Chapter 13

The Winter Veil

Three weeks had passed, and after that time, they only just began to make progress. It seemed the closer they got to the raging snow storm, the more frequent Merlot's signs became. But no matter what the argument, the Mistral teams refused to go any nearer to the snow storm.

"It may just be superstition, but that snow storm is cursed. They say that anyone who goes into that storm never returns. At least, not the same as they once were." The leader of team FYRR (Fire) said.

"Even still, you can't deny the evidence. If that place truly is believed to be cursed, why wouldn't he try hiding there? It's the perfect hiding place!" Ruby tried to reason.

"If you and your team want to go in, be my guest. But I am NOT putting myself or my team in that danger." Flare stomped. It was clear that he wouldn't change his mind today, or any time soon. His team seemed too worried to say anything.

"Oh, but you wouldn't believe the rumors we have up north. They say that a great bandit tribe lives inside the snow storm. But in Atlas, we call it the Winter Veil. And they say that the bandit tribe has someone of great intelligence inside the storm, and that they created the Veil to keep their camp from being intruded by Grimm and Huntsmen." Nitro, a teammate of GGNN (Gun) said with a voice of both fear and excitement.

"Bandits, eh? Impossible, they could never amass that kind of technology. Atlas hardly has the technology to create artificial intelligence, and you think bandits have the know-how to make an eternal snow storm?" Rhys, another member of team FYRR, scoffed.

"So you want to miss the glory, even the excitement, of discovering a place that's been lost for generations? Imagine it! We, a ragtag team of huntsmen on the search for Merlot, disassemble an entire group of advanced bandits hiding in an eternal snow storm! And at the same time, bring in Merlot and discover the secrets of the Grimm!" Yang said with a somewhat inspiring tone.

"So what? Like the Grimm deserve to be by our sides." Flare said, a tone of disgust reaching the entire team. His eyes shot to Toothless, and his disgust was furthered. "I've no idea why Ironwood would think of helping that demon."

Unable to keep her emotions in check, Ruby instantly rose up. Her hand twitched with the urge to hit this man, furious with his blind negligence. But before she did, she inhaled sharply and regained herself. "You think you know everything, don't you?" Ruby finally spoke. Even though her body showed timidness, her tone was sterner than Glynda after they were caught in a food fight. "Do you have any idea what this 'demon' has done for you? What we have done together? We showed the world a path to peace that was never thought possible! We destroyed a Grimm that no one else could! We alone renewed the peace that would have been lost should he never have come here!"

Then in that instant, her eyes began to show a soft silver. Even her voice was different, with a slight echo of itself. "I've seen it time and time again, far more times than your family's history! Right now, at this moment, another world is dying because they never knew! Because they didn't have the power to stop him! But I do! My inheritance has saved more lives than you could ever dream of saving!

"And in addition to that, I've seen this exact world fade to dust a thousand times over! I've seen each of the people that died to Grimm. Every. Single. One. Don't tell me who or what deserves to be by our side, kid."

Then immediately after, Ruby fell over, unconscious. It was as if a completely different entity had entered her body and taken control.

But her words struck the teams so hard, they didn't dare make a move. The rage of the silver eyes was more than they could handle. Meanwhile, Ruby didn't want to wake up. Her mouth spouted words she never would dream of saying.

It was far afterwards that everyone began to settle down and go to sleep, while Ruby and Jaune took watch. The tension could be cut by a knife. Then finally, Jaune broke the silence. "So what even happened with you back there?"

Ruby's face turned red. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"S-Sorry." Jaune stammered. But at the same time, he wanted to know how she felt. It was his job not just as a leader, but as a friend. "I just wanted to let you talk, is all. But… well, now I see you did plenty of that."

Ruby simply rolled her eyes with a sigh. "What haven't I done wrong today? First I get us further away from Merlot and then I go and do THAT. Ugh, why did I say those things?"

"I could at least see it wasn't you talking. What happened?" Jaune asked again. He didn't expect Ruby to say anything, and at first, she didn't. And as Jaune was about to switch shifts, Ruby grabbed him by the arm.

"It wasn't me talking." Ruby said at last. Jaune hesitantly sat back down to listen. "It was like a complete stranger entered my mind and started talking through my mouth. I tried so hard to shut up, but words just wouldn't stop coming out. Then when I passed out, I saw new people- people I've never seen before. People… that weren't from this world. A man with a handgun dressed in a red coat, a man hiding behind a mask- even Hiccup was there! They said… they said…"

"What did they say?" Jaune asked, placing his hand on her shoulder. But then, it was as if Ruby had drawn a blank.

"I don't remember. I can see their lips move, but I can't read them." Ruby sighed heavily. She then looked to the stars. They looked different than last night, but they still carried that same beauty. The stardust that made their galaxy, the myth of the city that was the world of other worlds in the sky- every time she saw it, it made her worries wash away. The starlight glimmered and reflected from her silver eyes, as if sending the same message to her.

The next day, they began to make their way closer to the snow storm. However, the other teams retreated from the storm once teams RWBY, JNPR, and Hiccup refused to stop. But the closer they got, the colder it became, and the more they had to stop. It became so bad that it was impossible for Toothless to fly. Then it got to its peak.

The snow rushed so fast that they were blinded by it. They could hardly see their hands in front of their faces, and their winter gear was hardly any help anymore.

"We have to turn back! This is insane!" Jaune shouted.

"We can't! We're so close!" Hiccup shouted back. He tried to unsheathe his sword, but it was instantly extinguished. Even the Hideous Zippleback gas wouldn't ignite. But Ruby insisted that they push forward, certain of their great discovery. Then as all seemed impossible, the snow suddenly stopped. It became a normal storm, and they could finally see again. And then, in front of them, they all saw a giant mountain made of ice and stone. The ice shone a brilliant silver, while the ice seemed to come from the tip of the mountain's peak. From a glance, the mountain was more defensible than any wall a kingdom could have.

After warming to a fire for a few minutes, they set off to investigate the mountain under the Winter's Veil. Eventually, they found a break in the stone base that they could pass through. Inside was a maze of ice and stone that was nearly unsolvable. And to make it more complicated, their weapons hardly made a scratch in both the stone and the ice. Eventually, they realized that the maze only took them in a circle, no matter which path they took.

"Maybe we should look for another entrance. This might be a fake door, so to speak." Pyrrha suggested.

"Yeah, I agree. No point in continuing this." Weiss nodded. But while everyone was talking, Ruby was only looking up. Her mind raced, and then suddenly, a thought came to her head.

"I'm gonna have to say no to that notion." Ruby said with a somewhat blank impression. She then jumped up in a small hole in the top that wasn't apparent before.

"What do you see, Rubes?" Yang asked.

"Well, I'm seeing a very clear path up here, if you wanna see." Ruby then took a photo on her Scroll and jumped back down. Then, without skipping a beat, she went back into the maze. For a moment, the others hesitated before following suit.

It wasn't even a minute before they found the way through. A thin passage through the ice was discovered in a narrow space.

"How the hell did you see that?" Yang asked.

"I dunno. I just saw it." Ruby shrugged. Nobody noticed a small stream of silver escape the side of her eye, but they instead focused on getting through. Then, inside, was a sight beyond their comprehension. It was like an entire palace made of ice, with huge pillars of solid ice holding up the mountain itself. Just from a glance, they knew the ice was strong enough to withstand a meteor. The ice rose several hundred feet into the air, and below them was a pool of diamonds that emitted a brilliant silver light.

"Whoa. This… this is beautiful." Jaune said with an awestruck tone.

"This can't have been a natural formation. But what kind of man could have made this?" Pyrrha hummed.

"Quite right, Pyrrha Nikos." An unfamiliar voice said. Then from above, a figure wrapped in a pure white cloak descended. "This mountain was not made naturally, but it was no man that made it."

"Who are you?" Blake demanded.

"In due time, Blake Belladonna. I understand what spirit you all have to reach this place, so I will not force you out. At least, not yet." The man said. His tone made it clear that he wasn't a people person.

"How do you know our names?" Yang asked.

"A brilliant question, Yang Xiao Long. I am… cursed. With knowledge. I am cursed to know all about everyone who makes it through the Winter's Veil." The man simply said.

"Then you must know where Merlot is, right? He came through here!" Ruby insisted.

"Young Ruby Rose, I am sorry to say that I know not where he is. However, I do know something that will aid you. Please, come." The man demanded. Ruby stepped forward, but when everyone else tried to follow, the man stopped. Then, from seemingly nowhere, he unsheathed a long silver blade.

"Only. Ruby Rose. Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long, you all are to stay here." The man said in an almost robotic tone.

"Just… stay here." Ruby said. The others seemed to tense a little less. "And what about Toothless?"

"The dragon may come." The man said. "I am sure we will have many answers about him that you have been seeking."

Ruby seemed to perk up at that remark. Now she was much more eager to follow. Toothless walked close behind, and they climbed the mountain hundreds of feet, until they were near the peak of the mountain. Then there, they saw a woman wrapped in a silver cloak, similar to the man's.

"So this is the young Ruby Rose, daughter of our Summer Rose." The woman said.

"Yes, ma'am. As well as tamer of Grimm and dragon." The man nodded.

"Oh yes, and the paradox." The woman said, with her gaze clearly aimed at Toothless.

"Do you know what he is?" Ruby asked.

"All too well." The woman stood up as she said this, then she put her hands together, and the ice above them began to change colors. In an instant, the once blank room became a form of observatory. There was a center light in the room, which sprouted into thousands upon millions of smaller lights. Some, brighter than others.

"What is this?" Ruby asked in awe.

"This is the multiverse. An infinite strand of universes created by one. The center universe, we call the Ultimate Core Universe. Then, there are the normal Core Universes, the worlds that the beings of the UCU created. Then those Core Universes create strand universes, weaker than the Cores, but still substantial. Millions of trillions of years ago, there was a stability in the multiverse. But then, one world was born, that birthed with it a dark power.

"It was a universe of fire and darkness, and from both, came a great evil. At first, he went by one name: Iserrule. But eventually, he was dubbed by other names, like Distortion, Chaos, or the Last Chapter. Each of those names, he rightfully earned. His power was a dreadful one, able to stockpile energy and release it to destroy physical objects. And, if he store enough, entire universes."

"This… that's impossible. There's no way someone can have that kind of power!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Reality doesn't care what is possible." The woman said. Then Ruby noticed a lot of the lights vanish. "Distortion has killed thousands upon millions of universes, and all of them have been string universes. He does not have the power yet to destroy a Core Universe. But if he is unchecked, he will very soon have that power."

"However, it will be very difficult for him to destroy the Ultimate Core Universe. It has a… special energy to it, that repels his influence. The closer the universe is to the UCU, the less likely it is that Iserrule will destroy it." The man said. "But that doesn't make it invincible. There are a number of Core Universes that have already fallen to Iserrule."

The thought of an infinite multiverse was plausible to Ruby, but one thing didn't connect to her. "Why are you telling me this?" She asked.

"Because you are a bearer of the Silver Eyes." They then dropped their hoods, and both of them also had silver eyes. "We have sworn an oath to protect the worlds from Iserrule, because we are the only ones who can."

"Why us? What's so special about our eyes?!" Ruby exclaimed.

"That… that is a story that dates back to over two thousand years ago." The woman said. She enhanced to a dimmed light, but a light that somehow shone brilliantly. "Since you bear the silver eyes, you are worthy to understand our past."