Chapter 1- Ruby Rose is plagued by visions of her past while she spends her nights next to a comatose Jaune Arc. She reminisces of the boy's last battle against Emerald and Mercury in the last days of the war.
One day, she is summoned by Glynda Goodwitch, current headmaster of New Vale's Ozpin Huntsmen Academy and commander of the SHU- the Special Huntsmen Unit of Vale.
Chapter 2- Blake Belladonna assists her fiancé Sun Wukong with his job as a combat instructor in Ozpin Academy, while she tries to keep at bay her war trauma when he got brainwashed and she nearly killed him.
As she ponders about an ex White Fang member and current terrorist Gray Fenris and the current state of faunus affairs in Remnant, she too is summoned by Glynda Goodwitch.
Chapter 3- Yang Xiao Long and Weiss Schnee spend their weekend in Patch, telling stories of how they started dating to Taiyang Xiao Long. In their private moments, Weiss accepts Yang's request to live together.
Their vacation is cut short as they are summoned by Glynda. They meet with the rest of their team at Goodwitch's office where she announces they are requested for the unusual mission of finding a missing person.
Chapter 4- RWBY leaves for the semi-isolated village of Yugure in the Vale-Mistral borders; a place that Grimm seem to avoid and residents worship a mysterious religion called the White Altar. Their mission is to find Melia Pale, the missing daughter of a Vale Councilman.
After a bumpy ride through a dark and according to Blake, not that much serene forest, the team reaches Yugure. It is an old-fashioned place with gothic buildings and a massive church at the top of a hill.
Chapter 5- Their reception at the village is not good. Bistre Woodrock, the innkeeper is cordial, but Yugure Mayor Abbey shows that he is not happy having them. After discussion, White Rose goes to check at the church where Melia was lost and Bumblebee at Melia's House.
Meanwhile, two men from the village's search teams are mysteriously killed in the woods. Sending everyone else back, Yugure Sheriff Cloud tries to search for them- and ends up losing his own life as well.
Chapter 6- Searching around the church, Ruby and Weiss find a secret underground passage. They try to explore, but Ruby starts acting weird. She dashes deeper and exclaims she can use the Altar to heal Jaune.
Ruby breaks down. She curses Weiss and attacks her, holding back just enough for Weiss to notice a strange shadow around and blow it away. Damaged and full of sorrow and regret, Ruby carries Weiss away.
Chapter 7- After meeting Melia Pale's parents, Isaac and Bonette, Yang and Blake join the search parties looking for the missing people. During their search, they meet mild hostility from the villagers, especially from Deputy Sheriff Cyril.
Searching with Mr. Pale inside the snowy forest, they manage to find a small outing full of bloodstains. Before they can investigate, they are ambushed by unknown, human-shaped, bat-eared, monstrous Grimm.
Chapter 8- The new Grimm prove to be tough and cunning enemies who can regenerate at an alarming speed. Blake and Yang manage to escape with Mr. Pale, rejoin with the others and return to Yugure.
Back in the village, they meet with Ruby and Weiss being reprimanded by the Mayor for their actions. They agree to make up for it by assisting in village patrols. Then, they are led to Pale Mansion to spend the night.
Chapter 9- The team helps Ruby overcome her guilt for what happened. They have dinner with Ms. Pale, until her two sons interrupt and make her leave to put them to sleep, accompanied by Yang.
After that, Ruby makes a suggestion that the cause for these incidents could be an Eldergrimm; a species of ancient Grimm so powerful that Salem told them she sealed away because she couldn't kill or control.
Chapter 10- Accompanied by a disgruntled Cyril, RWBY finds a hidden path inside the tunnel. They are sad to discover Melia Pale's body in it and Ruby with Yang leave to bring the dead girl to her family.
In the tunnel, Blake and Weiss get possessed by an unseen force. With Cyril having left his post of checking up on them, they are overcome by anger and nearly kill each other before they snap out of it. However, they manage to connect their possession with a sharp sting in the neck.
Chapter 11- Blake and Weiss rest in the healer's house, while Ruby and Yang express their anger at the villagers' behavior and their concern on the thing hiding underground the church. When the team meets, they decide to evacuate the village and call Vale for reinforcements.
Unknown to them, the strange power leads Cyril in the tunnel to meet a strange man. Using his aversion to RWBY, the man manipulates him and sacrifices him to a horrible monster that lies inside a sealed coffin.
Chapter 12- The bat-like Grimm, called Ghouls, attack the village. Ruby and Yang destroy and hold off a small group, while the villagers run to the church to find refuge under the protection of their holy altar.
Nyctos, the sealed Eldergrimm, rises inside the church and kills a large number of villagers. Weiss and Blake try to fight it off. It tries brainwash them, but Yang and Ruby arrive to help- only for the monster to destroy the silver-eyed girl's aura with one single blow of its jaws.
Chapter 13- An enraged Yang fights Nyctos assisted by Weiss. Ruby is treated by Blake and they all rejoin the battle. They manage to wound the monster with a combo attack, but are forced to retreat as they see the monster animate dead human bodies and turn them to Ghouls.
Riding on Weiss' summoned Deathstalker, they flee Yugure pursued by a remarkably huge number of Ghouls. As their enemies close by, Ruby decides to lead them towards an SHU outpost -Cypress, commanded by Ren and Nora.
Chapter 14- Losing the Deathstalker to the Ghouls, RWBY is forced to run through the wooded hillside. They are surrounded and struggle to fend the enemies off, before they are saved by Nora's division.
Two days later, RWBY is recovering in Cypress, overwhelmed by their defeat, Nyctos' disappearance and the number of Yugure's dead. They are given some encouragement and some time off from Glynda to rest and get ready for the things that are obviously about to come.
Chapter 15- A meeting of people is being hosted via network by Sophia Carmel, CEO of Atlas' largest communications company. It turns out all of them are members of a cult, interested in harnessing the Eldergrimm and their powers.
Bistre Woodrock, Maize Goldenrod, Prof. Azure Glaucous, Alizar Red and Cherry Itazura are the other members. They discuss their modus operandi and decide to let Alizar and Cherry deal with team RWBY and the awakening of another Eldergrimm called Avyssos at the same time.
Chapter 16- We are introduced to Lumia, Erik, Alex and Albus. They are team LEAD of Atlas, saved by a cave-in by RWBY 3 years ago. They are also SHU members and close friends to RWBY.
The chapter begins with most of them chilling in Albus and Alex's house but the mood turns sour quickly by news' reports of Yugure and Lumia's findings that Nyctos was probably released by human hands.
Ruby bursts out in anger, but is calmed down by her fellow leader and then both teams decide to use Nyctos' custom-made coffin chains to try and find a path that would lead them to the perpetrators.