Chapter 30 – Search and Destroy.
'I've swear that I've never seen you fly an aircraft before, Professor Ozpin.' Goodwitch remarked. She stood with her right arm resting on the pilot's seat, behind Ozpin's head.
'I've had some practice, Glynda. But flying one of these things honestly isn't too difficult.' said Ozpin, untroubled.
'Really? Since when have you had any experience with Atlesian military equipment?'
'Over time. When Mantle still existed, I had a go at a few preliminary Bullheads. These airships have a few more knobs and buttons than I'm used to, but like any good Huntsman, I can usually adapt to change with enough concentration and alteration of my muscle memory.'
'Back when Mantle was still a thing. But I swear you weren't even bo… oh. Of course.'
Ozpin looked over his shoulder and smiled. 'Exactly.'
The interior of the airship was very lively. Team CFVY, Team ABRN and Pantheon were all sat and in a rich conversation.
'It's such a shame about Roy.' said Velvet.
'Roy Stallion of Team BRNZ?' said Arslan.
'Yeah.'
'We all fought valiantly.' said Yatsuhashi. He put his right arm over Velvet's shoulders. 'His sacrifice will not be forgotten.'
'Please tell me about this young Roy Stallion.' Pantheon asked, cradling his helmet in his lap.
'We didn't know much about him, but he was a participant in the Vytal Festival Tournament.' Coco replied.
'Please forgive my ignorance, but I am still not entirely familiar with your world. What is this tournament that you speak of?
'Oh, right. Us Hunstmen and Huntresses usually gather every two years at one of the combat schools in Remnant to compete in a tournament.'
'I see. You have blew away the clouds in my head. Thank you, Coco.'
'No worries. Anyway, word has it that Roy was killed by a Nevermore. It picked him up and carried him away. No one knows any more than that though.'
'And is a Nevermore one of those dark creatures that overwhelmed the school?' Pantheon asked again.
'It is. They're called "Creatures of Grimm".' Fox explained. 'They're soulless monsters that feed off of negative emotions and prey on the weak.'
'How horrible.' Pantheon commented. 'The soil of the earth should not be trod on by such repugnant parasites.'
'They're a pain in your ass, but if you train as a Hunstmen, you kinda get used to them after a while. They're honestly not too much to handle. It's only when they're in huge packs that they pose any real threat.' Fox continued.
'Interesting…' Pantheon murmured. 'In my world of Runeterra, we too have abominations that stain the beauty of nature, and they fight relentlessly. It spit at the venom of these creatures of the Void, but I unleash my fury against the two greatest evils of all: the Aspects and the Darkin.'
'Care to tell us more about what these Aspects and Darkin are?' said Bolin.
'Those who are naïve would see the Darkin as the worst, but I know better. Both Aspects and Darkin are equally destructive and deserving of damnation. The Aspects are so-called "Gods" that sing songs of selfishness and pride in their own power. I have already said this to your friends last night, but I'll say it to you as well. I am partially ashamed of my past, for the Aspect of War once used me as a vessel. When I saw it, face-to-face, it deemed me unworthy and took control of my flesh to carry out its "godly" tasks.'
'And when did it stop controlling you?' asked Yatsuhashi.
'When I saw slain…' said Pantheon, unintentionally sounding overly dramatic.
'Come again?' Yatsuhashi returned, scratching his head.
'You all saw that creature in the school grounds, didn't you?'
Everyone nodded.
'It killed me. The Darkin: Aatrox killed me. When I was still in chains by the Aspect of War, I encountered Aatrox at the top of the mountain that is my home of birth. Aatrox's power is so great and he brings destruction in his wake, for the end of the world is what he seeks. We fought valiantly for many rounds, in a battle that raged across the skies, but the God could not best him. This scar across my chest is where his sword impaled me. I spat in his face before he sneered and left. The God died, but the man lives on in my mortal body. I regained my control, but the man known as Atreus was reformed.'
'Wait, wait, hold on.' Coco exclaimed. 'We didn't come close to taking down Aatrox even when there were more than twenty of us. Now we've just learned that even a God couldn't beat him, and there's even less of us returning to Beacon to face it. It is just me, or does that seem like a pretty stupid idea?'
'Aatrox has slaughtered many Gods in his time, but now he faces an enemy that he has never had any reason to fear before. He faces a man!'
'You sure are confident.' said Fox.
'There is reason to fear and be cautious, but Aatrox is blinded by his own unending despair. He looks at anyone that does not resemble a powerful entity and disregards it without any proper evaluation. Fate decided that I would encounter him again, and his own overconfidence got the better of him. Even as Atreus, just a man, I severed his arm with my spear.'
'Yikes. That's some story.' Fox commented. 'I'll take a mental note to never mess with you.'
Pantheon gave a mild smile. 'Although no one has yet to find a way to put down the Darkin for good, they are not invincible. I am living proof of that.'
'How did Aatrox recover his arm?' Velvet asked curiously.
'He took off on his wings afterwards. Where he went, I am not sure. Never though did I imagine that I would have a reencounter with him when I flew to the world of Remnant.'
'Do you think he recognised you?' said Reese.
'Possibly, but he was most likely too distracted by his lust for bloodshed in that chaotic environment.'
'Still though, you say that no one has been able to kill him outright. What are we expecting do once we get back to Beacon?' Coco went on.
'Maybe he's still frozen?' Velvet suggested.
'Let's hope so, otherwise we're gonna have a hard time…' Coco sighed.
The afternoon was encroaching. The sun had just gone past its peak and shone brightly over Sanus.
Professor Ozpin set his sights on the City of Vale below him. 'We're almost here.' he said. Both excitement and apprehension filled his mind. He wouldn't know until they had arrived, but what were they to expect from Aatrox. He had overheard his passengers' conversation as well as what Pantheon had told them the previous night, but Coco did have a point. At the Fall of Beacon, collectively they did nothing to him, even with Pantheon there, lending his assistance.
The school was also in shambles, but had the vault been preserved? The Fall Maiden was gone, but the Relic of Choice had still been there. It was utmost that it survived.
The anticipation in his throat built up like a balloon being pumped with air. The ruins of Beacon Academy were almost upon them. 'I hope that the situation will be under control…'
Goodwitch shielded her eyes from the sun with her right hand as she peered out of the cockpit window. 'He's gone.' she said, surprised.
'This is not good then.' Ozpin returned. He saw for himself that the Beacon courtyard was devoid of everything but rubble, so he eased the aircraft down. Although the ground beneath them was uneven from the aftermath of the battle, the landing process was smooth.
Ozpin stretched his arms and his fingers. 'At least we got here unscathed.'
Goodwitch patted him on the back. 'Amongst this whole mess, this is one thing I can be wholly grateful for.'
'Be careful when stepping out of the machine!' Pantheon instructed. 'Aatrox is not known for being subtle, but even though we cannot see him, be on your guard.'
They all took out their weapons and hopped down to the ground, one at a time. The other obvious elephant in the courtyard was that the wreckage of the school was no longer frozen in gold either.
'Hey, over here!' called out a voice from their right. They all turned to see Dr. Oobleck dash to their side in a split second, with Professor Port wheezing in the far distance as he stumbled towards them.
Even to this day, after being colleagues and friends with Oobleck for years, he was still astounded by how fast he could move.
'Barty, how have you been?' said Ozpin warmly.
'I have terrible, simply terrible news!' Oobleck replied uneasily. 'The beast, the goliath, Aatrox, he escaped that spell, which was keeping him frozen! Peter and I have been keeping a close eye on him from a distance ever since you left, and last night, the spell seemed to have lifted, and Aatrox flew off! I wanted to tell you immediately, but with that blasted CCTS down, I was hoping that you would get here sooner.'
'Definitely not good news…' Goodwitch muttered.
'Do you know which direction he went in?' Ozpin inquired.
'Yes, as a matter of fact. Although I feel out of a tree, I managed to see through the clearing and he was heading westwards.'
'In the direction of West Sanus, towards Vacuo?' said Ozpin.
'Well, one can hardly be sure if he's flying in a straight line or not, but he was definitely going west at least until he was out of sight.' Oobleck said rapidly.
Port finally caught up to them. He put his hands on his knees and panted heavily. 'Whoa, it's good to see you again.' he gasped. 'How was your brief excursion away from Beacon?'
'Rather well actually.' Goodwitch replied. 'We got to know more about the three individuals from the new world who came to our aid a few days ago. It turns out that this warrior here, Atreus saved Miss Belladonna.'
'It was nothing, really.' Pantheon said modestly to Port and Oobleck.
'Still, good on you though.' Port said supportively.
'Now then, I need to get you up to speed with our situation.' said Ozpin. 'We've been informed that the new world is called Runeterra. This is where Atreus is from, as well as the two other men you briefly saw: Shen and Ryze.'
'Hmm, good to know, good to know.' said Oobleck.
'We also decided to send Qrow, Ironwood, Team RWBY, Team JNPR and Team SSSN to Runeterra, with Shen and Ryze accompanying them. It was agreed that it would be good for us to get to know the planet better, and to have two natives acting as their tour guide.' Ozpin explained, purposefully omitting Ryze's mission to collect the World Runes.
'How are they getting there?' Port asked.
'Ironwood is piloting one of his larger carrier ships. They should be on their way there now.'
'It seems a bit risky, doesn't it though? It's an entirely different planet after all.' Port said concernedly.
'Glynda and I had a debate between us regarding the safety of our students. We are aware of the risks, but we concluded in the end that Ryze and Shen could be trusted to steer them away from any potential dangers, and that this would be an adventure, which would put the Team's skill to the test.'
'Let's hope that nothing happens to them, then.' said Oobleck. 'It's a shame that we can't establish any sort of long-range communication with the CCTS inoperable.'
'As a group, they are very strong in numbers. I have faith that they will stand firmly together.' said Pantheon fervently.
'You're the one that knows Runeterra better than anyone else here, so I'll trust your judgement.' said Ozpin.
'Thank you, headmaster.'
'Alright, everyone, let's get down to business.' Goodwitch clapped her hands and gestured for everyone to form a circle. 'May I, Professor Ozpin?'
'Be my guest, Glynda'
'Right then, we have a whole squadron covering Runeterra at the moment. That leaves the rest of us here to cover Remnant. There's not much we can do about Beacon Academy and the CCT Tower without the help of architects and builders and there's no point in standing around here. We do know however that Aatrox is on the loose, and it is critical that we track him down.'
'But Glynda, I've already said that neither Port nor I know exactly where he went.' Oobleck brought up. 'Remnant's a big planet, and there's a possibility that Aatrox went back to Runeterra. It would be like trying to search for a needle in a haystack.'
'Aatrox is hardly a needle though.' Pantheon interjected. 'He is tumultuous and easily spotted through the amount of carnage and noise he makes. I gather that the technological advancements are ineffective at the moment, but if we make our way west, there is a chance that we will find him along our path.'
'What are our chances though?'
'Not high, but not low either. I can guarantee that Aatrox's presence lingers long after he leaves. If we go now, we have a higher chance of finding him.'
'This is hardly a well thought-out plan, but Glynda is right: it's best to take action than for all of us to sit here and do nothing at all.' Ozpin agreed.
Goodwitch nodded. 'In that case, I want Team CFVY to decide what they wish to do from here, and Team ABRN for that matter too.'
Coco eyed her teammates. 'May we discuss this amongst ourselves, Professor Goodwitch?' she requested.
'By all means do. The same goes for you.' Goodwitch said, addressing Team ABRN.
Team CFVY broke away from the circle and formed their own one in private.
'We have no reason to go home yet, right?' said Coco.
'Hiyoko and my parents are probably missing me, but they know how busy I am and how well I get along with you guys.' said Sage.
'I certainly don't have anyone to go back home to.' said Fox in a joking manner, although it did not belie how much he sorely missed having a true family of his own.
'And I am okay with staying with you guys too.' said Velvet.
'Well, that was easy.' Coco laughed. 'We're already at a unanimous decision.'
'Great minds think alike, wouldn't you say.' Fox winked.
'Yeah, evidently…'
'It's almost as if you weren't fretting at all earlier about how seemingly unstoppable Aatrox is.'
'Sometimes it's brains over brawn, Fox. Besides, now that I think about it, I've been longing for a new mission: something to redeem ourselves of our failure at Lower Cairn.'
'C'mon Coco, we need to put that behind us. The future ahead of us is bright, even with this whole ordeal with Aatrox and Runeterra.' said Velvet empathetically. 'We can do this.'
'Absolutely. We've improved since then, and if we have Atreus with us, we're bound to not screw up as royally as we did back then.' Yatsuhashi added.
'Way to put it lightly…' said Coco.
'Yatsu's right though.' Fox concurred. 'This is a great new opportunity for us, and Lower Cairn has nothing to do with our future.'
Coco forced a grin onto her face. 'Yeah.'
'Group hug?' Fox sent.
They all smiled and embraced each other before reconvening with everyone else.
'Have you come to a verdict, then?' Goodwitch asked both Team CFVY and Team ABRN.
'We have. We're going to help search for Aatrox.' said Coco candidly.
'And what about you, Arslan?'
Arslan looked partially awkward as she spoke. 'If it does not disappoint you, Professor, we would like to return to Haven. We didn't really expect to go far beyond Beacon, and I think that Professor Lionheart would like to have his students back as soon as possible – especially with Team SSSN gone.'
'I suppose that is fair.' said Goodwitch. 'As teachers at Beacon, we really don't hold any authority over you, and I can see your reasoning.'
'Please do not see it as cowardice, Professor.' Nadir insisted. 'We would just rather commit ourselves to our own Kingdom, if that's okay with you.'
'That's absolutely fine.' said Ozpin. 'I can arrange for a Bullhead to take you back to Mistral if you so desire.'
'That would be great. Thanks, Professor.' Arslan bowed.
'Now then, shall we prepare for the mission to find Aatrox?' Goodwitch asked.
'Why not?' Port agreed. 'There's no time like the present.'
Goodwitch approached Team CFVY and lowered her voice so that only they could hear her. 'I hope you don't mind me bringing this up again, but do you remember what I said after you all came barging into Professor Ozpin's office after your last mission?'
They all grimaced. 'Yeah?'
'With a task as burdensome and potentially life-threatening as this one, I feel it necessary to say that you will be assigned either Professor Port or Dr. Oobleck as your supervisor. Please understand though that this is a particularly exceptional case. Even if I had not said that you would need faculty supervision for every mission from then on until we deemed you fit to operate on your own again, this one calls for an escort, irrespective of that.'
'That's perfectly okay, and we appreciate your concern, Professor Goodwitch.' said Velvet. Coco, Fox and Yatsuhashi nodded in agreement.
'Thank you for your understanding.' Goodwitch walked away towards Ozpin, Port and Oobleck. 'What do you think then? Who is going to accompany Team CFVY?'
'Which one of you is a better pilot?' Ozpin questioned.
'Between Barty and me, I'd reckon that he is.' said Port with a chuckle.
'You can handle a wheel as well, can't you, Peter?' said Oobleck.
'Yes, but this seems better suited to you.'
Oobleck had no proper objections. He simply nodded 'Very well then, I shall be the supervisor. Are we using this aircraft that you arrived here in?'
'If you can handle it, then it's all yours. The General's not here to stop you, so do as you please. Ideally you won't crash it though.' said Ozpin. 'Atreus, will you go with Team CFVY and Dr. Oobleck?'
'My service is yours, headmaster. If it is Aatrox that we seek, then I will certainly go with them.'
Ozpin walked up to Pantheon and offered him his hand. Pantheon took it in a firm grip and they shook. 'How luck would have it that our first encounter with Runeterra would be with such altruistic gentlemen.'
'If you asked me, Ryze hardly seemed to be overflowing with generosity, but my heart is warmed by your gratitude.'
Ozpin smiled and returned to Goodwitch's side.
'What are you going to do now, Professor Ozpin?' Goodwitch inquired.
'After we send Team ABRN back to Mistral, I need to check the vault.' he whispered.
'The vault? Is this about the Relic?'
'Yes. I need to see if we can still get in despite the wreckage of the school, and hope that it hasn't been caved in.'
'I see. Good thinking.'
'We need to do this as soon as possible. At least we know that the Maiden wasn't down there…'
Oobleck boarded the aircraft and took his place in the cockpit. Team CFVY sat back down in the passengers' seats, along with Pantheon.
The hatch closed and Oobleck started the ignition.
'You gonna be okay, handling that thing, Doctor?' Coco asked half seriously, half patronisingly.
'Just watch me. We'll be up in the air and on our way in no time.' He retorted. Delicately, he guided the vehicle up into the air until it was at the right elevation before he pushed the lever forward, and they flew away.
'You see? I've got this.'
'Congrats, Doctor.' said Fox. 'I had faith all the time.'
'And I appreciate your snarky comments, but don't just lounge around. We need to be on the lookout for Aatrox, and we could enter action at any moment, so stay vigilant.'
'Got it.' Fox gave a thumbs up with his right hand. He was already slouching in his seat.
'We'll also need to stop soon and scavenge for any food and tools we can get our hands on, because I can tell that this is going to be a long mission.'
'You four can relax for now.' said Pantheon. 'I shall stand by the window keep my eyes wide open.' he put his spear and helmet down on the seat, and made his way towards Oobleck so that he could see outside.
'Make sure that all of you take turns looking out.' Oobleck ordered.
'Yeah, because windows are useful to me.' Fox commented wittily.
'E-except you of course.' Oobleck replied awkwardly. 'You have my apologies, Mr Alistair.'
'Don't worry about it, Doc. I'm just pulling your leg. Of course I'll be alert, just with my other senses.'
'Man, Oobleck's a good laugh, isn't he?' Fox sent.
'Yeah, he makes history a lot more enjoyable: even if I do struggle to keep up with what he's saying half the time.' Velvet sent.
'I can imagine us going for a coffee with him once we graduate. I mean, it's in our name, and he's constantly drinking that coffee which makes him so damn energetic.' Coco sent.
'I've always wondered what he actually drinks.' Yatsuhashi sent. 'You would think that it's coffee, but surely it would have to be a REALLY strong type of coffee, cause I swear that normal coffee does not make you a blur of light and speak so fast that no one can understand you.'
'It probably is a strong coffee with excessive amounts of caffeine or some other kind of stimulant, but it's probably just the way he is: someone with superhuman levels of energy. It could be his Semblance.' Fox conjectured.
'You might be on to something.' Coco sent. 'Either way though, we'll have plenty of time to get to know him a bit better. Apparently when Team RWBY went on their first assignment with Oobleck, he asked them personal questions and stuff. Maybe he'll do the same with us.'
'Okay, now I can expect that. I hope that he doesn't ask anything too intrusive.' Yatsuhashi sent.
'I'm sure it'll be fine. This mission is dangerous, but I have a good feeling about this. I can tell we're gonna have a good time together, especially with Atreus and Oobleck by our side.' Fox sent emphatically.
'Yeah. Team CFVY, the hotshots of Beacon are back in action!' Coco sent.
A shift in power. A great disturbance. Oscillation of matter. It seems that something of great significance has occurred. It is misconceived that the world has natural order, but it breaks down as soon as it is defined. There is order in chaos, not in aesthetics.
Has the veil been pierced again? The question must be answered.
It has. A new aperture has brought natural light in once more. How serendipitous that an opportunity to sate the thirst for knowledge has come to be. Time to begin the analysis.
The luminosity of this world is overwhelming, despite exposure to it on innumerable occasions. Although light brings enlightenment, too much light is redundant and is hard on the eye. Darkness brings comfort. Pleasantries favour me on this emergence however. The sky is dull and mostly without sunlight: obscured by thick grey clouds.
A plethora of structures: evidently constructed by sentient designers rather than nature's dishevelled fabrication. A closer inspection should be conducted. Just a bit of plasma will suffice.
Fine craftsmanship, yet it is derelict from extended time of neglect. Those walls crumbled with no adequate force: only a hue of plasma. Are the original designers incompetent, or was this place abandoned? Behaviour of life forms is still inconsistent and undetermined by knowledge. Another burning question that must be answered.
There should be another clue to be found. What else can I discover?
Something constructed from the organic material of a tree. Wood, reconstructed into a flat, rectangle, with a thin stick dug into the ground. Permanently visible speech has been etched into the wood. Precise analysis is needed here.
"Kuroyuri"
The autochthonous vernacular is unknown, but a rough translation can be deciphered through graphology. How convenient.
A species of flora. Fritillaria Camschatcensis. Attributable to the nouns of "Love" and "Curse". A philosophy of dichotomy is implied. Although falsifiable, the inhabitants of this settlement held faith that did not depend on empiricism. Fascinating.
I should search the vicinity, to unfold something else.
A narrow ditch, seemingly manmade, is here too. It runs across the area and turns at concrete points. This requires a larger radius of deconstruction for analysis.
Nothing remarkable. Abundance of a chemical compound. Two pairs of hydrogen atoms, and one singular oxygen atom. Water is essential for life to survive, so there is no surprise in finding it. I do see though that a type of flower rests across the water's surface. Quite peculiar.
I speculate that there is little to see in this location. It would be useful to go somewhere else.
Stretching my appendages. It feels good again.
The ground before me holds nothing that interesting. Stones and pebbles. Unexciting.
Before me though, I am glimpsing a few…. trees.
Bark and branches. No leaves. No water, and the cells are lacking a functioning nucleus, cytoplasm and vacuole. The trees are dead. New evidence suggests that this place was attacked and overrun by a powerful force. The exact source is unknown.
What do I see in the distance? It's something, moving towards me at a high speed. Actually, multiple things are making their way in my direction. Lifeforms. Upon first inspection, they seem lacking in intelligence with a primitive form of confrontational assault.
Time for some organic deconstruction.
They scream loudly. Gender cannot be determined by the pitch. Maybe they are genderless. The creatures are black and comprised of a weak cellular structure. This one represents a bear, with spikes on its back. Presumably an evolved form of defence. Too bad that it does not protect it from plasma.
The creatures are coming in packs. A great discovery.
A smaller creature. These ones howl and closely resemble wolves. They are also black and have a similar genetic makeup as the first set of creatures. Although their bodily appearance differs, their anatomy and DNA are almost identical. Part of the same genus, but maybe not the same species.
They come again. I am surprised. This one is flying.
A birdlike creature, also made of the same genetic makeup. It screeched loudly as it was disintegrated.
I conclude that these beasts seek prey. They sensed my presence and instinctively went for me. A common characteristic of mindless animals is hunger for food. I have no sympathy for their lack of thought.
Their matter appears to have dissolved. No trace of their remains. Have they ceased to evolve?
Identifying a new species. It runs towards me on four limbs. It's like a horse, with a something riding on its back. What an unpleasant noise it emits.
Even this one cannot withstand plasma. Hm, this is a fragile species. Its disintegration is oddly therapeutic.
What I deduce is that these beasts are not responsible for this structures in this area. They may be the cause of this settlement's abandonment. I have yet to make contact with any moderately intelligent organisms, but a clear distinction of intuition can be seen between these creatures and the evidence of what was once a place inhabited by a society. I wager that humans or an animal of biological resemblance were the occupants.
There is much more to learn about this world. It holds many comparable assets to the places I have already been, but there are distinctions too. I have only covered a single area though. I will go forth and uncover more of this world's secrets and conglomeration. It is a land rich of information. I just have to locate it.
As I travel for many units of time, I suddenly see a… person, carrying a bag on its back, and holding a large piece of paper in its hands.
My eye meets the person's. It drops the paper it's holding. I think it's in shock.
'Wh- what the heck?!
'Greetings, person.' I say. 'What are you seeking?'
'Don't hurt me!'
'You seek knowledge, the most valuable resource of all. That is why you explore.'
'Get away from me, you monster!'
'AS DO I!'
It cries out in fright and runs away. My presence causes it distress: Expected. A perfect specimen for dissection.
Human melting points remains inconsistent. The pitch of its scream is high, but below the median of a female. A male human. Not utterly mystifying, but it is a first contact, which in itself is enthralling. I have much to look forward to.
'Thank you for your contribution!'
Hi everyone,
Chapter 30 is here at last. Even though it's a fairly short Chapter and not particularly exciting, I hope you enjoyed it.
This should've been published ages ago, but a lot has happened:
1. I was waiting for RWBY After the Fall to be released, because I didn't want to write this Chapter and Team CFVY without having reading the book and learning more about who they are. Honestly, this Chapter should have been the 22nd Chapter, but I just couldn't write it yet without further knowledge of Team CFVY. It turned out in the end that waiting to read this was absolutely indispensable. I didn't take me too long to read, but I don't like reading multiple books at the same time if I can help it, and I was reading the Count of Monte Cristo prior to this new RWBY book. It was still a good read though and I enjoyed learning more about Team CFVY.
2. The latest game that I'm addicted to is Persona 5, and I've been using my summer to play it for hours on end. Over 100 hours in and I'm still not finished. So yeah, that was eating away at my time, which I could've been using to do other practical stuff, or writing this Chapter and potentially Chapter 31.
3. I've been dealing with a stressful IRL situation that has been ongoing, and I'm still trying to resolve it. Still not quite there yet, but it's a work in progress.
4. When I was almost finished with the Chapter, Pantheon's rework came out and complicated things for me. I had to read his new lore, listen to his voice and special interactions until I felt like I got a firm grasp of his character, and rewrite his dialogue for this Chapter accordingly. I still need to go back to previous Chapters and rewrite the parts that either feature or mention Pantheon (they will be republished when Chapter 31 comes out). Thankfully Pantheon's actual lore hasn't changed much. It's just his appearance, personality and attitude that has been altered.
Okay, for Chapter 31, the spotlight is going to return to the two titular characters featured on this fanfiction's logo. Expect to see a young traveler, and thrilling chase, and an encounter with something very powerful. Thank you so much for your patience and your support, look forward to Chapter 31 in the future and take care!
