Work has been kicking my ass lately. I was too tired to work on this chapter all week and I wasn't in the mood to do any writing.

But I got it done, god dammit! It's a short chapter, but it's something.

There was one review from the last chapter that I wanted to respond to, however. Whenever I use another language, I always translate it in a previous chapter or do it right alongside whatever's being said. So, there should be no problems with foreign languages in my story unless you can't read English then I can't help you there.

Now before you start reading, Jaune will have a new look. All of you know his eyes are now a golden colour. But I have a change in hairstyle as well. Think of the fight between Genos and Saitama in OPM when Saitama throws his fist at Genos, blowing his hair back. Mix that with Archer/Emiya plus a hair length the same as Jaune's.

If you look at the story cover art, it will help you put the rest of Jaune's image together.

But Act 1: Der Vampir, has been completed. Now I give you Act 2: The Golden Lord.

"Hello," the girl spoke up. Her voice travelling into the darkened abyss standing before her.

She could not feel anything within this void. There was nothing here. No air to draw breath, no ground to stand upon, and no warmth to grace her skin. Around her was merely a bottomless pit.

'Where am I?!'

Her heart began beating out of her chest. She was quickly growing terrified of this place. The girl tried her best to claw at the space around her, finding no surface to gain leverage upon which to lift herself. No matter where she turned, there was nothing to see. Even if she tried to fall to the ground, her body remained upright.

A gust of wind blew through the void, chilling her to the bone. It was colder than anything her body could bear for more than a few seconds. Such an unimaginable cold rendered her completely unable to move. Even her tears froze as they travelled down her cheeks.

The sound of a shrill chime coming from behind her drew the girl's attention. She turned around to see what it was only to be blinded by the object. A bright golden glow with the intensity of the sun stood just before her. Its radiance died down after a few moments, revealing the figure of a man.

He was kneeling before her, placing his right hand upon his chest. The man's long golden locks dropped well past his shoulders and rested upon the ground. His body clad in a black trenchcoat, obscuring the rest of his figure.

"I have fallen madly in love with you," he expressed—the man's voice dripping with a supernatural charisma. His tone showed nothing but reverence for the being standing in front of him. However, there was a hint of an almost childish excitement in the back of his throat. "I would desire nothing more than for you to shed your skin and ascend to your completion... To be reborn in the new world as a creature befitting your beauty." He paused, seemingly nervous about the words that were going to pass his lips. "Shall we take a step towards that end? Or would you prefer this opera to last for an eternity? Such a decision does not matter to me, for I am your slave. A tool to do with as you wish. I will find warmth within your embrace, no matter what lies ahead."

[Weiss]

Weiss snapped out of the slumber she had fallen into, finding herself sitting in the cafeteria. The sounds of the other students excitingly chatting with their friends filled the air. Their smiles were genuine, and their moods were matching their expression. All of it, from Weiss' perspective, made it feel as though nothing happened last night.

Like none of them had woken up to explosions rocking the earth.

Even her friends were watching a video about the battle that had gone down. Yang was holding her Scroll up for the other girls plus Ren to view the screen. Each bearing their own expression of amazement at the spectacle which took place. Had Weiss not known what it was they were watching, she could have mistaken it for funny video Yang found online.

They watched as a titan rose from within the bay to face a lone man on the bridge. The person filming it attempted to zoom in on his figure but could not possibly get a clear enough picture of him. Weiss only made out his lithe figure with some speculation on the colour of his hair. When the giant crushed the bridge, he completely disappeared into thin air.

That was when Weiss had woken up. She had a full view of the battle from her bedroom and watched everything else from there. It was a spectacular light show like the world had never seen. The conflict between the golden angel and the red demon was something that she could never forget. Especially due to the sheer terror that coursed through her veins as she looked on.

Weiss could hardly believe what she had seen. It felt like a dream.

Although, that notion was shattered upon seeing the news the next morning. During an interview with the mayor, Ghira Belladonna, he stated that only a few people died from the attack. A surprise that Weiss could hardly believe given the level of destruction Vale faced even as the police and other rescue workers cleared almost all of the rubble. Many citizens seemed to have all fled the dangerous areas simultaneously before the giant wrecked Vale. Even then, the damage was limited to the taller skyscrapers and a few buildings scattered throughout the city.

However, such a catastrophe brought the highest levels of government to Vale in an attempt to discern the nature behind this event. This was something Weiss could understand and expect.

Weiss wanted to say there was a clear and rational meaning behind all of this. But there was nothing she could think of. Not a single thing that would accurately describe the mechanisms which allowed for a giant to rise from the ocean and for another person to kill that creature in one blow. She didn't want to pass this off as magic either. As easy as that would be, Weiss had never seen anything aside from cheap magic tricks done by some charlatan. There was no evidence of real magic in this world.

There's no point in trying...

Weiss cast off that line of thought before it could blossom. She was already exhausted from a lack of sleep, so the Heiress was in no condition for contemplation. Any more of this and her head would start to hurt. Instead, she turned back to her friends and watched them.

Surprisingly, Beacon allowed its students to return to school despite the calamity. There were quite a few who took the opportunity to remain home, given an option to do so, but many showed up. Things felt tense during the morning; however, the mood shortly smoothed out and felt like it always had.

Weiss guessed that the limited damage to Vale wouldn't hamper the school's function. Not that any lectures or new homework were being given out. Today was more study time/catch-up than real learning. Most of the students that did show their faces were those who were serious about their grades or the many who lived in the student dorms.

Any who skipped school today couldn't go anywhere aside from their own homes. So, this was the only place where friends could congregate.

"That's when my family's apartment got hit," Blake said, pointing at a location on Yang's Scroll. Weiss could see the giant had fired its laser directly into the main body of Vale.

The amount of destruction in the city easily totalled more than a few billion dollars. From what Weiss had heard, none of the Beacon students or staff was caught up in it. Only her own family's corporate building was heavily damaged as the other notable object.

"Anybody get hurt," Yang asked, turning to the ravenette. Her question lacking emotion, giving the impression that she wasn't too afraid. Blake would have said something before otherwise.

"No, just that floor," she explained, sitting back down in her seat. "My parents and I were at our house when it happened..."

"Renny and I saw the entire thing from the dorms," Nora chimed in, bringing the conversation elsewhere. Her bubbly tone was stifled but remained true. Clearly, she wasn't excited about the whole thing. "It was like a superhero fight."

Weiss could agree with her synopsis of the battle. Ruby having shown the Heiress a few of those animated movies where two superhumans duked it out inside a major city. Although, this was real life and now supposed to be the confirmation of a 'superman' or some sort. This person didn't have a cape, but, instead, wore regular street clothes like anybody else.

There was no way to be sure who that man was. However, if he had killed the giant all on his own, then Weiss wondered how could someone have so much power. It was clearly out of the bounds of human's or faunus' natural capabilities. Yet, she still refused to delve into the question of the supernatural in this case.

"You guys watching the fight on the bridge," a woman asked from the side. Her voice oozed confidence much like Yang's own, but with a sharper tongue.

Weiss glanced over to find Coco and Velvet standing a few feet away. The two were in good spirits like the rest. Velvet seemed a little nervous for some reason, but that's how she usually was.

"Yeah, giant skeleton versus random dude is all anybody's talking about," Yang stated with a shrug. She and the rest of the group all turned their heads to the newest pair that joined them. "It's fucking terrifying..."

Quite the understatement, Xiao Long...

"You're telling me," Coco replied with a smile. She and Velvet took their place on the bench opposite to everyone else. "Kinda feel bad for the new guy... Dude just showed up, and a scene from a Japanese monster movie takes out half of Vale. You know, the 'usual.' Not cool for someone's intro to Beacon, though."

"New guy," Ruby asked, cocking her head to the side. Her face scrunched up in a curious expression. From her tone, the confusion was more apparent.

The question attracted the attention of all of the table's members. They each looked at Ruby like she was some sort of alien. Everyone knew who Coco was talking about, including Weiss, even if she didn't heavily involve herself in such talk. However, the youngest, and admittedly the most innocent, wasn't sure of the subject.

"Yeah, haven't seen him before, and nobody else has apparently," Coco explained, looking around to see if the mystery man was in the crowd somewhere. "With all the shit that's been going down, it hasn't really been a huge deal... But, he's pretty quiet, keeps to himself really, and looks absolutely delicious-"

An elbow to the ribs shut Coco up. Weiss turned her gaze to Velvet, finding the faunus to be wearing a pout on her lips. Both of her ears bent forth and twitched slightly, indicating the feeling of anger or jealousy. The death stare she was giving her girlfriend was more than enough to send chills up any grown man's spine let alone the teenage girl.

"Hey, Vel," Coco said through the pain. "Just trying to hype him up for the ladies. Don't worry..." She grabbed ahold of Velvet's hand and intertwined her fingers with her own. "But like I was saying, you guys might want to bring this guy into the fold. Seems pretty cool to-"

"Oh, there he is," Yang interrupted. She gestured over to the centre of the cafeteria where the person in question was.

Everyone else followed the blonde's lead, glancing over in a way that didn't give the impression they were staring. One had to search through the crowd for a few moments before they were able to find him. Although, when you did, it was quite obvious who they were talking about.

Currently, the student in question was talking to some other classmates. Sun was telling a joke to the group and Sage, Dew, plus Octavia all laughed out loud when he reached the punchline. The fifth member had a milder reaction, smiling and allowing a mixture between a nervous and entertained laugh escape his lips.

And this student was possibly the most beautiful man in the entire world. There was not a visible flaw marring his pale skin. Beauty so inconceivable that it made the mind hazy with just a look. His mannerisms were that of a noble, practised to perfection yet remaining a natural action. The gentle pass of his gaze impressed a commanding stature onto all.

His blonde hair had been combed back, yet was styled messily. The golden locks neatly tucked behind his ears where they were not held up. His expression still carrying that gentle smile though one could see the beastly visage behind it. He grinned confidently as a predator would without giving up the act to those around him.

Most striking were his eyes.

They were each a bright gold. The man's eyes squinting slightly with his constant smile. One could easily find themselves lost as they stared back into them. That piercing gaze giving anyone a chill to run up their spine. They even appeared to have a slight glow to the iris. A trick of the eye surely.

Weiss hardly resisted gawking like an immature girl when she first laid eyes on him. In fact, none of her friends was incapable of doing so either. They all stared at him as though he were some work of art to admire. Their thoughts about the Battle of King's Bridge became an afterthought.

He was perfect in every sense of the word. It was impossible, really; how perfect this man was. No person on this planet should match such excellence. Yet, there he was, standing only forty feet away.

It made Weiss nervous just taking a peak. Undoubtedly, other girls became weak in the knees, falling into a fit of anxiety as they looked on. The Heiress, however, was made of sturdier stuff and would not act so. She had the tempered will to stifle those emotions, reducing them from a red-hot glow to nothing.

Weiss could not help but feel intimidated within his presence, however. His aura was of such magnitude that all were immediately put on edge. Even if he was doing nothing, his commanding demeanour still hung about.

As the group watched the boy, Weiss took a quick look at her friends. Blake and Pyrrha were entirely enthralled with the man, each holding a slight blush on their cheeks. Yang was grinning foxily, more than likely coming up with some cheap line to throw her quarry off guard. Ren and Nora were both inspecting him, discerning his nature. Ruby, however, didn't seem as impressed as everyone else was.

"That's Jaune, guys," Ruby stated plainly.

"WHAT?!"

Blake began choking on the sip of tea passing through her lips. Pyrrha and Yang's jaws dropped. Nora burst out laughing as Ren questioned the bomb that had just been dropped on them.

Weiss...

Weiss' mouth flung open spitting out the first thing that came to mind.

"That can't be him," she exclaimed, slamming both of her hands into the table. The force from her outburst shook every plate and silverware on the table. However, the vigour in which she applied the volume of her shout attracted the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. It created a momentary silence where they all stared at her before returning to their meals.

"I don't believe it," Weiss continued at a much quieter volume.

Weiss' body grew hot with anger. Her teeth clenched down tightly, trying to contain whatever words would fly from her mouth. Every fibre of her body held onto the surge of emotions that coursed within. It made her heart hurt so much just thinking about the possibility.

"I'm with Weiss-cream on this one," Yang declared, gesturing to the Heiress. "He looks nothing like Jaune."

"I will admit I'm finding this difficult to believe as well," Velvet agreed.

Exactly!

Weiss couldn't believe that man was Jaune. Because Jaune Arc had been depressed these past few weeks from having his heart broken. His expression had remained in this downcast contortion. The pain was visible behind his eyes whenever they locked with another's. Everything about this person was the opposite of the Jaune Arc, Weiss Schnee had known.

"He is Jaune," Ruby barked, throwing up her hands in annoyance. "I saw him this morning! We walked to school together, and I sat in class with him!"

"Okay-okay," Coco cut in, holding her hands up to calm everyone down. "I guess we can't really agree on this." She turned to Ruby. "You have a picture or anything we can compare him to?"

I doubt that will prove anything...

Weiss was sure of her belief on the matter. The group's 'blonde noodle' might have been a handsome specimen if you looked at him hard enough. However, Weiss couldn't give him that much confidence to change his look so drastically. Not to mention, with how he'd been acting lately, Jaune had other things on his mind. He wouldn't have the energy to focus on something like that.

"I'm looking for it..." Ruby mumbled as she scrolled through her pictures. Once she found the photo she'd been searching for, Ruby held up her Scroll for the others to look at. "Here! I told you guys, that's Jaune!"

The picture in question was of the entire group. Yang was holding the Scroll up for a group selfie which positioned her directly in front of the crowd. Next to her was Blake and Pyrrha, both smiling towards the camera. Behind the trio were Ruby and Weiss with the former more excited about the photo than the other. In the back was Jaune and Ren with Nora fiercely grinning as she wrapped her arms around both the boy's necks.

Everyone came to the side of the table where Ruby sat to get a glimpse of the photo. They looked down at it for a couple moments before glancing back up to the student to compare the two. The group continued to look back and forth before Yang spoke up.

"Oh my god, that is him," she exclaimed with disbelief.

Weiss was speechless with the discovery placed within her lap. Looking at the Jaune in the picture, you would have a hard time trying to put that face into the newer Jaune without close inspection. His facial structure and general appearance were the same as they always had been, but everything else was polished to the nth degree.

Why?

Her chest began to hurt as she continued looking at him. The boy whose heart she had broken was now another person entirely. Did he have a psychotic break? Were Weiss' words the final reason he needed to undergo this change? Everything that happened in the last few weeks made Jaune hate himself enough? All of these questions flew through her head in milliseconds.

Weiss' body grew hotter as her malicious words repeated in her head. The girl had been ogling him like a piece of meat when she had no right to. She didn't deserve to be around him when he looked so genuinely happy right now. It all made Weiss want to run away and find somewhere else to breakdown completely.

"I call dibs," Yang declared smugly.

"Yang, you can't call dibs on Jaune," Ruby barked at her older sister. A fierce blush began to take hold on her cheeks. "He's my friend!"

Yang's lips contorted into the Chesire grin so many feared. The air in the room felt as though it grew a few degrees colder at the same time.

"Oh~, so why can't I, Rubes," Yang replied, turning directly towards her sister. "Do you have something to admit because I don't see your name written on him?"

"I-I," Ruby stuttered as her blush burned even brighter. "Huuggghhh!" She turned away, hiding her face from the rest of the group.

With Ruby swiftly defeated, Yang turned back to Jaune and waved at him. He looked in their direction, replying with a gesture of his own. The boy then said something to the other students he was with and began walking over to the table.

As his eyes held their gaze upon the group, Weiss could feel the weight of the world resting on her shoulders. His aura bore down on her without mercy—those golden eyes piercing through Weiss' very soul. Every step he took echoed over everything in the cafeteria.

*Ta-thump*

When he took the second step towards the table, Weiss felt her heart beat within her ears. Another surge of pain shot through her entire body, causing Weiss to grab at her chest instinctively. The muscles in her legs shut down and refused to move on command. Managing to lift her arm was a herculean feat in of itself.

Upon the third step, that's when Weiss saw it.

As his foot touched the ground, a golden glow emanated from under his shoe. It rippled outwards like a drop landing in a pool of water. This wave running through the entire room before dispersing at the walls. Only Weiss noticing this phenomenon taking place before her.

What is that?

With his fourth step, a golden miasma took over Jaune's entire form. Weiss' blood ran cold as it appeared, but couldn't force herself to tear her eyes away. She only stared onward, directly into the fog encapsulating the boy.

For a fraction of a second, she could see what lie within.

Composing the miasma were millions upon millions of skulls. They were amassed together within a finite space, all of them layering over one another. Some would spasm momentarily before returning to their rest state. As soon as they materialised, every one of them faded instantly, revealing Jaune's eyes peering directly at her.

[Ruby]

She'd just seen Weiss turn white as a ghost before getting up and walking away from the table. Nobody else had noticed her disappearance aside from Ruby. She quickly got up and followed the Heiress as she fled from the cafeteria at a brisk pace. The ravenette matching the speed of her friend, but had to make her departure discrete.

Outside the cafeteria, Ruby found Weiss weakly holding herself up against the wall with her hand. Her other hand was resting on her stomach, rubbing it gently to ease whatever pain she was feeling. From Ruby's perspective, it looked as though Weiss was about to pass out or toss her cookies. So, she quickly made her way over Weiss to assist however she could.

"Weiss," Ruby called out.

Hearing Ruby's voice, Weiss turned around slowly to face her. As her eyes locked with the ravenette's, Ruby noticed how fearful her expression was. Weiss' eyes were wide open, and her teeth were clenched tightly. She was even shaking so much that it appeared as though she were comically shivering.

"Are you okay?"

Weiss shook her head lightly, giving Ruby the obvious answer.

"I-I need to go to the nurse's office," Weiss said emotionally. Ruby thought she was about to start crying. "Can you take care of my tray please?"

"Yeah, sure, but what's going on," Ruby asked frantically. "Come on, Weiss..."

"I-I don't know," she explained, turning her back towards Ruby. "I just need to lay down."

Before Ruby could squeeze her for more information, Weiss began walking away from her. Ruby didn't pursue given her understanding of the white-haired girl's temper. If something was going on, she could trust Weiss to take care of her needs, then come talk to her later. Especially since this was related to Jaune.

...

Coming back inside the cafeteria, Ruby snuck back to her seat at the table. Nobody seemed to have noticed her absence immediately or chose to speak about it. Right now, Jaune finally reached the table, being greeted by his friends with a barrage of questions.

"Okay, where's Jaune and what did you do with him," Yang began her inquisition.

Jaune laughed lightly, bringing his hand up to his neck. Clearly, he was nervous about the attention. The boy was also blushing kind of hard with all the eyes on him. Half the girls and some of the guys in the cafeteria were all staring at him.

"Ah, you caught me," Jaune confessed in jest. "How did you know?"

A few glances were exchanged among the group members.

"Well..." Pyrrha replied, pausing to come up with the right words. "...you look very different. We couldn't recognise you. Ruby had to show us a picture."

Ruby had a hard time recognising Jaune was Jaune too. She was just as surprised as the rest of her friends when she first saw him this morning. When Ruby heard his voice, that's how she figured it out. However, with the change in eye colour and hairstyle plus his looks, Ruby couldn't have ever realised Jaune was the same person.

It was unnerving when the two met. She had been expecting tall, blonde, and scraggly, but got this instead. Sitting next to Jaune in class had been awkward as well since Ruby felt really nervous just being around him. They were friends and all, but with how 'hot' Jaune was, Ruby needed a day or two to get used to it.

"Trying out a new look," Blake asked, looking up at him. She was clearly still in shock from the revelation as well.

"Yeah," Jaune answered nervously, running a hand through his hair. "Is it too much? I was just trying out something different..."

"No-no," Pyrrha chirped up loudly. "It suits you very well! It's ju-"

"YOU JAUNEY, HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO," Nora interrupted once again, unable to contain herself anymore. She got up and started shaking Jaune back and forth to wring the information she wanted out of him. "You've been avoiding us, haven't you?! I thought you skipped school again!"

Ren got up and dragged Nora off Jaune. The blonde had to take a few seconds to regain any sense of equilibrium that he once had. Being shaken by Nora was akin to being hit by a truck.

"Sorry guys," Jaune expressed, rubbing the back his neck nervously. "Kind of trying to lay low today... Things got pretty crazy last night!"

"You mean with what happened in the city," Blake asked for clarification, raising an eyebrow.

Jaune nodded, hanging his head down low for a half-second. When he glanced back up at the crowd, he smiled nervously once more.

"I snuck out last night and went into Vale," he quickly explained, looking around in manner indicating he was trying to keep this quiet. "So, when that huge fight went down, I had front row seats to the whole thing..."

Whatever good mood the entire group had just vanished in an instant. Ruby even felt a surge of anger building up since Jaune hadn't told her about it either. The only reason why she didn't rip into him was that getting stuck there was not his fault. He couldn't have predicted what happened last night.

The silence among the group was cut with the chime of the hour bell. Hundreds of other students began rising from their seats all at once so they could continue onto their next class.

"I'll tell you guys about the rest of it later," Jaune continued, ending his story. "I didn't get back to my house until five, so I didn't get any sleep..." He turned around and waved lightly to the group. "I'll see you guys in class."

The group watched Jaune mould into the crowd and disappear from view. Once everyone was sure he was out of hearing range, they all looked at each other in disbelief or confusion. The awkwardness had also vanished in Jaune's wake, so nobody had to keep the act up.

"Okay," Yang began, clapping her hands together. "I'm completely lost now!"

Before anybody says anything, I know a school like Beacon would probably close given what just happened to Vale. However, with Weiss' explanation and the low death rate from Jaune's fight, I could imagine that Beacon could still function. Only a few dozen buildings plus the bridge were actually destroyed.

So, this chapter is not supposed to be huge in anyway. I just wanted to get us Jaune's new looks and some initial character reactions to them. This was supposed to be longer, but I had to cut a lot off the end of this chapter so it will be in the next one. I didn't think it would fit in this chapter.

I'll specify the other character's thoughts more in the next scene. They were still reeling from the shock of having seen Jaune-Alter (he's not actually an Alter version like Saber or Jeanne, but with the golden eyes, it kind of fits).

Jaune's looks haven't really changed too much. He still looks like Jaune, but is a very polished version of him. The blonde noodle wasn't too bad looking beforehand, but I thought vampirism in this world would alter how you appear.

Going ahead, the story is going to start becoming more slice of life and we'll get the romantic stuff going as well here too. I'll still have a focus on Jaune's adventures, but I'm going to begin bringing in more genres.

Encyclopedia of MAJMLYAI.

Vampires:

Jaune

Aliases: Leonhardt, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown

Familiars: Crocea Mors, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown

People Consumed: 31

Major Arcana: The Emperor

Pasty

Aliases: Element Unknown

Methuselah

(He ded.)

Friends/Allies:

Ruby

Aliases: Element Unknown

Yang

Aliases: Element Unknown

Pyrrha

Aliases: Element Unknown

Weiss

Aliases: Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown, Element Unknown

Blake

Aliases: Element Unknown