146

Chapter 146:

Ruby collapsed to her knees as the vision released her from its hold. She could scarcely believe the enormity of everything she had learned. It was a story to defy imagination. Even knowing what she did about Ozpin and Salem, she could scarcely believe that she had still known so little.

It had been a story of love, of loss, of grief and madness, of love found once again, of betrayal, of more loss, and despair. Worse still were the revelations of the truth about who and what Salem was.

She's immortal! She was cursed by the God of Light to live forever! Jinn said that it's impossible to kill her. Then she paused, her rational mind catching up to her runaway feelings. No! That's not it! Jinn said it was impossible for Ozpin to kill her.

Those had been Jinn's words in response to Ozpin's final question for her in a previous era. "How do I kill Salem?" he had asked. Jinn's response, "You can't."

Even now, Ruby could hear the cries of fear and despair rising throughout the audience. Were she in their position, she would have felt that same crushing sense of defeat. This was the truth that Ozpin had been hiding, a truth that Ruby hadn't even clued into. Salem couldn't be killed. No matter how hard they tried, no matter how much effort was made, how much blood was spilled, she would continue to seek to destroy this world and remake it in her own twisted image. Days, months, years...no matter how much time passed, Salem would still be there, still working to bring down everything that they had built.

Except...that wasn't entirely true. Ruby raised her head, her Silver Eyes looking out across the expanse of the inner ring, still suspended in the air, to meet the Crimson Eyes of Kyo, who looked back at her with an expression of calm. That's right...there is a way.

What Kyo had told her about, the God-Slaying techniques, like the ones of the Mumyo Jinpu Ryu…Kyo told her that they had been created to kill that which could not ordinarily be killed. They were techniques that were created to slay gods. Therefore, if one received her immortality from a god, then it stood to reason that she could be killed by the same technique that could kill a god itself. That was the logic.

That meant that, all this time, the Mibu had possessed the means of resolving this conflict, of destroying the enemy of humanity once and for all...So why hadn't they? Ruby's gaze shifted, because she knew that the answer to that question was standing in the middle of the ring.

"R-Ruby...?" Penny's terrified voice caught Ruby's attention, and Ruby saw that Penny was still there, staring vacantly ahead, before finally turning to look at her.

"Penny..." said Ruby, noting the look of utter horror, which seemed so foreign on her dear friend's face.

"Ruby...is it true?" asked Penny plaintively. "Is that...is that what we're supposed to be fighting against?"

"It is," said Ruby pushing herself back to her feet.

"But...but it's impossible!" Penny stared down at her hands. "If it's impossible...then just what was I made for? What's the point of me existing at all?"

Ruby reached over, cupping Penny's cheeks with her hands, turning Penny to face her. "Who cares?" she asked softly. "Whatever reason you were made for, whether it's legitimate or not, it doesn't matter. You were made, and I met you. So...I'm glad that you were."

Penny's smile returned, albeit more subdued than before. "Thank you, Ruby."

Panicked shouts were rising in the coliseum, people crying out in despair, in anger. They were shocked to learn that they were threatened by an utterly implacable enemy, and outraged that such knowledge had been kept from them. Their anger was more than understandable. Looking up, Ruby looked for Ozpin. She found him where he'd been before, staring down from the shattered window of the skybox, tears streaming down his face.

He just had his deepest and most personal secrets revealed to everyone, thought Ruby. He never got a say in it. Jester just asked and Jinn answered. It was a hideous violation. Of course, given that this was also knowledge regarding a threat to the entire world, one could argue that at least a portion of this secret was something that Ozpin might have had an obligation to reveal. However, she couldn't be sure. If she hadn't known about Kamikiri techniques, how would she have reacted to this knowledge?

"ENOUGH!" Jester's roar was reinforced by his Projected Aura. It exploded outward from him in a wave. Ruby felt the breath driven from her lungs, heart seizing in her chest. The sheer power and scope of the malice radiating from the man in the center of the ring dwarfed anything she had ever experienced, even in her previous run-ins with this man, if he could be called a man.

Silence descended, total and absolute. Granted, Ruby had no way of knowing how the larger audience watching this over the broadcast was reacting to this revelation. Had they even seen what the people in the immediate audience had seen? Ruby was fairly certain that the answer was yes.

"I can understand that you all are having some difficulty wrestling with this," he said, his voice cheerful, almost as though he hadn't exposed them to a terrifying truth that had probably shattered the rational minds of at least some of the people who had seen this. "It's deep after all. But, when you think about it, it makes sense. More interesting, Ozpin isn't the only one who's been keeping this information from you."

Ruby's jaw dropped.

Jester cackled. "Oh boy...the boss lady's gonna be upset over this, let me tell you. After all, with what you've learned, you should ask yourselves-and I'm not asking you, by the way-" He pointed sharply at Jinn, who was floating above the lamp, glowering down at him. "-Why would Salem not want you to know all of this?"

More muttering exploded from the crowd.

Jester spread his arms out. "It seems pretty simple to me. All she needed to do was stride forth, declare herself openly, and announce that she could not be destroyed, before unleashing the horde upon the Kingdoms, smothering them in an avalanche of Grimm, drowning you all in a flood of your own blood. And yet...she hasn't.

"There's more to the story you see. Oh yes! There's so much more. There's truth that even Ozpin doesn't know, truth that not even Salem is prepared for. Let's start by establishing a few basic facts."

He gestured to Jinn. "Now, Jinn here is the spirit of Knowledge, required to answer any three questions. Of course, what she must impart is truth. As such, this is an entity that cannot lie in answer to a question. However..." Jester's grin widened to the point that it seemed to almost split his face in two. "The same is not true of the one who created her."

Ruby gasped. She wasn't the only one. All throughout the audience, confusion was spreading. People were enraptured by this presentation, even though it was occurring without their consent. What was more, she found a sharp chill running down her spine at Jester's words.

"After all, just because the god who created this lovely lady created her to be incapable of falsehood, that does not mean that the god who made her is similarly incapable himself. No, in fact, I daresay that the God of Light is the biggest liar of all, even more than his brother. And what is more, this world has suffered and been twisted by those lies in ways you could scarcely imagine.

Spinning in place, he faced Jinn, who was now regarding him with a look of absolute horror. "And now...dear Jinn...It's time for our final question."

"No..." pleaded Jinn. "Please...please don't ask that question."

However, Jester ignored her, turning to address the audience once more. "My good people, if you've been following current events, then you will know that a few participants in this years tournament are from the Mibu Clan. You may have even learned a little about what the Mibu are. However, this is an interesting tidbit that I guarantee the vast majority of you haven't heard yet. For you see, the Mibu know of the Gods of Light and Darkness too. Yet they almost never refer to them as such. Instead, these two so-called gods have been given a very specific title by the Mibu. And so...!"

He turned to face Jinn again, who was now looking at him with an expression of despair. "Jinn...why do the Mibu call the Gods of Light and Darkness...the Pretenders?"

Jinn squeezed her eyes shut. Then everything turned white again. Ruby and the others all found themselves swept away once more.

"Long ago, many millennia in the past, humanity had spread across the width and breadth of the world."

Before Ruby's eyes, she found herself watching as a vision of an ancient land spread out before her. She gasped to see an enormous city spreading out in front of her. In many ways, it resembled the skyscrapers of Vale. But this city dwarfed the Kingdom completely. It was more alive, more full of energy than anything she had ever seen before.

Then the view pulled back, and Ruby realized that this was just one of many cities. Countless established civilizations spread out across the land before her. More striking were the things that were not present. She saw no signs of perimeter walls, no turrets. The cities hadn't been placed or built with thoughts of making them defensible against the Grimm. To Ruby, it looked as though they had been built without something so important even being a consideration. The view drew back even more, and Ruby found herself looking at a world completely different from the one she knew. The continents were an entirely different shape, a layout of lands and nations completely alien to her.

"With their technology, they conquered the skies and explored the seas..."

The roar of an engine; like that of a bullhead, but so much louder; flooded her ears, making Ruby shriek and clap her hands over them. However, that barely did anything to dull the noise. Her eyes widened as an enormous airship swept across her vision. It was completely different from any airship used in Remnant. Its wings were enormous, with multiple engines mounted along their lengths. It flew gracefully across the sky, before fading away.

The previous airship's roar was replaced by a different, choppier sound. A new airship appeared, this one having a completely different form of propulsion, in the form of rotors that spun rapidly above it. It flew, tilting forward as it did so, crossing Ruby's vision, and then fading out of sight.

"And their ambition went further still. For they had also uncovered the key to traversing the void between worlds."

A new roar filled Ruby's ears, one even more powerful than that of the airship from before. Ruby saw an enormous rocket, propelled by a jet of flame, soaring upwards into the sky. Following its path, Ruby's jaw dropped as looking up granted her a view of countless objects drifting about a star-studded night. It took her a moment to realize that these were satellites…manmade satellites, something that her teachers at Beacon had explained was supposed to be impossible. And yet, here they were, floating about the sky, almost like an artificial constellation.

"Indeed, while they had no such things as Dust, Magic, or Aura, mankind had truly achieved a greatness that has not been seen in all the ages sense."

Ruby wasn't sure her jaw could hang any more slack. No Dust...No Aura...? Magic was somewhat understandable. After all, the previous tale Jinn had told had informed them that mankind had been living without magic ever since the Brother Gods had destroyed the previous wave of humanity. But no Aura...?

"However, amongst the humans of the world, there had emerged a group, a clan..."

Now the images of the strange world and all its incredible features vanished, the white void returning. Just as quickly though, it was filled with new images. Shadows appeared, forming buildings, their shapes reminding Ruby of the architectural style of Mistral...and Leng. Immediately, she realized what was coming.

"Among all the people of the world, those of the Mibu Clan were amongst the first to discover the nature and potential of Aura...and they were the ones to unlock its greatest potential."

The spaces within the shadowy buildings were filled in by equally shadowy people, most dressed in robes. They faded away and were replaced by the images of individuals, their figures reminding Ruby of the members of the Goyosei, though the different silhouettes indicated that they were different people.

"With their power, they unlocked the secrets of the elements..."

The figures demonstrated techniques of Manifestation that Ruby was all too familiar with. One man swung a double-bladed sword, unleashing a wave of flame. Another sept the curved, double-pronged shape of the Mumyo Saigyo Ryu's swords, sending serpentine dragons of water undulating through the air. The others demonstrated similar feats.

"However, their greatness exceeded even that...For the Mibu had mastered Aura to an extent never seen before or since. More than mere martial prowess, they had obtained the power to realize anything that they desired, the power to create and destroy at will. Immortal, they had no fear of death at the hands of any, save for one another. They had even obtained the power to create and control life itself.

"In every sense of the word, the Mibu were gods."

Ruby shook her head. That's not right! Of the Mibu she knew, many were powerful. Kyo, his father, and the Taishiro were equal to entire armies on their own. But what Jinn was describing was a level of power far beyond that of anything she had ever seen before.

"With their power and surety that they were truly gods, the Mibu lived lives of pure indulgence. They wanted for nothing, experiencing no suffering or privation.

"To entertain themselves, they turned their powers of creation towards the making of fighting puppets, living beings forged in their own image, to fight for their amusement."

Ruby didn't want to watch, but couldn't look away. The shadows of two robed figures turned towards each other, raising their hands. In the space between them, two more human-shaped figures rose up, taking up swords and charging one another in a flurry of blades, clashing until one was cut down...all while the figures that had created them looked on.

"And yet, before long, even this entertainment began to ring hollow for them. For...without anything to strive for, the people of the Mibu came face to face with an obstacle that all their power ultimately could not surmount...boredom.

"Because of that, the Mibu turned their eyes to the one thing that could truly threaten them, an obstacle that they could strive to overcome...they turned to one another."

The shadows of the Mibu that had only just created puppets to fight for their entertainment now drew their own swords and rushed one another. They clashed again, until one struck down the other. The victor raised his sword in triumph, only to be run through from behind by another figure that had appeared out of nowhere.

"The Mibu Clan collapsed in on itself. In their madness, their bloodlust became insatiable. The fighting puppets that they had before created to fight one another they now made fight the other members of their clan, molding those puppets, until they were virtually indistinguishable from the Mibu themselves."

Now Ruby's vision was filled with the image of clashing armies. Countless figures charged one another, mixing together in a violent cacophony of battle. While it had started with two obvious sides, things soon became even more chaotic. Given that all the figures were a uniform black, once the opposing forces had engaged with one another, it was impossible to tell who was fighting who. But Ruby saw partners who'd been fighting side by side suddenly turn on each other, one turning to attack an ally he'd been fighting back-to-back with just before; treachery spread throughout the conflict, as people who had been on the same side at first turned on each other.

"As the Mibu killed one another in an orgy of bloodshed, they created more and more puppets to bolster their ranks. Before long, the numbers of their puppets had swelled, until the Mibu were hopelessly outnumbered by their own creations...all while the number of Mibu continued to dwindle."

Ruby now saw an image of two different groups of people. One was composed of only a tiny handful of people. They stood tall and proud, their forms radiating power. However, they stood in the center of a sea of lesser figures, perhaps not as tall, exuding less of a sense of power, but outnumbering the taller figures by an order of magnitude.

"In the end...the Mibu Clan were all but wiped out, their existence forgotten to all but a tiny few.

"And yet...their story did not end there. For, even though the Mibu had been lost, the puppets that they had created, the puppets formed in their own mighty image, remained. As history faded into legend, the puppets of the Mibu forgot their origins, and instead came to believe that they were the Mibu."

Ruby could scarcely believe what she was hearing. If the actual Mibu had died out, then did that mean that the Mibu she knew now, the ones who were actually descended from that ancient clan, were descendants of artificially-created beings? It's...it's almost as though they created an entire race of Pennys! It was amazing, and horrifying at the same time.

"Along with their belief that they were the Mibu, this new Mibu Clan inherited their belief that they were gods. And they were, in many respects. For they had inherited many things from their creators, including power over life and death. As such, they set out to rule the world from the shadows, guiding the path of humanity and shaping it as they wished.

"But it wasn't to last. For they had not been created as truly equal to their predecessors."

Another crowd of shadow people emerged. Suddenly, one of them bent over double, coughing harshly. His hand went to his mouth, and droplets of black liquid, obviously meant to depict blood, sprayed out from between his fingers. The figure continued to cough, sinking to his knees, slowly collapsing while the others around him drew back, watching in horror. The sickened man fell to the ground...and went still. A second later, his form disintegrated, disappearing, leaving his audience to stare at the empty space where he had been.

But then another round of coughing exploded. People whirled about to watch as a second figure began to go through the same process, coughing while slowly sinking towards the invisible ground. Then a third person started coughing, before the second had even finished. A fourth joined them, then a fifth. The coughing fits spread throughout the crowd, the healthy people drawing away and clustering together. They were mere shadows, devoid of faces and expressions. Yet their postures clearly expressed their terror.

"A disease began to spread through them. Those who died faded away, dissolving into nothingness. The new Mibu were powerless against it. Their skill with Aura could not heal those who were afflicted. Even though they possessed the power to raise the dead, they could not resurrect those who succumbed. Even worse, as it raged through their population, they found that it had robbed them of something else. The Mibu learned that they could no longer sire or birth children of their own. Not only did this disease strike them down, but it was stealing their future from them as well.

"Thus, though it seemed oddly grandiose; for people who had deemed themselves immortal gods, there was only one name that could be given to such a deadly affliction. They called it the Death Disease. Unbeknownst to them, this was no mere pathogen. Instead, it was a defect of their creation, one left behind by the True Mibu who had created them, and had grown more pronounced with each successive generation, until its presence became fatal.

"Desperate for salvation, the new Mibu went to greater and greater extremes to find a solution to what seemed to be their inevitable demise. However, despite this, their view of themselves as gods did not desert them. They continued to solidify their rule over the world, raising one dynasty to power, only to destroy and replace it with another, when it suited them.

"And then...one of their own turned on them. A single child rose up against the clan, destroying their plans for the history they had sought to weave. Growing into a man, this child went on to oppose and fight to tear down the clan from its lofty perch."

Ruby found herself confronted by the figure of a child. He was small, barely more than a toddler, yet he looked at her with a pair of Crimson Eyes that were as hardened and determined as any adult. Before her eyes, that child grew taller. The short, black hair that had covered his head grew longer, extending down behind him past his shoulders.

Even as he grew, the black was replaced by color and detail. He was wearing a robe that was nearly identical to the one her brother wore. In fact, there was a lot about him that resembled her brother. But his face was harder, seeming perpetually locked in a scowl, so completely different from the kind expression that Ruby was used to seeing on her brother's face. On top of that, this man exuded a sense power, even though this was a mere rendition of him in a story. It was an oppressive feeling, almost overpowering. However, his left hand was closed around a sheathed sword that Ruby recognized all too well, the long shape of her brother's sword, Tenro.

"His name was...Kyo."

Ruby's hands flew to her mouth, her gasp exploding out nonetheless. This man had the same name and the same eyes as her brother. Yet he was clearly a different person. Is he...my brother's ancestor?

"Kyo faced terrible opposition in his battle against the Mibu. Yet he persevered. Indeed, he was indomitable. When met with a foe who seemed beyond him, he would grow to surpass them. His determination drove him to surpass every limit, achieving that which had never been thought possible."

Ruby's vision was suddenly filled with strobing flashes. Within them, she caught sight of battles, still images that still, in the brief instants they appeared, managed to perfectly convey the ferocity of the fights this Kyo faced in the process of his war against the Mibu.

"However, over the course of this battle, Kyo discovered a frightening truth. He was not one of the new Mibu, not a descendant of the battle puppets created by the True Mibu. He was, in fact, one of the True Mibu himself, the final descendant of that lost people, once thought extinct. Having inherited the full measure of their power, he should have been unstoppable. However, along with that power, he had also inherited the same cursed madness that had driven his ancestors into extinction. However, Kyo ultimately overcame the curse of his blood by rejecting the temptation of that power, and the curse that accompanied it, instead putting his faith in the power he had obtained through his own blood and sweat.

"In the end, he was victorious, striking down the Crimson King of his era, who had become corrupted by despair. Ironically, in the process of dragging the Mibu down from their perch as gods, Kyo became their salvation as well. Those who had been his comrades in that fight worked to find a solution to the Death Disease, ultimately creating a cure. Likewise, they also found a solution to their inability to produce children. The new Mibu found that, by joining with humans, they could once again sire and birth children of their own once more.

"And thus, the gods, who had been on the verge of being choked off in their divinity, found their salvation in descending to the path of humanity. And so the Mibu joined peacefully with the world, no longer seeking to rule it, though they continued to mainly live apart from most of the rest of the human race. They bore witness as mankind ascended to new heights.

"Humans were amazing, even if they were far from perfect. They opposed one another, fought with one another, even threatened their own world with destruction in fits of hubris. And yet, they nonetheless continued to seek a way forwards, always advancing to newer and greater heights. If there was an era that could have been called a golden age of humanity, this was it...

"But nothing lasts forever...and this era was ultimately bound to come to an end; not as a consequence of anything the humans had done, but at the hands of those who came from beyond their purview."

The scene transitioned again, and Ruby found herself looking out over the skyline of an unfamiliar city, its lights as bright and numerous as the stars above. Looking up, Ruby's eyes widened as she saw that, among all those stars, two were moving...descending towards the earth. They grew closer and brighter, and their descent began to be accompanied by a low roar. Ultimately, they dropped down onto the city in front of her. Suddenly, a massive explosion erupted from the point of impact, a fiery shockwave shattering buildings, the roar of the explosion easily drowning out the screams of the countless millions unfortunate enough to be caught in it.

Tears trailed down Ruby's face at the sight of such horrific destruction. However, that fear was replaced by a sense of recognition, recognition that was soon twisted into revulsion. For, as the flames and smoke faded, the epicenter of the explosion, in the center of the crater that had marked their point of arrival, there stood two figures that were clearly not human. More importantly, they were familiar figures.

After all, they had been key players in the story Jinn had told in answer to Jester's first question.

"The Brother Gods had arrived."

"This is where we shall begin, Brother," said the God of Light, his deep voice ringing out from the towering form of his golden body. His shape was relatively human, but devoid of anatomical features, save for the outlines of what would have been powerful muscles on a human. He was composed of a pure, golden light. However, the aspect that truly marked him as an inhuman entity was his head. The contours of his face were clearly visible, but his mouth was absent. His eyes were pools of the purest silver. Atop his head was his most distinctive feature, a pair of curling antlers, each one splitting into five separate points.

"What is it that you wish to do with this wretched place, Brother?" asked the God of Darkness. He was similar in aspect to his older brother. However, in stark contrast to his brother's golden form, his body was dark-purple, almost to the point of being black. Where his brother's head sported antlers, the God of Darkness' was decorated by curling horns, like those of a ram.

"With your help, I shall reshape it, and those that dwell on this world will be cultivated. My experiment will test the limits of their potential." Light looked around, taking in the wreckage left by their arrival. In the distance, he could hear calls of pain, cries for help. "But first, the board must be cleared. Brother, if you would..."

"I do not know why you feel you need me to do this for you, Brother," muttered Darkness, holding up his right hand. A shimmering sphere of ebony congealed into being. "If you are simply reshaping them, why do you want me to destroy them first?"

"I would like an answer to that as well."

Both brothers turned their eyes to the figure that approached them at an easy walk. His fair skin was highlighted by a head of shaggy, black hair that would have run down past his shoulders, were it not tied behind his back in a spiky mass. Clad in a black kimono, he also wore a white mantle over his shoulders, its edges decorated with red and blue diamond patterns. In his left hand, he gripped a long sword by its sheath. Though the expression on his face was serene, his Crimson Eyes glittered with constrained malice.

"Who are you?" asked Light, taking in the newcomer.

"Those who show up on our doorstep, uninvited, and announce themselves with wanton destruction, are the ones who need to answer," replied the man, closing his right hand around the handle of the sword, which he drew from its sheath with a loud ring. Tossing the sheath aside, the man brandished the sword, extending it out to his side, readying to strike. "Much has been lost today, never to be reclaimed. I would have you answer for that, after you answer my questions."

"Worthless fool," intoned Darkness, his voice rumbling like thunder. "You dare show us such impudence..."

"Brother..." said Light, "exercise caution. This one is not merely human. He is something far more powerful...something more akin to us."

"How rude," said the man. "I am human. It is because I am human that I have power." He met the gazes of the two gods before him. "Our clan were once gods, and because of that, we nearly destroyed ourselves. Seeing two who clearly consider themselves gods for myself, I must say that I'm glad that we avoided becoming something like you two."

"I have heard enough!" snarled Darkness, his form swelling and shifting, his body becoming something almost fluid as it flowed into a new shape. Four clawed feet crushed the earth beneath them, the ends of powerful limbs. A long tail lashed out behind him, and bat-like wings extended from his shoulders. His neck had elongated, and the humanlike face was replaced by an elongated, skull-like visage, though those ram horns remained. A massive dragon now glared down at the man who stood before him.

"I am the God of Darkness, the master of death and destruction," declared the dragon, flaring its wings, which seemed to envelop the entire sky. "My brother and I are not to be questioned by a mere whelp, like yourself."

The man's expression didn't falter, remaining as serene and composed as ever. "Well, at least you have sufficient manners to name yourself," he observed, his bland response actually taking the massive dragon aback. "So...you two are brothers. Given your behavior, am I correct in guessing that you are the younger one?"

The sudden, very un-godlike grunt that emerged from Darkness was answer enough. The man closed his eyes and lowered his head with a satisfied smile. "I see. That explains a little." He shook his head. "Still, now that you have named yourself, I should do the same. I am Kyo. I am the Crimson King of the Mibu. And now...my people and I shall make you regret barging into our world with such poor manners."

"Your people...?" Light looked around. As he did, he noticed that the man named Kyo was no longer alone. Nine other people had appeared in the crater with him. More than that, he saw other shadows flitting through the rubble of the ruined city around them. However, instead of moving attack, these shadowy figures were searching through the rubble, looking for survivors.

"Now then...if you wish to avoid needless conflict, you will answer my questions," said Kyo, leveling his sword at Darkness, who drew back, feeling something unusually threatening from its tip. "What are you doing here?"

"You have no right-!" Darkness began to shout, only to be stopped by his brother, who stepped past him and extended his hand in front of him. In his humanoid form, the God of Light was dwarfed by his brother, but Darkness stopped all the same.

Light took another step forward, before lifting off the ground. Like his brother, his body too dissolved into something fluid, shifting into a new shape. A long, sinuous body wound its way through the air, four short limbs, ending in delicate fingers and toes, tipped with curving claws extended from along that long body. A graceful, dignified leonine head perched atop a winding neck, those same antlers extending out from it, along with a pair of long whiskers that trailed away from its elongated snout.

"We have come to usher in a new era for this world," declared Light, his voice more resonant than his brothers, carrying an ominous overtone that, nonetheless, was less threatening than Darkness'.

"Explain," said Kyo in response.

"I have seen the potential of your kind," declared Light. "I will test its fullest extent. With the aid of my brother and I, this race called humanity can be brought to even greater heights. In order to do so, they will need to be remade. This is a great privilege."

"It is rejected," replied Kyo. "Humanity will achieve its potential without the meddling of gods. The heights you describe are heights that we can reach with our own power."

"Fool! You do not have the right to reject my brother's benevolence!" exclaimed Darkness, rearing up onto his hind legs, brandishing his claws and lashing his tail behind him, while his wings flared even wider.

"Right has nothing to do with it," declared Kyo simply. "We will not allow you to have your way with this world."

"Then you shall DIE!" roared Darkness, lunging down, his fanged maw opening. A blaze of dark, violet energy rushed forth, a column of power that smashed down where Kyo was standing, obliterating the area completely.

The winged dragon then roared with pain, his back arching as a jet of flames exploded from his back, another man dancing through the air behind him, wielding a naginata, the same flames enveloping its blade.

"Arrogant-!" snarled Darkness, his tail lashing out. However, the man simply twisted his body gracefully to avoid the blow.

"So be it then," growled Darkness, holding up his right hand. In the palm between those clawed fingers, a sphere of black energy congealed again. "As my brother has asked, I shall simply dispose of you all now."

His fingers curled inward on the sphere, about to crush it in his grip, only for him to stop, the energy dispersing as a septet of dragons, shaped vaguely like the body of his own brother, but azure in color and composed of water, slammed into his chest, knocking him back.

Up above, the God of Light looked down, watching his brother struggling to deal with the five people who now attacked him. His power lashed out, black jets of energy erupting from his wings, bending and twisting through the air to seek their targets. But all five combatants danced gracefully between the rain of attacks, closing in to strike at his body, their weapons blazing with the power of five different elements.

"How..?" asked Light, turning to regard Kyo, and the four people who stood behind him.

"I do not doubt your brother's power," said Kyo. "No doubt he could easily snuff our lives like candles with the merest thought. However, so long as thought is required, he will not be able to think quickly enough to kill us, before our blows land."

"I do not understand," said Light.

"Because you are a god," said Kyo simply. "You are like my foolish ancestors, who drowned themselves in madness fueled by that very same kind of power. It is power that is unearned, untested, and unmastered. That you would think so little about wiping away the lives of countless others, simply seeking to live the best they can, shows that you do not know what it means to live. Because of that, the two of you are no better than children.

"The power to kill with a thought is powerless against technique that transcends the speed of thought. The two of you can merely wield your power. But you do not understand the first thing of what it means to do battle. You, who have never struggled, cannot hope to win, no matter how absolute your strength might be otherwise."

Kyo leveled his sword at Light, the four people behind him drawing their weapons as well. "But that is enough talk. You are no better than your brother, and will answer to us for your crimes."

"Truly, humans are creatures of folly," observed Light. "I suppose that is one trait I will have to see if I can expunge from them."

His eyes flared with brilliant waves of silver light, his mouth opening up to unleash a torrent of golden fire.

Ruby watched the battle, her mouth hanging agape in awe of the power on display. This man who had appeared before the Brother Gods had named himself as Kyo as well. He clearly wasn't the Kyo that Jinn had described earlier, but he wasn't Ruby's brother either. So he must be a descendant of the first Kyo, and another ancestor of my brother. She remembered her brother telling her that everyone born into the Royal Line was named Kyo at first. Once a Kyo fathered a child of his own, he would take on the name of Kyoichiro, while that child would become the new Kyo.

Watching the other figures in the fight, Ruby figured that they must have been the Goyosei and Taishiro of this particular Kyo's generation. They were clearly strong, strong enough to fight on even ground with the so-called gods that had created humanity.

Except they didn't! Ruby realized. That's the point of this. The Gods of Light and Darkness didn't create humanity. But, if that was true, then what had they done? Clearly they had changed a great deal. The world Ruby knew was almost nothing like the one that Jinn had shown in the course of this story.

She was so perplexed by the quandary that she almost missed it when Jinn's narration resumed.

"The battle was fierce and hard-fought. In the end...the Mibu were victorious."

Kyo stared down at the prone form of the God of Light. His elongated body was scared by gashes, from which glittering golden motes escaped, dancing away into the air. His brother was in even worse shape, the God of Darkness sprawled out, missing one of his wings entirely, while one of the curling horns extending from his head had been broken off around halfway along its length.

The Mibu hadn't gotten through the battle unscathed though. The Goyosei, who had done battle with Darkness, were battered and bleeding, not a single one of them reaching the end of the fight without a wound. One of them was even sprawled out on the ground, blood spilling from the severed stump where her leg had once been.

The Taishiro, who had fought alongside Kyo, were in better shape, but only marginally. For his part, Kyo was battered, bleeding from a few small lacerations, but not badly wounded.

"I-Impossible..." groaned Darkness. "Mere mortals...cannot...defeat...gods..."

"Perhaps it is the other way around," said Kyo. "Mere gods cannot hope to subjugate the will of mortals. Those who live will ultimately triumph over those who merely exist. Even if we Mibu had not fought against you, you would have lost to humanity sooner or later."

"Yet...we could have made you...so much more," protested Light.

"Or made us less," countered Kyo. "But we are past the point for debate. I give you one last choice. You may depart now, never to return, or you will die here. Decide, now."

"Let's not be hasty."

A shadowy figure descended from above, his features completely obscured by darkness. Kyo and the other Mibu leapt back as he landed with the force of a small meteor, producing another crater within the already massive crater the battle had taken place in. The new arrival stood firmly between the Mibu and the Brother Gods.

"You!?" gasped Kyo, his eyes widening. "What is it that you want?"

"I've come to negotiate," replied the newcomer, revealing a grin that flashed white teeth. "I've decided to intercede on behalf of these silly gods. Come now, wouldn't it be best if we could settle things...peacefully?"

"You know nothing of peace," countered Kyo.

"Sure I do," replied the new arrival. "I know more about peace than you could possibly imagine. But the main issue stands. I'm between you and your targets now. Do you have what it takes to go through me to reach them?"

"You would be willing to allow them to run rampant?" asked Kyo. "You'd let them reshape the world to their liking?"

"Of course. Sounds like the perfect way to liven things up here," replied the man with a cackle. "All this constant progress is just boring. I think humanity could stand to be remade a few times. I honestly don't get why you're so attached to being human."

"Because you never could be," said Kyo.

"Maybe," admitted the man. "But...let's get one thing straight, Kyo. You can't kill me. Well...to be accurate, you can. You can kill me, but you can't stop me. Your father couldn't. Nor could his father before him. It's not even an issue of strength. So, it's simply a question of how many times you kill me before I finally kill you. Unlike you, I only need to do the deed once to win. And the same will be true for the rest of the Mibu. I wonder how many times I'd have to die before I wipe them out as well."

"You would kill off your own clan?" asked Kyo.

"You lot don't really think of me as one of you, anymore, do you?" asked the interloper rhetorically. "Well, I can say the feeling's mutual, of course. But...the question remains. Are we doing this or not?"

Kyo stared down the man before him. His fingers tightened around the handle of his sword until the knuckles turned white. Behind him, his comrades tensed, ready to do battle. However, with a sigh, Kyo closed his eyes. "Very well," he said.

The stranger barked out a harsh laugh. "You're soft, kid. The first Kyo wouldn't have hesitated to cut me down as many times as he could."

"I'm not him," answered the current Kyo, turning away from the interloper. "As much as it pains me, I admit defeat. But..." He turned to level Tenro at the two gods, who were following the exchange with a combination of confusion and disbelief. "...you shall not touch my people. The Mibu have no need of your so-called blessings. You may do with the rest of the world as you wish, but I will, at the very least, protect those under me."

"Fine by me," said the stranger, still grinning. "You lot would sooner die than submit to being remade anyway, so I'll just save myself the trouble, and leave you alone."

"And so, a reluctant armistice was achieved. Even though they had lost the battle, the Brother Gods, with the assistance of the Intercessor, had won the war."

Ruby's eyes were fixed on the image of the Intercessor. His form was obscured, but she still recognized him. She knew that twisted presence, and that mad grin. There was no question in her mind. This was Jester. He's the one who made it possible for the Brother Gods to rule Remnant.

"The Brothers wasted no time," continued Jinn. "First, they completely reshaped the world, then turned their attention upon the recreation of the human race."

Before her eyes, Ruby watched as continents shifted, some dividing, others merging, changing their outlines, along with those of the oceans between them. She caught visions of cities falling, mountains crumbling, and valleys filling. As she watched, the continents twisted, their forms becoming more and more recognizable, until she was staring at the world she'd always seen on maps and globes.

"In all things, the God of Light took the lead. Because of that, his younger brother began to resent him. At one point, that bitterness gave rise to the younger brother deciding to create something of his own. He had reached the point where he believed that he would remake the world in his own image, rather than allow his brother to decide its shape, and the shape of those that lived upon it, entirely on his own. To that end, he created beasts that existed solely to wipe out all life."

Ruby's vision was filled by all too familiar figures, black bestial bodies and white skull masks.

"Recognizing the conflict for what it was, the God of Light chose to seek reconciliation, and invited his younger brother to participate in the recreation of humanity. When the human race was reborn to Remnant, the brothers both took a hand in shaping them, with the God of Darkness even imparting them with a portion of his own power, in the form of magic.

"However, through it all, the Mibu watched, sheltering themselves and their lands from the influence of the gods' power. Though the island chain they resided upon became part of a larger continent, they maintained their own territory upon that landmass, where the gods' power could not encroach upon them. The brothers even went so far as to offer the Mibu the power of magic as well. But the Mibu staunchly refused."

Well, that makes sense, thought Ruby. They were forced to let the gods live and turn the world into their plaything. There's no way they'd want anything to do with anything those two would offer.

"Centuries became millennia. The humans reborn through the power of the Brother Gods knew nothing of the world that had been before. Kingdoms rose and fell. People gained power, only to lose it. The world turned on. And then...there appeared a girl named Salem, and a boy named Ozma...

"But you know that story already."

Ruby found herself watching something like a montage of the events of the story Jinn had told in answer to the previous question, right up to the point where Salem led a rebellion against the gods. Standing before them, she and her allies launched an enormous barrage of magical energy at the two dragons, only for the God of Darkness to catch all that unleashed power within the palm of his hand, completely without effort. Then, in a gesture that was almost dismissive, he crushed that sphere, producing a wave that swept out, Ruby's view now pulling back to allow her to watch as it covered the entire world.

"In punishment for humanity's arrogance, the God of Darkness turned his gift into a curse, and the magic that he had granted to humanity turned upon them, destroying them all in an instant.

"However, because they had rejected the gods' offer, the Mibu were untouched, and could only watch as the rest of mankind was destroyed...again."

Ruby's stomach twisted in revulsion. She could scarcely believe it. The Mibu who'd known about magic had expressed disdain for it. Perhaps though, the Mibu had not merely rejected the offer of magic out of the enmity between them and the gods, but because they had seen the offer for what it was. It was a trap, thought Ruby. Or I guess the gods would think of it as a failsafe. The God of Darkness basically implanted a kill-switch inside every living person, so he could kill them all in an instant.

Of course, the God of Darkness could have killed all of humanity on his own without that. But planting his power within humanity had just made it easier, with only the Mibu escaping the reach of that attack.

"With the destruction of humanity, the gods took their leave of the world. The Mibu were left behind, along with Salem. For a generation, the Mibu pondered what course of action to take. As they did, they watched Salem, but did not reveal themselves to her, instead choosing to let her believe she was alone.

"However, within two generations of the disaster, they came to a decision...or rather...the Crimson King of that era did. It was a difficult decision, one that challenged the principles that had defined them, and kept them from accepting the rule of the Brother Gods.

"For a brief moment, the Crimson King would take on the role of a god once more, and revive humanity, so that they could retake the world, without the influence of the Brother Gods.

"However, before going through with that, they decided to dispose of Salem, so that she would not threaten the world with her existence. By this point, she had already tainted herself with the essence of the God of Darkness' power, and represented a threat to all living things, if she was permitted to roam unchecked.

"However, the Intercessor appeared once again, this time acting upon Salem's behalf, and forcing the Mibu to refrain from laying a hand upon her. In the end, despite that, the Crimson King went ahead with his plan...

"...And the world would never be the same."

A man and a younger man stood in the center of a large clearing. This was a space in the middle of the wilderness. Out here, they were far from the center of the Mibu's civilization. They sported the same black hair and Crimson Eyes that marked them as members of the Royal Line. The man's hair was tied in a long braid that ran down his back to the level of his waist, while the young man's hair was cropped close to his head. The two of them both wore solemn looks. The younger man was dressed in a black kimono with a taijitu symbol on its back. In contrast, the older man was clad in a kimono of plain white.

"Father...are you certain about this?" asked the boy, this generation's Kyo. "Surely there is no need for you to go so far."

"I have given it considerable thought," said the man, this generation's Kyoichiro. "Perhaps, if I tapped into the full extent of the True Mibu's power, I could invoke the strength to revive humanity without giving my life. But I determined a sacrificial ritual is for the best, not so much for the success of the deed itself, but to ensure that I do no such thing in the future."

"I'm not sure I understand," said Kyo.

"There is temptation in such power, Kyo," said Kyoichiro, smiling sadly at his son. "It is by succumbing to that temptation that the True Mibu fell into ruin. If I exercise this power without loss, then I will be planting that seed of temptation into my own heart, and could very well tread the path to destruction. Above all else, we must not seek the existence of those who ruined this world in the first place."

"I...see..." said Kyo sadly.

The father reached out to gently ruffle his son's hair. "I know you understand," he said. "If we wish to restore humanity to this world, then we must do it properly. That is why I've left instructions for the Mibu to isolate themselves. Humanity must be allowed to grow and thrive on their own power once again. Those of us who were here before them must wait until they reach us on their own power."

"Is that really necessary, Father?" asked Kyo. "Surely, if we aided them, then they could rise back up to our level all the faster."

Kyoichiro shook his head. "For the time being, we are simply too far ahead of them. That disparity will create a divide in its own right. Do not worry. The restored humans will not need to build themselves up from nothing. They will have some direction on what to do with themselves. I have included the basis for much of the language and culture that the Brother Gods tried to wipe out in their design. It will not lead to an identical world, but it will allow them to have a better idea of where they need to go.

"In addition, because they will be born from the spilling of my blood, they will be reborn more like us, more naturally capable of using the flame of their souls for strength. With that, they will reach our level all the quicker, and we will truly be able to live with them."

"I see," said Kyo.

"To that end, while the Mibu isolate themselves, I think it would be beneficial if at least you and your descendants went out to mingle with them," suggested Kyoichiro. "Such interactions will be a catalyst to help incite their growth, without interfering overly much."

"I will do that then," said Kyo, bowing his head.

"Good," said Kyoichiro, closing his eyes. Opening them again, he turned to face his son fully, resting his hands on Kyo's shoulders. "I love you, my son, and you have made me proud."

"I love you too, Father," said Kyo.

"We've said our farewells then," said Kyoichiro, turning away from his son and sinking down to his knees. "It is time to begin."

Reaching to his side, he withdrew the tanto that rested in his sash at his left hip. Drawing the blade, he sed the sheath aside. From within his kimono, he produced a sheet of cloth, which he wrapped around a portion of the blade at the base to serve as a handhold. Pulling the edges of his kimono apart, he exposed a significant portion of his torso. Finally, he brought the tip of the dagger to the left side of his stomach.

Behind him, Kyo drew Tenro, standing over his father, sword raised.

With that, Kyoichiro sliced into his belly from the left side, then began to slowly pull the tanto across in a clean line. A faint grunt of pain was all that he allowed himself. Bringing his left hand up to the pommel of the tanto, he used both hands to help make the cut. Blood spurted out from the wound, splattering across the ground in front of him, and staining the previously pristine white of his robes crimson. Gradually, as his blade traversed the width of his torso, Kyoichiro hunched over forward. But his face remained composed.

Finally, as he completed the cut, Kyoichiro withdrew the tanto, and set it on the ground in front of him. Then, he drew himself up with his remaining strength, though his head remained bowed, making his neck an easy target.

Only then did Kyo bring the sword down.

The blade cut cleanly through the spine, then through the flesh below it. However, Kyo's skill allowed him to pull back at the last second, ending the slash and withdrawing the blade so that, when his father's head fell forward, it hung from a thin strip of flesh at the front of his neck. Kyoichiro slumped forward for the final time, more blood spilling out from the stump of his neck.

Kyo swept Tenro in a sharp movement that flung the blood off his blade, before retrieving his sheath and sheathing it. Then he paused, taking one last lingering look at his father, before reluctantly turning away and leaving the clearing, leaving the corpse of Kyoichiro alone on the ground.

Even though the man's heart had long since stopped beating, the blood continued to spill from his body. When the last drops had taken their leave, his body began to turn gray, then slowly crumble into dust, which was in turn blown away by the wind. Finally, only the empty, bloodstained robes and the abandoned tanto remained to testify of his existence at all. The blood that had spilled forth from him had briefly dyed the ground around him...but had soaked in, as though the earth had become a sponge, that rust-red color fading from the earth entirely.

Ruby clapped her hands over her mouth, fighting to keep from retching at what she had just seen. Jinn's vision had been horribly graphic, sparing no details, showing how painful and bloody that Kyoichiro's ritual suicide had been. She remembered her history lessons back in Onmyo. Apparently, such methods had once been prominent amongst the warrior class, a way for them to recoup their honor if they disgraced themselves, though such methods had been long ago left behind.

So to see it demonstrated before her eyes was a complete shock to her. Of course, this Kyoichiro's sacrifice had been for the purpose of using his power to bring back humanity after the Brother Gods had destroyed them.

No... she thought, ...he probably did use it as a punishment, to punish himself for using the power that the True Mibu were supposed to be forbidden from using. In other words, he had put his life into performing an act of God, as though doing so was the same as committing a crime. But, from what he was saying, it might well be the same thing in his eyes.

The scene faded from sight and, once again, everything returned to a play of shadows against a backdrop of white, while Jinn's narration resumed.

"The Crimson King's effort was a success, and humanity was returned to the world."

From the black ground, shadowy hands erupted forth, and human figures pulled themselves out, as though they had been born straight out of the earth. Then again, maybe the reborn humans did appear that way, she thought.

"Thanks to his work, this new humanity retained the vestiges of the language and culture that had originally been wiped out by the Brother Gods, though they would remain but shadows. Those vestiges would go on to shape the Kingdoms that they eventually raised in place of what had come before.

"However, two things happened that the Crimson King had not accounted for. In reshaping the world, the Brother Gods had infused it with a great deal of their power, over the millennia that they had reigned over it. When the Crimson King acted to revive humanity, the power within his blood mingled with the power of the Brother Gods, producing outcomes that he had not foreseen."

The shapes continued to rise from the black shadow of the ground. However, some of them stood out distinctly different from the other humans, in ways that Ruby knew all too well. Some of the silhouettes sported the ears of animals, others tails, others other features.

"The first change was that some of the reborn humanity were born different, their features changed, sporting traits from the animals in the world around them. Thus, the first faunus emerged in the world, alongside the new humanity. These effects were not merely confined to the reborn humans and, before long, faunus were being born to the Mibu as well.

"The second thing was the Crimson King's power mingling with the remains of the humans the God of Darkness had destroyed. Those remains, and the magic that permeated them, mingled with the power of the True Mibu, condensing and crystalizing into elemental energy bound in physical form, growing within the earth.

"In time, the new humanity of the world would encounter this strange new resource. Upon interacting with it, using their Auras, they discovered that it could be used to produce incredible power. Eventually, this new resource became the centerpiece of human civilization, and they would come to call it...Dust."

Ruby found herself fighting to keep from retching again. Of all the things she had imagined about Dust, she'd never considered the possibility that it was essentially the crystalized remains of the previous wave of humanity that had been destroyed by the gods. The Mibu had always expressed disdain for Dust. She wondered if it was purely for rational reasons or if, on some level, the Mibu were aware of the source of that miraculous substance. If they were, then it was likely only on a subconscious level, and the disdain they expressed was purely reflexive in nature.

But that was a secondary concern at the moment. Jinn was now bringing this story to its conclusion.

"And so...the new humanity arose on the world, and gradually began to build it up once more. The Mibu, bound by their vow of noninterference, watched. However, Salem remained. Eventually, the Brother Gods took notice of humanity's return. Ozma was selected and sent back to prepare humanity to live beside the gods once more. And well...you already know how that story goes..."

With that, Jinn's story came to an end. The final question had been answered.