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.

10. Chapter 10: Driven

Heya everyone, welcome back for another week of Veil of the Aether. Luckily, I've been feeling better recently, but I'm still pretty worn out from my procedures. Even so, I move onwards for you all. Unfortunately, after this chapter, we're moving back with the usual two weeks per update schedule. I'm going back to school in a week or two, so we'll have to resume our normal schedule. Now that we have that out of the way, lets get started with this weeks chapter! Enjoy!

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Chapter 10: Driven

Red poured from the entrance ahead of them, shining crimson smoldering through crystals of ice like glistening rubies. They shimmered in the walls as the teens ran, skipping steps as they took the stairs in front of them in quick leaps. The walls around them narrowed, pulling in as they reached the top then breaking away as the crimson glow reached its strongest. The duo had reached the peak, the reaches of the highest point of the mountain revealed before them.

"I must say, I am impressed that you've made it this far, you moreso than the other with you...Xera Stark..."

"Zeridûl..." Xera spoke the name of the entity before him, standing far beyond the point they stared out from.

He stood at the far end of the mountain's peak, a pristine black ice claymore embedded in the ground before him. He faced them from a thick platform above a flat face of ice that raised him above the level of the central area, a jagged outcrop of ice running down its front. Two slopes of stairs slipped down in mirroring inclines at the two ends of it, curving down to surround the lower area before leveling off at its surface. Columns of ice towered around them, reaching into spires and sharp broken points that climbed in varying heights throughout the area. Thick walls surrounded the entire peak, jaggedly stretching and chipping as they curved around the mountaintop, before breaking off entirely at the platform Zeridûl stood on, leaving an opening that overlook the spanning land of ice and ash.

A bright red tear of fire split the sky behind him, obscuring his form only slightly and darkening his skin. Its blazing column of light disappeared over the edge at the entity's back, shining into the sky in the backdrop as it connected with the red sun overhead. Its rim of fire only brightening as a smirk tugged the blackened skin of Zeridûl's assumed form, eyes shining with an unnatural light that pierced the air in a flash of bright red. Two brightly glowing irises of overflowing scarlet, surrounded by a sea of black sclera and engulfing slit pupils.

He took Zerath's form in its entirety. The elder Stark brother was in there, and he was fading.

"Ah... Long has it been since any have spoken my true name..."

Zeridûl took a deep breath as he grinned, relishing in the taste of his own title, his words freezing in an icy wisp as his eyes closed, dark hands resting atop his hilt and pommel as he took it in.

"Don't be so relieved just yet..." said Dante.

"Slayer of my kin... I've heard the legends surrounding you, yet...you are no longer the person you once were. Your old power has faded."

"How cocky of you to think I wouldn't stand a chance against you. That'll prove to be your undoing in the end." spoke the young immortal.

"Hmph... We shall see... Both of you were given every opportunity to turn back, yet you foolishly remain." Zeridûl's voice carried with it an icy chill, slithering down from his frozen outcrop as he pulled his sword's point out of the ground, "You stay because you hope to see change, to see a fitting end to your ideals and your strife. Well, let me be the first to tell you then, Xer Stark... Your brother has long since faded." Zeridûl stated.

"Lowly enough to resort to lying now? How childish of you." Dante retorted.

Zeridûl stepped forward once again, the ice beneath him shattering and cracking as it broke away and gave him a stone to stand on.

"It seems to be that you fail to understand, immortal one, just how long I've lasted and repeated the same process throughout the centuries. By now, I know Zerath more than you can ever hope to realize, and more that you ever will, no matter how long your lifespan may be." He brought his sword around and let it reflect the light of the red sun, "Not that it matters anymore."

Xera made to move forward until he was stopped by Dante's hand, that same hand now burning slightly, yet he did not relax his grip.

"He's trying to lure you in. You need to take a step back and focus. If you charge him without a plan, then you'll just be giving him your life as a gift."

"Don't tell me what I already know..." Xera muttered as the bangs of his hair smoldered in an orange glow. His red irises trailed a similar light as he glanced back at Dante with flames flickering around his pupils, "If you've ever known me, even for a moment, then you'll understand one thing that I revolve around."

The air shimmered around them. Blank spaces of brisk shuttering wind glimmering from an unnatural waver in their spanning reaches around Dante and Xera.

"I'm always thinking things through, even when I may seem blinded by everything else. Just remember that… even if you're convinced otherwise…" Xera's voice grew quiet as his Aura shifted.

Red eyes melted away as the phoenix's rage and anger rose, a new shade filling his irises. Swirling them with a new color. Bright sky blue. They didn't carry the sympathy, or the kindness, or the understanding that they usually bared. They held within them a power unknown to all else that lived…except for the one who stood next to him.

The flickering flames that shined in his eyes and burned in his hair blazed over in a new shade of fire, darkening completely as they transitioned into flames of ebony and black. White pinpoint swords began to shimmer into view all around them, shining solidly like crystals of bright glass, before each one turned and blazed in an outline of black fire.

He's already copied down my Semblance..? If that's so...then this'll be a bit easier.

Xera's wings twitched and fanned outward, a black haze flicking from their feathers like shadows in a misty darkness. More and more Aura blades shimmered into view, each one appearing just as brightly as the others as they pointed toward Zeridûl on center stage.

"You think weapons of pure Aura can pierce my skin?" Zeridûl asked, his blade remaining at his side as he extended his other hand.

Xera simply shook his head, "You assume I'm incompetent with the knowledge I currently know. Your Aura nullification will render them useless."

Zeridûl brought his blade around to his front, this time turning it so the flat side faced the teens before him, "That wouldn't be fair, now would it? You've come here looking for a fight, a climactic end to this dilemma with your brother. I shall give you one."

"Honor will be your downfall."

Xera's wings stretched as he took a step forward. That was when the countless blades hovering in the air began to move. One by one, in flurries of dashing white light and black flame, they collected across Xera's wings as they melded with the sleek black feathers throughout his entire set of appendages. Each feather paired with a blade of a unique size, and each blade soon replicated the shape of each feather.

Zeridûl smirked, "Armor of the finest qualities, how fitting. Its defense is high and its offense even higher. I applaud your ingenuity, yet my word remains. This fight will be fair. I will not negate any of your Aura. It's been a long time since I've had a true fight."

"Are you willing to keep your word until its end?" asked Dante.

"I am." The dark entity returned, hard eyes slipping over the sharp edge of his blade as the two approached.

"Then accept your death with the very honor you have shown us on this day..." Dante finished, his Greatsword now suddenly brimming with an uncontained light as he brought it around and swept it rapidly through the air in front of him, "Devouring Light!"

A menacing wave of white Aura outlined in black tore up the ground as it approached Zeridûl rapidly, who then slashed through it, splitting its rushing blaze and letting the manifestation detonate around him.

"You'll have to do better than-"

A wing of blades slashed before him and forced his blade into a flat block, feathers of Aura crashing against his ice as Xera turned and slashed forward with Aether, forcing the entity to dodge backward. Dante quickly dashed in behind him and tore his blade through the entity's back, spilling black blood before Zeridûl turned and lashed out with his own sword, clashing with Dante's and sending the teen skidding backward. The entity followed his turn fully around and brought it up, bashing Xera's sudden strike aside and countering with a quick slash toward Xera's chest, only to glance off of Xera's quick wing. Spikes of ice soon split the ground around the entity and rushed toward both Xera and Dante, piercing through the hard ground in rapid waves of lethal sharpness. Xera was quick to take flight as Dante leaped into the air, reaching a hand up as Xera flew by and pulled the white haired teen even higher. Several unending columns of ice soon erupted from the ground, shooting into the sky in speeding climbs that forced Xera to weave in and around each rising spire.

"Since you can basically use my Semblance now, we might just be able to overwhelm him." Dante called upward as the two nearly careened into a column of ice, needing to plant his shoes into it and kick off as it soon collapsed back into the ground.

"We can definitely try!" Xera responded, pulling Dante around after his kick as the two dodged past several more columns.

Before long, the rising pillars of ice all crashed back into the ground as Zeridûl raised up his free hand, flexing the fibers stringing his fingers together as he tapped into more of his power. Shards of ice suddenly whipped up out of the black ice at his feet, forcing Xera to drop Dante and curve his wings in front of him to deflect the flurry of attacks. Dante took that moment to brandish his weapon and hold out his own arm as he fell, three large aura blades soon plunging down toward Zeridûl from three separate angles. The entity managed to sidestep two of them before he deflected the third and shattered it with a swift kick, only for those smaller shards to reform just as Dante landed. The white haired teen dashed forward and pulled his larger blade out of the ground with a leap, immediately sweeping it through the air in a downward spin that struck the edge of Zeridûl's blade. Dante and Zeridûl suddenly entered a flurry of clashes, sweeping blades from angles and plunges as they struck weapons and dashed in and out of each other's range. All allowing Xera to hover above the two below as he channeled his aura and fire, causing several aura blades to shimmer into the sky around him as they pointed downward.

Dante managed to summon in several of his own as he fought, masking each one in an invisible veil as they appeared. None of this went unnoticed by their enemy.

Zeridûl spun his blade around and swept Dante's sword aside, kicking the teen in the gut before turning and delivering a heavy slash toward Dante's chest, only for it to be blocked by a newly formed sword as the teen was sent backward.

"An admirable try for my attention, but don't take me for a fool." Zeridûl lashed out with his blade, a dark sheen of ice covering its surface that sent a wave of shards at Dante's skidding body. The teen managed to deflect most of them, but a few slipped by his sword and embedded themselves into his skin.

"What gave you such an idea to insinuate that claim?" Dante grunted out, breaking the ice piercing his skin as he dug his sword into the ground.

Zeridûl scoffed, reaching out into an empty pocket of air before crushing his hand around one of Dante's hidden Aura blades, shattering it immediately.

"I can sense every disturbance in the air that you currently breathe."

The entity proved his point by lashing out to his other side, shattering another blade into fragments in the air.

"You seem to have missed the true purpose of my actions."

Dante tore his blade out of the ground as Xera softly landed behind Zeridûl, forcing the entity to glance back toward the quiet noise.

"A distraction?" The entity asked with a laugh.

"Not in the slightest." Xera replied, striking the ground with his blade as he sent a surge of black fire through its structure. Smoldering black flame ruptured across the ice and erupted beneath Zeridûl's form, forcing him into the air.

"Now!" Dante yelled, all of his Aura blades reappearing in glints of white light outlined in black as every single one of them shot forward.

Those streaks of white and black were accompanied by the hail of Xera's blades from above, each one streaking in black fire as they struck Zeridûl and the ground in a flurry of breaking ice. Cold mist culminated before them as the ground itself was torn to pieces, a storm of blades impacting it from countless angles as Xera's and Dante's blades rained down on the entity. The potent smell of blood quickly filled the area, splattering the black ice below with blood just as black as it cracked and shifted.

"You think this is enough to stop me? Fools...the fight is only the beginning."

The ground suddenly quaked as it completely reformed itself, before shattering outward and reforming again, throwing Xera and Dante into the air as a black blur dashed out of the cloud of rising mist. Xera's instincts were what saved his heart from being torn from his chest as his wings encompassed the space between his body and Zeridûl's lunging form. A harsh clash ripped through the air as Zeridûl's blade slammed into Xera's wings, shattering the bladed armor the teen had and sending the phoenix crashing into the jagged wall in the distance.

"You think me killable?"

Zeridûl scoffed again as he stood up straight and turned, slashing away Dante's attempt of a strike from behind before grabbing the teen by the face, and then slammed him into the ground in a painful attempt to crack Dante's unbreakable skull.

"Y-You're not… immortal..." Xera coughed out, his wings aching at his back in a throbbing series of painful twinges. He forcibly pushed himself out of the wall of ice and landed harshly on the ground in front of him, shoes digging into ice as he ran forward again, "You're not...unkillable..."

"How little you understand..."

His blackened eyes soon snapped down to Dante though as the teen took a solid hold of his wrist, before in a flash Dante tore his blade through Zeridûl's forearm, completely separating it from the rest of his body.

"Insufferable pest..."

The entity's words were cut off by Dante pushing off of the ground with his hands and delivering a solid kick into Zeridûl's face, forcing him into a minor stumble backward just as Xera's wings surged with movement. The air burst behind Xera as he flashed forward in a haze of now purple flame, plunging Aether deep into Zeridûl's upper back. The white weapon tore straight through his black heart, breaking bone and driving through skin as Aether's tip emerged from the entity's chest. Xera soon reached forward and pressed his hand against Zeridûl's back, purple aura flaring before the entity's skin suddenly smoldered and burst in evaporating clouds of blood. Aether quickly became dislodged as their enemy stumbled forward, clutching at the hole in his chest as his skin and sinew reformed around him. And for a moment, Zeridûl's eyes flashed into the color of Zerath's before returning, followed immediately by a bright white light that emerged from the wound Aether had inflicted.

From the wound the final fragment of Zerath's diminishing memories resided in.

"So, you've found it…" Zeridûl shuddered from the light emitting from his open wound, before it slowly closed and his skin healed completely, "The one piece Zerath guarded most of all."

Dante slid over to Xera's side as the entity choked out a distorted chuckle, his chest constricting around his lungs.

"You mean to tell me…that he, after all this, still has enough of himself to recognize your presence?" Zeridûl's breathing returned to normal as his amusement resided, "Impossible."

"Nothing's impossible so long as you don't believe it to be." Dante retaliated, swiping his Greatsword to the side as he and Xerare-gathered themselves.

"Impossibility is only limited by those who perceive it and those who concede to it. You are no different immortal one." Zeridûl's hand reformed itself with blood from the ground, returning it to its original state as he formed a new ice sword in his grasp, "Even if you stop me here, stop my reign over your so-called brother, he will be nothing more than a husk. A capsule. He will remember absolutely nothing of his former self." he said looking to Xera.

Dante brought up his sword as Xera's gaze narrowed, purple flames slipping away as his original orange fire took over again.

"Give me an opening." Dante muttered silently.

Xera didn't hesitate to dash in. He slipped along the ground in a low rush before dipping around a quick slash from Zeridûl, maneuvering himself into the entity's guard and slashing his white blade through their enemy's side. Again, another light emitted from the wound inflicted. Xera didn't let up. He managed so turn and slide around Zeridûl's other side, slashing through there too before the entity slashed downward. Pain appeared to be surging through him from each wound inflicted, the only pain he's ever visibly shown, as Xera dodged the strike and kicked off of the hilt of the icy blade. Aether's edge tore through the front of Zeridûl's chest, ripping open a curtain of white light before Xera kicked away and flipped his light form backward, landing softly on the ground a few feet away. It was an opening Dante refused to miss. White light shined brilliantly from his Aura Greatsword, its shape barely containing the Aura surging within it as it overflowed and poured from its sharp edges. He soon entered a low stance and charged forward, shards of ice kicking up behind him as he disappeared in a blur of white outlined in black, driving the tip of his sword deeply into the closing slash of white light as he reappeared in the space at Zeridûl's front.

"Devouring…Light!"

A torrent of focused white Aura outlined in black blasted through the Dark Entities entire body, destroying the platform behind him in a cone-like rupturing beam. All splatters of blood burned away as quickly as they spread, evaporating into black mist as Zeridûl grew limp and hung on Dante's sword, blazing light diminishing soon after. A wide gaping hole smoldered in the entity's chest cavity. Heart, lungs, central spine, and everything around them completely burned through as Dante removed his sword. As Dante left Zeridûl to fall, the white haired teen snapped his sword to the side before cleaving through the remains of the entity's torso, severing it completely. But as quickly as it split, it pulled itself back together in a web of black bloody strands of flesh. Similar strands soon snapped together and reconnected the sides of the opening in Zeridûl's chest, stringing it all back together as the hole began to close. Dante slashed again, but the skin he split only mended itself back together all the faster.

This isn't making any sense.… A Dark Entity only has a set amount of times they can regenerate, the amount increasing with each classification. But the potency of his healing is far beyond what he should be capable of...

Xera's white blade suddenly cleaved through Zeridûl's limp neck, cutting cleanly through it and leaving behind another white light. Only, it didn't sever his head like it should've. The skin still melded itself back together as Zeridûl's eyes glowed a brighter red. Xera tried again, this time slashing down through Zeridûl's skull before bringing it back up in a slash across his chest and closing wound, only for the wounds to heal as quickly as he made them.

"He's not immortal, so there's still a way to end him..." The phoenix stated with grit teeth, making another swipe for Zeridûl's neck, only for his wrist to strike something cold and hard, stopping his blade completely.

The flash of an icy claymore was all Xera saw before his hand was thrown aside and his grip loosened on Aether's handle. The ethereal blade slipped from his fingers as his form crumpled forward against a bone-crushing kick to the chest. Ribs cracked and broke beneath the weight of the kick, aura shield shattering as he was hurled into the ground at an impossible speed. The time necessary to even blink hadn't so much as transpired yet as Xera crashed downward, ice crumbling and shattering around him as he skidded in a harsh tumble across the scraping surface of the ice. His wings curled around him, lessening the scrapes and the gashes as their durable tensed fibers protected his fragile frame. Aether's white shimmer faded as it fell, solemnly falling toward the ground as Zeridûl reached down. His fingers barely touched the cloth of its handle before his entire hand had burned away from the rest of his arm. Dante swept in, catching the white blade as it fell and dematerialized his Aura Greatsword, before delivering a swift upward slash into Zeridûl's recently closed wound.

"I don't believe this is yours to take..." The light in Aether's shining blade rekindled as it resonated with Dante's soul and aura, "This small piece of the soul you're devouring belongs to one person and one person only."

The white haired teen glanced back, seeing Xera's roll come to a sliding halt as his wings slowly unfurled from around his body.

"His brother needs this sliver of light," Dante continued, pausing as he looked forward again, watching Zeridûl's eyes narrow, "And we fully intend to make sure he sees its safe return."

The entity brushed off the front of his black coat, cloth mending together now that his flesh recollected itself.

"That comment would warrant some merit if there was a brother who could actually receive that sliver of memory."

"It takes an immense effort to fully eradicate or absorb a soul. Being what you are, you of all people should know this." Dante retaliated, pulling Aether back as he twirled it Around twice before summoning an Aura Longsword in his left hand, Aether resting in his right.

"I do, yet you fail to realize one thing. I am Zerath's life force as I reside in his soul. He is tethered to me, and I to him. If I am slain…he will die. You will either accept that fact...or you will take full responsibility for the death of Zerath Stark."

That was when Dante realized something. Something Xera had only momentarily sensed before he was thrown to the side. A glimmer of hope. Something began to reverberate through Aether, its light somehow shining a mere fraction of a level brighter than when he first gazed upon it in the alley. There was a way. They still had a chance to preserve him, to save him. They only had one shot.

"Xera, when you get up…" Dante spoke loud enough for the phoenix to hear him, Xera's bruised arms pressing into the ground as he tried to move again, "Follow my lead. And please...trust in me..."

Zeridûl's smile faltered for a moment.

"You plan to take the life of his brother? You'll kill him at the expense of stopping me?"

Dante's eyes changed suddenly, the whites of his eyes turning black and his bright skyblue irises a glowing white as he glared at the Dark Entity before him.

"I take full responsibility for what happens next..."

Nothing could prepare Zeridûl for the speed Dante closed the distance at. The twenty-foot gap zeroed out in an instant, Dante's Shadow Eyes the only thing the Entity saw before twin slashes were delivered to his chest, one glowing while the other closing immediately. Still, he managed to back off and slam Dante's next strike upward, deflecting it with his blade as he made a stabbing lunge for Dante's chest. Ice met nothing but the steel of Aether's streaking edge.

Dante clashed both of his blades into a solid crossing block from Zeridûl's claymore. Again, the blade shattered and Dante's hand carried its momentum, slipping beneath the blocking sword and generating another blade in time to plunge its tip into the entity's leg. The white haired teen quickly backed away before kicking off the ground, driving Aether's edge through Zeridûl's arm as the Dark Entity tried to remove the embedded blade. Dante slipped in and out of the man's guard, dodging around rapid and vicious swipes of Zeridûl's icy blade. Half of them glanced over his skin, splitting it in various places while several others left deep gashes in the rest of his body. Blade after blade, the sound of rupturing flesh and severed tendons rang out across the icy mountain's peak. Dante slammed Aura Sword after Aura Sword hilt-deep in varying places of Zeridûl's body, riddling him with shining points of white Aura outlined in black as several more struck their marks.

Dante quickened his pace, plunging several more into vital areas inside his enemy as he let his own flesh get cut up and torn, ignoring each wound he sustained.

"Enough!"

Zeridûl slammed the prong of his blade's hilt into Dante's gut before driving his sword back and plunging it through the teen's chest, its cold edge slipping between the bones of his ribs as it tore through one of Dante's lungs. The life in the teen's eyes failed to fade. Black blood trickled to the floor as Dante's own red blood followed close behind. One free hand came up and gripped the edge of Zeridûl's blade tightly, even as the entity lifted the teen from the cracked icy ground.

"You're lucky I don't have the means to kill you." Zeridûl growled, white and black blades still sinking deeper into his flesh as he lifted his boot and kicked Dante from the length of his sword.

A sickening squelch tugged from Dante's chest as he slipped forcibly from Zeridûl's weapon. Aether slipped from Dante's grasp as he flung it upward, white steel whirring through the air as its handle was caught in the grip of a descending teen from above. Xera had just enough time to burn his wounds away and leap into the air, catching Aether a moment later to deliver a heavy slash down across Zeridûl's heavily damaged skin. The first cracks began to form.

"I broke your ribs, you shouldn't even be-"

The ground cracked beneath Xera's shoes as he dipped forward, tearing Aether through Zeridûl's stomach before bringing it up and through the entity's chest, severing bone along the way. With a growl, Zeridûl caught Xera's wrist just as Aether's sharp edge left the cavity of his chest.

"Accept defeat when-!"

Xera let go of Aether as he kicked the bottom of its handle, sending it skyward as Dante flipped over the two combatants. The teen caught the blade and brought it down through the back of Zeridûl's skull and straight down his spine, causing him to release his grip on Xera. As Zeridûl turned and lashed out at the white haired teen, Dante tossed Aether through the entity's guard and let Xera take hold of it again. The two worked with efficient abandon, all restraint gone as wildness in fluidity took hold. Aether's shining form slipped from grip to grip, spinning and flipping with each toss as its length was buried, torn, and dragged through blackened skin and sinew. White streaks littered the air as pale glows littered the reaches of Zeridûl's body, and with them spread webs of cracking white light.

Ruthlessly, no regard to mercy, Xera and Dante exchanged weapons over and over again, driving Aether through as many areas as they could that wracked the entity's body with more pain that he's ever felt before. Time and time again, a new slash appeared on his body as he slashed at and deflected attacks from his front and his flank, but it wasn't enough. They worked around him, timing and executing maneuvers to damage his hide as the cracks began to spread. The jagged lines of glowing white light slowly began to engulf him.

"W-What…are you…"

Zeridûl's voice began to fade into a dying echo, eyes flashing in and out of sky blue and dark red as more and more of his body became engulfed in white lines of light. Dante drove Aether's tip into Zeridûl's back before kicking the shining pommel, sending the weapon straight through his body for Xera to catch and sever his torso completely. The light in Zeridûl's eyes began to fade as the power in his voice began to waver. Tremors now shook the ground as the black ice beneath them shifted, collapsing in spanning areas as pieces of the mountain top broke away. Aether's light had long since started to steadily grow, brimming now with a light it didn't possess before.

"We're sending you back to the abyss you clawed yourself out of," Xera stated with a calm lethality, plunging the tip of Aether into Zeridûl's heart, "It's your turn to accept defeat!"

Xera twisted his blade, white light emerging from the wound as the rest of Zeridûl's body brimmed in a culmination of energy and a crackling white blaze. Cracks suddenly shattered across Zeridûl's entire form as the light finally diminished from his red eyes. The white light of Zerath's fragmented memory burned before erupting, gathering its energy in an implosion of destruction before its immense waves of darkness and light were dispersed through the dark ashen lands and the mountain of ice. A spanning shockwave violently quaked the ground in a deep burst of suspended sound that shook all the reaches of the sky, shattering and breaking the ice away as the whole mountain crumbled beneath the force of its passing glow.

Zeridûl's world fell apart.

The ice of his realm shattered and burned away. The scarlet haze of his thick sky melted into a sea of crystal blue. The black ash smothering the world below was wiped away, leaving behind fields of white grass and shimmering oceans of blue water. The red sun above wavered in its crimson light, snapping its tether it held to the lands below as its unstable ruby rim burned away. The blackness of its heart now replaced with a shining lambent white blaze. All of it changed as the white light crashed into the ground and shot across the furthest reaches of Zeridûl's realm. The two teens were left plummeting to its surface. Dante's form struck the grass first, a soft thud echoing out as Xera's wings had just enough strength to slow his decent by a small margin. Even so, his legs still buckled beneath him as he collapsed. Aether fell at his side, embedding its tip into the grass before him. Rolling over, Xera glanced up into the crystal blue sky and reaching his hand toward it, feeling a soft cool breeze pass over his skin and drift through the locks of his hair.

It smelled fresh. Cold. It lacked the stench of blood and the smothering odor of icy death.

Aether shimmered beside him. It wasn't just a blade. It wasn't just a fragment of memory or a sliver of light. It wasn't just a small ray of hope. It wasn't just a light in a pit of darkness, or just a way to save a life. It wasn't a fleeting miracle for them to strive for. It was a catalyst of memory. It wasn't simply the last sliver of Zerath's memory. It was everything. It was a capsule left behind, holding onto the last possible piece of Zerath's soul in a single weapon of his remaining light. It was emptied of its memories, only able to hold onto the last of Zerath's past as it sat in the darkness of an alley. The alley that started Zerath's life anew. It was the beginning. And it was nearly the end.

Aether recaptured the memories it had lost with every swing, every pierce, every plunge, and every slash. It gathered as it dealt, it took as it was taken, it rebuilt as it fell apart. It took back what was stolen from it.

Zerath's soul had been returned to him. And with it, his memories.

"It seems...we really did return Zerath's memories..." Dante let out a heavy sigh before he began again, saying "He just needs time to recuperate since he'll have to reprocess his memories, but…he'll be fine now…"

Xera turned his gaze to see the white haired teen standing next to him, hand extended toward the phoenix on the ground.

The Phoenix Faunus took it just as the world went black.

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Xera felt his mind reel in pain as he was yanked from the consciousness of Zerath's body, forcibly removed as he and Dante returned to the world of the living. Their eyes snapped open, sweat residing over their skin, as the blinking light of the infirmary room weakly flashed on and off.

It was as if a dark hurricane tore through the room mere moments ago.

The ice was gone. The only window of the room had been shattered, cracks and black stains riddling the wall around it. Zerath lay crumpled in a broken bed, its sheets shredded and torn. Inuba and Destiny lay against the wall behind them, weak arms holding themselves up as the young girl in front of them collapsed to her knees, the barrier of pure white Aura she put up dissolving into nothingness soon after.

"I'm sorry… I had to keep the connection…" Her young voice came out in a meek, low tone, "I had to make sure you returned…"

"What happened?" Dante asked, his mind trying to push aside the familiar pain in his right arm.

"Given my current restrictions, I could do nothing effective…" The girl replied, no portion of her pale face visible now as she dipped her hooded head, "He was strong. Stronger than we originally anticipated…"

Wind flooded in through the opening in the wall, pushing against the door of the room as it brushed against the weakened floor below. Dante slowly closed his eyes, one breath escaping his lungs as he quietly nodded his head.

"He got away..."

His gaze soon opened again, falling to Xera as the phoenix slowly stood up.

"How powerful will he become if we leave him alone?" asked Xera.

"The facts are still uncertain, but I sense something that should not exist in this world..." The girl replied, her small hands clasping at her elbows as she spoke, "He is drawing power from an object that should never have appeared in your world, Xera."

The girl soon turned her head to Dante.

"You know what it is I speak of…"

"Unfortunately… I do know now…" He responded.

"How powerful will he become?" Xera asked again, this time turning his gaze to the girl kneeling on the ground.

"Enough to raise an army..." She replied, "He will have enough power to challenge everything… And the world will become his battleground."

Xera dully nodded, pale fingers pressing into his palms as his fists grew white.

"Then we need to hunt him down."

"Slow down there Xera. First things first, we need to rest. And while we rest we need to find where he's hiding." Dante said.

The young girl shook her head in agreement, saying "He has yet to fully hide himself. His new power has yet to manifest within him."

"If that that's the case...then we need all the help we can get." said Xera.

Dante moved away from the open gap towards Inuba, kneeling down to her.

"Hey... You alright?" he asked as he looked her over to make sure she wasn't injured.

His touch was always something she welcomed, even in...accidental circumstances. As such, she was never calm when he did. It felt as though the kitsune's mind was going a million miles an hour accompanied with small jolts each time it happened.

"I-I'm fine... J-Just a little scratch is all..."

"You sure?"

Her back was slightly sore after making impact with the wall behind her, but it was nothing serious. But...perhaps if she mentioned something...she might just get a massage...

She immediately shook her head afterwards as it reddened, pushing back the memory of the last time she received a tail and ear massage from him, one she cleverly snuck in once as part of a "recuperative process." She could do it again. But it would be cheating. That...and she was afraid for the most part she would be unable to contain herself, like she barely managed to do so last time.

"I'm sure..." she said softly. "For now, we should change rooms so that I may take care of him. Though his body has been purged of the Darkness within, he'll be in need of recovering from the side effects he's long endured."

"Right then... I'll help you with that then..." spoke the young immortal as he gently lifted her up as he winced slightly.

She only then noticed his arm gave off a small distorted hissing noise, watching small streams of black smoke emerge from his right arm.

"Master, your arm-"

"It's alright. We can tend to it after we move him."

---

The morning sun once again peaked over the horizon of the brisk Emerald Forest, littering the foliage and the forest floor in flowing streams and patterns of dancing lights.

"Ugh! We finally get to leave and come over here, and we get stuck in forest! Which way's Beacon? And how much more do we have to walk?" Ciel asked.

"That way and not much longer." responded Leo as he walked alongside his older sister.

The girl hummed quietly as she swung around another tree, falling back in line with her brother.

"What was it even that he needed to do that was so important that he, Inuba and the two of us needed to crossover to another Reality of Remnant for?"

"It's likely something akin to a personal matter he's attending to."

"A personal matter, huh..." Ciel spoke.

"We could always ask him when we find him."

"Come on, Leo!" The girl drew out, slapping the back of her hand into her brother's arm, "What if it's something nefarious?! Like an affair?! Maybe he's with someone! What if he's actually a super pervert and he's come here to unwind and let loose?! How would Inuba react?!"

"I really doubt it's something like that… Besides, she went with him, Ciel." Leo noted.

"Well, that doesn't mean he's not up to something. And as his sister and brother, we have a duty to make sure he's not doing anything stupid." Ciel stated.

"He's always doing something rather ridiculous."

Ciel blinked quietly for a moment, retort getting stuck in her throat, "Okay, that's fair."

"That doesn't say that he's not doing something reckless right now, though." Leo added on, "Perhaps he's visiting a friend."

"Oooor, he's about to fight a colossal Dark Entity with the help of some friends and going to save the world!" Ciel paused dramatically for a moment, before tacking on, "Again…"

"That is always a possibility." Leo responded, before he suddenly picked up a small trace of foreign Aura.

His eyes flicked quickly ahead of them, tracking something between the trees of the Emerald Forest.

"Stop walking for a moment."

Ciel stopped immediately, narrowing her own eyes and reaching her hand behind her back. It was quiet. Too quiet for a forest infested with Grimm. A light breeze drifted through the air, blowing his white bangs slightly as Leo reached up and broke a small branch off a nearby tree. He then tossed it in front of him, only for it to split down the center as soon as it passed through a diagonal ray of light. The halved pieces clattered dully to the forest floor, muffled only by the sound of a thin shining line of light before them. It was at neck level.

"A trap?" Ciel asked quietly.

"Undoubtedly." Leo said.

"For us?"

Leo turned his gaze slowly, drifting through a scan of their immediate area as his eyes traced every detail in his line of sight.

"This trap was only made recently. It's likely someone detected us and set the trap to stop us."

"So..?"

"It's best we assume the worst."

"Assuming the worst can save your life." Someone spoke lowly, the two instantly narrowing in on the new voice as a figure in black stepped out from behind a tree in front of them, "Or, it could get you killed with little results but your own worries."

He wore a cold, emotionless face. Bright lime green eyes glowed beneath the shadow of a black cowboy hat, its front lip slightly tipped down to cover the tops of his eyes. It appeared worn and used, no longer pristine, and almost dusty in appearance. Yet, it retained its solid shape. The hat hid a head of unkempt black hair. Messy strands poked out around his ears and forehead, while the rest simply stood out at the back of his head. His gaze was critical, analytical… calm. Not a twinge of fear ran through his cold blood, not a moment of uncertainty crossed eyes, not a single nerve sparked with a moment of apprehension or buzzed with any amount of anxiety. A pair of pale hands dipped deeply into the pockets of his slim, lightweight trench coat. The collar was upturned and his build was thin and toned, reaching exactly 6 feet tall in his entirety. His coat's shoulders had a subtle sharpness to them, barely there but noticeable in the way he calmly stood before them. He knew they were dangerous. But he either didn't care or it didn't matter. Worn black jeans and slightly lengthened black combat boots adorned his legs, the backs of them tapping against the tails of his coat that trailed just past his knees. The only other color in his clothes was the light gray trim on the rim of his downward tipped cowboy hat.

"Seriously dude? A modern cowboy?" Ciel asked, "Ugh... Great. So, what do you want with us?"

"I want something very simple and easy to obtain..." The man before them, or teen really, due to him appearing around seventeen or eighteen, grinned slightly beneath his hat, "And you are going to divulge that information."

"We're but visitors from a neighboring Kingdom, I assure you we very likely do not know the information you are searching for." Leonard spoke up.

"Awe, come on brother," Ciel whispered excitedly, "Don't you wanna have a fun fight while we're here? It'll be a nice training exercise."

"Look around, Ciel. Focus on the glints of light you see in the leaves and the trees, between the trunks and the branches." Leo quietly responded.

Ciel did just that and lost count after quickly noting half a thousand glinting lines of light, whispering as if she were impressed by the display.

"They're everywhere. I thought it was just the sun's rays earlier."

"This isn't a fairytale or an enchanted forest," The teen in black interrupted, his bright, subtly sparking eyes never leaving the two in front of him, "This is reality. And reality is a lot less beautiful than it seems to appear to be."

"A girl can dream you know." Ciel retaliated, sticking her tongue out momentarily at her adversary.

He showed no reaction to it.

"You seem rather confident..." Leo pointed out, "Do you really believe us trapped?"

"There are 717 invisible strands of unbreakable Aura in the vicinity of this section of the forest, 115 alone strung together in the path between you two and me. Every single one of those is fully capable of severing you limb from limb." The teen responded lowly and monotonously, as if it were an explanation for a mathematical equation, "Do I think you two are trapped? No. If you're as competent as I think you are, you'll find a way out. If you're not…then I guess you two are both as equally useless as I initially thought."

Ciel's lips grew into a challenging smirk, "Unbreakable? Sever our limbs? Hmmmm… Who's to say we can't just walk out the way we came?"

"You can try, but I have full control of those Aura strands. New ones were places as soon as you stepped forward." The teen in black responded evenly.

"No matter how hard you mask your Aura, I can see them, and so can she. They're not as invisible as you might think." spoke Leo

"A boy can watch a train approach him from a mile away, yet if he's tied down, he can't do anything but watch it grow nearer. You can see my wires, yet you still can do little against them. You can move, but you risk a part of your body with every step." The teen countered.

"Is that so?" Ciel wondered, stepping forward as she summoned her skeletal-like scythe in a burst of white Aura outlined in black. She twirled it around and spun it past her body, swiping her large blade in a tight rotation before cleaving it down onto a taught strand of light in front of her. The edge of her incredibly sharp weapon slammed into the strand with a resounding clang. The strand simply bent forwards a bit from her initial strike, but did not cut or break.

"It didn't cut..? Tch... I wasn't even swinging that hard either..." Ciel muttered.

It didn't break her weapon… The teen in black noted.

"A scythe wielder..." He muttered, loud enough for the two to hear him, "Your kind is all about appearance with little regard to efficiency. A scythe is the least effective weapon. Any bladesman will tell you the same."

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that looks can be deceiving?" The girl asked, drawing back her weapon and bringing it back behind herself.

She had enough of this guy, if he wanted to talk like this and act like he's the most important person in the world, then she wasn't going to hold back this trick on his account. She lashed out, swiping her blade horizontally in a wide fashion. It looked ridiculous, swiping at nothing, until the bones and sinew of her scythe's spine extended rapidly as she tore it through the air. The man didn't even flinch. He lifted his left forearm lazily, letting the inner shaft of Ciel's scythe crash against it in a solid metallic bang. Ciel only smirked and retracted her blade without missing a beat, only for the teen to turn and bash the underside of her wide blade with his other arm, letting her weapon return to its normal size. No damage was done on the return trip either, even as the curve of the blade pulled back dangerously closed to where his upper back should've been.

"You suspect your enemies to neglect spatial awareness, even in combat." The teen in black shook his head with a low tsk, his hat obscuring his eyes completely now from his lowered crouch, "You're as arrogant as your weapon suggests."

"Says the guy cheating with a field of wires as his safety net. If you're so strong, how about you come down from your pedestal and fight? Ever think about that? You're as arrogant as you look you creepy weirdo. You even wear all black like some sort of Mary Sue overpowered character from a poorly written anime." Ciel rattled off, dropping back into a low stance as she eyed the one in front of her. She stood alone now.

"And not even that, it's probably just a side story that no one cares about because the main character is so bland like the worst type of coffee or tea. And trust me, no on likes anything bland." She continued, narrowing her own eyes as she waited.

A sudden flash of something hidden off to the side sounded out. The first burst of gunfire, carrying a concussive rupture that echoed across the entire expanse of the forest. An impossibly fast eruption of lime green strands of Aura tore out of the ground around the teen taking a knee, his thin black glove sparked with the same electrifying light as he pressed it into the dirt. The rapidly fluctuating cyclone of wires blocked the flurry of incoming bullets from Leo, dropping white and black chunks of metal to the ground.

"Your brother is rather impolite. At least I revealed myself to you before doing anything." The teen stated, the tip of his hat lifting to reveal his calm eyes as his shield continued to bash aside the second onslaught of bullets.

Each shot was aimed for an opening, or a would-be opening in his shield.

"You're the one that's rude. You trap us in the woods, a young girl, and her twin brother, and threaten our lives while trying your hardest like some high school gossip girl to demoralize us with your words. And you call us rude?" Ciel argued, rushing forward and slipping into a route that would've looked ridiculous and unnecessary in any other scenario.

In this case, it was the only way to clear the distance by avoiding the now brightly glowing strands of lime green light littered around their surroundings.

"I never directly attacked you, now did I?" The teen asked rhetorically just as Ciel reached his shield, "You two are the ones who fired the first shots."

Ciel leaped over the field of aura strands, using her scythe's tip to catch as many as possible as she flipped over the fluctuating storm of light and tore an opening in his shield by tugging the wires upward. Leo took the opening immediately. All of his shots entered the storm of Aura strands through the opening that Ciel had created, his sister softly landing on the opposite side of their enemy a moment later as he rotated his handguns twice more. He took aim and held his fire now, each barrel slightly warm across the twelve inches each one spanned. Thin black chains slipped out of his sleeves and connected to the butts of his guns, softly clinking in the wind now as he held his position.

"Thanks for the ammunition..."

The field of green strands dropped just as quickly as the teen within them rose, a sleek black revolver gripped tightly in his hand clad in a black fingerless glove, its fabric was thin and its length ran slightly up his right forearm. It, and his gun, sparked brightly with his Aura as he immediately fired in Leo's direction, forcing the teen to dodge.

Two bullets came dangerously close to clipping Leonard. They were fast, far faster than any normal gun should've been capable of firing. They reached a speed as if each one was fired from his own enhanced guns, which were of a quality found nowhere else in all of the four kingdoms of Remnant. In all of the Worlds really. Leo narrowed in on the teen's glove. Only one hand was adorned by it, the other remaining bare as he used it to slam his hammer back for rapid consecutive shots. He had sensed it earlier, but now it was clear to him. That glove was some sort of catalyst for their opponents Aura. But how much aura did this man have? Leo couldn't get an accurate read on it, even with his more than capable senses. Ciel couldn't even take that opportunity to attack for now. The field of strands that the teen threw off of himself was all directed at her, forcing her to just barely slip around its reaches.

The teen then kept his gun trained on Leo in the distance as the storm of strands turned and collapsed toward Ciel again, forcing her to keep dodging. He then raised a hand up to tap the inside of his ear, "Shadow, lock them down."

Ciel's and Leo's legs suddenly froze, as if they had suddenly glued themselves to the forest floor in a treacherous and cold hold. Blackness crept up their shins, only stopping after reaching their knees and keeping the twins solidly in place. Neither of them could move their lower bodies anymore.

"Before you make the blunder of thinking Shadow is my partner's real name, I'll save you the trouble. It's a codename, and he's a marksman that can shoot a bullet out of the air ten clicks away in a low-light level hurricane." The teen explained, dragging his gloved hand through the air after slipping his gun into a holster beneath his coat.

Ugh, what a pompous douchebag... Ciel growled in her own mind as she rolled her eyes.

Several more strands took form in front of him as he created a new wall between himself and Leo. Both twins continued to struggle against their restraints, but whatever was holding them down was strong enough to prevent even the smallest of budges.

"You're in no danger, as I emphasized from the start." The teen in black continued, eyeing the two before him as he put his hands in his pockets again, "All I wanted was a small piece of information. A simple question, yet you both attacked me with no justification."

His voice was low, calculated, and almost bored. Not even the slightest bit of effort slipped into his tone, not that he was at all winded.

"Now, before you run off, tell me what I want to know." For the first time, the teen's lime green eyes narrowed beneath the tip of his hat as his face grew dark, "Where is Xera Stark?"

Xera Stark..?

It was a name that the siblings did not know. One that did not matter to them at the moment. Ciel slowly managed to bring up her right leg until it broke free of what held her, allowing the young girl to stomp on the forest floor and send out a surging shockwave of white Aura outlined in black, breaking Leo free of his bonds as well. Ciel raised up her arms and stretched before letting out a sigh.

"I'm sorry, was there something around us?" asked Ciel, Leonard following along by simply shrugging.

The man still stood undeterred, forcing a scowl out of the young girl.

"Leo, we can take him, right?" asked Ciel.

"It's possible. But I'd rather not for the time being."

"What? Why not?"

"It would be much more of a hassle than what is required. Besides, we are here for brother, remember?"

"If you say so... Ready to give him the slip?"

"At your mark."

"Right. After a short lived discussion, we're going to leave and let your creepy ass be on it's way rather than going home crying with broken legs. So with that, we're gone."

"I never said you could leave." spoke the man as Ciel spun around and stopped moving.

She stood there, silent and without saying a word. That was until she reached out in front of her and grabbed hold of a few strands and pulled. Immediately, with little to no effort and without spilling a drop blood, Ciel broke and tore the strands away, slowly turning around and shooting the man a menacing glare as her palm came into view, the man noticing Shadows slowly creep away from her hand.

"Hey, douchebag... I didn't ask for your completely useless opinion, now did I? You're really starting to piss me off, so run along before I seriously decide to snap your scrawny legs like toothpicks."

The man continued staring blankly until he moved his hand up, stopping shortly as soon as Leo raised his pistol at him.

"Unfortunately, we have other matters to attend to at the moment and have little time or patience to deal with you. So for now, we bid you farewell."

Leo had already set his trap. All that was left was to pull the trigger.

---

"And then Leo here pulled the trigger and used his Semblance to tether the guy in his place, then called upon all the bullets he purposefully missed and forced them to circle the guy. The whole thing was like a giant ring of lasers!" Ciel exclaimed, kicking her feet in excitement as her eyes widened in anxious wonder, "And he spanned the circle out to sever some of the surrounding trees while I cleaved through the rest. He then tethered them and forced them all to collapse onto the guy in the center!"

"Tiiiimmber!" Skyla yelled, face held tightly in her hands as she leaned forward in her chair.

"Exactly!" Ciel laughed in amusement, "Everything happened so fast! So fast he couldn't do anything but stand there and let it happen!"

Skyla gasped while Allix tapped her elbow from her crossed arm stance.

"How did you break away from whatever it was holding you down?"

"Never skip leg day. No, but seriously now, I figured it had something to do with my shadow," Ciel explained, "So, I flooded my legs with Aura, then sent out a pulsewave to break apart the rest. Easy, right Leo?"

"Y-yeah." Leo nodded momentarily, looking away from the several glances that suddenly turned toward his position against the wall.

"We could've taken him." Ciel clapped her hands together once more to bring the attention back to her, "But hey, we had stuff to do. So if he ever comes up again, we'll be ready."

"How do you know he hasn't shown you everything?" Ren asked, sitting beside Nora at the edge of a nearby infirmary bed. The rest of his team sat side by side next to them, while teams RWBY and the girls of CFVE resided on the edges of two other beds that were surrounding the few teens that sat in chairs at the center of the room.

"It is likely that he was holding back in favor of the information he was seeking. So, it is certain that we have not seen everything." Leo responded.

Fox and Yatsuhashi leaned against the opposite wall of the male twin, accompanied by Sun and Neptune. Rideat and Anna kicked up on the last remaining mattresses of the four beds located immediately around Ciel, Skyla, and Allix.

"That's some tale..." Rideat spoke up, "But how can someone block your attacks so easily? You two have enough Aura to be on an entirely different level than all of us here combined."

Ciel looked to the one in the beanie, tilting her head slightly as she took in his appearance.

Is he blind? No, that wouldn't make sense… He can just see my Aura. A visual Semblance?

"You have a keen eye." Leo spoke up, "However, based on my own analysis, I couldn't get a solid read on our adversary's Aura capacity nor predict its capabilities. It was either too vast to fully pick up, which is unlikely given my capabilities, or he masked it in such a way that hid it from scrutinizing eyes."

"Which is also highly unlikely." Ciel added on.

"Okay, so which is it then?" Coco asked from her seat beside Velvet.

"We cannot make an assumption yet based off of the information we currently have." Leo informed the fashionista, "We also know very little about his partner, whom I couldn't sense their presence for the entirety of our encounter. It was very likely he was far away for the duration of the encounter."

"This guy, and his partner Shadow, do you think they'll enter Beacon's grounds?" Ruby asked, fingers clasped tightly in her lap as she glanced toward the two strangers in front of her.

"I doubt it." Weiss spoke up at her side, "They may be powerful, but I highly doubt they're reckless enough to stroll into a place like this."

"I wouldn't be so sure..." Ciel muttered, before shaking her head slightly and changing the tone of her voice, "They were looking for someone. He had no intention of even fighting us."

"But you fought him anyway?" Blake asked.

"I would've, he sounded like a prick." Yang commented.

Ciel just shrugged, "My bad. I thought he was challenging us."

"That was also his intention, I believe." Leo said.

"In any case, do any of you know a guy named Xera Stark?"

Her question left the room in a dull silence. Her own bright sky blue eyes traced the glances of the others, watching in mild confusion as several of them traded looks with one another. A few of them looked almost unsure of themselves.

Ruby was the one to turn back to her and begin to say something, "He's-"

"Xera Stark is dead." Rideat cut in before the reaper could say any more, "He was shot down during the conclusion to a tournament held last week at Aero Coliseum." His voice was even, cold, and honest. He showed no signs of false intel, despite Rideat's awareness of the lie he spoke.

"Dead?" Ciel asked, as if for clarification.

It took a moment but several nods in the room confirmed the hyena-faunus's words. But Leonard knew full well this was a lie. He had studied everyone's faces carefully to determine this.

"I see… Forgive me for addressing this bluntly," Leo started, drawing the attention back to him, "but if you think you're protecting Mr. Stark by telling us a lie, you are doing little to defend him. This enemy is powerful and he is searching for your friend for reasons unknown to us. Do you really think that they believe his death was real?"

"Forgive me for being equally as blunt," Allix fixed her gaze onto the teen leaning against the wall, causing his eyes to advert momentarily, "but what gives you two any right to know about my dead leader? We've never seen you until today so how can we know anything you've told us today has even the smallest morsel of truth in it?"

"But… But Allix… It was such an awesome story! How can it not be true?!" Skyla exclaimed.

"I know right!" Ciel tacked on with the same amount of excitement.

It was truly an awesome tale.

"Allix is right." Blake agreed, "We know very little aside from your names. Who's to say that you're not the ones looking for Xera and not these supposed enemies you encountered?"

Amber eyes narrowed as the cat-faunus crossed her arms. Above everyone else, she was the most skeptical about these two new arrivals. Their appearance was rather convenient. The timing was uncanny, falling on the day that such a climactic problem with Xera's brother was on its way to being resolved. How can anyone just shrug that occurrence off like it was nothing?

"I can vouch for them."

Dante's voice came from the doorway, causing everyone to turn their gazes to the white haired teen as he entered the room.

Alongside him walked Xera.

"Who are they-" Allix nearly lost her balance when something pushed past her.

"Big brother!" Ciel proclaimed, dashing across the room and pushing her speed and strength into a tackle hug with Dante.

The teen managed to keep from bowling over, but he enveloped his younger sister in a soft hug as he ruffled her hair gently. That was enough to dissuade the unease most of the teens in the room felt.

"They're related to Dante… That just makes me distrust them even more…" Allix admitted.

"What makes you say that?" Skyla asked.

Allix simply shook her head softly.

"He's too perfect, annoyingly so. Not to mention that he keeps showing up here in our Reality. I'd rather just him keep to his own business."

"If I didn't know any better," Skyla reached up and tapped Allix on the nose, "your hatred sounds like it's stemming from denial. Allix, are you in lo-"

"Only in your own mind, Sky. He's far from my type." Allix retaliated coldly and swiftly.

"Wait, what is your type?" Skyla asked.

"Sleek, elegant, curvaceous, and slim." Allix commented, her eyes glancing back to Skyla and taking in her excited look. It was as curious as ever.

A light smirk quietly slipped across the archer's lips. So, she continued.

"I look for a nice edge and some flexibility and, above all, a beautiful body." Allix listed, straight face almost slipping into a dreamy flush, "They need to be quick and agile, while also durable and strong enough to protect me."

"Oooh, this is getting good…" Skyla let her words tumble from her mouth as she listened to Allix gush about her dream lover.

"They need curves in all the right places, and I want them to be a comfortable fit for me to hold and roll around with."

Roll… around with…? Skyla wondered, before her excited gaze suddenly turned sour and her eyes dropped into a deadpanned stare.

"I think tension and range is one of the most important things I look for in my bows-"

"I'm leaving..." Skyla muttered, throwing her hands in the air as she walked away from the archer, an entertained smirk residing on Allix's face now.

Dante lifted the small girl clung to his waist and pulled her off of his body, walking over to the bed near the door and plopping Ciel onto its mattress.

"Seriously, though, what are you two doing here? I said to come over if we sent out an emergency." He asked, eyeing both Ciel and Leo.

"We got bored, so we figured you might've needed help by now." Ciel explained, pushing herself over so she leaned against the pillow and headrest of her bed.

"We did think a little aid might have been in order. However, as you said it yourself, we are only a last resort countermeasure. We ultimately made the decision to only step in if you truly need us." Leo explained as well.

"Well, we do need to put together a team for what's next."

"Wait, so were you able to…?" Ruby began to ask but trailed off instead.

Xera was the one to nod, "Zerath's fine and he's resting now. But the Dark Entity managed to escape and leave Beacon. So what we need to do now is hunt him down."

"Why can't we all go?" Velvet asked, eyes flicking between everyone in the room in such a way to seek agreement. She found it in most of the people there.

"Because it's going to be dangerous," Xera explained, "As cliché as that sounds, this mission isn't going to be an easy outing. You'll be facing someone far stronger than anything you've ever faced in your lifetime. And I can't promise that all of you will get out of this unscathed. So, I'm asking you as a friend and I won't hold you to anything if you say no."

Xera slipped his hands into the pockets of his black sweatpants, lowering his gaze slightly.

"In fact, I'd prefer it if most of you did say no." The phoenix finished.

A cohesive unit was needed to move in and out. Teamwork was essential and needed. They all needed to be able to work together effectively and efficiently to get through it, this much Dante knew. His early days in the CGA taught him that much. Teams were torn apart and rended through so easily... If they didn't all work together, then someone was going to die along the way.

"We're in." Allix's voice carried itself to the door, and next to the archer nodded Xera's partner in crime.

"We got this! We'll give them a real fight!" Skyla emphasized her words by raising her fists and moving them in vertical circles in a sarcastic and almost taunting way.

Ruby and her team had already talked it over, so she got up from her spot on her team's bed and approached Xera, "My team and I are all willing to help you if we can too. So, don't rule us out."

"Mine as well." Jaune got up after seeing Ruby stand, then stepped up to her side.

The rest weren't so quick to agree from what Dante noticed. For the most part, he was fine with this since there were less chances of less people getting hurt or dying. If others were to be brought along, coordination was needed.

"If you can't come with us, or would rather not to, that's fine either way. We don't expect you all to go so freely or willingly. Especially if it's something like this."

A soft knock soon came from the door, causing him to turn his head slightly to catch whoever it was in his peripherals.

It was Destiny, followed by the girl in white.

"here's been a slight change of plans." The wolf-faunus stated, entering the room before stepping to the side to allow the girl from before entry.

The cloaked girl addressed the room with her voice, but her eyes were directed only at the few teens that stood before her.

"Our enemy has taken refuge in a self-created rift. He has forged his own dimension and tore an entrance in the space of this world and its reality, which in turn limits us. In order for you to enter that dimension unscathed and remain there, I must be the one to keep a connection between your souls and this Reality. If I do not , you will all be at the mercy of Zeridûl in his realm of darkness, where he has full control of that domain."

A torn dimension…? Great... More trouble than we need...

"Our numbers will be limited then... How many are you able to send in?" asked Dante.

"Six at most, unfortunately. I cannot sustain a number higher than that." The girl responded.

"That really does limit things…" Dante said shaking his head, turning his gaze to the ones that volunteered.

Who was he going to choose? Who would best work in a situation like this?

Ruby's always a good pick. Not...because I'm being biased here due to our relationship. She's really fast and has a unique fighting style that works to counter and confuse the enemy. Not only that, Ruby has the ability to rapidly and fluidly switch between targets and eliminate each one in quick succession. Plus, her weapon is both a long range and deadly close range weapon, giving her a near-perfect balance between all ranges. So long as she remains cautious and weary...she'll be fine and have nothing to worry about.

Dante then looked to Weiss.

Weiss has her vast knowledge in Dust and her array of Glyphs, alongside tactical support she could provide for the rest of us when we need it. She's virtually calm and collected during fights and can make some really nice on-the-fly decisions without having to rely on a lead.

Blake's quick and agile, able to slip in and out of danger with ease and able to easily enter the personal range of most enemies she encounters. She's great for mid-ranged combat with her weapon. She's a near-perfect choice in situations where we need stealth...but I doubt stealth will help us too much in the end, if not at all.

Yang is a nice powerhouse and can nearly match my brutality with hand to hand combat. Not only that, but like me, she's excellent for crowd control and clearing areas. Not only that, but she could take and dish out large amounts of damage. Even so...she's reckless and can charge in without thinking at times. I don't think she's ready for this sort of thing. If it were the Yang from my Reality, she would be... If she still had her arm that is...

Jaune has been, and can be unbelievably lucky at times... He has a decently strong tactical sense to him. He can think through logical and strategical plans at times even under pressure. He's a leader at heart and a decent decision maker in the heat of battle. But could he call shots under such stressful conditions like these? Not only that, but there's already myself and Xera. I don't think he'd be ready to take on Dark Entities...much less Lesser Class...

Nora's got strength, unbelievably so at times. She's highly unpredictable like myself in certain combat situations and works well with her partner, Ren. If she were separated though... Let's save her for now.

Ren isn't a safe bet for this either. He's stoic and has a level mind, and has incredibly fast reflexes and unbelievably agility, and he's able to predict moves before they were made and possesses senses that surpassed several others. In any given sense, he's close but not quite on my level. Even so, his damage output isn't all that strong, nor consistent.

Pyrrha... How long has it been... If only I can tell you of the things to come were it not for the Keeper of Time... Focus for now... She has long-range, a very strong offensive melee capabilities, strong defense alongside that to balance it out, and can turn around most situations in favor of herself or others. Problem is, she's never worked with anyone but her team. And I highly doubt she'll go willingly without at least bringing Jaune or one of the others along. Or vice versa. As well rounded and capable as she is, it's a pass on her.

Dante then focused his gaze on Skyla.

She's a definite must. Her semblance, as long as Xera can teach her how to use it, would be outatanding for us if Zeridûl tried to make use of any more black ice. Zerath's ice affinity was likely something Zeridûl made his own by now. Though from what I know of Affinities, it's still questionable if it's as strong as the original. It'd be a copy at best.

Allix, was it? Hrmmmm... She's still injured enough that it'd be hard to keep up. Not only that, but her abilities wouldn't be all that useful this time... Sorry, but you're sitting this out too.

Destiny and Fate... They've already fought Zeridûl in the past, but they haven't faced him in his newer form yet. No one in this room has besides myself and Xera. But, they have something that no one else does. They have unique fighting styles and the ability to either play the role of magic support or the strong role of uplcose melee combat. They have the tools needed to more than take care of themselves in there.

Inuba would definitely be the best pick to send in with us. She is stronger than I am, equally skilled in combat, and as analytical as I am, so it would make sense. But...if things go wrong...I'd rather she be here with Ciel and Leo as the back up plan. She'd be more than able to take him on with the two of them backing her up if he slips past us again. Sorry partner... As much as I want you to come with us, I need you to stay here for now.

Ruby has her high damage at all ranges and her speed. Skyla has her direct counter to any black ice Zeridûl would try to make. Weiss has the highest potential for supporting the team with her glyphs alongside her ability to lock down high priority targets. Destiny has her summons, something that very few other huntsmen could say the same for. Fate has her strength and her armory of powerful weapons, something that brought diversity in its own regard. Then there's me, enough said. And finally, Xera. We've fought together side by side from the start of this whole mess... He's undoubtedly powerful, and would be a rearl menace to handle given his Affinity and Semblance. This is it. This is the team. It's all we need for the inside. I think we can expect enemy resistance outside, so for those that can't come in with us, they can handle the rest outside.

Dante looked to Xera and gave him a nod. He could tell the Phoenix Faunus was more or less having the same thoughts he was.

"Ruby, Weiss, would you mind joining us? Even with the danger involved?" Xera asked, almost meekly, but as soon as he looked up a sense of relief relaxed his shoulders at the sight of the two already moving to join them near the door.

He then looked toward the members of his own team, "Skyla, I'll need to teach you a few things on the way, but would you mind-"

She had already charged across the room and engulfed him in a solid hug before he could finish his request. He couldn't help but chuckle lightly at that.

"It's about time we did something as partners." Skyla commented, letting the phoenix go as she flicked his shoulder and poked his hidden feathers for a moment.

"Lastly, you two," Xera turned toward Destiny, eyes locking with Destiny's own lilac irises to speak to both souls about this matter, "Think you can-"

"No need to ask us either." Destiny held up a hand and cut the teen off, "We're in."

"Good..." Xera said, nodding slowly.

"Great. For now though, we all rest before we head out. It'll take time for Zeridûl to manifest the Rift just enough for us to enter through. So...rest up, eat up, do whatever it takes to settle your nerves at ease before we leave. This'll likely be the greatest battle you have, and will ever face." Said Dante.

---

"That duo kicked your ass, Niro."

A teen in black sat on a cliff's edge. He wore a cotton jacket with equally onyx fur trim around its collar. Down the back of his jacket lay two long, parallel, open slits that disappeared in the dark folds of his attire. The material was thin and dark, leading down to just past his thighs at the back. His legs were clad in a pair of baggy sweatpants, finishing his black set up with a pair of running sneakers. He was 5'7, built more for mobility and endurance than durability and strength.

The colors were needed for his line of work and they interacted seamlessly with his semblance. Far beneath him, a sea of green leaves bristled and flowed, the cool sun bearing down on the world below as he felt a cold wind sift through his shaggy black hair. His strands reached his ears and gave him a ragged, rough, yet clean look, each lock of hair tipped in a bright gold. In his hands, he held a large, delicately crafted, ebony rifle. Customized in more ways than seven, it was a sniper rifle built entirely from scratch.

Heavy steps came up behind him then stopped at his side, before the one from before took a seat beside his assigned partner.

"Like hell they did... And what exactly were you doing? Distracted by that girl's thighs when you were looking through your scope?"

"Maybe..." Reflective, rebellious golden eyes glanced toward Niro beneath dark swaying bangs, "You can't blame me though. She did have nice legs. Really nice legs... But that's beside the point. You looked like you had it handled."

"First of all, she's younger than you, idiot." The one who just took a seat adjusted his cowboy hat momentarily, securing it against his head as a strong breeze rode up the outcrop beneath their dangling feet, "And second, your judgment calls are as bad as your ideas for entertainment."

"What? You don't find it fun to try and toss lien coins into a vending machine from across the room?"

"The last time you challenged me to something like that , I beat you."

"That's because you went first and decided to throw the coin with enough force to not only send the coin through the target slot but through the wall behind it too. I think you broke that vending machine beyond salvaging as well."

"Machines like that deserve to be destroyed."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" The teen on the left set his rifle at his side before pulling out a black scroll.

"Think our employer is the kind of person to want to remain up to date with everything we do? Or do you think he's the kind of person to just assume and wait until the end results…?"

"I wouldn't bother, Kyzal." Niro spoke in disinterest, resting his chin in his gloved palm as he looked out over the Emerald Forest beneath them, "He'll get what he paid for."

"He's paying us a fortune..." Kyzal noted with a relaxed grin.

"Exactly..." Niro replied, retaining the same tone as before.

In the distance stood the immaculate structure of Beacon Academy, the school towered high over the cliff sides that fell off on the edges of its campus. Their target was within those very walls. And if their job demanded they infiltrate the school, then so be it.

---

("Magical Girl Irene", by me)

"Since you two are here, what happened with Raum and Irene?" Asked Dante.

"Um... He said he didn't want to go near this one with even a hundred foot pole, so he said he was going to go chill at a village nearby until we get back and entertain himself." Said Ciel.

Dante took in his siblings words, looking above her and thinking for a moment before looking down at her again, saying "Oh god..."

"What?"

"I think I know what he's up to..."

(In some random village in Dante's Reality...)

People had gathered in the town square after hearing some big announcement of some sort of performance being played at the town center. It was supposed to be a good and eye-catching performance. Hundreds had gathered before the small structure with the curtain covering it, talking amongst themselves as to what they would see today.

The bells tolled, signifying the start of the performance.

The curtains were drawn and revealed the cute little wolf Faunus who stood before them, hands on her hips as Irene's tail whipped about back and forth happily. Raum sat in a chair in the farback across Irene, giving the young wolf Faunus a nod as she nodded back.

She cleared her throat, which to the rest sounded like nothing more than a cute squeak.

"Hrmmmmm... Hmph!"

Irene slowly raised up her hands and thrusted them into the air, a small and steady stream of sparks emerging from her fingertips.

The crowd "ohhh"'ed a bit, but Irene was not satisfied with the result given the pout she wore currently. Raum only smiled from the back and flicked his finger slightly when she thrusted her hands high in the air once more, this time a large gout of fire emerging from the palm of her hands and escaping into the sky, a sight that the crowd, and even Irene, awed at before the flames reached higher into the sky and formed into fireworks before dissipating completely.

It was then the little wolf Faunus bore a mischievous smirk about her and pointed a finger at an electric lamppost nearby, the device crackling a bit before electricity emerged from within it in a steady stream like water, moving and circling about it the air when Irene moved her finger elsewhere in other directions and angles. The stream split apart into two streams when Irene used her second hand, the streams of electricity crackling high overhead different audience members heads as the young wolf Faunus focused. And then, she clapped her hands together as all the lights had gone out. Everyone waited in suspense, when ten seconds later, Irene threw her hands up in the air as Raum clenched his fist, the electricity immediately being restored to all buildings in the village as everyone clapped for her.

She bowed politely a few times to the audience before raising her hand up to silence them. They all fell silent and watched with anticipation, waiting to see what she would do next. She then slowly raised up both her little hands with a "hmph" as lare sloshes of water began forming in the air above the crowd, and with the tiniest movement of her fingers, the sloshes of water danced about in the air, sparkling like little diamonds in the sky. This continued for about another minute or so until some of the water dropped down into the few cups that audience members held in their hands, and after that, the water froze into ice and floated in the sky.

Irene soon clapped her hands together once more, making the spehere of ice explode and fill the air with powdery snow, a sight the audience more than loved as they clapped for her. She then bowed numerous times to the audience, but then placed a hand on her chin, as if she were thinking of a final trick. She let out a loud gasp, then began rubbing her hands together. Raum had the exact thing in mind for what to do next. As soon as Irene pointed to one of the audience members, Raum had simultaneously snapped his fingers, and that audience had suddenly transformed into a frog the next second, the audience clapped despite being completely surprised, but Irene had backed away a moment, just as surprised as everyone else was. She then looked at both of her tiny hands, as if she were questioning the power she held.

Raum sat in the back, one hand slapped over his mouth while the other slapping his knee continuously as he tried to hold his laughter in. It had been long since he turned a human into an animal, a frog no less. But it was always entertaining to both do and see. What made it even better was the look of surprise and shock on Irene's face when she had thought she turned the man in to a frog. To him, it was such an adorable sight he couldn't help but laugh. He was even more amused when she tried flailing her arms about while muttering with her small voice to try and turn the man back. Deciding Raum had his fun, he snapped his fingers and the man took human form once again. And with that, the show ended.

(Minutes later)

"As soon as most people hear 'Magical Girl', they just lose their minds, drop their things and come running... I should do this again sometime. Charge more Lien for admission next time as well..."

Irene voiced concern, likely at the idea of using her talents for money, by pulling on the Dark Entity's slightly pointed ears.

"What? There's nothing wrong with using your talents to make money. What's that silly game humans play and have teams for that make money and the such... You know, with dribbling the ball?" asked Raum as he went through a relaxed dribbling motion with his hand, Irene replicating his hand movement with her own.

"Ballbasket? Something like that... They have 'sports teams' and the players are payed for their talents they use in official games."

The young Faunus girl hummed with curiosity, then patted his head once.

"No, it's not the same thing that we did, but the idea is the same. Anyway, we need to make our own money when we can. I don't want to rely on the brat for money all the time, even if he does split the money we earn from Hunts and Tasks evenly between us."

Irene hummed once more before wrapping her arms around the top of his head as she sat on his shoulders, her wolf tail wrapping around his neck like a scarf. The Dark being couldn't help but feel embarrassed slightly. And comfortably warm.

"A-Alright... Time to head back for the night."

"Hmph..."

"You just ate ten minutes ago."

She patted the top of his head twice.

"Fine, we'll get you something to eat at the inn. Lets go."

And with that, the two had traveled to the nearest inn to enjoy the final meal of the day before turning in.

---

(Huntsmen and Huntresses Illustrated Weapons Guide 4)

Dante looked at the holographic screen of his scroll, his eye twitching slightly as he read the message he received.

"I'm really really really sorry! But I got sick yesterday and I'm bed with a fever... Sorry I didn't say anything until, I forgot we had the segment at this hour!"

The message from Ruby followed with a pouting emoji.

"Look, it's fine. You got sick and it's understandable. But you could have tried to tell me earlier."

"I'm sorry!"

"Look, don't worry about it Ruby. I got it covered. Sleep well, I'll be over to help take care of you later." he sent along with a thumbs up emoji.

He then hit the contacts tab and hit Ciel's name, opening up the text box.

"Code red. I repeat, code red."

"Situation?"

"1A. Red is in bed."

"..."

Dante waited for his sister's reply.

"So you need condoms then?"

"W-What?! No! Not what I meant and not that kind of situation!"

"But wasn't 1A-?"

"No! 1A is Ruby being sick!"

"Oh... Right. 3D was-"

"We never made a plan 3D and we never ever ever made a plan for a situation like that. Look, I have to do the segment in a minute, so I need to move to plan B."

"Oh yeah! This is the one I actually payed attention to!"

"Really?" texted Dante back to demonstrate his disappointment.

"Relax. Give me a sec. Oh... Just in case for later, do you need Magnums or something even larg-?"

At that moment, the young immortal immediately closed his screen and waited. Ten seconds later, a black portal had opened up, and out of it fell Xera Stark, face first.

He groaned slightly as he held his aching head, standing up to take in his surroundings.

"Welcome everyone, we are back for another week of Illustrated Weapons Guide."

"Wha-? Dante? How did I-?"

"Unfortunately, Ruby is sick today and wasn't able to make it to the segment today. So in her place, we have special guest Xera Stark!" said Dante motioning his hand to Xera.

"Um...hi?"

"Great. So Xera, you're here today because we're talking about your weapon, Anivia's Talons."

"My weapon? R-Really?"

"Yup. I know a decent amount about it, you know all about it. I say stuff, you jump in, then I jump in, rinse, repeat, so forth and so on."

"Easy enough then... Well, since you know a decent amount yourself, why don't you start us off?" asked Xera.

"Sure. So, at first glance, Anivia's Talons look like two bladed boomerangs that are shaped like sharp feathered wings. What's nice besides being bladed boomerangs of flying death, these blades are imbued with corrosive dust which can cut through most softer materials over time. Both blades can be thrown in an arc of any size, based off of the angle and strength of the release of the thrower, and they will maintain their flight path. They're resistant against almost anything while spinning fast enough, plus, they can also be used as swords for close range combat."

"Not bad. You got the basics down so far. To continue, the blades have a sleek nature to them, and when fully straightened, they each span nearly two and a half feet. At their handles, the blades thinly curve around the cloth tight grips and connect solidly to the pommel of each sword, giving them a bladed guard. The curved nature of the blades and customized weight of metal density causes each sword to pull inward when thrown, giving them a slight boomerang effect. When combined with my Aura Lock bracelets that I made, I can enhance the strength of that pull with my Aura and call them back to me like a magnet in an adjustable curved line."

"Basically like a boomerang with changeable distances."

"Right, now, Anivia's Talons, when in gun form, look like shotguns that can shoot dust slugs of any type. It's good for when I like to get a bit close but still keep my distance."

"Next is his Longsword mode, where his curved blades straighten out and open up the panels along their spines where they then interlock together creating a double edged longsword. The handles don't flatten together, but one of them does extend downward and connects to the bottom of the other handle, creating a dual handed grip. The thin bladed guards that originally covered the handles rotates upward and aligns at the base of the new longer blade, creating a crescent shaped hilt. And let me tell you folks, it's a really nice looking Longsword. So, give us the breakdown of how you made your weapon, Xera."

"Well, how they were made was a process called 'Aura Forging', where Anivia's Talons were made of a delicate variation of titanium-alloy memory metal and a low-alloy spring steel, a combination resulting in a light-weight blade with an incredibly high yield strength and insane malleability. These two high tiered metals grant my weapon the well defined ability to return to its original shape despite heavy deflection, twisting, or warping. When the blade is slightly heated, the hyper-reactive memory metal allows it to return to whatever shape it was set to when it was first forged. The spring steel further ensures it returns to its original shape against any encounter. The blades were forged through a custom variation of a rare intricate metal-working process known as 'Hot Aura Fusion', which, contrary to 'Cold Aura Fusion', is a process that is done through the use of a high temperature forge and a specific Aura-retaining set of metals."

"Few people know of the process Xera uses, and even fewer have perfected it. Xera is one of these few Aura forgers. Now, 'Hot Aura Fusion' is a process where a forger pours their Aura into a weapon in segments and layers, depending on the retainability of the metal being forged. Through numerous focused and carefully mapped out marks, the Aura will bleed throughout the heated molecules of the material and settle evenly throughout the design. Once the metal cools, those heated molecules tighten together and fuse with the layers of Aura cast inside. Because the scale of this is so small and delicate, it makes this process irreversible and permanent. No mistakes can be made."

"The displacement of Aura must be evenly spread or the weapon's structural integrity will ultimately fail, resulting in a shattered blade or an overly brittle weapon. Because of this process, any weapon created will be compatible with the 'Aura Lock' mechanism I made. Whoever fuses their Aura with the blade when it was forged will be able to create a phantom connection with the blade by activating their own passive Aura flow. This gives the blade wielder, and the blade, countless possibilities and potential for how the weapon is used and how the user can fight with it."

"This phantom connection can also create a pull between the Aura and the user. If the weapon were ever disengaged from the user's possession, it can be called back through focusing Aura to a powerful point on the user's body which creates a weaker version of polarity, much like when I had my old powers and could recall my sword to me whenever it was discarded from my person. Proficient Aura users can amplify this affect to reach or surpass even the affects of polarity itself. These affects grant the user the ability to forcefully pull their weapon back to within their grasp with a simple moment of focused Aura activation." said Dante.

"Why is this process so rare you ask? Because the heat required to fully breakdown a metal then recombine it is immense. Only a handful of furnaces throughout all of Remnant can ever hope to even reach this degree of heat. And very few of those already small numbers can handle the process without rupturing and destroying themselves, along with the forger. I am a phoenix however, so I can withstand the heat, but I can also create or amplify what is already being produced. Not just this, but I can also focus this heat to funnel this disastrous process into an efficient and effective process."

"This is what makes Xera, a Phoenix Faunus with a fire Affinity, one of the best in the arts of blacksmithing...and strangely cooking from what I've heard. You cook?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere. And yeah, I cook."

"Not bad, not bad... Well everyone, that's Xera Stark's weapon, Anivia's Talons, and how it's made. This guy is a literal Frankenstein, like me, when it comes to making weapons. That's all for this week folks. Xera, thanks for coming." said Dante shaking Xera's hand.

"Thanks for having me...well...drop in."

"So...you cook?"

"Yeah, I cook. Surprised?"

"A little bit. I cook myself, but Inuba is our designated cook, with me being a helper on occasion."

"And how good is she?"

"Better than you and me for sure. Better than Ren even."

"Seriously? Better than Ren?"

"Yup."

"Now that's something I'd like to see."

"Who knows? We might get the chance soon enough."

Dante's HoloScroll immediately gave off the same, single tune electronic ring as it usually did, signifying he received a message. He opened it, seeing it was from Ruby. He apparently sent her a message seconds ago and she quickly sent one back.

"Are you ready to feel more than better?" read his text.

"What the..? I didn't send this..." replied the young immortal.

He immediately saw Ruby's message and froze.

She sent back her reply in the form of a picture. Her face was a deep red, part of her face hidden behind a heart-shaped pillow with the word in big letters "YES" written across it.

Dante closed his HoloScroll immediately and walked off hurriedly. He had a misunderstanding to clear up.

From the producers box, Ciel sat in a chair with her feet placed up on the table, drinking a box of juice. She then looks to you.

"What? I can't always use little ms. Foxy all the time. Turns out, branching out to Little Red was an excellent choice..." she finished with a wink.

---

Zeridul has been successfully driven out. Zerath Stark has been saved. Even so...a greater terror looms over Xera Stark's Remnant. Though driven away, Zeridul still lives. And with help, he is planning his next move. Will Dante and Xera, along with their allies, be able to neutralize this threat once and for all? Find out as you keep reading!

Nothing much else to say at the end here. Except...

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! Bye-bye now!