had 100 Bladed Melee at level 7 and challenged someone with 100 Bladed Melee at level 10, I would lose the sword fight.

The fight itself, however, would be a different matter. Skills and levels don't dictate the battle, after all.

Raven raised a brow, not breaking concentration from her dash. "That's a lot of confidence."

"And a lot of skill to back it up."

"I see," the conversation ended there. I didn't really want to continue on this line of thinking, and I don't really want to doubt my family's skill levels. I know I'm much more skilled than they are—but I'm still reminded that without my secondary power, I wouldn't even have this much skill. I doubt I could do half the stuff I've done over the years without my stats, and it felt cheaty to think about when I see the progress my sisters make.

I take a deep breath as I keep running.

The rest of the run passed by without much trouble. We stopped at the edge of the forest, looking at a cave with the entrance the size of a few people stacked on top of each other. It wasn't wide at all—it looked like a crack on the surface of the cliff it was on rather than a gaping opening.

"This is it?" I asked, voice conveying a miniscule amount of curiosity. "Doesn't look like a temple at all."

Raven hummed. "I imagine that there's something inside."

"Let's take a look then, shall we?" I went in first, the pioneer that I am, and took out a flash light I hid in my cape. I shined my light inside and see a huge door, about as huge as the crack is itself. The crack in the cliff was deep enough that no light shined at the door, hiding its golden glory to the outside world.

Quest Updated: Soul Artifact

Completed: Locate the Ancient Temple

Enter the Ancient Temple

Well I suppose that this was the quest area.

"Holy shit," I gaped. What the hell was the civilization here hiding that it had to make a door this big?

Raven squeezed in after me, and she too couldn't escape the glory that was the golden door. "What is… oh," I'm sure she was gaping like me.

Nonetheless, we're on a quest to discover what exactly is behind this door, so we had little time to be impressed by the golden door. Quickly, I shined my flashlight off the big door and in front of me. Sadly, there was no little door for me to enter in, unless I tried to melt the golden glory, and even then, there was no legitimate clue that the door even opened as I flashed the light at the floor. There were no marks on the ground that suggested the door opened outwards, so I was left clueless.

Raven, meanwhile, was snooping around the cave, turning over rocks and checking holes in the cave walls for any secret levers or stuff (or at least, that's what I think she's doing), and if her frustration showed anything, it's that she hasn't found anything important.

So I stepped back and observed the door again, squinting at it. There were patterns on it, circulating like the veins in a human body. I paused, thinking face on. Usually, that dictates that there would be a large amount of energy required to power this thing, and dictates that the people that made this were aware of Aura. If I opened this door with all my energy and Grimm started to come out, I would be relying on Raven to either take me outside or defend me while I get back my energy.

I'm not sure on the odds of either.

"Raven," I called out to her. She glances back at me with an unreadable expression and casually drops a rock she turned over to come.

"Yes," her tone was clipped and to the point. "Do you have an idea on how to open this door?"

"I have a theory that this door needs Aura to open," I pointed at the numerous patterns that adorned the door. "Look at those lines; they're like veins to a body. It might be Aura conduits to a bunch of levers. I don't know. But it should be worth a shot."

"I suppose," She stares at me with another unreadable expression. "And what do you want me to do while you open the door?"

"Protect me if anything bad comes out?" I threw my hands up. "I don't know, just don't let me die if something bad comes out of the door."

She slowly nods and unsheathes her sword. "Understood," Damn, she's stiff.

Raven stands in front of the door, sword drawn, alert and ready. I pressed my hands to the door and channel my Aura to it. I see a crimson red—my aura, as Qrow often told me the color of my aura—and a light blue twist around each other and run through the veins.

It took a few minutes—and about 40 aura points that were already regenerating—to fully power the thing. Right now, it has a blue and crimson glow—two colors that are entwined with each other. I assumed that the blue was the door's leftover Aura from previous usage.

At first, there wasn't anything other than the light show, which I found disappointing. I took a few steps back and am now beside Raven, looking at the door. The door wasn't budging a bit—which apparently, also disappointed Raven.

"Is that al—" The ground rumbled as the door—apparently, doors—moved apart from the middle. The doors moved to the sides as the ground rumbled. I almost lost my footing a few times, but Raven helped me stay up by holding on to my shoulders.

Rocks fell from the ceiling as the door rumbled, a few landing near Raven and I. Thankfully, those that did hit us were repelled by our Aura, so no permanent damage was done.

The doors fully opened, revealing a wide space full of nothing.

Seriously, there was nothing behind it—except for two paths and a bunch of blue and red crystals acting as the lighting for the room.

I walk forward, fascinated by the crystals. "These crystals… they're the color of my and the door's aura."

Raven followed slowly, glancing around. "Yes. I've never seen anything like this before," She breaks a crystal from its formation, and it quickly loses its glow, turning into a dull gray. "Odd."

I do the same as she does and break off a crystal from a wall. Unlike hers, the crystal doesn't lose its blue and red glow. Instead, the Aura almost seems… excited? They're entwined with each other and are moving more rapidly. On a whim, I stretch out my own Aura.

The Aura in the crystals respond by going in me.

My eyes widened and I almost dropped the crystal as my Aura reserves were filled to the max. The crystal then lost its glow, turning into a similar dull gray that Raven has.

"I just got Aura from these things," I said, shock still evident in my voice.

Raven's brows furrowed. "Really?" She picked up another one, and it, once again, loses its glow. "I can't pick them up at all. I can tell my Aura is better at this place, but the crystals die when I pick them up."

Maybe because they have my Aura in them? I mused. That would mean that every crystal in this place is powered by me. But that's impossible—I didn't even channel that much Aura to the door. It would be impossible for my Aura to store themselves into the crystals in this whole room—and there were a lot.

Whatever this was—it was old. Old enough, anyway.

I grab a few crystals and keep them in a free pouch in my cape. They didn't fade when I broke them off—unlike Raven's crystals that died the moment she broke it off from the formation. I guess I could use these as Aura potions—or something similar, anyway.

I glance towards one of the paths and nodded at Raven. "I'm going to go inside. Are you gonna stay here?"

"No," She stands up from her own crystal formation and dusted off her skirt. "I suppose I get nothing from this endeavor."

I slowly nodded as I turn towards the tunnel. "Then you're leaving?" I keep my voice flat.

My answer was the sound of a portal opening, a few steps, and then…

Gone.

I looked back, and she wasn't there anymore.

Looks like I'm alone this time.

Then again, whenever I take a named mission, when am I really with someone else?

That's true, I suppose. My first one, I was alone in the Beowolf den, the second one, I was alone on the tunnel towards the Giant Nydus Worm, the third one, I was alone against the Aberration, the most recent one, I was facing off against a soulless man on my own.

When I face off against dangerous enemies, I'm always alone. Some part of me is relieved at the thought. At least I won't be endangering any innocents with my Acid or the enemy's attacks. Another part is worried that I would be overwhelmed at one point—I'd be facing off against something that would be so far above my skill level that the fight would be a joke. Another part is indifferent, uncaring of any of the worries above. Apathetic.

That part scares me the most. The carelessness towards the innocent—I don't want that. While I just want to protect my family, involving innocents in a fight or at least carelessness to them doesn't sit well with me.

Going inside the tunnel, I idly note that the crystals were also present here, though to a lesser degree. They were few and far in between—some growing on corners and others growing on the walls. They were far smaller than the ones in the big room, and sensing the Aura inside them yielded the same results. The Aura here was less dense and compact, so if the crystals back in the big room were greater potions, I guess the ones here would be lesser ones.

I stopped when I heard a moan. It sounded like a zombie's moan. It was familiar to me—I've heard it a few times with my missions with Qrow that took us to an ancient area, so this should be a—

I casually duck under a swipe from a humanoid Grimm. It was pitch black in color and stood in around 5 feet. It had red eyes, and it didn't look very threatening. It moaned again, trying to hit me again, but I just stepped back and unsheathed Dust, thrusting it to its chest.

It moaned and fell down, disintegrating. I flatly stare at the corpse and look forward again, this time, more alert.

The Grimm I just killed was called a Ghoul. They were mostly present in ancient ruins like these one and usually appeared in hordes, similar to that of Beowolves. However, they were very weak individually, so to compensate, the normal horde would be around 70 Ghouls. I should expect at least that much inside here.

I continued to walk forward, cautious. There were a few other tunnels, but they all ended without anything of note. The only tunnel that hasn't ended yet was forward, so I suppose it's the only way.

I focus on my Sensor ability, trying to look for any signatures inside. Other than the crystals—which all had a familiar feel to them, probably because they had at least a bit of my Aura—there was the void of Aura which signified Grimm.

All of them were in one area, forward. A huge dense black hole of no Aura at one place. Oddly enough, there seems to be a spark in the middle—another yet familiar feeling—a spark of Aura that seems to be bursting. I don't know what it is, but it must be important enough that all the Grimm in the area had congregated to it.

Treasure, I guess. Treasure… To be honest, I don't know what I'd do with treasure, but I suppose I could pawn it off for extra Lien. Extra money doesn't hurt anyone except the one who lost it.

I dash forward, intent to find out what it is. I pass by several crystal formations and see scratches on the wall, but nothing interesting on the way there.

Odd.

I skid to a halt as I near the area. The void of Aura was just behind this huge door. It had similar markings to the big one I had unlocked awhile ago, so it would probably open with some application of Aura.

There was a statue of a knight on each side, both dressed in the traditional plate armor and sword, both set in a battle ready formation. They were, thankfully, statues, so I don't need to—

A black blur—no, two black blurs sped past me, making me lose my balance for a few seconds and correct my footing. I unsheathe Dust and Chamber, turning both into the swords I'm familiar with. The two black blurs entered the two separate knights.

I hate Geists sometimes.

The two knights were now alive. They had a Geist's masks on their visors, and was no standing with their sword pointed to me.

I take a deep breath and sighed. "When can I get an easy named mission?" I grumbled in annoyance as Dust glows an eerie green. The knights charged at me, one going for a slash to my feet, and another above me.

It would have been a good plan, if I wasn't as good as I was. I hopped back as the sword tore the ground in front of me and the overhead sword hit nothing but the cave's walls, bringing down some rocks in the process. I weave through the rocks as I dash towards the knights, Dust leaving a green trail.

Idly, I begin to experiment with Aerokinesis. It's been awhile since I tried to make new perks.

A cone of wind started to form itself in front of me, a greenish tint with the winds. I jump over another sword slice and parry the other, sending it to the wall and using it as a platform to jump up.

I was head level to both the knights now, their visors in my sights. The wind still forming a drill like pattern in front of me, I utter the words.

Aura Manipulation Check Success: 100/60

Bladed Melee Check Success: 100/75

"Flash Step." I disappeared to a blur as I pierced forward. The swords that were coming towards me were dodged as I darted forward, right into the mask of a Geist.

I pierced the head at contact, some of the metal melting at the piercing winds combined with the Acid from Dust. I twist in mid air, facing the other knight, now staring at me and raising its sword to try and attack me.

A prompt appeared at my vision, prompting a name for the new perk.

"Flash Strike," The prompt disappeared, and the cone around me intensified as I darted forward again, passing through the sword and piercing the head of the knight, mask first.

I hit the floor and rolled to soften the impact. I don't look back as I heard both knights fall and shatter. They were stone knights—not made of metal, so it makes sense they would fall apart. There's also another thing.

Cool people don't look at explosions.

I have 150 EXP more. Nice. There was also a prompt next to it that described Flash Strike.

Perk earned: Flash Strike

Unique Perk! The player becomes a drill of wind to pierce the heavens—err, his enemies.

The game is still snarky, unfortunately.

I dismiss the prompt and sheathe Dust on Chamber's non activated form to press my hand on the door. The feeling behind it hasn't changed—a void of Aura. My expression grim, I channel Aura to the door.

It doesn't take much. The door rumbles. It opens slightly and I can already hear the moans of the ghouls inside. I unsheathe Dust and Chamber, ready to fight again.

Unfortunately, I greatly underestimate their size.

Where I expected human sized Ghouls, I didn't expect giants. Towering over me, they were easily 10 feet tall, twice the size of a normal Ghoul. They had bone spikes on their wrists and masks over their faces.

All of them were looking at me.

Quest Updated: Soul Artifact

Completed: Enter the Ancient Temple

Find the Artifact

Cursing, I rolled to the side as a pair of arms slammed down on my area. I twist to face my enemies and initiate my new perk.

"FlashStrikeFlashStrikeFlashStrikeFlashStrike!" 4 flash strikes in a row, and several Ghouls were dead, pierced in the head, chest, or cut off some extremities. They all howled as some smaller Ghouls were squashed when the bigger ghouls fell, and several others lost their head.

I was above them, and I tried to survey the battlefield.

It was a sea of Ghouls. More than 70—I would say there's at least a hundred and fifty, more or less. I grimaced as I slice off a hand that was getting too close for comfort and landed on the ground, the Grimm towering over me.

I took a step forward to avoid a Ghoul stomping me and slash forward diagonally, cutting a normal Ghoul in half. I channel Aura into my sword again and slash, once again, diagonally.

"Wind Blade!" Ah, how I love this perk. The wind blade cuts down the normal sized ghouls in front of me and slices off the feet of the giants. The giants roared as they fell down, and I was there to finish them off.

I stabbed down on one of the falling giant's head, killing it, before flipping back to kick a normal ghoul in the back of the head, sending it to the floor and slightly burying its head in a self made hole. I slash downward to cut off the head of a fallen giant, and land on top of a normal ghoul that I quickly killed with a stab on the head.

I channel more Aura into Dust and slam it to the ground. A shockwave of acidic wind erupts from below it, the smaller Ghouls in the area melting and screaming while the bigger ones lost the rest of their legs, making them fall down.

I spun the chamber inside Dust and settle it to Ice Dust. I executed another Wind shockwave, trapping the fallen Ghouls in ice, then switched to Gravity Dust, and slammed down again.

This time, the ice shattered, shards of it getting stuck in the ghouls, making them scream in pain as the shards slowly killed them. A few of the Grimm were already turning into wisps, while a few tried to stand up.

I sighed. "I really hate dungeon crawling," I initiated another Flash Strike to penetrate a giant's head, making it fall backwards after just standing up, and Flash Strike to another giant's chest, making it fall to its knees and then to its face. I land with a roll, slashing at a giant's knees when I stood up. It roared in pain as I jumped up, and executed another Flash Strike to pierce its chest.

Man, I'm really loving this new perk. Doesn't take a lot of Aura too.

I feel like I'm ripping off somebody's move, but according to my experience and my own opinion, if it exists, I can abuse it.

Speed is key, after all.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Patch, a girl with black and red hair sneezed.

"Ew, gross, Ruby! You sneezed at the ice cream!" exclaimed her sister, holding up said ice cream.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry!"

I penetrate through the chest of the final giant ghoul, and land gracefully behind it. I use up two crystals for 120 points of Aura. It's not full, but the regeneration should handle it fine. I'm close to having a full tank, anyway.

I save the last three crystals I have and walk towards the middle of the room. Now that the Grimm here was mostly gone (I could still sense a few, but I can't exactly pinpoint where they are), I could observe the artifact that I sensed here.

In my Sensor ability, it shined bright. And when I mean bright, it's like the god damned sun. It was—overwhelming. But the feeling I get from it—it feels familiar. Like it's mine, but at the same time, it's not.

I stopped at the middle of the room and kneel down. I brush through the dust at the floor, revealing the same markings that were on the doors.

What's with these people and the need for Aura sensitive doors? I almost grumbled it out loud, but I caught myself just in time.

After a moment of hesitation, I channel Aura into the ground.

The markings light up, crimson and blue. The ground rumbles and I stumbled backwards to avoid the possibility of the floor opening up. A pillar rises up in the middle of the room, covered in the markings the floor has. As the pillar rises, I'm filled with the same sense of familiarity that I felt in my senses. Except this time, it's right in front of me.

There.

The pillar stopped rising, and the ground stopped shaking. In the middle of the pillar, there was an open compartment with a glowing red and blue crystal.

"All that trouble for another Aura crystal?" I sighed, making for the crystal. "Fucking hell," but the moment I touched the crystal, I was assaulted by visions of something.

A bus. Lights flashes and it honked. I freeze in the middle of the road, and I can feel it run over me as I scream out and shortly die.

Dark.

It was dark.

So I opened my eyes.

The moon was broken.

I shook my head to rid myself of those visions. I stared at the crystal now at my hands. What the hell was that? Was it something important? Did the person who made this crystal imprint himself so much on it that memories started leaking through?

Or was it something else entirely?

Quest Updated: Soul Artifact

Completed: Find the Artifact

Defeat the final enemy

Well, the problem with that is finding the enemy—

There was a gurgle behind me, and I immediately store my new crystal in a separate pocket inside my cape and turn around, both swords already unsheathed. Behind me, there was a Grimm.

It was different.

Like the Ghoul, it was humanoid in shape. It had red eyes and a red haunting smile set on its face. It had actual hair—it was set on pigtails too! It was small in height, only about reaching to my chest. It looked like a normal little girl, if not for the fact that it was a Grimm.

Then its smile twisted.

It disappeared and reappeared in front of me—such speed!—and punched me on the stomach.

Holy shit!

Before I was sent flying, it sent another punch to my chest. It hurt, then it finished up with a kick to my chest and flipped backwards, sending me flying back, landing on the ground painfully as my Aura barely soaked up the damage.

-67 HP

That combo took out 67 HP! I groaned as I nursed my head, opening a single eye to observe the little girl Grimm.

Above it was, surprise, a nametag.

Flandre

The Vampire

Special Boss

Well with a title like that…

My Aura is slowly regenerating. It took more damage than my HP did—already, the Aura I regenerated from the crystals are gone. I take another one to help with my reserves and burst forward with a flash step.

When I was in front of her, the Grimm's smile turned flat a little. It turned its head towards me, and I initiated a flash strike to attack it.

Instead of the satisfying penetration, I hit the ground. The perk dissipated, and I glanced to my right to see the Grimm had dodged the attack. That either meant it can't take much hits, or it was simply that fast and was taunting me.

I twist towards it and initiate another flash strike. I got right in front of it before it jumped up to dodge me. I heard it growl. Energy built up above me, making my eyes widen as I flash stepped forward to avoid the attack.

Whatever it was, it destroyed the place where I was at. I turned towards it, and it had another energy build up in the tip of its pointer finger, which it was pointing right at me!

Scarlet energy flew past me and into the wall, an explosion tearing up the room. I winced and rubbed my ears, barely ducking through a high kick that Flandre sent. It sent the kick down, and I was thrown to the floor. I rolled to the side and slashed at its leg with Dust, making it hiss and back away.

-20 HP

The physical attacks don't do much damage. I grimaced and did an Aura Surge, eating away my Aura in exchange for some HP. The damage done was quickly gone as my Aura Surge healed the most recent injury.

I duck under a scarlet laser beam, idly noting that Flandre had started to fly.

I don't know how she's flying. It had a pair of black twig like things that had some of the crystals I found in this cave hanging on it. It had the still oh so demonic smile on its face as it pointed at me again, sending a beam that I barely dodged.

I mean barely because I still got hit by the explosion. I yelped as the explosion touched my back, sending me forward, skidding at the ground. My Aura had once again, taken a huge hit, and my HP was the same.

-50 HP

I was only a bit above 300 HP now. My Aura is lower than that, so I consume both of my remaining crystals to bring it up to at least 200. Glaring at Flandre, I set in a stance.

Flash Strike!

I was just in range. I pierced through the vampire, dealing some semblance of damage, since the thing growled. I glance back, and see that no actual wounds were dealt.

Unfortunately, I encountered a new thing.

It had a health bar.

It had 2 health bars, actually. I damaged the first one by a quarter with my cumulative moves, but the other one remained untouched. That meant that I had to break every single bar just to kill this thing.

I took in a deep breath.

Let's see if I can handle this. If I don't, I'm dead anyway so it doesn't matter.

Flash Strike! I pierced it again, making it growl, more annoyed this time. It curled into itself, and I could feel the energy build up from my position.

I tensed as it let loose a roar, beams of energy erupting from its chest. I duck under a stray beam and was sent flying back as a beam exploded in front of me.

-39 HP

Now I'm a little bit below 300. I snarled as I dodge under a hail of small, scarlet orbs. The Grimm had a snarl set on its face instead of a smile, so it's pissed as well.

I don't attempt to cut the orbs, knowing that they would just explode as soon as I made contact. That meant I had to rely on dodging all of the attacks, which was getting progressively difficult.

A beam hit me right in the chest and sent me flying back. Thankfully, it wasn't the one that came from the thing's fingertips. Instead of making me explode, it sent me several meters back and damaged me.

-53 HP

I grimaced as I held my bruised chest. My Aura had taken another hit with that, and I'm not sure that my Aura can keep getting up from hits like these. It's already below half from all the hits I'm taking, and all the skills I'm using. I can't afford to use up my Aura in a tense situation like this.

Flandre sent a hail of orbs to me. I duck under one barrage and jumped over another. I used a wall of wind to barely shield myself from a beam that attempted to hit me while I was in the air, and hit the ground running. I grazed a beam, grimacing as the wound was dealt and cauterized at the same time, barely stopping the need to scream.

In an uncharacteristic moment, I let loose a guttural battle cry as I executed a flash strike. I pierced its head, making it snap back as I passed through. Flandre roared in anger as its first HP bar disappeared and shattered.

It wasted no time sending multiple energy beams and orbs towards my way. My eyes widened and I flash stepped towards the ground, dodging the barrage.

I got no time to relax as suddenly, it was right in front of me, sending a fist to my stomach.

I barely dodge to the right, its fist flying past my stomach. My danger senses tingled, and I ducked under a laser from my left. I glance towards the right—and surprisingly enough, Flandre was there too.

What—! I got no time to be surprised as something hit me in the back with a lot of force, driving me forward.

-43 HP

Well this is bad. I'm a little below 200 HP now and my Aura is dangerously dipping below 50. Now I really can't afford to use most of my skills. I grimaced as I look at my enemy—enemies. There were 4 identical Flandre, of which 2 were flying, and the other two were barreling towards me.

I take hold of the Crystal Artifact.

Should I use it?

I have to think of the risks—wait nope, the Flandres were on me. Time to use it.

The Aura inside the crystal siphoned into me, and then everything turned white.

The moon was broken.

I was in a forest.

[Welcome to Remnant, Gamer]

Well that's just a bucket of fun, isn't it?

"Call my name…" a faint voice cried out.

The scene shifted.

It was me.

I was standing over a 7 headed hydra. A Grimm that was far out of the cities that it was almost unheard of by normal civilians, yet by all odds, it's right here.

About to kill a team of huntsmen.

It was gathering energy on one of its throat. I can't kill it fast enough.

I jumped down in front of them, my aura already working its magic.

I faced the Hydra and slammed my arms together to shield them all.

Aura constructed itself in front of me, into a giant shield with a peculiar symbol in the middle.

Just as the Hydra fired a beam of fire, I finished the shield.

The beam slammed into the shield, full force, but I didn't budge—I couldn't. There were people depending on me.

The beam died down, and I looked behind me.

They were… familiar.

No—not familiar. I know them. Summer, Taiyang, Raven, Qrow. What?

Actually… who am I? This isn't me.

The man I was being asked them, "Who are you?"

"Team STRQ," Summer replied to me, eyes wide. "Thank you."

The man I was copying grinned—I never grin. "Don't thank me yet," He pushed forward, still holding the shield. "Kill this thing first, then we can talk."

"Wait—why are you helping us?" Raven asked him suspiciously. "Who are you?"

"Me? I'm…" His voice fades out and the background fades with it.

Call my name…

Call my name..!

CALL MY NAME!

I'm…

The two Flandres were almost on me.

CALL MY NAME!

I ignore the prompts that appeared after the whiteout.

Call his name…

I take a deep breath and hold my hand forward.

And like I've spoken it several times before, I speak the incantation.

"Astralize: Hearts Kreutz!"

Suddenly, my Aura separated. I don't know how to explain it. It was like I was suddenly split in half, but it was painless.

A man-shaped figure appeared in front of me, light blue Aura coloring its form. Then suddenly, it had color. Black hair, fair skin, a black jacket with gray sleeves, collar, and running down on its side, black pants, and black boots.

He looked like…

Me.

From my past life.

Except he's older, and has different clothes.

Strangely enough, I don't feel tired from astralizing him, either.

"Hey," He greeted me. I stood up beside him and notice that the 4 Flandres had stopped and were observing us from afar.

"Hello," I greeted back. I don't know how to talk to myself—if I should even talk to myself.

"You ready to kick some ass?" He gave me a lopsided grin, one I did not return. I gave him a deadpan stare.

"You're me, you know what I want."

And I was right.

He was me, and I was him. We both know what we want. Two sides of the same coin.

He grinned even further. "'Course I do," He started floating, his normal black eyes turning into light blue as he channeled his Aura. "Infinite Arrows!"

With those words, arrows of Aura formed around him. One by one, then by twos, then by tens. Then he shot them all.

The arrows were shot with incredible speed, several which hit nothing, and a few hitting their intended targets. The Flandres—vampires, as a common term—hissed as several arrows stuck on their flesh, trying to take them out.

The arrows stopped, however. "Arrows won't hold them off forever, go!" He commanded. I didn't have a snarky comment to snap at him, so I immediately dashed forward, brandishing Dust and Chamber.

I got close to one of the Flandres, who was still trying to pull out an Arrow (which was a stupid endeavor; they would disappear eventually, anyway). I channel Aura into Dust—where did I get this much Aura?—making it glow its signature green.

Flash Strike! I easily penetrate through the already weakened Grimm's flesh, making it lose its head when I executed the attack.

The other three vampires stopped what they were doing and set their attention to me. They all started floating up, and I couldn't help but step back.

They collectively gathered energy on a single point—right in the middle of them.

A laser of epic proportions. I grimaced, but then grinned as I remembered what they forgot…

I wasn't alone this time.

Just as they fired their laser, Hearts Kreutz appeared in front of me, his light blue gigantic rectangular shield raised and connected in front of him, blocking the attack.

The laser split and hit the wall behind us, showering us with rock. I grunt as one particular rock hit me in the head, making me rub the spot with the hand I'm using for Chamber.

Kreutz—that's what he wanted to be called—grunted as he slid back a bit, but it worked. If I had been alone, I would have been dead for sure. That laser was huge. His shield, even if it didn't block everything, blocked a fair amount of the attack without even anything to show for it. I smirked.

It's payback time, bitches.

When the laser died down, Kreutz brought the shield down and shot another smaller barrage of arrows towards the vampires. Weakened as they were, they resorted to dodging in between the arrows. They were focused on one thing, which I intended to exploit.

I dashed forward, weaving in between the arrows to avoid friendly fire, Dust glowing a bright green. I got in front of one of the vampires and brought Dust down on it.

The thing gurgled before stopping, becoming limp in front of me and starting to dissolve into black matter. I take off my sword from its head and duck from a stray laser that a Flandre sent me.

Oh, that wasn't a stray laser.

Kreutz had stopped shooting arrows and was engaging the other Flandre in ranged combat—that's to say, Aura spheres and arrows to the Flandre's lasers and orbs—which was frankly, quite pretty to look at. They were dodging in between the bullets, not yet getting hit by a single orb. I don't think he needs help yet.

I stared at my enemy, noticing its growls of anger at me. Taking a page from a certain black haired ninja avenger, I smirked at the vampire beckoned for it to come closer.

Surprisingly, it understood the gesture and barreled towards me in a speed which would make normal huntsman gape. In under a second, it made its way towards me and was already set for a downwards kick to my head.

I sidestepped, making the kick hit the ground and form a small crater. Undeterred, the enemy sent multiple punches to my side, a combo that I did not want to be hit by.

I flash step out of its target zone and bring Dust to my side. I thrust to the vampire's ribs, making its eyes narrow as it barely stumbles forward to dodge the attack. Chamber, however, was already on its way to attack its neck. In a surprising turn of events, it twisted until it got its head right in front of my sheath-sword and bit.

It was holding back Chamber by biting it. I grimaced. That's gonna take a while to clean up.

Activating Dust, I slash at its chest, missing because it jumped back to avoid the hit. Channeling my semblance to the blade, I slash again, this time, hitting my mark and making its hiss in pain and annoyance.

It darted forward, a beam already charging at its finger tip. It fired it, making me duck as it got to me and punched down, making me gasp in pain as the earlier pains were reawakened.

Ah crap… HP and Aura were refilled… but the pain is still there!

-38 HP

Damn, that's annoying!

I roll to the side to avoid a downwards kick and flash step to the air, twisting to look down at my enemy. It was looking at me and charging another beam attack which seems stronger than the other ones, but if it thinks I'm not going to take advantage of it, then it has another thing coming for it.

Flash Strike! Especially with that perk. That perk is majestic.

I pierce downwards, my cone of wind tinted green, tearing its head off, the energy in its finger tips dispersing as it dies. It falls backwards, missing a head, and makes a thud sound when it falls. It starts disintegrating, and I turn to my ally.

He was having a bit of trouble hitting his enemy, but I have a solution for it.

Switching Dust from Acid to Ice, I dash towards him.

I was behind the final Flandre, Dust raised up. It barely had time to dodge as I brought down my sword, making a slight gash on its back, ice growing out of the affected area. Not giving it a time to recover, I slammed my sword on the ground, Ice covering the floor and creeping up Flandre's legs, immobilizing it.

I flipped towards Kreutz, who was already charging an attack to shoot towards the enemy.

"Final attack," I told him, and he nods, charging even more Aura into it.

I help him channel some Aura and switch Dust from Ice mode to Acid mode, and channeled my Aura through that instead of my hands. Kreutz muttered something beneath his breath, which I barely heard from the hum of the massive orb of Aura in between his hands.

"Final…" the light blue orb was tinted red and green now; the acid and my aura. I was feeling kind of tired at this point… "Spark!"

It shot off at supersonic speeds, heading towards the final Flandre, who was trying to get out of the Ice trap. It covered it completely, the beam heading towards a wall and penetrating it to God knows how deep.

I feel faint.

"Ooh…" I mumbled as I fell on my back.

"Oh sh…" Kreutz fumbled and grabbed me before slinging me over his shoulder. "Shouldn't have let you do that."

I was barely hanging on to consciousness, trying to hang on to at least talk to my other. "Th… Thank…"

He lightly bopped me on the head. "Shut up, I'm bringing you to Beacon."

"Y… You… know?"

"I'm you. Of course I know." He chuckled and adjusted me on his shoulder. "Don't worry, little me."

"Just relax."