The days that followed melded into each other. Orion and Yang spent those days together in peace and calm. Yang was bursting with joy at the aspect of being a bride, though Ruby was less than excited. In fact. everyone was wary or outright scared of the thought, save for Mercury and Emerald.
After having told Mercury, he and Orion took a night out to hang out. They found a quiet bar in the more upscale area of Vale, a place they normally wouldn't have gone in the past.
" Time is a hell of a thing man," Mercury said calmly as he Orion downed their drinks. " So, you visited Cinder's grave recently?"
" About a month after you guys broke me out, I traveled around, and stopped by. Let a few flowers and said my goodbye. How'd Emerald take it?"
Mercury let out a deep sigh and shook his head." How do you think? Completely devastated, but we got through it. She's tough, we both know that."
Orion and Mercury raised their glasses and toasted, a brotherly bond still between them.
" To the good times we shared," Orion said with an modest amount of cheer.
" To the memory of Cinder Fall," Mercury added, earning a nod from Orion. Downing their drinks again, Orion let out a deep sigh as Mercury placed a hand on his shoulder.
" Aw cheer up man," Mercury said. " Getting hitched ain't so bad, no fear. We've fought mercenaries, Grimm, whatever those things were in Atlas, and practically everything under the sun."
Orion ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily. " That's not what's bothering me. I know me and her have a deep history, but that's also the problem. I don't know if I'd be making her life a living hell if we-"
Mercury gave Orion a quick slap on the back of head, literally knocking sense into him as he spoke.
Orion's scroll went off, cutting off Mercury's words of advice. He saw that it was a message from Jaune, offering more work for both he and Mercury.
Jaune overlooked the influx of first year students gathered in front of him. He slicked his hair back, maintaining a straight posture and eyed the masses.
" I know that you all are expecting a long-winded speech. Something along the lines that extols the virtues of becoming Huntsmen and Huntresses. You've all come here to master your skills, each hoping to become better than the person next to you."
Jaune took a pause every student looked at the person next to them, hushed whispers shared among each of them. When the exchanges finished, he continued.
" In reality, the life you've all chosen is one filled with struggle, adversity, loss and sorrow. Indeed, it is not one for the faint of heart, those that lack the resolve to forge ahead. When I was a student here, we endured trials that would force us to look deep down and question who we were, some of us even lost ourselves. However, a true Huntsmen or Huntresses will move forward."
The whispers became hastened exchanges before Jaune continued. "Fate will test you, and we shall see what you are all capable of. I ask each of you : Are you able to dedicate your lives to something greater than yourself? Tomorrow, we shall see who is capable enough to forge onward."
His sword on his side, Jaune gave a quick nod to Ren. Ren nodded and took the front of the stage.
" You all will gather in the ballroom, sleep well and prepare yourselves."
The angels were all winded and exhausted, yet for their labor they had reaped a great reward. Their sister Naomi had been reforged into something, a weapon potent enough to help turn the tide against Chaos, when wielded by the right warrior.
A shining golden great-sword lay impaled into a pedestal, the pedestal keeping the blade from losing its overflowing power.
Amira looked at the blade, a single tear dropping from her eyes. She wiped it away and turned to the others. They were all equally heart-broken, yet they all understood what needed to be done.
Amira ran a finger along the blade's edge, forlorn yet understanding. A small drop of blood emerged from where her finger had been, yet closed as quick as it came.
" Rest, little sister. You've become sharp enough to slice the veil between life and death."
" The Flamesong has received many gifts." Serana said calmly. Amira nodded in agreement as the sword and pedestal vanished into a golden portal.
" The Arc shall wield this gift. He is ready, as are the other two. Now it is only a matter of time before Chaos arrives."
" The wretched demon will pay for its transgressions against us!" Nuri said in anger, white fire gathering around her, searing the stone. Amira walked through the flames, unafraid, and enveloped Nuri in a deep hug.
" Be calm, little sister."
Nuri's rage subsided,giving way to tears that wouldn't cease,
" Cry your heart out, we understand. We miss her too."
Mercury and Orion were sent by Jaune to investigate a disturbance on the outskirts of Mistral. Figures had been spotted near an old abandoned temple. All three knew immediately that it was related to Chaos in someway. What Orion and Mercury saw only confirmed their suspicions.
Bodies littered the field, black arrows perforated those wearing the black robes and mask of the Grimm. At the pinnacle of the temple, a dark figure wielding a demented looking bow loomed above them, the moon obscuring much of their figure. The figure retreated into the temple, leaving Mercury and Orion outside with the massacre.
They looked at each other, nodded and began to inspect the bodies.
Orion knelt down next to motionless woman, her body stiff and cold, yet peaceful. The arrow had found its mark in her neck, it would've bee swift and painless. The arrow itself is what startled Orion. Mercury noticed his concern and walked over to him.
" Something wrong?"
" Everything," Orion said calmly as he felt a bird perch on his shoulder. Sharing a mental link, Obliteration relayed information to him, only confirming his suspicions. He reached to remove the air and sighed as it passed through his hands like smoke. " I know what did this."
He rose to his feet, placed a hand on his sword. " The stupid woman that killed Cinder is back, and I got the feeling that Chaos is responsible."
" All the more reason we should deal with this. Now it's personal."
When they entered the temple, they saw that the interior of the temple was rather tame. A single deep basin of black water was contained in the basin, the figure from before sitting in front of it, the bow lying next to them. They reached for their bow and absently ran their fingers on the string.
Black wings extended, spanning the figure' entire body and enveloped them softly.
" Dying is such an interesting thing," the figure said with the same feminine voice around had heard years ago. "It's simply nothingness made form, quite ironic actually. To die for Lord Elias would have been an honor had he still been alive. At a time, I believed he was the most powerful being in this world, but how ignorant I was. Chaos is something so much more, something worthy of my loyalty, my humanity."
Orion drew Muramasa, letting the steel slide across the stone as he came to a stop alongside Mercury. " Your humanity?"
Uriel got to her feet, her bow never leaving her grip. She turned to look at Orion, her gaze cold and calculating. " Do you know what happened after you robbed me of my life?"
" Evidently whatever happened didn't work because you're still standing in front of me."
" Quite the comedian you've become. You see, after my death, I became nothing. My body was taken by Atlas, and they let their desire for knowledge run free. When I was reborn, Lord Chaos personally recreated me. My body was made whole again, despite the experiments of Atlas. The recreation of my body was simple, but my mind was the true challenge. Chaos had to find what remained of my soul and revive me. I awoke, remembering what was mine, who I had been and what you robbed from me. Please, young Flamesong, allow me to repay the debt of years passed."
Her black wings began to harden, gleaming like the purest of obsidian. " My wings have been blessed by Chaos, nothing shall harm them again."
Orion flurried his blade and let it rest on his shoulder. " Cinder Fall was a genius and she taught me practically everything I know. She was my mentor, the closest thing I had to family. I thought I avenged her death with I ripped those stupid wings of yours away, but I guess not. If you think nothing is gonna scratch those things, I think you're getting them clipped."
" Cinder always told us where to strike first," Mercury said as he slicked his hair back, eager to fight. " If they have it, strip away their armor."
Orion remembered those lessons alongside Mercury and Emerald, a dark smile finding its way onto his face. Muramasa went up in blue flames, eager to bathe in blood. " We rip it to shreds!"
Cinder deftly evaded another rage-filled strike from Orion, making him ever ridiculous as he fell to the ground in anger. She landed on her feet, the wooden shield she used was more than enough for the current training session. Nearby, Emerald watched the one-sided dual with amusement, Orion's rage never ceased to make her laugh.
Orion charged again, Muramasa flew through the air, stopping short of Cinder's shield as Orion feinted the strike and aimed for her shoulder. Cinder moved to block the blow with ease, struck Orion in abdomen with her palm and watched as fell to the ground.
He kicked her legs from under her, but she deftly twirled mid-fall and smacked Orion in the side of his face with the shield, a sickening crack echoed through the room as Orion hit the stone in a heap. He gripped his head in pain, this being the seventh time she had been able to strike him in the exact same manner.
" I told you once already," Cinder said as threw the shield aside. Emerald handed her the prepared first-aid kit with eagerness. Cinder began the process of bandaging Orion's wounds once again. " If the enemy has even the slightest defense, strip it away, don't try to subvert it."
" I don't get it," the young Orion yelled in anger as he slapped Cinder's hand away. " What do you mean 'strip away their armor' ?!"
Cinder placed a comforting hand on his head and patted him like a small child. " I suppose that wording's too complicated for you? Strip away their armor, destroy their armor, rip it shreds, it all means the same thing."
" And that is?"
" Take away their crutch, and leave them with the limp," she said as she removed her hand. She slid the first-aid kit away and picked up the shield again. Orion retrieved his sword and took a deep breath. He gripped the sword tightly with both hands and charged.
They ran through the motions, him attempting to find a chink in her flawless defense, her punishing him for his attempts. Mercury and Emerald had seen it countless times, but this time it was different. Orion brought Muramasa up, and they both saw the red blade coated in an even deeper shade of red-orange fire. The blade collided with the shield, shattering it like a house of matchsticks, igniting like one as well as he struck it thrice more.
" To strip away their armor," Cinder said with pride as she held the shattered shield up for Orion to see. " What do you do?"
" You rip it to shreds!"
" Exactly."
Orion took point, incinerating arrows made of shadows that Uriel fired. Mercury dashed out of range, flipped forward once, firing a round from his boots. The explosions created a dense fog of smoke, but when it vanished, Uriel's wings were unscathed.
" As I told you, nothing shall scratch these blessed wings."
Mercury smirked as he took a step back and crossed his arms. Uriel strung her bow and took aim at him. Blue flames obstructed her visions, enveloping the area around her. Her wings extended, clearing her vision of the flames and giving Orion his opening. When her left wing was separated from her right, Orion closed the distance between them.
Muramasa went up in blue flames and glowed with a brilliant golden shine. The blade cleaved through both feather and flesh with ease. Before her wing hit the ground, Orion severed the other with monstrous speed and precision. Mercury followed up, moving at blinding speed, he flew through the air and cleanly struck Uriel in the neck, enough to paralyze her and bring her to her knees.
" A LOT of things have happened since I killed you last time," Orion said as he lowered his blade to Uriel's neck. Mercury to the bow from her trembling hand, giving a sideways inspection of it. " Why are you even here?"
When she didn't speak, Orion lightly placed the blade on neck, the angelic power causing Uriel's skin to burn with the slightest touch, as if the being branded by an iron.
" I'd rather die."
" Well you know what they say," Mercury began as he looked at Orion.
" What's that?"
" The dead don't speak."
Orion chuckled slightly as he severed Uriel's head from neck in one fluid motion without care. He used her own cloak to wipe his blade clean before sheathing it on his side.
" Come on, that joke was in good taste."
" It was something alright," Orion said as he looked around the temple. Suddenly, the basin of black water began to boil rapidly, overflow and spew onto the ground. The duo retreated back, Orion creating a wall of flames to shield them as a black mist erupted from the basin.
Orion drew Muramasa and threw it through the flames, shattering the basin with ease. The blade landed in the center of the black water, and began to sink into its depth. Orion attempted to retrieve his blade, but was stopped by Mercury, who held him back. He could only watch as his beloved sword was devoured by the black water and taken to places unknown.
" Nothing ever goes my way."
" Yeah, more or less."
The duo had returned to Vale a few days later, a blood-red moon hovering over the sky. The duo merely looked towards the sky, the celestial body's presence enthralling them.
A deep searing pain shot through Orion's body, focusing itself on his chest. He collapsed to the ground gripping as if he was attempting to claw his own heart out. Mercury rushed to his side, trying to aid him.
A black crow, Obliteration, was perched on a nearby streetlamp, red eyes darting from Orion to the moon. Establishing the mental link, Obliteration told Orion what was happening.
The worlds are aligning and the seal that hold Chaos shall soon be broken. Since the day you bonded with Chaos, you and he are tethered together. You can sense us, you can feel what lies behind the gate. Steel your resolve, sharpen your mind and prepare. The final battle looms overhead.
Muramasa hovered in front of Chaos, the prize of a plan well executed. He had resurrected Uriel, and set her loose, knowing that Orion would be the one to respond. From there, Chaos had planned, and succeeded in taking away one of Orion's greatest advantages. The Book of Oblivion was constantly weakening, allowing Chaos to open a small passage, enough to claim its prize.
Muramasa was a blade blessed by the angels, and such was a tool that the humans could not possess. Instead, Chaos took that power and attempted to bend it to its will. In front of Chaos, the sword gleamed despite no light being present. The Cosmic Force of the sword allowed it to defy the darkness when wielded with purpose. Now the sword belonged to Chaos, who began to slowly, but surely corrupt it.
Blue flames sang through the darkness, rending the shadows asunder as it refused to submit. The blade seemed to live with a purpose of its own, and like its master, was defiant to subjugation. The flames grew evermore intense, but it was nothing Chaos couldn't handle. The darkness began to suffocate and corrode the blade, choking the radiant blue flames and forcing them to the dark. The red sword became a deep midnight black, the former blue flames became a hateful black.
The Cosmic Force that lied dormant within the blade became another tool that Chaos bent to its will. Corrupting the radiant power, Chaos bent the power of the angels to befit a denizen of the darkness. When it was done, Muramasa had been reborn, a more sinister blade than it had been.
" Once in a while, I create something truly special."
With Muramasa completed, Chaos returned to its other goal, a vessel. In the past, Chaos had gone too battle in its true form, but now it wanted to fight on the front-line, but to do that it needed the perfect host. It began molding a body, several of different forms and species, that allowed it to walk among the lesser kind of Grimm. Drawing the massive well of negative emotions that humans possessed, Chaos crafted something more than a body, it crafted a symbol, something to be revered and worshiped as it had been in the past.
The hordes of Grimm swept across Remnant swiftly, butchering dozens of villages that were unlucky enough to in their way. The angels sensed more than Grimm, they sensed that Chaos had risen free.
Instead of attacking a kingdom, Chaos used its new-found freedom to send a message. The sun became blocked by a deep black smoke, an infinite sea of darkness that ruled the sky. In Atlas, troops mobilized to combat the threat, hundreds of soldiers, Huntsmen and Huntresses swept across the kingdoms' frontiers, eradicating whatever opposition they faced, with difficulty. Warriors of the other kingdoms rallied as well, defending whatever they could, defiant to change that encompassed them.
The angels, relayed where Chaos had retreated to, the uncharted Land of the Dragon, where no essence of humanity lived or ventured. Orion, Sun, and Jaune prepared themselves, accepting whatever would happen.
Through the eternal night, the three said farewell to their loved ones as they departed with the angels to confront Chaos.
They exited the portal Amira had created, setting foot on a desolate wasteland where no life thrived. Though they heard the distance howls of Beowolves, no Grimm attacked them.
" Seems like the kind of place you'd come to for a climatic battle against a god," Orion said calmly.
" You angels should have stayed with the kingdoms, they could use your help," Jaune said as he brushed sand from his hair. " We can deal with this on our own."
" I sincerely doubt that, though your confidence pleases my master."
The group looked behind them to see a lone wolf, black as shadows, wearing a Grimm mask.
So what? Are you the guard dog or something?" Sun asked the wolf, which snorted in response.
" You humans are quite defiant in the face of annihilation," the wolf said. " I master doesn't seek you destroy you all, merely subjugate you. The angels failed, Elias Arc failed, and now you'll fail as well. My master's mercy is beyond my comprehension, allowing you to live instead of killing you all. It's quite strange that you humans believe you can defy a god- "
The wolf burst into a pillar of blue flames. Everyone looked at Orion, who walked past them and placed a boot on the wounded wolf's neck.
" You're just a lowly little pup, so you should learn to heel. Chaos picked a fight with this world, so it's our responsibility to give it the fight it came for," Orion said as he crushed the creature's neck under heel. His hand ignited in blue flames, and threw the fire into the sky. It changed from a majestic blue to a brilliant gold as it pierced the shadows.
In the now clear sky, golden formed a short message for Chaos. In the sky, the words that would herald the battle for the world were written.
Bring it on
Obliteration flew above the darkness, the dragon made its way towards the ones that would shape the world. On its back, the ones who would stand beside them.
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