For the week of Halloween, we got to write whatever we wanted as long as it was spooky. I took a spooky story that I'm fond of and adapted it for Remnant.
The Huntsman found the beast easily. The forest died in its wake, making an easy path to follow. It was like no Grimm he had ever seen before. It towered above the tree line, and strange, purple Dust crystals protruded from its body all over.
The Huntsman and his team attacked at once, but the beast was more than they were ready for. The Huntsman's Semblance let him see a few seconds into the future, but even with that he couldn't save his team. The Grimm's touch was death, and he could barely save himself from it.
Until finally, desperately searching for a future that allowed him to win, the Huntsman saw the Grimm die when he struck the Dust crystal in its chest. He avoided its next attack, leapt into the air, and lashed out with his weapon as hard as he could.
There was an explosion. Every inch of the Huntsman's body was burning with pain, and his Aura did nothing to protect him. It felt as if he were being rent apart by terrible claws. He tried to scream, but it was drowned out by the roaring in his ears. Darkness filled his vision.
He tried to look into the future to see if he survived this pain. Instead he saw his village in ruins. The walls were torn open, and the Grimm were pouring in. People ran screaming from the wreckage, but they were cut down by the nightmarish creatures. The grisly scene was lit by a full moon.
The vision faded a moment later, and the Huntsman found himself lying in the center of a massive crater. He rose on unsteady legs, only to collapse again when he looked down at himself. His clothing was gone, revealing jet black skin. A bony plate with red markings on it covered his chest. His arms were boneless, stretched out things with too few fingers. The Huntsman cried out, and his voice came out as an inhuman shriek.
He was a Grimm.
But even this shock didn't make him forget the vision that he had seen. He was certain that this was the future, and he was determined to prevent it. There would be a full moon in just a few nights. The Huntsman knew he had to reach his village and protect it when the Grimm came.
As he set off running through the forest, he tried to look into the future again and found that he couldn't. In fact, his Aura was gone completely. Instead, he felt the tireless strength of a Grimm flowing through his limbs.
The Huntsman reached his village that night. As he drew close, he realized that he could feel the negative emotions of the people inside the walls. He felt fear, sorrow, and worry. And he realized that some part of him wanted to tear into the village and destroy the source of those emotions.
But the Huntsman shook off these feelings. He was here to protect, not to destroy. He circled the village walls constantly, alert for any sign of a threat to his home.
A day passed, but no Grimm appeared. The Huntsman continued circling the village, but the only thing that he noticed was that the fear emanating from the villagers grew stronger.
"Something bad must be happening inside the village," he thought. "Something is scaring them, and once their fear gets too strong, the Grimm attack."
As the scent of fear grew stronger, so too did the instinct to attack his home, but the Huntsman resisted. He remained dedicated to protecting his village, even now that he looked like a Grimm.
Three days had passed since the Huntsman's transformation. He knew that there would be a full moon that night. He continued his vigil as the fear radiating from his home continued to grow stronger.
Then, as the sun began to dip below the horizon, the Huntsman suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. He turned around and saw a Huntress armed with a bow standing thirty yards away. As the Huntsman moved, he felt the weight of her arrow still lodged in his back, but the pain wasn't enough to slow him down.
As the Huntress knocked another arrow, the Huntsman realized he had a decision to make. He didn't recognize the woman, so she must have come from another village. She saw him as a Grimm, and intended to slay him. He could run, but she would pursue him until he was far away from the village, possibly too far to return in time to stop the Grimm invasion. If he wanted to stay and protect his home, then he would have to fight her.
The Huntress loosed her arrow, but the Huntsman writhed out of the way, avoiding it. He charged forward and lashed out with his hand, which stretched out to strike the Huntress even from thirty yards away. She tried to dodge, but was knocked off her feet by the blow.
The Huntsman ran at her and attacked, beating her down with both of his massive hands. She tried to defend herself, but she was too weak. The Huntsman decided he had been right to fight back against her, since clearly he would make the better protector for the village when the Grimm arrived.
As the Huntsman continued to strike the Huntress again and again, he felt her terror growing. He tried to keep his Grimm instincts under control, but they kept screaming at him to fight, destroy, kill.
The Huntsman's hand came down again, and he heard a snap. He shrieked in horror as he saw the Huntress's neck bent at an unnatural angle. He hadn't noticed her Aura break. He had only meant to drive her off, but now she lay there in his arms, dead.
The Huntsman heard someone cry out, and he turned his gaze back towards the village. He saw people he had known his entire life lined up on top of the walls, staring down at him in horror. Their fear was practically palpable in the air.
Then the Huntsman heard a howl from behind him. He didn't need to look to know what was coming, but he did anyways.
Beowolves sprinted through the woods towards the village. There were dozens, maybe even hundreds. Ursae followed alongside them, some looking large enough to tear down the village gate alone. Nevermore circled above, their baleful calls filling the night. There were far too many for the Huntsman to hope to fight alone.
That was when he realized why the villagers were so afraid. Why, after sending their own Huntsmen off to die fighting the Dust-infused Grimm, they had hired a Huntress from the next town over. Why their terror grew each day that he stood vigil over them.
They were afraid of him.
This was all his fault.
That was when his sanity finally snapped. That was when he gave in to the Grimm's instincts. That was when the Huntsman died.