This chapter is going to serve as the breakaway point. The one chapter that splits up worlds, hence the name "interlude 1" instead of "Chapter 39" or something like that. The first chapter of the RWBYverse comes after this. However, I urge you to NOT skip this. Though I doubt that anyone who made it this far would, I'm just saying.
That being said, let's jump into my response to your guy's reviews/comments.
[Response to Reviews/Comments]
(Qoutev) Dead phone: I'm glad you liked that fight. And, thank you for the sincere compliments! I'm glad you've liked it this much up to this point, and I hope you continue to like it. I'm also kinda sad that we're ending the Danganronpa Universe now, but to spare myself from making it another 10 chapters, things had to be cut, and things had to be done to speed things up.
Well… ONTO RWBY!
(Qoutev) icantthink: I'm glad you're looking forward to it!
(Qoutev) Gh0sty.C0ffe: That last part read like how I envisioned a stroke to be in text form, lmao, but I get the gist of it. D.I.C.E. and them are still alive and kicking, along with the rest of the members of The Grey Council. Everyone made it out of that hellhole alive, well… except the obvious ones who are dead. And yes, that is the sword from V3.
(Qoutev) TACO SENSEI: Yeah, I mean we've spent 38 chapters with this world, so it's going to be a little jarring having them move onto a new world. But, alas, I'm afraid we'll have to get used to it. At least it'll be quite some time before we move on from the RWBY universe if the Danganronpa universe is anything to scoff at. And, yeah, Volume 1 of RWBY is extremely confusing, but considering the only things relevant will be the Dust till Dawn scene (which won't happen for a while due to how I plan on structuring this part of the story) and the stuff with Beacon in the first Volume, you won't have to worry all that much.
Most of this is going to be my take on the universe, and also my own world-building along with plenty of OCs. I mean, I'm plopping them into a post-apocalyptic fantasy world, far removed from Urban Fantasy, and with lore so broken that the community practically accepts anything so long as it isn't outright awful. My creative juices are already flowing!
(Qoutev) JammyJam: He got what he deserved. And, as for that name, it is a reference to a meme.
(Ao3) D-D-D-Decade: I wanted to make it way longer, but I kinda ran out of ideas for that fight to be completely honest. Although, I would still agree with you in saying that it is very satisfying. Trust me, it was extremely satisfying to write.
(Guest) Reader 451: I… I have no words for you. I can handle a pun or two, but… not Yang-level puns. Ugh… I'm going to hate writing those….
Bearticguy7: Well, I guess you're just gonna have to wait and see.
Kolt999: If it wasn't for the fact that I had to cut the Danganronpa universe short, Izuru and Chiaki would've met, and… well, considering he knew who was in The Grey Council… I think we both know what would've happened to her. As for Jolyne and Izuru interacting… I mean, it would've been on-sight violence, which was what I demonstrated here. Izuru did NOT want a conversation, he wanted her dead, and he was not going to give her the benefit of the doubt. What I showed in the last chapter was pretty much always going to happen.
As for The Grim Reapers Scythe stuff, I made it overpowered on purpose. Although, keep in mind that The Plague status effect is only a chance for it to be inflicted, and not always guaranteed. It is still only 25% to happen (even with Jolyne's recent buff to her LUK stat). It's not always going to happen, and I've got my ways to make sure it isn't too overpowered. You'll see what I mean later down the line.
And, anything that allows me more character time with Sayaka and to develop her into something more than what the community sees her as is more beneficial to me. That, and it's to spite the Danganronpa community for making Sayaka seem like… she-who-shall-not-be-named. The less we talk about Bitch, the better.
Now… funny you mention that last part—
A-hem, anyway, now that we've finished with that, let's get onto this (rather short) interlude! And then… the start of a new world.
xxXXxxXXxx
[Jolyne Brooks]
Jolyne felt her head spin, as she slowly began to stand up. The world around her felt familiar, in the sense that she had been here before. And when her eyes fully adjusted, her one good eye widened to the size of a saucer.
White, fluffy cloud-like roads. Golden fences encircle the natural beauty of the location, and that fence spans for miles and miles on end. White buildings made out of what appeared to be stone, and hundreds if not thousands of ethereal blue people wandering about. A few of them passed her and greeted her with brief but polite hello's.
Jolyne had to blink several times, as she looked around her. The rest of her friends were nowhere in sight, and it was starting to worry her. It was only when she looked forward that she saw Daimen standing before her, arms crossed. "Where's everyone?" Jolyne immediately asked as she stood up from the walkway she had been laying down on, as Daimen sighed.
"Don't worry about them. They're in The Void, safe and sound," Daimen said. Jolyne was seconds away from shouting 'what' at the top of her lungs, only for Daimen to continue. "The only reason why is because it's against the rules of Heaven for someone to enter who hasn't already been judged and allowed to enter, or… someone who isn't a Multiversal Gamer. The rules don't apply to you, and as such, you can enter, whereas someone like Chinatsu cannot."
Jolyne grumbled. That was some serious bullshit. But, rules were rules, and she couldn't break them. Not these ones, at least. The rules of Heaven were absolute. She'd know. She lived here for a long time before she was snatched by the horny bastard in front of her. "Fine… just, are they really safe? Being down there in The Void?"
"Prolonged exposure can break their minds, but that process takes centuries. By the time any of that stuff begins to happen, they would've already been skeletons. Now, c'mon. There's someone you need to see. He's… not too happy with me taking you, and he wants to make sure you're okay. Then, we'll be going to The Void so that I can explain to you what's going to happen next. The next world has already been decided by… let's just say some friends of mine and leave it at that. And the longer we keep them waiting, the worse it'll get," Daimen said, grabbing Jolyne by the wrist and practically dragging her down the road.
After a bit, Jolyne was able to get Daimen to let go of her wrist, which allowed her to walk at her own pace. As she did, she passed by more ethereal people, all of whom were living the time of their lives. It was hard to make out what gender they were, considering they all appeared genderless. But, you could easily tell by how they stood, or how they talked. Except for if they were gay or trans in their last life. That was a confusing mess of making sure you didn't offend the, quite literal, genderless souls of heaven.
The walk to where they were supposed to be didn't take much longer after they passed what appeared to be a garden of sorts, as the building they were going to was a regular old house, with a thatch roof and wooden walls—a stark contrast to the ones that the regular souls lived in. Daimen walked up to the door, and opened it, letting himself and Jolyne in as the door closed itself behind them.
"Uh… Almighty! I'm here with, uh… The soul I stole…." Daimen said, his tone of voice… submissive and nervous sounding.
"About time," a bitter, old-sounding voice grumbled out as… an old man walked out from behind a wooden wall. He was four feet tall, wearing a white robe and wooden sandals. He was hunched over, using a wooden stick to walk—at least, that's what it looked like to Jolyne—and he had a beard that went all the way down to his knees, the beard itself being brushed into a thin line. His eyes were closed, but he could still effortlessly see as if nothing was an issue, and his hair was a brilliant silver grey, which reached down to the center of his back.
And then… that's when Jolyne realized that this was, well, The Almighty. God. Capital G, capital O, capital D. The man, or, creature behind it all. The person responsible for all of life, death, and the in-between.
And he was a frail-looking old man.
Despite that, though, Jolyne got to one knee and bowed before him. Just because he looked like a frail old man, did not mean he was one. And she knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt. It didn't matter what he looked like. He was still GOD, still The Almighty, and still someone who could kick anything and anyone's ass should he so feel like it.
The Almighty stared at Jolyne and smiled. "It's good to see you again, young Jack. Though, you don't go by that name anymore, do you now?"
Jolyne rose from taking a knee and bowed her head. "I go by Jolyne, now. I… I'm sorry if my removal caused any... unwanted pandemonium," Jolyne replied as The Almighty sighed, looking over to Daimen, before bopping him on the head with his wooden cane.
"It's not you whomst I'm mad at, Jolyne. That right belongs to this young man over here! What were you thinking, boy!" The Almighty scolded Daimen, bopping him on the head a few more times with his cane, as Daimen ducked and tried to avoid it, only for nothing to work, and for the final bop to make him grumble out an apology.
The Almighty sighed, shaking his head. "Not that it matters now. You've become one of The Seven Harbingers of The Multiverse. Taking away your power now would only make things worse for you, and, it would probably kill the new body your soul resides in, and that's even considering the connotations that your particular System was branded with eons ago…" The Almighty said, as he walked over to a rocking chair made of wood, and sat in it. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions you want to ask me, so while I have the short amount of time that I have for the break of my duties, ask away."
Jolyne frowned, before looking over her shoulder at Daimen, who was still rubbing the top of his head. He was the reason why she was even in this mess, to begin with. But… whereas earlier on she'd be angry with it, now, she was slowly starting to accept it more and more.
And while she normally wouldn't have any questions, considering she had figured out the answers for herself, there was one question she did have. And that was…
"The Seven Harbingers of The Multiverse? Uh… what are those?" Jolyne asked as The Almighty smirked, clearing his throat.
"Well, I'm sure you've only heard of them as The Multiversal Gamers, correct?" The Almighty asked, to which Jolyne nodded. "Right. Well, that wasn't their original name. While "Gamer" applies to how their powers work, at least, in modern times anyway, they were originally called The Seven Harbingers of The Multiverse. Which, as the title might prelude, they are the protectors of The Multiverse. However, due to the fact that The Multiverse is never really threatened, they don't often work together. But… when it does, they are all summoned to Heaven all at once, and from there, they work together to stop the threat that is…. The Dead Multiverse."
A chill went down Jolyne's spine at the mention of that. She didn't know why, but she did. It was almost like something had scraped down her spine at that moment, because of just how disturbed she became upon hearing it. Even Daimen shivered upon hearing that name, which prompted The Almighty to continue.
"The Dead Multiverse was created around the same time as The Multiverse. It is a dark reflection of what we come to know as reality. For whenever life is created, death must follow. It is a constant ying to our yang. And… to tell you the truth, Jolyne… I'm afraid of it."
Jolyne was taken aback by this. The Almighty was… afraid of something? How? How could someone so powerful, so… omnipotent be afraid of something. The Almighty seemed to know what she was thinking, which didn't surprise her in the slightest, as he continued. "I know that to you, that might sound outrageous, or to some, even blasphemous. But, there is always a bigger fish in the pond. No matter how you slice it or dice it. There is always a being that is stronger than the other, and so on and so forth. Cosmic Horrors beyond our wildest imaginations…, even my own. Even people who are considered perfect can fall to them…. fall into their snares, have their minds torn asunder by them, and turned into their puppets…."
The Almighty's expression became solemn, almost as if he was holding a massive regret on his shoulders. Jolyne wanted to know what that was, but even she knew that the topic was sensitive. "I… I understand. I… I don't know what might've happened but, I'm sorry for whatever pain you're feeling," Jolyne said as The Almighty smiled.
"Thank you, young one," The Almighty replied, before standing up. "And to answer your final question. Even though you have committed vast atrocities, I would still accept you into Heaven. After all, you were already admitted once, so I see no reason why to change your stance... Although, convincing Satan might be a bit more difficult," The Almighty said, chuckling to himself before turning his back, and walking away. Before he did, though, he looked over his shoulder. "Take good care of her, Daimen. I would hate to have to increase your punishment. After all, you stole her… so keep that stolen good of yours safe, lest thy regret it."
And with that, he vanished behind the corner. Jolyne looked over to Daimen, as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead. "Alright, we're done here. Let's go. Huginn, to The Void."
As Daimen said that, Huginn came out from… seemingly nowhere, before doing his thing and flying around both Daimen and herself. Once the birds vanished, Huginn landed on Daimen's shoulder, as they stood now within the black, empty space that was The Void.
"Jolyne!" Several shouts coming from the distance yelled out, as the four children tackled her to the ground. The dual-haired mage tried to wrestle them off, but it didn't work. Daimen chuckled to himself as the four kids started badgering her with questions, not letting the teenager sit up. It was only after Daimen cleared his throat that the children dispersed, though mostly out of fear of the stranger before them.
Jolyne sat up, her hair now a mess as Sayaka leaned over to help her up to her feet. "I'm glad your safe. But… where were you? When we woke up in this place, everyone was starting to freak out," Sayaka said as one of Sayaka's idol friends spoke up, Satomi, if she remembered correctly.
"Yeah! And who's that guy with the tight shorts?" Satomi asked as Daimen barked out a laugh. The large black-haired disciple of Loki eventually calmed himself, before clearing his throat and smirking.
"Why, I am one of the many disciples of the trickster God, Loki! And, I am the person who gave Jolyne her powers!" Daimen answered, before snapping his fingers as a throne appeared out of nowhere. The throne was your typical red-cushioned, golden-lined throne that you'd see in a typical castle in a fantasy movie, which was almost tiresome to look at.
"And, um… where is D.I.C.E.?" Rantaro blurted out as Daimen shrugged.
"Most likely, they're with Lady Mary. They will be sent to wherever you go, due to you and Chinatsu having merged Guilds," Daimen said, before pausing. "You… did merge Guilds, yeah? I can't remember if you did or not," Daimen asked Jolyne, as the dual-haired mage nodded.
"Yup. We're aligned," Jolyne said as Daimen smirked.
"Well then, whenever you're ready to go, feel free to do so. All you have to do is step through this," Daimen said, before turning around, and raising his hand above his head in a pointed spear-like motion. Then, he slashed at the air, and a rift in reality opened like it was nothing. Everyone stared in abject amazement, along with a slight tinge of horror.
"W-Where is that place going to take us?" Fumiko asked as Daimen shrugged.
"I don't know. I picked it at random with the help of a few others. Oh, by the way, you're not only entertaining me now, Jolyne. You've got all of Loki's court interested in what you're doing! Congrats! You got fans!" Daimen announced as Sayaka looked at the mage, her eyebrow raised.
"Entertain…? Loki? Court? Jolyne, what is he talking about?" Sayaka asked as Jolyne paled. Daimen chuckled to himself, before looking over to Sayaka.
"What, she never told you? Ha! That's rich!" Daimen laughed, looking at everyone before spreading his arms out as if he was a grand showman. "Jolyne over here is a Demi-God in the making! And it's her task to entertain me until she becomes it!"
Jolyne blinked, turning around and looking at Daimen with a raised eyebrow. "Demi-God? You never mentioned anything about that?!"
Daimen scoffed. "It should've been obvious, Jolyne. Hmm… you know what, that name is a bit of a mouthful. I'm just gonna call you Jojo from here on out. Besides, every main character needs a nickname!" Daimen said, winking to no one in particular.
"Did he just… wink at someone?" Masaru blurted out.
"But… to who?" Jataro questioned as Daimen sighed.
"You are all hopeless. Can't laugh at a good joke when you hear one…" Daimen lamented, before snapping his fingers, they were all grouped up into groups of four. Group one was Jolyne, Rantaro, Monica, and Jataro. Group two was Sayaka, Saichi, Chinatsu, and Nagisa. Group three was the now suddenly appearing Gundham Tanaka, Chiaki, Masaru, and Kokichi. And Group four was Natsumi, Fumiko, Satomi, and Mahiru.
"Huh? Wait, where am I?" Kokichi asked, before looking to Chinatsu, who was staring at Daimen and the now magically appearing Lady Mary.
"Ah, you're sending them off now? Awe, just when I was having fun with my envoy," Lady Mary asked, before looking at the remaining people who weren't grouped up. "What are we to do with them?" She asked, a gleam in her eye as the group of stragglers grouped in one large huddle, fear coming over them as Daimen hummed, before smirking.
"They can hang out in your cottage in Valhalla. I need to figure out what to do with them, because Those Gods, like the assholes they are, are limiting me to the people I can throw in there. Honestly, I'm lucky they're even allowing it in the first place. Especially since one of Gabriel's people is there," Daimen quipped as portals appeared underneath the formed groups of four.
And then… they fell.
The last thing Jolyne heard was Daimen laughing, and then, the portals closed shut.
[?]
A heavily armoured man sat on a throne of gold. On his back were two broadswords in sheaths, the swords made of black and crimson metal, and his armour as white and as pure as the light of the heavens. On the center of his chest plate was a dark yellow cross, as well as on his gauntlets. His long dark brown hair and his chocolate brown skin were grazed by the light of the broken moon, as he glanced out the window of his throne room. Of course, the castle he resided in, which he built with his own two hands, did not look over a kingdom, but rather, it looked over a vast desert, which he had built it there for shits and giggles.
In reality, he probably would've done better building it on that accursed island of Mengeraine, as a way to spite those who he saw as lesser.
The Kingdom of Vacuo, which was located on the west side of the continent of Sanus, was one of his least favourite places in the entirety of the world of Remnant, namely because, for the most part, it was a barren, hellhole of a wasteland that barely had any settlements due to the rampant sandstorms and monstrous Grimm.
At the same time, though, it was quite… interesting to see the other people try their damnedest to live in this wretched hellhole. Including himself.
Then again, due to his vast amounts of power, he could probably make Vacuo, and by extension, the whole of Sanus a better place to be. He just chose not to. Not because he was a bad person—or as he'd like to think himself as a good person, anyway—but because he simply… didn't want to. He had other things to do, and that was the search for The Maidens.
Why?
So he could kill them, of course.
And no, he was not aligned with The Witch, he just wanted to kill them. You know, for sport! And no, it wasn't because of a Quest he had, though he would've loved the extra EXP. Even if he really didn't need it.
Plus, going Maiden hunting gave him a challenge, as they were the only things in this world, with the exception of The Wizard and The Witch that gave him a true battle. Not that he had fought either of them, but from how much Jebidiah, his Multiversal System had been hyping them up, he had to assume they were just as, if not stronger than, him.
He always did enjoy himself in a good battle against the Gods. Or, Demi-Gods, for that matter.
His last world was no fun. They were all a bunch of buzzkills. Stop the waves this, frame him for Rape that, blah, blah, blah. Honestly, though, that Naofumi guy had it the worst. They teamed up to take down Myne, but he killed him anyway. Why? Cause he wasn't fun anymore. He then killed the other "Sacred Heroes" after that, massacred the kingdoms, destroyed the monsters and stopped the waves, then moved on with his life.
Ah… the good times. When he actually had to put up a fight and not steamroll over everyone.
It was nice.
Unfortunatly, he had a feeling that those two would disappoint.
He looked over to a few of his slaves and scowled. "Oi, you furry fucks!" He shouted, making one of them, a deer faunus, shrink in fear. "Yes, you! You with the antlers. Do me a favour and fetch me Jasper! He was supposed to bring me my dinner an hour ago!"
The deer faunus, who had been dressed in peasant wear, nodded vigorously, running out of the throne room as the man huffed. A few minutes later, a meek-looking boy, most likely no older than 15, walked into the room with a cart of food. He was dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants. His hair was blond and medium length, his eyes were blue, and his skin was a tanned white, and alongside him was the deer faunus slave.
"I-I'm sorry for k-keeping you waiting, Lord Jamol, I was… um… I was making sure everything was perfect!" Jasper stammered as Jamol sighed, shaking his head before facepalming.
"You know, Jasper. You don't have to make everything perfect. Besides, leave the dirty work to the slaves. Let them do the cooking, let them do the cleaning, and let them do the polishing. You're going to work yourself to the bone if you don't. Why do you think I have slaves, to begin with?" Jamol, said as he stood up from his throne.
Jasper said nothing and looked away as he stepped back from the cart. Taking the lid off of one of the plates, he was greeted with a freshly prepared, fully seasoned and cooked duck. Jamol smiled, before nodding his head to Jasper and the slave. "Both of you dismissed! And you, deer boy!"
The deer faunus stiffened, before bowing his head. "Y-Yes M-Master?"
Jamol glared at him, baring his teeth. "If you don't offer to push the cart next time, or cook… I'll butcher you and serve you to my dog. Got it?"
The room became deathly silent, as every faunus in the room shuttered. No one wanted to go to the dog, because the dog was a brutal beast of a monster that even Jamol feared on some occasions. The deer faunus got on his hands and knees and began to beg for his life. Jamol stared down at the slave, before scoffing, and kicking him with a heavily armoured boot. The faunus gasped in pain but otherwise thanked him for sparing his life.
Jasper only looked on in shame, something Jamol noticed. "Don't be sorry for that inhuman bastard. Besides, you need to rest up. We have—"
Jamol stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening as he felt a presence he had not felt in ages. For the last time, he had felt that presence, was when he had been first brought to his second-ever world. Where he met his partner in crime. After an incident though, they died in a fight against a very formidable foe.
For 500 years, he waited for the next user of that system to come to him. And his patience paid off. He could sense them, and they had just landed in the center of the continent of Sanus, specifically, The Kingdom of Vale.
A large, toothy grin appeared on his face, as Jamol felt a sense of nostalgia wash over him.
Lust had returned.
"Jasper…." Jamol began, as he looked toward the fleeing boy, who had turned to look at him. "Go to The Kingdom of Vale, and look for someone who seems out of place. Someone who does not belong. You should be able to find them easily. They will have a similar aura to mine," Jamol explained as Jasper silently nodded, before exiting the throne room.
After all these years, Jamol would finally reunite with The Norse Multiversal System, and, the one that represented the Seven Deadly Sin of Lust.
And how fitting, that his being The Anglo-Christian Multiversal System, was the one that represented the Seven Deadly Sin of Pride.
"Oh, for how long I have waited for this moment. To finally have you back with me. Even if your current user may not know who I am, you will. And, perhaps, just like the last one, it will be someone whom I can love. Titania… oh how I miss you so. My heart still yearns for you, and though you may be lost to time itself, perhaps your replacement can fill that void," Jamol thought, as he looked over to one of his female slaves. She did not notice his gaze, as she was too busy polishing an expensive-looking vase.
Great, now he was horny. Just thinking about his deceased lover gave him a hard-on, and now he was going to be distracted by those thoughts.
And he couldn't eat, while he was horny.
He needed to relieve himself.
Jamol smirked, staring at the youthful faunus in his sight. "Perhaps, before dinner… I will have my way with you," Jamol said, as he walked over to a young-looking, barely 14-year-old female bear faunus, and grabbed them by the scruff of her neck. The young, barely pubescent teen cried out in shock and alarm, but alas, no one could stop him and what he was about to do.
All of the faunus slaves murmured a silent prayer for that poor girl. Because the chances of her not coming back, and ending up in his sex dungeon, or worse, the palaces graveyard by the next day, were far higher than they were of her making it out of that bedroom alive.
-To Be Continued in – The World of Remnant – Part 1-