Chapter 4: Beacon
Beta Reader: The Path of a Writer
It was around ten o'clock when I found myself in some kind of technological transport. Now, the weather was a little bit warmer and more sunny, and I also noticed teens with stupid looking weapons passing beside me every once in a while.
By Lilith's advice (and concern for our mission doesn't get fucked up, or at least not too much) I crashed in one group of teenagers so I can use this helicopters or elevator things (I think it's called an airship) that will transport me to the academy without using my powers and go unnoticed for a while.
I just hoped nobody wanted me to show them any transcripts that I obviously didn't have.
I sighed as I stared at the world that was outside of the window. The view was quite beautiful, but not as much as other landscapes that I had seen in my previous missions.
Fortunately, nobody came to talk to me and I went unnoticed like Lilith and I wanted.
The world seemed to be silent until I heard a voice, turning to see a hologram of a news reporter.
On it, were the words 'Breaking news!'
"…This morning, the infamous thief known as Roman Torchwick, one of the most wanted criminals in all four kingdoms, was found dead along with five unknown men in a Dust store within the kingdom of Vale. The subject was shot in one of his ankles and then was brutally decapitated with what the forensic doctors presumed to be a sword. The police have yet to find any leads. The witness, the store's shopkeeper, couldn't identify who the attacker was, stating that everything happened too fast. Could this have possibly been the work of a new semblance? Will this be the emergence of a dangerous assassin who will terrorize Vale's populace, or just a settling of scores between gangs?"
Well, if I have to be honest, I like the sound of the first one, though I'm not trying to terrorize nobody.
At least not yet.
"In other news, new attacks from the White Fang were reported in the kingdom of Mistral. This time, a kamikaze attack caused by an unidentified faunus who had attached a bomb to himself and detonated it in the middle of one of the most populated districts of the kingdom. Fortunately, there haven't been any deaths reported up to this moment. The special service of Mistral, as well as specialists from Atlas are currently investigating and working to halt this threat. Meanwhile, the leader of the White Fang, Ghira Belladonna, refused to comment on these attacks. We'll have more information at 9 Pm."
Suddenly, the transmission was cut.
In place of the reporter's image now stood one of a mature, blonde woman with glasses.
I curiously stared at her, and then she began to speak.
Hello, and welcome to Beacon.
"Great, speeches…", I groaned as I walked away from the image.
"I never understood why you never liked to listen to speeches.", said Lilith from inside of my mind.
'Speeches are boring.' I simply stated 'Besides, it's not a speech for me, it's a speech for the teens that are here.' I argued.
She sighed, 'I don't think it would be too bad to at least hear what she says…'
'…Alright, alright, just a little.'
You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy!
Wow. What a fucking lie.
Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace.
Hmmm, maybe here, but in other places… I think not.
You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task.
I'm seriously thinking she is only reading a script that someone gave her.
And now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world.
Well, if by 'protect' you mean 'die and kill others', I think it's close enough.
Whatever, the speech sucked.
Fortunately, before I could complain more, the airship arrived and opened its doors.
I waited for the rest of the teenagers to leave and then I also finally left the ship.
The first thing I noticed when I put my foot onto Beacon grounds was…
A danger ribbon surrounding a crater that was in the middle of the path…
…How?
I approached what looked to be a guard and spoke to him.
"Excuse me, Sir, may I ask what happened here?"
"Nothing important, kid, just an accident involving fire Dust"
"Fire Dust?"
"Yeah, some kid accidentally threw fire dust at the ground and made this crater, nothing important, really. But still, we need to have certain precautions if the dust starts to react again." he said.
Well, at least he didn't sound like an idiot.
"Oh, alright then.", I shrugged and continued walking.
However, I stopped when I saw a pamphlet that was on the floor.
I took it; it said 'Dust for Dummies and other inadequate individuals' in big words.
That made me smile a bit; who would put a name like that on a pamphlet?
Though it was a good euphemism to say 'fucking retards' in a nicer manner.
I continued reading while walking.
At the bottom and in tiny words, it said "brought to you by the Amitola Dust Company."
Amitola, eh? I remember that Lilith mentioned that surname before.
Better I keep this thing for now.
I looked at the other side where there was another paragraph, and I couldn't help but imagine an annoying, feminine voice reading it out loud and very fast.
,theAmitolaFamilyhighlyencouragescustomers-shut the fuck up!
Better I stop myself before I make myself want to give this piece of paper a treatment of 451 Fahrenheit.
I continued to the last page, and then I realized something interesting.
So, the dust I saw before, it's called Dust, with a capital D.
At least they didn't use any weird names, just Dust. That works for me.
"Dust is one of our most important resource and a very necessary part of our everyday lives. It powers almost every device we use, from ovens to lights, vehicles, and even weapons."
That bad? I wonder what would happen if that thing suddenly disappeared.
End of the world, probably, with nuclear bombs. It would be lovely.
"You are probably carrying a product powered by dust right now."
Actually, I am... I guess. I still have that vial of red dust in my coat. Does it count?
"These devices will make use of the fuel produced by dust until all the dust is exhausted. At this point you may need to add more dust to your device to power it."
Capitalism, oh sweet capitalism, Oh how I missed you!
Actually, no, fuck off!
However, I continued reading until I noticed that I was inside of an amphitheater, along with a substantial number of teens surrounding me.
I thought it was going to have more people, but whatever.
Let's continue with the reading.
so, there's are two different forms of Dust, one a crystal form that is weak but more stable, and the other that is powdered, just like the one that I have inside of my coat; a more powerful, refined version, but also more dangerous to use.
And then there was the 'Safety Tips', my favorite thing in the world, because it always gave me good ideas to try later.
-Do not shake the product.
Noted for later. I wonder if, with that, I can turn it into a grenade.
-Avoid dropping dust products.
Pftt, tell that to the kid that caused that disaster at the entrance.
Though I like the crater...
-Avoid sneezing on exposed dust.
I wonder what would happen…
-Keep away from flammable substances and heat sources.
Boy, I'm already on fire, and with a couple of dust vials inside of my coat, if I exploded right now, it would be awesome.
-Please do not mix different dust types.
Actually, I think I'm going to follow this tip, only because it said please.
…
Nah, next time, I think I will make a Dust martini. With ice!
-Keep away from children.
...I could make some pretty nasty jokes about this, but that would earn me an intense lecture from Lilith, so not very worth.
'Hey, look at your front.' Lilith whispered at me.
Then I noticed a man with black clothes, glasses, and a green scarf, black gloves, and holding a cane, stepping up on the stage that was in front of me.
'Is that Ozpin?'
'Yep.'
'Perfect' I simply said.
Ozpin coughed to clear his throat and then proceed to-ANOTHER FUCKING SPEECH?!
I swear, I'm going to kill the guy who created the art of speeches.
"I'll… keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge-to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people."
Hmm, I'd say he sounded rather blunt, I wonder why.
"But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose – direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."
Well, at least I have to thank him for keeping it short.
After a couple of minutes of giving directions and other extra information to the students, the introductions were over, and the students began to scurry all around like rats.
Meanwhile, I kept my gaze on Ozpin who started to walk away from the room along with the same blonde woman that I saw in the hologram.
I followed him, not caring if I bumped against others.
I followed after him into the inner campus of the academy, walking through some gardens, and further ahead of me was a tall tower.
'The Tower of Beacon, it's called.' Lilith informed me and I silently nodded.
However, I stopped walking once the two entered the door of the tower.
If I just walked in through the front door, it would attract some unnecessary attention to me and likely cause me some trouble I don't want to deal with.
Well… I think it's Parkour time!
This is not going the way I wanted.
When was it that everything changed?
Little by little, young men and women were starting to lose interest in following the path of a Huntsman, and starting to instead join the army and the marines.
And the idea that we were in some sort of armed peace wasn't helping at all. I'm still surprised that people like Glynda still seemed to have composure under all the pressure that the kingdom of Vale has been put under us.
At this point, it wouldn't surprise me if Salem presented herself in a future massacre. And the thought of it was making me feel slightly paranoid.
And worst of all, I'm beginning to fade away. My hands had begun to fade away like smoke this very morning, and that's why I was using gloves, so that neither Glynda nor anyone else would notice... for now.
I need some time alone. To think at least for a few minutes.
I asked Glynda to give me a few minutes alone in my office, and she accepted when I told her I would meet her on the ground floor later.
Fortunately, I could still grab things, so I grabbed my mug with hot cocoa and approached the nearest window that my gaze could see.
I took a sip of it while looking the landscape that the window was offering me.
I had already seen it many times in the past, but I always found it as stunning as the first time. Signal, the Emerald forest, all of Beacon, and a little bit of Vale and the city.
It was beautiful indeed, and that's why I felt scared; scared that I would vanish into nothing and let this world succumb in the darkness that Salem would bring to us at any moment.
And if it's not her, then I don't want to know what could be worse.
I closed my eyes and sighed.
What to do, what to do…
Then, I heard the breaking of a window.
I opened my eyes and quickly jumped away from the window, dropping my mug and taking my cane, and then I noticed that a young man was the cause of said broken window.
He looked to be in his teens, a blonde with shoulder length hair. One of his eyes was covered by his hair, while the other was uncovered, showing a lifeless and dull blue color. It would have fit more as the eye of a corpse more so than that of a living man. His clothes were black with some grey touches to them, and he had a long coat that reached to his ankles, leaving a trail of cinders on the floor.
His grey shirt, sleeveless, was covered in dried blood around his collarbone.
And his black pants, seemingly without pockets, were a little worn out, and his large black military boots made his stature seem just a bit taller than it was.
I stared at him, with cane in hand, and he stared at me stoically, without moving a muscle.
I don't know how long we spent like that, until he coughed in his hand, I then noticing a strange, rainbow-like marking on it.
"Sorry for the window, I didn't find any way to open it."
Then the mark glowed in a yellow light, and he moved his hand towards the broken pieces of glass, without breaking his gaze with me, and suddenly, the broken pieces were suspended into the air in a yellow glow surrounding them, and in but a few seconds, the window had reformed itself, as if it was never broken.
Just like Glynda… How did he-
"Alright, enough staring.", he clapped his hands and smiled, "I've come to talk, Ozpin."
I frowned, "Who sent you?"
"Does it matter?", He shrugged, "I have a better question for you."
Then, from inside of his coat, he grabbed something of white and black color, and then threw it at my feet.
It was… a head, and it was…
Oh, by the brothers…
"Do you know who this goddess was?", he asked me.
I didn't know how to answer that.
The head looked still fresh, her eyes were showing surprise and horror, and it was still bleeding from the neck, onto the floor.
"Salem…", I whispered.
"So, that's how she was called? Meh, I heard better names for evil gods.", He said it like it was the most mundane thing in the world.
My breath hitched, now I understood why my body was starting to fade.
My curse… it has been broken.
Salem.. My love…
"How did you do this?", I asked.
He just smiled at me and shrugged.
"I'm sure if I explain how I did it you wouldn't believe me. Let's just say I lost myself in the heat of a song."
"A song?"
"See? I knew you wouldn't believe me.", He laughed.
"But.. But how?! She was supposed to be immortal!", I yelled.
"Immortal for those who aren't gods like me. But now Salem is no longer my main mission."
"The thing is simple, I need your help.", he said, looking directly into my eyes.
He slowly approached me, my cane was unconsciously not aiming at him anymore.
"What do you want?", I asked.
"The relics.", he bluntly answered.
I raised an eyebrow.
"What do you want with them?"
"Don't worry, I'm not going to collect them to destroy the world.", He patted my shoulder, "My actual mission is collect and protect them. Then, putting them away in a safer place.", and then he pointed at me with one finger, "And I know that you know where they are, and I need that information."
"… I don't know.", I looked away, "I don't even know who you are."
"Does that really matter?", he rolled his eyes as he walked away towards the now fixed window.
"It obviously matters.", I growled, "You killed Salem, and now you present yourself as some kind of god and ask for my help to collect the relics that keeps this world away from a genocide?!"
"That can be a good resume.", He scoffed, "But I think you misunderstand. The relics don't keep this world away from its end… unless they are being used for that purpose."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it. Now that Salem is gone, it won't be too long until another god or goddess of darkness reclaims the throne and looks for these relics. My job is to put them away in a safer place. Outside of this world.", he turned around to face me with a frown, "I know how it sounds, Ozpin, but I'm not an evil good."
"I don't quite think you're a good one, though."
"I never said that either.", He snickered, "I just do my job, and that job is look for the equilibrium between worlds and universes."
"Despite what you said, I don't trust you."
"Why not?", He smiled as he slowly walked up to me, "I didn't tell you any lies, Ozpin. Quite the opposite. It is you who has said more lies than truths during all of your lives."
My eyes narrowed, "What do you know ab-"
Suddenly, he had somehow taken off one of my gloves, revealing one of my hands that was fading away like smoke.
"I know lots of things, Ozpin, and I have been in a lot of worlds before. Trust me when I say that I didn't come here to destroy the world, but to protect and eliminate what can really do it."
There was a long silence after which I sighed and rubbed my temples.
"What do you want to know?"
He smiled politely, "The location of those relics, and also a couple of names."
"The names first."
"Fine.", He nodded, "I want to know more about-", He then stood silent for a few seconds, as if he was listening to someone else, "Ironwood, James Ironwood."
"Ironwood… that's a name I haven't heard in a while.", I admitted, "He is the highest ranking, the general of the Atlas army."
"Did you meet him?"
"He is… was a friend, before the accident."
"Care to explain 'the accident'?", He said as he sat in my chair.
I sighed, "It was a long time ago, during James' wedding. An accident resulted in an explosion that killed his wife and destroyed half of his body."
"Did you know why there was an explosion?"
"It was done by a terrorist from the White Fang, in 'protest' when Ironwood had moved some of his troops between the territories of Menagerie and Mistral. After that, he wasn't the same. He got angry and thirsty for revenge towards the White Fang. And since then, he refused to talk or listen to me."
"I see.", He rubbed his chin, "Okay, I think I have enough on him. What about Illia Amitola?"
"Amitola? From the Amitola Dust Company?"
"Yeah, I also heard about that thing.", He said.
"I remember that she is the heiress of the company, and that she wanted to enter to this academy before her father made her enter an economic school instead."
"Sounds bad. And this company is very big, right?"
"One, if not the most important distributors of Dust on Remnant.", I asserted.
"Good, I will keep that in mind. Tyrian Callows, do you know him?"
"Unfortunately, it's the first time that I hear that name."
He visibly growled at that, "What about Taiyang Xiao Long?"
"Sorry, nothing."
He sighed, "And Arthur Watts?"
"I know he is a scientist from Atlas, but little else."
"Li Ren?"
"I think he was a hunter of Anima, but nothing specific comes to my mind."
"And what about…. Sienna and Ghira Belladonna?"
Oh, those names…
"Yes… I met Ghira before."
"Let me guess, also an 'accident'."
"You guess right", I sadly smiled, "Ghira was a good man. A faunus that didn't want anything but peace between our races. He was in the middle of a passive protest when an unknown man shot at him with a gun."
"Did he get injured?"
"No, he didn't.", I let out a long sigh before continuing, "But Kali did. She didn't survive."
"Who's Kali?"
"She is…. was, his fiancée. After her passing, he only mourned, drowning himself in alcohol, until Sienna comforted him, and months later, they got married, and they are now the leaders of the 'New White Fang'."
He sighed, " What else was I expecting? Stories of love..."
"Is the subject not one to your liking?"
"Not really, but it's pretty annoying to be honest.", He stretched his arms and yawned, "I already had enough with Aphrodite trying to find a significant other for me."
"Aphrodite? Who is-"
"Doesn't matter! Can you tell me who Bartholomew Oobleck is, or was that the name?", he changed the topic.
"Oobleck… I haven't heard that name in a while..."
"So, he's dead?"
"I don't know… He went on an expedition to the deserts of Vacuo to investigate an artifact, but he never came back."
"Mhmm...", he hummed as he leaned his head against the chair and took out a whisky bottle from his coat that was covered in dried blood. He took a long sip from it and then continued, "Alright, I think that's all the names I need to hear, and now, the relics, please?"
I let out a heavy sigh.
"Follow me."
I walked towards the elevator, not even noticing when the man had stepped beside me, walking along with me silently, and I also noticed that Salem's head was nowhere to be seen. He must have taken it again. When we were both inside of the elevator, I took out my keys to open a secret panel on the elevator.
I pressed the button that would bring us to the secret valve, and once the doors closed, we remained silent. There was no awkwardness or tension, but simply silence.
Once the door opened again, we were on an underground floor, the one that Amber was being sheltered within. Despite that, If this man tried to harm her, I would stop him on the moment.
"The relics are held behind that gate.", I pointed to said crimson colored gate, surrounded by a garden of poppies, as we walked, "Unfortunately, however, these gates can only be opened by the power of a maiden."
"What's a maiden?", he asked.
"… You know about the relics but you don't know about the maidens?", I raised an eyebrow.
"Lilith never told me about maidens.", he shrugged, "Probably because her omniscience powers have been somewhat failing since we came here."
"Lilith? Who is Li-"
"Tell me more about these maidens and where I can find them."
I tensed and he noticed.
"I'm not going to hunt them if that's what you are afraid of.", He reassured me.
"… Okay, there are four maidens in this world; winter, fall, summer and spring. All of them have an incredible power that is related to their corresponding season, and they are the only ones who can open these gates. Unfortunately, I don't know of the current ones' names or locations." I lied.
"Don't worry about that. Once Lilith fixes her little problem, it won't be necessary to ask for any names.", He said and he turned to the gate. And then he started to walk towards it, "Besides, you are wrong about one thing."
Suddenly, he pressed his left hand that had the symbol of two arcs against the rock gate, and just as suddenly, it glowed red, creating the form of a dodecahedron on the gate. And then, it slowly opened.
"Not only maidens can open this, but gods too.", then he winced a little, "But it costs a big amount of energy though, so it's not very recommendable.", He bitterly snickered.
"Wow…", So he is truly a god, or at least, someone who can control magic, like Salem and I.
"Don't look so surprised, it's just a door."
Once the gate was completely open, we could see what was behind it; a big black abyss in the ground.
"Hah, reminds me of that time with Manus.", the blonde man murmured, but I did not hear him to well.
"Manus?", I asked.
"Don't worry, just a name from my past adventures.", He bluntly explained before leaning closer towards the abyss. And without thinking twice, he just jumped in it, much to my own shock.
It wasn't until three minutes later that he came back from the same abyss, and this time with a golden crown in his right hand.
He landed on one foot as he said, "Superhero Landing! Not very healthy for the knees though."
"Are you done?", I asked.
"Pretty much, yes.", he shrugged before putting the crown inside of his coat. "Now, where can I find the other relics?"
I sighed, "There are other huntsmen academies out there, in Vacuo, Mistral and Atlas. But I'll warn you, those gates can be more difficult to enter than this one."
"I know what I'm doing, Oz."
"Don't. Call. Me. Oz."
There was a long silence after that while we were walking, he was behind me and I didn't bother to turn around to look at him.
"Damn, someone is a little bit mad!", he practically sang out.
"I'm not your friend to call me by any nicknames."
"Who said I want friends? I prefer allies."
"It isn't the same to you?"
"Allies can do whatever they want and they can leave after their job with you is done. Besides, I can't remember the last time I had a friend too well aside from them stabbing me in the chest.", he said it like it was the most mundane thing.
"In the chest?"
"Yes. And I can tell you more, but hey, we are not friends, nor allies.", he said firmly and stoically. He didn't sound mad, or sad, or depressed, Just somewhat bored and without any sign of emotion.
When we were both in the elevator again, I pressed a button, this time back towards the main floor.
After a couple of seconds, I asked, "What will happen to me now?"
"Excuse me?"
"Now that my curse has broken, what will happen to me?"
"Why would I know? You will probably finally be free and will finally be able to rest."
"But... the academy..."
"The academy will be fine. An empire doesn't fall that easily… most of the times."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, I was just divagating. The thing is, Salem is dead. You will finally achieve peace, the relics will be in a safer place and the world will be a safer place filled with happiness once I'm done with my job."
I wasn't completely sure, but it seemed that he said 'peace and happiness' with a hint of sarcasm.
I sighed, "I can't believe that this is the end. I always thought Salem was unkillable during all this time…"
"All things have to die someday, Ozpin."
"But Salem was supposed to be immortal."
"Immortal for those who don't have a power like mine; Gods can kill other gods as long as they have the permission and the ability to do it, and I certainly had both.", He smirked proudly.
"Tell me… what is your name?", I stared at his visibly dull eye which didn't show any sign of emotion.
In that same instant, the doors of the elevator opened and in front of us was a big group of police officers with their weapons ready and aiming at us. At the back was a female officer who had a megaphone. I noticed Glynda there too, with a concerned but angry expression.
"You! The blonde with the coat!", the female officer shouted through the megaphone, "You are under arrest for the murder of Roman Torchwick!"
Roman… Torchwick? The man that was being searched for and chased after by both the Vale and Atlas authorities and armies because of all the heists that he had committed in the past few years?
I heard the blonde next to me chuckling, and I turned around and saw him smirking at me with a soft, yet dark smile.
"My name is Arc, and I'm The Murderer God."
With that, the man ran towards a nearby window, ignoring the yells of the police force that told him to stop and the vain attempts of someone using a taser gun that somehow passed through his body, like smoke. He jumped to the window and broke through it, but once he was outside of the building, he had disappeared.
Murderer God… What did he mean by that?
I was very deep in thought that I didn't even notice some of the officers and Glynda coming closer to me while the rest were searching for Arc.
"Ozpin… what is happening to your hands?", I could hear Glynda asking worriedly.
I shook my head and then I noticed that my hands, and also my feet, were fading quicker than before, and I also felt weaker.
Just like back when everything had begun
I stared at Glynda's eyes and I gave her a sad smile.
"Goodbye, Glynda."
And then, my entire body became not but ashes. My soul was free and everything went dark...
Arc…
Why did I think that I had heard that name before…
Author Notes: Sorry for the wait, I couldn't do too much last month because of some exams and things, aside from my computer that died last month.
Also, don't worry, my other story is going to be updated soon, just wait a little more!
I hope you enjoyed it, and see you in the next update!