Hero of Remnant: Veil of the Aether

by Aetherveil

Following after the events of the Volume 3 Arc, Dante, and his partner Inuba travel across Remnant to make their way to Haven, searching for clues that will lead them to the real mastermind behind the attack on Vale 6 months prior. They will meet allies, both old and new, and face challenging new enemies on their journey. Secrets will be revealed. Continuation of Hero of Remnant.

8. Chapter 8: Veil of Memories

Merry Christmas everyone! My gift under the tree for you! That's that. Enjoy!

---

Chapter 8: Veil of Memories

Dante staggered towards the bullheads that had landed in the desert sand, boarding the group of allies that were both exhausted, and in the case of one, fairly injured. He didn't consider himself to be in either category, despite his right arm going numb and currently feeling as though it were lit ablaze. The young immortal turned his head around once more to see the last of the Drakon Leviathan dissolve into the cool winds that swept through the desert. Feeling no more threats present in the vicinity, Dante sheathed his weapon on the visibly attached sheath on his back and continued staggering towards the open bullhead. He was disoriented slightly, given that he could barely hear the engines of the airship and the voice of Destiny calling out to him as she was waving him down, possibly to tell him to hurry it up.

Dante grasped his right arm and flopped onto the edge of the air vehicle, dragging himself in with some help from the wolf Faunus.

"Les's go!" He shouted smacking the cockpit door.

Seconds after, the side doors closed and the ship took off heading back towards Beacon now that everyone was aboard safe and sound. A nurse came to attend to him, but he waved her off.

"He takes priority. There's not much you'd be able to do with this anyway." He said nodding towards Xera before using his left arm to lift up his right slightly.

The nurse nodded before moving towards the back of the bay, leaving Destiny and Dante by themselves. The young immortals grasp on his arm grew tighter as the burning feeling slowly began to die down.

"Let me take a look." Said Destiny reaching out towards him.

"It'd be pointless to."

"But-"

"If you really want to help, make sure Xera's okay."

"He'll be fine for now. If you'd stop being a moronic idiot for a second, I could actually do something for you."

"And trust me, you won't be able to do a thing for me right now. Inuba will be able to take care of this. For the most part anyway...

"Most part?"

"Her healing magic is the best of the best. And in my opinion, the best kind of healing magic I've ever seen. Not even that healed me. Back in my Reality, it's been six months since I've gotten this injury. And every day for the past six months, she's been working on my arm."

Destiny could now see the blackened skin of his hand that had slowly began healing, spots of his actual skin revealed underneath. These spots were fairly large, showing that progress had been made. But what truly provided confirmation of healing was how much he could move his right arm and hand, which at the moment, was minimal at best.

"Six moths..? It's been that long in your reality?"

"Yup. We've been traveling around on a...secret mission of sorts."

"Secret mission?"

"That's something of no importance to you." Said Dante as he reminisced about the attack on Beacon and Vale half a year ago. "You were wondering what happened to my arm, right? The real reason this time and not some...poor excuse?"

She nodded silently, looking behind her to make sure no one else was watching as she scooted closer to him to listen carefully.

"Six months ago, I found out that something was hidden in Vale. Don't worry, you won't find it here if you looked. It...doesn't exist in your Reality. I found it and tried destroying it, but it backfired and ended up overcharging my current powers, triggering a state that happens to Higher Beings known as EndStage. As the name suggests, your power is increased exponentially from the time you're afflicted. But as time passes...your own power slowly begins to consume you. This almost happened to me and fighting only made it happen quicker. Turns out, ever since I stepped foot on Remnant, something managed to hide within my soul and gathered Grimm Essence from all the Grimm I killed. After a simple walk into my soul, I pushed out whatever it was that was hiding in me, but the Grimm Essence it gathered allowed it to form a body of its own. After pushing it out, I fought a long and lengthy battle against a basic carbon-copy of myself. I finally managed to kill it after...discharging practically all of my Aura through a punch. I was dead for ten minutes at most since my heart stopped. That's basically what happened in a Nutshell."

"You idiot!" Destiny said in an angry whisper. "You discharged all of your Aura through a punch?! Seriously?!"

"No other option at the time. Plus it worked."

"Whether it worked or not, that was still really stupid! What if that's the only way to actually kill you?!"

"Well, I'm alive, so I have to say that theory of yours is flawed."

"Did you ever consider how others would feel if they think you were dead? They'd be...mortified! Especially... Especially those really close to you. Could you imagine how'd they feel?"

"Not really..."

"Are you that much of an idiot?!"

"I won't be dying anytime. So I don't really need to think of such things."

She didn't have anything else to say. Whether she was shocked or too angry to say anything was unknown. She wanted to say more, but Dante cut in before she did.

"I'm not that insensitive, Destiny... For the most part, I actually do care about other people's thoughts and feelings and try not to hurt people as best as possible. In fact...I completely avoid it altogether if I see it coming... My point is that I'm fine and there's nothing to worry about. So if possible, let's just forget about it already and focus on the actual injured person, yes?" He said motioning to Xera.

The wolf Faunus looked back at the Phoenix Faunus a moment before looking back at the immortal.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do to help you? Nothing at all?"

"I'm sure. Now stop wasting your time with me and go help someone who needs it more."

Destiny was reluctant at first, but soon stood up and walked over to Xera, conversing with the nurse about areas Xera Stark was still injured in. Knowing his friend was in good hands, the young immortal leaned his head back against the cushioned padding of the headrest and closed his eyes to rest them for a moment, opening them moments later to find his Proxy Specter sitting directly next to him, still maintaining the form of his Shadow Skin.

"How long?"

"Pardon?" Asked the Proxy.

"How long have you been with me exactly?"

"Hmmmmmm... A fairly vague question... But I will answer you no less. I've been with you...since the beginning."

"Hmmmmmm... A fairly vague answer..."

"Were you expecting something else?"

"From you? Not really... But still... In a way, we made it out of there because of you. So thanks."

"My pleasure."

"I do have one more question... You said Devouring Light is a sister-technique. Is it the twin of Howling Dark?"

"Yes, it is indeed. But there are two slight differences between them. The first is fairly simple. Due to it being of a Light nature, Devouring Light does retain the same destructive power of Howling Dark, but it moves far faster than it. The other difference is that Devouring Light is extremely effective against creatures of Darkness and Evil, whilst Howling Dark is effective against all matter of living beings and undead, as well as people who use abilities and powers belonging to the Light. Either way, both techniques are powerful and highly destructive. Wield this technique wisely as you once did, and you can make short work of any enemy."

"I'm probably not going to be able to use all the fancy tricks I learned until I use Devouring Light a bit more, huh?"

"That is correct."

The young immortal sighed with disappointment.

"Did you really think it'd be that easy?"

"Sort of since I learned those tricks ages ago."

"Then you would be a fool to believe such a thing."

"Apparently so..."

Dante looked towards Xera, the nurse. Destiny once more, overhearing they had just managed to stabilize him. The rest would have to be taken care of when they got back to Beacon.

"It appears he is out of danger. For the time being at least." Said the specter.

"But we still have a lot more to do before we can continue our journey back in our reality. You've felt it too, right?"

"I have. An evil once widely know and feared. An evil long forgotten. An evil that once again rises in order to destroy and enslave. I know not his name, but the the Darkness he exudes... One can only assume him to be a powerful being from long ago that was felled. Even so, his spirit was not destroyed. He survived and endured. And now with his return, he will attempt to rule over all."

"Not while we have something to say about it."

"Don't get so cocky, Dante. A technique similar in nature to the one you once had may be in your possession now, but it does not give you room to make errors. You must be cautious."

"I know. But for now, we rest until everyone else can get back on their feet. Then, we find it and take it down. Once and for all."

"If only it were so easy..."

"It won't be. But with everyone else helping, it'll definitely help make things go smoother."

"Well then, I suggest you work diligently then. This foe will be the greatest you've faced so far in your time on Remnant. Be cautious at every turn."

"Got it..." said the teen as he leaned back and closed his eyes once more.

The specter chuckled before it evaporated into the air, leaving Dante with the others in the bullhead without their extra unseen "passenger". His greatest fight so far during his time on Remnant... Would such a thing be true? Or was the sepcter simply over exaggerating to make him take it as seriously as possible? He could never tell his Proxy's intentions unless they were clear and concise. For now though, he would rest until Xera could get back up on his feet. And then...they would burn away this menace that has been plaguing the Phoenix Faunus' mind for a time now.

---

The young immortal made it to the infirmary room after they took Xera away to treat him, and after once again convincing Destiny there was nothing she could do to treat him. In fact, he was in the infirmary for that very reason. He last felt Inuba's presence in here. Given that he longer felt it, it either meant she was hiding or she was busy enough that she did not need disruptions. It was most likely the second given that the Opzin of this Reality required her assistance. But for what exactly?

"Maybe I should call her and see what's up..."

The young immortal brought up his holographic scroll display, his HoloScroll for short, to attempt to call his partner, unaware of the figure creeping up on him, preparing to lay hands on him.

"HAHA!"

Someone did indeed pounce on him, wrapping their legs around his waist and arms around his neck. And then...teeth digging into his coat along with some form of cute growling?

Before Dante could turn to see who it was trying to devour him, he found his sides being tickled with such speed and ferocity that he had no time to counter, only laugh as the figure continued tickling his sides mercilessly without pause.

"S-Stop..! Hahahahahahahahaha! Please! Hahahahahaha! God, no! Bwahahahahaha!"

"Suffer my tickling wrath!"

Finding enough strength for one attack, Dane reached behind him with his left hand, grabbed the collar of his attacker, and removed her from his back and tossed her into the air spinning, the same girl giggling cheerfully as she vertically spun around until she landed softly atop the bed in front of Dante.

"Good lord... Skyla, you little munchkin..."

"Hey! I'm not exactly a kid. Sorta. You gotta admit though, I got you good."

"Well... Yeah, I guess you did. You should be resting." said the young immortal poiting to her own bandaged hands and slightly bandaged head.

"This half mummy needs no rest! Ow..."

"Yeah, right."

A second later, he felt a small sensation in his right arm, looking to see Skyla examining it.

"What happened..?"

"Oh, don't worry about this all too much. Just a small injury."

"Aren't you, like, immortal or something?"

"I am. But even I get consequences for doing dumb things. Let me give you the short version. I kinda sorta had a mishap with Aura. It severely overloaded the nerves in my right arm, making it not usable. But thanks to my partners healing, it's gotten better. I can move my arm and fingers a lot more than I did, so it's working."

"Healing, huh?" said Skyla raising her eyebrows once or twice.

"N-Nothing like that! She just has the best healing magic there is. Well, her and her family to be more precise."

"I was just messing. Of course I know what you meant. I hope you get better though."

"I will. Thanks."

"Did-?"

"Yeah, he's back. Took some time due to an...unwanted guest. But we got him out. They're working on him now in fact."

"That's good..."

"He'll be fine. Trust me. Get some rest now. If you're going to help with what's coming next, we need you at full strength. Get me?" said the young immortal raising up his fist.

"I got it."

"Great. Rest now you little munchkin."

"I'm not a kid you know. Sometimes at least."

"I know."

"Then why-?"

"Because the Phantom of the Cape towers over you. That's why." he said leaving a wide grin on the girls face as he left.

---

It didn't take Dante long to find Inuba after he left the infirmary. Her Aura Signature popped up immediately after, likely due to her sensing his return and giving off a pulse to allow him to find her. Black iced filled the hallway he walked through, a cold chill settling over him with each step he took closer to the room. Opening the door to the he was lead to, he found Inuba sitting down in a seat, keeping close watch of the problem at hand, Zerath Stark, the older brother of Xera.

Zerath wasn't so much the problem. It was what was inside him that was the issue. The Dark Entity Soul-Slasher resided within. And now...Dante and Inuba needed to figure out a means to tear him from his soul.

"How is he?" Dante asked, stepping around the icy room as while he kept his eyes trained on the center bed.

"He's stable, Master. However, the fading of his consciousness has not completely stopped. It's nearly deteriorated." Inuba responded quietly.

"He won't be Zerath anymore if this keeps up." Destiny concluded.

From what she told me last time, she's only just begun researching Dark Entities this year. And she's learned quite a lot about them…

"I didn't know Dark Entities could do this…"

"No ordinary Dark Entity can." Dante clarified, "This is definitely the work of a Dark Entity...Lord Class last time I checked. It's the level right beneath King Class, the strongest and oldest of the bunch."

"It's strange though..." Inuba began, "By now, I can easily restrain a Lord with ease. However, I've been having trouble keeping Zerath's darkness at bay."

"That that might be an issue for us then..."

He's not your average Lord Class from what I know so far... Obani is the only Lord Class Dark Entity I know of that can rival a King Class due to his ability of drawing power from moons... Soul-Slasher might be a Dark Entity like Obani that can transcend it's Lord Class limitations through some sort of special ability. If that's the case...

"From the first moment you sensed him to now, has there been an increase in the Darkness Essence?"

Inuba closed her eyes for a few moments, before they slowly opened and turned directly to Dante by Zerath's bedside.

"His presence has become more apparent. At first, I associated that increase with the power Soul-Slasher was gaining over Zerath's mind…but it's far too much of an increase for that to simply be the case."

"Which means he's drawing power from something we don't know of right now... And if I'm right, it's not anything good."

"Master, do you think..?"

"It's a possibility. I never found out what happened to the one I found at Beacon, but... If it is what I think it is, and if Soul-Slasher is using it, then we have a big problem on our hands."

"Master... If he has it...how will we be able to help?" Inuba asked, turning her crimson eyes back to Zerath, "How can we save him if he's this far along?"

Dante stopped to think while Destiny had been kept quiet, listening and observing what was taking place before her and taking in everything she could. Could she be able to use her chains again? It was a longshot at best, but if it came down to it…she could try to pull Soul-Slasher from Zerath again. She would need to sacrifice a lot of energy to do that again, though…and so soon after just using so much of it in her fight against him in the tournament...

Silence fell upon the room. Dante hated to admit it, but Zerath's life had a chance become unsalvageable if things continued as they did.

"I believe I can help you with that." A new voice spoke up.

For a brief shining moment, there was a flash of white light. A fourth figure appeared, standing at the same height as Inuba, a head shorter than Dante, who stood at six feet now. She was a female cloaked in white and with a soft effeminate and young voice. The very fabric of her attire glimmered in the dim light of the dreary infirmary, reflecting even that of the smallest of shines. Entangled into the white cloak swirled the elegant designs of black motif, branching away from a trim of equal color.

"I can help you save him."

---

"What do you mean, you can help? Just, who are you?" Destiny asked, internally questioning the sudden presence of the girl that stood before them.

"Who or what I am is of no importance. What I can do for you all...is." The cloaked girl responded, gesturing a pale hand to the infirmary room's bed.

"That wasn't an answer I was looking for." Destiny quipped.

This was Xera's brother, who suffered long enough and was in need of being liberated. If that girl meant him harm in any way…

"Cool it, she's a friend. And as of now, she's our only way of keeping Zerath from descending into Darkness. Permanently." Dante said

"You know her, then?" Destiny asked, looking toward Dante now.

"Yeah, she's my stalker."

Destiny and, surprisingly, the girl in white both shot him their glances. One was riddled with confusion and curiosity, the other was about to bore a hole into Dante's head through eye contact alone.

"H-He's not entirely wrong…" Inuba said, coughing into her fist to establish innocence and presence in all of this.

"Calm yourself you two. I've merely been following you about for reasons I can't quite tell either of you yet." The girl sighed in exasperation with pauses in her words, turning down her hood as she approached the teen on the bed.

"Now then, we must hurry before he is lost forever."

She then turned to Inuba and dipped the tip of her hood slightly, almost as if it were the starting of a very subtle but elegant bow.

"Thank you for binding him. It will make this easier now."

Inuba looked more shocked than anything else, but she quickly smiled in response before speaking, "You're welcome. I was simply buying us more time."

"Your efforts have preserved his consciousness." The girl started, "They were not in vain."

The kitsune nodded her head, this time looking more humble by the words spoken. Despite all this, though. A realization seemed to come into fruition with the cloaked girl as she rested a hand on Zerath's cold head.

"Only two will be able."

"Two?" asked the young immortal.

The girl closed her eyes and held her response, only opening them moments later to verify her first assumption.

"I can only send two people in."

"In where?" asked Destiny.

Dante then stepped forward and waved his non bandaged hand slightly.

"Hold on now, you can't just send anybody in there. You do realize what that can do to someone do you?"

"I do. But for this task, having two going in is better than one. This way, one cannot lose the other." The girl spoke back, responding in the same vagueness she's been using.

"I'm sorta lost at this point. I have a general idea as to what you two are talking about. But… Well... It seems impossible…" Destiny said.

Inuba moved over to her master's side and looked down at the darkened soul before them, "It's been done before. In fact, master has achieved such a task on his own several times before."

"What, seriously?!"

"Yeah, but it wasn't exactly a fun time." Dante retorted quickly.

"Nonetheless, you have done it before. You most certainly will be able to do so again." Inuba said, her tone trailing off into a more supportive and almost affectionate one.

"So… It really is possible…" Destiny commented.

"Two souls are all that I am willing to send into the depths of Zerath's mind." The girl said, before turning her attention to Dante, "You are one of them. I can already trust that you'll be more than capable of keeping your sense of self within Zerath's consciousness. Your soul is incorruptible and vigilant. You will always find a way to succeed, no matter the odds. That is why you must be one of the two to go in there."

Dante looked away momentarily, knowing she made good points that were hard to ignore.

"Alright then, but that doesn't make it easy to pick someone else to go in with me."

"What about me?" Destiny asked, crossing her arms as she shifted her weight to another foot, "I can go with him. I've spent countless years with a shared mind, so it'll be a piece of cake to keep my own bearings in there with Dante. Besides, this way his waifu won't be worried about his safety." She continued with a smirk, "He'd be in safe hands."

"If that is the case, then I'll go." Inuba suddenly spoke up, "I am more than capable of keeping Master safe and I am the only other person here who has experience in vanquishing Dark Entities."

"Well, I have knowledge of countless dark beings and can sense dark presences on my own thanks to my research and abilities."

Destiny piped in. Inuba turned a sharp gaze to the wolf, "As do I. Regardless, I think I'm more qualified for the job. My abilities match that of my Master's own, and we already have the synchronization to work together as partners. W-We've known one another for far longer than you have after all."

Inuba's moment of stutter was quickly made up for, but that didn't stop the very slight blush from dusting her cheeks. Soon after, purple and crimson sets of eyes turned to Dante and asked the same silent question. Who would he take?

"I, uh... I can't... Well...you two both have good points and-"

"It doesn't matter." The cloaked girl spoke up from between the two who wished to be Dante's partner in this, "Neither of you are Sympathetic Souls, souls that could easily resonate with this man."

Her statement brought bewilderment and denial to the two girls' faces.

"She's right." Dante said, drawing their attention back to him.

"But..." Inuba started, only for her question to be finished by Destiny, "Why?"

"Going into another person's mind isn't something so simple like traveling to another world. There are laws that define the inside of ones mind, laws they make of their own accord. It will test you. And it can affect you in so many different ways that insanity is a possibility, no matter how determined you are." He explained.

Inuba looked down and grasped tightly at her skirt, "Master, I can't let you go alone into such a dangerous place."

"And I relude to take you into a place that'll be that dangerous for you." Dante replied, "Sorry. Places like Zerath's mind, as it is now, will do everything in its power to change you as a person. It doesn't just affect your soul and will."

"It doesn't?"

"No, your memories will be affected as well."

The unnamed girl spoke up again, "When you are in the presence of someone else's subconscious, it will try to push thoughts and memories into your own mind. You have to be resilient enough to keep them out… or you'll lose your sense of self altogether. And," She paused for a moment, "It is very difficult to flush those images out once they take hold of you."

"That's why I'm not going to take someone I care about so much into a place like that. Inuba, you are my partner. But this isn't a place I'm willing to take you. Not if there's a chance of you not coming back out with me." Dante said.

Inuba's eyes weakened in their resolve substantially, and as Dante looked at her, she couldn't stop them from glistening with the starting of watery tears.

"I if you say so, Master. Then I will remain here."

"Thank you, Inuba." Dante said, a look of relief crossing his face before he turned his gaze to Destiny.

"I'll relent as well. But still... Who will go into Zerath's mind with you?" Asked the wolf faunus sighed as her ears folded against her head slightly in submission.

"You will need someone who is already familiar with Zerath's. A Sympathetic Soul strong and resilient enough in mind and soul that wI'll allow them to linger in such a draining realm."

Turning to look toward Dante, the hooded girl hoped that he knew of someone who fit those conditions.

"I have just the pigeon in mind..." said Dante as the three stared at him in confusion.

---

"Are you sure you don't want me to go in with you? Despite what she said, if we worked quickly, we could surely finish in no time."

"Possibly... But I'd rather play it safe this time around. I don't know the ins and outs fully this time. I never do at times really. This time though, it's completely different. And I'm not taking chances."

"I...understand then..."

"Right, wait here a moment, be back in a jiffy."

Dante entered inside the corridor leading to Xera's infirmary room. People were inside talking. Something about them helping out. It was a nice idea, but Xera seemed not too keen on allowing it to happen. Luckily, the others needn't be involved now. Xera was the only other he needed for this task.

"Luckily, you have friends that can go places others can't."

All had turned their heads to see that Dante had entered the room.

"Throughout my extensive history so far, I've been told countless times in the past that your bonds with friends strengthen you. Relying on someone else, rather than doing everything on your own, or simply relying on yourself, is better than going at it alone. So, helpful hint, take a tip from your elder. I was one who hated the aspect of friends stepping. I'd rather suffer alone than have them suffer alongside me. Turns out my way of thinking wasn't ideal. I found out it was a lot easier to have people help alongside me. Made things go by quicker and less painfully. Even though I was still scared to death of them getting hurt, I just made sure not to let them get hurt. Simple as that."

That sounds… just like her… thought Xera as his eyes widened slightly, Dante's words striking a familiarity from his past.

"It's better for you to have faith in those that care about you. Above everything else, just trust them. You can't go wrong and no one will blame you if you mess up." Dante finished.

He's right.

Xera once again glanced over the peers before him, finally finding those words he couldn't call upon beforehand.

"Thank you… All of you. I'm…really grateful for each of you, and the fact that you've stuck around for as long as you have. If I can find a way for any of you to help, then I will. I'll be counting on you." Xera said as he turned toward the door once again, "It means a lot."

With that last comment, he made his way out into the hallway and turned in the direction his Aura screamed at him not to go. He felt the very air of the direction he was going with Dante and Inuba grow colder, and he knew in his heart that if he went further, he'd find the demon that stood between him and his brother.

As the two took the next corner and followed the shadows of the encroaching darkness, Dante asked him one, simple question.

Dante turned his head toward Xera, "Are you ready?"

"For the most part." Xera said, nodding his head slightly.

"Alright then Xera. This might sound weird, and will most likely be very hard to understand, but you and I will be entering Zerath's Mind and Soul."

Xera glanced toward Dante, taking in his words after a moment of silence, "As in, the general terms for mind and soul or…?"

"The real deal. The Mind and Soul are highly important in all of what we'll be doing."

"I understand."

"You do?" asked Dante a bit surprised.

"No, I just wanted to say that because you thought otherwise. But," He paused, "I do see where you're going."

"Sense of humor is great and all. I enjoy it. But you have to prepared for anything and everything you see in there."

"I'm...trying not to think about it." Xera replied softly before glancing toward Dante slightly, "How are we even going to enter?"

"The way Soul-Slasher did it, only we'll be coming back out and with him gone. What we'll be doing is much more painless. Luckily we have someone who can project our own Mind and Souls into Zerath's."

"There's no real way to explain this…is there? At least, not scientifically..."

"It's pretty much magic."

"Figured."

"Anyway, in order to prepare you for doing something like that, and trust me you'll need it for where we're going, I need to take you through a bit of a Crash Course to help you out."

"Wouldn't that be wasting time?"

"Not all that much. Time in the Mind moves a lot faster than in reality. So, we can be in there for hours and only thirty minutes would've gone by in the real world."

"Okay… Well what's this Crash Course going to include?"

The tiled floor of the hallway soon started to transition into blackened frost and patches of ice, causing Dante to quicken his pace a little to take them to the furthest door.

"You'll see."

---

The cracking of ice drenched the biting air with a cold, chilling thickness inside the room. Dark shadows of solid crystals swirled with a dense blackness only a bottomless abyss could achieve, encompassing even the lights and rendering the room in a blanket of darkness.

Muffled, the iced door opened with a series of cracks, the result of the spanning ice re-encasing it every time it closed. Xera and Dante made their way into the room before closing the door behind them, Xera's own gaze immediately turned to look at Zerath upon his bed while Dante tossed the black journal onto the nearest table.

"There they are." the hooded girl spoke as she turned her gaze to Xera.

Inuba immediately moved to Zerath bedside and placed a hand on his arm as white flames engulfed him.

"Inuba will keep the darkness exuding from the Dark Entity within him at bay. For now, I must turn my own focus to the two of you. Is he ready?" The girl stood up and turned to Dante.

The white haired teen soon grabbed the nearest chair and pulled it out from the nearby desk.

"Pretty much. Since we're working to save time, I'll inform him about everything once we're inside."

"That will work."

Xera glanced toward the other person in the room and locked eyes with Destiny for a moment, only to watch her make her way to the door and open it once again.

"I'll get him another chair."

She disappeared into the hallway a moment later as Xera then turned to the person he didn't recognize standing before him.

"Are you the friend Dante mentioned?"

"I'm…glad he did not use any other term to describe me."

"She's my stalker." Dante said with a smirk, only to receive a punch to the shoulder from the girl cloaked in white.

"Yes, I am the friend he has most likely mentioned. I'll be the one to project the two of your Souls, along with the consciousness of your Minds, into Zerath's. I believe Dante informed you of the Crash Course before that, correct?"

"More or less." Xera replied honestly.

"Good. Let us begin then." The girl responded with a hidden, but kind, smile.

Just then, Destiny made her way back into the room with a neighboring chair. She set that one near Dante's before sitting herself up onto the table, interested to see where this was being taken.

Before long, Xera found himself sitting in the seat next to Dante's own chair and glancing up at the young girl expectantly.

"Be careful, Xera. When entering another's mind, you can easily lose your sense of self. You'll not only experience the memories and dreams of that person, you will also feel them in your own soul. You have to be ready for that."

"I guess that's why I'm the best candidate for Zerath's mind." Xera concluded.

"Precisely. You two already share a bond from the past and countless precious memories. It will be easy for you to traverse the realms with little drawbacks."

"Okay... Well I'm ready. What's this Crash Course Dante mentioned?"

"It is exactly that." The girl spoke, before approaching the two teens sitting in front of her and placing a gentle hand on each of their foreheads, "Close your eyes now. And, Dante?"

"Yes?"

"Don't do anything too drastic."

With that final safety warning in place, Xera found his eyes closing as a bright light began shining from the girl's hands. Its colors blended into his darkened vision, blinding him entirely before he felt his body go limp and his consciousness suddenly drift elsewhere.

---

Xera's feet touched the ground, and when he opened his eyes, he saw he was elsewhere. It was a city, that had ancient, yet modern look to it, but more so ancient. There were numerous skyscrapers that reached high up into the sky. Normal buildings and stores lined the sides of the extensively long streets. Cars were parked alongside the sidewalks of the streets. It was like a modern metropolis withe ancient designs and aesthetics stacked with numerous skyscrapers and lush areas.

Oddly enough, there was no sunlight. It was dark. With a city as large as this, not even people were out and about. It was dead silent.

Xera looked beyond and noticed something...odd. He saw traffic circles leading to somewhere...a place that was blurred out almost... It looked like it was a-

"Been here many times... And still I have no idea what that is... Or where we are in general really."

"This isn't New Wellington... Or Vale..."

"Nope. It's a city that even I don't know. But...it feels...homey. Like it's my kind of city. Anyway, welcome to my Mind and Soul, Xera."

"So... This is the Crash Course you were talking about…"

"Yep."

"This is going to suck in every way… isn't it…?"

"Ehh, not really."

Xera let out a quiet sigh before turning to face his friend.

"Alright then. Teach me… I guess."

Dante's hand reached for a door handle nearby as he pulled it open, revealing a bright light inside of the doorway.

"Cool. So then, let's begin. First stop, the Hall of Memories!" said Dante with excitement as he moved his hand across his face.

"Couldn't it have a cooler name?"

"Shut it pigeon, I'm not that great with overly cool and sophisticated names. Besides, it fits well with what it is."

"Fair enough." Xera shrugged as he stepped inside the white expanse of nothingness, only to be pulled inward with a distant door coming into view.

It stood on its own, a white frame encompassing it while the door itself looked to be made out of a lightly colored wood. It warped even closer, as if the distance it had once been was completely reduced and nonexistent, not too far away to start with in the first place.

With an ominous silence to it, the door came to a stop, standing completely on its own. It remained still and tall before the two teens, the black metal handle glimmering slightly in the nonexistent light.

"Shall we?" Dante asked, approaching the door and gesturing Xera to follow.

Xera silently nodded his head, unsure of really what to think at the moment as he approached the door himself.

"Open it. And we shall begin."

Then, with a pale but cautious hand, Xera reached forward and grasped the golden handle before him, "I guess there's only one way to find out what's behind door number one."

With that, he turned the handle and pushed it open.

---

A blinding white light engulfed Xera as he pushed the door open. The ancient yet modern metropolis behind him blurred out of existence as Dante stepped past him and entered the frame. He followed behind him, watching closely as the world within melted away into a new light.

Xera watched with such curiosity as doors zipped past him, a sight that brought a smile to Dante's face. He always enjoyed peoples reactions each time he showed them such a mystical thing such as wandering within the depths of the mind and soul.

Countless black wooden doors rushed by as Xera's black hair flew back by a small push of wind, watching as Dante held up his hand to stop the rushing hallway of doors within an instant.

All of this was simply...profound to the phoenix Faunus.

"Our first stop of our short tour is the Hall of Memories." Dante explained, gesturing behind Xera then in front of them.

"How precise is all this? It...well...it looks like you have a lot of memories in here…"

"Every memory you've ever experienced is stored within these halls. Some short, some extensive, but each are able to be recalled for viewing if necesarry. Unfortunately, for most people, almost all of their doors are harder to open than fresh ones." Dante said as he began walking, Xera following, "In addition, if someone forcefully put blocks in your mind, like really strong blocks, trying to access a door would be impossible. In fact, the door doesn't even exist unless the block is removed.

"Makes sense... I guess..." Xera commented as he let his gaze wander.

The inside of a mind, especially Dante's was an oddity of its own. But even more curiously, the phoenix had taken note that some of the doors seemed damaged, while there were also missing gaps in between rows .

"So, you mentioned the Mind and Soul. What exactly were you talking about?"

"Right, well in order to do that I have to tell you about Memory and Dream Reels." Dante said, the two falling into pace with each other as they walked.

"Memory and Dream Reels. I think I can probably guess what those mean."

"Possibly..." Dante admitted with a smile, "When traveling inside the Mind and Soul, Memories and Dreams can most certainly have powerful impacts on a person's state of mind. As well as how their Internal World works. For instance, that city out there, it's almost always dark outside without anybody in there. Though sometimes...the suns out. And people are out and about walking."

"Depending on what kind of person you are, or how your life has been afflicted, It'll ultimately determine what the Mind and Soul will look and feel like?"

"In a way. If you've got bad memories and dreams, the Inner World's going to look like one huge mess and pretty much turn into a Nightmare Realm. You can pretty much guess what that entails."

"And it's vice versa with good memories and dreams, I assume."

"Considering a Dark Entity forcefully invaded your brother's body, the inside is definitely not going to look so good. Think of it as like a miniature version of Hell, but both colder and smaller."

"It'll be infested by Darkness." Xera said, eyes glancing at each black door he passed.

"All of these doors are Access Points. Gaining access to them can be tricky, but it all depends on what kind of door each one is. Some can be fabricated too, depending on how extensively you dream. Some can be real, like memories you make throughout your life." Dante explained as the two soon came to a stop in front of one of the doors, "But in the end...everything is gathered in the Hall of Memories."

"So they're the access you need to the Memory and Dream Reels in case there's a need to personally view them or review them. It's like data storage for scrolls, in a way." Xera responded.

"Pretty much." Dante said as he moved up to one door and grasped its handle.

"For example..." He said as he pushed the door open, "Something like this."

All it took was one glance. And immediately...Xera wanted to look away. But he couldn't. His eyes wouldn't allow him to avert his gaze. He was beyond shocked, completely frozen in place.

"What? What is it?" Asked Dante confused.

Xera only lifted up a finger and pointed forwards, trying to find words for what he was currently seeing, but completely unable to, slapping his hands over his eyes, but peeking through his fingers slightly. It was then Dante himself joined his friends side and saw what he saw.

Inside was a rather large bedroom with an unnaturally large bed. Under its covers was the young immortal himself, gazing at the beautiful and glorious view in front of him. The women present currently included Inuba, Ruby, Destiny/Fate, Coco, and...Ms. Goodwitch. All of sat on the bed before him, each sitting in a different, alluring pose in their marvelous, bouncy glory, for they all wore nothing but lingerie of the colors each respectively wore day to day that left extremely little to the imagination, as well as thigh high socks of said respective colors. It was impossible to look away.

"U-Um... I'm... I'm not experienced or anything like the others might be...b-but...if it's for you...I'll do anything you want me to..." Said Ruby approaching him first before she was moved to the side by Inuba.

"Master..." Began the Kitsune as she straddled her Master, her bounciness more noticable and more imposing than the rest, "You need not worry yourself with these other women... You need me and only me to service you in any way you wish... Besides, I highly doubt any of them are capable of lasting a night or more with you as I am..." Said Inuba as her hand trailed down his chest gently before she too was moved aside by Destiny/Fate, who took her place.

"Oh little fox..." Said Destiny at first, "Don't you know that the two for one specials are always the best kind?" Finished Fate as she licked her lips before she too was pushed aside as Coco hovered over him.

"Back off girls. I know MY man prefers style and experience over anything and anyone else." She too was soon pulled away as both ms. Goodwitch, who climbed atop him, giggling slightly.

"If that's the case little girl...then I think that mr. Dante would more than approve and prefer an ACTUAL woman that is ready to service him to his hearts content...at any given moment...and for how long he wishes..." Finished ms. Goodwitch.

Immediately afterwords, Inuba and Ruby dug their way in between the others to claim their man, soon after the rest of them following suite by pushing each other away, trying to capture him for themselves individually. As the strife and struggle continued onwards between them as to "who would be first", Xera could only stare on in shock, eyes peeking through his hands which failed to "shield" him. His head slowly turned towards the Dante next to him, who only stood with a blank expression while Xera heard what seemed to be a silent scream coming from the closed mouth of his friend.

"Whoops."

The young immortal's single word was soon followed by an extremely fast shutting of the door, continuing to stare at it.

After a minute of silence, Xera finally summed up the courage to speak, his slightly puzzled face burning hotter than his own fire, dusting in a hue of red that could only be achieved through certain fantasies of life and dreams.

Just before he could say a word, Dante began repeatedly bashing his head against the black wooden surface, muttering to himself with an equally red face.

"Okay then... I think I have a pretty good idea what Memory and Dream Reels are all about." Xera said as he looked away from the face of the door, then he switched his gaze to Dante. "You sir…have an unchecked libido under your control. I don't know how or why yet, but...but that's one hell of a fantasy."

It wasn't stated lightly either, it was seriously one hell of a fantasy, one that Dante now finally remembered from the last time he "slept".

"I-I…I can explain." Dante said as his hand soon slapped over his face with a blank stare in his eyes.

"Okay." started Xera as he clapped his hands together, Inuba and Ruby and I can understand. Fate, Destiny, and Coco I can understand. But dude… Ms. Goodwitch? Your fantasies go pretty far…" Xera said with an amused smile.

"It's not my fault. And besides...you can't deny Ms. Goodwitch is an incredibly beautiful woman. I mean really, she is very, very, very hard to ignore." Dante was quick to say.

"Fair point. But still, lets backtrack a moment. Whose fault is it?"

Dante glanced toward Xera for a moment, then back to the door.

"I blame natural selection."

"Holy mother of pancakes, I knew it!"

All Xera got was a look of confusion.

"You can explain yourself now." The phoenix then said with a small laugh and another amused smirk.

"Okay... So, uh...you… You weren't entirely wrong about the, uh…libido thing…" He said rather softly.

Xera waited for him to continue, only to watch the white haired teen slap another hand over his face as he let out another silent scream, then proceeded to slap his face numerous times to prepare himself for what he said next.

"Due to part of my heritage being Dark Entity," Dante paused, letting out a reluctant breath as he did so, "I… God… I have a heightened...no, an extremely heightened libido."

Dante saw Xera was trying to contain himself, trying to destroy any semblance of a smile as best as possible.

"And because of that... Anything from a simple bounce of… uh, well… you know...the uh, chest area, to happy 'accidents' is enough to send me over the edge if I'm not careful."

Xera managed out a small chuckle, much to the young immortals embarrassment.

"No, you don't understand how bad it can be. I gouged out my eyes one time because of an extreme situation like that once. But because my stupid brain likes to take in every sight an detail perfectly, not even that helped."

"Well," Xera quickly coughed into his fist as he hid his smile, "Clearly you've mastered the art of holding back then since you haven't...pounced on anyone yet. At least, from what I know." Xera said, relating back to the moment the two performed that memory transfusion.

"No kidding..." Dante replied as he rubbed his neck.

"Hey, you attend Beacon after all. It honestly has the largest population of beautiful women, which is saying something." Xera continued, "I can only imagine what you go through every time Inuba when either she vaguely offers you her services or you two have another one of your recurring accidents involving clothes. Or, lack thereof…"

Xera's amusement was still strong, though less noticeable now, with the exception of his humorous silver eyes.

"All I have to say is stay loyal. I'm starting to think you don't even care about your actual girlfriend if you keep this up, but you're holding strong nonetheless."

"I care about her more than you know." Dante stated, "I...may not show it at times... And because of that, it may like me being apathetic or not caring...but...it's how I deal with things. I...try not to focus on worrying and focus more on believing her being alright."

Xera knew enough by now through memories and witnessing interactions between Dante and Inuba that she feelings, no, intense feelings for her Master. And just like all the others who knew and watched events unfold, the phoenix Faunus was hoping as well that she too would eventually come clean with her feelings. But if there was a chance Dante knew himself already, Xera imagined Dante would want to stay loyal to Ruby. Even if he was dreaming about stuff like they just saw. Loyalty was a big thing to Dante, in both the sense of being loyal to others and others being loyal to him. He treated loyalty with care as best he could.

Now that Xera thought what he saw once more, it actually explained why he doesn't sleep much like he said.

"Should we move on?" Xera asked.

"Yeah, but one last thing. No one- Hey!" Dante snapped, catching Xera's wandering attention, "Look at me! No one. Can ever know. About…" He said as he pointed towards the door they had opened, "That!"

"I shall take this secret to my grave," Xera said, crossing his arms. "Or, for the right price." He tacked on with a smile.

"I swear to you now, that if you tell, I will know that you did. And I will cook you into a Christmas turkey. But besides that, I really don't need those two hearing about this." Dante said lowly.

"Then don't teach Ruby how to make French toast. My one and only weakness." Xera retorted.

"No, not her! Them!" Dante stated clearly, though his clarification was abysmal.

"Them who?"

"The dynamic duo! That's who!" Dante explained like Xera knew exactly who he was talking about.

"Them from your reality, or mine, or…?"

"Destiny and Fate!" Dante finally clarified.

"Ah…" Xera suddenly realized what the teen was so scared of, "Aren't they in a thing with Velvet, though?"

"I think that was just them flirting. But seriously, if they find out, they'll either try to tease me more or try to kill me. I really don't know which, to be honest." Dante shuddered at the thought.

"You may or may not receive both, depending on who's taking control at the time." Xera said with a shake of the head, "If anything, one would likely tease you…as she kills you. Well, at least try to"

"I have your word, right?"

"You have it."

"Good, then let's move on." Dante said, "Let's just take you to one of my more recent memories. You need a bit of combat practice inside this realm."

"Is there a difference?"

"Yes. You don't have the ability to bring physical objects along for the ride as you can see by the fact you're missing your weapon." Dante pointed out.

"I noticed it when we first entered, but it doesn't matter."

"No?" Dante asked.

"I need to train more with my Fire Affinity anyway. It'll do me good to focus on using it for now." Xera replied.

"If that's what'll help you the most, do that then. Well then, chop chop."

---

Inuba let out a soft breath as her tail gently swayed back and forth. Her hands then came carefully back to her sides as she glanced back to the mysterious girl behind her, as well as the two teens resting in the light-induced stasis in front of her.

"They'll be fine. But, aren't you supposed to keep monitoring Zerath?" Destiny asked, catching the fox yōkai's attention.

"I know they will. And I no longer need to be here personally to keep an eye on Zerath. I have done everything in my power. All either of us can do now…is wait." Inuba explained quietly.

"You don't have to stick around then. If you want to take a walk, I can keep an eye on things here. Just clear your head a bit. You've been doing a lot today."

"I'll be fine." Inuba sighed, "My magic can be independent once cast. I do not need to be in the direct vicinity for it to work. However, I can still sense when it is disturbed. So, thank you for the offer."

"Then you have an even greater reason to take a walk then. Seriously now, get some rest. Those two won't be coming out for a little while longer."

Inuba cast a quiet crimson gaze back and met with Destiny's own lilac one before she took a slow and silent breath.

"I suppose I do have one other matter to attend do."

"Another matter?" Destiny asked.

"Yes, I was able to have an approximate sense as to when the young one would likely wake up." Inuba replied without clarifying, causing a twinge of annoyance to pass over Destiny, "I will be back. Keep an eye on things, yes?"

Destiny's eyes followed Inuba's form as she made her way to the icy door, then pulled it open with a muffled crack.

"Fine. Do what you need to, I'll be here…being useless…as it seems to be lately."

Inuba shook her head softly with a smile.

"I know what it is you did in the tournament. You are not useless. If it were not for you, that Dark Entity might have had enough power to take Zerath over on the spot."

A light hum came from Destiny's pressed lips, but she didn't refute the compliment.

"Thanks."

Inuba left the room soon after and closed the door behind her, beginning to make her way to a new room on the other side of the infirmary wing.

The young girl from the desert was placed in the furthest room away from the Dark menace behind her. Inuba wasn't entirely sure what was done to that poor girl, but as a whole, she seemed physically fine. On a mental standpoint, though, she wasn't sure yet.

It was better not to assume, for now.

After a few minutes, Inuba entered the room of the young kitsune girl she only had a moment to try and heal earlier. It was a singular infirmary room this time, much like when Pyrrha was recovering after her fight with Zerath in this Reality.

Inuba made her way inside and closed the door behind her with a soft click, the sound being enough for one of the smaller girl's white fox ears to twitch, but not enough to wake her just yet. The elder Kitsune walked over to a nearby chair, making sure she was careful about the level of noise she was making. She glanced once more at the girl before moving the seat to the littler Kitsune's side and positioning herself there.

It made sense for her to be there. Inuba was a fox yōkai herself, so she was likely the best candidate to really be present when the girl first woke up. There was one other, though. Inuba had noticed a small trace of Xera's own aura signature lingering within the small girl in front of her.

It was strange. Somehow, the phoenix either used his Aura to heal her, and in doing so, he managed to unlock her Aura at the same time, giving the girl a very small piece of his own. That small trace of Aura was enough for those two to naturally have a bond between one another.

Inuba's thoughts soon came to a close though as the small girl before her rolled over. It was the first signs of consciousness that she's seen from the over the last two times she's been in her presence.

The small girl's blanket fell down for a moment, revealing the slim black covering pulled against her shoulder. The material seemed to be thin and form-fitting, something someone would wear to protect them from extensive exposure to water. It was almost like the form fitting material she wore underneath her clothes currently.

Her suit reached up to cover a majority of her throat, but Inuba soon noticed that the front of it was unzipped slightly. Likely to help her regulate her breathing, but it revealed a small portion of the front of her pale neck. The zipper stopped at her breastbone.

A lightly balled, pale hand worked its way out of the blanket as it fell against the bed in front of her softly, cheek cuddling into the fluffy confines of her pillow as her legs followed the actions of her hand. They soon curled up slightly as well. What followed nearly had Inuba fawning over the display before her as she smiled warmly at the sight before her. The girl's bunched up fox tails curled up and poked out of the front of her blanket, all three of them seemingly clustered together into one larger tail, the younger Kitsune soon using it as a softer pillow as it pushed into the front of her form. Spanning completely in front of her now and slightly beneath her, she nestled comfortably into the silken frost fur of her tails, her furry ears folded partially in contentment as her emotionless face finally scrunched up slightly, then relaxed into a small state of bliss. A couple strands of her white hair fell before her face for a moment, but it only added to the thought Inuba was currently having.

How adorable…

---

A small crumble of black stones slipped over the cliff ledge before them. Small fragments sifting downward as they bounced and cracked, then fell into nothingness as they softly impacted the ground below. The stones disappeared soon after as a sweeping fog swept over the land before them. Eerily, the fog rolled quietly and slowly over the vast expanse of a grim battlefield below. Embedded in the ground rested countless weapons. Thousands of swords, axes, guns, blades of every kind, a limitless variety of weaponry lay littered across the surface beneath them. A dreary curse clung to the very air they breathed, stinging their lungs as the memory's Access Point closed behind them.

"Well, this place seems morbid." Xera commented, gazing over the edge.

"I had the same thought the first time I saw this place." Dante admitted, "I was only a kid at the time."

"Really?"

"Well, technically yes. Anyway... Xera, welcome to the Graveyard of Sins."

"A graveyard huh? I can only imagine what that entails..." Xera responded.

"Do you really want to know the answer to that?" Dante returned, before stepping closer to the edge and leaning over it, "I don't suppose you're still reluctant about hiding your wings?"

"Unfortunately, once they've been seen, they're kind of hard to forget."

With that said, he ran up to the ledge and leaped off of its slight overhang. Two sleek black wings slipped out of Xera's sweatshirt as he made a dive for the ground. The fog beneath him forcefully dispersed as he came to a soft landing, touching down at the base of the cliff as he turned his gaze, watching Dante soon impact the ground to his right.

"I pegged you as the kind of to still feel a bit reluctant about showing his wings." Dante said as he stepped out of his small crater.

"You're not wrong." Xera responded, "I'm still reluctant about it. The situation in the desert just kind of called for it, in a way. If I didn't step in-"

"Someone might have gotten hurt." Dante finished for him, "But still, you seem pretty okay with it right now."

Xera's wings unfurled slightly before spanning outward, stretching once more as they uncurled themselves. His entire outfit was black, which meant his wings only complimented that look even further.

"For lack of a better reason right now…" Xera paused as he cast his gaze over his right wing, "The situation calls for it."

"You can be irritatingly vague sometimes, you know that?" Dante said with a sigh as he met the phoenix's eyes.

"Only when I don't want to provide you with an insightful answer." Xera replied with a cheeky smile.

The ground beneath them suddenly quaked, forcing the two to struggle for a moment before gaining their balance. Directly ahead of them the fog suddenly thickened, sweeping over the dark lands as countless shadowy graves soon opened.

Spectral figures of black emerged forth, clawing out of the stone and dirt as they ominously rose from the clutches of the dead. Ten became twenty, twenty became two hundred, and before they knew it, there became too many dark figures to count. The menacing force soon took up arms, grabbing the weapons from the ground as an army now stood before the two teens.

An army of ten thousand entities of shadow.

Humanoid creatures weren't the only ones present. There were numerous, larger beings that also rose out of the ground. Each standing fifteen feet to twenty feet in height, there simply wasn't an end to them.

Then in the distance, a colossal creature of darkness slowly stood. Trails of darkened dirt and ash sifted over its figure as it rose, taking up a monstrous sword in the process as it unleashed a distorted roar across the drifting lands of the graveyard.

"I don't suppose you had help fighting these things back then?" Xera asked, unsure of whether to feel confident or apprehensive about fighting this many adversaries.

"Last time I was here? Yeah. But the other few times? Never..."

"And what happens if we take damage in here?" Xera asked.

"You'd still take damage in the real world. Your Mind and Soul got projected into mine, right? That means your soul is still in danger while it's in here."

"Great... I die here, I die in real life." Xera concluded. Now wasn't that just a morbid thought.

"Pretty much."

Xera's wings tensed slightly as he shifted one foot back and leaned forward, hands falling to stretch out at his sides as they ignited in blazes of orange flame.

"So we're fighting for our lives. Good to know. You just always know where to take people to fun places, huh?"

"You know it."

Before either of them could make a move, a flood of clattering weapons suddenly striking the ground sounded out. The front line of figures before them began taking shaky steps backward as they ominously moved in unison.

Where are they going..? thought Dante.

The sound of their footfalls grew quieter up until the point all of the ground units at their front suddenly stopped moving altogether.

Silence.

A soft, echoing footfall pushed itself into the tense atmosphere. A new twinge of pain suddenly wracked Dante's mind, forcing his vision to blur for merely a moment before the sensation passed. Another footfall sounded out, one that softly drifted through the stilled air as the fog around them grew to a chilling stop. The third caused the ground to unnaturally quake again, subtly at first, before violently shattering itself as its entire surface crumbled and ruptured. Ten thousand figures of black were engulfed back into the ground, falling helplessly into its clutches once more… before a new fog swept over the entire battlefield. Black mist poured over the edge of the cliff up above them, flooding into the area at their front as it engulfed the entire graveyard. Stone turned into glimmering black obsidian, dirt hardened into crystals of ebony…

A chilling wind swept the frostbitten black fog into the far distance.

"Pitiful…" A new voice tore through the air with an icy tinge of condescending deepness, "I'd hardly call that an army."

As the black mist cleared and dispersed, the ground before them was revealed to be completely frozen over. What was once the Graveyard of Sins… was now a wasteland of cold, heartless, regret and sorrow.

Not a soul stirred as a new wind befell the lands.

A colder breeze brushed against the two teens, their eyes looking everywhere at once for this new voice. An unnatural presence now seemed to linger in the air, weighing down on them as it corrupted everything it touched into a cold accursed embrace.

"To think that they even stood a chance…"

A wave of black mist suddenly flicked upward from the cold ground and whipped across the air, dispersing a moment later to reveal a new blackened humanoid figure in the distance.

He seemed…familiar. A foreboding eeriness carried itself thickly in his voice as a twisted smile pulled at the shadowy skin of his face. Blood red eyes shined in the dim light of the battlefield, twin pools of redness that glowed subtly in a smoldering haze.

A black detail-less coat covered his body. Its thin tails drifted as they trailed down the back of the figure's legs, reaching halfway down his calves. Similar black pants covered his legs as they led down to pristine dark boots of similar color.

This...isn't possible...

The young immortal's eyes hurriedly moved about, scanning the terrain as quickly as possible, finding the source of the voice soon after.

Long black hair drifted across the figures deadly gaze, faint streaks of white prominently displayed in its reaches. The figure then drew back a hand and pulled at a handle residing over its shoulder, withdrawing a pitch black claymore with a shining edge.

How is he here?!

Six feet long, one foot wide, the weapon dug into the ground as it was swept against the ice in a momentary swing. Dante looked over at Xera to see him take a deep breath, very likely clear his thoughts for the time being before opening them soon after.

It was him.

A dark chuckle resonated from the creature's throat as its bloody eyes stared at the two teens before it.

"You came in here looking for a fight... And a fight you shall have... Entertain me with your efforts."

"How did you get in here? Actually, it doesn't really matter. One way or another, you're going down." Dante called out.

"Your mind, Dante, is quite the Dark place. It practically pulled me inside with little resistance." The figure replied with another dark chuckle.

"Why are you even here, though? How did you… how are you…" Xera trailed off as he took a step forward, the flames dying from his grasp as his own eyes bled into shining ruby irises.

"Alive? Awake and breathing?" The figure's grin grew wider, "Zerath forfeited his life to bring me back into the world. All I need to do now… is walk out of here. And I'll be free."

It was Zerath. Everything about him remained the same only every detail was tainted with evil and darkness.

"Stop lying and you die quicker. We know you're nothing more than a mere presence right now. There's no chance of you having a physical manifestation yet." Dante spoke up.

Those blood red eyes refused to leave Xera's own.

"Tsk. You're more naïve than I thought you were." Zerath spoke coldly.

In less than an instant, a spear of black ice rapidly appeared before Dante. He barely had time to react, only managing to save his chest from impalement but failing to save his arm. The razor sharp tip of the darkened ice plunged itself into the cliff wall behind them, cutting straight through Dante's flesh as if it wasn't even there.

Fast ice generation... He's almost like Freya...only...

Dante tore his arm free, letting his fresh wound close itself up and heal.

She's far better than you...

"What happened to Zerath?" Xera asked, walking over and grasping the rooted ice spear with his hand, eyes never leaving the figure before them.

"In terms that you mortals would understand, I killed him. He no longer exists. What you are looking at is nothing more than my new form…but with all the perks of its previous owner." Zerath's smirk widened even further.

Xera's heated grasp crushed the spear into shards with a blast of fire, incinerating its remains as he began walking forward.

Dark Entity magic, or at least, mainly Dark Entity magic in that Ice Affinity if they've merged. Simple fire shouldn't been able to melt it so easily… Or at all really...

Dante's eyes caught the lingering flickers of light from the falling shards of ice before moving forward as well.

Now then...what kind of fire does Xera possess?

"If that's the case," Xera said lowly, "Then you've taken the life of the last remaining family I have left in this world."

A blaze followed his every step now, an inferno blindingly searing the icy ground as his wings became bathed in a sheen of shining flames, "That gives me the right to end you."

Zerath chuckled at the threat.

"You have the right to end me? To kill me? I did your brother a favor and ended his insignificant existence once and for all. Trust me, his suffering-"

Dante suddenly lunged past Xera's side and tore a sharp aura blade through Zerath's torso, ripping through flesh and bone as black blood poured out onto the ground.

"Don't get so cocky, scum." Dante said, fed up with the condescending presence Zerath was exuding.

"Oh? Words from the Creator's chew toy? How amusing..."

Zerath rebuked with a streak of black, freezing the air around him solid before even a moment had gone by, only for that ice to shatter an instant later as Xera's inferno burst out around him, freeing the two once more.

"Well, aren't you annoying."

Blood eyes now fell on Xera, before a flurry of thin ice shards were lunged forward, crystalizing in the air into razor sharp lethal arrows.

Xera's wings deflected the flurry of projectiles while his fire dulled their points before they even impacted, getting rid of their piercing power altogether.

"You exist. That's all I need to know in order to kill you." Xera said, dropping his wing and dashing forward in a haze of orange and an added surge of speed from his wings.

Zerath raised his blade and swung, only for his swing to clash heavily with Dante's own solidified Aura Sword as the teen kept it from so much as blocking anything in front of the entity. Xera's attack connected as quickly as the interruption occurred, molten flames crashed into Zerath's chest as Xera planted both feet into it in a powerful diving kick. The impact was only increased by an eruption of flame, spiraling outward and through Zerath's figure as it engulfed his form before sending him skidding backward.

Dante then followed up, summoning a rapid cluster of Aura Swords before sending them forward in a flurry of projectiles, all of which Zerath managed to slash out of the air before dashing in himself and delivering a powerful upward swing, which Dante blocked. The two clashed again as Xera dashed his way around and swept a kick beneath Zerath's legs, only to slam his leg against a cluster of ice that blocked his movement. The cluster then burrowed out of the ground and crashed into his body, black wings absorbing most of the blow as he was hit with the sudden force of a truck. In the same moment that Xera was hit, another column of black ice erupted from beneath Dante and threw his form into the air, only for a new culmination of ice to appear above him as the column fell and that new cluster slammed the teen down into the hard ice of the ground.

"How arrogant... I think that's the term that best describes the two of you." Zerath said, wiping a hand across his healing wounds before he snapped his fingers, shattering the ice crushing Dante.

The teen, however, was no longer there, and Zerath had to quickly raise his blade to deflect a swing from above.

"Slow as well."

Dante let go of his blade and landed on the ground, rapidly summoning a new one just as he plunged it forward into Zerath's abdomen, leaving it there as twelve other swords appeared in the air behind him and skewered Zerath from all directions.

"You're fairly slow yourself... You couldn't even dodge a few blades." Dante said as he stepped back for a moment.

"Did I give off any interest in dodging?" Zerath asked.

The light of Dante's Aura Swords suddenly dulled as they seemingly froze over, then shattered instantly. The only one left being his solidified Aura Sword plunged deep inside the front of the entity's body.

"They're hardly of any effect anyway. Not as strong as they could potentially be."

He began to pull the blade out of his abdomen, only for a blur of lime green wisps of light to shoot past Dante and another burst of fire engulfed Zerath. Xera planted another kick, this time, though, it was directed onto the point of Dante's aura blade as he drove it straight through Zerath's body and sent it rocketing through his back and spine. A splatter of black blood erupted out of Zerath as he grabbed Xera by the ankle and slammed him into the ground, following up with a plunge of the blade toward his heart only for his claymore to be bashed aside by Dante, giving Xera the moment he needed to rise back up and slash upward in a streak of blinding fire. The color then flashed and combusted, blowing outward in another explosion that forced Zerath to dodge backward and slash through another flurry of aura swords.

"Let me try something." Dante suddenly said, standing in front of Xera now as he summoned a new Aura Sword and plunged the tip of it into the ground. His eyes glowed for a moment as countless aura swords suddenly spawned around them in a quickly rotating shield of blades. His blade then sunk further into the ground as he channeled his aura into the air above Zerath.

"I don't think he's just going to stand still…" Xera said.

Zerath only scoffed, "Now what could you possibly have in mind?"

He held his blade out at his side and remained in place, watching as Dante's white Aura outlined in black pulsed outward and around him. What he didn't notice was a massive culmination of Dante's aura directly above his head in the form of a colossal aura blade. It shined brilliantly in the air as it rotated slowly and built itself upward. Solidifying further and further as it glowed brighter and brighter, becoming more physical and dense by the second. Its shining tip pointed downward as it suspended itself in the air. Xera then added a swirling inferno to the mix, manipulating the flames to double up their shield as he focused on forming them into a domelike protective barrier.

Zerath then looked up and chuckled confidently.

"A meaningless display of power…how thoughtless."

He didn't so much as move when the sword in the sky fell. The tip of its blade split the very air it tore through as the heavy cluster of super-densified aura plummeted from its suspended perch in the atmosphere. Its terminal velocity was reached in an instant, and even then, it blew past the limits of its own weight and plummeted even faster. Its speed only increasing.

Zerath welcomed it with open arms and a twisted smile.

The sword's tip struck Zerath's head just as his entire body became engulfed in an encasement of ice. The blinding light that followed could only be described as a supernova of white and black imploding in on itself before rupturing. The very battlefield cracked and quaked, falling in on itself as the sword's sheer density crushed the structure of the ground beneath it in a single moment. A crater soon sunk into the land as the sword surged and shattered, releasing an explosive wave of white Aura outlined in black in all directions. The ring of energy blew all debris outward and tore into the very ground that spanned around it, rupturing that as well as it ripped onward and roared in a devastating aftershock of blazing Aura. Blades then rained from the sky. Sword after sword plunged into the ground, scattering like a blanket of needles covering every foot of ice that spanned outward from around the impact zone. Xera's wavering fire shield was pierced in numerous places, though Dante's own shield of crystal-clear hexagons tightly knit together into a barrier redirected the falling blades to pierce the ground at their sides instead.

After a few moments, the hail of weaponry came to a slow stop and the two dropped their defenses, watching and waiting.

"I doubt that was enough to kill him." Xera said as his flames dispersed.

"I think so too…" Dante agreed.

Before them, Zerath swept his blade to the side as he stood at the center of the carnage. Countless aura swords littered the ground around him as he smiled at the deepest point of the crater. His coat was scorched and trails of smoke flickered off his clothing, but otherwise, he was completely unscathed.

"A cute party trick," Zerath said, looking up into the sky, "but unfortunately, you always encounter that one person who's already seen it before."

Dante drew an Aura Sword from the ground and took a new stance.

"I wouldn't have expected no less from a Dark Entity of your level."

Xera then drew his own white Aura Sword outlined in black out of the ground, temporarily borrowing one of Dante's weapons as he took his own stance. He didn't need a moment to attune himself to the weight and feel of the sword, his body would do that on its own.

"My level?"

Zerath couldn't help but laugh at that.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of."

The demon then entered his own stance, brandishing his sword in front of him before drawing it back and bringing it past his left side, pointing it slightly back.

"I think it's about time I show you...why I'm stronger than the both of you in every way."

Xera accelerated his awareness as Dante's gaze narrowed, the two sharpening their attention.

Of course he was holding back...

Zerath's smirk grew.

"Are you ready?"

He didn't wait for an answer. An instant hadn't even gone by yet when he entered Dante's range. A slash had already torn through his entire chest before a trigger was pulled, and the claymore was surged even deeper into his flesh as it ripped itself free. Xera's wing lifted out of harm's way as he raised his own sword to block, only for Zerath's blade to phase through it.

Not good! If I remember correctly, one of Zerath's greatest weapons…was the ability to negate the effects of Aura!

Xera's eyes widened as Dante's blood suspended itself in the air, trailing from the bone-deep wound that opened his chest. Millimeters away, he watched as Zerath's blade nearly made contact with his own chest. There was no escape. He didn't have indestructible bones like Dante and the blade was too large to hope for just a flesh wound either. He was going to die in less than a fraction of a second.

The entire world suddenly froze. The suspended blood remained in the air, unmoving as Xera and Dante stumbled backward. Dante coughed up a bit blood, but his wounds had already healed as he pushed himself to his feet.

"That speed... That was beyond his usual..." Dante said as he wiped the back of his hand over his mouth.

"Something we can only try to counter if we knew when it was going to happen. I don't think it was speed, though…" Xera said, shakily standing back up as well as he stared in mild awe at the motionless Zerath and the rest of the world in suspended animation. "I think he managed to find a way to freeze the world around him. Or at least slow it to the point where he moved faster than time moved forward."

"That is exactly right."

A new, younger voice spoke up from behind them. And the two teens turned to see the girl from the infirmary room, cloaked in white and face still shrouded beneath her hood.

"Your adversary has capabilities that far surpass many of your past encounters." Her gaze then turned to Dante, "He is no longer what he once was. He is gaining in power."

"Wait…" Dante suddenly said, "He's still gaining more? That means…" He paused as he looked back to the suspended Zerath, "What was that then?"

"That is what would happen, should you fail to stop Soul-Slasher's ascension." The girl explained.

"If we don't stop him now… then he'll only continue to increase in power," Xera said, "Won't he…?"

"Yes. This is simply a simulation of what I sensed from him while trying to contain him. This version of Zerath would be what would happen should he be merged with Soul-Slasher and wake up in the infirmary room we still reside in." The girl continued.

"So…this was just a simulation of his earliest stages of consciousness." Dante cut in, "He'll only become even more unstoppable if we let him escape."

"That is correct." The girl responded.

"That means…even if we flush him out of Zerath's body and mind, we'll still have to hunt him down and kill him before he gets a chance to manifest his power." Xera concluded.

"Precisely." The girl said with a small nod of the head, "There is no simple way around it."

"Well, Xera." Dante slammed his hands together as he rolled his shoulders, "I guess you'll get to see what it's like to have been in my line of work. After all, it's only right that you help me take it down."

"Fair enough, I guess. But still…this was just a simulation of his earliest stages… How are we going to fight him if he enters his later power stages?" Xera wondered.

"We'll find a way." Dante said reassuringly, "There's always a way."

"I agree with that statement." The girl added.

"So you say..."

Xera let out a drawn out breath, running a hand through his hair as he let all of this sink in.

"Let's just… get out of here then. I think it's time we take on the real thing and get this done."

"I will take us back momentarily. Firstly, I do need to warn the two of you about a pressing matter." The girl prompted, earning a quick nod from the two teens, "What you experienced in here was only what I was able to gather through my senses of his power. It was in no way a fully accurate projection of what he may have actually been capable of."

"Great. So this was only a part of what he's supposed to become." Dante said, before shrugging his shoulders, "Nothing changes. Let's go in there, beat him down, and save Xera's brother."

"There's no way around it." Xera reiterated the girl's words from earlier, "We have to try. That's all that matters. We've at least been exposed to some of his potential abilities… We'll be ready for next time."

The girl's lips curled into a small, almost unnoticeable smile, yet her face remained hidden and obscured.

"Then the real test...shall begin."

The icy graveyard around them melted and warped away as Xera and Dante felt their consciousness leave the current space they inhabited, ending in a weightless suspension that soon dropped them back into the seats their physical bodies rested on.

Now...it was time to take on the real deal. Only, it would be much more different than either of them could've ever known.

---

(Weapons Illustrated Guide, Christmas Sepcial)

"Am I the only one here?" said Dante as he stood on the set, looking around.

He sighed as he readjusted the black fur cuffs of his white Santa suit with black trimming fur. At least he has one now in his color scheme. He still wore his sling, and grabbed hold of the white Santa hat with black fur trim.

"Well, I guess I'll get us started then. Welcome back everyone, I'm your host Dante, and currently the other hostess is not here. I wonder why... Anyway, its Christmas! Ho ho ho! And all that. Considering it's Christmas, we'll talk about Santa's weapon. What? You thought he didn't have one because he's Santa? Hahahahahahahahahaha! Nope."

Dante pressed a button and brought up the holographic monitor.

"Candied Cane. Yeah, I know, simple, but do not underestimate its power. I saw it for myself once and..."

Dante shuddered slightly, recalling a memory from ages ago.

"Anyway, despite the name, the Candied Cane is actually a fearsome weapon. From a normal glance, it looks just like cane. That will immediately be your downfall in the most sour way possible. The Candied Cane transforms...into an actual candy cane as tall as Santa. Which is seven feet tall. By now, you're probably smirking and thinking, 'Naw! No way that can hurt me!', to which I say in the most brilliant Excalibur voice ever...FOOL!" screamed Dante as he pointed towards the audience before clearing his throat.

"Ahem. It transforms into a super densified version of a candy cane that's tougher than steel and as light as a feather. Like with the play-dough commercials, 'Fun to play with, not to eat.' Though in Santa's case, 'Fun to stab with, not to eat.' Don't worry, Santa's not a violent guy. Unless you make him really mad, to which he then proceeds to embarrass you by beating you to death with a candy cane. Or stabbing. Either or."

Dante then opened up a case and pulled out a massive, seven foot tall candy cane compared to the six foot tall teen.

"It's times like these that Ciel's Semblance is pretty useful. The fact that Candied Cane can actually kill you isn't the scariest part about this weapon."

Dante then crushed the candy cane in half, only for something odd to happen. It split apart and regrew to its normal proportions. Both of the pieces.

"The scary part about this weapon is that it can quickly clone itself after breaking it to make more of them an infinite amount of times. You can even have them prepared in advance. Since they're so light, they can be tossed as spears, which is Santa's favorite tool of destruction. And with his magic, tossing one of these thing and it making impact with something, makes more candy cane spikes shoot out from the contact zone. A sort of candy cane nuke of spears in short. That's not even the worst part about it."

The young immortal leaned in closer, his eyes darting side to side as he whispered.

"One time... I heard Santa slaughtered a group of a thousand evil yeti's back in the old times using this weapon. Any of you see 300? With Leonidas and the Spartans and whatnot? Remember the final scene with the hundreds of thousands of arrows? Great. Picture that for a moment and imagine they're coming for you. Now, replace those arrows with freaking long spears. Done that? Great. Now, imagine those spears were super sharp candy cane spears of immediate, minty, sweet death. No yeti lived that day..."

Dante put both Candied Cane spears inside the case and turned to face the audience.

"In short everyone, don't mess with Santa. Don't get me wrong, he's a really really really nice guy. That could kill you. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this weeks episode of Weapons Illustrated, and we hope to see you all next time!"

"Dante!"

"Well aren't you late. Where'd you go Ruby?"

"Um...that's a secret..." said the young Santa-themed reaper, who wore a Santa hat and a coat that her red cape draped over.

She was trying to keep the Christmas party awaiting him a secret, despite already celebrating his birthday yesterday on Christmas Eve.

"Ok then... Well, I finished up for us, so we're free to go."

"T-That's great... Um... N-Notice anything..?"

Despite the very cute Santa outfit she wore, he didn't notice anything. Until he looked at her Santa hat and saw a mistletoe tied to the puffy snowball on the point of the hat, where it slightly draped over right shoulder. With a red face, Ruby jumped up as high as she could so that she could almost reach Dante's face, just enough for the hat tip to move high enough to momentarily dangle over the two.

"T-There... I-It counts...so..." she said pressing her fingertips together as her face grew hotter and redder by the second.

"S-Such cleverness Ms. Rose..." replied the young immortal.

"I... Um... Came up with it last minute...so..."

She remained still and expectant until she worked up the courage to make the first move, standing up on her tippy toes as she tried to reach up towards his face to kiss him. Unfortunately, she was still a few inches short of him. It was then she felt his hand touch the side of her cheek as his own face was only mere centimeters away.

"If that is your wish Ruby..." he began as he slowly ran a thumb over her soft, lips "then I will make your sweet, soft lips my gift..."

Her heart was pounding even more wildly than before as her face was now a crimson read. She was muttering incoherently. Until she suddenly fainted seconds later.

Dante caught her immediately and slung her over his shoulder quickly, looking at the exit.

"I can't believe I just said that... No... I can't believe something like that worked!"

---

(Luxurious Christmas Gift, by me)

Dante, Inuba, Ciel, Leonard, Raum and Irene all sat together around the white campfire in their camping chairs, each wearing Santa hats while enjoying all sorts of Christmas treats ranging from Christmas Turkey, gingerbread men cookies, warm apple pie, milk, and so forth. The three siblings and Inuba each wore white Santa hats with black fur trim, while Irene wore dark green Santa hats with red fur.

"That man is legendary... To think you could someone with a candy cane... Truly deserving of his forgotten reputation as a fearsome warrior..." said Raum.

"Yeah, don't mess with Santa man. Ever hear that story with the yetis?" asked Dante.

"Are you kidding me? That story is number three in the Hall of Terrors."

"Nice."

"So wait, you met Santa?!' asked Ciel with excitement in her tone.

"More than once."

"Yes! Knew he existed! Suck it middle schoolers that made fun of me for that!"

"This may not be an ideal way to celebrate your birthday Master, but-"

"Nonsense Inuba. Just being here with you guys is more than enough for me. As far as I'm concerned, best birthday yet. I get to spend with you two munchkins..." he said nodding towards Ciel and Leonard, "the totally awesome partner..." he said looking towards Inuba, "and hey, a new friend. For the most part anyway." he said looking towards Raum as Irene gave her usual affirmative hmph.

"M-Master..." said Inuba.

I know my gift to you was my the charm...but...if only I could give you another gift...

Just as she thought this, her face went red as she slapped her hands on the sides of her face, silently muttering to herself.

It was then, in that moment, Ciel's kinkiness detection meter had gone through the roof. All it took her was one glance at the kitsune to tell what she was having another "fantasy" before sporting a wide, devilish grin, an idea forming in her mind. Ciel would make Inuba's "gift" become a reality.

"Time be still..." whispered the young sibling as everything around her went grayscale.

"Time to go to work..."

She then plucked the now frozen kitsune from her chair and took her inside the tent that Inuba and Dante slept in whenever the group would camp out. Ciel snapped her fingers instead of allowing the last ten seconds of the full thirty seconds she had to resume the flow of time.

"W-What..? Ciel?"

"Wait here. Be back in a jiffy."

The young sibling snapped her fingers once more as a portal of black Aura opened up underneath her feet, allowing her to fall through. She appeared in a shopping store and quickly moved to the decorating aisle. She hummed Christmas tunes to herself as she slowly walked through the aisle, finding her object of interest, but not in the color she wished until she found it at the end of the aisle.

After sprinting to the counter and purchasing her item, she yet again opened up another portal and stepped off into it as if she were walking a plank, appearing in front of Inuba once again.

"Right... So you have two options now my fluffy tailed friend. One, you let it happen because it'll happen either way. Or two, we do it my way, which is the fun way." said Ciel as she showed the kitsune the item she purchased.

"C-Ciel, no! That's-!"

"There is no such thing as too lewd. And judging by your response, I guess we're going with option B then. Time be still!"

"Ci-!"

Inuba was frozen yet again as the world became greyscale once more. She'd have to do this three times in row. Truthfully, she had never done such a thing before, but she's seen enough pictures to have a vague idea as to how to go about it.

Five minutes later...

"Where'd you go?" asked Dante.

"Nowhere. Just stuff."

"Right... Have you seen Inuba? She just kinda disappeared all of a sudden..."

"She's reading in the tent. Actually, she said she had another gift for you, so you should probably go in and see what it is."

"Really? Alright..."

Dante approached the tent, unzipping the front cover of the tent and entering inside. What he saw next left him completely stunned.

Inuba sat inside, lying on the ground. She would have been completely naked...were it not for the white ribbons with black trim covering her entirely bare body. The wrapping was minimal at best, and very little managed to cover the more...important places. But they were covered no less. Her hands and feet were bound by the same ribbons. Even her fox tail was slightly wrapped with black ribbons and a bow. Seemingly enough, it looked as though her body was wrapped by one and one long ribbon only, another bow being found near the center of her back. One pull was all that was needed to completely unwrap this most luxurious gift.

Inuba only now saw the awestruck Dante as he stood motionless. Her face grew red before a loud squeal was heard from within the tent. Ciel looked back a moment at the tent then smiled as she sat down in one of the camping chairs, pouring herself a cup of hot chocolate. After taking a sip, she let out a pleased sigh and fully leaned back into the chair. The young sibling looks towards you, giving another smile.

"Merry Christmas everyone~" she said with a wink.

---

Exciting events exciting events. Dreamscape battles? Dark Entities? Memory Reels that should be hidden from public view? It gets even better than that. This is only the premise. There's much much more to come to this collab arc. This is a mere taste. The main dish has yet to come.

So yeah, no Christmas themed chapter this time, but hey, Christmas themed omakes at least. Seriously, don't screw with Santa. He'll mess you up.

That's pretty much it for now. So with that...

I highly recommend you all go check out the freaking amazing collab Xera Stark and I are currently working on concerning his story XSRA's Flame. His story overall is absolutely fantastic and is a must read, so I suggest you read from the very start. But, if you're just interested in the awesome collab our two minds put together have created, then mozy on down to chapter 53 of his story for the start. I've said it once and will say it again, you won't want to miss out on this story, and especially this exciting story arc we've created.

Not only that, but check out his other awesome and highly entertaining story Rogue Huntsmen. It's just pure awesomeness bundled into one story. Trust me, you'll love it.

Questions? Ask them anytime. I will try to answer without spoiling.

Please remember to review, follow and favorite this story if you really enjoyed it and want to continue seeing more of it. And hey, even tell others about this story! Remember that your support is what helps make this story grow even larger and what helps improve it. With that, I bid you all an excellent week/weekend and hope you have a happy holiday season! See you next time! Bye-bye now!