Knowledge

The Games We Play

Knowledge​

Ozpin and I ended things shortly thereafter, agreeing to meet up the next day, after he'd had time to research and make arrangements for Ruby. The nature of the situation was such that it left an undercurrent of tension, but I reminded myself that if nothing had happened in at least a decade, we'd probably be safe for another day or two—and if not, that I could probably cross the city and reach Patch in a matter of seconds. For the time being, I had other things to worry about and consider, so I decided to trust him and hope for the best.

Even so, with everything that had happened to me recently, I felt justified being a little cautious and so kept my awareness running full blast all the way back. Between the fact that it was the dead of night and the route I took, I didn't encounter anyone, but if I had I probably would have scanned them thoroughly. By the time I reached my own house and stepped inside, I was fully aware of the locations of everything within the radius of a city block. As such, I felt no surprise when I saw Adam and Gou sitting on the couch together, the former looking bored as he tried to find something worth watching after midnight.

"Hey," I greeted. "Sorry for ruining everything."

"It's fine," Adam said, apparently giving up now that a more interesting distraction had come along, turning off the hologram projector. "What happened?"

"I managed to convince her to go home without any more trouble," I shrugged, figuring he was talking about Yang. "Something else came up that needed attention so I had to bail afterwards, but Raven's daughter will be fine, except for her ego. Do you think Raven will be upset that I knocked her through a wall?"

Adam shrugged a shoulder, not seeming to care much. But then, he was probably drunk on top of the late hour, so I guess that was to be expected.

"Raven never hesitated to stop me when I did something she thought was wrong," He answered. "Didn't mind kicking my ass in a fight, either. If there's no lasting damage, I doubt she'll be too upset considering what could have happened. Everything okay, though?"

"Just…" I sighed, hesitating for a moment before answering. "It seems that mission's going to haunt me longer than I thought. Some complications came up."

He grunted.

"Your mother?"

"Well enough, I suppose," I mused. "I…I think I'll be able to regrow her missing limbs eventually—the others, too. I'll manage."

He looked me over careful for a moment and then nodded back slowly.

"What are you going to do now?" He asked.

"Keep busy, I suppose," I said after a moment's consideration. "There's a lot to do, you know. For my family and everything else. It seems like I'll be staying in Vale for the time being at least; I'll need to tidy up this place for when my sisters and grandmother come by. For now, I guess I'll be training my healing skills a lot, on top of everything else, but…well, who knows? There's a lot of work to be done with…everything, really, and then there's the stuff I need to talk to Raven about. I…"

I trailed off and shrugged, smiling a tad helplessly.

"After that," I continued, wanting to say it out loud. It was just a minor thing, especially compared to my most recent discoveries, but what Onyx had warned me about earlier had begun to grow on me. "I'm not sure. To be honest, at this point I really don't know what's going to happen next. A friend told me that caring for my mother while she…recovers might mean moving in with someone in my family. That might be a local thing, like moving across town, or it could mean going a lot farther. I have family all over the place—my grandmother in Mistral, some sisters in Vacuo, and the others move around a lot. I could end up anywhere, now."

Adam listened quietly as I talked, watching as I moved to touch a picture on the wall. My father's smiling face stared back at me, the fading corpse of a creature too massive to fit completely into the frame behind him. For the longest time, I'd known my father was invincible, because before that I'd prayed that it was true. It had to be true, because he'd always come home.

But he hadn't this time and never would again.

"It's odd," I said, feeling sad and yet somehow smiling at my father's younger looking face. "It doesn't matter where I am, really. As I am now, I could swim between the continents, no problem, so it's not a matter of distance, and I don't really care where I end up, you know. But…somehow I feel unrooted, now. The more I learn, the less I seem to know and I'm…huh. I don't feel uncertain, but I feel…"

I paused for a moment to mull over the words and try to describe how I felt. But I really wasn't sure of that myself. So much had changed in a day, leaving my mother crippled, my father gone, and me lost in a scheme that seemed to go far beyond me. The Grimm, the Riders, and their master waiting somewhere behind it all…I wasn't afraid of them, oddly. Well, at least not beyond the logical fear, the awareness of their numbers and raw power. But I did feel confused, like there was something I was doing, a puzzle I had to solve, but there was so much I couldn't see that I had no idea what.

It was at once a new feeling and a very familiar one. Before this had all happened, I'd been unsure of what to do with my life, but certain of where I stood. I had my home to return to, my parents to catch, and I'd thought in time I'd find my own goal. And now…I had, but somehow it didn't seem to make things clearer to me; I felt just as confused as before.

But I guess that's life.

"It's okay, though," I exhaled, leaning forward. "Whatever happens, wherever I go, I'll figure things out and keep going. I'm not afraid of change just…sad, I guess. Because I realized there are things I won't be able to go back to anymore."

The room was silent for a moment after that, Gou looking at me with worried eyes while Adam's expression was firm. His emotions, on the other, seemed turbulent; uncertainty warring with concern.

But at last he answered.

"Hey," He offered. "If you do end up moving, tell me where, okay? I have to travel a lot, too—and if there's a call from Jian Bing, I suppose I could go a little bit out of my way, even stay awhile. Keep you from progressing into the lonely emo state you'd inevitably fall into without exposure to my general magnificence."

I couldn't help but smile at that, glancing at him with a raised eyebrow.

"That's very noble of you, Adam," I said.

He bobbed his head to the side in acknowledgement, sniffing slightly.

"It comes easy to me, since I really am better than everyone else," He shook his head, eyes closing behind his sunglasses.

"I'm lucky to have you around," I replied, lifting a hand to my chin and furrowing my eyebrows. After a moment I moved my hand away, fingers splaying as I pursed my lips. "I guess. Anyway, looks like hauling around that ego is tiring you out, Adam. You want to stay here?"

He grunted. Something vaguely along the lines of an affirmative.

"You can use my room, then," I shrugged. "It's not like I do and I'll spend the next day or two cleaning the house anyway. Go before I have to carry you."

He grunted. Something vaguely along the lines of a thank you, mixed with a question.

Given how eloquent and personable he was now, I couldn't wait to see him with a hangover in the morning.

"It's up the stairs, third on the right, left side." I said. The grunt I got this time was probably a complaint over being given complex directions, but he left and I kept an eye on him as he followed the path I'd given him.

When he was gone, I looked down at Gou and scratched him behind the ears.

"Jaune," Gou whispered, words sliding out of his canine mouth. "You'll be okay, right?"

I tilted my head to the side and considered it seriously.

"I'm already better than I thought I'd be," I said at last, actually a bit surprised by the fact. "It seems I have a lot of good friends. So…yeah. I'll be okay."

I lifted my head to glance up the stairs and tapped Gou's head with a finger.

"I have to head outside for a little bit, again," I continued. "I just need to check a few things; I'll be close by. Still, you mind looking after Autumn and Adam for a little bit longer?"

"I will keep them safe," Gou nodded, staring up at me. "And you will keep yourself safe?"

It took no more than a thought to manifest Levant by my side, a smile wide on the small girl's face. She reached out to scratch Gou behind his ears in a mimicry of my own actions, and I laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Like I said, I have a lot of good friends," I said, not wanting to manifest the others inside the house. "You'll take care of me, right?"

Levant smiled and there was a quiet whistle of the wind around me, brushing my hair slightly.

"There," I nodded, smiling. "I'm safe as can be. But thank you for asking, Gou."

"Then I will go," He bowed his head before jumping off the couch and trotting over to the stairs. At the base of them, he stopped and looked at me with intelligent eyes. "Good luck Jaune."

I guess he understood what I was about to do, at least in some sense.

"Come on," I said, patting Levant's back slightly. "Best get to work now, then."

She hummed a wordless tune straight into my mind, following casually as I left the house and went deeper into the woods. When I thought I was far enough, I closed my eyes and let my power flow through me. A Sanctum first, then a Sanctum Sanctorum. Put a Temple over that and a Haven, just in case. It was a massive expenditure of power, but as I was now, I could feel what I'd spent swiftly returning, especially with the effects of the barriers.

Drawing my sword, I stabbed it deeply into the ground and then lifted my hands to the side. Fire sprayed from one and jagged arcs of lightning from the other, expanding for a moment before being drawn together into the shapes of Suryasta and Vulturnus. Bringing my hands back together slowly, water gathered together, pulled from the earth and air alike, and Xihai appeared, standing solemnly even as Levant moved to take her place, leaving us standing in a circle.

Putting my hands on the pommel of Crocea Mors even as the Metal Elemental appeared within it, I gave Suryasta a nodded. With a twitch of his fingers, flames erupted from the ground and just as quickly faded away, leaving behind a perfect circle with a star within. We each stood at one of the points where the two shapes meet, as if gathered around it to welcome the one who would appear.

I didn't need them for this, not really. But I wanted them beside me anyway—and not because of the summoning ritual. There was a lot that needed to be done and given the circumstances, well…who knows what could happen. Best to do it now, I figured.

Summoning my status screen with a thought, I glanced over my own profile. I had a lot of points to spend now and much to think about, but that could wait a moment longer. Simply to satisfy my own curiosity, however, I changed my title and returned to the form of Jian Bing once more and quickly removed my clothes.

Then, taking a moment to hope for the best, I called out to the new power I'd gained and activated Metamorphosis so I could see what happened. Immediately, dark spots began to appear on my skin, not as if spreading from some central location, but as if rising up to the surface—and from the shifting beneath my skin, I knew there was far more to come.

But I couldn't put this off. I had to know everything I could.

You have received the Status Effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [Low].'

With the threat of another Rider on the horizon and the possibility of even more waiting in the wings, I couldn't afford to put this off any longer. I had to be sure of the extent of this ability and of my own power while I still had the chance. Against Conquest, things had been too hectic to truly experiment with my own power, but there'd been a number of questions I needed to answer now.

The first was both the most simple and most important—was I contagious while I was like this? In the battle, I hadn't dared get near my mother and even try to risk it, but the question remained. It may have been a disease to anyone else—but to me it was just a status effect, for whatever that meant. I knew better than anyone that this body of mine wasn't normal, but with what I'd learned against Conquest, I could no longer ignore how abnormal it was. Treating things as status effects, ignoring wounds, recovering with sleep…for the longest time, I'd simply accepted that as the nature of my ability and accepted that I'd never know the answer.

And maybe that was true. Maybe I wouldn't ever really understand it. But I knew now that that didn't mean there wasn't an explanation. Malkuth Theory or whatever else, there was something responsible for why my body was like this, for where my powers came from. Even if it was beyond my reach, I knew answers existed and if I could find them, it might lead to answers about everything else. I couldn't just take things for granted anymore; I had to know.

But that was for tomorrow and who knows how many days after. Today, what I needed to know was how far it went. For my body…I could look down at myself, at my skin, and see the very components of my body—but did that matter? I had a heartbeat, which implied a heart and blood, but with the way my body responded to damage, brushing off things that could—or even felt like they did—tear me apart…

I could see the growing darkness on my skin, of course, see the evidence of the progressing infection, but I had to wonder. If I didn't get wounded or bleed, what other things did I ignore? I didn't even know if I needed blood, really, especially with the skills Wisdom had granted me. Though for all intents and purposes my body looked 'normal,' the rules that applied to everyone else didn't necessarily apply to me. Very few things affected me like they did others, in fact.

So I reached out and plucked a nearby flower, holding it in my blackening fingers to see what happened. Logically, Conquest should spread to this flower through our contact, but though my body seemed to be changing, it was a 'status effect' to me, before a 'disease.' While I'd played games where certain creatures could give me some kind of sickness, I couldn't remember any that allowed my character to spread that sickness in turn. Even the description hadn't mentioned spreading the disease, merely that it would continue to progress like it was doing now.

It was vital that I find that out as quickly as possible. If the disease could spread through me, then that was an unspeakable risk, making every use of the ability a chance for a major break out to occur—and that was something I couldn't allow. Even with the precautions my ability allowed me to take, if anything went wrong…despite the power of the ability, it was too risky to allow. I'd have to be certain that nothing that happened to me could make it spread, and I…well, I wasn't. If the disease spread, then I'd have to lock this ability away, at least for now.

But it didn't. Even as the dark spots continued to rise to the surface, even as they turned my skin black as night, the flower remained unchanged.

I had no idea why. I could see Conquest's cells in my own skin, literally touching the cells of the flower, but nothing happened. Why? Were they 'fake' cells, created by my power? Was there something keeping it from crossing over? It had to have something to do with the Gamer's Body, but what?

And seeing that made me wonder about what else it did. When I was attacked, how did I remain untouched? I felt pain, but nothing happened—was the damage repaired too fast for even my eyes to track? Or did it never happen to begin with, preventing it somehow and just making me feel pain as a warning? Or perhaps there was something between the area defined as 'my body' and the rest of the world, a barrier of some kind which decided such things?

But truly, though I was watching it happen, I couldn't see any cause. Maybe…maybe I could test it? If the White Rider allowed me to use some of Conquest's power, perhaps it would allow me to infect things, too. I could probably try, play with this strange force, maybe even learn something…

But I quickly decided against it. While the thought of reducing him to a guinea pig was tempting in its own way, I didn't think there was any situation that adding Conquest to wouldn't make worse. And God, if he somehow inherited my memories from the process, some measure of power…no. I wasn't that curious, at least not yet. Even in perfect conditions, the mere possibility that he might somehow send a message back to his father made it too risky to even try.

Still, I got what I wanted. However it worked, I could use this power without immediately putting thousands of lives at risk, despite appearances to the contrary. That was good to know, even if the appearance of this ability meant people would probably draw the wrong conclusions if they saw me using it.

Onto the next test, than.

Last time, I'd been in a hurry and couldn't afford to walk into a battle against my father with no idea of what would happen to my own body, so I'd accelerated the infection and limited my experimentation. This time, I let the experiment run its course normally, with one small change. Last time, it had been the human Jaune Arc who'd been infected; now it was the Faunus Jian Bing. The question was, did that matter? I wasn't sure. Logically, the infection should spread over my current body as normal, changing it accordingly. At the end, however, I knew that 'the White Rider' would automatically replace my existing title—and it was that title which made me a Faunus. With the infection spreading over my tail, what would happen when the title that had created it was removed?

I wanted to find out so I watched closely as the infection continued to spread. I'd note everything that happened to me in the process, as well as differences from the last time I'd done this. Of course, I'd need to do this at least several more times later to see how they did or didn't change. There was also the question of how this transformation would work with the Grimm masks I'd collected, if at all, but I didn't want to add too many variables at once and confuse the process.

What I did do, however, is multitask. With my MP regeneration as high as it was now, I could maintain something like the White Tiger of the West without difficulty anymore, even on top of everything else—and it would only grow easier with time. Already, my Aura was approaching level ninety-nine and there were a few skills close behind it, mainly the ones I'd had for a long time and was able to keep active around the clock. Most of the lower White Tiger skills were in the nineties and I could use and level them up for no additional cost so long as the White Tiger of the West was active. On top of that, Summon Elemental was only a step behind my Aura, trailed closely by a few other major skills I had, and with the experience increase I'd gotten from my Wisdom skills, I could expect them to level up relatively soon.

And since I was out here in the woods and could sense no one nearby…well, why not squeeze everything I could out of the time I had? And with an extra set of eyes and hands, I could keep working even while observing the disease's progression. Turning Bai Hu's eyes to my still open status screen, I considered it carefully. I was pretty proud of my stats, all things considered, though my relatively pathetic luck stat was hard to ignore. I'd need to head back to Juniors in the morning to heal his men anyway, so I'd try to make arrangements with the man then, but for now I was busy with more important things.

I had seventy points to spend and plenty of options to choose from—but I knew I'd spend at least twenty-six to bring Wisdom over two hundred. I knew it'd be worth it, both for the benefits and the skills I'd gain, after all, so that was a no brainer. The more important question was what I'd do with the other forty-four points. I could invest them into Wisdom as well, raising it to two forty-four, which would put me a mere two levels away from raising it over two fifty, but I couldn't ignore the synergy between Intelligence and Wisdom, either. Mana Regeneration's effect on my, well, mana regeneration was immense and stacked with all the increases from my Wisdom. Intelligence had also given me some invaluable abilities like my Clairvoyance, as well as skills that had allowed me to make other skills and which increased my MP immensely. I had no way of truly knowing what I'd get, but I could raise it to a hundred fifty-one on top of my other skills, which would give me a total of twelve abilities, if the pattern for skills held.

On the other hand, I could continue to increase my Wisdom and make progress towards an even larger number of skills, if more focused. Decisions, decisions.

I decided to increase my Wisdom over two hundred for now and wait and see what I got from it before deciding on what to do with the rest.

By raising WIS above 200, you have gained three random abilities related to your transcendent understanding.

The skill 'Psychometry' was created.

The skill 'Delusory' was created.

The skill 'Tranquility' was created.

By raising WIS above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'Unity.'

By raising WIS above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'The Soul Within.'

By raising WIS above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'The Hidden Heart.'

By raising WIS above 200, you have gained the passive skill 'The Unseen Form.'

My physical body took a deep breath, smiling a bit as I felt the changes take hold, but dismissed them for the moment as they disrupted my line of sight. The infection was gaining speed now, enough that I stood and had Bai Hu turn to face me, looking me over as I continued to change.

You have received the Status Effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [Intermediate].'

You have received the Status Effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [High].'

You have received the Status Effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [MAX].'

Title 'White Tiger of the West' unequipped.

Title 'The White Rider' equipped. This title may not be unequipped while the status effect 'On A White Horse He Rides [MAX]' remains.

The armor grew over me differently, now—whether because I was Jian Bing or for whatever other reason. Armor segments made their way down my tail as other layers formed over my blackened skin. Even the mask was different this time, eyeless and smooth like the reward I'd gotten for Conquest's defeat. I didn't look anything like I had fighting Conquest, but instead had horns rising from my head and jagged ridges on my armor. Oddly enough, I didn't have any problems seeing in this eyeless form, as if the front of my mask served as a strange, compound eye. I flexed my fingers and swung my tail, carving a ridge in the ground with a flick of it, noting that unlike my previous, towering form, I had barely changed in size this time.

Yes, it seemed that even for me, the infection adapted to my body. Though many of the internal changes had been similar, this form was built far differently from the first. Perhaps with more practice and testing, I'd figure out more on why, but…simply confirming it was enough for now.

Then there was only one thing left to do.

As one, the Tiger and I knelt at the edge of the circle on opposite sides of Crocea Mors. I let my Aura flow into the earth, remembering the feeling I'd had when I'd used my grandmother's Dust so long ago, and realigned myself with the revealed song.

"I, Jaune Arc," I murmured, voice sounding oddly smooth for my monstrous form. "Call upon the ancient contract of ages past to summon thee. I hope that you heed my call. Come, Earth Elemental!"

The ground within the circle's center shattered as if struck by my father's hammer, nearly exploding outwards before being sucked back into some invisible center. It liquefied, briefly shining with the light and heat of magma—and then there was a man standing there, as tall as any of the Elementals around him. Hair the color of dark earth and skin of bronze, he looked at me with eyes of literal gold. He wore no shirt, but had bands of gold around his wrists and throat, each gleaming in the moonlight. He stared at me for a long moment, as if contemplative—and when at last he spoke, it was with a rumble in my thoughts, like a small earthquake in my head.

You have summoned me and I have come to ask why.

If he was at all off put by being in front of a human looking Grimm and a glowing Tigerman, he didn't sound that way.

"I'll begin in accordance to the ancient rituals," I said in answer. "My real name is Jaune Arc. You have heard my true name; please tell me yours."

There was the rumble of another earthquake and I was gone. I felt the world turn beneath my feet, what seemed to be still in constant motion. Tectonic plates crashed together like the hammers of gods, driving mountains towards the sky and spewing fire and smoke. I saw a desert, a wasteland devoid of life, and watched as it changed into a green pasture full of towering trees. My awareness expanded, fractured, and I saw the earth beneath me flowing up to consume my body and leave me a statue, a demonic gargoyle set into the ground.

And then I felt my body breaking, wearing down like mountains did and being worn away. It hurt, it hurt terribly, but I'd known it would, just like I knew what would come next.

The Elemental laid a hand on my head and the stone skin broke off and fell away. I felt something warm and steady comforting me, like the whole world loved me and mourned with me for my recent loss. I felt a happiness, too, like coming home—like knowing that wherever I was, this world was my home.

I am with you. The Earth Elemental said. My name is Ereb. And yours is Jaune Arc?

"Yes," I said, taking a breath. My mouth was hidden, but I was smiling.

Then I stand with you, Jaune Arc.

"Yes," I said again. "We are together, Ereb."

Then we are one, as the ancient contract dictates.

"Our souls are one."

I am Ereb.

"I am Jaune Arc."

And until our souls meet their ends—

"We will be forever one," I swore again.

Ereb nodded, golden eyes gleaming as he smiled slowly and inclined his head.

Then know that even if the whole of the world stands against you, I will be by your side—and I will grind them to dust.

XxXXxX