Mankind has lost.
With their power, they were opposed with greater. With their united stand, united did they fall. With every sacrifice, most died in vain.
Mankind were filled with despair, exuding negativity piercing the heavens. However, no one answered.
No Heroes, no Angels, not even two Gods answered.
There was nothing they could do to oppose the unstoppable force of Salem. The old witch that looks like it came from a nightmarish fantasy will sooner be responsible for the extinction of man.
But for what? What could it be the cause for their suffering? What could be the purpose of Salem's rage?
Mankind begged, the witch answered their despair.
The Relics. The witch couldn't find the last one.
With hopes to appease the anger of Salem and prevent the extinction of Man, they set out a wide search of four continents. With their technology, they were bound to find it no matter what.
It was the first, and last time Man and Grimm united to accomplish a single objective. To find the Relic.
The Heroes, or known as group of Huntsmen and Huntress, were the biggest chance for the survival of mankind, has already died. However, not before hiding the last Relic from Salem.
It was Heroes last act in hopes a new Hero emerged to wield the Relic.
It was pointless hiding them now, Mankind has already betrayed the Heroes dying wishes in hopes for their survival. What good could it do when there is nothing left to protect.
But there is.
A slice in the air suddenly resounded, within that slice a crimson portal formed. hands outstretched through the portal and next were the rest the body.
It was a woman, with black hair and dressed in crimson red in pants with a long katana on her waist. She was holding an alcoholic beverage called sake, and on the other hand was holding two flat cups for the beverage called sakazuki.
However, what sticks out the most was a crown with three red jewels in it.
The last Relic.
The woman with a crown on her head walked forward. With a slight glow on her red eyes, a seemingly flat rock surface emerged from the ground. There she sat on the rock, and in front of a grave.
She placed a flat cup on the surface of the grave, and poured it with sake. She poured herself one but didn't placed it in any surface to steady. But her balance was impeccable for a drip to occur on her flat cup.
"It's been a while... And probably my last... No, Yang, this is definitely my last stand."
The mother of Yang, Raven Branwen. She declared solemnly, a sad smile and eyes that looked tired. Drinking her sake as she was about to speak again.
"I've seen all futures. No matter how many, I couldn't find a path for everyone's salvation."
She paused, looked at the ground as she reminiscing her past.
"I tried to save as many as I could and welcomed them to my tribe. I treated them like a family, although, you'll probably get angry with it. Haha..."
She gulped her sake in one go, then continued as she refilled her cup. She started telling tails of her travels, a Huntsman's/Huntress tribulations, and her precious subordinates.
"–Eventually, this tribe has grown to be as populous as a kingdom. Many of them were Faunus who had faced prejudice, and some of them were from villages that had been destroyed by Grimm waves. I essentially believed that once I reached a certain number of individuals, I could convince the kingdom to unite together once more. As you can guess, it backfired."
She grimly chuckled and drank her cup.
"To them, i was just well-known leader of a bandit group that suddenly grew in power. They also fear the new way of us handling Aura. We were too strong..."
Indeed, the waves of Grimm had already put too much strain on the populace. Then there is this bandit band that has the ability to kill a Beowolf with a single swing of their weapon and can intimidate them simply by being there. Naturally, people became concerned when they discovered that the bandits were among the strongest faunus and humans.
Though she might've scared them too much.
Raven used to believe in the concept of 'survival of the fittest,' or 'The weak should fear the strong,' thinking that if she and her tribe became powerful enough to withstand Salem's onslaught in the shadow of Ozpin and Salem's secret war, they would thrive on. If they were able to do that, her tribe may have a chance to survive Salem's wrath and even be acknowledged enough to swear allegiance for their survival.
That was once upon a time. She is a different person compared to what she was now.
It was already a pointless endeavor anyway the moment she wore that Relic. The people in the kingdom sworn their allegiance to Salem before she did. She couldn't have expected that Salem would force every kingdom to submit to her will in order to fully destroy their chances of surviving now that she knows Raven has the Relic.
'Salem is just as cautious as Ozpin. They're perfect for each other.' Raven has always thought of that whenever the Relic showed her visions of Salem's behavior.
"While i couldn't find it for them, they have already found their own salvation, and it's through taking this crown. Once it's taken, Salem will finally summon the Gods. I couldn't see any farther than that, I'm sorry."
She drank her cup.
"Ah, don't worry, they will have to cut my head first before acquiring it. After all, what good am I as a warlord if I can't guard anything priceless?"
She chuckled and tried to pour more on her cup, even though there wasn't any left, she still tried to pour and drink it from her cup. Only to realize there wasn't any left, a drop of water fell on her hand holding a cup, it was her tears.
She wiped her tears with her thumb. Blushed as if embarrassed, but smiled at the aspect that she did. She could hardly believe she change that much after bonding with people.
"–Above all, how could I face you if I couldn't even guard my daughter's first present? That's the last thing you'll do, right—run away or give something up. You're a fierce daughter, just like Tai... I wish I told you that sooner..."
Today she and her tribe were going to face the World, her bounty was high, and so was her tribe. However, she wasn't going to coward her way again like she used to, neither was her tribe. But if possible, she'd like to have her tribe members alive so she doesn't mind if they coward away.
She first-hand understands them, after all.
"... I have to go now. My people need me. We'll see each other again, the next time will be different. Send my regards to Ruby and Summer, won't you?"
Raven smiles warmly, stoop up and slicing the air behind her to create a portal. She glanced back before going in the crimson portal and disappears.
The sake that was left behind was calmly waving. The breeze sent the leaves flowing, while the birds fly happily. The view in front of the cliff were outstandingly beautiful.
Next to the other graves were Ruby and Summer. The left side were an empty plate, and the middle was a cup. They were also given food beforehand, but that was long time ago.
It was peaceful.