Chapter 24 – A Crooked Family

Kassius

The wind howls within the structure that feels like it has been buried…however that is because they are now underground. Yet even down here they can still hear and feel the Dragon circling the demolished colony on Vytal, the wind whistling through the holes in its wide membranes of thin skin that connect the long Wyvern Wings together. Velvet and Kassius both approach the Arkhoni Door that they found, all of them with their weapons at the ready.

Velvet looks at the door, feeling the stone and the carvings across it. Kassius lifts his hand and he activates the bracelet that the Architect built for the team. The holographic ray of blue light shines upon the markings, forming the letters that are left behind after thousands of years.

Those who seek knowledge, shall find it with open eyes…

Though those who seek power, shall find it struck into their hearts…

"Interesting statement." Kassius says as he lowers his hand down from the door, looking to Velvet, who clearly is still shaking with fear of the Grimm Dragon that circles above the school right now. Its roars have been burned into her memory from that day that will never be forgotten in the History Books of Remnant…if there will be a history to be remembered.

"So…anyone else wondering why a Map Room is being talked about like it is some sort of library?" Cardin inquires as he walks towards the door, looking at the words that Kassius brought up on the device created by the Architect.

"That's a good question." Kassius agrees, and Emerald looks at them.

"Maybe there's more than just maps in this place." Emerald suggests with the shrug of her shoulders, drawing her scythes as she stands at the ready, letting the curved blades fold out from the green hilts. Kassius takes his cybernetic hand and he presses it against the stone door, turning to the others.

"Well…let's go and find out." Kassius says, pushing hard against it, using all the strength in the metal arm, pushing his shoulder against it. The Stone Door scrapes across the ground, a deep heavy groan leaving the door itself, and Cardin gives him a pair of helping hands. He presses against it, pushing as hard as he can, gritting his teeth as they both force it open. The door slides open, and the others move forward with their weapons raised, Velvet summons a carbon copy of Gambol Shroud, looking around as she walks inside of the dark labyrinth in here. The blue light shines across the holographic blades as she stands there, long bunny ears twitching when she hears every single sound around her. From the sound of the wind blowing through the door they just opened after centuries of being left closed, to the sound of stones falling from where they were stood outside.

Coco aims her Chaingun down the ancient labyrinth of stone, long cobwebs hanging down from the ceiling, slowly spinning the barrels round with the left trigger on the huge machine gun. Emerald aims both of her revolver Scythes down there too, the three of them advancing slowly before Kassius and Cardin, who both begin to move ahead behind them, drawing their weapons too. Cardin pulls his mace from his armour, spinning it through his fingers as he follows them, and Kassius thrusts his Vulcan Nox Bracers downwards to activate them, loading fresh bullets form the magazines.

Kassius looks around as he listens, staying extremely aware of his surroundings at all times, knowing that something or someone could be watching him right now. But as he walks, he can tell that someone is definitely still watching…as when he walks past a small dark opening in the tunnel, he sees in the corner of his eyes the glowing red eyes of the Grimm Terror Bird that attacked him.

He jolts like he has just been shocked by electricity, the scars on his body begin to throb from phantom pains, the best way to describe it is like someone pressing a superheated iron against him at all times. The feeling of those claws digging into him, the beak slamming into his spine that still gives him some back pain even now. His aura did a good job repairing the damage to his vertebrae, arms and ribs, but he still has damage to his bones in those areas. There is only so much that the benefits of aura can repair, thus why some people still get scars.

Kassius stares at the darkness, and all he can see are rocks and webs where some venomous spiders scuttle about in their impressive webs…leaving his heart pounding. Emerald stops, looking back at Kassius so she walks over to him, seeing that look of fear on his face. "Are…you okay?" Emerald asks him, he closes his eyes with a shaky sigh.

"Yeah…totally fine." Kassius assures, turning and walking away from it as he reaches to his back and rubs it, remembering the terrible feeling of when that Terror Bird slammed its beak into his spine. The bang that it made, it was like a thunderous clap and crunch at the exact same time.

Emerald shakes her head, for she is not like the other people in their team that she hardly knows…because he seems to have very similar mannerisms or wording that Cinder Fall uses practically all the time. His voice breaks and he quickly walks away, so Emerald stops him with her voice. "Does it have something to do with your arm?" Emerald asks him with curiosity, since Cinder never told her anything about Kassius since she buried that part of her past when they first met.

Kassius glances down at his cybernetic arm, bringing back more painful memories, remembering when he lost his team. Watching as their corpses decayed away before his very eyes when he first ever saw the Knight of Death…

Many of them forget that of all the students, he was the first one to ever see any of the Knights. But most of Team S.T.R.Q met them long before even he did…that all seems so long ago now.

Kassius turns and looks at her, noticing the others are still walking ahead. So, he keeps moving and Emerald walks beside him. "No…I didn't lose my arm here…but I was attacked when I was a child here." Kassius explains as he walks beside her, pulling his sleeve back to show some of the claw scars on his human arm, and Emerald slowly starts to notice what he is getting at. "When the Grimm attacked, Cinder and I tried to get to the Evac Shuttles…but when we were headed that way the civilians kept pushing us out of the way. When we got close…a Grimm Terror bird attacked me after I helped Cinder up a wall." Kassius explains, and Emerald looks up at him with shocked eyes.

Kassius clenches his hand into a fist, hearing the screeches of the monster in the back of his mind. The razor-sharp beak biting down into his flesh and attempting to devour him alive. "I was only a kid, and I still have scars everywhere from that thing…but…I was lucky, because Taiyang saved me." Kassius explains as he looks down at the floor, a tear falling from his eye as he remembers his rescuer. "He saved my life…and I couldn't save his…what kind of a Huntsman am I?" He questions, since he also could not save his team either – he still feels extremely uncomfortable about being in a team again, because he does not want to be responsible for the loss of his team anymore.

In that situation?

He would rather fall than watch everyone else fall.

Kassius walks ahead of Emerald and she looks at him, feeling bad for the Huntsman that she once engaged in intense combat with years ago with Cinder at her side. Emerald walks beside him, but in the corner of her eye she can see the bloodied body of Mercury watching her every move. A large hole in his chest where the blood has poured out absolutely everywhere, on the floor and the clothes that he wears. His skin turned pale from death and his eyes faded to grey, giving her a chill when she sees him.

But…she keeps moving, not facing her fear in the background.

Velvet walks with the feeling of insects crawling all over her skin, her fear of fire and the dragon itself combined has made her terrified of the monster that circles Vytal right now. All they can hope for now is that Salem has not located their Peregrine and destroyed it, so they keep moving as fast as they can in the vain hope that the Map Room will help them locate the way into Arkhonex.

Coco also walks with her eyes carrying tears, seeing the hallucination of her dead sister again truly did bring back some pain for her. Something she always hides from people, because everyone has always believed she would be the one to stay strong even in the darkest of times. That much strain on a person must make it difficult for someone like her, but somehow, she has always kept her cool.

Or at least…with the sunglasses on…that's what it looks like.

Cardin walks beside Coco with his mace in his hand, his violet eyes staring ahead, so stern looking it is like he is trying to ignore something. He glances to a puddle on the ground that he walks past, and his reflection is different…a dark shadowy figure with horns staring back at him with a faint hiss, forming into the faces of Russel, Dove and Sky – all of them staring up at him from the rippling water. He closes his eyes, feeling guilt eating away at his heart as he walks, gripping his mace tighter and tighter.

Velvet moves on, past the pillars that hold the ceiling up where all that rock stands above their heads. As she walks past a corner, her eyes suddenly meet those of the red eyes of Salem. Velvet shrieks in terror, staggering backwards and right into the arms of Cardin, then Coco shoves Cardin away with a scowl on her face. Cardin glares at her, the tension between them is getting worse every single time that he and Velvet ever interact, and it is clear that Salem knows that.

They have never seen Salem use this power before, the ability to form an apparition of herself that appears and communes with her enemies whenever she needs to. She holds her hands behind her back, her armour formed around her black dress with razor sharp bone armour built around her body, one pauldron on her shoulder larger than the other. Salem walks towards them and Kassius draws Lash Equinox, pointing it right to her face with a scowl on his face.

Salem looks at each of them with no smile on her face, but she speaks with pure clarity. "The five of you are so different yet so similar in every single way." Salem states with what sounds like awe in her voice as she looks at Velvet, towering above her as she examines her small frame. Her apparition walks straight through her shoulder, a black smoke pulsing from her form as she phases through her body.

"Didn't take you for a poet." Kassius snarls, his eyes glaring right into hers – where the others are terrified of her, Kassius just stands fearlessly – hell, he is the only one that is pointing his sword at her face. Even though he would not be able to do a thing to her since she is up in the sky right now atop the Grimm Dragon.

"There are many things about me that you do not know, Kassius Locke…" She softly says, her voice almost affectionate as she walks towards him, standing right before the blade. Kassius narrows his amber eyes as he glares at the Dark Queen, he has plenty of hatred pinned on this woman because of what she did to his sister, how she corrupted her heart and tortured her. "You remind me a lot of her…she was a good student – for a time."

"She is better than you could ever know." Kassius snarls.

"I do know, Kassius – she never disappointed me, I guess in a way I am proud of her for turning against me. I never wanted her to be a mindless drone like the Grimm, or to fall like Tyrian. She was like Arthur Watts – someone who was never afraid to speak their opinion against my own. The fact she had the bravery to turn against me…and Vir Nominis Umbra…that is strength that even I can respect. I may not agree with her decision, but I do respect her." Salem explains, showing her to still be the enemy they all face, but the enemy that has plenty of respect for her foes.

Just like Vir Nominis Umbra does.

"You won't touch her again." Kassius growls.

"We will see where our paths take us, Mr Locke." Salem says, walking onwards, looking at the other people here. She looks at Emerald and stops, staring straight into her red eyes and she narrows them. "The thief…I am surprised to see you alive…a shame Mercury Black was not so lucky that night." Salem states, not smirking like Vir Nominis Umbra, again as if she is showing compassion. Emerald twitches her eye, drawing her weapons and grits her teeth with outrage.

"You best watch your tongue, or else you might lose it!" Emerald yells in anger, pointing her blades at Salem's face. Salem forms a small smile on her face as she walks to Emerald's shoulder slowly, speaking softly.

"Those who walk on brittle bones must not run." Salem states, being as poetic as ever with her threatening statements – basically telling her to remember that she is just a thief, and would never stand a chance against her. The words run cold through Emerald's blood, causing her pupils and irises to shrink with terror. "Where all of you have strength you have weakness, take Emerald. She could have saved Mercury back when they attempted to save Ruby Rose and Oscar Pine from my custody. She had plenty of time to attack Krekras before he struck the killing blow…but she didn't. And do you know why?"

Salem stares at Emerald again, standing in the middle of the five, her red eyes burning right into Emerald's soul. "Because, she is a coward…a thief…and that is all she will ever be." Salem whispers as she walks towards Emerald, then stares down at her, making Emerald shrink in fear. Salem turns and stares at Coco, and knowing of what happened to her sister. "Where you constantly uphold your appearance and status, you are still just as broken inside as everyone here. Because you did not keep an eye on your sister, she died…and you failed." Salem snarls as she walks towards Coco, but the Huntress glares her back, but inside it hurts…that knife of judgement cutting deep.

Next Salem turns her attention to the sweet and innocent Velvet Scarlatina, who is already shrinking down with fear of the pale skinned woman, her white hair splayed out like the legs of a spider. "And you, who hides behind her own pity – when refusing to admit that envy poisons her heart." Salem states, staring down at her, before walking ahead, leaving her scared of what she just said.

Finally…

She arrives at Kassius and Cardin, looking at both of them at once. Salem's words leave something rather curious echoing between their minds. "And the two of you, have something that lurks within you, where one was a parasite and now has become symbiotic…the other is nothing more than a disease…eating away at him." Salem states, Kassius knows which one he is, but then he looks at Cardin whose eyes are darting around with nervousness.

In his head, Cardin starts muttering constantly. How could she know that?

Salem now looks directly at Kassius as she lifts her hand up slowly, flexing her fingers, dark magic flowing between her digits, causing the veins to glow red. "We all have a forgotten past…the most important thing…is to remember!"

Salem suddenly presses her hand against Kassius' head and he grunts in pain, unaware that everyone else have just fallen to their knees as well as their surroundings transform around them. The stone and the wooden supports crumble away and instead there is soil and blood, absolutely everywhere. Screams echoing for miles and flames rising so high that they pierce through the clouds. The moon shattered completely in the smoking sky and not a single star in the night.

The Grimm wiping everything out, nothing surviving their wrath, monsters so massive and terrifying that they have never encountered yet.

Kassius groans as he looks at his hands, blood covering the palms and ash stuck in them. He stares across the area to see Velvet on the ground with a body right next to her. A Grimm dragging it away to feast on the remains, blood covering the thick black fur. Kassius then pushes his knee against the floor then presses his hand against the over bent knee.

Until he notices…

That both his arms are humanoid…

And his clothes are completely different. "What the hell?" He questions, noticing that this is not his voice either. He shakes his head, before he realises that this is not his memory – but someone else's.

Because then he looks down at his reflection in the evaporating blood contaminated puddle in the ground.

With a top hat on his head and a red Trickster's Suit on with pale skin and fiery orange eyes…this is not him.

It is Mr. Hyde.

And walking out from the burning buildings with the skeleton of a man in its burning hand, is some kind of demonic entity. Covered in flames and brimstone, rage in the eyes – but it is not Axzura Vex, because it does not look the same. It also has sharp burning wings flayed out from its back, snarling softly.

Yet…

There is something familiar about it.

Hyde

Everything is somehow so familiar and so new to him, feeling the alien air in this alien universe, death and destruction however appear to be a theme that follows no matter what universe you find yourself residing inside of. Hyde presses his hand against his knee as he rises up, glancing over at Kassius behind him who is still taken aback by everything that he sees…because this world…this reality…is not their own.

The people being killed everywhere are not Human or Faunus, yet they look hominid in nature, with two legs, two arms and a bipedal stance. They have hair that seems to glow too, markings tattooed across their skin that flicker and glow, skin that appears to be blue as well. None of them are from the universe they know, or the world that they know. But despite the differences, the Grimm are still here in full force. Beowulves attacking the people savagely, tearing them apart, piece by piece. Blood caking their fur and smudging all over their razor sharp and jagged teeth.

Nevermores, Manticores and Griffins screech above their heads as they tear the cities apart, dragons burning the grassland, extinguishing all life. But the most intimidating of them all is the huge Grimm that flies above their heads right now. Like some kind of serpent with heavily armoured plates of bone covering the black muscle underneath, nearly all of it in fact. Four glowing red eyes constructed into the skull, the massive head opening with a roar as red energy and lightning crackles in the jaws. Then it suddenly fires, blasting the city with its power, burning everything, it came in contact with into ashes, some things even turn to glass. It is long, and has what appears to be six huge…fins, almost…like wings that slowly move to keep in in the air, and then two long pincer arms connect to where the shoulders of any other animal would be. The creature descends and with one of the massive arms it crushes the peak of a tower with ease, destroying it instantly.

It's haunting roars echo for miles and vibrates through their souls.

They all stare with horror as the smoke pollutes the air, choking all life to death, whether it is sentient, or cell based, nothing is surviving this attack. The fires burn so hot that they cannot even tell that the Shivering Dominion has begun for this universe, but all the snow has melted away, and all the ice cannot be seen.

This is clearly what awaits them…

…if they do not destroy Vir Nominis Umbra first.

Hyde stands with shock, whilst everyone looks at him with disbelief, some of them more shocked to see that Hyde really does exist and is not some kind of idea that Kassius came up with to explain some strange Semblance.

He really is a Higher Demon…

And now he sees his younger self emerging from the flames, standing as the tallest of them all bar the Lord of the Wood, the fire flows from his body like that of a cape, very similar to the one that the Knight of Death has. Except this cape is pure fire, no smoke at all, just fire and death, spreading annihilation with every step he takes. It is interesting too, because the Ebony Berserker's eyes are closer to what Kassius looks like when Hyde takes over in rage. Cracking the skin, causing the embers and fire to bleed through the cracks where his burning eyes are buried within his sockets.

The Ebony Berserker snarls, continuing to drag the charred skeleton across the floor, before crushing the skull in his massive hand. The monster barks as a man swings an axe into his back, not even making Lusus Naturae flinch. The Ebony Berserker spins round, grabbing the man by the throat with his burning hand, and the screeches of torture that echo from him send chills through their spines, nearly making them sick. They stare in horror as his flesh slowly begins to burn and peel away from his muscle, bones cracking and crumbling away.

Until nothing remains but ashes, leaving Hyde horrified as he looks at his hands. He turns to see Salem behind him, now in her familiar black dress she always wore, walking towards them as she speaks. "You see, Vir Nominis Umbra has granted me many abilities – Berserker – and one of them was knowledge, the memories of abandoned pasts." Salem explains as she walks towards them all, walking past Mr Hyde who steps back, and he shakes his head.

"T-That's not me!" Hyde yells with anguish, desperately not wanting to believe that he is some form of Higher Demon, especially one which works for Vir Nominis Umbra. Salem extends her hand and points ahead of them, so they all turn in the direction, to see some other familiar entities. One is a Leshen, however this Spirit of Nature and Duty has not lost its antler from Nora's father yet. The Lord of the Wood has also killed many here, struck them down with his razor-sharp clawed hands or with the roots that he can summon from the ground of through his body. They watch as he uses his transformable body to his advantage, walking towards some desperate brave warriors, forming an axe attached to a long thick root. He launches it forward, stabbing it into the ribcage of that soldier, blood spraying everywhere as it ends his life instantly. The Lord of the Wood swings him round and clatters him right into the other soldiers, so hard that the sound of all those bones breaking in one moment has an echo behind it.

Then to the other side is the Onyx Phantom, taking the form of someone that they do not know since it is from another universe, and just like it does here, the body has been morphed into the monster that they know. The face crumbling away into burning orange embers, fiery orange eyes and jet-black hair instead of the blonde that the woman once had. The Onyx Phantom wields a black and gold spear that it stabs through the throat of the woman crawling away that it has taken the form of. The Onyx Phantom carries with it a demented smile on its insane face, twisting the spearhead in her throat, blood pouring everywhere, ripping it out. The body crumbles away, then they see the entity turn and become what appears to be a silhouette of burning orange ashes, walking towards the centre.

"This…is your dark secret you have let your amnesia bury, Ebony Berserker." Salem states as she walks up to his shoulder, looking at him with a stern look on her face. Hyde stammers, staring at the burning demon that walks through the burning city, the ground cracking and burning with every step that he takes. "You are the fourth fragment of the Onyx Brotherhood, formed by Vir Nominis Umbra. This is not a curse, this is not a lie – but simply the truth. Do not forget that, Ebony Berserker."

"My name – is Hyde!" Hyde argues, roaring with fury, and in that moment they all hear the exact same voice of the Ebony Berserker that stands here in this memory. Releasing a roar to the sky, fire rising into the sky.

"You are now, because you failed." Salem states as she holds her hands behind her back, standing in the middle of the group who all look around. Velvet stares down at her feet with shock on her face, seeing the dead eyes looking up at her of a civilian that was cut down by the Onyx Phantom. Kassius cannot even find words to speak, for seeing all of this for the first time, yet somehow it all feels like he remembers it.

It is very hard to explain, but the feeling is there.

Mr Hyde walks towards Salem with that cane he has always given himself in his hand, ready to attack Salem if he has to. "What the hell are you talking about, Salem?" Hyde questions with a snarl, his eyes glaring right at her calm red ones.

"You disappointed Vir Nominis Umbra, decided you wanted to change your ways…and just as he already told you…he bound you to the firstborn child of Doctor Archer Merlot. He knew you would find a perfect subject to torment…yet somehow…the two of you have formed a symbiotic bond. It appears even Vir Nominis Umbra cannot predict every outcome." Salem explains, walking round Hyde and then Kassius who looks at the scared entity…the more human he becomes, the more human he actually looks. In the past Mr Hyde's form used to look horridly deformed, long crooked limbs and body with torn skin.

Now his shape is straight, and the skin looks less pale, and completely intact. It is not just his personality that has changed but even his soul has changed…and when they all look at what he once was…it is clearer now more than ever. "I…am not…a monster." Hyde snarls, denying the truth every single chance he gets.

"You played the part of the Executioner, the one that was used to bring about the death and destruction of whoever Vir Nominis Umbra pointed you at. You were nothing more than a weapon…and even now…you still are. Just a weapon for Kassius to let loose when he cannot finish the fight himself." Salem explains, practically whispering into his mind, and Hyde glances at Kassius.

"You're lying, Salem. Hyde and I? We're a team, I guess that isn't something the likes of you would truly understand." Kassius challenges as he walks around Salem, glaring at the tall woman who looks at him. She smiles, sinisterly at him.

"Interesting, for you believe this to be true. But at the end of the day, this is all he will ever be. A tool." Salem states, walking past Hyde, they all look over their shoulders to find the Dark Queen.

But she's gone.

They look ahead, seeing the Ebony Berserker kneeling down to him, as they see Vir Nominis Umbra walking through the smoke and the darkness. The caws of thousands of crows and ravens echo all around them, some of them burning with their crystal beaks glowing fiercely. Vir Nominis Umbra clasps his fingers together but there is no smile on his face, the Lord of the Wood and the Onyx Phantom do the same thing as the Ebony Berserker.

And there is another ally here, who looks like a normal man unlike the others. He kneels down and bows his head, with a rifle on his back and his eyes closed. Most likely another follower like the Father of the Congregation of Dawn. Blinded by his beliefs, and most likely will die because of it.

Vir Nominis Umbra lifts up his hand up, then they see the glowing stones rising from his palm. One of them glowing with a white hue, another with a green one, the other blue and the other black with red sparks crackling off it.

The four Relics…

They existed in other Universes as well. They all float up above his head, slowly rotating above him, and then as he stares right ahead of the universe, he grits his teeth as he clenches his hand into a fist. They all gasp with shock., witnessing the Relic of Destruction shattering, then all the others break apart as well.

Where they expected some kind of explosion, something else happened instead. The surviving people look around in terror, but then…they seem to drain. All memory fading away in seconds, everything they had ever learned, everyone they ever met, wiped from their memory…even knowledge of themselves. All of them trying to understand who they are, then they look at their bodies as they begin to turn pale. The skin peels and crumbles away into a powdery dust.

Everyone turns to ash around them, fading away…and none of them move, since they lose all choice in their decisions. With no choice, they could not even move, or think, or even breathe. Their physical forms break away into ashes, and they do not even scream, or even feel it…because everything they were has just disappeared before their very eyes.

And everything that the relics created…

Is destroyed as well, crumbling away into dust around them, the sky collapsing, air fading away, the suns supernova or collapse.

They watch the memory with horror…

As everything…

Is wiped clean.

Destroying an entire universe.

Kannix

What has been an hour in his home Universe…

Has been months…nearly a year of training…in the other.

Time between Universes is extremely confusing, and the strangest part of all of it, is that it has not even felt like it has been that long for him. It seriously feels like it has been a few hours. The Charred Forest is such a damaged Realm that time does not flow correctly here, and that the days pass by faster than normal…or at least they feel like it. With not one star in the sky, not even a sun…it gets very difficult to figure out what the time is here, because clocks spiral out of control here.

Which is why the Onyx Phantom and Vir Nominis Umbra train their warriors here, since they lose no time in the universe they are tearing apart.

Kannix rushes towards the Onyx Phantom who merely walks, firing his cannon which gets deflected by the sharp mirrored blade. The shell shatters and flares into a display of red dust, igniting into flames around the blade. The Onyx Phantom channels that fire through the blade, slashing it straight at the Spectre. Kannix parries, the two blades meet, and they release one almighty metallic bang, sparks ringing out from both sides, and the Onyx Phantom staggers back, so does Kannix.

The Assassin uses his skills he has collected over the thousands of years he has lives, rushing through the dead burned plants, and he grabs onto the ashes and throws them at his face. The ashes land in the silver irises and the Phantom snarls in anger, staggering back from it, shaking his head. Kannix rolls towards him, and as he comes up and uppercuts with the blade still extended, slicing up the jaw of his own mirror image, causing the Onyx Phantom to grunt as he staggers back. The Phantom snarls, grabbing onto Kannix and throwing him across the ash covered grassland which has been burned over time.

Kannix slams his hook into the ground, dragging it through the powdery soil that has been poisoned in ash to slow himself down. The ash spouts up from the ground, but he wastes no time, pointing his cannon behind him and firing it, riding the recoil. He slams his hook straight into the metal shoulder of the Onyx Phantom, and he rolls over his back, ripping the arm clean off his shoulder, breaking the metal pieces apart.

The Onyx Phantom snarls in pain, staggering across the ground as an arm formed from burning embers begins to form.

He jumps up in the air, latching his hook round the throat of the Onyx Phantom, twisting round and slamming the demon into the ground. The Phantom jumps up and kicks his leg right at the source of the image he is reflecting. Kannix ducks down, just dodging it before he aims his cannon and fires it directly at the Onyx Phantom, hitting him in the chest. As he tries to get back up, Kannix swings the long-serrated blade extended from the wrist of his arm towards his face.

Only to stop, knowing that he finally beat the Onyx Phantom, meaning he is ready to take on the armour and has the skills to take the rank. The Onyx Phantom grins and chuckles, since he used that attack to take out the other arm, so then the other is under his control. "I win." Kannix tells the Onyx Phantom and the demon chuckles, nodding his head.

"It seems you have…well done." The Onyx Phantom compliments, and Kannix feels the sensation of a breeze once more, a feeling that was not apparent in the Charred Forest. Snow begins to fall around him, and the ground morphs back into the jagged snow-capped mountains of Mistral. He looks around to see Neo sat on the bench with her armour worn on her body, the hood back and the mask resting on her knee. She looks good in the armour, and honestly so does he. He no longer needs to use whatever he can find to survive, now he can actually use armour that was built for him.

A slow clap resounds from behind him, so Kannix turns to see the Soothsayer emerging from the tent with his hands held at his side as he approaches. The Spectre's long brown hair blows in the wind as he stares at the Leader of the Decimation, slowly clapping three times with a smile. "Congratulations, Kannix Volantis…you proved me wrong. Seems you do have what it takes to inherit the power of the Onyx Phantom." Vir Nominis Umbra states as he nods his head, and Kannix stands tall, Neo standing up as well.

"I tend to surprise people." Kannix states, not carrying the same sort of humble nature that their foes have with them. Honestly that is one of the reasons behind why Vir Nominis Umbra does not respect him as much as the people who try and stop him from destroying their entire existence.

"Indeed." He replies through forced cheer, walking towards him, holding his hands together like he always does. Neo still looks quite intimidated by the Soothsayer, like most people are – but for some reason Kannix stands with some kind of certainty in him, like he thinks he is above the Soothsayer.

All it takes is one mistake and he will learn how false that thinking really is.

But like Vir Nominis Umbra always does, he does not even bring up the fact that he has a pretty low view on Kannix. He just approaches and continues with what he was going to say in the first place. "Now you are both the new Messiah's for the Onyx Phantom, thus from now you will follow my orders. And you will not go against them, I do not punish failure if it is acceptable…but I do punish those who go against their word." Vir Nominis Umbra warns as he holds his hands behind his back, acting more like some sort of general now. Most likely because that is the nature of a leader in the world that they live in, making it that much easier to manipulate their hearts.

The hearts of men and women are easily swayed, after all.

"Understood." Kannix agrees, Vir Nominis Umbra looks at Neo and the look of fear in her sweet eyes is enough of an answer for him. He knows she would never turn against him, because she still bares the scars of what he can do to people…and that was all thanks to her being the cost for power. The scars on her throat can still be seen where that poison burned her larynx away like it was made of paper.

"Good, then now you can continue on with your next mission." Vir Nominis Umbra says as he walks by the Onyx Phantom who remains, looking at some of the soldiers, taking their appearance and winking to creep them out.

"We're ready." Kannix assures, and Vir Nominis Umbra rolls his eyes.

"Enough with the arse-kissing." Vir Nominis Umbra demands, making Kannix shut up on the spot, and Neo grins with satisfaction to finally hear the irritating sound of his voice cease. How she did not miss it for the hour that he was gone for, she did not have to do much training with anyone since she has already undergone the experience to be the Phantom last time. "I want the two of you to join the Acolytes of Lien on their mission to attack Kassius and his team. I know that they will find their location in that Map Room, Salem is merely there to fracture their spirit. You will be the knife to deal the killing blow." Vir Nominis Umbra explains.

It is not clear if everyone knows the full extent of how Vir Nominis Umbra wants to go about fighting this war, since he has not even mentioned the fact that he wants them to act as a place for things to go wrong on Kassius' side. "What about Kragen Nox?" Kannix questions, and Vir Nominis Umbra stops, turning to face him.

"You will get your revenge when the time is right, Kannix. And the same may be promised of you, Neo. But what you must understand is that you have more pressing matters than something has petty as revenge." Vir Nominis Umbra explains to them, and Kannix is fighting the urge to argue against him…

…but he made a promise.

So, he nods his head and agrees to the terms. "I understand…we will head to the location." Kannix assures as he walks away, and Vir Nominis Umbra watches him and Neo…

…until one of the Acolytes of Lien makes a fatal mistake.

"Where will you have us, your grace?" He asks him.

Your Grace?

Your…Grace?

Everyone stops in their tracks, Kannix's eyes widen with shock after hearing those words come from his mouth. Vir Nominis Umbra stands there, his hand slowly clenching into a fist as his eye twitches, not facing the soldier asking him such an innocent question. "What…did you just call me?" Vir Nominis Umbra snarls, his eyes starting to turn red.

"Your grace?" He asks him, making Vir Nominis Umbra flinch again.

"Yes…those words…why? Do you think me a God?" Vir Nominis Umbra snarls, still not facing him.

"Umm…well…yeah…" The soldier admits.

Big mistake.

Umbra suddenly manifests three jagged black metal blades and he launches the three straight into the soldier, and they all pin him to the ground. One straight through his chest, the other through his belly and the third lodged through the right socket of his head. Blood splatters everywhere and chunks of metal from his armour are thrown everywhere…leaving Vir Nominis Umbra furious.

Silence fills the air as everyone stares at him, seeing the emotion they've never seen from him before.

Rage…

…uncontrollable rage.

He exhales, calming that hatred in his heart with the exhalation. "I…am not…a god." Vir Nominis Umbra growls with anger, walking away from them all, and as he passes by a sign, all they see are a flock of black crows and ravens with crystal beaks that fly away.

Leaving the butchered soldier as a chilling reminder.

Vir Nominis Umbra is not a God.

Kassius

The revelation is like a scar…

They will never forget it, the force of the memory leaving their minds causes them all to crash to the ground with force. But Kassius and Hyde on the other hand are undergoing something that they have never experienced before. Both of them are screaming in pain, and Velvet gasps with horror for Kassius' safety, seeing him writhing around on the ground. But his aura is flickering, orange crackles of energy oscillate across his body on the ground.

And his voice is shifting between his own and Hyde's constantly, but that is not all that starts to shift. As he tries to stop the pain, they all see his aura begin to move. Seeing the reddish orange form of Hyde appearing alongside of Kassius, blurring with his own face on the ground. His eyes turning fiery orange for those few seconds, they could actually see Hyde's spiritual form right then, and it sent chills up their spine.

Never before has anyone seen that happen in the past.

But finally, Kassius regains control of his body, forcing Hyde back into his place, his eyes wide and sweat beading from his skin as he reaches across the ground, wheezing in pain as he presses his hand against his head, straining as he lays on his back. Salem's apparition approaches his side and she crouches down beside him, staring down at his face with narrowed red eyes. "You truly have no idea of what is lurking inside of you mind, do you? Any of you?" She asks them all as she turns her head, and all of them still are in fear of the situation they are in…

…and what they are up against.

None of them can even answer her, even Hyde is silent, because he is also trying to comprehend what he has just seen with his very own eyes. "Kassius is a ticking time bomb, and so is Hyde…and that timer will soon run out." Salem states, then Kassius' eyes open up with a flicker of Hyde's inside of his irises, he grabs onto the hilt of Lash Equinox and he cries out, slashing his sword where her neck would be.

Only to hit nothing but air, her apparition disappearing once more…but this time it feels like she is really gone this time. Because they cannot even hear that Dragon anymore, if her mission was truly to mess with their heads, then she has done a fantastic job of doing that. Leaving them in the caverns with nothing but a cold silence on their minds right now. Emerald and Cardin both look at each other, so Emerald is the one to ask the question on her mind as she gets back up, staring down at Kassius. "Did you know?" She questions, and Kassius groans, still comprehending what he saw…an entire Universe being wiped out in seconds like that…

"Did I know what?" Kassius questions, his voice shaking with fear of what he now knows they are up against. They knew the odds were not in their favour, but this? This is something else entirely…he wipes out universes just by breaking four pebbles…

How can they face that?

"Did you know Hyde was one of Vir Nominis Umbra's demons the whole time? That he was his Executioner?" Emerald yells with anger in her voice, since she feels like she has just been stabbed in the chest with this revelation.

"Oh, yeah…of course I fucking knew. I just felt like holding it back because I like having Universe Heavy Weights on my frickin shoulders! Of course, I didn't know, you dumbass!" Kassius explodes, suddenly springing back up on the floor with that same flare of rage in his eyes that they saw in Hyde's eyes when he was the Ebony Berserker. He pauses, realising that he just frightened them, and after what they saw Hyde do, they sadly have a very good reason to be scared right now. Emerald clenches her hand into a fist and she huffs, picking her weapons up and storming off in anger. Cardin does the same, following the green haired thief, leaving him there with Velvet and Coco.

They both look at each other and then at him…they trust him…so they get up and they stay with him whilst the others stay ahead of him. "Don't be mad, Kassius…they're just scared." Coco softly says to him with assurance in her voice, and Kassius sighs heavily, still trying to understand it.

"I…I…gods I don't even know what to say anymore." Kassius softly says with defeat in his voice, feeling apathetic about the whole thing, and Hyde still has not said a word. Just displayed his anger, but not meaning it to be directed towards the others…more at himself for not trying to remember all of this.

Even though it was not his fault, Umbra wiped his memory.

Perhaps there is a reason for it.

The team feel despondent as they make their way through the Arkhoni Labyrinths underneath Vytal, feeling the cold breeze flowing through. Seeing old cave engravings tattooed everywhere, ones that Kassius does not even find the strength to analyse until Velvet gently takes his hand and does it for him.

Knowledge is a weapon

Knowledge is a key

Knowledge is a tool

Knowledge is sustenance…

Knowledge is whatever we choose it to be, what matters is how we use it.

The walk felt like it took an age, but eventually they encounter something very surprising, as they find an opening, with multiple…worrying things in here. There is an ancient and rusted open cage with a skeleton on the ground. And hung up by the cage is a message, thousands of years old and only now is it being read by someone.

Follow the trail of lies and you will find your way, but only those with the strength to face great odds may survive the coming ordeals…

"Interesting, not sure what it means though." Cardin sighs heavily.

"Maybe the Nikos' weren't the best poets." Emerald scoffs.

That's when Coco catches on, walking past Kassius as she stares at the name. "This…isn't a Nikos." She states, getting their attention, looking at Kassius.

He reads the name written on the panel.

"Axzura Vex?" He questions with disbelief.

"Who's that?" Cardin inquires.

"The Knight of Fury…" Kassius answers, leaving them all – bar Cardin since he has not met one of the Knights yet – stunned and quite concerned.

"Wasn't he a pirate back in the day?" Coco asks, and luckily, they are starting to get back on track. Trying to solve the clues in this mystery in locating the map room, looks like it is deep underground.

"Yeah…Pirate Captain, apparently he was notorious." Kassius remembers, since Yang was the one to read the very first Visionary Book they ever encountered in the past.

"So…if this is Vex's message…then he is connected to the Nikos Family…how?" Cardin inquires with his hands held out.

Leaving them all stumped.

"That's a damn good question." Kassius responds.

Kragen

The blizzard continues to blow across the Mountains forged across the buried fields of Mistral, snow everywhere and the wind howling for miles. Distant cries of Eagles can also be heard in the distance as Kragen sits on a rock, staring out at the forever white snow, the chill of the storm brushing across his cheek. Yenna is asleep, saving her strength, most of them are actually asleep since the sun is starting to set. They have been here for a long time now, camping out inside of the damaged Chapel of Vengeance and Dawn, a few of them however are still awake.

Nearly been a full twenty-four hours.

Waiting for Kassius to give them something, hoping that the Map Room at Vytal could give them what they need to go on.

Yet there Kragen stands, staying awake despite his age…and thinking about his many past mistakes that he has made in his long life. Most of them seem to surround one person in particular, Kannix Volantis…and how he didn't try hard enough, didn't search long enough to find where he went back on those godforsaken islands.

The Architect is sat by the campfire that they have made, telling stories of the old days and being his great loving self. Blake looks at him curiously, her coat zipped up to withstand the cold a bit. It is times like this were her father's question about her clothing now start to make more sense. "Hey, Architect?" She curiously asks him, tilting her head and getting the mechanical man's attention.

"Yes, sweetheart?" The Architect responds, making her softly laugh.

"I'm curious…what kind of features does that body of yours have?" Blake inquires rather curiously.

The Architect taps his metal chin then he begins to list some of them. "Weeeeell, let's see: I have thermal vision for night-time alongside night vision, I have targeting and hacking systems to use whenever I need them, enhanced strength compared to yours…" The Architect lists through some of the many beneficial features that this body has. He looks right at Blake. "X-Ray Vision, too." He adds, slowly lowering his vision and looking right at her chest to follow with this comment. "Looking good by the way."

Blake gasps, blushing with embarrassment as she crosses her arms over her breasts, her ears creasing with shyness. "Whoa! C'mon, Architect! That's creepy!" She defends herself, turning her shoulder to him, making the Architect guffaw with laughter.

"Ha-Ha-Ha! I'm just kidding Belladonna." He says as he looks back to the flames, the flaps of metal over his visor bouncing as he chuckles.

"It's not on right now." He reveals, causing her eyes to widen.

"Wait you really do have –"

Before they could unpack that funny exchange between Blake and the Architect, they get interrupted by the old Silver Eyed Warrior who approaches with his staff in his hands. "I'm heading out, should be back soon." Kragen tells them, Ren raises a brow to him with confusion, Winter too.

"Alone?" Winter questions.

"Want one of us to come with you?" Ren inquires softly, but Kragen shakes his head as he taps his staff against the snowy and icy floor.

"No, no…I'll be fine. I just want to walk on the ridge on my own, take some time to think." Kragen states as he stands there.

"You sure? The storm's still raging." Qrow says as he sits beside his sleeping daughter, gently stroking her black and red hair. He nods his head.

"Best time for it, I always liked to wander out in storms back home. Keeps me alert but also…relaxed at the same time, if that makes any sense." Kragen explains with the shrug of his shoulders, the Architect nods his head in agreement.

"He's not lying by the way, he does that all the time." The Architect chuckles.

"Well, so long as you're safe." Winter states.

"Oh please, I'll be fine. I'll be back in an hour, just making sure our perimeter is secure. Don't want any surprises." Kragen explains as he walks towards the exit of the Chapel, and he makes his way to the ridge that he was talking about. He walks alone, as the snow blows heavily around him, brushing through the bushes that rustle in the wind. Biting cold wind against his skin but his warm cloak keeps him protected as he walks.

He uses his staff like a cane, walking with ease across the mountains, walking for what felt like a mile. He makes his way up to a beautiful view of the Mountain Range, staring at it as the snowy wind blows around him. He closes his silver eyes as he remembers a time when he was younger.

When times…

…were better.

It was thousands of years ago, back when Arkhonex was at its height, and he was teaching the newly joined Kannix Volantis how to fight like a true warrior. He could never land a good hit on Kragen, but he fought with a sense of purpose that always intimidated the man. He never gave up, kept fighting, getting his ass handed to him every single time.

But whenever he'd get knocked over, he'd get back up.

It was simply in his nature.

Kragen sighs as he closes his eyes, hearing the crunch of a bootstep behind him. "You never could sneak up on me." Kragen states, turning to face him.

Kannix…

…alone.

He betrayed the one promise he made to Vir Nominis Umbra.

He has come for Kragen.

Author Note - Kannix has balls to lie to Umbra.

I love Kragen, because as you saw at the end there, he did not come up there to fight him, he came there to talk to him, because he wants to try and make things right. But how do you fix thousands of years of hatred? And Kannix is a complicated guy, whenever it surrounds people that are not Kragen he is ruthless and pretty formiddable, but whenever he sees Kragen he is driven by rage, unlike what we normally see. That is one of the things I like about his character.

And of course...the important part!

Hyde's past shown, as the Ebony Berserker, and we saw what happens if Vir Nominis Umbra wins. I wanted it to be terrifying, and I think making it as simple as the sound as four pebbles breaking instead of a huge explosion is way scarier. Because it is silent as everything crumbles away into nothingness. Their memories and knowledge. Gone. Their choice and ability to do anything. Gone. Physical form and everything ever created. Gone. Time itself. Gone. Nothing remains.

And some of Salem's lines in this chapter are some of my favourite, showing the flaws in all the characters here.

Sorry for the long wait, Writer's Block is a BITCH.

But I am getting back on top of it, sorry I sacrificed 5 Years of Peace as a side effect but it was effecting my writing. However if you do wanna hang out and talk about Knights of Grimm, or Eclipse or maybe even talk about your own stories and look for some feedback then join my Discord Server I set up! If you wanna be a member then P.M me and I'll send you the code. (Mind you it will just the last half, not including the link at the start, since Fanfiction deletes it.)

I hope you enjoyed!

Stay tuned for the next chapter - Ice and Blood

Please review, follow and favourite!

- Matt