Hello everyone! How are you doing? I hope you are all doing fine!
Chapter 159 is here and as always, I hope you enjoy it!
Once more, thank you so much for all the support you are showing towards the story. You are all awesome and I love you all so much.
I won't blabber more. See you all next week in chapter 160. Until then, be well and have fun!
"That takes care of it; Mad King's servants will do the rest" Goldenrod noted in satisfaction, looking at the empty place where, just a moment ago, Yang was standing ready to fight. "Hope they preserve her well."
"Do we actually need her?" Fergus asked the tall man. "I thought the population of Clayhorn would be the only sacrifices; you even added the mercenaries in the ritual" the old doll maker questioned.
"The more the merrier" Maize turned at him. "I told you before, there is only one reason I am being so subtle about this. I don't want to draw any unnecessary attention that would undermine the ritual, that's all."
"Yes, but-" "RWBY and their allies came to us in their own volition and are willing to stop us. You may not know of them, but they are powerful individuals with awakened sixth sense of magic. They are precious fuel to be used for the awakening. Unless…" his eyes narrowed at the man.
"Unless that little beauty messed with your head to the point you are having second thoughts about our agreement, Mr. Celain" he spoke out clearly and emotionlessly, the words fading in the dark as he spat them.
"Why would I?" the pale man replied. "I apologize for talking that much to her, but listening to one's opinions and accepting them are different things, professor and I don't appreciate your mistrust" he replied.
The tall man removed the cloth covering his daughter's effigy. Careful to not touch any of the finely manufactured details, he appraised the excellent work of the craftsman. "It's not a matter of trust, my friend."
Celain moved next to him "what do you mean?" "I am not mistrusting you. I am simply processing the information I have. Our contract is just an agreement based on our mutual benefits in this case. I don't expect you to hold up to it if someone provides a better alternative to you."
"I see; this is why you stopped your preparations and came to confront Miss Xiao Long. You wanted to see if she had a plan to fight against the Mad King and win me over, is that right?" Maize confirmed with a nod.
"Thankfully for us, she was simply speaking her heart out without any sort of concrete base behind it." The tall man stared at his accomplish "how long will it take for you to finish her?" he asked him.
"There is only the main core left, so-" the sound of cracking interrupted the doll maker's reply. It came from the wall behind his work desk; and most precisely, from the eerie mansion painting hanging above it.
"No way…" Fergus whispered in shock as he ran towards the picture. In a heartbeat, both men were standing before it, easily seeing the image cracking and slowly breaking as the colors faded into deep nothingness.
"That's impossible!" "What is happening?" Maize asked him. "What is that painting?" Covering his mouth in confusion and awe, the decrepit looking man turned towards his partner "this is part of a spell of mine."
He watched as the picture slowly melt, leaving only traces of carved, almost charcoaled wood and paper behind it. "It shows me whether the mansion- and Blekklat by extension- is still in good shape or not."
It didn't take long for Maize to put two and two together. "That would mean its middle head was destroyed if I remember correct." Fergus nodded in affirmation, still unable to cope with the latest development.
"Its left head allows it to exist in the Netherworld. The right one is for manifesting in the land of the living and the middle one maintains its presence in the boundary within" he emotionlessly recited out loudly.
"If its middle head was severed, everything it created in the boundary, such as the recreation of your manor, will simply cease to exist" Maize finished the man's explanation.
"It makes no sense" Fergus commented. "The gate to the boundary is designed to not allow more than two people pass it at a time. And we are talking about an Elder Spawn; there is no way two huntsmen were able to wound Blekklat to that extent on their own!"
Maize's face darkened. His eyebrows narrowed deeply and his wrinkles marred his forehead. Once more, he was seeing his plans being messed up with due to circumstances he should be able to have seen coming.
"I know one who could."
-o—
Ruby landed on her feet, spitting blood on the diagonally sliced Grimm mask that slowly vanished on the floor before her. She wiped the blood off her lips, leaving thin red smears on her cheeks and chin.
The room around her had been turned into a mess. Splashes of red and black blood decorated the walls, while piles of collapsed debris once being pretty doll houses were tossed all across the creaky floor panels.
On top of such a pile Blekklat was lying with thick tar pouring out of its right and middle faces, where Crescent Rose had severed the horrible masks just a few seconds ago. Its form shook and convulsed in agony.
Gunmetal eyes, burning like smoking gun barrels, narrowed at the evil creature born of humanity's most wicked nightmares. To think it would wound me to that extent despite being surprised and overwhelmed…
The convulsions stopped as the last remaining head turned around to look at her. Smoke poured out of its etched, skeletal smile but for some reason Ruby was sure it was anything but happy at this point-
To her astonished surprise, the monstrous form started fading away. It didn't resemble at all how Grimm vanished when killed; its body just became more and more transparent, limbs and torso progressively dis-
The room; no, the entire manor, shook violently. Wood splintered. Tiles cracked. Doors collapsed and windows shattered under unimaginable pressure. Furniture broke and sundered. Portraits fell from the walls.
Her heart skipped a beat. The monster was still smiling at her, cursing her through the- it had nearly vanished. It's taking the place down with me! She raised her rifle, but her bullet passed right through its body.
"Pointless…" its voice faded along with its abhorrent form, leaving her behind in the collapsing manor. Plates and fragile objects cracked on the floor. The world around her- started to fade away. She gasped.
Ruby ran towards the portrait Yang had passed through before. She jumped at it- and threw it down, rolling on the floor over its cracked wooden frame. It isn't working; of course it isn't working! She groaned.
The walls began turning to dust, fading into nothingness. The world, the whole space around her was being undone. Just like Avyssos' world; it is unmaking the dimension! SHIT! She jumped upwards, heartbeat rising.
She had to escape; she had to go after Yang. She had to find a way out; was there even a way out of this? Irrelevant; if there isn't, there I will make one. I have to! She jumped and rolled away from a falling plank.
You cheated death once; you and only you.
The voice came from the darkness haunting her at the worst possible moment. Only this time it wasn't the abhorrent, alien noise of a man-devouring horror. No, it was simply her own inner voice calling her out.
Do you want me to remind you how many people are lying dead in the soil of Vale City? She chastised her own self. You called Alizar out yes, but you do remember you are the one who brought this thing in their doorstep. To save Jaune; to save the one who was important to you.
Ruby dashed out of the room as the deceptive, splintering moon was slightly penetrating the vanishing ceiling. I know that already! She did her best to swallow her guilt. I still remember the memorial, darn it!
Melodic music, swallowed by tormented voices of those who lost their own people in that accursed dome. Officials tried to ease unbearable pains, while honorary salutes were echoing in the bright spring evening.
In the midst of that harrowing maelstrom of pain Ruby and Weiss stood representing the SHU. People would stop by and thank them for being there. They thanked them for stopping the Grimm that caused them so much agony. The same Grimm they had nurtured inside their houses.
She ran out and jumped backwards as she saw the stairs to the ground floor collapsed, leaving an unsettling void behind them. She stopped and took a deep breath, calming her erratic heart as the walls crashed.
You slept with that thing. You allowed it to fester in your house. Those deaths could have been avoided if you had half a mind to deal with the unknown circumstances instead of rebelling against the council.
If you were smarter, you could have helped with the hunt for Nyctos instead of almost killing Lumia, Nora and Ren facing off that accursed spawn of hell. You could have saved lots of your comrades in arms.
She ran upstairs using her semblance to search every nook and granny before the world disappeared, drowning her in the purgatorial void.
You don't deserve death. You have to live; live and make up for every single person that died due to your negligence. She stopped for a split moment and adjusted the three black ribbons she hid under her sleeve.
You have many people to live for… and many things to atone for, Ruby.
The floor shook and she burst a few meters away. The manor's walls had almost collapsed- magical energy was the only thing keeping the place in shape at the moment and it was rapidly running thin.
If I could save… she thought of Alizar and Cinder. Could she save him? Or should she just forget about it and go on? Could she spare time for someone who was actively trying to kill her? Or was she acting naïve?
Yang… she let her thoughts travel to her own sister. She was suffering and Ruby could do nothing but cry. Pyrrha, Uncle Qrow, Aunt Raven, Coco, Yatsu, Fox… the list could go on for days. The people of Vale were the latest additions and Yang could be added to it any given moment.
Part of the ceiling collapsed in front of her. She had to escape; but how was she supposed to? She had no way out of that place. She was, above all else, a fighter. Finding solutions and saving lives wasn't her forte.
Even if that's true… she ran up to the attic, hoping she could at least get some much needed time to scrounge a plan. Even if cutting down our enemies is the only thing I can do… at least I can protect the ones that are left behind. She clenched her teeth. I am overthinking this again!
She landed on the attic- and jumped away to avoid being showered in splinters. "I knew you wouldn't end like this" covered in bruises and cuts, Alizar stood before her in the middle of the collapsing dark room.
Behind him was a large mirror in a golden-green metal frame, designed to depict shapeless forms full of eyes and teeth gnawing at the pristine glass safeguarded inside it. The forms were literally oozing in power.
The strangest thing was that nothing of the attic was being reflected in the mirror, though. A dimly lit room made of stone with an eerie alien altar in its middle was barely visible behind the boy's back instead.
Alizar stepped in between Ruby and the mirror. "Don't be eyeing that gate; you are not using it" he panted.
So that's what it is- a gate. That faunus who burnt down the mansion must have stepped in without realizing it and ended in some sacrificial chamber of sorts. She shivered. Hope Yang didn't end inside there, too.
Alizar raised his hands and the pieces of cracked glass and clay from the collapsing walls hovered before them. I am not able to destroy the gate, damn it, but I can at least delay her until the manor collapses on us.
He opened his- Ruby's body slammed on his chest, throwing him off his guard. Alizar tried to raise a wall between them, but she was too fast; way too fast for him. Her boot kicked his stomach, emptying his lungs.
Before Alizar could manage to muster what little strength he had left, a pair of powerful arms grabbed and threw him inside the gate. A red and white blur followed at once, leaving the collapsing dimension behind.
He didn't even manage to curse at his powerlessness as a heavy nausea overwhelmed his senses.
-o—
"We are almost there" Jaune dusted off his cloak and turned to look at his current companion. "Mm" Weiss wordlessly commented, following him through the thick layers of ash.
They had been walking for quite some time, but had managed to avoid seeing any Grimm. For such a dangerous place, it certainly was lifeless, the knight had noted before. They had reached the outskirts and were now moving in the open, trekking towards the massive monolith.
The pale girl, covered in a long gray coat she had procured, moved in a complete and wordless silence. She wasn't making it hard for Jaune to walk along, but he could easily see something was troubling her.
"Can I help somehow?" he gently asked her. Weiss turned around and stared at the boy without breaking their pace. Her face had a lost and puzzled expression. "Why are we acting like clueless idiots?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" he replied in wonder. "It's the fourth mission of us against them. We first fought them in Yugure, then Grimmwater. I won't include Gloomharrow, but we fought in Cornfield and Vale too."
She tightened her raised hood and rubbed the bridge of her nose "and in all cases, it was the same thing. We tackled the issues head-on as if we had no alternatives and ended up in alien and precarious situations.
What's even worse; all times we failed to even closely grasp the nature of what we were facing. I thought this time would be different but-"
She stopped for a moment. "We thought we had time and the skill to deal with whatever they may throw upon us. How could we be so damn wrong, Jaune?" she asked him in a serious yet reserved manner.
The boy stared at her for a moment and then urged them to continue. "I think you are all performing amazingly" he replied. "Up until half a year ago, we didn't even know those things and here we are fighting."
"That's not the point" she replied. "We- I feel exhausted. Not physically mind you" she stopped him from proposing taking a break.
"Since that day in Grimmwater, I feel as if my mind and my heart are so heavy I can't even calm down to sleep. Cuddling with Yang was the only thing that worked, but lately she has started having those visions and I didn't want to press her; sometimes she sleeps in the couch in fear."
The boy nodded in a solemn manner. He had seen Ruby twist in her sleep in many occasions and had heard from Nora that Ren recently had broken into a fit of insomnia as well. Heck, even he had felt such a-
"I have experienced trouble sleeping" he cut off his thought and shared it with Weiss. "Not many things, but I can't throw the restlessness off my mind, unless I am completely exhausted to think of such a matter."
"Yang sees that accursed cavern" Weiss replied, noting they had moved quite closer. "She feels like something is staring at her in her sleep; the first time she thought it was me" she commented, wiping off her sweat.
"Ruby dreams of drowning in an ocean of murky waters" he added. A sorrowful gasp left the pale girl's lips "she still hasn't gotten over it, has she? I hope it doesn't continue" she shook her head. "And you?"
Her mismatched blue eyes blinked once at her friend's question. "I see a valley of stone" she whispered. "I am lost in a labyrinth of immense proportions, surrounded by a vista of endless granite. There is no sense of order or logic permeating it and the air feels stale and sepulchral."
Jaune passed his hand over her shoulders and hugged his friend. She leaned her head on his chest and sobbed for a moment. "And all the time, while I am trying to escape without even knowing how to move, there is someone; something stalks my movements from the dark."
"Ren and Ruby mentioned the same thing too" he commented and she broke the hug nodding as she thankfully smiled at him "there is a thing in the dark corners of our minds, Jaune" she said, making him shiver.
"The situation is taking a huge toll in our minds. The more we fight, the more we dig deeper into the abyss we should have avoided. And, as we look down in the dark" she licked her parched lips in discomfort.
"There is something staring back at us. It moves in the twilight of our ill consciousness, waiting and biding its time. It wants to be heard, it wants us to notice it. I…" her voice trailed off in fear "dread what it is."
"I wish I could help somehow" he replied. "You already do" she assured him. "You help Ruby by loving her and help Yang by taking care of her sister. You are there for Blake when she needs someone to stand firm."
She smirked "and thanks for hearing me out now; I can't explain how much I needed to get it off my system without putting more things in Yang's plate." The boy sighed in a good-natured manner.
"Let's focus in something else for now" he smiled at her and pointed to the front "we are almost there- and that thing is pretty massive" he looked forward in astonishment. "I can't even see its top" he added.
"It has stopped glowing too" Weiss commented. She glared through the thick clouds- or at least tried to. "I can't see a thing beyond that blanket of theirs." Jaune stood below the dark stone "we know there's land."
"Don't try to apply logic; those things exist in a conceptual level. The five remaining monoliths could be floating atop a sea of black blood for all I know" her face twitched in disgust. "We should wait for a while."
"Or maybe not" the blonde knight pulled out something from the black jarred surface of the towering landmark. It was small, especially when compared to the massive tower, but it was a pure white piece of paper.
"That was hanging from the monolith" he showed her the paper as the pale girl moved closer "and I think you will find it rather familiar, if not the fact that someone used modern wire to attach it isn't enough."
Missing the humorous commentary out of confusion for the mentioned paper's contents, Weiss took it from her friend's outstretched hand.
She opened it, brushing off the small layer of ash that had piled on its top. It didn't take more than a couple seconds for her mismatched eyes to open wide. "White Knights are moving to E4" she gently whispered.
"White Knight is Blake's war nickname, right?" he asked. "We wanted to counter Salem's use of black chess pieces for her own team so we ended up with that, rather childish, set of names" she sighed deeply.
"Ruby is White Queen, you were the Bishop and Yang was the Rook if I remember. And since it talks of two knights moving to E4 that would mean…" his voice trailed off as his gaze fell on the massive gray clouds.
"Forward" Weiss completed her friend's line of thought. "Or that's at least what one knowing only the alias would think. Knights don't move in a straight line, like all other pieces do" she smirked in satisfaction.
"Huh?" "Did you think we would do something so complicated as to assign code names just for the sake of it?" Weiss asked him. "Using that specific code also indicates the route one should take. Specifically…"
Her mind focused on the world ahead of her. She stood just before the monolith, allowing her brain to view the area spreading ahead like it was a huge chess board. She took a good look at the paper once more.
"She wrote first she is going to E4" Weiss showed Jaune the paper "and then, if you look at it carefully, added the White Knight part between the lines; she saw something that made her return to change the note."
A flash of inspiration passed through the boy's eyes "she wants us to do a circular advance and pass through the cloud from the right" he finally commented. The alabaster girl, still smirking, nodded in approval.
"Just like a knight would" she adjusted her backpack and took one large bite of her rations. Sighing in a good-natured manner, the blonde boy adjusted his straps and returned to stare at her.
"Are you ready?" "I can't use my semblance and muster my magic. I am wounded and battered and stuck in this heating desert with my thighs full of scars and heat marks from the ashes. But…" she chewed the bar.
"The most wounded thing on my body right now is my pride" she gave him a fierce look "I am ready to take down anything, Elder or not, even if I have to squeeze my blood for it" she exclaimed in determination.
Jaune laughed in a good-natured manner and then grabbed his shield. "Let's go then" he only replied before leading them into the mist from a different path, making the right turn of the silent granite guardian.
Weiss raised the paper once more, looked at the reversed White Knight piece scrawled on it and gently tapped her friend's shoulder, thinking what was that made Blake leave that cryptic text behind for her to find.
You are laying a trap, Blake… she took a quick glance around. But for who?