Hours have passed since night fell and the Reaper stood alone in the forest that was overlooked by the plateau. Despite choosing to distance itself from Ruby, there hasn't been a single Grimm. The negativity that the Reaper sensed earlier that day was silent as well. It must have stemmed from the Grimm that attacked them. It was actually quiet; almost peacefully so, in fact. Without anything else to distract it, the Reaper's own inherent negativity, alongside that of the scythe it carried, was that much more noticeable. That much was normal for the Grimm, creatures of Destruction and negativity that they were, but what wasn't normal were how the memories of Ruby's life remained dormant in its mind.
There were memories of thrills…
"You're a Huntress! Can I have your autograph?!"
…triumphs…
"Don't act like you all haven't done crazy stuff before! I mean, Oscar made a successful crash landing! He's a fourteen-year-old farm hand!"
…and tragedies…
"I…I…I got to the top…and I saw Pyrrha…and Cinder…and then everything went white!"
…but most importantly, innocence.
"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful! It will be DELICIOUS!"
Ironic for one made of negativity to have such varying memories, and even more so to understand the significance of them. Yet these aspects of Ruby are all that separated the Reaper from what was no doubt meant to be an unquenchable and unstoppable monster. When it opened its eyes and looked upon the sharp claws and vile scythe within them, the cruel reality of its situation sank in once more.
"It wasn't mine. It was never my life. I have no right to act like we shared it," the Reaper solemnly said to itself.
At least one good thing may yet come of all this; Ruby…the real one, may go back to live her life, but what happens after that? Will they be forced to part ways? Will her friends and family look upon it with fear? How about if they learn who created it? What about the many Huntsmen that do their best to protect this world? Will they see it as a mark; a monster to vanquish? And what about the innocents that live scattered throughout this world? Will they fear its existence too?
When all is said and done with this journey, then what?
Mere minutes went by with that very question on its mind, but it seemed like hours. It gazed upon the fractured moon in the sky, partially to avoid its own question. There was a terrible beauty to it, to seeing something so grand and magnificent reduced to a shattered remnant of its former self. It's the privilege of the Reaper's condition; to see the result of all-consuming Destruction in the night sky and appreciate it. The look of awe turned into one of curiosity when it saw a purple light shine from the moon's exposed core, then one of shock when the light shined brighter. The light engulfed the Reaper's surroundings until it could see only purple, and then, darkness. Just as quickly as the light blanketed her surroundings, the Reaper no longer recognized them. The trees and snow that bordered where it stood were gone. Even the plateau where Ruby set up camp was nowhere to be seen. Everything was replaced by a single platform that floated over a seemingly endless void. The ground was dead and lifeless, much like the domain that Salem's castle once stood in. Even the sky had no features to look upon, as opposed to the red clouds that loomed over Salem's abode. All there was to notice was the giant pool in the center of the platform; one that had an uncanny resemblance to the pool that the Reaper first came from.
"Ruby?" the Reaper yelled frantically. "RUBY?"
Dark flames erupted from the Reaper's body as a result of its intense emotions, but it would receive a response; just not from Ruby.
"You are lost. Confused. You do not yet understand your true purpose."
The voice that echoed in the air sounded like that of a very wise man. That only brought more confusion, but that was nothing compared to the moment that bubbles emerged from the black pool, followed by a figure that was entirely purple. It crawled across the pool's surface like a water strider, but with twisted limbs and sickening cracks. The figure untwisted itself and stood upright, on top of the pool, to address the Reaper.
"Do not fear, child. I welcome you to my domain."
Now that it stood normally, the figure clearly possessed a humanoid form. He had curved, segmented horns that arc over his head and curve upward over the back of his cranium. His arms curved behind his back to convey an approachable stance. Most notably, his face was utterly devoid of features.
"Yes. You are different from my other agents. You are the first among them to possess thought and identity. It will take some time for you to adjust to your proper role."
Ruby's memories were triggered in the Reaper's mind upon the sight of this imposing figure. Ever since Ruby asked the Relic of Knowledge that question, the tale of the world before it was the Remnant of today was one she never forgotten, and so, the Reaper remember it as well. The being that stood before it was no mere man; he was so much more. He was one of the two gods that created the world and humanity eons ago.
"The God of Darkness," the Reaper muttered in awe. "But…the gods left the world. I…I thought…"
"In time, child. In time," the God of Darkness said in a soothing tone. "Doubt still lingers within you. I have brought you here to address them."
"What are you talking about? Why am I here? Where am I?" the Reaper asked.
"Think to the moment you first opened your eyes," the God of Darkness said. "When you first laid eyes on Salem…and defied her. Do you understand why only you, among your kin, could do such a thing?"
The thought of it made the Reaper seethe with anger; more flames erupted from its body in the process. It was impossible to tell what the God of Darkness thought of this, but the Reaper quickly calmed itself.
"I…I have someone else's memories. A Huntress. Salem copied them from a Huntress. I…I don't know why she did that, but…everything about me feels so wrong now," the Reaper answered, too much in awe of its situation to withhold any information besides Ruby's name.
"It has ever been Salem's wish to spite us," the God of Darkness answered matter-of-factly. "To turn our gifts against us after we punished her for her arrogance. The powers of light my brother left behind is no exception."
"You mean…the Silver Eyes?" the Reaper guessed.
"Yes. She sought to use it, to twist it to her own ends, and when that failed, she made her own power using my brother's as a template," the God of Darkness explained. "Her intention is to use your eyes to destroy her former lover, in body and soul, so that his promise to my brother would never be realized."
"Destroy…a soul?" the Reaper responded in horror. "My eyes can do that? That's why she made me?"
"It is ironic that my brother's blessing could be used to create such a destructive force, but it is the truth," the God of Darkness said with judgmental spite. "And so she used the soul of one of my brother's chosen as the means to do so."
"I won't!" the Reaper glared at the god. "I'll never do something like that! I'll never hurt Oscar's soul…Ozpin's soul…Ozma's soul? I won't let you!"
"You do not understand," the God of Darkness shook his head. "Your role is not to serve Salem. You shall serve…me."
The Reaper's expression went agape, but no words came from its mouth.
"It is no miracle that things have turned against Salem as they have, with her army scattered and her castle reduced to rubble before you," the God of Darkness explained.
"How…do you know that?" the Reaper barely muttered.
"Did you think my brother the only one to leave behind an agent to carry out his will in the form of a mortal blessed with life after life?" the God of Darkness asked in hypothetical terms. "It was I, who allowed Salem to experiment with my pools and use my agents as her personal army. It was I, who allowed her to bring famine and destruction to the world of mortals. And it was I, who allowed her to use the suffering brought about by her actions to create the very instrument of her destruction."
"You…you planned all of this? Everything?" the Reaper asked in disbelief.
"Before I left the world my brother and I created, I erred. Taking in Salem's honeyed words, I went against the balance we agreed upon without thought," the God of Darkness explained. "I have learned from this failure. I knew what Salem would do in her arrogance; what she would always do, and so I watched from beyond the scope of mortal eyes and waited for this moment. The circle is now complete. When I left that world, I was but the fool; now I am the master!"
The Reaper paused to take this all in. It was too hard to believe. The gods were fallible; it remembered that much from the Relic of Knowledge. How could he know so much now?
"Why?" the Reaper finally said, its voice growing louder and more hostile with each statement. "Why now? You abandoned the world. You left humanity behind with four Relics. I know what they're meant to do. You left humanity behind…to fend for themselves! You left them at the mercy of Salem and the Grimm! Why do you choose now to do anything?"
"It was my brother's decision to make Salem immortal…and then grant Ozma endless incarnations, and then his chosen after that," the God of Darkness looked toward the empty sky. "These acts were of Creation, of his domain, and so it fell to him to pass judgment. He believed that humanity could remake themselves without our blessings to tempt them, and so I held my tongue and departed with him, but not before leaving my agents behind to sow destruction in the wake of my absence."
The Reaper's eyes widened. This plan went on for millennia?
"In truth, I knew that immortality was my brother's mistake," the God of Darkness spoke with thinly veiled anger. "He had always possessed such ideals, such hope, and where did that hope lead? Two humans, both made eternal by my brother, locked in a stalemate? The folly of my brother's failure is clear. This quarrel will not be resolved by the powers of Creation, but Destruction. That…is your purpose."
"To destroy Salem?" the Reaper asked with both doubt and shame.
"Unite humanity into one like mind and bring the Relics together, so that my brother and I may settle our wager once and for all!" the God of Darkness commanded.
"Wait…wager? What wager?" the Reaper asked.
"You do not know?" the God of Darkness sounded genuinely puzzled. "Perhaps the Relic of Knowledge did not, in fact, know everything…or perhaps my brother kept that information a guarded secret. No matter. We had come together to create this world, this beautiful experiment, for a singular purpose; to discover which power was greater, Creation or Destruction. The mortals we created so long ago were to be used as our test subjects, before Salem roused them against us. Now this mistake shall be corrected. I grow tired of this idle waiting."
The Reaper looked down upon its claws with the thought that it could never have hated its terrifying appearance even more than it did, only to find out…that it was all planned.
"A bet?" the Reaper seethed with rage. "You abandoned the world, left so many people to die at the hands of Salem and the Grimm, all for some STUPID BET?"
The God of Darkness did not take this response lightly. He pointed his arm and fired a beam of purple energy at the Reaper, which instantly caused it to float helplessly in the air. Its limbs twisted and contorted backwards, causing it great pain. It tried to scream, but sound wouldn't escape its lips. Only the sounds of sickening cracks filled its ears.
"You dare take such a disrespectful tone with me!" the God of Darkness said in anger. "The mortals alone were given the ideal of choice. You were not! You are my agent of Destruction! You are mine to command! You will ALWAYS be mine!"
In a fit of rage, the God of Darkness swung his arm down toward the barren ground, which caused the Reaper's contorted body to strike the ground like a burning meteor. In seconds, its agonized voice was finally audible and its limbs twisted back into their humanoid shape. It couldn't even speak coherently; only bestial growls escaped its lips.
"Understand your place; it is beneath my feet. You are my agent, and you shall do as I command. My eye…will always be watching you," the God of Darkness warned.
What eye? It wasn't on his face; he didn't even have eyes. Or maybe they were just invisible? The Reaper moved slowly in an attempt to get up, still in pain from the god's earlier show of power. By chance, it noticed the giant eyeball on its scythe, and it put the pieces together.
"Your eye…the scythe?" the Reaper asked, wincing in pain. "But…how? You couldn't have…I made this scythe. How did you—"
"I told you. I am no longer the fool," the God of Darkness answered.
"Wait…the Grimm. The ones…that attacked us. They were different. Ruby never saw that kind before. I know from her memories," the Reaper said while trying to at least sit up. "The Grimm in Salem's domain…they were terrified of me. They wouldn't fight me. They ran…which means that the Grimm that attacked us…they weren't Salem's."
The Reaper gave the God of Darkness one last look of defiance.
"They were yours!" it yelled.
"Think of it as an experiment; a way to ascertain your power," the God of Darkness justified it. "But know that while Salem's soul is mortal, mine is not. Your eyes cannot harm me. Do not think of rebellion. The last group of mortals that dared try were wiped to extinction."
The Reaper quickly lost its nerve. Would this god actually wipe out all of humanity...again? Before it could respond, it felt a surge of air engulf its body, but it was still too fixated on the god in front of it to find out why.
"Wherever you go, Destruction shall follow, and with it, all of Creation shall understand its greatness," the God of Darkness said his last words before the dark world around the Reaper faded.
It felt itself thrust backwards by an incredible force, only to land on a cold surface. When it opened its eyes, the Reaper noticed that it was back in the snow-filled forest. It was back on Remnant, alone with its thoughts. It was bad enough to know it was a fake; to have memories of a life that didn't belong to it. But now, that was nothing compared to the truth. It wasn't just a fake, it was a pawn. It looked upon the eyeball on its scythe with utter hatred.
"I don't care what Salem or the gods or anyone else says!" the Reaper shouted. "I don't care what you do to me! I won't be a monster! I'll never be a monster!"
It screamed with rage; dark flames erupted from its body like a volcanic eruption and engulfed the trees and snow nearby until they burned to ashes. It was only after the Reaper saw the result of its fury that it made any attempt to compose itself. In a final fit of rage, the Reaper tossed its scythe as far away as possible…only for the scythe to return like a boomerang and land hilt first on its leg.
"Huh? How did it—" the Reaper muttered.
It grabbed the scythe off its leg and attempted to throw it again, only for it to remain stuck to its claw. It got it off its claw by pinning it underneath its foot…only for it to be stuck to its foot. It was like a magnet, and it wouldn't let go. Finally having enough of this madness, the Reaper considered the one thing it felt it should have done hours ago.
"So that's the game we're playing? Fine!" it yelled and pinned the scythe under its body. "I'll just rip that stupid eye out of your—"
Before it finished its threat, the Reaper sensed the scythe's fear. With the same burning tears that burned Ruby earlier, it was the same fear it sensed before. This time, however, there was another underlying emotion that the Reaper sensed from the scythe. It was powerlessness; a loss of control. The rage subsided immediately at the realization.
"You didn't choose this," the Reaper said softly. "You never chose to be a monster…or a weapon. And you never chose to be stuck with me. It was that god. He made that choice, just like Salem made the choice to build me. You're just as cursed as I am."
More tears came from the scythe's eye, possibly as its way of responding. The Reaper wasn't fooled by the weapon's true nature, though. It was Grimm, and it didn't have a soul, copied or otherwise. It couldn't feel for others in its state, yet the Reaper couldn't bring itself to destroy it. They were one in the same in every way.
"One chance," the Reaper warned. "You already burned Ruby's arm. I'll give you one more chance…because I made you like that. I ripped those Grimm apart. I left you stuck like this. I made that choice and I take full responsibility for that, so I'll give you this chance. Just remember this. From now on, no evil, no matter what. If either of us hurts even one more innocent person like that again, there won't be a third time. I'll make Ruby kill us both if I have to. Bet on that."