A Fiery Demise

Entry 122:

Roman Torchwick POV:

I've been in the business for a long time, and in this type of work, you have to differ yourself from the rest from how you dress to how you act around your men.

Because you see, in the end, no matter what you do, you have to have something that defines you, or else people are just gonna see you as another thief or simply another statistic.

When I found Neo, she had no one, and most would simply send her to an orphanage or one of the less savory establishments, but I saw potential in her, and I've been proven right since.

And it's not just because she can't say anything, and I do enjoy my silence. It's her loyalty as that is such a commodity people do not understand as people are either in this life for the money or the glory or even both. Then the weirdos say they just want to send a message.

Let people have their ridiculously complex backstories or tragic histories. I'm just in it for the money, as that's the one thing that's been a constant in this life. Every good thing or every bad thing can be traced back to money or power.

But then I met the golden man, and he offered me a job where I wouldn't need to steal, and why wouldn't I need to worry about getting shot in the back? I'd be able to explore the universe eventually. There is so much treasure to find. He even gave us a very generous down payment and healed the Neo's voice.

And all I had to do was give him information and a location for a meeting with the flaming bitch. Easiest money I ever made, and from the position he's offering, I'm going to be making a lot more.

I can already see Neo fantasizing about all the ice cream she's going to buy, which, to be honest, might go into why she's still so short, but I'm not going to say that to her face. In all honesty, it was so simple to get that woman to come to a warehouse, and all I needed to say was that there was a complication in the plan.

This is the feeling I live for, where I can be on the side of the table with all the information and all the cards, and even now, I can still feel the golden man's presence even when he's not here. Although I wouldn't even think of that man as hired muscle if he's even a mortal at all.

I've seen the look in his eyes, and it is truly something terrifying. I do not want to be in that golden man's way when he changes the world, and you know us thieves, we're a very adaptable bunch. Because who needs regular crime when you can commit a crime in space.

Soon enough, I'm going to be a very legitimate businessman as I can already see my record and simply erased from existence, and while I'm still known as a criminal, their files and all of their records are gone.

The power that Golden Man wields is terrifying, and in all honesty, I would rather not spend any more time in his presence as simply being around him made me Roman Torchwick feel lesser. But who knows? Even with Neo's voice healed, she doesn't use it very often, but she's been practicing.

So now me and you are waiting for that woman and her posse of little lost men and women. And as if on cue, the woman decides to appear from the darkness like some wanna-be vigilante.

"I am here, Roman. Now speak and tell me of this complication," Cinder says as I almost chuckle at this woman's arrogance as without her semblance and magic, she would simply be another mook.

Really it's taking a lot out of me just to not laugh as the golden man told me all of their stories, with each one more pathetic than the last, but instead of responding, I snap my fingers.

And I tell you what, the golden man definitely has a flare for dramatics as the entire warehouse we're in is sent to a separate space as outside, all you can see is a kaleidoscope of colors.

Within a couple of seconds, all three of them are on their knees as I look behind me to see the golden man himself, and he does not look happy. I give him a small curtsy out of respect and thanks for helping me, as we are not ungrateful. We have class. 

I step aside as the golden man walks up to Cinder. As she struggles and froths at the mouth, he lifts her head in his hand and says in not anger but just pure disappointment. 

"Cinder Fall, a woman who seeks power above all else and one that lets her desires destroy everything around her and leave her with nothing from a slave to where you are right now, have you found that thing that can fill the void? I assume not."

He then lets her go and looks to Emerald as she, too, struggles to stand. "Emerald Sustrai, a thief, a rat, a leech, one who let her life's own failures lead her to her own suffering and as such, decided to follow anyone that offers her a hand even if that hand cares not for her well-being."

The golden man then looks at Mercury with a semblance of some type of emotion. "Mercury Black, a child trained to be an assassin, one who lost his own innate ability to his father who simply desired more power, and as such, you can't see another route for yourself other than fighting." 

He then looks him in the eye and says, "Of the three of you, I believe you to have the most potential as you are not here for vengeance nor out of some reason for suffering. You are here because you do not see another way, and I'm going to offer you one which will not only have your semblance returned but your potential opened up to such a monumental degree."

Cinder then yells, "What do you know? You haven't lived our lives! How can you seek to judge us?!" 

The golden man simply states, "That is where you are wrong as I have seen your lives from beginning to end so many different pathways and fates, yet they all end in the same point."

Silence then hangs in the room as I ponder what fates he sees every single day and how he's able to handle such knowledge even though if I had such powers, I would most likely try to locate which fate would end up me winning the lottery, but that's just me.

The room then shifts to another point, and we find ourselves in the Land of Darkness with what looks like a woman that has been seemingly grimified in her hand is the flaming bitch as she chokes and her neck is then snapped in her powers absorbed with Emerald and Mercury dead.

The three look simply shocked as Cinder yells out "This can't be! This has to be a lie. I am one of the strongest beings on this planet. It's my destiny!" The golden man then just stares at her and says, "And yet again, you are wrong. There is no future nor ending where you end up on a throne. There is no victory."

Emerald and Cinder then look down in utter hopelessness as I revel in the pain even if I don't show it on my face as Mercury simply looks almost accepting of his fate.

The golden man then looks to the three and says "In all honesty, none of you deserve to leave this room alive for what all three of you are willing to do and yet feel nothing from it is nothing less than deplorable." But then he reaches out his hand and says, "I am willing to forgive you if you give up this foolish endeavor, and you will find your chains unbound and your destines greater than you could ever imagine."

If I was still a wide-eyed young youth, I would have accepted in a heartbeat as I can tell from his type he's not one to stinge from deals, and if he ever does, the other party truly deserves it.

Mercury then says, "If you can provide what you promised, I am willing to follow you." The other two look shocked as Cinder yells "You traitor! I will have your head for this!" Mercury is then allowed to rise as the golden man places his hand on his shoulder, and a  bright light shines.

Mercury then says, "I can feel my semblance again! Thank you!" The golden man just says, "A semblance is a part as well as an exemplification of the Soul. Without a semblance, one can never find their true purpose, and even if they never find their semblance, just having it there helps direct one person towards their destiny."

Mercury then bows and stands next to me and Neo as the golden man turns to the other two as Cinder yells in foolish defiance, "It doesn't matter. I will find my way out of this hold, and I will cut you open and steal your power as well. Nothing will stop me! I will not be a slave to anyone again."

The Golden Man just sighs as he pushes his fist into Cinder's stomach and rips out an orange ball, which he then sends back somewhere. Cinder looks shocked as the Golden Man's aura rises and says, "You are arrogant and a fool! You are unworthy of your title, your name, and your power, and with my authority, you are banished from this existence!"

Cinder is then burned in golden flames and disappears before she can even say a word as silence befalls the room with Emerald crying at the loss of her savior as the golden man says, "She would never accept mercy, and so I ask you, Emerald will you surrender?"

Emerald then places her head on the floor and surrenders, almost lost in spirit, as the golden man knocks her out.

The warehouse then returns to normal as the golden man looks at me he says, "Your services have been rendered, and your payment will be delivered shortly I hope you enjoy your new positions, and trust me, I do appreciate the service as you have saved many lives."

Neo and I bow as we leave the warehouse to head to the Celestial Tales HQ in Vale, where we will serve as their resident fixers and underworld bosses.

It's good to have a God on your side. Now I just need to avoid me and Neo making any mistakes as well. He does seem like the forgiving type; I would rather not be burned out of existence.

I chuckled to myself, along with Neo, as the Flaming Bitch was killed by flames.

Linus Ozias POV:

I look to Mercury and say, "Know this, Mercury. I do not kill lightly, as even if I do make mistakes, I will always be willing to give others second chances if they deserve them. I am not a psychopath; I simply just have to make the hard choices."

Mercury nods as he says, "I can understand, and you don't seem like the type that kills people off of whim, so what's next, boss?" I smile and say, "Well, my friend, you get to be trained by my Iscariot order, and you will find Improvement beyond your wildest dreams, and after that, you will serve as a worker and be given all the rights and benefits and vacation days."

Mercury almost looks confused as it seems like I'm offering more of a regular job than a universe-spanning occupation. I begin to laugh at his confusion as he chuckles along with me, and we leave the warehouse as I send him to New Cadia.

I then returned to the hotel and lay in the arms of my beautiful Nine Tails as a self-serving reward for a job well done, as without the White Fang and Cinder and Salem pacified, all that remains now is a spreading my influence and dealing with those two gods. 

But now I rest while also feeling the fluff of my nine-tail significant other because, hey, when you work hard, you got to play hard.

I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

(Since my main character was allowed to have all of his powers, this world is pretty low-level for him, so it's going to be relatively quick. I apologize to any Rwby fans reading this, but I do hope you all are currently enjoying what I'm writing, and I wish you all a good day and pray for each and every one of us to be Isekai'd as our own overpower protagonist. Once we are done with this world and the next side quest, we will be going on to Fate Grand Order, and I'm still trying to decide which servant my main character should summon first.)