Chapter 9. To put to rest one's Demons
Jaune was sweating under the blows of his dark counterpart. Each strike felt like he was being rammed by a bullhead, and worse still was the fact that this thing had all of Jaune's skills and weapons. Jaune was matched blow for blow by the dark counterpart, even with the three front style Death had taught him. Sword in his dominant hand, Mercy in his offhand, and mixing melee weaponry, firearm combat, and hand to hand all working in a fast paced flurry that overwhelmed the enemy. But as skilled as Jaune was in this, dark Jaune was just as skilled. Finally they locked blades.
"You can't defeat me as you are rider. I am what you try so hard to hide. Your guilt, your doubts, your fears. I am all of them, and more." Dark Jaune snarled at Jaune.
"I do not fear you apparition. YOU…ARE…NOTHING!" Jaune shouted, pushing against his foe.
"I am you. I am those things you were taught to not feel by your mentor, but the human in you can't let me go. You will never be worthy of the Armageddon Blade, just like you are not worthy of the mantel of Horseman!" Dark Jaune shouted back, slamming his Tremor Gauntlet into Jaune's face. Jaune flew, slamming into the barrier with an earsplitting slam.
Blood poured from Jaune's mouth and out around the edges of the mask. He had at least a few cracked ribs and some bad internal bleeding. It was nothing his accelerated healing couldn't fix but it would need some time. Jaune felt his arms tremble as he pulled himself up, but he wasn't exhausted or tired. He glared at his limbs, steeling his resolve again and charging.
The rest of Team JNPR could only watch with great concern. Pyrrha had only face Jaune in combat once and it had been terrifying but enlightening. She had learned that Jaune's style revolved around overwhelming the opponent in one of two ways or undermining them. When she had faced him he had opened with a cautious probing offensive, using wide swings that were designed to keep the opponent at bay but allowed for the quick reorientation of his weapon into a defensive posture. After a somewhat lax back and forth between them he reengaged with a tighter move set that almost dislocated one of her shoulders.
He had used his prodigious strength to bully her around and keep her on the defensive. She had been unable to respond and Jaune had been incapable of breaking her guard. Thus he switched to the fighting form he had just used on his darker self. Pyrrha had actually suffered a few hits from such an offensive tactic, not being able to respond to the unpredictable assault of bullets, blades, and hand to hand strikes fast enough.
Back with Jaune's current fight, he and his doppelganger had assumed the brute force method. Keeping each other at a bit of a distance and striking with just the end third of their blades. Each collision kicked up dust and emitted shockwaves that knocked loose stone chips.
"You killed those two servants of Cinder Fall, but you saw their pasts. Were they not justified? Were they not just damaged souls in need of redemption?" Dark Jaune asked rhetorically.
"They made their choices, they sided with one who served malicious ends. That was not murder, it was justice." Jaune said, kicking out at Dark Jaune only for the latter to block with the flat of his blade.
Dark Jaune pushed his sword forward, prompting Jaune to use the force as a springboard to backflip away. "And what gives you the right to judge those who deserve to die? Prophetic vision? You know as well as any that such abilities are unclear at best. Yet still you pass your judgement onto others."
"My judgement, is the judgement of the hundreds who bore this mantel before me." Jaune defended, but he could feel the effect of his adversary's words. His resolve, for the first time in years, was wavering.
"The others? You know full well the question that has haunted you for years. Are you Jaune Arc, or are you War? Are you really a person, or just a cheap replica of a bygone warrior?" Dark Jaune taunted.
Jaune had no answer. He did feel remorse for those he had killed, he did question what right he had to judge the lives of others, and he didn't know if he was really himself or just War in a new skin. Dark Jaune smirked, stalking towards the catatonic Horseman. He raised his sword, a dark reflection of Chaoseater, and reveled in the victory to come.
But then something happened, that Dark Jaune did not expect. Jaune thought back to his actions, his decisions, and his inquiries. But he remembered. He remembered seeing the Threads of Conflict unravel when Emerald and Mercury died, the small flashes of lives that they would, through direct murder or indirect manipulations, have ended if those two had lived. He remembered flashes of dreams that were actually memories of previous incarnations. Incarnations who had allowed wars to happen rather than prevent them. They did it not because of any love for conflict that they had or for glory, they did it because history needed it to happen. History needed those conflicts to occur so that social growth could flourish. And as for whether Jaune was just some duplicate of War and not his own person.
"I don't care." Jaune whispered.
"What?" Dark Jaune said, taken aback.
"I don't care what you say. Every life I took saved countless more. My judgement is tempered from the wisdom of eons past. And it doesn't matter if I am just some copy of War. I was chosen to bear this mantel, this mantel passed down since a time unmemorable. My actions are all performed only with the greatest good in mind, with the safeguarding of the Balance in mind. That is my responsibility. That is my Duty. I am Jaune Arc and I am War. I…AM…A HORSEMAN!" Jaune said, his eyes and hair shining with bright, white light as his power exploded out.
Dark Jaune was sent staggering back from a shockwave of red energy that erupted from Jaune. The being snarled, feeling its presence weaken. Jaune had overcome the weaknesses that once limited him, and now Dark Jaune was cut from his power source. He charged regardless, not even pausing as Jaune turned his gaze. The now pure white eyes glowing even through the small eyeholes in the mask.
Pain was all that Dark Jaune felt. He had barely seen Jaune's fist move before his arm had been completely destroyed. Now , it was Jaune's turn to stalk forward. But unlike when Dark Jaune had done it, Jaune didn't pause to revel. He swiftly decapitated his darker self, the body disintegrating much like a Grimm's body would.
The barrier dispelled, allowing the rest of Jaune's team to surge forward. Jaune removed the mask when they got to him, dispelling the link between the shadow realm and the earthly realm. Jaune looked the same as he always did, but he seemed more at peace than before. His eyes, having returned to their typical icy blue darted up to lock onto something behind his team. They all turned to see the same ghostly figure from before, becoming clearer and more defined by the second.
It wasn't long before the same face that was carved in the sarcophagus so far above was staring at them.
"You have done well, my descendant." The figure said, his voice deep and gravelly. "I trust that you understand what you have done?"
"Yes. I unlocked my power. It was bound by my not accepting all that entailed being a Horseman. The duty that such a station demands." Jaune answered. War regarded his descendent for a moment.
"How will you know that your actions will be the right ones?" War inquired.
"I can never truly know, I must trust in the balance and in the visions this power grants." Jaune answered.
War nodded. "Will you ever again shirk from doing what must be done to preserve the balance?"
"Never." Jaune said.
War smiled. "Then you are ready. Take your new weapon, and may those who threaten the balance tremble before you." He faded away.
Jaune looked around, his eyes eventually finding the Armageddon Blade again. He approached with reverence, in awe at the power he detected from the blade before him. He grasped the handle firmly, the weapon seeming to thrum beneath his fingers, and pulled it free of the stone floor. It slid soundlessly from its prison until it had fully emerged, its golden inlays as pristine as they were when it was first forged. Choosing to shoulder the weapon for now Jaune strolled from the room. His team followed, they wanted answers but knew that Jaune would only divulge what he wished to. But still, Nora was the first to comment.
"That was awesome Jaune! You and you were like…" Nora, apparently taking a page from Ruby's book, began gesturing while making swishing noises with her mouth. "And then he sent you off like…" She mimed getting flattened against a wall. "But then you went DragonBall Z power up like…" She then assumed what looked like an old martial art stance. "And just blew him away. It was so cool." She finished.
Jaune looked at the hyperactive girl for a moment, his gaze then shifting to Ren who simply shrugged. Jaune groaned inwardly, hoping that he wouldn't have to deal with this much longer. Nora continued to bounce around, rambling about the fight despite the fact that they had been there. The only bright side was that Nora distracted them from the walk back to the camp, it seemed that the space-time ward had affected the flow of time so that it moved slower inside than out. The stars hadn't changed position despite spending almost an hour inside the temple.
They all made it back to camp before Port even noticed they were gone. The rest of the evening passed uneventfully, though Port did wonder about the new sword. But he had seen Jaune summon and dismiss his weapons and horse so he just assumed that this was a weapon he just hadn't seen before. It was quite an artistic piece though, with clearly well done craftsmanship. Though it was a little too ornate and impractical for his tastes, but he had seen Jaune work well with his normal sword and compared to that evil looking thing this one looked angelic.
The rest of the excursion took all of a day. Jaune seemed to be even more powerful now than he ever had been. At one point he sliced through an entire group of Beowolves with a single swing, and that was with Chaoseater. It was quite clear that Jaune had changed, but Port didn't know what to make of it. In the end it was determined that so long as the mission was complete that it didn't really matter.
When everyone did finally return to Beacon Jaune contacted Death immediately, who was upset that Jaune had done something so dangerous but proud that Jaune had overcome the challenge.
"So, how are you? After…that situation?" Death asked, having rode here as fast as he could upon being given the short version of the story.
"I feel…lighter. As if everything is easier to do. I don't know how to explain it." Jaune said, flexing his hand.
"Each horseman must come to understand a simple fact. We are not human Jaune. We appear human, can act human, but fundamentally we are something greater and less." Death said.
"Less? How?" Jaune asked.
"Our power elevates us to a point where most have to spend their whole lives attempting to reach, but that elevation isolates us and makes the forming of bonds more difficult. We often live alone and pass on alone, it is a rare gift for us to find a reason to live beyond duty." Death explained.
Jaune was silent, turning this information over in his mind. He knew that his mentor had been Death for several centuries, having never found a reason to sire a child and pass on his Mantle. That was the secret to how one of them could live forever, so long as there was no child produced the Mantle couldn't be passed. Mike had lived for millennia, he had seen worlds form, grow, and die countless times. And whereas those who bore the Mantle of War would go mad if they held it long enough, an issue related to the higher emotional commitment associated with being War, Death could remain for much longer without risk.
Mike departed, leaving Jaune to reflect on recent events. Jaune seemed to be doing well, even finding some good friends here at Beacon. Mike smiled as he returned to his home, he could handle his time in a dark, dust choked world alone. That was what was safest for all involved. But still he wondered, was Jaune truly ready for the responsibilities that came with being a Horseman of the Apocalypse?