chapter 32

Atlas Academy. A bastion of knowledge for humanity. And the current residence of General James Ironwood.

Ironwood... was tired. So many incidents, so many secrets, the grimm just keep coming. And all they could do was holdout and onto the hope that the war would be ended... somehow.

"General Ironwood, I have brought Ozpin along with Yang, Ruby, Ren, Nora and a comatose Summer Rose." The general looked happy to see his old friend, but something caught his eye.

"What happened to yang?" Weiss grimaced at the girl she was holding up.  Ironwood didn't even need to ask what happened to Summer after seeing the massive stone statue outside beacon.

"Severe liver poisoning caused by alcohol."

"Take her to the infirmary and watch over her. We'll put her into rehab. For now, take your friend's to their rooms and catch up." His kind smile was reassuring with the stubble on his face, weiss saluted before she left.

"So, what happened to the relic?" The wizard chuckled at the question.

"Not even a moment after the students left. You need not worry, the relic of choice can only be taken when it chooses to appear. And it clearly hasn't decided now as the time." Ironwood let out a sigh of relief before falling back into his chair.

"You know Oz, that strange beam that shined from beacon. We don't know what it was, only that the statue of Hans Günsche is gone." Ozpin was confused, not even a trace left? Not only was there no trace, but no other damage?

"We searched the area, and found a stone arm. We assume it belongs to Hans."

Little did they know, Weiss had placed a glyph in the room, allowing her to hear everything. And not only did she feel sad, but anger. The last time she saw that statue, it still had its arm.

Someone... had desecrated it.

There would be blood, there would be payback.

But that would require her to know who did it. That would take time to decipher.

Under no circumstances could she tell Ruby. The girl was depressed and broken, there was little hope for any form of mental recovery without... without Hans.

There's a chance. An ever so slim chance that he's alive. And I pray... i pray to whatever God's there are in this world that he is...

Quite foolish to pray in an institute of knowledge.

But... I suppose that's a tribute to my feelings.

Moments like these, I envy him. He wouldn't be sat here, wallowing in his emotions and self-pity. It's almost like he's a machine, but even machines have faults and he too did.

If you watched closely enough, he'd react, but only slightly. A twitch of the lip or fingers.

That kind of thing.

"Weiss? Why are you stood out in the corridor?" I turned around after hearing Ruby's dead voice, my friend had bags under her eyes like that of an insomniac who hadn't slept properly for weeks.

"Just contemplating things. Let's get you to bed Ruby. You like you could use a good rest." Ruby fell against my chest, knees shaking.

"I haven't been able to sleep properly. Hans died... I couldn't do anything... dad died... I couldn't do anything... I... I don't w-want to lose... a-anyone e-else!" I ran my fingers through her unkempt hair.

"Shhhh... Ruby. You're not in danger here. I'm here, Nora and Ren are here. The entire army of Atlas is here. Let those thoughts comfort you." I stopped there, letting her gather her thoughts before saying the last thing I could've expected from Ruby Rose.

"I... I don't wanna be a huntress anymore. Every time we fight, we risk our lives... why? Hans... he... if we have to suffer so much, all for a single mission, why do we even do this? Either we die, or we die slowly on the inside... I... I don't wanna..." I was struggling so much, just... I want to give her hope... but I'm not even sure that he's alive.

"That's fine Ruby. It's your life, your choices. And I can tell that you've thought about this. If you don't want to do this anymore, that's perfectly fine. Now, let's get you to bed." Slowly, we walked back to our assigned rooms.

"Weiss... you're a good friend."

"Thank you, Ruby. You've been more like family to me than even my own family. So I really do thank you." Arriving at the dorm door, it slid open for us and I couldn't help but notice how Ruby had fallen asleep.

Adorable.

I tried my hardest to comfortably lay Ruby down in the bottom bunk, small issue though.

She wouldn't let go.

Guess I'm going to sleep now too.

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Is... this... my fate?

No... no... no. I... Will not allow something like fate to dictate my actions. My actions are mine and mine alone!

I... will have control of my life!

This void... is only another shadow. All i need to do is to control it.

And I will. With his power, controlling shadows is like a ventriolquist and his puppet.

Child's play.

First, I caught myself. Then, I caught Mercury. That was the easy part, now... I... needed... to...

The boy was frothing from the mouth with bloodshot eyes. Symbols appearing in them, symbols that I didn't recognise.

"GET BACK!" My ears were bleeding, my nose was bleeding, my eyes were bleeding. I followed the gods word of caution and threw him away like a drained corpse.

What...

"Something is interfering. The boy is being possessed by a greater being. Some great evil. Something... vile." Greater being... what is greater than a god?

"A Primordial force. But I would have recognised a Primordial. This... is something different." The boy... the creatures face became blurred, shifting constantly.

"ȳ̶̸̨̧̛̩͈͕̍ͤ̈́̂̀ͥ̓̒̈̚͟͝͡҉̴̨͜҉͏̵̵̴̧̨́́̕͢҉̵̛͢͏̵̨͘͢͠ơ̡̧̭͔̘̰̥̭̝̫̜͔͎̱͔̘̬̠̪̞̯̗͍͔͈͚͖͓̩͙̩̖͊̑ͦ͊̽ͫ̂͐͒̒͒́͢͏̷̴̵̨̢̢́̕͡҉̛͜҉̴̷̢̡̢́͘͡͝͠ư̵̵̴̧̡͙̰̬̘̱̟͙͎̥̭̖̰͇͓͙̠̣̰̟̹͚͇̼͔̬̖͚͓̝̟̖̟͚̙̜̩̰̩̣͎̑̋́́͘̕͢͟͞͞҉̸̴҉̨̧̀̕͟͟͢ ̝̜̹͇̘͚̭̱̠͉ͪͦ̆̓ͥ̄̅̚̕҉̛͜͢͟͏̸̸̶̵̛̀̕͘͟͝͏̶̡͢҉̷̸̴̴̸̵̢̧̡̕͢͝ř̷̪̫̩̱̬ͬͯ̃͊̉̈́ͥ͠͏̷̨̛͢҉̷̶̴̧̢́̀́̕͟͢͜͡͞҉̸̸̴̛́̀́̕̕͘͢͡͡͝u̶̶̢̡̧̢͚̣̙͇͕͍ͮ͗̽̀̕͢͠͠͞ͅi̶̸̸̧͓̻̺͖̤̙̠̼̤͇̥̺͖̘̖͎͎̝̞̞̠͕̰͚̰̙͉̹̺̝ͥ͂̊ͪ͛̀͗̂͗͒̀̀͜҉͏̢̨́̕͞͞n̵̴̛̺̲̦̰͍̝̮̤͙̗̤̭͉̬̣͚̠̬͈͎̤̝̜̘̗̩̜̞̗̹̩̭̞̱͚̺̭̺̪̔̒̄ͦ̎ͩ́͢͟͝ͅͅ͏̴̧҉̧̀͢͟͠͡҉ḙ̸̴̷̜͖͈̱̜͔͕̭̠͍̫̣̲̹͍̲̼̲̥͚̘͇̗̳͓̞̦̭̬͔̱̩̗̰̳͈̜̗̥̖̠͚̘͉̞͑̊̔̀͡ͅͅͅ҉̷̷͟͠͡͏̶̸̴̵̧̨̛́͘̕͢͢͜͢͡͠͝͞͏̵̧̢̢̛͘͟͢͜͟͞d̷͕̭̼̟͚̟͒̆ͦ̉ͅ͏́͏̶̢̡̛̕͠ ̧̱̫̖͇̩̣̘̠̖̘̰͎̰͚̇ͭ̆̑͏̵̢̛͏̷̴̷̨̨̧̧̢̧̨̢̢̧̛́̕̕͟͟͢͟͟͞͝͠͡͠͏̛ṃ̷̸̷̸̸̴̢̡̬̹͈̥̙̪̦̬̙̻͕̘̮͖̲̦͚̼͙͉̻̝̝͙̹͖̫͎͈͇̣̭͕̦͙̝̙͈̺̣̪͍̲̮̾ͤ̎̀̀͜͟͜͞ͅ҉͡y̴̷̸̷̸̷̶̧̨̧̢̢̧̛̛̛̫̮͕͈̞͚̩̝̍͐̈͑̏͋̀̄̀̚̕̕̕͜͢͟͝͡͝͡҉̢̢̧̀̀͢͢͟͝͡ ̶̸̸̷̸̵̴̧̡̢̧̧̡̨̨̢̧̡̧̢̛̛͉̻̺̼͉̬͕̥̻͖̙̱͔̪̩̥̰̲͈͉̖̊̊̄͒ͤ̑̒̀̀́́̚͘̕͘͘͟͢͢͜͢͜͜͟͢͢͠͞͡͞͞͠͠͞g̴̵̛͚̱̬̼̥̮̦̣̠̻͈̞̰̻̮̜͚̜̘̟̘͉͚̥̜̣͇͔̙͍̗̜̬͔͔̞̪̻͒̊́̕͘͡҉̢҉̵̨͜҉̸̵̧̧̛́̕͜͟͞͞͏̴̵̷̨̨̛̀́͘ą̸̶̶̶̶̷̶̸̧̡̨̨̨̧̧̛̛̛̱̟̦͍̥̼͇̖͎͎͍͍̖̖̱͓͔̰̱̖̜͚ͦͥ̀̀̀͜͢͢͢͢͝͠m̟̰̖̗̣̖̣̩̫̦̲͕̋͋҉̵̶̨̡͟҉̷̧̡̧̧͝҉̴̶̢́͟͡͏̢e̛̲̬̙͍̭͎͖̙̹͙̺̪̱̞̠̱̻̙̜̲ͭ̋͂̏̃̈̎ͧ̄ͨ̇͢͜͢͢͠͠"

The bleeding progressed. What... language is this? It hurts....

"It is foreign to me too. Worry not, my apostle. This place is your domain, you have the advantage."

He's right. I have no time to hesitate. Victory... goes to the swift.

Before the being could even make a move, i had impaled him from behind with the shadows. Cleanly through the heart.

My senses were in disarray. The only thing I could trust at the moment was my sight. And my sight betrayed me as some form of wire or thread eviscerated the shadow piercing the being.

A gaping hole sat in his chest. Yet the body still moved.

His corpse is being puppeted by whatever being is possessing him.

I... I'm sorry for what I'm about to do.

The corpse was carpeted in shadow and slowly, painfully slowly, my shadows seeped into him, seeping into his soul. There's no reincarnation after this.

With a firm grasp of my hand, they compressed... his body was crushed to mush and his soul shattered like glass.

"That could have been dangerous if you were anywhere else. Luckily, we are here. Before you leave, I would suggest taking these shadows into your own. It would grant you your own tseudo domain until you fully gain my power. That will allow you to recreate this place and the empty dimension will collapse." I see. Precautions will be necessary from now on.

Especially in my state.

The door to the vault reappeared next to me as I wished. It was time to see the light of day again... to see Neo again.

Gripping the door handle tightly, I walked through, simultaneously taking the entire shadow of the dimension leaving only white void.

Here I was. Back at the elevator.

Now, with more questions than answers. Questions that I knew may never be answered.

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30 minutes. I was gone, for thirty, fucking, minutes!

How have you gotten so injured in such a short time-frame?!

'The only upside here is that you got a new arm. Granted... you can't even move it.' Hans wiped away the remaining blood leaking from his orifices, nothing unusual...

Clearly.

"Well, hansy boy! Now that we've got Neo, wouldn't it be fitting to go find little red?" That's a good idea. Especially... with the proposition I made them. I never got that response.

'What proposition?' Nothing... nothing at all. Girl talk, y'know? I leaked my thoughts... thats not nice.

Hans nodded at Roman, pulling out a blood stained scroll.

'I should've done this first.' The captain started trying to turn his scroll on, only for it to be broken.

'Or not.' Hans looked to Neo who silently sighed before going into the other room, quickly returning with an undamaged Pink, White and Brown Scroll.

He took it greatfully and started to type in Ozpins number. Neo leapt onto his back, looking over his shoulder to see he'd rang Ozpin. But, he can't talk? Her thoughts were answered as her boyfriend handed the scroll to her father.

"Really? You want me, criminal mastermind Roman torchwick, to speak to my old headmaster?" The captain nodded causing the ginger to sigh.

"Hello? Who is this?" Roman coughed, clearly uncomfortable but considering Merlin was nowhere to be found, he was the only person who could speak for him.

"Ah.. hey, Ozpin. Its... a, me. Torchwick." Hans had never seen a man's confidence disappear so quickly. It was... surprising to see the usual cocky torchwick meekly talking on a call.

"Oh, Torchwick. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Roman paused for a moment.

"Well... I got important news for ya. You see, Hans günsche, is alive an well. He's right here." The line returned to silence.

"Torchwick. An old student of mine you may be, but I will not tolerate sick jokes." Torchwick chuckled at his former headmasters scathing remark.

"Yeah, well as much as I like dark humour, I know when to joke, and when to talk business." Romans tone was unusually serious for the playful rogue, but a point needed to be made and criminal mastermind or not, he knew how to make a point.

"Put him on." That was where Roman awkwardly laughed.

"You see... I don't know the circumstances, but Hans can no longer speak due to his throat having been cut." He side eyed the scarred throat of the captain who was being poked in the cheek by the wild Neo on his shoulder.

"Ask him of the evil we face. Only then, will I trust your word." Roman turned in confusion, seeing a word written in the air.

"Salem? Don't know who that is, but it's what Hans says." Ozma let out a sigh of relief.

"I need you to head to atlas. Thats where I am currently, and due to Hans, we know Salems location. It's time, to go on the offensive."

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Lina was an... energetic child. Far too energetic for blake's liking. But the cat faunus also knew that children would be children.

The girl had settled in with her mother nicely, as if she now had a white haired little sister. It's just... she had noticed things off about Lina.

Her senses specifically.

They were as sharp as a faunus' senses. Even better actually, she would head her mother before Blake could, smell their food before her.

Something didn't add up. She couldn't be human.

So, like the curious cat she was, Blake asked her.

"Silly big sister! Lina's a werewolf! We turn into wolves on a full moon! Big brothers the best werewolf! He can control his transformation even when it's not a full moon." Ah... that... that made sense.

Their unnatural senses were due to their biology. If they could turn into wolves, they had the natural senses of a wolf, or even far superior.

For a cat like her, it was somewhat terrifying.

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I'm curious, the new overwatch hero, lifeweaver. What does everyone think of him?