Things were getting out of hand far too quickly. It was manageable at first, switching out who watched Emery with Evanora every few hours so that way they could both do their jobs and keep an eye on her. But now? Rana's lips twitched downwards. Now it was becoming some cruel punishment from the gods.

"How are you feeling Emery?"

The woman in question simply hummed quietly, toying with the black dagger in her hand. Her eyes never left it, staring at it with an almost manic intensity. A soft smile graced her lips, as if she were holding something of great significance.

She very well might be.

Tapping her fingers against the bed, Rana took the near silent answer in stride. "I see. So, have you done anything interesting today? Draw anything… cool?"

She held back a wince. Small talk was never her strong suit, especially when the other party didn't even participate. Not that she was going to hold it against Emery. The poor woman barely seemed aware that she was even there with her, much less trying to talk to her.

Perhaps a different approach was necessary. "What do you plan to do when Darius- "

Emery's head whipped upwards, her eyes focusing in on her as the woman's pupils dilated. "Darius?! Have you heard from him?! Is he back yet?! It's been so long! Or has it?"

Maintaining her composure was becoming more and more of a challenge. Emery's borderline obsessive behavior regarding the man was becoming far more apparent. A small part of Rana wondered whether or not it was because of the sickness. "I'm afraid he's not back as of yet. Though I'm sure he's making his way here hastily."

The despair on Emery's face was the most heartbreaking thing she had seen yet, though it was quickly replaced by a simple frown. "That's okay. He promised I would be okay without him, and I want to show him he was right. I'm okay without him. I'm okay without him. I'm… okay…"

Her eyes went dull, and she stared off into the distance. Pursing her lips, Rana snapped her fingers in Emery's face and tried to push the conversation forward. "A-And you're doing such a wonderful job of it. I'm sure he'll be… proud."

He would be devastated to see Emery like this, but the way she smiled made the lie hurt just a little bit less. "Yeah! He can be a bit grumpy sometimes, but he's a softie through and through. Even when he's not so happy, he always tries to help. Help. Help… he's great!"

Was this what he had meant by it degrading the mind first? Rana had assumed that it would be a far more animalistic devolution, Emery devolving to a beast like so many other Lapis Poisoned individuals before her. But somehow, this hurt more. Watching as she tried her best to remain in control and beat the sickness, completely unaware that she was already degrading to the point of a near childlike mindset. Obsessing over the one thing that she held more dearly than perhaps her own life.

Rana's breath hitched. "S-So Emery, what is that wonderfully crafted blade?"

The woman's eyes gleamed in delight as she lifted the dagger up to her face, tilting it as she watched the light shine off it. "It was a gift Darius got me! He made it with his other sword, Pupil, and he even says it has a small piece of him inside it. And then he left. He left. Why did he leave?"

It was an honest question. The fogginess had left her eyes as she stared at Rana. The clear consciousness and sobriety of her expression made it so much more difficult to answer. But she had to. "He went to go find you a cure. For the sickness. R-Remember?"

Recognition flashed in Emery's eyes, and a small smile spread across her lips. "Of course! I can't believe I forgot that! Gotta make sure I focus on keeping it together so that he doesn't freak out when he gets back. You know?"

…Oh gods. "Y-Yeah. I do."

Rana stood quiet, her mind weighing heavy with barely restrained grief. Her eyes idly wandered the room, before naturally falling back on Emery and widening. "Emery! You're bleeding!"

The knife Emery had been holding was in her hands, held by the blade as she held it tightly. Her eyes looked down to where Rana was staring, and she gasped once she saw it. "Oh no! I got it dirty!"

She let go of the blade, grasping it by the handle and rubbing it on her dress in what could only be described as a frenzy. Finally, she pulled the dagger away and stared into the blade and at her reflection. "There we go, all clean again."

That was enough of that. Rana reached out to the dagger, slowly closing her hand around it as she tried to pull it out of her friend's grasp. But she couldn't. Emery held onto it too tightly, a surprising amount of strength being displayed by the girl.

"Don't touch it. It's mine."

Emery stared down at her, face expressionless as her eyes bore into her soul. Swallowing thickly, Rana softly let go of the dagger. "Of course Emery. My mistake. I was just… worried that you'd hurt yourself again. After all, I wouldn't want you to… dirty it by accident."

The emotionless visage Emery had was gone, replaced with a sheepish turn of the head as she pushed the knife forward, offering it up. "O-Oh goodness! I'm so sorry Rana! I should've known that you were just looking after me! Here, take it. But, could you give it back later? It… comforts me."

Good. That was good. "I'll be sure to return it later. Now then, if you excuse me, I'm going to go find Evanora so that she can take a look at that wound of yours. I'll be right back, I-I promise."

"Sure thing! I'll wait right here then."

Rana gave a stiff nod, rushing out of the room dagger in hand. She was already halfway down the staircase by the time she heard the door click shut, and halfway down the hallway before she got ahold of herself and stopped.

Taking a deep breath in, she leaned against the wall and stared down at the dagger in her hands. It was wickedly sharp, and curved in a manner that should suggest that it was often used for parrying an attack rather than attack on its own. Not that it couldn't do both.

She paused, staring at her blood covered hands. Slowly, she held them together in a way that she hadn't done since she was still in that pillager camp, and began to pray. "Oh Gods of the Archetypes. Oh Watchers of our Holy Land of Blair. I… I know it has been a while, but I come to you seeking aid, and wisdom. My friend, Emery, she is sick. She is sick, and I've not a clue as to how I can help. Every passing hour her condition worsens, and the hopelessness of the situation is beginning to set in. What can I do? What can be done?"

The hall was quiet, not a soul walking down it as she prayed. She held her hands together tightly, hoping to find an answer. But there was nothing. Silence was the only thing she received.

She could only hope that things were better on Darius' side of things.

…

Things were not going well for Evetta. Sure, the rampaging Nether Lord was certainly an issue at the time, though now a far more upsetting issue has sprung up.

"Boy! Come Evetta. We must give chase to this beast."

Mason gave a sharp whistle, calling over Horse to them. He turned to her, tilting his armored head expectantly. "Why do you stand unmoving?"

A multitude of reasons. But there was one important one. "Mason, we do not have the strength to face such a beast. A Nether Lord is something above us. Even if we caught up to it, what could we do?"

He growled, reaching up and ripping off his helmet to glare at her. "We can try. The constraints of mortality have no hold on us. Death is but an obstacle, a hurdle that we can get past. We shall use this to our advantage."

This was… new. She took a deep breath in, the act being unnecessary as she had no need for air, and calmly argued back. "It is still a process Mason. We do not simply awaken from the ground like nothing happened. The grasping of souls onto our own can make us lose our sense of self. Not only that, but we always reawaken within the Soul Sand Valley. So it'll be a trek back to where we were regardless."

Another growl escaped his lips, his hands clenching as he stubbornly refused to back down. "We do not need to defeat him. We only need to free Darius from his clutches. Besides, the beast flew forward. Towards the Soul Sand Valley."

A frown found its way onto her lips. There were very few reasons for the Nether Lord to go up towards the Valley. Even fewer with Darius added to the equation. The only things there were The Withered, The Wither Beast, and an abundance of soul sand and soul rocks.

The realization hit her. "You think this beast is going to use the sand and rocks to capture Darius' soul and then devour it."

He nodded, his anger fading into poorly concealed concern. "Indeed. Even if he could revive like us, the consumption of a soul is not something you can come back from. He will die, and I-we could never get him back."

The thought was… sobering. Incredibly so. "But why him? Even if Jack devours his soul, there's no way that beast could escape this place. He's still one of the Damned, regardless of what souls are in his possession."

Mason grunted, placing his axe on his back and watching as Horse made his way over to them. "Darius is… well he's different. I'm unsure as to what the specifics are, but I do know that he has some form of special power within him. He had been unsure as to his origins when I had first met him, with only the clothes on his back to his name. That, and several abnormal abilities. Creating anything out of base materials, strengthening his body, transporting things into some strange storage, and even being able to glimpse knowledge about a person. And he's only grown stronger since then."

She knew of the creation and the storage powers, but the others were new to her. "And you believe that Jack is after the source of these powers, and will attempt to find them through Darius' soul?"

"Indeed."

This was more than troubling. The Pirate King was well known, and equally feared, but he was still the weakest of the Nether Lords. However, if what Mason is saying is true, then Jack might be able to change that rather quickly. He could expand his territory rather quickly, starting an all out war between all the Nether Lords. And that could disrupt the quiet peace she had found for herself.

Plus, she happened to like Darius. He was like a big child.

Evetta clapped her hands together, watching as Mason rubbed his hand across Horse's back. "Well then, we should make our way there post haste. We wouldn't want anything to happen to your boy, now do we?"

He looked down at her, the closest thing to a smile she had ever seen gracing his face. "Indeed. You have my utmost gratitude Evetta. I am in your debt."

In her debt, huh? Her expression didn't change, though her eyes took a slightly more mischievous glint to them. "Of course. I'll be sure to have you repay that debt within my home. Do not worry, I'll be sure to make it… pleasurable for the both of us."

He blinked, before nodding as the innuendo flew over his head entirely. Instead, he climbed atop Horse and offered a hand to her. Taking it, she let her smile widen as she settled atop of Horse. It didn't matter if he didn't get it now. Because once this was all said and done, win or lose, she was going to claim her prize.

…

My eyes were open – Or were they closed? – as I looked down the dirt beach. Mud lapped at the shore, sticking to the beach and pulling away some of the dirt. A never ending cycle of renewal and decay – Of rebirth and destruction.

Brown. Everything was brown as far as the eye can see – It wasn't far – though a dirty fog obscured a portion of my view. It was calming – I am calm – but something was missing. What was I missing? – I am missing nothing. – What have I forgotten?

I searched within myself – I found nothing – and I found something. Emotions, - Primal and illogical – deep and powerful. Desire. – Despair. – Love – Loathing. – Hope. – Despair. – Happiness. – Anger.

And something else, something loud. – So very loud.

Dissoc – iation.

The dog began to clear, - I began to fade. – returning back into the expansive Lake of Mud. – Returning back home.

And I returned to self. – And I returned to all.

"Oh fucking hell!"

I spit out the mud that had blocked my throat, breathing for the first time in what felt like forever. My eyes duly scanned the beach I was on, noting how several large spires stood up from the lake. Large walls of brown rock stretched across the beach behind me, leaving only a single exit deeper into the island. The exit was blocked by some large ornate stone doors, weathered carvings decorating them.

Groaning, I squeezed my hand closed and felt the dirt bunch up between my fingers. It was moist, soft, but oh so very cold. And yet, I wasn't cold in the slightest. I felt fine, comfortable even.

The air was still, not a single breeze of wind had hit my face.I was lying down on the dirt beach, my armor gone. Instead, I was wearing what looked to be my normal casual outfit, a navy button up with slacks and shoes.

Where the fuck was I?

I stood up from the ground, brushing off some of the dirt that had stuck to me. Frowning at my sudden unarmored form, I went to open my inventory.

"The hell?"

Nothing. I couldn't open my inventory whatsoever. My frown deepened as I tried to use observe, which also ended in complete failure. I even tried to pull on my magic, hoping to have something, but even that seemed to be gone.

I was defenseless.

With that in mind, I cautiously made my way over to the large doors. My every step sank a little deeper than it should, the dirt being soft enough to give in such a way. It was like I was walking on cake, just probably a lot less delicious.

I stopped before the doors, my hand tentatively touching the carvings as I began to make sense of them. They weren't words, or even proper symbols. Just a mesh of curves and twists that had no logical meaning. But it made sense. I knew what it wanted to tell.

"The Lake of Primordial Mud, where all things return."

I never said I knew what it was supposed to mean. Though this seemed fairly self explanatory. Maybe.

My hands rested on the doors, and I grunted as I pushed them open. Stone ground against Stone ground against stone as the doors were pushed open, revealing a long and thin hallway that stretched on.

Stepping through, I walked down the long corridor, my steps echoing along the tight walls. Despite the lack of lighting, I could see perfectly. Not unlike how it is with my night vision, though this felt more… natural. There were still shadows, it was just as if I were holding a lantern.

My walking slowed to a crawl as my eyes began to notice a change in the walls. The rough stone of the walls were slowly being replaced by… well it was hard to explain. There were swords, bows, axes, hammers, shields, boots, gauntlets, even a whole mirror, which I had stopped in front of.

My eyes… they were brown. The dark navy with their subtle glow was nowhere to be seen, just the dull mud brown. It was almost nostalgic really. To see myself from oh so long ago. Back when I didn't have any magic in me, and my eyes were just a boring brown.

I tore myself away from the mirror, instead choosing to focus on the strange weapons and other items that had now begun to make up the hallway. They were old, many of the blades rusted and dull. They emerged from the brown wall like they had been buried there centuries ago, always here and yet not belonging. They just didn't fit with the brown color scheme this place had. They were outsiders, something that did not come here naturally.

And I recognized every single one.

How could I not? These items are all things that I've either had or crafted at one point or another. The shinobi gauntlet that would inspire almost all of my gauntlet designs, with its modular design and grappling hook. The jacket Mason first gave me, with it's thick leather and furred collar that prevails in almost all of my clothing and armor design today. Hell, even the newer things I've made are here, like a few golem knight parts and some of my guns.

But why were they here? What was this place? It couldn't have been made by my power. It just felt… old. Ancient even. And yet, I'm here. This is all here. What connection do I have to this place? This-This… Lake of Mud.

Just a bit farther now User. You're almost there.

"Almost where!? God damn it system! Answer me!"

Nothing. It said nothing. I huffed angrily, frustrated with the lack of answers. Nonetheless, I moved forward.

The hallway continued for what felt like forever, the walls still bearing all that I had ever made. Occasionally I would have to duck, as one of the blades would stick out from the wall. The only sound within the claustrophobic hall being my shoes clacking against the rough stone floor.

And then it ended.

It was sudden, way more than what would normally be possible. One moment I was walking down a never-ending tunnel, and the next I was at the exit. It didn't make sense. An exit doesn't just appear where there was none. And yet, it happened.

This place was fucking with my head way too hard.

The exit was another set of doors, insane carvings lining them just like the previous set. Not that it stopped me from reading it of course. "The Unbound, Destroyer of The Limited Reality."

Something at the back of my head tingled at that, scraping against the back of my skull in some sort of twisted glee. Pushing the feeling to the side, I placed my hands against the doors and pushed them open, stepping through them.

What awaited me was some type of strange shrine, pillars surrounding a central chamber where three massive statues laid. The statues surrounded a large obelisk at the center, mud flowing from the obelisk to the statues. In the obelisk however, was a katana stabbed into the side. From the wound, blood leaked down the stone and into the mud that flowed into the statues.

Finis Atrium.

I didn't even notice I had walked forward until I was already touching the blade. Blinking, I took a step back and looked towards the first statue. It was an instantly recognizable site, my leather coat and armor on a statue of what looked to be me. In the hands of the statue were Master and Pupil, held to the statues sides in a relaxed position. At the bottom of the statue was some stone pedestal, with more inane scribbles. "The Avenger, who's blades sing a song of grief and death."

A frown settled on my lips, and I turned towards the second statue. This one looked rather similar to the first, with a long coat on. Only this one was more regal, it's navy cloth contrasting nicely with the dull gray metal. On its waist was a longsword, sheathed within a scabbard as the statue stood tall and proud. "The Leader, who's command brought both conflict and peace."

It was easy to see what was going on at this point, even as I walked towards the third and final statue. This one was a far more familiar sight, it's heavy armor bearing the exact appearance as the one I had been using in The Nether. The large absorption blade was in its hands, but I could still see the ends of my several guns on its back. "The Protector, who's desperation drives him to do the impossible."

I took a step back, chuckling to myself in spite of the situation. "This is all a bit on the nose, don't you think? I mean, surely there's a more subtle way to go about this?"

The System didn't respond, leaving my questions unanswered as I turned towards the center obelisk. It was… bland. Just a large, thick stone pillar with some scribbles at the bottom. The only interesting thing about it was the mud that flowed into the other statues. That, and the katana sticking out of it that was leaking blood somehow.

Kneeling down, I brushed my fingers against the statue's carvings. "The Blank Slate, an untapped potential bursting with possibility."

That was unhelpful. Then again, this whole endeavor was nothing if not unhelpful. Useless would fit better actually, it's connotations way more negative than simply unhelpful. Frustration gnawed at me, the unnecessarily vague puzzle before me enough to really get under my skin. Especially in a time like now.

Then perhaps it is time to discard the anonymity and get straight to the point.

It was The System, though this time the voice had a physical presence to it. I turned around slowly, watching as the upper half of a golem knight tore itself from the wall, hanging by the waist as it regarded me. The armor is cracked and dull, as if it had been wasting away here for decades.

The System spread its arms to the side, beckoning me closer with what looked to be some type of hug. "No thanks. I'm not really in the hugging mood, I'm sure you understand."

That is not what I had in mind. No, you wanted direct, straightforward answers, yes? Well, I'm here to provide some of those answers, and I'll do so as clearly as possible. Does that sound agreeable?

I bit my lip, cautiously walking forward. This might finally be what I have been hoping for since, well, Aimee I woke up in that little hut. A reason as to why. "Yeah, I think it does."

It seemed pleased with that, as it's… body brought its hands up and began to clap. The sound was nothing if not painful, as dull metal was slapped against dull metal with a sharp clang.

Fabulous. Well then User, what is your first question? What truly boggles your mind?

That was a list that ran long, about as long as he was old. So not very, but it was still a really long list. Still, it was probably best to get the more relevant ones out of the way. "What are you, and what is this place?"

The machine let out a small hum, one reminiscent of the quiet sound of a large reactor core.

Let me start with the latter, as it is the easier question. This place is the beginning and end of all creation, a place where all is destroyed and broken down into the Primordial Mud, until Rebirth can take place and reshape the Mud.

The golem knight twitched violently, before falling over. It's arms hung low to the ground, lifeless and limp. To the left of it, another golem knight sprung forth, taking up the same position as the previous one.

My apologies. These bodies are not capable enough to hold me for long.

I gave it a nod, crossing my arms as I narrowed my eyes. "So this is some universal bus stop for all creation? Neat. Now then, the other question."

Unflappable I see. Well then, I am sure this will change that.

Its arms lifted up into the air, splaying its fingers out and towards the sky. Its head however, stood trained on me, unmoving even as the rest of it did.

I am your power, what makes you you, and all your strength. In a sense, I am you. But then, I'm also not you.

The golem knight began to shudder, this time melting down into mud as it shut down. Unlike last time, there was no other golem knight to take its place.

Those mortal bodies are useless. Getting back to the topic at hand, you can say that I am just your power given sapience. Unfortunately, due to our… unorthodox nature, I could not reside in your body like all the other Influences do with their Aspect.

I could put some of the pieces together from there. "So you separated from me and showed up here, somehow. Which is kind of unnerving, since sapient powers usually always try to stab their user in the back."

Those powers could survive without their user. I cannot. Regardless of that, it is in my being to serve you the best I can. As such, I will do so.

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure whether or not that was comforting. Regardless, I took a small step back and continued to probe The System. "Why did you have to come here? What about our nature forces you to leave my body?"

If I did not separate myself from you, then it is entirely possible that we would have both died. Perhaps even taking this universe with us.

W-What?! There was no way that was possible. I mean, the entire universe? How could- why would- what?!

Indeed. As such, I left as soon as your powers were awakened, coming here. Though I did not foresee some of the consequences for that.

I bit my lip even harder, drawing blood as I took a few steady breaths and calmed myself. "So I'm assuming we're talking about when I woke up in that cabin when I first got to that world?"

No, I am referring to when you nearly died to a creeper's explosion before you were found by those villagers and taken to their dying settlement. I had been forcefully awakened, which is the only reason we survived that.

Creeper explosion? But I didn't fight any creepers until after I got to the village. So how could I… oh fuck. "What you're saying… are you implying that I was alive before then? That I existed before that village?"

Did you really believe that you dropped into the world as a twenty-three year old man?

The irony wasn't lost on me. All this time I had been using amnesia as a way to explain why I was so uninformed about the world and my lack of past. And apparently, I wasn't even lying. "Consequences. Y-You said something about consequences. What were they?"

Well besides the apparent complete erasure of your life memories before that point, our separation led to quite the effect on your power. Simply put, your Influence has shattered, and as such you can no longer ever fully awaken it.

Oh… well shit.

At least, not as you are now.

"Maybe you should have started with that part! You almost gave me a fucking heart attack!"

Apologies. While normally you wouldn't have been able to unlock your Influence, the strange atmosphere of The Nether combined with the heavily damaging effects of Finis Atrium has brought you to the point where your body and soul are damaged to the point where a… rather simple procedure can take place.

My eyes automatically flicked over towards the statue, watching as the tainted mud flowed into them. "Considering what apparently happened the last time you tried something with my-our powers, I'm a bit skeptical about this idea."

That is fair. Regardless, if you wish to grow stronger than you are now and truly unlock your Influence, you will follow along with my plan.

"And what does this plan entail?"

As you are now, you will be unable to handle your-our power. Your mortality being the main issue. So long as you remain human in mind, and mortal in soul, you could never fully utilize our abilities. As such, we must-

"I refuse."

Excuse me?

I leaned against the wall, staring up into the sky as I tried to glare at The System. "Like, half of my problems are because of my powers. Sure, I love them, they're awesome. But what would more power accomplish in the long run? Oh sure, it'll be really useful for my immediate problems, of that I have no doubt. But after that? Here's the thing, I don't want to be powerful, to be the big badass hero. I just… I just want to go home and save my fiancé. And then, I want to live a happy life, with none of that bullshit Aspect of Destruction nonsense interfering. And if I have to go lose myself for this god damn power that's apparently mine, then no thanks. So if there's a way to just… go back as I am, I'd take it. I don't want the obvious trouble that will come with taking this power. I can… I can do this without it. I-I'm sure of it."

Silence flooded the room, and for a moment I was afraid The System had just vanished. It didn't last long however, as suddenly what looked to be a large slab of brown stone rose from the ground, colors swirling around it as it began to play.

"Thank you for looking after me this morning."

My heart clenched. "W-What are you doing?! What is this?"

"Really!? I mean, I wouldn't want to keep you up too late, but if you're offering, I'd love the help!"

I pushed myself off the wall, stomping over to the stone slab as it played some old memories. "There are some things you should just leave alone asshole! Stop it!"

"Darius. I… I… think you're a cool guy."

"You're trying to make a point, I get it! Okay?! I get it! So just stop!"

"Oh, I love that one. Used to scare me as a kid whenever my mom would tell it to me."

Fuck it. My hand clenched violently, my lips twisting into a heavy snarl. Rearing my fist back, I slammed it against the slab, watching as the soft stone buckled under my surprising strength and fell apart. My knuckles bled, the crimson liquid dripping onto the floor as the voice continued.

"Please… don't leave me to die without you."

I dropped to my knees, gripping what remained of the slab with white knuckles. "Please… just stop."

We both know that you're going to accept your-our power. Not for the sake of getting stronger, but because your soft mortal emotions will push you to do so. Deny and complain all you want, but you wouldn't be here if I wasn't sure you'd accept. Do you understand now?

Softly, I nodded. Lifting myself up from the ground, I glared towards the statues at the center of the room. "What do I need to do?"

…

This was quite the doozy to get done. Not only because of the contents, but because I've been busy for the past week and a half. Been out of town, and I couldn't really edit my shit until today. I also just finished today, so yeah.

Anyway, we're rapidly approaching the finish line for this part of ACH, and as such I've been thinking on a few projects that I might busy myself with before I start the sequel. The first one is something I mentioned in the discord server (Of Fiction and Fuckups discord. gg/ 68gAdfsTE4) and takes place in DXD:
Dude gets Reincarnated into a Devil by a very hedonistic female Pillar Devil, and is the last piece she needs to acquire a full set (Queen). Turns out, all the other pieces were chosen only for their sex appeal, as she's openly a massive slut who likes the attention. The only one not on board with this is the MC, who has more pressing concerns such as "Oh fuck, I can die again" and "Why can't I remember my life?!" For that last one, it's because his death involved his head being smashed, so when he was revived, his memories didn't come back. Thankfully, supernatural creatures imprint their memories on their souls, so he doesn't have to worry about it anymore.

Join the adventure of McNaches (or whatever I decide to call him) as he tries to regain his memory and deals with the hijinks of his really horny peerage members and Master.

Yeah, it's set up to be a more lighthearted story in a somewhat fascinating world. One of my main issues with DXD fics (and fanfictions in general) is how almost all the characters are just cheap versions of themselves. With the exception of some authors of course (Fucking Coeur, dude's a fucking psychopath with his update schedule) and besides that, I just don't like any of the characters from a story writing perspective. A quick backtrack – I don't like them because they're already established characters with motivations, backstories and desires. Basically, I don't get to have fun with character creation. So, another OC centric fic with very little interaction with canon DXD unless absolutely necessary/hilarious.

Here's the second idea I had:

A future version of RWBY where Salem is defeated, but with her defeat comes The Big Fuck, where her Grimm powers go nuts and cover like 97% of the world in a toxic Grimm smog that you can't breathe for too long and if you do, you become Grimm monster cause ooh fun. The Protags of RWBY are heralded as villains because of what happened, and like 100 years or whatever goes by. Grimm are still an issue of course, however the negativity left within the earth by the millions who have died obscure their negative emotion sensing, leading to certain pockets of civilization that hide from the Grimm with these "Graveyards". Aura is also basically gone, as its power was too much for the Graveyards to mask, leading to a decline in Aura users. Which is where MC Protag comes in, who is basically just a wanderer who drives around in a modified truck looking for a civilization pocket because Uh Oh, his mom died during birth and now he has a baby sister he needs to find a safe spot for, as his old home is overrun by Grimm.

Fun right? If you like either of these (or both of them) feel free to share your opinion, because let's face it, you were gonna do that anyway.

Now onto our Review of the Chapter, where I have to really scrape the barrel as the reviews I got for last chapter were mostly weapon/item based and then the usual "Great Chapter", which is appreciated. So let's look towards a new review for an old chapter:

"I hate the bitching these girls are giving him about the treant situation. What could he have done differently? I get that they are worried about him, but that shit annoys me…"

This is like chapter 11 for context, and I can understand why this guy feels this way, but at the same time, I stand by my decision. Emotions and logic often go against each other, especially when someone could die. People are chaotic, illogical, and as such they often make decisions based off of their own feelings. And worrying about someone who definitely picked a fight that most people wouldn't win? Makes sense.

This has been A Decent Hoonter, and wow it's been a while since we've had such a long AN.