Chapter 1: The End of Eternity

Annabeth stood at the edge of the cliff, watching as the clouds passed over the valley below. The cold mountain air seeped through her metal armor, chilling her to her bones and causing her to shiver slightly. That was fine. The cold put her on her nerves. She would need that for what was coming.

She drew her sword and held it tight in both hands. Despite all her years of wielding it, it felt heavy. Like a stone. Annabeth took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before slowly letting it out.

With a shout, she held her sword high before slashing straight downwards, cutting through the air in front of her.

A straight slash. Simple. Efficient. The root of a knight's swordplay.

Annabeth closed her eyes, remembering back to her training. Her sword cut through the air again, this time at a horizontal. Then, two quick slashes at each diagonal, followed by a straight thrust. In her mind, she imagined herself back in the castle's training grounds, practicing her form to the background tune of swords clashing against each other as the other soldiers sparred. Sometimes, it would be her in one of those spars. She missed when the sound of metal striking metal was merely the product of a friendly bout.

Annabeth opened her eyes. She was back on the cliff. The only sound was the whistling of the wind.

Cilia should be getting back by now, Annabeth thought as she sheathed her sword. I wonder how much longer it will be until Salem's armies arrive. How much longer we have left.

"Annabeth?"

"Zazie - I mean, your Highness, what are you doing here?" Annabeth asked, turning to see the princess that she had sworn to protect. Her long gray hair flowed freely over her back, and elegant black robes covered much of her tanned skin. "You should be back in camp with the others. Considering your condition, it's not good for you to hike all the way up here without - "

"Don't worry, Annabeth. I'll be fine," Zazie said, putting a stop to Annabeth's protests. Though she had a warm smile on her face, Annabeth could see her shivering from the cold, her legs shaking slightly from the climb up. She tried to protest once more, but a particularly intense gaze from Zazie stopped her before she could utter another word. "I just wanted to make the most of the time we have left."

"So your visions are still the same?" Annabeth asked, sitting down by the edge of the cliff. Zazie sat next to her.

"Yes. It's no longer limited to my dreams. Now, whenever I close my eyes, I see it. That blinding light that burns the horizon, consuming the entire world. And then..." Zazie closed her eyes, and the smile on her face disappeared. "All that's left is her. Alone, with not even the gods for company. The sole inheritor of a dead planet."

"It won't happen. It won't. I'll make sure of it," Annabeth said, putting her arm around Zazie's shoulder. "Norman, Cilia, Rosaline, me, and so many others... you lifted us out of the dirt and inspired us. Now, it's our turn to protect you and this world."

"I... I appreciate the sentiment. I really do. But against such a superior force, all of the world's armies at our doorstep... what can be done?"

"I don't know. But no matter how small a chance we may have, we still need to take it. After all, if we fail, there's nothing stopping your vision from coming to pass," Annabeth said, standing up and extending a hand down to Zazie. "Let's go, your Highness. Cilia should be back in camp by now. Hopefully, she will have scouted out some valuable information."

"Yes, let's," Zazie replied with a smile. She took Annabeth's hand, and the two made their way back down the cliff towards camp.

Annabeth looked down at the map rolled out over the table in the middle of the tent. Sitting beside her was Zazie, in a chair that seemed much too shoddy for her status as royalty. Regardless, it was the best they had; nobody else at the table even had chairs.

"Where's Cilia? I was certain that she would be here by now."

Annabeth looked over at Norman, who glanced at the entrance to the tent before turning back to the map. A ray of sunlight poked through a hole at the top of the tent, reflecting off his clean-shaven head and into Annabeth's eye for a moment before he adjusted his position.

"Don't worry, she's coming. Probably. Gets pretty chilly in the mountains, and I doubt she's used to that, considering where she's from," Rosaline said, leaning on her halberd. Her bright red hair was tied up in a messy ponytail, and her outfit looked like she had slapped on half of the standard-issue armor before deciding that she was too lazy to put on the rest. "Don't lizards like to take naps when it's cold? I wanna take a nap, but I don't wanna accidentally sleep through this whole shebang. Can't miss the biggest fight I'm ever gonna see."

"I'm sure one of us would wake you up once the fight started," Zazie said with a smile. "It would be foolish to go into battle without you at our side, after all."

"Damn straight! I'm gonna knock that bitch and everyone following her down to hell!" Rosaline shouted. "So what if she's immortal? If we can't kill her, let's just bury her somewhere and forget about her!"

"We would need to get through her army first. Much easier said than done," Annabeth said, turning to Norman. "What were the numbers again? I think we should review what we're up against."

"The Lemurian and Fusang armies should bring about sixty thousand each, and the desert tribes that unified under Salem total to fifty thousand. And along with the Arcadian army being led by Zazie's fa - King Talius, in addition to those directly following Salem, that should be about... a quarter of a million troops, give or take.

"And us?"

"Approximately two thousand," Norman said. Everyone in the tent paused to consider that number.

"So, it'll be a hundred to one, huh?" Rosaline muttered, punching her open palm. "I'm good with those odds! Let's get this show on the road!"

"You may be able to take on a hundred soldiers, but I don't think every soldier on our side can do the same. In fact, you may be the only one who's up to that," Annabeth muttered, looking over the map. "Is there anything we can do to improve those odds?"

"It will be an uphill battle no matter what, but I've devised a plan that should give us at least a fighting chance," Norman said, turning to Zazie. "In your vision, it was Salem's arrival at the shrine of the God of Light that led to the end, right?"

"That... that's correct," Zazie said, nodding. "I did not see what would happen at the shrine, but I know that once she and her armies arrive there, it will spell the end for humanity."

"I see. In that case, unless Salem and her armies want to scale sheer cliffs and mountains, the only way she can get to the shrine is through this pass," Norman said, pointing his finger at a narrow pass through the mountain range. "It's narrow enough that only a few hundred troops will be able to go through at a time, without any possibility of flanking routes. I believe that if we try to block them off here, we will have the best shot at repelling Salem's combined armies."

"In that case, Rosaline and I will lead the main blockade and meet the enemy head-on," Annabeth said. She looked over to Rosaline, who flashed Annabeth a wide grin and nodded. "Norman, Zazie, I 'm trusting you can organize things from the back. And Cilia..."

"I suppose Cilia will do what she always does," Zazie said with a smile. "I'm worried about sending her alone against something like this, but her skills will be invaluable to us. A few dead generals would do a lot to cause disarray in the enemy ranks."

"Speaking of Cilia, how long is she gonna take?" Rosaline asked. "I swear, she better not have gotten herself - "

Suddenly, a small green snake slithered through the entrance and into the tent. Annabeth watched as it shot off the ground towards the table before suddenly transforming into a girl with short green hair and leather clothing. She was panting hard, leaning against the table as she wiped her brow.

"Cilia! Are you alright?" Norman asked. "What happened? What did you scout out?"

"They... they're early. They've already entered the mountain range," Cilia said between deep breaths. "Not much time. They'll be at the shrine in a few hours."

"Then we need to move," Zazie said as she stood up. "Annabeth, Rosaline, make sure the troops are ready to move out on my command. Norman and Celia, go on ahead and survey the pass. We need to have any advantage we can if we are to win today."

"As you wish, your Highness," the four others in the tent replied. As they went to leave, Annabeth felt Zazie grab her shoulder.

"What is it?" Annabeth asked, turning to Zazie.

"I... well, it's nothing," Zazie said, looking away for a moment. She took something out of her pocket. Some sort of pendant. There was a bright blue stone hanging from it. "I... I made this. For you. I wanted you to have it now, in case, you know..."

"For me?" Annabeth asked, looking at the pendant. "I... but..."

"You've been at my side for so long. Practically since the beginning. You've helped me through so much, and... I don't think I've ever properly expressed my thanks," Zazie said, taking Annabeth's hand and putting the pendant in it. "If this doesn't work, and the world should end, I just - "

"The world won't end. I told you, we'll make sure of that," Annabeth said, pushing the pendant back towards Zazie. "You can thank me after the battle. After we've saved the world."

"I... I know you said that, but..." Zazie said, pushing the pendant back to Annabeth. "I insist. Please take it. If you would like, consider it an order from your princess."

"If you're sure... then, thank you," Annabeth said, smiling as she slipped the pendant around her neck. Then, she made her way out of the tent. Rosaline was already rounding up the soldiers. That was good.

They had a battle to win.

"Hold the line!" Annabeth shouted as she brought up her sword to parry an enemy's spear, knocking it out of his hands. Before he could recover, her sword came down against his shoulder, slicing straight through to his side and cleaving him in half. She only had moments to process the elimination of that threat before three more soldiers filled the space that one had occupied, each with swords raised towards her.

Channel... and release!

Annabeth extended her arm and a wave of force erupted from her palm. It was a basic technique that Zazie had taught her, a rudimentary attack using raw magical power, but it was enough to send the soldiers tumbling back and off their feet. Before they even hit the ground, a volley of arrows flew overhead, plummeting down directly towards her; she dived to avoid the ones she could, and her sword flashed through the air to cut down the ones she could not.

"Focus on the knight!" someone shouted, and Annabeth found herself surrounded by soldiers almost immediately. A trio of particularly reckless ones ran in, only to be cut down by three quick flashes of Annabeth's sword.

"So you think you can take me with numbers? You're welcome to try!" Annabeth shouted. The other soldiers were somewhat more hesitant, so Annabeth made the first move, charging the edge of the circle and swinging her blade towards any soldiers in reach. Her first slash cleaved through two soldiers by itself, followed by two more with the next two. It was then that they seemed to realize that Annabeth would cut through the lot of them if they didn't do something about it, and she found herself being assaulted from all sides by every sort of weapon imaginable.

Parry. Block. Strike. Dodge. Strike. Parry. Block. Strike. Annabeth's mind went into overdrive as she tried to keep up with everything coming at her. A spear from her side. Parry. Slash. A sword swing. Duck. Stab. An arrow from about ten meters. Deflected by her blade. A missile of magical energy from a mage further into the crowd. Roll out of the way and -

Suddenly, the soldiers surrounding Annabeth were consumed by flames that towered several meters high. Annabeth turned and saw Rosaline stepping through the fire, a grin on her face.

"Man, I thought these guys would be better. Cleaned up pretty good on my side, so I thought I'd help out here," Rosaline said, looking around at the burning bodies surrounding the two. "Anyways, how much are you up to? Counting those guys, I'm pretty sure I've hit about three hundred so far."

"I haven't been counting, but I'm sure you have more."

"Yup, you know it! Now, let's not keep the rest of our guests waiting, huh?" Rosaline said as the fire descended. Annabeth brought up her sword, ready to once again face the unending horde of soldiers pouring into the pass. However, instead of that, on the other side of the flames was a woman with fair skin and long blonde hair. A woman that she recognized.

"Salem."

"Indeed, that is my name. And it seems you and your little army have been impeding my way to the shrine," Salem said, looking from Annabeth to Rosaline and back to Annabeth. "It looks like Arcadia's annoying little princess has managed to gather quite a capable following."

"Damn straight!" Rosaline shouted, lunging towards Salem. Flames erupted around her halberd as she swung it towards Salem's neck. "I heard you're immortal! How about we put that to the - "

"I would rather not," Salem said. With a flick of her wrist, a powerful gale launched Rosaline through the air, over the battlefield, and out of sight.

She's alive. That won't kill her, Annabeth thought. She calmed her nerves as she raised her sword towards Salem.

"I remember you. You were that princess's precious little warrior. Her knight in shining armor," Salem said, a look of disdain on her face. "I once had such a knight too. Perhaps I'll show her the pain I felt when he was taken away from me."

"She'll stop you. We'll stop you," Annabeth muttered. "We won't let you do whatever it is that you're trying to do."

"Such a faith in your princess. Maybe I'll spare her after this is all over," Salem said, raising her hand towards Annabeth. "You, however, are starting to annoy me."

Just as Salem flicked her wrist, Annabeth dashed to the side, narrowly avoiding the same powerful gale that had swept Rosaline away. A pillar of fire erupted from the earth beneath her as Salem conjured and shot a volley of icicles, but Annabeth dove forward, avoiding both before bringing up her sword and slashing through Salem's chest. Another cut carved an X across her chest and stomach, and a third went straight through her neck, cutting off her head.

And yet, she still stood.

"A shame. You would have fought well on my side," Annabeth heard Salem's head say from the ground. The next moment, her world exploded into pain as a pillar of earth erupted from the ground, striking her chest with the power of a landslide. She flew through the air, sailing over the battlefield before her back struck something hard.

Then, Annabeth blacked out.

Annabeth woke up to a pounding headache.

What... what happened?

Her chest felt like a boulder was on top of it, and she had trouble drawing a full breath.

Where am I? We were fighting in the pass, and...

"Salem..."

Annabeth creaked open her eyes to find herself at the bottom of the cliff face on the side of the mountain pass. Everywhere she looked, she saw bodies of fallen soldiers. Hundreds of bodies. Some bore the uniforms of those that followed Zazie. Most of them, actually. Annabeth looked around. Where had everyone gone? Where was Rosaline? Norman? Cilia?

Where was Zazie?

"Zazie..."

Annabeth clutched the pendant Zazie had given her in one hand as she pushed herself onto her feet. Her arms hurt. Her legs hurt. Everything hurt. She looked over the ground and spotted her sword. Thankfully, that hadn't been lost when she had been knocked unconscious. She picked it up and sheathed it.

"Zazie... where are you..."

The line had probably been broken, considering the state of the battlefield. Salem's armies had probably made it through. Zazie had been in the back. Was she safe? She needed to know. One step forward. Another. She dragged her feet across the dirt.

"Zazie... I'm coming..."

A light in the distance caught Annabeth's attention. She squinted. A bright purple glow was coming from a distant mountain range. Her thoughts went back to the map in the tent. If she remembered correctly, that was where the shrine of the God of Light was. But that meant... that likely meant that Salem had reached the shrine. That Zazie's vision had come to pass after all.

We failed.

Annabeth fell to her knees. She clutched the pendant as tight as she could, as if it was a replacement for the princess she had failed to protect.

I'm sorry, Zazie... I failed. After everything you did for me... I couldn't keep my promise to you.

The glow at the shrine became brighter still. Annabeth watched as it became a blinding wall of light, passing rapidly over the mountain range towards her.

So this is what she saw in her visions, Annabeth thought as tears started falling from her eyes. The light was blindingly bright. Like a flame that would scour humanity from the world. So this is what she was plagued by all this time.

There was another light. This time, from closer to Annabeth. She opened her hand and saw that the pendant that Zazie had given her was glowing dimly. She didn't know what it meant. She didn't really care anymore. In a second, it wouldn't matter. Nothing would.

The light from the shrine washed over Annabeth. Then, nothing.

A/N: Hello, and welcome to my second RWBY story after Journeys of a Mercenary! This time, we follow Annabeth, a knight from the era of the gods who witnesses the end of the world. Obviously, this isn't the end of her journey, but what awaits her on the other side? Stay tuned to find out!

Like with Journeys of a Mercenary, I've had this story thought up for quite a while in my head, and while I have this less planned out than Journeys, I felt like I wanted to get it out in some way. However, Chasing Eternity will likely be a shorter story compared to Journeys of a Mercenary. Additionally, Journeys of a Mercenary will be my main fic, so this may not be updated as often, though I will try to update it when possible. If you have anything to say at all, please leave a review, as I'd love to hear what you think about this introduction to the story. Thanks for reading, and have a good day!