Chapter 1: Ruko Kominato
Legends. Stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts, of a forgotten past. Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful, but he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness – creatures of destruction – the creatures of Grimm – set their sights on man and all of his creations. These forces clashed, and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void.
However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change, and in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would even the odds. This power was appropriately named "Dust." Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life. But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone…darkness will return. Among the beings of man and Grimm are small beings that can grant mankind's wishes, known as Lrigs. Born from one's heart and desire, these small souls not only help mankind fend off the Grimm, but also make miracles happen once they are forced to battle each other for certain circumstances. Each Lrig are born from five different color types. And with their personality connected, they would rather help humanity…or even destroy them.
So you may prepare your guardians, build up your monuments to a so-called "free world", but take heed…there will be no victory in strength.
But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul. Or rather…more than one…
XXXXX
Inside a dark office, a man with white hair and mustache, who also wore a white business suit, is sitting in his desk writing signatures from a pile of paperwork. The office he is working in contains a glass table with a chess table on it, two sets of bookshelves on each side of the room, including rewards, small windows above the bookshelves, a chandelier, and a painting of his younger self behind him. He also has a picture of a young boy with white hair and a blue vest on his desk. Despite daylight passing through the glass windows, the man spares no time, but to continue his business.
Before he was about to sign one more paper from his pile, the man heard three knocks on his door. "Come in," the man answered. The door was opened by a girl with white hair, light-blue eyes, and a thin crooked scar over her left eye. Her hair is tied to a ponytail, which is adjusted to her right side, and she wore a white dress with a pale-blue jacket with red inside. The girl closed the door behind her as she enters the man's study room. "You summoned me, father?" asked the girl. "I have," the father replied, "Come closer, Weiss. There is something we need to discuss." Weiss steps forward until she stops in front of her father's desk.
"Do you still think that you can make a difference to the family name by becoming a huntress like your sister?" Weiss's father sternly asked. The girl was hesitant at first to say something, but she slowly calms down to respond. "Yes," Weiss gave out her answer, "I decided that I will attend to Beacon Academy in the kingdom of Vale. And for the honor of the Schnee family, I will defend its name once I have become a huntress." Weiss's father leaned back from his chair while tenting his fingers. "And what exactly is your way of defending it?" he coldly asked his daughter.
Weiss thinks harder to come up with a proper answer, but before she could even speak her mind up, she reluctantly turns her head away. The head of the Schnee family shook his head in disappointment and turns his chair back. "Why should I be wasting my time continuing this meaningless argument?" the man spoke to himself. He turns to his daughter with an apathetic expression hidden under his mustache. "If you are concerned about what's going on in the other kingdoms, let the military handle them," the white businessman scolded his daughter, "This sort of lifestyle is not fitting for someone with your status." The teenage girl shortly came to her senses after enduring her father's verbal discouragement. "I have already made my decision, father," Weiss told her father defensively, "I am not going to change my mind of going back, even if I am attending at Beacon. As long as I am alive, I will still retain my title as the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company."
The father rolled his eyes as he turns his back on his daughter with his chair. He lowers his head and puts his hand on his forehead before sighing in disbelief. Even if his daughter is trying to win an argument, he refuses to give up on keeping her in line. As the study room remains silent, an idea suddenly blew up inside his mind. The businessman recovered be sitting up straight and turned to his daughter, while hiding a grin under his mustache.
"I suppose you're right," he said to his daughter sarcastically, "Since you made the decision to enroll yourself to another kingdom, I guess there will be no other option for me to stop you." Weiss briefly blinks her eyes from her father's "acceptance". "Really?" she asked. The man quickly dropped the façade and replies with a small, deadpanned "No". Weiss hangs her head as she knew her father would refuse once more. "But…" he continued to speak, "…there is one task you can do if you want to convince me." Weiss becomes confused as she raised her head and an eyebrow. "Task? What task?" she asked curiously.
Her father opens a drawer from his desk, picks up a white folder that is stamped "TOP SECRET," and hands it over to her. Weiss opens the folder and sees a photograph and notes behind it. The picture shows a small girl holding a trident with bright light on the background. "Father…what is this?" she awkwardly asked her father. "That is a being known as an Lrig," her father informed her, "They are beings that can grant wishes to anyone whoever claims it." Weiss grew even more confused from what she just heard. "I don't want to offend you, father, but this…it has to be some kind of joke," she said doubtfully. "I thought the same thing as well," her father told her, "But yesterday, I received a message from an informant that his radar detected something rather strange, and it was located somewhere in the former capital of Mantle." Weiss closed the folder before holding it.
"How did you learn about this?" she asked again, "And why is this file 'top secret?'" Her father leans back from his chair and puts his hands together. "Well… it started about last week shortly after a board meeting with the Hanabusa Financial Clique," he formally explains to his daughter, "On my way out, I saw the CEO's daughter sitting alone drinking tea, without her twin retainers around. Then, she just received a call from one of the Banba sisters about something I was never familiar with. So I sent a bodyguard to hide behind a column close to her and record almost every word that came out of her mouth."
Weiss almost drops her jaw from listening to her father's story. "You mean…you were eavesdropping on the White Queen?" she surprisingly asked. The head of the Schnee family stood up from his chair and leaned towards his daughter before putting a finger in front of his mouth and shushed. He looks around the room to check for snoops, but the door is completely closed, he turned his head to Weiss with a glare. "This is supposed to be a secret solely for the Schnee family," he harshly scolds her, "If the staff hears about this, they might go after it too. So, lower your voice." Weiss shamefully looks away from her father. "I…I'm sorry, father." The businessman sits back down to remember where he left off. "Now, where was I before you interrupted me?" he asked himself as he looks up while thinking. "You had a bodyguard spy on the White Queen," Weiss reminded him. The Schnee head turns to his daughter and glared at her again. "Will you stop stepping on my line again?" he coldly spoke to her. "Sorry…" Weiss apologized again before she lowers her head.
After clearing his throat, Weiss's father continues his speak in front of her, "As I was saying, while listening to Hanabusa's heiress, I find this entire nonsense skeptical. But if it were real, I would have no other choice but to believe in this rumor. However, when I called your grandfather while I was trying to do some brief research, he confirmed that the Lrigs are indeed real after seeing a few young girls have one of their own in the other kingdoms. He also stated that only huntsman, Selectors, and Faunus can hear and see them, along with anyone in contact with the first two groups I mentioned and the inhabitants from the Colored Kingdoms like the one we have in Atlas." The heiress gathers the information inside her mind, piece by piece, as she listens. "To put it in simpler words…you are saying that if I can see one of these Lrigs, you want me to find one for you and bring it home, is that right?" she thoughtfully assumed. Her father shook his head. "Oh no, the Lrig is not for me," he simply clarified to Weiss, "…it's for you."
Feeling stunned from what she was told, Weiss took a step back, "Excuse me?" Weiss's father scoots his chair forward and sits up straight before giving his daughter the description for the task. "Your task is to find the Lrig in Mantle within one week," he informed to her, "I have already booked a room in a hotel for you in the former capital you will be staying in during your search. You will be accompanied by five men in total while two more are working undercover. And your time for the job will begin at 1 p.m. sharp, which means you have one hour to prepare yourself. Do I make myself clear?" Weiss feels stressed from almost every word she was given by her father. Her hands were shaken and she was breathing heavily. With no inner strength to muster up, Weiss sighs deeply and reluctantly bows to her father. "I'll start packing…" she responded solemnly.
With her answer given, Weiss stood back up and turns to the door to leave the study room. "Oh, yes, there is one more thing I forgot to tell you," the father spoke suddenly. Before she reaches to the door knob, Weiss turns her head back to the businessman with a confused expression.
After taking a deep breath, he puts his elbows on the desk and tents his fingers once more, "If you have failed to find the Lrig by next week…you will not be permitted to enroll to Beacon Academy."
Weiss lightly gasps from the shortcoming of the "task" that came right out of his mouth. The businessman stares at his stunned daughter with a taciturn gaze as she stood still. "You should know that I do not tolerate failure, not to mention suffering from a decent amount of loss from my company," he warns Weiss in a strenuous tone, "Don't worry, you can still keep your title as the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, but that does not mean I intend to have you leave from my side. I am a man who can keep my word…and I do not allow anyone to accuse me for being called a liar. Understand?"
Weiss was reluctant to open her mouth due to her father's uttered threat. Instead of saying a word, she simply gave him a small nod. "Good," said the president of the Schnee Dust Company as he regains his composure, "That is all I have to say to you. You're dismissed." Weiss turns to the door and opens it before leaving. But before she can close it, a question came into her mind. "Father, I forgot to ask you something," she said. Her father raised his head to her after finishing the last signature. "What is it?" he asked his daughter. Weiss looks down on the ground to think of the question until she raised her head before she can ask, "What is a Selector?" The Schnee Dust Company president puts his fingers under his chin to think of a specific answer, but to no avail, he shook his head out as a "do not know" gesture. "I am afraid that you will have to find that one out on your own," he told her. With nothing else left to say, Weiss finally closes the door behind her.
XXXXX
Unlike the kingdom of Atlas, which has improved technology, futuristic transportations, and large homes for the high society, Mantle is more modern as the residents live in small homes and apartment buildings. Moreover, the snow often falls from above as the weather conditions are harsher than Atlas. In the former capital of Mantle, a middle school girl with brown hair and a red diamond-shaped scrunchie tied to the left side exits from the train station. Ruko walks to an alleyway and the sidewalks to get her home. Along the way, she sees a large building covered in snow, which is under construction. The building was labeled "Daikichi Apartments," which is meant to be a new home for the residents of Mantle to live in. As she stares at the apartment, Ruko shook her head to regain her senses and hurries home.
In a balcony of an eight-story apartment, an old woman was planting some flowers. While she continues watering, she sees Ruko running through the snow and waves her arm. "Welcome back, Ru-chan," the old woman said warmly. "Hey, Grandma!" Ruko waves back as she runs to the door of the apartment. She went into the elevator to get to the eight floor and walks to Room 802. "I'm back, Grandma!" said Ruko as she takes her shoe off at the doorway and puts them next to her brother's boots.
While pacing through the hallway, she noticed she's not the only one with her grandmother. In the kotatsu is Ruko's older brother, Ayumu, who is playing a video game on a hand-held console, and Ayumu's underclassman, Shiena Kenmochi, who is typing on her laptop. "Long time no see, Bro! Hi, Shiena!" Ruko greeted them. "Hey, Ruko," Ayumu and Shiena simultaneously replied back.
Ruko puts down her school bag near her brother and rushes to the balcony where her grandmother is at. "Grandma!" the middle schooler called out. "C'mon, at least put your bag away," Ayumu scolded his sister. Shiena leans to her right as Ruko goes outside. "What's up with her?" she asked her sempai. Ruko's brother keeps his eyes on his game before speaking to his friend. "It's just some sort of silly bet Grandma made with Ruko about the large building that's under construction." Shiena cocked an eyebrow when she turned her head to Ayumu. "I don't want to offend your grandma or anything, but like Ruko, I thought it's going to be a new industry," she said, "We needed a new job since Atlas took over another company we used to work at." "We're both still searching for a new job," Ayumu told Shiena without looking at her, "Even if Atlas is more advanced than what Mantle used to be, we can still work at another corporation close by." Shiena sits up straight and adjusted her glasses before continuing her job search online. "If only the high society will allow us to cooperate," she sighed.
Outside of the balcony, Ruko and her grandmother, Hatsu, set their eyes on the tall, constructed building in the middle of a snowy afternoon. "It looks like it's going to be an apartment. Grandma wins," Hatsu told her granddaughter. Ruko puts her head down for her loss. "I thought it was going to be a business," she complained, "Now I have to clean the bath for one week…" Hatsu smiles as she turns her head to Ruko. "They're both the same in that they're just big pillars," she said. The middle school girl raised her head from the edge of the balcony before turning to her grandmother. "Pillars?" asked Ruko. "When that's finished, it means that a big pillar is going to fit in that alley, right?" said Hatsu.
As she stares at the building, Ruko puts her finger in front of the tower from her point of view. From this demonstration, she slightly understands what her grandmother meant. "See, if a pillar goes there…" Hatsu spoke to Ruko, "…I feel like this city is going to just disappear." Ruko imagines in her mind of a large, rectangular pillar falling from the sky. The impact from the fall causes the city to flash into a bright light and wither into ruins without life coming back.
Ayumu continues to plays the game until he inserted a blue pillar in the gap and all the shapes turned white and vanished. "All right!" he shouted after he beats the game. Ruko and Hatsu went back into the apartment after closing the glass door and curtains. "Grandma, these stages you custom made was really hard," Ayumu commented to his grandmother. Shiena turns to Ayumu while she partially closed her laptop. "Sempai, a little help here, please," she reminded him impatiently. "Don't worry, I'll get there," he responded back while playing another stage in his game. Shiena took her glasses off to rub her eyes and sighs before putting them back on and opens up her laptop.
"I guess it's about time for a meal," said Hatsu as she walks to the kitchen. Ruko took off her coat and folds it. "I'll help too," Ruko volunteered. "You just came home, so get yourself relaxed here," Hatsu told her granddaughter as she prepares herself to make dinner. Ruko feels a little disappointed that she didn't get to help her grandmother with anything. Ayumu raises his head to his sister, "That's right. You just left your bag there to…" But when he looks away from the game, he realized a second too late that he incidentally got himself distracted. "Ah! No!" Ayumu cried as he let his guard down. "Heh, you deserved that," Ruko teased her brother as she puts her coat on her schoolbag. She sits on her knees over a pillow next to the kotatsu. But when Ruko lifts up the blanket, she smelled something really bad, which she turns her head away and put the covers down.
"Eww, it stinks her!" Ruko interjected, "Bro, take your socks off before you get in there!" "Want some more?" Ayumu jokingly asked. The older brother moved his feet under the kotatsu towards his sister. Ruko immediately backed away from the kotatsu while Shiena picked up her laptop and stood up. "No! I'm going to catch athlete's foot all over!" she exclaimed, "I'll help you after all, Grandma!" The middle school girl ran from the living room to help her grandmother. "Knock it off, sempai! Are you trying to blow up the kotatsu if you fart in there!?" cried Shiena. "Come on, Shiena, nothing like that ever happens," Ayumu laughed.
XXXXX
After spending over half an hour of laughs and eating their dinner, Ruko walked with her brother and Shiena outside of the cold night. "Seeing me all the way out here, you really do like me, don't you?" Ayumu asked his younger sibling while he pushes his motorcycle. "That's not it!" Ruko denied as she catches up to Ayumu, "My favorite milk tea is at the vending machine around here, that's it." The three teens made some brief silence as they continue to walk. "Ruko, don't make Grandma too worried, you hear?" Ayumu told Ruko. The younger girl turns her head to her brother. "Worried?" she asked. "Grandma was telling me that you haven't made friends yet after moving to this school in Mantle," Ayumu reasoned to his sister. Ruko lowers her head while walking with her brother and Shiena. "I don't need any friends," she said to Ayumu solemnly, "I just like to be with Shiena if she's available."
Shiena moved her glasses up before facing Ruko while moving forward. "I know how bad you want to hang out with me, Ruko," the rectangular spectacled girl said to Ruko, "But, your brother and I are still looking for a new job." Ruko slightly tilts her head, "What happened to the store you and Ayumu were working at?" Shiena looks forward as she is about to give out her answer. "We lost our jobs after another group from Atlas took over the tech shop we worked at, shortly before the store was forced to run out of business." Ruko felt surprise when she heard the news. "But…why?" she asked worriedly. "Because Atlas increased the taxes from the stores in the former capital," Ayamu answered, "Almost every store are associated with the companies from the Kingdom of Atlas, especially the Schnee Dust Company."
"Why would someone get rich by selling dust bunnies?" Ruko asked naively. Shiena puts her palm over her glasses. "No, Ruko, not that kind of dust," she lamented. Ayumu's underclassman took out her mobile phone and connected to the internet to search for images until she found the right picture. "We meant something like this," Shiena pointed Ruko out as she shows a picture of colored crystals in display cases. "Wow, they're pretty," Ruko commented. Shiena nodded her head in agreement, "They sure are, but they're not used for jewelry." After pressing the "home" button, Shiena puts her phone in her laptop bag as they keep walking.
"You're pretty bold about not making friends, so I'm not worried that much," Ayumu told Ruko, "But Grandma is worried about you all the time." Ruko stops walking after listening to her brother's lecture and looks down. She knew that Ayumu may be right, but she still questions herself how her grandmother would feel.
As Ayumu and Shiena stopped next to Ruko, the former took out a small bag from his jacket. "Take it," she said to his little sister. The middle schooler turns her head to what Ayumu is holding. "What's that?" she asked. "Just take it," Ayumu persuaded her again. Ruko took the bag from her brother's hands and takes out the item inside of it. The gift was a small rectangular white box with the cover that titled Wixoss. "We went to a card shop to pick up a present for you since you have trouble trying to get along with other people," Shiena explained to Ruko, "One of our work buddies told us these cards are a hit with the girls now."
Ruko stares at the white deck her brother gave her. "I've seen some in my class playing with those," she said. "Use this to get in with everyone, like right at them,"Ayumu convinced her one more time. While Ruko still has her eyes on the card deck, her mind is filled with nothing but doubt.
Ayumu took his motorcycle to the edge of the street from the alleyway. Shiena puts her laptop case in the container on the back of the bike and sits behind Ayumu before holding on to him. "I'm making Granndma worried?" Ruko asked herself while looking at the deck. With the bike charged up and ready to go, Ayumu and Shiena took off on the streets. "Well, see ya'," the older teen shouted as the loud noise from the motorcycle almost blocked his voice. "Take care, Ruko!" cried Shiena. Ruko walks back to her apartment after seeing the two former employees riding out of her sight on the black road.
Despite listening to her brother's advice, Ruko never has the thought or intention of doing so as she continues her stroll through the cold weather. The middle school girl safely went back to the apartment building after feeling the cold breeze flowing through her cheeks and took the elevator to her room. As Ruko went back inside, her grandmother walks towards her with a warm smile on her face. "Wasn't it cold out there?" asked Hatsu. The elderly woman puts her hands on her granddaughter's cheeks and softly rubs her face. This made Ruko feel comfortable from self-doubting and loneliness.
Being fully recovered, Ruko looks down at her deck before raising her head to Hatsu. "Um, ah, I'm going to go and study now," she stuttered. Ruko took off her shoes and runs to her room, much to her grandmother's confusion. After closing the door in her room, Ruko walks to her desk and opens the deck to read the instructions. "I didn't really care too much for friends," she said to herself, "But that making Grandma worried is…" She set her eyes on the words in the instruction booklet instead of finishing her sentence. "The Lrig is a player's avatar," Ruko read out loud before turning to the deck, "Is it this?"
On top of the card deck in the white box is another small box. Ruko took the box out of the deck and opens it. Inside it was a white-haired girl in a plain white dress in the size of a small doll. She also wore orange and pinky white ribbons on both sides of her hair, boots, and a red earing hanging on her left ear. The tiny girl in the box, otherwise known as the Lrig more specifically, has her eyes closed, as if she is sound asleep. "She's so cute!" Ruko commented after seeing the sleeping Lrig. She sets her eyes back to the small booklet to continue reading, "Um, this card is at the player's turn…"
While continuing to read, Ruko heard a yawn coming out of the Lrig in the box. "Her voice is cute too…Wait, what?" Ruko quickly turned to the Lrig and took the small box close to her face. The white Lrig slowly opens her silver-colored eyes as she wakes up from her nap. Both the human and Lrig made eye contact on each other, the latter simply smiled. Ruko screams and fell out of her chair and dropped the Lrig on the floor. The sound of bumping her head alerted Hatsu as the grandmother opens the bedroom door. "Ru-chan? Is something the matter?" she asked. Ruko turns her head to her grandmother shortly before looking at the Lrig, who is moaning while rubbing her bump.
"Did you fall down, Ru-chan?" Hatsu asked again. Confused from looking at the small being, Ruko turns her head back to her grandmother. "You…don't hear the voice?" Ruko asked her grandmother. Hatsu tilted her voice, "Voice?" The middle schooler looks at the Lrig and back to her grandmother again as she realized something was off. "Am I the only one who can hear this?" Ruko mentally spoke to herself. Baffled from this experience, Ruko stood back up on her feet and walks towards her grandmother. "I'm fine, so you can go now," she nervously told Hatsu, "I have to get back to my studying. Grandma, you can take a bath first, okay?" The white Lrig watches from the box she is in as the human girl sends the old woman out of her room. "It's cold, so make sure you keep yourself warm in there," Ruko fretfully tells her grandmother. Oblivious about what has gotten into her granddaughter, Hatsu simply goes along with Ruko's words, "Okay, okay."
With her grandmother out of the bedroom, Ruko lets out a deep sigh. "Nyaaaaahh!" Ruko turns her attention to the Lrig, who makes infantile moans of a cat. Staring at the small girl with a suspicious look on her face, she picks up the box with the Lrig and puts the lid back on. She then puts both the instruction booklet and the Lrig back in the box and placed the entire deck into the desk drawer before locking it. The Lrig keeps making loud noises despite being locked inside. Ruko ignores the sounds and walks away from her desk, "Good night." After all that, the naïve girl took a bath after Hatsu and got ready to go to bed.
XXXXX
In a dark world, bright white cards fall from above. Ruko opens her eyes and stood up from the ground, only to get shocked of what she has witnessed. The buildings of Mantle have been demolished into ruins and the sky is mixed with an ire color of red and black. Above the city is a giant pillar, falling down like a meteor about to destroy an entire landscape. As Ruko looks around the city, she heard loud growls coming from inside the building. A pack of wolf-like creatures with skull masks, red glowing eyes, black fur, and sharp teeth crawled out of the buildings as they approached to Ruko. The girl was frightened from the sight of the creatures; she fell back on the ground, unable to move.
"What are they?" she fretted. One of the monsters charged at Ruko and jumped towards her while raising its claw. She shuts her eyes and covers herself before she was about to be eaten. Suddenly, a red swirl of rose petals falls from above, and sends the wolves flying from the landing impact. The rose petals are formed into a young girl with a red hood and cape, pale white skin, a black gothic dress, and silver eyes. As the wolves recovered and go after her instead of Ruko, the red hooded girl took out a mechanical scythe and swings the blades at them. Ruko opens her eyes as she watches the girl cutting the creatures cleanly. The red hooded girl turns to the middle schooler after making quick work of the monsters. "Run! Don't let them go near you!" she gave out her warning. Ruko got back up and runs from the scene as more wolves charged at the scythe wielder.
(Cue Layers - Hiroyuki Sawano ft. Aimee Blackschleger)
While running through the heavy dust that was blown away, Ruko looks around as there was so much chaos happening at the same time. "What's going on?!" she asked herself out loud. Another girl with long blonde hair fires several shots from her gauntlets against three monsters that have the same features from the wolves, except that they took the form of giant bears. "These guys just don't know when to quit, do they?" the blonde girl pants to herself while fighting them. She puts her fists together and a fiery aura flashes around her before she leaps towards them.
A young man with blonde hair fights his way through another pack of wolves with a sword and shield in an abandoned cathedral while a girl with red hair and green eyes backflips from a giant boulder that was thrown by a black, skeletal gorilla. The red-haired gladiator twirls her short sword as the weapon is shifted into a rifle and shoots the beast in the eyes. The gorilla, however, blocks the shots with its arms and roars before jumping off from the hole of the broken roof. The girl jumps back before it can land on the ground plants her foot on the wall and launches herself towards the gorilla before it can recover from the fall.
Outside the cathedral, a girl with reddish-brown hair weeps as an injured girl with short black hair lies on the former's knees with a grievous wound on her side. "Chi-chan, please don't leave me!" the auburn-haired girl sobbed. The black-haired girl slowly opens her eyes and turns her head to her friend. "S…uzu…I'm not sure…if I'm going to make it…" she said to her weakly. Tears keeps flowing out of the auburn-haired girl's eyes, she shook her head in refusal. "Don't say anything!" she cried, "I know you're stronger than me, you always were! Just please promise me you will be okay!" The color of the black-haired girl's eyes barely fades as her breathing gets worse as blood comes out of her mouth.
Inside a burning house, a man with red hair, black horns, and a mask that covers his eyes walks towards a wounded girl with long wavy black hair and a bow on top of her head, who is leaning against a wall. Her face was bruised from being slapped by the man as if she has suffered domestic abuse. "You never should have left us!" the horned man yelled at her. "But I never wanted any of this!" the girl argued, "I just wanted everyone to be equal!" The horned man angrily swings his sheathed blade and hits her across the face. "Not everyone in this world wants to accept equality!" he lashed out on the girl, "No matter how 'peaceful' your idea will become, there will still be humans who would detest our kind! Have you forgotten how many lives were lost because of them?!" The girl took a small black blade from behind, but the man took out his blade and shoots the knife out of her hand with sheath and thrusts the sharp weapon to her shoulder.
A building was suddenly cut clean off and the broken structure fell to the ground. As the dust clears out, a girl with short blue hair and blue eyes fires a gun while holding a sword on her left hand. In front of her, another girl with straight short purple hair twirls her katana around to deflect and cut every bullet that was coming at her. The blue-haired fighter throws the firearm aside and runs forward with her sword in her hand while her adversary did the same. They clashed their swords at each other continuously with great swiftness. Outside the fight between the swordfighters is a girl with pinkish-red hair and pink eyes. With her legs trapped under a large pile of debris, she can do nothing but watch the fight in horror.
Both fighters leaped back and dashed at each other to swing their weapons forward, only to trap themselves in a blade lock. "You just don't know when to stop denying the truth, do you?" the purple-haired fighter asked with a crazed smile on her face, "You should come to realize that even if you refuse to acknowledge about what you truly are, you would end up becoming the one thing you never wanted to be in the future. This world full of lies and deception can only be destroyed if the two of us can watch every worthless being face their demise once we uncovered the truth on the battlefield. Soon, we will create a new world where there will be no more lies and every story, rumors, and legends will become reality…both me…and you." "As if I'm going to align myself with a sick monster like you!" the blue-haired girl retorted back. With great force, the purple-haired assailant parries her rival's blade and sent it flying right out of the latter's grip. Before the final blow is delivered to the defenseless fighter, the victim in the rubble shuts her eyes and screams, "STOP IIIIIIIIIT!"
The pillar continues to fall from the sky as Ruko continues to run where it is going to hit. "No! It's disappearing!" she cried. Before she can go any further, the ground starts to glow under Ruko's foot. She looks down to what's below her until… "Look out!" A voice came from behind Ruko and a white-haired girl flew towards her and pushed the middle schooler out of the way and the glowing spot on the ground exploded. Ruko gets up on her knees and turns to the charred body on the ground. She skulks to the white-haired girl's body as she reaches towards her. "Are you alright?" Ruko asked. But when she shook the body, there was no response. "Wake up!" she cried with tears dropping from her eyes, "Please, wake up!" Ruko continues to grieve from the girl's sacrifice; she didn't pay attention to the pillar. Instead of looking back, Ruko raised her head and lets out a shout, "Don't make it disappear!"
Before it can touch the ground, the pillar suddenly stopped falling in mid-air. Ruko turns her head back and looks up from where it fell from. She sees a giant white eldritch monster that came out of nowhere, with the fallen pillar pierced through its body. The white monster turns its head to the girl, revealing its deformed face with red eyes and horrendous mouth. In front of Ruko's eyes, the monster's face resembles the white Lrig as she sees its "pigtails." Scared to do anything, she can only stare at the giant eyes as its pupils grew in an instant.
"An interesting sight to see, wouldn't you agree?"Ruko heard a voice and turns to where the white-haired girl was lying at, looking up instead of down. In front of her is a woman whose face is covered in shadows, with skin as pale as a corpse, and dark purple veins on her arms. "Your Lrig must have taken an immediate liking to you," said the woman. Ruko gets confused from the words she had just heard, "What do you mean?" The mysterious woman looks down at the middle schooler with her glowing red eyes. "Both you and your Lrig share a common feature that not everyone in the world of Remnant has," she spoke to the girl, "For example, you have no desires that you have in mind, nor dreams…or wishes. You never even understood what the outside world is like. It's true that you never wanted to go near other people, but that doesn't you will intend to be selfish."
She then raises her head up at the crumbling monster with black blood spilling out of its body from the object. "As for your Lrig," she continues, "She has a desire that she has yet to share with you. When the two of you are together, you will become a powerful force against those who would stand in your way. But if you separate yourself from each other and cover your mind with doubt, your Lrig will not be able to fight back and you will fall victim into depths of despair. Have you not noticed that, child?" Ruko gets up on her feet and gazes at the woman's glowing irises. "Who are you?" she asked. The mysterious figure turns back and walks away from the girls. "It is early for you to ask me for whom…or what I am," she answered. Before Ruko can walk after the woman, a card falls in front of her and bursts into an enlarging orb of light. The entire city gets swallowed up by the explosion with every living being in it, turning everything into a white void of nothingness.
(End song)
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Ruko opens her eyes and sits up from her bed, waking herself up from an unsettling nightmare. She slowly tries to catch her breath while her face is sweating and her heart was almost beating. "What was all of that?" the girl quietly asked herself. Ruko turns to her desk when she heard more sounds and got out of bed before walking to her desk. "It's all because of that strange voice of yours," she cried. The middle schooler unlocks the desk drawer, opens the deck, and takes the small box out. "Nyaaaaahhh!" The white Lrig from the box energetically jumped up and down while making more cute noises. "Who are you?" Ruko asked the Lrig, "And how are you able to move?" Without warning, the Lrig exclaimed only one word, "Battle!" Ruko shook her head back from what came out of the small girl's mouth. "Battle? You mean you want to have a card battle?" she asked again. The white-haired Lrig simply nodded twice while Ruko remains puzzled from what she is starting to experience.
Later in the afternoon, Ruko sat into a table by herself with a bowl of ramen for lunch. After blowing at her noodles, she heard the Lrig's moans coming from her skirt. The tiny girl jumped right out of Ruko's skirt and landed on the table before turning to the middle schooler. Unable to speak, she shook her head and makes a few jabs, which indicates that she wanted a fight. Ruko looks around from the table before leaning towards the Lrig and puts her backhand close to her mouth. "You can't eat, right? You're too small to eat a whole bowl," she whispered, "If you eat, your dress is going to get soaked from the broth." "Battle!" the small girl shouted again.
Ruko turns her head back to a large number of students who are socializing to each other in their tables. On one lunch table, she sees a pair of girls play a card game from the same brand her brother gave her. Some students from the same table also join in to watch the game. "Well even if you tell me that…" said Ruko, "It's a bit hard to ask here." Ruko wanted to join them, but she doesn't have the social skills to speak with someone else other than her relatives and Shiena. An interesting thought suddenly came into her mind as she faces the small girl. "Wait a minute. If their characters are in cards, how come you're not in one?" she asked, "How come I'm the only one who can see you and not them?"
Unknowingly to Ruko, a cook from the kitchen took out a flat hand held device from his pocket and pressed the yellow diamond on it. The cook aimed the device at Ruko with a camera in it and took a non-flash snapshot of her. After he closes it and puts it in his pocket, he heads to a door to go outside. "I'm going to take a break outside," he said to the assistant chef, "Make sure every dish you were given from them is spotless." "Okay, sir," the assistant answered back.
Once he steps outside from the school, he checks around his position in case of any eavesdroppers. He reaches to the device from his pocket and checks on the "Photos" folder. In the picture he has taken, the cook inspects the image until he sees the white girl on the table next to the ramen bowl. Tapping the yellow button again, he pressed on the "Contacts" file, scrolls down, and puts his finger on the number next to a white snowflake-like symbol before putting it close to his ear. The cook waits patiently while the device rings, until the caller is able to pick up. "Hello?" answered a male voice in the device. "Contact Miss Schnee that I found the target she is looking for," the "cook" ordered the caller, "And it's not alone. There is a girl from this school I'm currently in and she's the only one who can see it. I'm sending you the image now."
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After school is over for today, Ruko got out of the train station from underground and went to the same direction she went home from yesterday. The Lrig is in a small pocket of the schoolbag, feeling disappointed that she did not get to have any fun. "I'm sorry," Ruko said to the small girl, "But I don't know how I can get along with other students in a card battle and they couldn't see you." The tiny girl moaned childishly while she tucks herself in the pouch. "Everyone at school might think I feel crazy if I try to join in a card game," Ruko spoke to herself as she continues to walk.
She then turns to the alleyway where she walked to her apartment. While doing so, she heard a loud stomach growl coming from her bag. The Lrig blushed and whimpers as she covers her stomach. "Are you feeling hungry?" Ruko asked her. The white girl could not say anything, so she nodded instead. Ruko looks up and starts to think about what she would want to do before going home. "I know," she said brightly as she turns to the girl in her bag pouch, "Why don't we stop at the cake shop where Grandma goes to? I'm sure it will cheer you up. Does that sound good?" Curious about what Ruko thought about, the Lrig rose from the pouch and smiles wider. "Cake!" the tiny white-haired shouted.
Behind Ruko's feet, a white symbol of a snowflake in a symbol appeared on the ground and at the end of the alleyway. The symbol starts to spin over the snow which also made some small dust and wind. Ruko turns around and notices the symbol as it spins faster. "What's that?" she asked herself curiously. The symbol continues to spins until suddenly a giant ice pillar rose from below, all the way to the top of the buildings. While Ruko was surprised at the sight, the Lrig is immediately amazed from the action that just happened. "W-wha-what just happened?! And where did that pillar come from?!" the human girl asked shockingly.
Not long after that, the Lrig heard the same noise from the symbol behind Ruko, only this time it's almost four feet away from them. She takes a closer look at the spinning mark and spots a shadow under the center of the symbol getting darker. The white-haired Lrig looks up and sees something that is falling on the symbol. "Cake!" she exclaimed. Ruko quickly turned to what's behind her and fretfully looks around, "A cake?! Where?! I don't see anything!" She then looks up from above and then sees what the Lrig just saw. It wasn't a cake, it wasn't even a pillar. A girl with white hair tied to a ponytail and a thin scar on her left eye is diving down to the emblem.
Watching the girl falling down, Ruko spots the same snowflake crest on the back of the former's bolero. "Was it her?" she asked herself mentally, "Was she the one who summoned that wall?" The white-haired girl flips forward once and safely lands herself on the circle and the dust of snow is blown everywhere. Both Ruko and the Lrig covers themselves before the dust could get in their eyes. As the dust flown around settles, they slowly uncovered their eyes. The girl carries a rapier on the left of her waist and a small bag on her back.
Weiss Schnee appeared right in front of their eyes. "W…who are you?" asked Ruko. Without warning, Weiss took out her sword and pointed it at the middle school girl. "I found you…Selector," the heiress said with a grin on her face. Ruko was both scared and confused; she is in a complete loss of words. The Lrig, on the other hand, jumps out of the pouch and excitedly shouted, "Battle!"
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(Cue Killy Killy Joker - Kanon Wakeshima)
*Note: For those who are reading this, I do not own Wixoss, RWBY, and Riddle Story of Devil. All of these works belong to their respective creators.