Hello everyone! Really sorry about the late posting but things at work have been really busy. Anyway, I hope you guys will enjoy this charter. The next one will focus on Ruby and her friends as Geo fights his master. Well, that's all for now, have a great read everyone. Thank you so much for reading, bye.

A Shattered Life

Chapter 46: Caedus

The journey was long and the training was brutal but Geo and Augus finally reached the ancient castle where the old King lived, alone. "Looks...really old, kind of like you." Augus chuckled, sure it was old and somewhat ruined but it was home for him and that's what mattered the most. "But it looks nice." Said the boy. The castle itself was truly ancient, and the once smooth rock was now pitted and scarred because of the many battles that transpired in this location.

Still the castle walls rose out of the darkness, out of the silent charcoal curtains that is the dawn, or at least something like it. The walls are pitted and forlorn, no longer the bastions of protection and glory that they once were. Both Augus and Geo pass the wall through a large gap in it. "There's nothing like home." He smiled. "From that tower you can almost see the dark realm of the Dark God." Augus pointed. "There are many terrifying nightmares in that place but the women there are the best! Hahaha!"

"...O-Ok."

"Alright kid, it's time to continue with your training. You have grown stronger and smarter during our trip here but you still have many things to learn." He said. "But now we are going to focus on something different, you see you have two types of Aura, your normal one and the dark one you got from when you were born." This left young man confused as he had no idea what he was talking about.

"I don't understand what you are saying. What Dark Aura?" Geo asked.

Augus laughed. "Hahaha! I guess I will have to explain it. Well, for some unknown reason everyone thinks that Grimm don't possess an Aura because they are monsters that were born from raw darkness but they are wrong. The strongest Grimm in Remnant have Aura and they are the ones that are free from Salem's control." He explained. "And you are part Grimm so that means you possess the same dark power like your mother has, and you are going to control it."

"...No! I do not need that woman's power! I have my own!" Replied Geo with a serious tone. "I will be damned if I use her power!"

"Fool!" He smacked him on the head. "Don't be an idiot! You need every advantage you can get boy, must I remind you that she killed you?" Geo simply looked the other way. "Even though you hate her, she didn't started like a demon, if you had known her like I did you would understand why she's doing all of this. Salem used to be a great heroine alongside her husband." The old man sighed. "Unfortunately, those days are long gone now."

"What? You know her?" He was amazed. "B-But what did you mean by that? She was a hero?"

The First King turned to the boy and replied. "I will tell you everything but first you must beat me! Only then I will reveal the truth about your mother." Geo made his hand into a fist as he didn't like the idea of using Dark Aura but he had no choice now. In order to find the truth he must defeat the strongest Casterwill who ever lived and that was no easy task, so he needs every drop of power he can get.

"Fine." He nodded.

"Good. First, lets start by getting you a new arm." Augus smiled. "Some Grimm have the ability to summon new limbs to replace those that were destroyed so you can do the same. Here have this." He threw a blue orb to the kid. "Just focus on your hate and bring your Dark Aura into that sphere first so we can avoid accidents."

Geo closed his eye and started to focus on the darkness inside of him. He then narrowed his eye at the blue ball and it began to slowly turn black, until it exploded and the Dark Aura was unleashed, throwing Geo backward a few feet. "Ahhh!" He landed hard upon the ground with his back, hissing in pain his hand felt unbearably hot. The young warrior groaned as he got back up while his master was approaching him.

"That was...a start."

"A bad one at that." Said Geo. "But I could feel it, the intense hate running through me for a moment. It was, strange."

"Hmm, lets do it again but remember you are supposed to control your Aura, not let it run rampant." Said Augus. "Also, be careful there's a chance that you could turn into a monster if you happen to lose your focus." He threw another orb towards his student who caught it. "You will continue with this exercise until you have learned to control it."

"Right." Geo growled before he turned his attention back to the blue sphere in his hand. The child frowned to himself as he focused his Aura again. The darkness surged forward just like before and it was like a flood growing around his body as his form was completely encased with it. "So much...hate and pain." Many awful memories ran across his mind. "This dark power ain't mine! It's Salem's." The sphere cracked a little.

"Focus!" Yelled Augus. "That power isn't hers its YOURS! Own it! Just because your power comes from darkness it doesn't mean you are evil!" He said. "It means that you are willing to accept your inner darkness and use it for the good of others so that they won't fall to the same dark pit as we! Take that burden and show them who you really are son of Salem!"

"Rgghhh! Ahhhhh!" His Dark Aura grew even more as the boy grit his teeth at the power he was unleashing. The air around him trembled and from his empty eye socket a small red flame revealed itself. Geo then crushed the sphere with his hand, his face showed intense pain but also great determination. Suddenly a red circle appeared next to his missing arm and then it began to form a Grimm claw out of pure Dark Aura.

"This kid..." Augus was impressed.

Unfortunately, the power grew too powerful and it quickly diminished. His new Grimm arm also vanished into thin air. Geo huffed as he fell down to his knees, his chest heaving at how hard he was breathing out. "You did great Geo." The old man praised him. "You managed to control it for a few moments. Call me impressed, but it seems you need more motivation."

"I have...never felt such power before." When he looked up he saw a boot coming right at him and the hit was perfect. It send him rolling across the dirt and slamming into an old ruined stone pillar. "Ahhh! What the hell was that for you maniac?"

"It seems that I don't have much of a choice now." Said Augus while walking towards his student. "We don't much time sooner or later things in Remnant will get worse and you cannot allow Ozpin to retrieve the artifacts of the Gods unless you want your world to be destroyed." His Aura grew. "Forgive me child but if you fail this second test your soul will belong to me and then I might have a chance to return to my real home."

"I...I don't understand what the hell you are talking about but to be honest I don't give a damn. All I know is that I will save my friends no matter the cost!"

Augus laughed. "This battle was over before it even started." He closed his hand into a fist. "Soul Nearer!" He delivered a fierce punch on Geo's stomach, then his entire body cracked like glass and it shattered into many pieces, leaving the boy in panic and confused. "If we were alive this technique would have killed you instantly but here it only shatters your soul."

Most of Geo's body parts were gone while the rest was floating in the air. "A-Augus!" He looked at his master terrified as he didn't know what to do. Then the old King placed his hand on the ground and a large blue crystal emerged from the dirt. "Y-You BASTARD! I...I WILL KILL YOU!" His sclera turned black and his purple eye started to glow.

Forgive me child but I have to push you even further, we just have one year and I must make sure that you get control of your Dark Aura. Thought Augus. "Now, this crystal allows me to see into the world of the living that's how I know much about you and your friends." He turned to the crystal. "Show me, the Silver Eyes, Ruby Rose." In mere moments an image was revealed and it was of Ruby, who was sleeping in her bed with a picture around her arms. "Look at her, she looks like an angel doesn't she? Haha! Too bad she will be raped again when her father find her."

"What?!..."

"Yesss, there is no escape for her." Said Augus. "At this moment her father is searching for her and when he finds her. Oh, he will take his time with her. Hahahaha!"

"Damn you! DAMN YOU!" He yelled in rage. Then he looked at Ruby again and noticed that her cheeks still had a few tears. And the picture she was holding was of both of them holding hands and smiling. "Ruby..." He whispered. "No...No...NOOOO!" A sudden surge of Dark Aura was unleashed and the wind was getting stronger by the second. Geo's expression was of pure rage as he moved his head uncontrollably. "I WILL STOP HIM!"

"Don't make me laugh brat, in the condition you are in you are not going anywhere." He replied. "In fact, how about I pay her a little visit. I am a good friend of the Dark God you know so I believe he will let me have her since, well, she's a Silver Eyes whore!"

On that precise moment, Geo's Dark Aura grew but it was joined with regular Aura as well, which left Augus puzzled. "I can't...I can't fail her again." He stared at her with his heart in pain. He couldn't move do anything to help her and that filled with him with rage but also determination. "I-I can feel my body shattering even more, but deep, deep in my soul there's a burning feeling that won't let me die! I won't let you or anyone else hurt my Ruby or my friends!" His Aura grew even more. "If you get past me you will destroy everyone I love, everyone's hopes and everyone's dreams!"

Geo's eye glowed and the empty eye socket revealed the red flame again. "For the sake of my Ruby, my friends! And for the sake of the whole world, I GEO WILL STRIKE YOU DOWN!" In that moment a flash of black and purple light erupted and almost blinded the old King, then it followed with a huge explosion that threw Augus back a few feet. When the smoke cleared, he saw him, he saw the true power of the young Casterwill. Geo had a new arm, a Grimm claw, his hair was white but his skin remained the same, and in the center of his forehead there was a black diamond-shaped marking.

"Amazing!" Said Augus. "You actually did it! So this the Grimm form that Salem was talking about. Now, lets see if you have the power to stop me kid, because if you don't win I will follow through with my threat!"

Geo stared at him with a serious expression.

"Your wrong." She replied. "It's clear that you don't know him like I do, Geo might say that but he doesn't mean it. He has saved people time and time again. Like when a village was attacked by the Grimm or when Gwain was invaded by the White Fang." Ruby got up and her expression changed to a serious one. "Even when you attacked this ship, he could have run but he decided to stay to slow you down so the others could escape, he stayed and fought to save the weak unlike his dad. To me Geo is...a hero." She showed a strong smile.

"A hero that's what she called me." He clenched his hand into a fist. "I am no Huntsman, and no King. And just because I am dead it doesn't mean I am alone because I can feel my friends Auras burning with power and they are here, in my heart." His Dark Aura grew even bigger. "I will stop you here and now because if I don't, WHO WILL!"

"Yessss! Show me that new found power boy!"

"HAHAHA! You really bought that didn't you?" Asked Geo as his iris vanished, and now there was only darkness. "A hero, what a load of crap. I died because of her, SHE LET ME DIE!"

"Huh..." Augus was confused. Then the dark spider appeared on the old man's shoulder. "It seems I might have pushed him too far."

"Nooo, this is who he really is."

Geo looked at the large crystal. "Ruby actually believes she can save the world but we both know the true don't we brother? Even with the Grimm gone, humanity will still fight each other over everything. The only solution is to start a new." He touched the crystal. "I will accomplish her dream and we will rule Remnant together."

"And if she refuses?"

"Well..." The crystal was suddenly destroyed. "I will kill her as well! Besides, her Geo died in her arms back in that airship, I'm...Caedus!"