HE'S ALIVE. HE'S ALIVE! HE'S ALIIIIIIIIIVE!
Yeah, I am. Sorry about the long pause there. Had a fair bit of trouble writing this chapter, along with some other stuff. I'll go into a little more detail down at the bottom. For now, enjoy this new chapter, courtesy of Gavenga323 Inc(where OSHA violations are the standard).
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I don't own RWBY or Cthulhu, or any franchise really. Yes, that last little bit is also necessary. Yes, you'll find out why. No, I won't be saying it again. It's there! Recorded on the internet! The most reliable source of record keeping, right!?
Somewhere in the world, a boy stood, warily watching a man in black. He didn't know the significance of this action. Not to the fullest extent. He didn't know just what he perceived. Remnant was a unique world. It was a hard world, but it was unique. With corporeal unreasoning and violent nightmares, borderline magical and highly unstable elements, and super warriors that had learned to fight with their very souls, there was very little that could surpass the supernatural phenomena that was considered the norm. And yet, at this very moment, they were all reduced to inadequate trivialities. Today a boy- barely a teenager and exposed to none of dangerous horrors his world possessed- was subjected to the evil gaze of one of the most impossible, horrendous, and sanity blasting remains of a murdered and unremembered space and time.
It examined him with an alien intensity, studying him in the inhumane manner of a microbiologist.
And he looked back.
Jaune eyed the man in front of him. It was both easier- and simultaneously not- to do so now; the darkness that had been pervading everything was gone. Its absence showed the room in its entirety. It was indeed a study, but what a strange one it was. He couldn't tell if it belonged in a mansion with its dark and rich wooden cabinets and bookshelves locked behind thin, aged, chain link barriers, or if it belonged in a modern suburb with its light blue painted drywall, the stomp ceiling texture, and the white tile floor.
They clashed. Horribly. Jaune was no expert in house design(or anything really, he was thirteen), but even he saw something off about the room. It was probably from the fact that the cabinets and books looked and felt so old, worn, and expensive, and the rest of the room felt so new, fresh, and cheap.
Or maybe what was wrong with the room was the fact that it had a tasteful stone fireplace on one side that was empty, and a floating black ball of flame near the center of the room. That wasn't where it should be. There was a law or two of physics being broken here, he was sure of it.
Or maybe- or perhaps in addition to that- it was the man standing in front of it. Jaune still couldn't find any discernible features on the guy. The man remained shadowed and… muted, if that were to make any sense. Were there clothes on him? Did he have hair? Was he tall? Was he short? Old? Young?
The only thing that remained certain were those evil yellow eyes. They were evil. They couldn't be anything else. This wasn't simply a matter of opinion. This was instinctual fact. Instincts of a dead race that spent more than five million years as worms on a pebble in an ocean of apathetic black.
Of course, Jaune didn't know that. He had only ever had dreams to tell him of their once being. Hazy and fleeting memories that hounded him for almost a decade. He didn't know the significant trespassing that was their existence.
He did know one thing though; this was indeed the owner of the voice that haunted him. He knew the moment it spoke; that distinctive purr that was either a rasp or a rumble that had always sounded so incredibly bored and impatient. It had haunted him for two years straight, and even if he had only been a child, there was simply no forgetting it. So yes, he knew that the man was the owner of the voice.
And yet, that was only one question answered, maybe two, out of hundreds in his mind. Where was this place? Where did that 'Night Gaunt' come from? Why did it attack him? Why was the man suddenly being 'cooperative' after years of belligerent commentary?
But first, before any of that, the ultimate question needed answering. The man had spoken first. That was a bad thing, as far as Jaune was concerned. He knew, from childhood experience, that the man before him was very capable of leading him along, and did so frequently.
He would need to recover and steal the initiative so as to not get caught in the man's pace. And he needed to do it confidently. His dad always said that all you needed was confidence. Now granted, his dad had said that in some weird discussion after he had turned thirteen a few months back, and he hadn't understood the context of the talk at all, since it had happened after Holly had left at the end of his birthday party, but the sentence itself was very useful. Jaune decided to use it as gospel. He would not be intimidated. At least, he wouldn't show that he was.
"W-who are you?"
Welp. So much for that.
Hopefully that stutter would go unnoticed.
The man's response, his initial one, was to tilt his head slightly, as if he were a dog, except it was more... 'twitchy' than that. It was jerky, and unnatural. If it had been done slower and smoother by any regular person, the action would look normal. On a girl, it might even look cute. The man only made it look sinister. Jaune briefly questioned if he would be as much of a jerk now as he was when he was invisible, and stay silent. He seemed the type.
But then he spoke.
"Such a courageous inquiry." The man remarked dryly. Before, the voice had been androgynous. Now, it held the tiniest traces of masculinity. Maybe that was due to the fact that there was a "face" to assign it to? Maybe. Jaune still couldn't identify if it was deep or shallow, low pitch or high, nor could he even put an age to it. It was confounding, just like his appearance. Or maybe it was the question itself? What the hell did it say? In-quarry? What the hell was that suppose to mean? Despite his situation, Jaune was confused.
"A… a-a what?" The man blinked. Jaune noted that that was the first time he had done so.
"Inquiry." It was Jaune's turn to tilt his head. The man had yet to do anything aside from tilt his head and blink once, and yet Jaune could feel the guy's exasperation in the air, blanketing everything just like that inky blackness had earlier.
"A question."
Ah. So… a courageous… question? Oh… So he had noticed the stutter. Jaune struggled not to blush at the realization. He failed. Damn it. Well, might as well try to save some face.
"Y-yeah," he began, it looked like the stutter would be sticking around for a bit, "so I'm a little scared, b-but you would be too if you were in my shoes!" I mean, who wouldn't?
"Oh, I'm not referring to that." The man waved the statement away; his second actual observable action since Jaune had seen him.
"I'm referring to the question itself," now Jaune was really confused. What did he mean by that? "Though you do need some work in actually growing a spine."
And now Jaune was angry, irrelevant of current circumstances. This guy was still as much of a dick as when he was younger!
"You think I care." Those yellow eyes were mocking him now. Maybe they were squinting in amusement, but he couldn't tell. But then again, he didn't need the eyes to know he was being mocked, the tone of voice was doing all the talking. It was taking every ounce of willpower not to bark back an insult. Okay, not really. He was, quite frankly, terrified. But he wanted to toss one at the guy, so that counted.
"Hardly." Okay, that needed addressing as well. Jaune leveled a finger towards the man.
"How are you doing that!?" He demanded, bewilderment masquerading as bravado to temporarily remove his fear. The man blinked again.
"Doing what?" Oh, that asshole! He was enjoying this. There was no way that he wasn't. Why did he still have to be such a- Jaune shook his head.
No!
NO!
He told himself that he wouldn't get caught in the guy's pace, yet here he was. He didn't want that. He wanted answers. He needed answers. And answers he would get.
"Stop changing the subject!" He snapped, ignoring the man's immediate response of 'I'm not, you are'.
"Who are you?" He asked, and then looked around the room with a frown, "Where is this place?"
The man, keeping with tradition, didn't answer. Not immediately. He never answered immediately Jaune realized. It was like he purposefully took time to come up with a response. It was unnerving, but far more than that, it was frustrating. Still, the lack of an immediate response was looking to be a good thing. Lately, that usually meant that he was about to receive a response that wasn't just some contemptuous comment to block or redirect the conversation, even if it wasn't exactly in a way he wanted. Most of the time anyway. And indeed he was correct, on all accounts. Instead of a verbal answer, the man looked around, as if only just noticing the room. Jaune joined him in inspecting their surroundings, despite having already looked around twice. Yep. Still the same as it was before, still clashing horribly with its furniture and design, and still creepy.
"...Interesting..." the man mused. His tone caught Jaune off guard, though just about anything was capable of doing that right now. The man genuinely sounded interested. In fact, Jaune might even go so far as to say...
"Do you..." He began uncertainly, "not know... where this place is?"
Yellow eyes snapped back to focus on him. Their stare made him subconsciously shrink. He could see the pupils dilating and contracting. He was also twenty feet away.
"I know where we are," The man assured him, though Jaune really didn't feel assured by that. If anything, he felt unassured. Though maybe that had more to do with the fact that the man doing the assuring wouldn't look out of place in a horror movie. Jaune blinked.
"Then... where are we?" he asked, "Is this like, your magical castle or something?"
He widened his eyes at a realization.
"Are you a wizard?" he whispered in awe, all traces of fear vanished. If the man was a monster, that was scary. But wizards? Wizards were cool. The man blinked at the question. Jaune jumped a little as he threw his head and shoulders back to bark out a single laugh before looking back down at him.
"No."
"Oh."
Yellow eyes narrowed, the only sign of human emotion thus far.
"I feel insulted that you're disappointed."
"Ah, well," Jaune fidgeted in place for a moment, "if you were a wizard, that could explain the mind reading. I think. But you're not one. So that means that you are probably something else. And with how you look, that means you're probably bad."
"Judging a stranger on their appearance, what would your mother say?"
"I think she would probably agree with me and call you an exception." Jaune quipped. A dark chuckle reverberated all corners of the room as the man's shoulders shook ever so slightly.
"Astute reasoning, though we both know that's not the only reason, is it?" The man asked. His head tilted again, this time to the opposite side. This guy seemed to act more like an animal than a human.
"You don't like me. Your scorn is not based on appearance alone. You're not that shallow." No he was not. His mom raised him better than that. There was just no way he was going to straight up say to a not-wizard's face that he was an absolute asshole.
Aaaaaand he can read my mind, Jaune remembered with a wince, I keep forgetting that.
The man gave off no indication that he had 'heard'. Then again, Jaune simply could not tell any facial expressions on the him. It would be so much easier if he didn't look like blackness personified.
"Is that your natural look?" the words had left his mouth before he knew it.
This time, both parties blinked. For once, Jaune could actually see a trace of confusion in the man's yellow orbs. Jaune would have considered it a small victory if the man wasn't so intimidating.
"Is that really important?" The man asked. Incredulously. That made Jaune feel stupid. He didn't like feeling stupid.
"I-I mean..." Jaune Arc, in that moment, did what many a young mind did when, after being questioned on instinctual actions they had no control over, and overcome with fear, felt the need to justify said actions.
He began to babble.
"It's just that I can only see your eyes! Like, that's all I can see! Are you doing that on purpose? Do you really look like that? Naturally? I don't think you know how much of a pain it is talking to you! N-not that it's a pain, like it hurts, it's more of a pain as in it's really hard to see your facial features! I-I'm not saying that I hate the way you look, it's just that after all this time, it still annoys me that I can't physically tell what your emotions are! Knowing that would have made me a whole lot happier you know." Blue eyes widened as he realized how he probably shouldn't be making what sounded like demands of the mysterious man who had magic-ed him to another location. "N-Not that I mind! Talking! Talking to you was very pleasant! Yeah- wait, you know that's a lie. I mean, you are kind of a dick-no, wait, that's rude. It's just- It's just that I literally can't tell anything about you. Where is your hair? Where are your clothes!? If you're magical, couldn't you just make yourself look more like a normal person- oh gods that sounds insensitive momwouldkillmepleasedonttellher!"
It would seem that the man decided in that moment to prove his statement about a lack of recognizable emotions wrong. The deadpan those eyes conveyed was impressive. Exemplary even. Snarkers the world over should take notes.
"Are you finished?" he asked after a pregnant silence.
Jaune thought about it.
He opened his mouth.
"So you don't wish to have your questions answered then?"
Jaune closed his mouth.
The man's eyes fluttered shut. A black hand reached up towards his face to... rub it? Pinch the bridge of his nose? Flip him the bird? Either way, Jaune was pretty sure that if he could see the man's face, his expression would be one of weariness.
"Should I have taken control in the beginning?" The man asked. The question confused Jaune, though it may have been because it sounded... different. He couldn't say how, it just... did. It was probably not that though, 'cause that was just a weird question to ask anyway. Control of what? The Conversation? He was doing a pretty bang up job of that, and Jaune did not enjoy admitting that in any way. Was it the way he brought him here? Jaune was literally magic-ed here! Was he too mobile for the man's taste? Was he talking too much? He couldn't tell. Freaking not-wizards! How much of a control freak was this guy!?
"Stop. Ranting."
Jaune stopped ranting.
"You were losing the ability to blather incessantly, you know that right?" The man asked, still... Palming? Massaging? His... face? Jaune still had nothing, "There was progre-."
The man stopped, lowering his arm and glaring at Jaune with narrowed eyes, a sight which, he quickly realized, he did not like. At all.
"You..." The man began, and Jaune had to wonder what he had done to earn the not-wizard's ire.
"You understand my speech?" He asked, and all of Jaune's fears promptly died in a befuddled fire.
"...W..." he had to take a moment to process the question, "What? What do you mean?"
Yellow eyes widened at his response. Jaune didn't like that look either.
"Well now," the man purred, "isn't that interesting?"
"W-Well, I mean...Haha..." In no way could Jaune have forced his laugh more, even at gun point, "We're speaking English. It ain't that special, ain't it?"
The man didn't respond.
"...Please say it's not."
"...English..." Never before had the word 'English' sounded so foreboding. This was starting to get a little creepy.
Okay, Okay. It had already started off beyond creepy, but Jaune had been getting used to it the way someone gets used to swimming in water a step above freezing. Someone well versed in scientific knowledge(or maybe common sense) would realize that this was simply another way to say that he wasn't. He was just growing numb. This sudden switch to the topic of languages was like someone dragging him out of the water and into a gentle breeze.
And then the man started walking towards him.
And Jaune began to slightly panic.
"H-Hey now!" Jaune protested diplomatically, waving his arms in front to ward the man away. "It ain't that bad, right?"
Long, wrong, blackened legs made equally long, wrong, blackened, and purposeful strides towards him. Each step brought him closer, inch by agonizing inch. Jaune's panic grew.
"Was it the word 'English'? Do you hate the language or something? Why do you hate English? You're speaking English! Wait, it's the word isn't it? English!? Oh shit, how many times have I said it? Brothers I am so sorry!" He apologetically ranted. And then, he saw what was perhaps- no, most definitely- the worst thing yet. It began as a tiny speck of white a few inches below the man's eyes. It spread, more horizontally than vertically, splitting the man's face apart from ear to ear. It took Jaune a moment to realize that he was looking at teeth, because they were just so white. No one had teeth that white. Hell, you couldn't even replicate the shade he was seeing with technology. It was unnatural. Or maybe it was the smile itself that was unnatural. Grinning ear to ear was supposed to be metaphorical. Mouths weren't supposed to stretch over eight inches in length. They weren't suppose to stretch over three.
"Astounding." the man's teeth parted, confirming that- yep, they really ran all the way to his ears. "I'll admit, I did not foresee this as an outcome! How strange, how strange..."
Any reply that Jaune might have conjured up to divert the man's attention(or stop his advance), was halted by an earthquake.
At least, that was the only way he could describe it. The room shook violently, though Jaune was not thrown around from it. It was weird... he knew it was shaking, but couldn't feel it. That didn't stop him from knowing that it was though, and he desperately wanted to lie down on the floor before he was forced to kiss it hard. That's the part that he tried to focus on, rather than the unholy noise that accompanied it; a deep and rhythmic pulse, like the beating of a malformed heart. It was accompanied by the shrieking cry of demonic strings, wailing passions that set goosebumps across his skin. Above it all, a choir growled out songs in foreign and twisted words, chanting blasphemous questions and praises to unseen listeners.
Their singing left Jaune stupefied, though not to the point of inaction apparently. He hadn't even realized that he had been backing away from the dark man until his back collided with a bookcase. Instantly, the music stopped, cutting out like someone had ejected a CD mid-song. That only frightened Jaune more.
"W-what..." he had to take a shuddering breath, staring wide eyed at the man still approaching, whose smile had somehow managed to get bigger than it already was.
"What the fuck was that!?" he demanded. The man(and Brothers, Jaune still had yet to get a name) chuckled.
"Dead men," the man answered, and didn't that sound nice? "simply making a cry for attention, a longing to be contemplated once more. They are of no concern."
Jaune disagreed.
A lot.
"What is of concern though," the man continued just a tad bit too cheerfully, "is etiquette."
Etiquette?
"Indeed. You've proven to be quite entertaining recently, I'm sure I could grant you a request or two. "
And then, the man changed.
It was as if he was stepping into a spotlight. Darkness bled away, starting at the legs and receding upwards, revealing black leather shoes, polished to a painstaking shine. Inky blackness softened into a charcoal cloth; slacks, of a quality that would make a wallet cry. A suit jacket finished the set, with gleaming buttons holding it together over a button-up shirt that was as white as his teeth were earlier, accented by a tasteful bowtie that matched the grey of the suit. Surprisingly, or maybe unsurprisingly, his skin was morphed as well, changing colors to a healthy beige. The darkness lifted from his face, revealing a hideously handsome structure akin to royalty. His grin(Thank the Brothers) had 'fixed' itself, no longer splitting his face literally, though still doing so metaphorically. The eyes never changed, remaining their evil and positively putrid yellow, glinting with maddened glee. Finally, the darkness stopped, shifting at the top of his dome to form a short suave pompadour that sucked in the surrounding light. He was handsome, and he was horrifying.
"Hello again Mr. Arc," He purred, his voice rich with masculinity and money as he bowed low to see Jaune eye to eye, "For the sake of courtesy, and so as to put your eternal query to rest, my name-"
He reached out a well-bred paw.
"is Nyarlathotep."
Jaune stared at the offered hand as if it were poison. It might as well have been.
"Come now, manners are important!" The ma-Nyarlathotep insisted.
Fingers twitched, then a hand, and Jaune hesitantly brought his arm and hand up in an unsure response. Nyarlathotep snatched it, shaking it vigorously up and down as though they had just passed the business deal of the century.
"Excellent!" Nyarlathotep's grin grew wider again, and Jaune very much hoped that it wouldn't go any wider than what it was now. Again.
"It is a pleasure to meet you at last." Jaune blinked once. Twice. He squinted his eyes at the remark.
"Oooookay?" he 'stated'. "Nice to... uh... meet you as well. Mr... Nilathtep?"
"Nyarlathotep!" a woman screamed far away. Jaune's eye twitched.
Was that creepy?
Yes.
Concerning as all hell?
Absolutely.
Did Jaune bother trying to locate the woman?
Honestly? No, not at this point. His system was overloaded. It was a wonder that he didn't need 'fixing' like he did earlier today. Maybe 'Knee-are-lath-o-tep's' voodoo... magic... stuff was still at work? Maybe.
"I'm sure it is!" Nyarlathotep winked at him before standing upright and raising his arms. Jaune tried not to flinch. Keyword: tried.
"Now!" Nyarlathotep clapped his hands, and he must have been a contender in the championship for who had the loudest clap, because the noise they made was akin to a sonic boom that made Jaune reflexively squeeze his eyes shut. His ears rang for only a barest fraction of a second before all was silent again. He cracked an eye open, then immediately shut it. He opened both his eyes, then shut them again just as fast. He decided to try a third time.
No, it wasn't his mind playing tricks on him. He was seated. Both he and Nyarlathotep were, facing each other only a few feet apart. Behind Nyarlathotep, the mysterious floating fire twisted and sputtered. Between them stood a large wooden ta-
Is that the dining room table? Jaune realized with a start, zeroing on the offending furniture. It was, completed with every little nick and mark of abuse over 20 years of children could dish out on it's humble frame. Kind of a weird thing to get weirded out by, but maybe it's just the little things.
"So!" Nyarlathotep's chipper voice brought his gaze back up, blue eyes locking in on yellow. "You have questions?"
Jaune blinked. Did he have questions?
Oh shit, he realized. He did...
...
Wait...
OH SHIT! He remembered. He did!
Jaune slammed a hand on the counter, the other he pointed accusingly towards the grinning Nyarlathotep. Damn it all, but the man's smile grew wider. He didn't grin like the cat that caught the canary. He was the cat.
"Then, ask away!"
"WHO ARE YOU!?" Jaune roared as righteously as a thirteen year old could.
The accused blinked.
"I am Nyarlathotep."
"MOTHE-" Jaune stopped himself short. Barely. He didn't like it when others brought his mom into things, he would not be hypocritical and do the same.
Mother's were supposed to be an insult-free zone.
He shook his head before glaring again.
"That's not what I was asking!" He growled.
"That was your question though," Replied Nyarlathotep, who tried to look like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth but failed, "You asked 'who are you'. I answered 'I am Nyarlathotep'. If you were seeking a particular sort of answer, you should have asked the appropriate sort of question."
Good to see that this guy was still capable of being such a dick despite his chipper attitude.
"Well," Jaune responded, unknowingly performing an excellent imitation of his mother's patented 'look', "you can read my mind, so you should know exactly what I fucking mean."
Nyarlathotep chuckled.
"An excellent point!" He admitted, pointing his own finger back at the teen, "And to that I shall say..."
The smile dropped from his face, and where as before he looked to be the definition of maniac, now he looked to be carved from stone.
"Are you sure you wish to know boy?"
Jaune hesitated. It wasn't the tone of voice that stopped him, he had grown far to used to that. No, it was the facial expression. For the man who had until now been smiling like a winner, at least since he changed, to suddenly go so serious was a like being splashed with ice water after 3 days in a desert. Or maybe it was the question itself. In the amount of time that Jaune had the 'pleasure' of 'knowing' Nyarlathotep, a long time in the short life of a budding teenager, the man had never ever asked for his opinion, even if it was a superficial one like 'are you sure'. It was foreign. It was known. And above all, it managed to somehow be more intimidating than anything else Jaune had witnessed.
"Are you sure you wish to know just who- just what- I am?"
"M-maybe later?" he squeaked.
"Later indeed." Nyarlathotep nodded, the smile coming back as if he hadn't just sounded threatening in anyway. "Don't worry, you will know before we finish here. Now, what's your next question?"
Jaune slumped in his chair.
"Then what's the point of asking me if I want to know?" He mumbled tiredly. Wait a moment, he realized. Couldn't Nyarlathotep read his mind? What was the point of asking if he had anymore questions if he already knew that he did? Actually, scratch that. Why even bother waiting for him to ask the freaking question!?
"Now, where would the enjoyment in that be Jaune?" Nyarlathotep almost sounded offended, holding his arms out and alternating his hands up and down as if weighing two different items "There's an order to these things Jaune! An order! Give and take! Action and reaction!"
He tilted his hands down to show his palms, a display of presentation.
"The natural law of conversation!"
"We've got to have rules to obey them!" A boy explained in Jaune's ear. Jaune knew that the boy wasn't there.
"After all, we're not savages." Nyarlathotep finished insistently.
"Right..." Jaune was doubtful, "Well then..."
He surveyed the room before locking his gaze back onto the yellow-eyed man.
"What is this place? Your magical castle or something?"
"Castle? Ha!" the man guffawed, "Absolutely not. Though I hear that these places are often described as temples. Ridiculous analogy. More like a box of glass than anything."
The last part was finished with a mutter that sounded resigned, and maybe disgusted.
"That doesn't really tell me anything," Jaune commented dryly, "Other than this isn't a castle."
"Why of course it doesn't!" Nyarlathotep exclaimed. This man had to have been an actor or something at some point. Every sentence was spoken with a waving of the hands, and the boisterous confident air of a showman, "Don't act as if that's something I would use as an excuse for an answer! I wouldn't expect you to be content with just that. You're not that simple."
"Thanks." Jaune was anything but thankful, "But you do kinda have a history."
"A history of what?" He really couldn't pull of the innocent look. At all.
"Of being a dick." Jaune supplied bluntly. Just because he still felt a tad bit of uncertainty for his safety didn't mean that he was unable to harness that good ol' teenage snark. Besides, he had a feeling that if Nyarlathotep had wanted to cause him harm, he would have done it long ago. Nyarlathotep beamed as if he had won a prize.
"Wonderful news. I'm thrilled to see that I still got it in me."
The smile dimmed.
"At least one thing is still the same." He muttered under his breath.
"What?"
"So you want to know where we are!" Nyarlathotep confirmed, his hands and fingers laced together over his belly, Jaune barely noticed that his speech seemed to change once again, "Well Jaune..."
He spread his arms out.
"Welcome, to my self induced ex-prison!"
What?
"What?"
Nyarlathotep put his arms on the armrests of his chair with a sigh.
"Haaaa... so self induced means-""I know what it means!" Jaune cut him off with a hot tone, "It's just that that really doesn't help. At all. Where are we?"
The two stared at each other for a moment. Nyarlathotep tapped a finger on his seat.
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"Would it hurt you to actually give me some useful information?"
"Oh, but I have." Instantly, the serious look was back, and Nyarlathotep leaned forward to rest his arms on the table between them. The angle cast dark shadows over his face, and for a brief moment, he looked as he did before, blacker than the night and evil.
"I've helped you a great deal more than you realize, boy. And I am not just referring to your recent pest encounter."
Jaune blinked, flummoxed.
"What do you mean?"
The man leaned back, yellow eyes turning to roam over the room, as if searching for something.
The book cases, Jaune realized. There must be a book or something that he was looking for.
"You wish to know where we are?" Nyarlathotep asked, "then you shall know."
His eyes lit up on one particular case, reaching high up well past Jaune's reach, even Nyarlathotep's own.
"Ah yes." The man looked back at Jaune then looked down at the table between them. Jaune's eyes followed before he furrowed his brow.
There, between them, on a table previously bare, lay a book, simple in design. No fancy scrawls. No pictures. Nothing at all, save for a single 'J' in the center. Its cover was a light tan, and its pages looked fresh and crisp. Well, most of the pages. Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of them. The last page was not, Jaune could tell that even with the book still closed. The last page was red and soaked. Jaune stared at it blankly.
"Your book's damaged." He commented off handedly.
"No consequence or fault of my own." The man replied.
Jaune looked back up to him. He was leaning forward now, his face still impassive and foreboding. He looked to be measuring him, or studying. Nyarlathotep's eyes flicked down at the book and back up to him, an unspoken invitation, and yet Jaune could still hear the man's voice.
Go on, he urged, Take it. Touch it.
Jaune looked down again at the tome, and then around the room. It was at that moment that he realized the study had no doors. There were two windows, past the floating flame, but the curtains were drawn, and chains crossed over the frame, barring entry and exit. Reminders that he could not have gotten to this place normally, even if he wanted to. He saw no way in which he could possibly leave without Nyarlathotep's help. He looked at the book once more. He didn't trust the man. He still didn't like him. But right now, Jaune was at his mercy, and Jaune wanted answers.
With a confidence he didn't feel, he reached out and opened the book.
And then Jaune wasn't in the room anymore.
He wasn't in his bedroom either. He was... existing. That would be the only way to describe it. He couldn't feel anything; no touch, no taste, no smell. But Jaune could hear, and Jaune could see.
And he saw.
And he heard.
-lungs aren't formed-
Don't take this from-
-prayer... answered.-
-okay!-
I love you mommy!
I love you too.
But I love you more!
I'm not so sure of that...-
Go home boy.
Who's there?-
You don't want them to get hurt, do you?
...no...-
I want to be a huntsman!-
-weird-
-wake up sleepy head-
I'm Holly!-
Say this to the monkey...-
I'm... sorry.-
JAUNE! You are not going-
Just want to rest for a bit-
It will follow you home-
Stop. Being. Simple-
Where. Have. You. Been-
Hello Jaune.
Jaune's head slammed against the table. He felt no pain from it. He was already suffering from the worst headache he had ever experienced.
"Come now, it wasn't that bad. " Jaune looked up at the man- the monster- in front of him, leering at him with undisguised amusement, "It's all in your head."
"You're inside me." Jaune whispered despairingly, eyes wide from the frightful revelation. It was the only explanation. He could hear him when no one else could. It would explain why Jaune had never seen the man until now. He never saw him because he couldn't see him. He couldn't just look inside himself, now could he? Nyarlathotep began studying his fingernails.
"In a way."
"What are you? Some kind of parasite?" Jaune asked. Yellow eyes turned to him and sharpened.
"Parasites don't save your life, maggot." He not quite snarled.
"THEN WHAT ARE YOU!?" Jaune roared, slamming his hands on the table, "WHY ARE YOU INSIDE ME?"
The man watched him dispassionately.
"What am I?" He asked blankly, not even giving Jaune the chance to respond, "If you want to know so badly, I will show you."
And the man disappeared.
And a monster took his place.
Flesh the color of rot, and muscles that looked as hardened as they looked withered. The yellow eyes were gone and Jaune wished that they would come back. If he tried, he could pretend that the gaping hole where his face was was a hood covering his head, it sort of looked like one if he squinted hard. It was dark enough for him to not see the inside, thank the Brothers for that at least. Jaune's eyes followed the... thing's arms down, stopping at the wicked and twitching claws that were its hands. Mouths opened at random places on its shoulders and neck, some with pleasant molars, others bursting with needled incisors, all looking horrendous.
"I," it began, and its raspy voice had lost any character of human likeness, "am Nyarlathotep. The Masked Messenger. The God of a Thousand Forms. And I am the reason that you still breathe."
Jaune knew that now. He didn't know how or why, but he knew it. He... he almost died at childbirth? He did. Amazing how the human mind can sometimes focus on the tiniest thing to escape the larger picture. Maybe his brain was fried? Or...
"Maybe I'm crazy?" he mused aloud. Yeah, that had to be it. The monster before him was in his head metaphorically. So was the Night Gaunt. They were figments of his imagination! Lifelike daydreams!
"You're not crazy Jaune," why did it sound like the monster was assuring him? "By definition, you do not fall into the category of crazy. The word you seek would be insane. Though some would argue on the definition of insanity as well."
Movement caught Jaune's eye, and a third arm reached up from under the table, reaching for something. Nyarlathotep grasped it with one of his 'main' arms, caressing it and holding it like a lover. Jaune didn't even bother trying to make sense of it. He already had enough strange happenings on his mind.
"And it's easy to see why." it continued, "a poor little boy, hears a voice that no one else can, telling him to stay silent of its existence. It differs so much from the good little child. So mean. So cruel. At the height of its existence in his life, he is nearly killed on a field, surrounded by children screaming and laughing for blood."
Jaune shivered from its anecdote. Too bad it wasn't done.
"It leaves him for a time, and then all is right in the world! Making friends. Enjoying school. But what tragedy! Your dream is denied to you. The ape that almost kills you pursues it in your stead. Your female companion is getting ready to leave you, and suddenly, a monster beyond your understanding strikes! Large and horrifying in the limited view of your small world. Your first kill, slaughtered by your frightened hand. Yes, it is easy to see why you think you're insane."
It spoke in a mockery of empathy, as if trying to dangle the vague notion of hope in front of his eyes.
"Fortunately for you," it lost that derisive sympathy, and Jaune was both thankful and not for that, "You aren't insane."
Jaune didn't feel very fortunate. At all.
"That voice did belong to someone," the head tilted, "something. That Night Gaunt did exist. It still does, if its corpse hasn't been devoured by beasts by now. If you wake up right now, you will find the bruise from its grasp still there on your neck. You're not insane Jaune. If anything, you are merely but a technical schizophrenic from benevolent possession, and that would still probably be a stretch. I don't see my inhabiting your body as possessing you."
"I don't see it that way," Jaune muttered, going numb from bombshell after bombshell.
Claws scratched the wooden table, the surface grinding in protest, "But it is. One of the most benevolent acts I have ever committed, in fact. You don't know just how lucky you are, boy. I'm the reason your parents didn't throw you into a hole as a corpse."
Jaune's hands tightened and loosened on the arms of his chair.
"Where did you come from? You obviously weren't there- here- to begin with."
"A forgotten Time. A dead dream."
That answer was confusing. Jaune decided not to push.
"Now that's no fun, aren't you curious?"
"So now what?" He asked, ignoring the bait, "Are you gonna eat me now or something? Take over my body?"
A noise of disgust came from the monster's- Oh Gods, was that a mouth on its belly?
"And throw away all I've done until now? No. No! That would be a waste. It would render all I have done pointless!"
What did it mean by that?
"I didn't save you out of the goodness of my heart," Jaune thought as much, "I am simply incapable of that."
"Then why?" Jaune asked. The head tilted again.
"You mean many things with that question. Elaborate."
Jaune huffed with a glare.
"Why did you save me? Why did you save me? If I was going to die what made you think I shouldn't?"
Nyarlathotep stopped fiddling with his third arm, placing all three on the table and leaning forward. Jaune didn't lean back.
"Chance."
"Chance?" Jaune echoed.
"Chance." Nyarlathotep confirmed. "There was nothing special about you Jaune. I could have easily come across any dying babe on this world and chosen them instead. You were immediately available. Nothing more."
Well wasn't that just a nice thing to say? It kinda hurt. A lot.
"...But why do it?" Jaune asked, "even if it is due to chance, why 'possess' me at all?" he added finger quotes, so as to avoid starting a debate on what was considered possession or not with the horror, something no sane person would ever consider doing.
"I have reasons."
"And they are...?"
"Not for you to know at this time." The monster- Nyarlathotep- crossed two arms over his chest. The third remained on the table, "I have already been incredibly forthcoming with information Jaune. Those who knew me would say that I've gone insane myself. You'll have to forgive me for not showing all my cards."
And here Jaune thought that they were finally getting friendly. Nyarlathotep chuckled a dark wheezing laugh.
"Friendly... Amusing."
"Couldn't I have been a host to something a little nicer?" Jaune asked half seriously. He would rather not be possessed by anything at all, but from what he learned, possession is what kept him alive.
"'Nicer'?" Nyarlathotep asked, "Perhaps. Trust me when I say however, that in terms of understanding the human mind- of even comprehending its workings- I am probably one of the best things that could have chosen you."
Jaune froze at what that sentence implied.
"There are more of you?"
"...I don't know." Nyarlathotep sounded angry at the admittance.
Jaune blinked at that.
"You don't know?" He asked dumbly, "didn't you just mention family?"
"I should not be here Jaune." Jaune blinked at the confession. It didn't sound like one, but he could tell that it was.
"Like, in my head? Or..." He trailed off.
"This universe. It is not mine."
Oh...
...
Oh...
"So then... how did you get here?"
"Why, there was an adorable little rabbit hole that led to a fantastically extravagant room with a bottle that said 'drink me'." Even if the monster hadn't been using sarcasm (enough for Jaune to almost taste), he knew, he just knew, that Nyarlathotep was referencing a story. Fiction, though he had never heard the story. And that was a realization that required questioning. Just not at this time. "Use your brain boy. Obviously, I don't know. I'm not here by choice."
"But you are in my head by choice." Jaune pointed out.
"Do you want me to go into more depth about how you are nothing special?"
"Not... really, no."
"Then if by some inconceivably atom-sized chance that I were you, I would not bring that point up again."
Point made.
"So... Not this universe..."
"Correct."
That was heavy stuff. Of course, that was said in the way that someone would say that magma is warm; a gross understatement. Jaune really didn't know much about the universe, and it wasn't just due to the limited knowledge banks of a teenage brain. The universe was never really studied or contemplated on a world such as Remnant. Oh sure, some man or woman in the past had looked up and searched for answers to their questions, the most prominent of them probably being 'are there better worlds than this grimm-infested rock?'. Obviously, the answers they found were unsavory, otherwise people would have done their damndest to get there, the technology was there to do so. Ultimately, as his teachers would say, space was given up as a waste of time. Space was out of reach. There were Grimm to slay, people to protect; more important matters. More immediate matters.
To hear that a creature was not just from another world, but another universe entirely, was earthshaking. To a thirteen year old, it was world ending. Jaune desperately wanted to ask about that other place, that space beyond his reach, but unfortunately, much like Humanity and Faunus in this universe, there were more pressing questions that needed answers. For example:
"But you still have yet to say why."
"Did I not say earlier that I would not tell you?"
"Yeah, but I don't like that. My parents refused to tell me why they won't let me be a huntsman. I had to get the answer from you of all... 'people'... I'm not going to go through the same thing twice."
"Defiance will get you nothing. I will not answer you." Jaune snarled.
"I've already had one too many secrets kept from me. I almost died today. I have a monster in my skull. Tell me now!" He slammed his fists on the table, glaring at the...
...the monster.
It was at that moment, that Jaune remembered just what he was talking to. There was no doubt in his mind that the thing before him was worse than even the Night Gaunt. After all, the Night Gaunt seemed to run solely on instinct. This thing operated on reason. It was about to get very dicey now, that was for certain. And here he was, alone with it, in a room with no escape. Shit. Jaune braced himself for the explosion.
"Good!" He stopped at the tone of voice. It sounded satisfied, relieved even, "It pleases me to see that you have some fight in you. You should keep that. Grow it. Sheep are easily led, easily slaughtered. Expunge that wretched human practice of succumbing to the words of others. Cease the action of blindly marching to orders you question. Fight for yourself first, and you shall be the master of your fate."
The captain of my soul! A man exclaimed passionately.
"At least, among your kind. There are some creatures beyond your nature who would find the defiant individualism of humans to be insignificant, maybe even insufferable." The fleshy hood moved closer to inspect him. Jaune was pretty sure that's what he was doing. "You've proven a desire to know my reasons, and you have been shown to possess a flare, a fire, even if just an ember, that is necessary for growth, for superiority. For that, I shall grant your request. What piqued my interest to save your hide- a human's life- was curiosity."
Jaune was skeptical.
"...You were curious?"
"Yes." A clawed hand rose up, and Jaune flinched. It grasped his head with a deceptive gentleness, though that did little to calm the mad beating of the heart in his throat. Its skin felt dry and smooth against his own. There was a touch of something else, a characteristic or quality missing from the description, but Jaune couldn't possibly know what. The faceless head loomed closer. "Some would call you unfortunate, to have been chosen by me. Such ilk have little understanding of the universe, any universe. You don't know just how blessed you are."
The clawed paw released his head. Jaune shook his head to rid himself of the feeling.
"What do you want?" He asked, a question that had eaten away at him for almost the entirety of the time Jaune knew him.
Nyarlathotep stood tall, and despite the flailing and twitching of claws and feelers, the gnashing teeth of many mouths, and his absolutely revolting appearance in its entirety, he looked almost regal, in an infernal way.
"I am here... I inhabiting you, inside your head, to observe."
"...Observe?"
"Yes."
"Observe what? You already said that I wasn't anything special." He tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice when he said that. It felt like a stabbing reminder of his parents, though he knew now the true reason of their stubborn insistence.
"Yes. You were."
"So why?"
"You must work on your skills of deduction. True independence only exists so long as you are immune to being steered through deception and obscurity." Nyarlathotep crossed his arms again and bent over at the waist, just as he had previously in his other form, his head still focused on Jaune, "You were insignificant. Just like any other fresh human spawn. And aren't they all? So frail... so exposed. Wretched and whining. Blind and mewling. Anything could have killed you. By my blessed name, your own body was doing that already. That stopped the moment I granted you the blessing of my presence."
Nyarlathotep stood tall once more, morphing and bubbling back into his human image, perhaps to seem more appealing. He seemed to enjoy it, switching back and forth between forms.
He said it himself, Jaune remembered. He's 'The God of a Thousand Forms'. Probably loves to prove that title. Jaune himself couldn't really see the appeal.
The man's arms raised, flexing, and his hands strained to grasp the air, a self expression of might. His voice remained the same, raspy and dominating.
"Can you not recall it?" He growled with savage elation, "Your struggle against the Night Gaunt? Or your first adversary, the monkey? Made friend... That sudden power? That sudden might? That was I, giving you strength."
"Okay, yeah, I get that." Yeesh, dude was going on a power trip, "But for what reason? You want to watch my life with your... powers or something?"
The man put his hands back down on the table.
"Yes." He whispered, a maddened glint in his eye.
"And do what? You want me to like... get you home?"
"Home? My original Universe?" Nyarlathotep's laugh was wicked, "Boy, my universe is gone. Snuffed out and murdered, like a babe whose intoxicated father took a gun to its head and pulled the trigger. In fact, I might go so far as to say that it happened just like that."
Jaune paled at the simile. He'd never been exposed to so dark a description.
"You uh..." He licked his lips, "You seem really sure about that."
He also didn't seem too bothered to say that. Maybe he had accepted it already?
"Of course! I watched it myself. Every glorious second."
Okay, definitely not bothered at all. A blink and the man was back in his chair, limbs spread comfortably and a cheshire grin back in place.
Suddenly, something clicked for Jaune. A piece was moved in place. Behind the man, and in front of himself, the floating fire flared brightly.
"You expected to die." He stated blankly, "That's why you said you shouldn't be here. You were expecting to be destroyed with the rest of your... place."
The monster parading as a man smiled.
"There must be more, I'm sure." And there was.
"That's why you were so surprised from the Night Gaunt. It's from the same place as you, but you thought that you were the only one of your kind. It's like multiplying a thousandth of a fraction by the same number..."
"A little insulted that you would find me comparable to a hairless human-bat bastard, but go on."
"You said it was-what... lacking in power? You were surprised by your own living, and to see something also survive was next to impossible."
"Wrong." Jaune faltered.
"It is impossible." Nyarlathotep stated, face once more bereft of humor, "While I am disgusted to say this with all my being, the Night Gaunt and myself are both created from the same material in our universe. That is to say, the troglodyte came into being through circumstances that would grant life as the the universal laws the creator of our existence unknowingly set in place. I myself was born straight from said creator, Azathoth."
Jaune shivered at the name. It held a certain... power to it, like simply hearing it gave the feeling of someone stepping on the location of his future grave. In his mind, an image was conjured. A shapeless form. Sleeping. Twitching. Dreaming. Dreaming of stars and fire and rock and void. Dreams of life and death and chaos and order. Dreams of a universe in its entirety.
"He perished, and his dream, our universe, died with him. It ceased to exist. We shouldn't exist. I shouldn't exist. A Night Gaunt shouldn't either. We both perished all the same. And yet, we survived. Here, on this little world."
Yes, the world truly did feel little. Funny, it had felt so big before.
"So then... what do you want me to do?"
The man threw his arms wide, smile back in full force.
"Whatever you want Jaune!" That earned him a blink. Or ten. Definitely not what Jaune was expecting to hear.
"...What?"
"I didn't stutter. I don't stutter. I don't care what you do!" Nyarlathotep threw his arms out to weigh options "Do what you desire! My power is at your fingertips! If you get your kicks from constructing wonders, then build. If you feel more inclined towards the opposite end of the spectrum, then raze to your heart's content! If you feel humanity to be unworthy of this rock, then slaughter. If you wish to..." Nyarlathotep's eye twitched, "save humanity from their rambunctious pest problem, then go and... be a hero if you must play the part of a good Samaritan. Your actions affect me next to none. My only wish, is that you do something. Just don't be boring. "
Clearly, there was one option here that wasn't quite as liked as the others. Too bad for Nyarlathotep, Jaune wanted nothing more than to protect people. That's what Huntsman were... known... for...
"You mean," Jaune swallowed, "You could help me become a huntsman?"
Nyarlathotep looked as if he had just eaten something sour.
"If that is what you wish." Jaune felt the need to call out this sudden prejudice.
"Got something against Huntsman?"
"I have nothing against how they go about their work. Fixing a problem through bolt or blade is something that, while primitive, I can support. As for the reason they do what they do; protecting the populace, and civilization as a whole... Well, I have never really contributed to that end of the spectrum; 'protection' and 'good deeds' for the sake of it all. Hardly entertaining. But if done for a price. That's something I'm more familiar with."
Jaune didn't see how that was an issue. Huntsmen were paid just like everyone else. Depending on how well they did, they were one of the best paid professions. Protecting the people was one of the most important jobs on Remnant. He pointed this out to Nyarlathotep.
"And that is why I have no problem with the profession itself, Jaune. I'm relieved that it's not a career path of good deeds paid for with nothing but the silly notion of 'justice' and a pat on the back. Otherwise, I would have done everything to steer you away from that path, much like your parents, only I would have succeeded."
"Then why are you acting like I just told you to... I dunno, crawl through the mud in your suit or something"
"An excellent recover," Nyarlathotep nodded, "and an excellent comparison, Brioni suits are not complemented by dirt and water at all."
"You're stalling."
"I am not!" Nyarlathotep looked offended, "Just making a point. Now, to actually address your question... my problem is not the profession, nor your motivation for said profession, given that it's countered by a decent tribute from a grateful population. No, my issue is the idea of the process of becoming one."
"What, you mean the training?"
"Well, I myself have never had the need to train for anything in my existence." Bastard looked real smug as he said this, "But it's not just that."
"You mean combat school." Jaune cut him off, his epiphany making him blurt out the answer. The man smiled, lifting a hand to point a finger at him.
"Exactly."
"But... why?"
"Because it's a waste of time Jaune!" Nyarlathotep shook his head, "Time, time, time, time, time. You have eighty years, at most, on this rock, and you're going to put seven of them into 'training to fight'."
"I mean, it's kinda useful, seeing as I don't want to die."
"And yet huntsmen die all the time. Tell me, do you know the best teacher for combat?"
"Trained and experienced individuals?"
"So close. You actually used the word as well. No. The best teacher in the art of war and all its sensual, glorious carnage, is experience."
"Are you sure about that?" Jaune was unconvinced, "Sounds like a good way to get killed to me."
"Death comes for every man, woman, and child of your race. You should hardly fear a simple brush with it. One might say that it is the one certainty in your life. That and taxes."
"Yeah, I guess, but that doesn't mean I want to die early!"
"Is that really such a bad thing?"
"I think it is!"
"Then don't die. It's as simple as that."
"It will be a lot easier if I have the training."
"Oh yes, go to the institution that teaches tykes how to fight with their own methods and powers that have been used for centuries when you have the soul of a god in your brain in the hilariously understated equivalent of powering a light bulb with a nuclear fission reactor. You'll fit right in, no questions asked!" The disappointed look returned, "Boy, do you actually use your brain?"
Jaune blinked in confusion. And irritation.
"I can't when you mention things I don't understand."
Nyarlathotep blinked in turn.
"Oh my. I had almost forgotten that you were unaware."
"Unaware of what?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Unaware of what Nyarlathotep?"
Nyarlathotep quirked his mouth.
"Those warriors. Your huntsmen. They have an advantage that helps them in combat, though I don't know how. Some superphysical presence about them. Were it not for me, you wouldn't have it yourself."
This was starting to sound unfair.
"Need I even say it? The world is unfair. Besides, you gripe prematurely. Near as I can surmise, it's something that can be done to any humans, though the how-to escapes me."
"Sooo... I could get this... thing... done to me and I'll be good?"
The man made a face.
"Why would you want to? Didn't you hear me? You have it already, because of me."
"Yeah, but I don't trust you."
"Wise, but pointless. I have been more honest with you in this conversation than with any other human being in existence."
"I don't believe you."
"But I have! If the past me were to know just how truthful I have been with you, he would have done whatever he could to have seen himself killed." He smiled in that cruel way of his, "Believe me, that is perhaps the one drastic thing I could have done back then. Alas, as he is in the past, dead to the present, it has come to be regardless! I am here instead, speaking on behalf of myself now. Isn't Time such a beautiful thing?"
Not for the first time, did Jaune question the sanity of the monster before him.
"Uh... I guess?"
Nyarlathotep beamed and nodded.
"Indeed you do." He leaned into his chair, "My power is yours, and I would have shuddered at so masochistic a circumstance in the past. The past is no more. As of now, there is only the present, and future possibilities. Potential gains and potential losses. But you have one more question of the past that must be asked, and answered."
One more question? Try several hundred.
"Yes, well, our time is running short, so I'll cut to the most important one since you seem so intent on avoiding possible fatalities or injuries on your feeble frame."
He must have been really good at reading his mind then, because Jaune wasn't sure what question to ask next.
"Well, I never said that you yourself asked it, it's more a question that plagues my own mind, but I want the idea of it in yours so that you may contemplate future actions more deeply."
That sounded foreboding.
"And that query is... are there more?"
Jaune felt a pit open up in his stomach. He knew what the question meant, but he most certainly did not enjoy hearing it. Disregarding his feelings, Nyarlathotep continued.
"Was the Night Gaunt the only other one? Am I all that remains? Hopeful questions, and that makes them dangerous questions, for if you do not plan for otherwise, you will invariably be disappointed. And often horrified."
"...Are there more?" Jaune asked apprehensively, afraid of the answer.
"I have little doubt. My existence is impossible. A Night Gaunt's even more so. And yet, here I am, inside your head. I am here. The Night Gaunt was here. Were you truly able to grasp just how inconceivable these two happenings are, then you would be sure, just as I am, that the possibility for more is all but guaranteed."
"Do you have a way to... like, sense them, or something?"
"To a limited extent, yes. Not nearly as much as I want to. I wasn't even able to tell the Night Gaunt's presence until it was right on top of you. It was hidden, unnoticeable, like the shadow of grass. However, now that I have seen it, have felt the blackened mark of its soul, I have an inkling of an idea of what to look for."
Well that was... good? Maybe?
"Are the rest of you- of them," Jaune corrected himself after seeing a brief glower from Nyarlathotep, "Are the rest of them... better? More friendly? Than the Night Gaunt I mean."
"Better? That depends on your definition. Most of the things from my universe are incapable of empathy, at best. To be an omnicidal aggressor was the standard. As for the few entities that could possibly be defined as 'friendly'. Yes. Some, very few that is, were indeed very friendly fellows, and were they not beneath me, would have made for excellent conversation, and if they were aware of humanity, would have considered humans to be delightful creatures, maybe even cute or attractive." he shuddered a little after saying this, head twitching to the side slightly, "Those same creatures however, came in forms far too alien and complex for the human psyche, and any man would mentally shatter upon seeing one. So are there any friendly species? Yes. Are there any species that are friendly and healthy to the human mind? No."
Perfect. Just great.
"Luckily for you," Nyarlathotep continued brightly, "Your mind would be capable of handling such visual stimulus. So who knows? You may get lucky!"
For some strange reason, Jaune wasn't feeling lucky.
"Aren't you just chipper?" Jaune muttered.
"I have every right to be! This conversation bore far more fruit than I anticipated!"
What, did he expect Jaune to become a gibbering wreck again or something?
"...Maybe."
"Was it really smart to invite me here for this conversation then?"
"Jaune, Jaune, Jaune. The risk I took was calculated, and, as it turns out, I am excellent at mathematics." He pointed a finger at Jaune, "And you, my lovely little autonomous puppet, are proving to be worth every risk I have taken so far."
The room throbbed, Jaune's eyelids drooped.
Nyarlathotep smiled brightly. This one was different from all the others. It was... warm, almost. Or maybe it was satisfied. Probably that.
"Our time in this space is almost up I see." The room began darkening. Inky and familiar blackness began to slowly seep out from the books and spill onto the floor, spreading out like sick and diseased water.
"You're not perfect, far from it, but you have a hidden potential, in the same way that the greatest knowledge can be stored in the moldiest tome, or a mistake in the production of an item results in a product of even higher value than the original design. Beautiful chaos. Yes, I do indeed have every right to be 'chipper', to be cheerful, jovial, and jolly! Why, I'm as corny as Kansas in August!"
As high as a flag on the Fourth of July... A woman sang warmly, and dreamily.
Dreamily...
"If you excuse an expression I-" Jaune forced himself to stop singing along, shaking off the spell placed on him. It returned almost immediately.
Dream...
Dream...
But wait! That! There was that as well! One more question! One more!
"Those people," He slurred, his tongue starting to fail him, "those songs and places and... things... what... are they...?" Nyarlathotep laughed cheerfully. Softly. That only seemed to tire out Jaune more. The room was almost pitch black now, even the fire was almost gone. The only visible constant were those two evil, yellow, glowing, and alien eyes.
"There's that fire again! He won't lose to sleep, no. No, he won't ladies and gentlemen!" he sighed, "Don't worry. Nothing harmful. As I said before, they are of no concern. Simply a byproduct of the second best decision I've made in this world."
"But... what...?"
"You will find out, in time." Nyarlathotep's voice was distorted and far, "I won't spoil that answer. If you desire to know, then you will find the answer here, in these books and tomes. For are they not just recorded memories?"
"...But..." His mouth stopped working. How...? How could he get here again? He had no idea how to...
"It's not that hard Jaune. It's all in your head."
And as darkness and silence together over took him, Jaune remembered.
This guy was still an absolute dick.
THERE!
EUGH!
IT'S DONE.
God, I struggled writing this chapter. That's not to say that I hate it or anything, but writing conversation for the sake of conversation can feel so dry sometimes. It's why I added a certain aspect to the story, just so I can keep myself entertained in areas like this. No, I won't say what it is, you'll have to guess-
GAVENGA! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THIS SHIT, YOU CRANK OUT 3 CHAPTERS AND 41 THOUSAND FUCKING WORDS IN THE SPAN OF LIKE, THREE WEEKS ON A PHONE, AND THEN MAKE EM WAIT 3 MONTHS FOR A SINGLE CHAPTER AFTER GETTING AN ACTUAL KEYBOARD!?
Okay, so shortly after posting that last chapter, I picked up a language class. That's going to be my primary focus for the next year and a half. If you enjoy this story for some reason, then don't worry, THE STORY WILL CONTINUE. I put a lot of thought into this thing(honestly, kinda disgusted how much thought I have put into it) and I don't want to see it placed on the shelf like all those other stories, abandoned like children whose dads went out for milk. THEY DESERVED MORE. SO MUCH MOR-
As I said, it will continue. However, the updates are going to be slower. Hopefully, not at this disgusting pace, but they WILL be slower. Like I said, class comes first. Part of the reason this chapter took so long, is because I lost that spark in me, ya know? God damn, it was almost prophetic. But that spark is STILL ALIVE! Like a cockroach without a head. Yeah, that's a good enough analogy. It also doesn't help that I had some personal struggles recently as well. I won't go into detail on that, but it's mostly resolved now, so we should be golden. PLEASE, DON'T ABANDON ME LIKE DAD DI-
No, it wasn't anything like that. I have two very loving parents. They let me leave the basement every weekend throughout my school years.
So yeah, this chapter was rather dry. I found it dry at least. That's why I tried to spice it up as much as I could. Hopefully, it didn't clash too horribly. Who knows? Maybe I'm just overthinking. I do that a lot. Lemme know what you think.
Have a wonderful day!