Chapter 29: A Sudden End
(A/N: I would like to take a moment and wish everyone good health during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Without further ado, onto the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or Starbound, I only own this story, Poaling Mono, Iris Virtuas, and Erisa Mono (technically), as well as the backstory explaining the Game. RWBY belongs to Monty Oum (R.I.P.) of Rooster Teeth, Starbound belongs to Chucklefish.
On with the show!)
"External Speech"
'Internal Speech/Commands'
Gamer System/Devices
"Iris The Intern External Voice"
"Iris The Intern Internal Voice"
Name: Party Chat
The moment I saw the notification, I wasted no time beaming down to Erisa's location.
And when I got there…
Erisa Mono: (Corpse)
I was now holding her scorched, lifeless body in my arms, feeling number in my human body than I ever did in a golem body.
I was feeling it all come crashing down in my mind. I was just one person, so if I couldn't even protect my own sister, how was I supposed to help all of Remnant?
Head bowed, I beamed back to the ship, still clutching Erisa's body.
After placing Erisa's body in the machine that gave me my human body, I replaced the latter with my previously used Golem Body. The reasoning being that - one, I wouldn't experience starvation or dehydration to distract me in my efforts, and two, to try and minimize the pain - as I realized that my emotions were heightened during my brief time in a human body compared to as a Golem.
"Iris, there are Skills that can revive the dead, right?"
…
"Iris?"
No response.
Then I noticed the notification bell flashing in the corner of my vision.
Message Received from Administrator Iris Virtuas.
Poaling Mono,
I am transcribing this message to let you know that I am going away and… I might not be back for a long time.
Something came up… Something on a potentially colossal - no, ASTRONOMICAL scale relating to the System.
Long story short, the Gaming Administration - at some point - tried to create an artificial goddess - the Gaming Artificial Intelligence Administrator (G.A.I.A.) - to oversee the entirety of the System running across the Omniverse. It took a catastrophic turn, but I have reason to believe that some part of her is still alive, somewhere.
Believe me when I say that I wouldn't do something like this if I didn't have good enough reasons. I can only hope that one day you'll realize that and forgive me.
I'll always remember my time with you and Erisa fondly!
And, I'll remember you especially so…
-Iris Virtuas
P.S.: Please let Erisa know that I am proud of her, and how lucky she is to have you as a big brother!
End of Message.
POV: 3rd Person
Following that day, it was like something had died inside of Poaling Mono, and something else took its place.
With his sister lifeless and his closest friend - who had been with him since the very beginning - was gone. Because of these circumstances, he forgot his previous goals of making Remnant a better place, instead driving himself to find some way to revive Erisa from the dead.
From then on, he went on a continuous rampage, slaughtering every Grimm he could find, without care for even a moment of rest. His level grew ever higher through his slaughter.
When even Elder Grimm ceased to raise his level efficiently, he turned his focus to Mount Glenn - where he knew the Wyvern slept, surrounded by thousands of Grimm above and below ground.
Not caring for the thrill of battle anymore, he simply charged up his Monochrome Nova as high as it would go, beamed to the cavern in the heart of the mountain where the Wyvern was hidden, and blasted the Wyvern, mountain, ruins of the city, and all Grimm within - PLUS a few kilometers in a spherical radius - to oblivion, leaving nothing but a colossal crater to serve as a reminder to all of Remnant of the existence of such a terrifying force - one that seemed deathless, and relentless in its seemingly genocidal drive to bring Grimm to utter destruction.
His level now reaching into the hundreds, the Golem that once called itself Poaling Mono returned to slaughtering the Grimm that had now come to fear it - hunters devoid of emotion now reduced to cowering prey, helpless in the face of this threat - whilst awaiting for his Nova to regain full strength.
Almost a year after Mount Glenn was erased from the face of the planet, Salem's forces were caught off guard when the figure rumors referred to as the Grimm Slayer appeared atop the table in the centre of their meeting hall in a flash of light.
Tyrian was the first - and only one - to attempt defeating the intruder, only to be almost immediately skewered through the skull with his own stinger and killed.
The next moment, Cinder Fall attempted to destroy the Slayer with a powerful beam of pure energy - a power she had acquired from the Maiden in Vacuo years before.
It took the hit, only to slowly turn to look at the False Maiden, radiating enough killing intent to visually darken its surroundings.
"So…" The Slayer Growled as it stomped towards Cinder, not seeming to care or be affected by all the various attacks - both melee and ranged - raining upon its form. "You are the one who killed her."
The next moment, it seemingly reappeared directly in front of the False Maiden, a hand wrapped around her throat.
"The Maiden with pink hair, her name was Erisa Mono, my sister." Cinders eyes widened as she frantically tried everything in her stolen power to escape the suffocating grip the Slayer had on her neck - from fires hot enough to melt the stone around them into lava, to blasting the arm with pure energy point-blank. "Yet you didn't care about her life, only for her powers."
"So know this, Cinder, you are nothing to this unstoppable force YOU'VE set in motion! In a matter of minutes, all traces of you and your mistress, as well as all who would even remember you, will be utterly erased from this world, forever."
With that, the grip tightened and crushed her neck, killing her and releasing the stolen essence which flew skyward.
And then, the entirety of Salem's domain - as well as Salem herself - were reduced to a smoking scar on the planet - bigger than even the one left in place of Mount Glenn.
With the source of the Grimm gone, the people of Remnant eventually began to truly push back against the demons - brought low and made finite.
But far above them, that moment when the Grimm had utterly lost the war they'd waged against the Dustlings, the essence of the powers released from Cinder permeated through the dust-covered glass of a machine, finally returning to their true owner.
Detecting life-signs within, the device scanned the subject for any weaknesses or injuries.
Finding no faults, the chamber slid open.
Gasping, Erisa Mono opened her eyes for the first time in years, before looking around the dust-covered confines of the ship.
"Poaling?"
(A/N: The end! Thanks for reading to the end of this story!
Yes, that's it! There's nothing else to it! Time to go check out other fanfics or official works to keep sane during the COVID-19 Pandemic!
…
…
…
APRIL FOOLS!
Of COURSE this isn't the end! In fact, this chapter isn't even canonical to Mixed Data!
Now that I've given you the joke, I'm going back to work on the ACTUAL chapter 29!
Stay healthy, and I'll see you in the Game(s) - from a minimum distance of six feet!
-poaling12
