August 18, 0000

High barricades all around the walls. But by now, everyone knows just how useful they're going to be against those monsters. I hear people trying to convince themselves that this time, the vanguard will win. This time, they're going to push the Grimm back and everything will become as hunky-dory as it was before. I think we all know just how much they're deluding themselves – especially me. After all, I'm the one writing this letter to you, thinking that it's going to get so far from the hands of the wandering stranger.

Look, Jaune. I know that what I ask out of you is going to be most demanding and selfish thing I could ever ask out of anyone. Where you'll be born is a place where the Grimm have been pushed back, where nothing remains but the four kingdoms serving as humanity's last asylums against the storm of darkness. You'll live in a world where everything has been "reset", where no one will remember the atrocities and tragedy that is the burden my generation takes on. But if I didn't tell you this sooner, you'd have continued to life a blissfully unaware life. You'd take it for granted, not fully realize the danger that's soon to come for you. Once you go down this path, you will face your hardship sooner than you would've liked. But at least then you'll have a higher chance of coming out a real hero of the people, just like I was to them.

Beacon Academy will be the place of interest. That will be your starting point, the first step into your descent. I'm not going to lie to you. The path you take is going to be hard and unforgiving. You will face monsters that won't hesitate to tear you apart once you're in their grubby little paws. You will take on vultures that will swoop you up from the sky, drop you into its nest and let its hell spawn tear you to pieces as they argue what the best part of you is. I've been a frequent witness to it, and the Grimm don't discriminate. Who cares if it's a woman about to go through or fresh out of pregnancy? Who cares if it's a little boy or girl, trotting happily down the street with carefree abandon? All those beasts see is another morsel to sink their teeth into, another casualty to add to our list. But at the very least, those are problems you can solve with a sword. But the colleagues you work with – more specifically, the ones who aren't as focused on the protection of humanity as much as they are on their selfish desires? They won't be as easy to deal with. They'll push you, pull you, shove you down and kick you if it means climbing to a position of glory. All you can do is take it all, dust yourself off and keep moving forward – nasty as they can be, they're still going to be Hunters. They'll get their comeuppance soon enough.

You'll find my sword in a chest within the confines of your basement.

Now you might be wondering why I would go to such lengths to make sure that your life is better than mine ever could. You might wonder why I'm so focused on you and not the fact that the Grimm could break down my city walls any second from now. Well, call me a coward... but I'm tired. I'm tired of the fighting. I'm tired of the nagging feeling that there's something lurking around that corner or hovering above the skyline waiting to swoop down and get me. I'm tired of all these injuries, all the times I have to stick my blade into the flesh of an Ursa only to get sliced like a Christmas ham. I'm tired of being called a "hero", when all I seem to be able to do is kill and destroy. Don't you see, Jaune? My body's worn down, and sooner or later, it's going to fall apart completely.

My wife and daughter are safe in one of the kingdoms. They won't have to worry about facing this storm as I will. They won't have to face the same fears I'm facing once all of it is over. They can live in peace, not having to worry about getting ravaged by those bloodthirsty monsters. The child will find a man of her own and give birth to a son, and he will find a dear wife to give birth to you. If you don't get this letter, then at the very least, I'm hoping that one of them get their hands on it. If not for the circumstances, I would've taken this thing and ran all the way there myself to deliver the message to my little girl. I guess burying it and hoping the Grimm don't find it is the best choice I have right now.

I'm estimating that seventy-five percent is going to be dominated solely by the darkness. Travel and transport is going to be hard to come by unless you've got a bounty of Dust with you at all times. Security measures are going to be tightened, and everyone's going to be a little bit squeezed in. You might not find your life so easy to live as I did, before all this mess began. But that the very least, you'll have a choice. You and the rest of the family are going to have the freedom of choice. So please, don't waste it. If not for me... do it for them. Promise this old man you'll do at least that, all right? Be a better man than I could've ever hoped to be. Be the one who can truly become a hero, in contrast to this killer wearing a savior's mask. Be one, if not the beacon, that the people can use to find their way back to the light.

If you're heeding my pleas, then I know I can rest easy

oh dust

the walls are coming down they're storming through

they're breaking through the lines so quickly

they're coming for me

bury this bury this bury bury bury

A/N: Inspired by Nine Inch Nails's "Hour of Arrival" site. Additional ambiance can be obtained by listening to NIN's song Ghosts 1 from the album "Ghosts".