Arc 0 Chapter 2

The pillars began sinking into the floor, and despite his sudden alarm, he found no reason to want to get up from his sitting position. Could you blame him? He'd been fighting Grimm for days on end and that's not including the bandits who tried to rob him in his sleep. He felt about ready for a nap here and now, but he opted to stay relaxed. Normally he would of hopped back into a standing position, but something about the place just rubbed him the right way. No, not that way you dirty bastards. The pillars were gone, and he was still atop the dome. He heard what he thought sounded like a mix between a zipper and a piece of paper being torn behind him to f- 'WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!' Sidonis was shocked. Not only did he interrupt me, but he saw a purple portal in the shape of an eyeball and a woman walked through it in a nonchalant fashion. 'Damn.' Damn indeed, for she is a beautiful and YOUNG woman with long golden-blond hair and golden eyes. She has a purple Chinese-style tabard with various Trigrams over a pale pink Western-style dress that's somewhat frilly. That wasn't the only thing he saw, as from his point of view there was also a health bar that was split into a multitude of segments and above it a was a "?". Above that, a skull and crossbones hovered in place. It had a glowing red aura with a matching set of glowing red eyes. As if it wasn't already foreboding, the bones piercing into the skulls head.

He stared into her eyes, and she stared right back. She was dangerous, no if ands or buts about it and yet she made no move. She just stared back, a small smile on her lips as she looked him up and down before resuming eye contact yet again. She seemed so harmless yet at the same time that stare of hers sent shivers up his spine… but he could not look away. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but he knew that if she was an enemy he'd want to have some idea as to where she would attack. That, and it was relatively simple to gather a person's intent based on the look of their eyes. He could not do so with hers, or at least not fully. Her eyes showed interest, intrigue, and amusement? They continued staring at each other for a few more minutes, neither side moving an inch. Then, she blinked. He blinked a second after, and he let out a mirthful response.

"Heh, you blinked! Does that mean I win?"

He found himself smiling, and genuinely at that. He then realized how inherently rude he thought it was to go about saying something like that and blushed with embarrassment. He facepalmed before he looked at her once again to see her smile curled just a bit more upward then before and a raised eyebrow at his actions. He mentally panicked, hand still on his face as he muttered, "Me and my stupid mouth." He stood up, hands in his pockets as he mimicked her nonchalant stance. He intended to apologize, but could not get the words out before she spoke.

"I suppose you have. Do you want a reward?" She smiled mischievously having intended to tease him a bit. Looking at his confused face, she realized that he had no idea as to what she just said. It was an easy fix for her, but she wanted to see if she could get any more reactions out of him. She sauntered over with an intentional sway to her hips, taking note at the increasing blush on his face. He slid a foot back, preparing to take action as she held up one hand in a placating manner. He relaxed, but his eyes had remained on hers. She knew he looked, and she knew she had a great body to boot. His efforts to abstain from looking made it all the worthwhile, as once she was in range used her right hand and cupped his chin. He wasn't sure what the hell was going on, only that it was getting harder to fight back the growing blush on his face and that eventually, steam would be steeping from his ears. She grazed her fingers down his neck, before placing her hand on his chest and literally inserting it.

Warble~Warble!

He stiffened, this alien feeling in his chest did not feel good at all. He's survived claws and blades alike being stuffed into his body, but this was nowhere near that kind of feeling. It was there, yet at the same time not. He wanted to ask her to stop, but no words would come out of his mouth. He just let her be, not like he could do anything to stop her if the skull above her segmented bar was of any indication. It wasn't long before she pulled her hand out, and took a few steps back before asking him a question.

"Do you understand me now?"

The shock was evident on his face if her slight giggle was anything to go by. A screen popped up to his right, stating that he now had access to understand and speak Japanese. 'What the hell is Japanese?' he thought, but that wasn't the issue here. She just fiddled with his chest, his heart and suddenly he knows a new language! If this didn't cement the fear of death into him, he wouldn't know what would. He knew her power was far more than that of a simple language barrier removal as he recalled her having arrived from that eye portal thing. He'd rather not know firsthand what it could do either.

"I-I-I," he paused, taking a moment to gather himself at the stuttering that decided to randomly ruin his speech. He nodded his head, "Indeed, I can hear and understand you clearly."

"Good to hear, though I'm afraid I can't do much for your stuttering."

"N-No! I-I," he pauses again and scowls, then proceeds to punch himself in the face. He takes a breath, muttering something along the lines of having never stuttered like this before and continues, "It's not an issue mam, at least I hope it won't be. You've already given me a crutch and I'd like to believe that I won't look a gift horse in the mouth… So thank you." He gave a slight bow, before straightening his posture and rubbing at his temples with his hands. He was nervous and under a lot of pressure to not fuck up and die, he needed to reduce his stress somehow.

"Respectful and humble aren't you? Yet so far you've yet to give me your name. It's quite rude to not introduce yourself you know." She pulled out a simple white fan and opened it placing it in front of her mouth. She narrowed her eyes, giving a look of mock annoyance to as to tease him further.

He paled, flinched and gave a slight yelp all at once before bowing again and saying, "Ah! I apologize, I hadn't meant to make you upset. My name is-"

"Sidonis Nihlus Kryik." Her mock annoyance was gone, amusement once again filling her eyes.

"How?" He gaped, he hadn't even said anything. Then again, considering the situation he's currently in he can't say she couldn't of known beforehand. There was definitely wisdom within her eyes, but he couldn't tell how much. It was as if she wanted him to assume something just so she could prove him wrong. "Never mind. I don't want to know. Though, would you mind throwing me a bone and giving me your name miss..?" He trailed off, awaiting her response.

"Yakumo. Yukari Yakumo." She gave a slight bow of her own before going back to her previous posture.

"A pleasure to meet you… Yakumo-san? I said that right I hope." Though he can understand and speak the new language, he wasn't all too familiar with it just yet. "Though I would rather it have been under different circumstances, this doesn't seem like the best place to meet and greet y'know?" He quickly scanned the area around him. "Wherever this is… you wouldn't happen to know would you?"

"You mean you don't know?" She asked with a slight tone of surprise.

"No I don't know, I don't even remember how I got here. Yet, I have the distinct feeling that without whatever it was that brought me here, I'd be dead. That woman I was fighting was far better than anything I've ever gone against." He raised his hands to chest level and stared at his palms. "Hell if I know what I just signed myself up for… but I at the very least hope that it's better than where I came from." He sighed, his thoughts turning dark and his fists beginning to clench. 'Maybe there I can seek my retribution, be free from the chains that weigh down my heart.'

"You'll find out a bit later then I suppose, though concerning your current state of mind and mentality it may be that you simply aren't supposed to know just yet." She hummed momentarily in thought before she continued, "At the very least you're strong enough to survive and I won't have to babysit you."

"Babysit? I'm not a child!"

"Even adults need supervision dear~" She turned, her back to him and waved at him in a lazy manner. "I'll be off then, but you'll be hearing from me again dear! Don't get into too much trouble, and remember to choose your contract!" She ported through the floor, leaving him alone again.

"..."

He had no words, he wasn't even sure as to what happened. He held his face and let out a frustrated sigh, all he wanted to do was get out of there. On top of that, what contract?! Did it have to do with what he just agreed to? What does it involve, who does it involve? That and many more questions circulated within his head, but little did he realize his heart had already chosen for him. His upper back began to burn, and it burned quite badly. He dropped to the floor and futilely attempted to reach for his back as he curled up in pain. He swore he could hear a sizzling on his back as he grit his teeth in pain, and yet there was no smell of burnt skin. The pain took a few moments to subside, but once it was manageable he was able to get himself on his hands and knees. He took deep breaths having realized that his intake of oxygen during the pain had been close to nonexistent. As if to add insult to injury, something hard and heavy hit him in the back of his head bouncing off of it and landing in front of him. Nursing the now growing bump, he found that it was a 4x4x4 inch metal cube that hit him. On top of the cube was a small note with writing that was not overly fancy in penmanship.

"By the way, I figured you might be a bit hungry. I hope you enjoy, you'll need it! ;)"

"God damn it Yukari…" He picked up the metal cube, and though the delivery could have been better and less painful he would not refuse it. Anyone else might think it could be used for a blunt weapon or forged into one or be sold! Whoever answered #2 is right, yet it's Sid himself that will be forging it. He opens his mouth, teeth transforming into a row of razor-sharp shark teeth as he bit into an edge of the cube. A few bites later, the entirety of the cube was within his mouth being shredded by his teeth. He swallowed, enjoying the taste of the good quality iron. He supposed he should thank Yukari later, as she did give him food that doubled as fuel for both his body and semblance.

His momentary enjoyment was brought to a halt, as he heard the growl of an all too familiar enemy. His mood soured immediately, a white glow beginning to surround his hands and arms. He brought his hands together, shaping them as if he would create a snowball. A white orb began growing in size between his hands. Just as quickly as it had formed, he brought his hands apart. The orb spread, its shape changing until it matched the weapon that it's user had sought. 5 seconds is what it took to create a dual-ended glaive. Its staff was four feet in length was a dark grey color with its blades a foot long each and colored a pristine white. He held the glaive slightly behind him, poised to counter any sort of attack that may come his way. He could make out a pair of yellow and red eyes leaving a trail of light as it grew closer to the dome, but he couldn't make out the shape just yet. Upon reaching the dome, he found himself face to face with what he would consider Grimm cannon fodder: a Beowolf.

The Beowolves are shaped similarly to that of a werewolf, its fur pitch black and white bone spikes protruding from its arms, back, and knees. Its hand and feet were tipped with sharp white claws and its head had bone armor on its skull. From what Sid could tell, it was a young one because of its size. Easy, he would have thought, if it wasn't for the 5 others that were walking behind it.

'Damn it, even here they plague my existence!' He stood still and allowed them to think they had an advantage, as they weren't very strong on their own. In numbers, however, they were still dangerous. They were predictable to an extent, but not as much compared to a person. It was easier to deal with a person compared to a Grimm if he were honest… but these Grimm were easily dealt with. They began to surround him, walking slowly anticipating his retreat. They could tell he was afraid, and to them, it meant that he was an easy target. What they didn't know is that he used that fear as a base for survival. The beowolf in facing Sid bent its hind legs down before launching itself at Sid, its right claw poised to strike him down. Sid closed his eyes and dodged under the claw. The beowolf wouldn't get away unscathed, however, as Sid slid his glaive across the wolfs torso bisecting it. Its two parts landed with a pathetic thump before beginning to dissolve into a black mist. Sid did not opt to stop there as he created another weapon in his left hand, a short sword, and threw it at the beowolf to his left before sprinting to the one at his right. It attempted to swipe at him with its left paw but he twisted his body clockwise avoiding the claws before swinging his glaive at its shoulder. Shluck! It's left arm was separated from its body, and it reared onto its hind legs in surprise. Its chest exposed, Sid stabbed his glaive directly into the heart of the creature before pulling it out and swinging it again. Shluk! Its body fell to the floor and dissipated along with its recently removed head. He looked over to where he threw the short sword, seeing it stick out of the other beowolf's head as its body started to turn into mist. 'Three left,' he thought, as he looked back at the three that were left. His eyes widened in shock, as he was sure that he counted 6 beowolf's total before beginning his attack. Looking at the lone beo- 'WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO THE BEOWOLF?!'

The Beowolf's body was… different for lack of a better term. Its body shape and structure altered, it now has a more humanoid look. More bone spikes protruded from its shoulders and some along its triceps, its head taking on a more wolfish appearance with a shorter snout compared to normal beowolf's. Its were ears now far more prominent atop its head and he noted that, particularly in the chest and its back, there was a lack of fur. Yes, you can tell the difference between pitch black fur and skin. The biggest difference, however, was the now floating bar above its head. It was similar to Yukari's bar, yet there was only one segment. That said, its bar was also yellow and Sid noticed that it had a name above its bar. G. Wulver. He presumed the G stood for Grimm, but he had no idea what the hell a Wulver was. Couldn't be as bad compared to a beowolf right?

He summoned another shortsword before tossing it at the Wulver, only for it to sidestep the sword. Sid was surprised, only a few Grimm were intelligent enough to dodge, and most did it out of instinct. This one, however, knew exactly what it was doing. It began stalking towards him before breaking into a charge. It was far faster compared to any beowolf that Sid had fought before, and he was caught unprepared for it as a result. It rammed into his chest with its shoulder before swiping both claws across his chest leaving long gashes both upon his clothes and his skin. He gasped at the pain, but grit his teeth and caught his foothold before retaliating on the Wulver with his glaive. A stab to the stomach, followed by a slice across the chest and a roundhouse kick to knock it backwards to give him some breathing room as his wounds began to knit together. His recovery was not painless, as his muscles shook from the pain of the regeneration that was occurring. He noted how the cuts took longer to heal compared to usual, as he realized that the creature had intentionally swiped its claws in the exact same spot so as to create a deeper gash in his chest. He looked at the bar above its head, now down by a quarter. He would presume this to be an indicator of enemy health. Before the creature regained its bearings, he charged it spinning his glaive and slicing it another three times across the chest before attempting to create another shortsword to impale the Wulver. Nothing happened, his reservoir of metal having been expended with the glaive and the two short swords so he ended up punching it in the stomach instead. It gave him some distance, but the Wulver was still able to retaliate and grabbed at his arm before tossing Sid in an overhead throw onto the ground. Sid landed on his back with a gasp as he tried to stab at the Wulver but it parried the weapon and disarmed him. He brought his legs into his chest as he kicked out at the Wulver before it could attempt to attack him on the ground, kicking it a few meters away. He could already feel the bruise beginning to form on his back, but it was healing. Not as fast as it would be if something pierced him or if parts of his body were broken, but the bruise would heal in time.

The Wulver was on all fours, now at half its health. It stayed on its fours, letting out an angry roar as its claws extended and turned bloody red, red veins now visible stretching across its arms, shoulders, and even its face. Sidonis knew that he couldn't screw around and that he needed to kill this thing as soon as possible. He jumped back towards the shortsword that he used to kill the beowolf with earlier, grabbing it and eating it in several bites. The short sword wasn't enough, however, he needed something longer to keep a relative distance away while attacking. He didn't have a choice, as he began channeling his semblance once more. Both hands came together and came apart as the weapon took shape. A spear now in his hands, four feet in length and with a single foot long blade he stood poised to take the Wulvers charge. A key thing to note is that now the spear's handle was colored a blood red, and the blade's center now was colored red as well. This was a result of his blood having been used as a catalyst for his metal forging, as there is iron within blood. The Wulver pounced on him, far faster compared to its previous non-enraged state. Sid anticipated this and thrust out his spear as it was in mid-air, letting it impale itself on the weapon. What he didn't expect was how much heavier it's attack was, so much so that the staff of the spear had also gone through the Wulver. It did not waste its time in following up its pounce as it began swiping wildly at Sid. Its longer claws were not undodgeable, but barely being grazed meant he was getting scratched, and that meant losing blood. Losing more blood was not an option, as with his heart rate already accelerated and his blood count lower than it should be he was beginning to feel nauseated and sleepy. He slid under its legs before pulling out the spear from behind it and impaling its backside once more. The Wulver swung around in a rage, backhanding Sid and sending him to the floor. Sid bounced twice before catching himself and stopping his momentum. He saw red, his rage beginning to ebb and flow beneath his very skin and his teeth having transformed back into the shark teeth he was born with as he let out out a mighty roar. He charged the Wulver, uppercutting it with his left fist before grappling it and repeatedly punching it in the face with his right. He let it go to bring his hands together and swung both to bash it again in the face, before grabbing its upper and lower jaw with each hand and pulling HARD. The Wulvers jaws were ripped apart, followed by it being split in half up to the waist before its body was tossed backwards. It was dead, soon dissolving into mist like all the other monsters.

Sidonis was trying to catch his breath, his breathing labored and rough. He fell to his knees as he clutched his chest where his heart is with his right hand, the anemia kicking in full force. He wanted nothing more than to sleep, but he feared not being able to wake up. He had to continue, he had to keep going.

CRACK!

The glass below him began to crack before the entirety of the dome shattered. He fell into the abyss, shouting in anger and shock. 'Is this how I'll die? Some stain on the ground?!' He thought angrily, but as he fell he noticed a light within the abyss. He was getting closer, the light growing ever so brighter as his vision was clouded with white once more. The last thing he recalled was how warm the light felt before he blacked out.