Hello everyone! How are you doing? I hope you are all doing fine!
Chapter 113 is here and as always, I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks a lot once more (I will never stop) for following/ favoring/ reading the story. You all are awesome!
See you again next week in chapter 114. Until then, be well and have fun!
Ruby had no idea how much time had passed. She was simply standing there, eyes pulsing in shock and limbs motionless, staring at the horde of amphibian Grimm statues that had suddenly appeared before her.
Her head hurt and her veins throbbed as she recalled the memories of Cinder she had experienced back in Grimmwater due to Alizar's ritual.
Octavios Red. Cinder, no, Elia and Alizar's father. A member of the same cult Woodrock, Azure, Cherry and Carmel belong to. After Grimmwater got attacked, he entrusted Woodrock with his children and then, he…
For a brief moment, she thought she saw flashes of red passing through the statues' eyes. Green mist wrapped around their bodies before it disappeared into thin air. The cacophonous melody greatly intensified.
I wonder; what were you thinking when you decided to do that? A deep disappointment filled her heart. What were you thinking when you took the decision to sacrifice your people to the 'God' for the sake of power?
Footsteps echoed from behind her, but Ruby's mind was preoccupied with controlling her anger. Their owner slowly descended the stairs; a controlled, arrogant manner permeating their gait.
Did you pause for a moment to think of it? Did you regret not finding a better solution, as you chanted the words that forever cursed the same people who had placed their trust in you? She turned around to face the figure, fingers tightening around Crescent Rose's handle.
The figure was that of a human, fully cloaked into a dusty green and brown robe with golden highlights. Both his face and clothing were concealed, but could somehow see a haughty grin beneath the hood.
"Grimmification has been an ancient, sacred tradition; it is a practice in which only the most devoted and strong of mind would even consider delving in, else they risk of losing their mind in the abyss" he said.
"The priests of old began utilizing it as a show of faith. Wizards used it as forbidden practice to study us. Salem, the Grimm Queen, perfected it with her vast knowledge. Octavios Red simply wielded its power."
His voice was dry, tattered and hoarse, as if eons of dust, rot and decay were being coughed out of his lungs. Despite that, it carried an eerie dignity with it, like he was some sort of high-ranked priest or acolyte.
One more reason to be on full alert, Ruby considered. She made a quick check behind her, to ensure none of the statues would try out anything funny, before she walked towards him, at the bottom of the staircase.
The figure stopped its descent on the greenish-black, fungus-covered stairs. It turned its cowl-covered gaze at her, goading her to reply to his previous statement. It unnerved her to no extent, for some reason.
"There is nothing sacred about turning people into monsters" she did try to sound less condescending than she did, but it was no easy feat if one would consider her own view on the matter "nor any excuse for doing it. It's not strength of mind, its madness; nothing more or less."
"Monster is a term created purely by humans to satisfy their very own sense of uniqueness and superiority" the reply came. "What you call 'becoming a monster' our religion views as ascending to greatness."
The bile she had been holding down rose back to her throat once more. She noticed the otherworldly chirping of inhuman pipes had been slightly suppressed, now only barely audible as background noise.
"Every single one of you is all the same, again and again" she hissed, her eyes shining in pure hatred. In the distance, she was sure she heard something flapping its wings at high speed.
"Salem infused humans with Grimm and called them 'advanced pawns.' Cinder accepted a Grimm in her body just for the sake of power. Azure experimented on people by infusing them with Grimm blood! You treat lives like toys and have the nerve to tell me it's just a matter of view?!"
"Yes" he stated, so simply and so easily she almost lost her voice from shock. "To Salem and even more to us, human lives have no more value than the one we choose bestow upon them- that of their use, that is."
"To us- are you Avyssos?" Ruby's grip tightened and her eyes narrowed. She was itching to attack that smug-looking bastard but acting rashly right now was definitely not a good idea.
"Not even closely" the figure replied. Its calm, arrogant and unfazed manner pissed her off even more. She imagined bashing in its skull with a well-placed punch to control her urges.
"I am merely a caretaker for this glorious temple; one tasked with the monitoring and proper preparation of the sacrifices for the mighty God that resides in the deepest pits of this unholy, sacred building."
The oxymoron of the last phrase was not lost on Ruby. However… "You said 'sacrifices'. Am I among them?" she asked the most important and most urgent question his words caused her to think.
His grin deepened, to the point she could see his scruffy beard barely highlighted in the miasmatic eldritch lights beneath his cowl. "It is a correct statement, indeed" he answered in obvious satisfaction.
"Two kinds of beings are allowed into this place; worshippers and the sacrifices. I do believe, seeing you, that you are fully suited for the latter category Ruby Rose" the way she was addressed made her shiver.
"Fully suited" she whispered. "What exactly is that supposed to mean? What makes me fully suited for a sacrifice? How do you judge me on that?" she faked an outburst, hoping to extract even more information.
"How, you say?" he was clearly enjoying this. Was he even human? And if he wasn't, then what was he? Was he a Grimm; or something totally different?
"As you have become aware, worship of the Elders is an ancient and sacred tradition. Its origins are tied back to our Gods' creation since the dawn of time; before Remnant was even inhabited by mortals."
Still wary of him, but glad she was able to buy out time and obtain little more information, the brunette didn't even consider interrupting its storytelling; if anything, she should come up with ways to encourage it.
"However, only one properly prepared can be called a sacrifice that has the right to be offered to our God. Anything less would be considered a sacrilege; a sign of our religion's decline in the latest years, where the old ways were only preserved in isolated faunus' populations."
"So, your religion was preserved in faunus' communities." Blake is not going to take that well. "As a species, faunus had always closer ties to the land of Remnant. They also were more devoted; more desperate."
"They performed sacrifices too?" the question was blurted without any thought. "Inadequate ones, yes. Just like the people of Grimmwater; a show of religious belief, with the hopes of earning our blessing. How utterly foolish…" it slithered its voice "how utterly human…" it laughed.
You have a lot of nerve! She gulped once more, to stifle the colorful and absolutely unsuitable replies rising in her mouth. "What does make one eligible, then? Is it a matter of strength? Or something else?" she asked.
"Exceptional spiritual strength and force of personality are essential for the process; unsuitable ones will lose their mind or get consumed by the void even before the ritual begins" he replied in a teacher-like style.
"But that's not all there is, is it?" she pressed on. "There is the so-called 'preparation' process you said." She felt her hair standing on edge as she saw his- its- grin deepen. "Precisely; you are beginning to understand."
It took one step down the stairs and Ruby retreated one step back. "In order for the proper ritual of awakening to be completed, both time and place must be ideal, as indicated by-" "-the position of the stars!"
It stopped and nodded, a hissing laughter echoing in the vast room. Oh dear dust! Weiss, you are a genius! You were right all along! "But there is one final step for it- the sacrifice must have its senses awakened."
"Excuse me, what?" her response was nothing more than a slip of the tongue, but she couldn't help it at this point- the sheer amount of info was immense.
"The sacrifice must have its mind and soul exposed to the truth of the world and its magic, being aware of the Elders' religion- exactly what I am doing to you right now" the hooded man stated as a matter of fact.
"You mean that learning more turns us into better sacrifices?" she said in full understanding. "Precisely; let me give you an example. Aren't you confused as to why only your group can see a pillar inside the dome?"
Her shock this time was hard to mask. She blinked, choosing to not say anything more, her mind working in hyper drive mode at the revelation.
"The reason your senses can perceive the green pillar to that extent, is a result of your recent fights against our mortal servants. Even now as we speak, that exposure and affinity continuously rises" it snarled.
Silver eyes narrowed "I should have known it was suspicious of you to so kindly inform me on your religion. I think I heard enough today, pal" she unfurled her scythe and took a defensive stance. It shook a little.
"Dear Ms. Rose, you are mistaken. You and your exceptional band of warriors have been getting fatefully prepared for this sacrifice since the very first moment you agreed to assist Ozma in his war against Salem."
"Since when?" her responses were getting ridiculous, but at this point she didn't mind. She was way too preoccupied with what she was being currently told. "How did we 'get prepared', as you say" she asked.
"Knowledge of the world before your era is powerful. Your acceptance of the world of magic gave you access to information essential for killing the one who sealed us and saving your species from extinction."
"However, it comes at a price. The deeper you delve into the magical history of Remnant the more you tie up yourself to its forgotten and rich of power unholy rituals. 'Stare at the abyss too much and the abyss stares back at you' is something even our old worshippers knew well."
"Your worshippers knew?" Ruby blurted, but then realized what this meant. "Even your worshippers, who give their lives for your cause, are being treated like livestock. You are no Gods! Sophia Carmel, Azure, Dahlias… Cinder… Mr. Red… they all died for nothing!" she shouted.
The ground shook with a pulsing tremor. The smell of rotten fish from murky waters filled her nostrils. Had she made it angry? Good; that was exactly what she wanted to do. "Gods…" it hissed in its decayed voice.
"Gods don't treat, feeble mortal. They speak and humans, faunus, even plants and animals of Remnant, obey. It is a pity, yet another one sign of your own mortality that you fail to comprehend that simple fact."
Wha- how am I supposed to react to this? Words failed her at this point as her mind truly couldn't form a cohesive thought at what it had just stated. Should she be angry or mad? Should she feel something else?
"Are you all crazy?" and then she blurted out the most unrealistic, most childish answer that could come into her mind. "You are not Gods! You are not even closely to that!" she let out all her emotions at the figure.
"Revere you? Worship you? Obey your commands so that you will use us as food or magic supplies? What sort of delusional idiots would ever choose that on their own? Gods, you say? You are nothing more that oversized, overpowered monsters who forgot to go extinct ages ago!"
The hood's smile dropped, but it didn't move. It only stood there, like an adult watching a small child have an emotional outburst, waiting for its rage to be quelled before they rightfully put them in their place.
"You find my words outrageous. But the one who fails to realize their meaning is you, Ruby Rose. You fail to understand one simple fact. It is because you are useful that we let your species exist to begin with."
"Say what?" she took one step forward, her hands ready to shoot at the monster calmly talking to her. "Imagine an era where we roamed free and amassed armies in our hidden, unholy domains like this place."
It raised its hands, still fully covered by the cloak "you saw our power first hand. You saw that we are capable of leveling cities and altering both reality and the world of dreams. If we willed it, humanity would have gone extinct a second time ages ago; this time with no return."
"Are you even serious?" "You learn magic because it suits us. You still delve into knowledge because it is efficient to us. You breathe because your lives can be used for our sake. The fact that in our absence your puny species thought it is the master of this world is laughable at best."
The figure raised its head, revealing a blank face. Ruby stifled a gasp; save for the wide grin etched on it, there was… nothing. Forget shapes and characteristics; there wasn't even physical matter to begin with!
"When one of the brightest among you, as you are, fails to understand my form to the point of not being able to see it, how are we supposed to see your species as anything more than sacrificial lambs?"
-o—
"Gaah… ahhh" Muscles aching from the strain and lungs welcoming the stale, murky air full of eldritch humidity, Lumia dragged her body out of the dark water and slammed on the wet, dark granite floor.
She turned her head around and let her emerald eyes fall on the still, deceptively silent, water surface. There was no sign of movement or of Grimm, but she wouldn't even think of relaxing because of it.
After all, that very massive sea that spread in front of her, covering the entire room but the small platform she now stood wasn't there a few minutes ago when she fell from the sky after decapitating the winged terror that had dragged her dust knew how deep into the alien temple.
She took deep breaths, her chest heavily pounding, as she sat down and made a quick check of her equipment. Everything is fine, good.
Lumia tossed a piece of dark chocolate into her mouth, enjoying the refreshing shock the bitterness had in her tongue. I must find how to get away from this place she thought, trying to organize her thoughts.
Let's see now… if I managed to take a good notice of the path this thing took to bring me here, then I came from south-west. She took one more bite Ruby was carried over the sea as well, so she must be close; if there is even one sense of space and direction here to begin with, that is.
When her breath calmed down, she took one fire crystal and used a bit of energy to dry her body and clothes. In any case, my best shot is to try crossing that unwelcoming mass of water to the direction I came from.
Of course saying that and doing that were totally different things; there seemed to be no platforms or columns to use. Also, despite her love for swimming, those waters were extremely unappealing for her to do so.
Not to mention I would be vulnerable to any monster that may decide to grace me with their presence all of a sudden, she thought. Standing up, she stretched her arms and let out a small, relieved moan.
Without wasting a single moment, she took out her explosive arrows. They were thin and durable, with hollow heads made of special material that broke upon impact, even with liquid and oozy surfaces.
After that, she took out a couple of dark orange vials, full of earth dust. She carefully opened the vials and filled the arrowheads. She then drew her string and shot forward, a few meters into the black indoor ocean.
The moment her arrow came in contact with the murky water, the head broke and a burst of earth dust formed a small, floating piece of land. It was so comical; she had to stifle a laugh as she withdrew Buster Orion.
She then took a running start and then jumped on the platform with all her might. As she landed, the force from her jump made the floating island sway on the surface, as if she was playing in some twisted parody of the popular 'Conquer the Castle' TV show that Erik and Velvet liked.
As they say in Vacuo, when there is not a path, make one on your own she smiled in satisfaction of her achievement. Now to the next one, she drew her bow again and aimed a little further ahead.
The whole procedure took her quite some time but she finally managed to reach the end of the expanse. She jumped from the last platform and landed on hard, granite floor full of tiles, barely covered by dark water.
The room was vast with the same chaotic architecture. Eldritch green miasma reflected blinding prismatic lights that failed to light anything as they were getting absorbed by the massive pillars and wet floor.
Weapon still at hand, Lumia turned around to see if there was anything coming out from the sea behind her- only to have her eyes open wide as she saw a massive granite wall full of carvings instead of the deep, ancient pool of water she had crossed over barely a minute ago.
As she stood, staring at it in disbelief, she realized the same chirping of demonic pipes had started being heard again, the noise reflected and maximized from the slab of rock that had suddenly burst up behind her.
Right; I can't trust anything in this place, my own eyes included. Moving diagonally to use the towering columns as cover she walked below their large shades towards the center of the room.
Large statues adorned the pillars, resembling fish-headed Grimm with tentacle-filled heads. They were feeding on something that resembled human body parts. She tried to cast away the image and move faster.
"You are not Gods! You are not even closely to that!"
Lumia stopped. Was that, Ruby? Did I find her so easily?
"You are nothing more that oversized, overpowered monsters who forgot to go extinct ages ago!"
Yes, it definitely was Ruby's voice. And, from the sound of it, she had a fight with someone- or something. Disregarding a small part of caution for the sake of speed, Lumia tiptoed around, covered by the sounds of Ruby's furious shouting, until she managed to get a clear view on her.
The tall huntress held her breath. Ruby was there, clearly aggravated if her mannerisms, voice and stance were any indication. The problem, however, was not her friend's situation; rather, it was her surroundings.
She was talking to a human-sized Grimm dripping dark water. Its flesh formed lines of thick appendages that made it look like a large straw puppet. Its head was formless, covered by a bone mask without eyes.
How could she be so calm in that thing's presence? Even more, why did she not react to the rippling, sizzling mass of water surrounding the tiny path she had obviously walked to get before that rock-paved staircase?
Was she being hypnotized? No, she was clearly way too angry for one under mind control. An illusion, then? Maybe she is not seeing the same things I do? She took a couple steps forward, trying to remain hidden.
Who is creating it then? Is it that thing? She glared at the human sized monster that talked to her friend. Or is it something else? Her eyes drifted around, trying to notice anything that she normally wouldn't.
Until she saw the ripples on the water grow, as Ruby's voice was being snuffed out. The monster started moving its hand in gentle ways, like it was a master artisan explaining the work to its dutiful, curious apprentice.
It was so gentle, so calm and so human-like for this time and place that Lumia felt chills running down her spine, especially when her eyes saw the water and realized more ripples had appeared on it, in accordance with the Grimm's movement and gestures, responding to its command.
And, from the ripples, hands appeared. Long, clawed arms with fingers joined together by thin amphibian membranes. Torsos made of ragged flesh and dripping black sea water from the spikes on their shoulders.
Humanoid Grimm with the same fish-like, mask-covered faces like the statues and mouths full of dripping tendrils rose from the deep pool. They moved so silently and slowly; a horde that rose from the deepest watery pit of untold eons to drag their prey into the dark depths.
Throwing all tactics aside in the face of the overwhelming danger that surrounded her still unsuspecting friend, Lumia charged forward, her lungs shouting the reaper's name with all their might.